Unpopular Opinion #3: The "Crossguard" Lightsaber is awesome

People hate this for some reason.

When the first teaser trailer debuted for the Force Awakens, two camps quickly formed around the perhaps inappropriately dubbed "crossguard" lightsaber.  Many people saw it as an impractical weapon because the "crossguard" could assumedly be sliced through by an enemies lightsaber, and because the risk of slicing yourself would naturally be higher than with a standard lightsaber

Before you go judging the "new" lightsaber from the Star Wars VII teaser, read this:

The first iteration of the "crossguard" saber

The "crossguard lightsaber" is nothing new, although it is incredibly rare. Those that have dubbed it the "lightsaber claymore" aren't far off in describing it's function. These have existed in Star Wars Expanded Universe, and are not some new gimmick. They are typically wielded with both hands, however the lightweight nature of lightsabers enable the wielder to add variety to their fighting style.

The crossguard blades allow for both offensive and defensive surprise maneuvers. Critics of the blade say that the guard blades are useless because the hilt portion of the guard can be sliced by an opponent's lightsaber. That would only be true if the crossguard blade was NOT made of any one of many lightsaber-resistant alloys, including, but not exhaustively enumerated, phrik alloy, cortosis, and Mandalorian Iron. You can safely bet your money that this Sith constructed the crossguard with one of those alloys.

As far as the USEFULNESS of the crossguard is concerned, it's use expands just beyond protecting the wielder's hands. The blades could also be used for surprise, and incredibly lethal guard strikes. Sith are widely known to employ more exotic light weapons because of the nature of surprise. The standard lightsaber is typically understood to be the best, most versatile option, but an inexperienced opponent would be easily bested by a double blade, shoto, shoto guard, pike, light whip, or dual phase lightsaber simply because they are unfamiliar with the weapon. The same can be said of the crossguard saber, and this foreignness falls right in line with Sith proclivity.

The wavy, or unstable blade is always bad news

Analyzing one step further, the blade itself is more interesting to me than the hilt. If you pay attention to the blade, you can see that it has a wavy, almost fiery effect. That, and the sound it makes when activated, indicate that the lightsaber was assembled using an imperfect synthetic red crystal. This particular variant of the synthetic crystal emits an "unstable" blade, which allows a stronger blade, but surrenders mobility and flexibility that compact or compressed imperfect blades offer.

... Not sure why I made this...

In summary: This Sith is a brawler, a dark-side Aragorn. His style will employ savage two-handed strikes, an aggressive style that will require to keep his opponents on the retreat. While this particular lightsaber is indisputably inferior to other alternatives, this one will provide an immense element of surprise for our antagonists who will have to face him.

May the Force be with them.

Unpopular Opinion #2: The Prequels are Awesome

If this doesn't get me some hate, I don't know what will.

Feel free to cast stones

I'll start first with looking at why people hated the Star Wars prequels to the degree that they do.

Jar Jar Binks... Nobody's favorite.

Public enemy number one is Jar Jar Binks.  He's ubiquitously hated by nearly every Star Wars fan in existence.  He's annoying, and his entire species is possibly a racially insensitive portrayal of Jamaicans.  Sure, I can agree that the story arc would have been improved by his removal, but I'm compelled to counter with this:

Yep, Ewoks.  Tiny people in bear costumes.

Ewoks are a nearly equally ridiculous concept.  I don't have much more to say about them, other than to draw the point that the prequels and the original trilogy both have some issues when it comes with devising compelling species at times.

Okay, next reason why people hate the prequels:

Hayden Christensen as Anakin/Darth Vader

This is a hatred I totally understand.  His acting wasn't particularly noteworthy, and much of his dialogue felt superficially contrived.  The main failing was that his character failed to live up to the towering standards set by the Darth Vader of the previous films.  Everyone watched eagerly in anticipation for the penultimate fall of who would be one of the most popular villain of all time, only to be disappointed with lackluster storytelling and painfully awkward romance.

While there is little that can be said in defense of these shortcomings, I would simply note that none of the events surrounding Anakin Skywalker come as a particular surprise to anyone.  Because the story of Darth Vader was told in the classic trilogy, people knew his ultimate fate, detracting from any sort of peril or climax that could be written.  In short, the "origin story" of Darth Vader was doomed to fall short of fan expectations from the beginning.

Boy, sure didn't see THIS coming...

Enough negativity about the prequels... I felt like I should at least field the elephants in the room, so to speak.  So here's what absolutely ROCKS about the prequels:

Simply this.

In George Lucas' original iteration of the lightsaber, his intention was that the weapon would be too heavy or unwieldy to be used in any other way than with both hands, and with only a single blade.  With Return of the Jedi, the coolest thing we see with a lightsaber is that it can be hurled at an opponent.  However, with the prequels, it (officially) introduced a whole new world of saber combat.  Saber forms, stances, styles, colors, and everything else were all wildly expanded to include everything that we now see today.  Without the prequels, we might still be watching the inflexible, muted fighting style we saw in A New Hope.

The Jedi Code, a mantra to live by.

The prequels also introduced us to the wider Star Wars universe for the first time.  For instance, the Jedi and Sith orders were explained and explored in ways nobody had ever seen before.  It was an exciting time for expanded universe enthusiasts because it gave us a critical insight into the daily workings of these archaic orders.  Beyond that, the worlds and races were also vastly expanded to such painfully structured detail that it gave the impression that the Star Wars galaxy is simply limitless in possibilities.

Darkness... The likes of which never before seen.

One of the final reasons I enjoy the prequels and what they have done for the Star Wars universe is development into an appeal for an older generation.  The original had decent family appeal, with some moments of peril and excitement.  Episodes 1 and 2 were exactly TOO family friendly, with the extremely goofy antics of the Gungans and the unbearably unconvincing love story.  With Revenge of the Sith, the tone changed.  It wasn't as "safe" from evil as the previous movies.  The first scenes in the movie depict cold-blooded murder, and eventually the massacre of children and Jedi everywhere.

I'm no fan of murder, but the story grew up, at roughly the same rate I've grown up myself.  This blew open the doors in the Star Wars universe to allow for more perilous, dangerous, and compelling stories.  Nobody is safe, and sometimes the darkness can take temporary victory over good.  It makes for better storytelling, and a better medium overall.