Yeah, Mopey isn’t the type of person you would have to ask twice to put a giant robotic arm holding a trashcan on top of her laboratory. No way she wouldn’t jump at the opportunity…but I guess that’s obvious enough from the fact that she apparently installed the whole thing before the Barbicianessor even explained to her what it’s needed for. Her expression in panel 2, too.
And the Professmagicirarian, for his part, restrained himself in only asking for a giant robotic arm…rather than a whole giant robot holding a trashcan. But I guess he faintly remembers that his old alma mater’s mountains of gold pieces aren’t quite as massive as his own are these days.
He’s also to be commended for the way he tries to address C-3PO’s worries. As a scientist, he’s used to precise use of language, so he understands that a big difference is not necessarily a meaningful difference, but C-3PO seems to be reassured. As a protocol droid, I guess he should be used to precise use of language, but he never really gave the impression. And a receptacle does sound a lot more respectable than a trashcan. In fact, it does sound quite similar to respectable in general.
And C-3PO’s probably really worried for nothing, anyway – given how long and elaborate the set-up for the transmission of the secret has been, it would really be extremely odd for the plot to allow R2-D2 not to reach his destination.
More on Monday.
You (probably) know me enough for now to figure out that I can’t resist a giant robot holding a trashcan. So it’s (probably) good that Mopey is installing it and not me. But imagine how much more radical my variant would (probably) be!
Yeah, using a giant robot to hold the trashcan would have been cooler, and nicely bizarre in the context of having a giant robot catch a small one. But giving the heroes easy access to a giant robot early on in a plot will only lead to complications, or the audience wondering why the heroes don’t use it for all of their problems – in that regard, the simple robotic arm on the roof is a lot less versatile and thus raises fewer questions. XD