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So this is why we have red lightsabers

Basically the Sith or dark sider is dominating a crystal that is not their in order to make it theirs. Enslaving the crystal to their will and more or less branding it red as a result.

One would gather than if the crystal in question was theirs by the normal rites of the Gathering, it would not be red, but some other color.

For all the red sabers we see, I wonder how many of them were actually "bled" by Palpatine before gifting them to underlings. Also makes you wonder who's lightsaber crystal Darth Vader got after Obi-wan took his blue one.
 
I always preferred the idea that Lightsabers are just "an elegant weapon for a more civilized age." It requires the force to use effectively but this idea of a crystal calling out to force users and all that mumbo jumbo seems like little more than gilding the lily.
 
I always preferred the idea that Lightsabers are just "an elegant weapon for a more civilized age." It requires the force to use effectively but this idea of a crystal calling out to force users and all that mumbo jumbo seems like little more than gilding the lily.


It's a load of shit.

They keep ruining the magic of what the Force was.

It was supposed to be a mysterious energy that surrounds and binds everything and that was mentioned in the very first movie back in 1977... That tradition stayed for the original trilogy....... Why change or add things to that?

They then added Michchlorians to the mix.... Ugh now this double ugh!!!!

I hate Disney.
 
More depth, yet still a mystery. The Force didn't stop being a mystical energy field, and even the Jedi and Sith do not seem to know everything about it even after 25,000 years.
 
More depth, yet still a mystery. The Force didn't stop being a mystical energy field, and even the Jedi and Sith do not seem to know everything about it even after 25,000 years.
The Force as a living and willful power is pretty far from the original concept. It is a clear shift from animistic to deistic.
 
I thought it was already canon in the post Disney era that dark side crystals were synthetic? I'm pretty sure that's what it says in one of Hildalgo's TFA books.
Pretty sure that was old canon and probably slipped through since no other rules on the subject had been put forward yet. I remember that version coming up pretty early on in the old EU, long before there were "kyber crystals" and every Jedi making their own lightsaber was finding different kinds of gems every which place to use for them.
 
Honestly I prefer this to the old version where lightsaber crystals could be just about anything from normal rubies and diamonds or even synthetics. It means you really do need to be a force user to make one properly and they're not just lenses, they have a power unto themselves.

Just to be clear though, this is not a brand new idea. They showed the crystals calling out to Padawans as part of their trials on Ilum and again with Ezra in the Lothal temple. They resonate with the force. It's not the force being wilful so much as reflecting the will of the user. It also makes Rey's vision scene in TFA make a lot more sense. Also note that the idea of force crystals goes *way* back to some of the early drafts of Star Wars and featured prominently in 'Splinter of the Mind's Eye'.

The dark siders turning their crystals red is a neat way to express that the dark side is a violation of the natural order. They're forcing the crystal to go against it's purpose, because they're agressive, while light siders work in harmony because they're passive.

The idea that they're not synthetic also lends credence to the theory that Luke's green crystal was originally Qui Gon's.
 
I do wonder if Luke's crystal will be addressed at some point in the new canon. Could be Qui-Gons, though I though Obi-wan gave that to Anakin before Anakin made his own. There is also a slim chance that Luke's green crystal was Ezra's from Rebel's Season Three (why Ezra's new saber is now green is unclear since his first once was blue, and the crystal might have survived).

I can guess that Anakin managed to pocket his original crystal after his first saber was chopped on Geonosis. Though it wouldn't be out of line to fine a new one. I expect Obi-wan had to do the same since I don't think they ever recovered either of his earlier lightsabers (the one kicked by Maul on Naboo, and then one taken by the Seperatists at Geonosis). Though there would have been a surplus of lightsabers in the arena following the battle with over 150 Jedi dead on Geonosis.

Anakin's old crystal calling out to Rey might be interesting, as the Crystal(s) are declaring its her saber, or it things she is the best way to get back into a hand of Luke's. Still over a year before we get something like a clear answer on that one.
 
I do wonder if Luke's crystal will be addressed at some point in the new canon. Could be Qui-Gons, though I though Obi-wan gave that to Anakin before Anakin made his own.

Is that from any of the new material, or from an old EU story? Either way, it's possible Anakin gave it back to Obi Wan after he built his own.

There is also a slim chance that Luke's green crystal was Ezra's from Rebel's Season Three (why Ezra's new saber is now green is unclear since his first once was blue, and the crystal might have survived).

Ezra's crystal did indeed survive the hilt being destroyed as it was clearly visible amidst the debris. Whether he grabbed it before going after the holocron is as yet an open question, though it would be the simplest explanation since another trip to the Lothal temple is obviously out of the question.
Not sure how or why a crystal would change from blue to green though. A sign of his changed nature perhaps? But then why did Anakin/Vader's saber remain blue? Perhaps the change is something only happens when the saber and crystal are first constructed.

For a second I wondered if Ezra pocketed the ancient Jedi cross-hilt he picked up (which was green bladed), but looking at the scene he sets it down on the ground right before the Inquisitor shows up. If he grabbed it again later, we certainly didn't see it.

I can guess that Anakin managed to pocket his original crystal after his first saber was chopped on Geonosis. Though it wouldn't be out of line to fine a new one. I expect Obi-wan had to do the same since I don't think they ever recovered either of his earlier lightsabers (the one kicked by Maul on Naboo, and then one taken by the Seperatists at Geonosis). Though there would have been a surplus of lightsabers in the arena following the battle with over 150 Jedi dead on Geonosis.

Clearly the Jedi do keep a hold of spares as both Obi Wan & Anakin were thrown a hilt during the arena rescue. However, I would suppose that if a Jedi is to have a blade that's truly an extension of their body and will, then they'd probably either go back to Iilum or do as Ahsoka did and "reforge" (for lack of a better term) an old crystal in a new hilt.

Ahsoka did mention in the novel that she had previously visited Iilum three times. Once during her "Gathering" ritual as a youngling and again as a padawan when she chose to make herself a second blade and of course as we saw the third time when she escorting the younglings with Yoda.

Anakin's old crystal calling out to Rey might be interesting, as the Crystal(s) are declaring its her saber, or it things she is the best way to get back into a hand of Luke's. Still over a year before we get something like a clear answer on that one.

The way I'd choose to interpret it is that Anakin's old crystal isn't calling out to her in the sense of a thinking thing, but rather resonating to her presence. It "knows" he because the force transcends time. The crystal itself is just a conduit and a mirror.
It's functioning sort of like an un-collapsed wave-function, showing her one possible future. It's also probably no coincidence that it cried out to her in her own voice as a child. Self-reflection is a recurring theme with force visions and insights.
 
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lightsaber_crystal

Even in the old EU (which that article I linked is from), the crystals were connected to the force. Not in the way they are in the new canon, but the force was a part of it.

"The crystal is not, by itself, the power source of the weapon. Like the Force user, the crystal is attuned to the Force. Without that attunement, the crystal is just a rock. And while a non-Force user could probably ignite and wield a lightsaber, provided the crystal was properly attuned to the Force, all that lightsaber would be for him is a shaft of superheated plasma. But for a Jedi, the lightsaber becomes more: it is a manifestation of a Jedi's connection to the Force."
―Jaden Korr
 
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lightsaber_crystal

Even in the old EU (which that article I linked is from), the crystals were connected to the force. Maybe not in the way they are in the new canon, but the force was a part of it.
Like a lot of things in the EU, it varied quite wildly depending on the source. Sometimes the crystals were "special", sometimes not. Sometimes they were very rare, other times a normal gemstone would do or even anyone with a pressure oven could manufacture one. And sometimes you just need a set of precision tools to align it and others only a force user has the insight and intuition to properly align the facets and focusing lenses to create a stable blade.
 
The colour choosing thing is dumb though. They could keep the colour chosen via the force, just make the crystal they find already be the colour
 
The colour choosing thing is dumb though. They could keep the colour chosen via the force, just make the crystal they find already be the colour
It's already been shown in both TCW and Rebels that the crystals are clear in their natural environment. That was kind of the point: they're indistinguishable from the surrounding ice and other minerals until the right Padawan was able to overcome their trial and feel the force, which is when the crystal revealed itself to them. Or rather they were able to feel it through the force, which prompts the change in hue.

Still not 100% clear on the exact meaning of the different colours beyond "red=dark side". I know George had a meaning in mind for the blue and green sabres which he sited when Sam Jackson asked for a purple blade. But I don't know what those meanings were. Of course he got his purple blade anyway, and we've since also seen Jedi with both golden/yellow and silver/white blades. The former seem to be exclusive to the Guardians while the latter have only been seen in the possession of Ahsoka and Master Tera Sinube. So far only Mace has had a purple blade AFAIK.

I know the various games (pen & paper & video) have assigned meaning for the purposes of a class based system, but I wouldn't take that as gospel.
 
I prefer the concept in KOTOR.

*Lightsaber user casually strolls into a crystal cave*
"Oh, this looks like a cool-ass color. I'm gonna stick that shit in my lightsaber. Fucking rad."
 
Also, if dark side users can't use normal kyber crystals, why was Anakin able to use his Blue sabre when he went all Dark Side in EP3?
 
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