The season finale of The Acolyte was just released on Disney+. In the episode, there is a detail that likely excites fans of Star Wars particularly. For the first time, we see how the Sith create their red lightsabers.
Attention: Spoilers for Episode 8 of Star Wars: The Acolyte follow.
How are the red lightsabers created? Normally, the Sith cannot form a mutual bond with the kyber crystals used to create the lightsabers. Instead, they must perform a ritual called “bleeding” to turn the lightsaber red.
To do this, they channel their negative emotions such as hatred, sorrow, fear, and pain into the kyber crystal. This process causes the lightsaber to turn red. And we see this process in episode 8 of The Acolyte series, which, unfortunately, is not well received by fans.
In the episode, we see Osha transform the lightsaber of the fallen Jedi Master Sol into a Sith sword with the characteristic red color.
She learns the truth behind her mother’s death and becomes so angry that the lightsaber turns from blue to red before her eyes. In this moment, she unleashes her connection to the dark side of the Force. This marks the first time we see how the bleeding process occurs in a series or a film. However, there have been earlier descriptions of how this process works.
The Acolyte is finished with its eight episodes. Watch the trailer for the series here:
This is how lightsabers are made in Star Wars
Where has the bleeding been described before? The process was first mentioned in a novel by E. K. Johnston with Ahsoka in 2016. The first visual representation of the bleeding, however, appeared in a Darth Vader comic by Marvel in 2017.
Darth Vader is fresh to the dark side of the Force in these comics. He is forced to obtain his own lightsaber. To do this, he defeated the Jedi Master Kirak Infil’a, took his green lightsaber, broke the crystal, and turned it red.
There are no naturally red kyber crystals, which is why the Sith have to create their red lightsabers through bleeding. Among the Sith, there was a rumor that a Jedi’s lightsaber had to be stolen for this purpose. But as it turned out, any kind of kyber crystal is suitable for bleeding.
What are kyber crystals? Kyber crystals are connected to the Force. They grow in caves on various planets in the galaxy. Due to their ability to conduct or amplify energy like laser or plasma, they are used in lightsabers.
The color of the lightsaber is determined by the character traits of the sword’s wielder. This is how several lightsaber colors like blue, green, or purple originated.
The Disney versions of Star Wars do not always adhere to the film series by George Lucas. There is a situation with lightsabers where The Acolyte deviates from the original: The new Star Wars series breaks a nearly 50-year-old rule by George Lucas
