Throughout the Star Wars saga, Luke Skywalker has consistently treated droids with the same level of respect as his organic compatriots. Even though some Star Wars characters have also done so, many others either treated droids as mere tools or harbor resentment towards droids due in part to the Clone Wars. While Luke’s friendships with R2-D2 and C-3PO have been well-documented, his friendships with other droids were also instrumental in his eventual victory. For example, Lydia Kang’s “Right-Hand Man” in From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back highlighted Luke’s friendship with 2-1B, a medical droid with the Rebellion. While 2-1B may seem like a minor character, his counseling of Luke helped the young Jedi work through his trauma and eventually help end the Galactic Empire's reign.
In "Right-Hand Man," 2-1B helped attach Luke's new cybernetic arm after Luke's battle with Darth Vader in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Notably, Luke specifically requested 2-1B as his doctor. The story confirmed that 2-1B was the same droid who cared for Luke on Hoth after Luke's almost deadly encounter with the Wampa. Luke's choice showed that he respected 2-1B's medical skills, but it also revealed Luke's sentimentality and his easy acceptance of droids as his friends.
When discussing the procedure to attach the new hand, Luke continually asked 2-1B about how droids perceive pain and whether they had any similar symptoms, such as phantom pain. Luke's questions caught 2-1B off guard. 2-1B reflected that, "No one ever asked about a droid's injuries or pain." Therefore, even when Luke was struggling with his own trauma, he still showed that he cared about droids far more than other people did. Also, Luke was able to recognize that organic life forms held more in common with mechanical beings than most people would choose to acknowledge.
Luke's conversation with 2-1B in the aftermath of his battle with Darth Vader on Cloud City showed Luke’s struggle in the face of Vader’s revelations and his guilt over his perceived failure. Luke blamed himself for losing Han. He also doubted his decision to cut his training short and feared falling to the dark side as his father Anakin Skywalker had before him. Due to his inner conflict, Luke did not believe that he deserved to be healed.
2-1B's response showed his compassion and care for all of his patients. 2-1B explained, "All beings deserve to be cared for, to be healed. [...] Moral perfection is no requisite for care. That would be cruelty itself, as no beings are perfect." While 2-1B resisted being called a poet, his eloquent advocacy of his morals and beliefs showed a compassion that could not be attributed only to his programming. While his medical programming came from his creator, 2-1B developed his kindness on his own.
As a healer, 2-1B insisted upon the importance of Luke accepting help from his friends to aid in Luke’s recovery from his physical and psychological wounds. 2-1B argued that "accepting such assistance is not weakness, nor is it gallant to forgo such treatment. Sometimes the harder choice is to accept help." Unknowingly, 2-1B hit upon one of the main reasons for Anakin Skywalker's fall. Anakin fell in part because he stopped looking to his friends and loved ones for help dealing with his anxieties and fears. He stopped trusting in his friends, in Obi-Wan Kenobi and even Padmé. Emperor Palpatine later declared Luke's "faith in [his friends]" one of Luke's greatest weaknesses precisely because that community and care was actually one of the few things that could combat the Emperor's influence. Thus, 2-1B's insistence on that community helped give Luke the support system he needed to resist the temptation of the dark side.
Overall, while 2-1B was assigned to attach Luke’s new cybernetic hand, the droid set Luke on the path to emotional healing as well. 2-1B's insistence that all beings deserve care may have had more influence on Luke than he realized. The advice may have inspired Luke to extend that same care toward Darth Vader despite Vader's moral failings. Therefore, Luke's friendships with 2-1B and other droids ultimately helped him save his father and end the Empire's reign.
The complete Skywalker Saga is available to stream on Disney+.