The Acolyte: How Does Osha Turn Sol’s Lightsaber Red?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Acolyte Season 1, Episode 8, “The Acolyte.”

The Acolyte Season 1’s eighth and final episode, “The Acolyte,” includes a memorable scene in which Osha makes Master Sol’s lightsaber blade change colors. So, how does Osha turn Sol’s lightsaber red in The Acolyte Season 1 finale, exactly?

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How Osha Turns Sol’s Lightsaber Red, Explained

Osha turns Sol’s lightsaber from blue to red through a ritual called “bleeding.” Bleeding involves using the Dark Side of the Force to corrupt a saber’s kyber crystal, inverting its natural Light Side alignment. It’s a key part of any would-be Sith Lord’s initiation into the Sith Order, and tradition dictates they take the kyber crystal they bleed from a Jedi they’ve killed. In Osha’s case, she unwittingly performs the bleeding ritual while fatally Force choking Sol. This suggests that Force sensitives don’t need specific training to bleed a kyber crystal; powerful negative emotions (and a strong enough connection to the Force) will get the job done.

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However, that doesn’t mean bleeding is easy. On the contrary, various Star Wars media have depicted the ritual as a challenging process since its introduction in 2016 novel Ahsoka. Due to kyber crystals’ innate connection to the Light Side, they sometimes resist attempts to reorient them. Even legendary Sith Lord Darth Vader struggled with his first bleeding ritual; he endured trippy visions and telekinetic feedback. Non-Sith Kylo Ren‘s bleeding didn’t go smoothly either, resulting in a cracked kyber crystal that generated a distinctly jagged-edged blade. That said, other bleedings – such as that performed by Dagan Gera in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor – more closely resemble Osha’s pain-free experience in The Acolyte.

Is Lightsaber Bleeding Reversible?

Yes, lightsaber bleeding is reversible – although this doesn’t happen often. But then, why would it? Since all the bled crystals in a galaxy far, far away belong to Sith Lords or other highly-dangerous Dark Side warriors, they’re not exactly easy to get hold of. Even so, Ahsoka Tano once healed two kyber crystals, both of which belonged to Inquisitorius member the Sixth Brother. Ahsoka inserted these crystals – now white, not red – into her second set of lightsabers.

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Luke Skywalker has cleansed a red kyber crystal before too. Still just a Jedi learner, Luke only barely managed this feat (like Vader, he went down a Force-fuelled rabbit hole for a while there). Indeed, the ordeal was so unpleasant that Luke ultimately used a different crystal when constructing his green lightsaber. High Republic-era Jedi Master Jora Malli also restored a bled kyber crystal to its original state, but with an unexpected side-effect. While Malli’s crystal turned white like Ahsoka’s pair, it also formed an intense (and not-fully-explained) bond over her. This wasn’t a bad thing per se, however, it was unusual.

All eight episodes of The Acolyte Season 1 are currently streaming on Disney+.