"I took care of them:" Lightsaber Color Transformation and Identity
Clickbait Title: Why Ahsoka's S7 Lightsabers are Blue
Very vague spoilers for Jedi Fallen Order (and Rebels and the KotORs) below! The JFO spoilers are marked if you want to skip them.
When Luke changes from a blue to a green lightsaber, it signifies both a break from Anakin (and Obi-Wan) and his own personal transformation. (And also, the necessity for the saber to stand out against a blue sky during the movies' first outdoor fight.)
Ezra's change mirrors Luke's -- he also moves from matching his master's color to carrying his own. His experience at Malachor, while different than Luke's at Bespin, was equally harrowing. Both students' fledgling understanding of themselves as Jedi were shattered -- Luke can no longer want to be like his father; Ezra has seen the power of hatred.
The thing which gives a lightsaber its color is its kyber crystal. The movies wisely avoid this mechanism, but the cartoons, videogames, and Disney parks can't get enough of it.
If you buy the lightsaber creation experience at Disneyland, they have you meditate to pick your color. (I didn't go for this, though I did buy Maul's which was more expensive and twice as big. Hey, he's magic and I'm not.) I read a Polygon article that described the meditation as a surprisingly sincere spiritual experience -- a real connection to a specific color. And I watched a GameGrumps where they discussed buying extra kyber crystals on Etsy so that they could have all the colors. You can even change the color yourself with some YouTube engineering.
(I should also point out that as I was messing with my Maul sabers the other day, one light randomly turned green for a second. The integrity of these Disneyland saber colors is fragile indeed. Or maybe I am magic.)
But could an in-universe crystal change color? Luke and Ezra just got new ones -- did the new colors just happen to reflect their new identities? Or did the new identities alter the color?
And what if you were taking care of someone else's?
The KotOR games are the richest example of using lightsaber colors for storytelling. Jedi tradition during this ancient time had the colors signify your specialization -- blue for the hardy Gaurdians, green for the wise Consulars, and yellow for the Sentinels with their, uh, miscellaneous talents. You can change your lightsaber color any time you like depending on what crystals you find in caves or boxes (and they've got almost the whole rainbow out there), but the rules of meaning are written for you to follow or break. Still, you couldn't change any crystal itself until ...
Darth Mom Loves You
... KotOR II. You CAN change the crystal you find at the darkest part of the cave back home on Dantooine -- indeed, you must! As your mysterious mentor Kreia explains:
"That crystal is bonded to you. Through you it acquires its character and strength. And through it, your power is enhanced."
This bonded crystal changes in two ways: its color changes to align with your morality (black for a dark side player, white for a light side player, and three -- count 'em -- shades of gray), and its glow changes to align with your level (below level 12, it is opaque; above level 33, it "radiates an immense amount of light, almost blinding anyone who looks at it").
It is a beautiful way to keep track of your progress in the game as your Exile regains their lost powers and redefines themselves in a scary new world. Especially since you can only change your crystal with Kreia's help -- you need to talk to her about it, go to the workbench, remove it, and hand it over to her, trusting in her guidance and wisdom and the eerily powerful bond you share. (I, uh, love this game.)
She takes care of it for you.
The thing is, this crystal does not affect the color of your weapon. KotOR lightsabers actually mash THREE crystals up in there -- one for color, two for power. Changes in your identity affect your weapon in a tangible, yet invisible way.
Of course, a blindingly bright power crystal doesn't sound especially sustainable -- no matter how fascinating your arc or powerful your bond.
An ad from the brilliant Jedi Academy book series.
***🎸🤖Spoilers for JFO🤖🎸***
JFO is a far more aesthetically-driven game than the KotORs -- not just because it's a lot prettier, but because the rewards in chests only affect your appearance, not your stats. You can find new lightsaber hilts in the same places you can find new ponchos. But unlike the KotORs, you can't find new crystals until you've been sufficiently harrowed. And then, suddenly, it's the most thorough rainbow of all.
You begin the game with the ability to switch between blue and green, with no connotations attached except what you bring with you. But after Cal's own breakdown on Dathomir -- a more internal struggle than those of Luke and Ezra -- and its continuation and eventual healing on Ilum, we are finally inside the mind of a Jedi as they build their lightsaber -- and choose their color. Cal holds his battered crystal up to the light, and as he turns it, we see a spectrum of seven colors, all contained within one kyber crystal. You pick your favorite and go.
His rejuvenation in the Force gives Cal the ability to choose the color of his lightsaber. And he found this crystal in the darkest part of a cave from his childhood -- just like Exile and Luke found theirs.
So is that ... how it works? Do you get to pick? Does the color emerge from your broken little wizard soul?
If any Star Wars media was going to argue that, it would be JFO, where visual customization is so dear.
***🎸🤖End Spoilers🤖🎸***
Skip Here for the Ahsoka Theory
Why do Ahsoka's lightsabers change to blue? Certainly, she has had her own harrowing experience -- but it wasn't followed by any caves nor rambling old ladies trying to get her in touch with her spirit. Just a smug young man and a knowing expression between the two of them. It's cute as hell but why did he do that?
She didn't change them blue; he did. Did he switch her crystals? Why? Do they really need to be replaced like batteries? (The ancient lightsaber Ezra found on Malachor still worked.)
He changed them blue to put his own spirit in them. He missed her; he wants her to stay. It's a symbol of a bond, like the orange helmets -- but while the clones changed their armor to match Ahsoka, Anakin changed her sabers to match himself.
Possessive, yeah. Sweet, sure. Pitiful, maybe. Especially considering the sabers' fate. And that almost all the other Jedi who switch their own saber colors move away from their masters, not towards them (except Luke in his battle on Crait in TLJ ... I could gush about that too, but this is already so long! It's certainly a moving parallel to S7 Ahsoka).
What interests me about these silly crystals is the possibility that they change along with their Jedi. "This weapon is your life" -- then what happens if your life changes? Or if this weapon becomes someone else's life?
What if he changed them blue unintentionally? His proximity to the crystals, his hopeless wish for her return, for them to understand each other -- Darth Dad loves her, too. From her, he acquires character and strength. And from him, her power is enhanced.
Of course there are no caves -- these are city Jedi. The cave is the dorm room. Home is a skyscraper.
He took care of them. They were not better -- they were just his. And she was not.
