Why is Kylo Ren's lightsaber unstable?

In the world of Star Wars, there are few lightsabers as unstable as Kylo Ren's crossguard lightsaber; their shape, like flickering flames, creates their instability.

In the familiar stories of the Jedi and Sith, lightsabers are generally straight, and there are few lightsabers as ancient and magical and eye-catching as the crossguard lightsaber.

This unstable crossguard lightsaber is also only seen in the hands of Kylo Ren, with a unique blade that is both ancient and new. So why is Kylo-Ren's lightsaber unstable? Let's explore the story behind it.

The production process of Kylo Ren's unstable lightsaber

According to Star Wars history, the crossguard lightsaber first appeared in the Battle of Muskoka over a thousand years ago, and Kylo's crossguard lightsaber is like a variation of an ancient lightsaber.

The red kyber crystal was crafted by Kylo Ren when he was pursuing the dark side.

Usually, regardless of whether they are of the light or dark side of the Force, the shape of their blades is straight.  

However, during the manufacturing process, Kylo Ren's agitated emotions caused the crystal (Kyber crystal) of his lightsaber to crack, resulting in two additional blades on both sides of the hilt.

Due to the influence of his emotions, an incredible scene occurred, leading to a unique cross-shaped guard design on Kylo Ren's lightsaber.

The reason for Kylo Ren's unstable lightsaber

The only user of an unstable lightsaber created in the pursuit of dark power, originally named Ben Solo, is the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo. Throughout his growth, he was full of instability. Due to his longing for power and fear of the outside world, he took a completely different path from what his parents had planned for him.

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Kylo Ren grew up in a family full of heroic tales. His father was the renowned smuggler and Rebel hero Han Solo, and his mother was the important Rebel leader Princess Leia. He should have been very happy.

However, Ben's parents were constantly away, leaving him without much companionship during his growth. This sense of estrangement made Ben feel lonely from a young age and gradually developed a rebellious attitude towards his parents' "heroic aura". His childhood was filled with confusion about his own identity, while also being troubled by the Force talent of the Skywalker family.

To guide Ben Solo in mastering the Force, his mother Leia sent him to Luke Skywalker's new Jedi Order for training. Luke, who was prepared to train Ben well and saw great potential in the young man, detected a strong dark side inclination within Ben's heart, as if foreseeing a terrifying disaster (Luke's memory in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi"). Even the thought of killing Ben Solo to prevent a possible future catastrophe crossed his mind. However, under the influence of family ties, Luke dismissed this idea.

Unfortunately, this moment of hesitation was detected by Ben. He couldn't believe that his uncle would want to kill him and completely lost trust in Luke. Ben believed that Luke had betrayed him, and this incident became the fuse for his defection. Even before Ben was sent to Luke's Jedi Order by his parents, Snoke had secretly corrupted him through the Force, which was also one of the reasons why Luke sensed a powerful darkness.

Under the intense influence of Snoke, who constantly instilled in Ben the "dark legacy" of his grandfather Darth Vader and hinted that he was destined to follow in Vader's footsteps, Ben turned to the dark side and changed his name to Kylo Ren.His original family was like a broken kyber crystal, creating an irreparable crack that eventually manifested on his lightsaber.

Analysis line:

• Camp hostility: As the leader of the Resistance, Leia is the main enemy of the "First Order" led by Snoke. Snoke uses the Force to sense whether there are any members in Leia's camp who can be led to the dark side, planning to undermine it from within. He senses the potential and inner rift in Ben Solo (there is no one more suitable than Ben).
• Psychological manipulation: Snoke has long magnified Ben's sense of estrangement from his parents and his resentment towards Luke, gradually pushing him away from the light side. Snoke may have secretly observed Leia's movements through the Force. He uses the mother-son relationship between Kylo Ren and Leia to create conflicts, psychologically manipulating Ben to view his parents and Luke as "obstacles", resulting in the irreversible death of his father.
  
• Identity reshaping: Snoke gives Ben the new identity of "Kylo Ren", and requires him to wear a mask and use a red lightsaber, deliberately imitating the image of Darth Vader, further severing his ties with his original family, making Ben's path to the dark side irreversible.
  
  

How did Kylo Ren obtain his unstable lightsaber?

He used the Sith traditional ritual to gradually turn the blue kyber crystal he had as a Jedi apprentice into red by being tainted by the dark side. Kylo Ren knew that to have a powerful weapon, he needed to infuse negative emotions such as anger and pain into the crystal.

His emotions were in turmoil. Under the influence of various negative tags, the crystal, unable to bear the excessive dark energy, developed cracks, causing the energy output of the lightsaber to be extremely unstable. The blade showed irregular fluctuations and energy overflow.

To address the issue of energy runaway, Kylo Ren made structural modifications to the lightsaber:

Side blades: To prevent the powerful energy from destroying the kyber crystal, he added horizontal side blades (energy diverters) on both sides of the hilt. Through magnetic confinement devices, the excess energy is directed to the sides. This design not only disperses the pressure on the main blade but also avoids the risk of overall explosion due to the cracking of the core crystal.

When the red kyber crystal was inserted and the blade ignited for the first time, Kylo Ren felt the incredible power and instability of this new weapon. The crackling red plasma blade, unlike the stable laser swords of the Sith, was like a pebble thrown into a lake, with ripples that wouldn't subside for a long time, just like its current owner, who was unconventional and independent.

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Lightsabers reveal their imperfect stability and their compatibility with their masters. They sever Kylo Ren's connection to the light side and offer him a powerful future, like flickering flames in the darkness, illuminating the bits and pieces of the pitch-black path.

After that, this unstable lightsaber became a weapon that Kylo Ren always carried into battle. Under the command of Snoke, he led the Knights of Ren, a dark side military force that was loyal to the First Order and assisted it in suppressing the resistance.

Why did Kylo Ren never fix his unstable lightsaber?

Kylo Ren wields a flame-like cross-shaped lightsaber, his heart filled with struggle, conflict, and the pain of obtaining great power. Controlled by Snoke, he left his heroic family and took a step to break away from his past.

However, after Kylo Ren killed his father, he did not obtain the power and satisfaction he expected. Instead, his inner conflicts deepened. Although he had the power of the dark side, it did not bring him true satisfaction or inner peace. On the contrary, it made him even more lonely and confused.

During a pursuit, Kylo Ren met Rey. As she was in possession of BB-8 and the map to Luke Skywalker's hideout at that time, he captured her and took her to the Starkiller Base for interrogation. Unlike the torture suffered by other characters such as Poe Dameron, he showed a contradictory attitude towards Rey: he used the Force to invade her consciousness in an attempt to obtain the map information, but during the process, he revealed a certain curiosity about her and a hidden resonance. 

Rey's Force awakening and the Resistance's rescue

• Reverse mind-reading: When Kylo Ren attempted to invade Rey's consciousness with the Force, she suddenly awoke to the Force, releasing a powerful Force wave that instead read his memories. Buried within were inner conflicts and fears that triggered his guilt over killing his father and confusion about his own identity.
• Finn and Chewbacca's surprise attack: While Kylo Ren was focused on the interrogation, Finn and Chewbacca infiltrated the Starkiller Base, attempting to rescue Rey. They sabotaged the base's facilities and created chaos, distracting the First Order's attention. In the end, Chewbacca piloted the Millennium Falcon and took Rey to safety.
  
  

However. After his collision with Rey's Force, he exposed Kylo Ren's inner struggles and conflicts, and Rey saw his broken family as irreparably damaged as the broken Kyber crystal, the unstable lightsaber.

Kylo Ren's power was there for all to see, but he was defeated at the hands of Rey, who had just awakened in the Force, some might say that Rey had inherited the Sith Emperor's gift of the Force, and perhaps that was one aspect of it. Luke was able to detect the hidden darkness within him, and Snook was able to psychologically manipulate him remotely through the Force. Without a strong enough conviction, I fear Kylo will always be unable to repair his unstable lightsaber.

Analysis line of related characters: 

Finn was formerly a stormtrooper of the First Order. After witnessing the First Order's massacre of innocent civilians, he became disheartened and defected. After his defection, he joined the Resistance and became a subordinate of Leia Organa, forming close friendships with Rey and Poe Dameron. He is skilled in using blaster guns and participated in key battles such as the Starkiller Base, Crait, and Exegol. In "The Rise of Skywalker", Finn demonstrated his Force talent, sensing Rey's peril and assisting in the fight against Palpatine's Final Order.

Chewbacca, a Wookiee from Kashyyyk, is known for his loyalty, bravery and longevity. Standing over two meters tall and covered in brown fur, he was the co-pilot and close friend of Han Solo's father. Chewbacca and Han flew the Millennium Falcon together, participating in battles against the Galactic Empire and the First Order. After Han's death, he continued to support Leia and the Resistance.

• The Force Duality Effect: Finn's fate is the opposite of Kylo Ren's, and it looks as if the director purposely set it up like some kind of balance. From a young age, he was lied to and indoctrinated that Luke Skywalker was evil and destroyed their home; after learning the truth Finn, realised that he had been serving the darkness, and out of the light in his heart, he decided to change something, defecting and joining the resistance. The same as Kylo Ren is the camp of conversion; the difference is that one is self-selected (joining the light) and the other is under psychological manipulation (joining the darkness). It's as if the audience is being implied that no side of light or darkness can win, only balance, like the prophecy of the Jedi always looking to balance the galaxy.
  

• Family choices: even if Kylo Ren, tore apart the successful family, Leia, as a mother, didn't think much about blaming Kylo Ren. Chewbacca had sympathy and concern for Kylo Ren, the son of his comrades, as well as anger and helplessness at the enemy's stance. His presence is like a hint to Kylo Ren that everyone wants you back (just as Obi-Wan wants Anakin). Chewbacca relies on his actions to keep Kylo Ren from doing more wrong and from creating a more irreparable situation.
  

In "Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker", with Rey's help, Kylo Ren rediscovered his light side and ultimately chose to sacrifice himself to save Rey. This transformation not only affected Kylo Ren's fate, but also witnessed by Chewbacca, who saw Kylo Ren's redemption and growth.