There are not many games with lore as deep as what is seen in Destiny 2, as Bungie has made a multi-faceted universe where each creature serves a purpose. While this logic is often attributed to the rules of the game set by the Gardener and the Winnower, the saga of Light and Dark has seen many players rise and fall in different ways, creating branching consequences in this complex world. One of the most important characters to appear to this date is the resurrected Lightbearer by the name of Crow, and while his importance is tied to who he was in his past life, it also transcends that thanks to the Awoken's ties with the Traveler.
The deceased Awoken Prince and brother to the Queen of the Reef, Uldren Sov, has always been a distant echo in Crow's life, with the Lightbearer sharing some traits - good and bad - with the infamous character that killed Cayde-6 in Forsaken. Destiny 2's Beyond Light moved things forward with Crow, making him a key player in the overarching story of the Seasons leading to The Witch Queen expansion, culminating in Season of the Lost. With everything he has gone through and everything he experienced, Crow is now the most likely candidate to take one of two crucial roles that have been vacant for a very long time - the Hunter Vanguard and the Traveler's Speaker.
Why Crow Would Make Sense as the New Hunter Vanguard
When Uldren killed Cayde three years ago, he also took something away from the Hunters at the Tower, and that's a capable leader who's not afraid to face mankind's enemies. Ever since Crow's reintroduction, many players have felt like he was going to have a story that built up to the moment when he would take that vacant position, and become the new leader for the Hunters. This remains a very plausible option, especially because Cayde's Dare stated that the one who killed him would also become the new Hunter Vanguard, and Destiny 2 is a game where such details are not easily forgotten and left behind.
With Crow being a Hunter this was always an option, but it seems even more plausible now that Savathun showed Crow who he was and what Uldren did. The guilt Crow might feel towards the Vanguard and what Uldren did to Cayde could be the catalyst to him becoming the new Hunter Vanguard in future Seasons, after he comes to peace with the man he was in his past life. Even if Guardians should never pursue the identity of the people they were before being blessed by the Traveler's Light, this experience might make Crow stronger and let him grow more confident.
Much like Uldren himself, Crow too was abused and treated very poorly before becoming friends with the players' Guardians in Season of the Hunt. He even found a mentor in Osiris who, unbeknownst to Crow, was Savathun in disguise all along. Uldren was abused and manipulated by Mara, as the events and lore tabs from Season of the Lost show, so it's even sadder that Crow had to undergo the same processes that weakened Uldren in spirit and mind over time. And yet, Crow has always emerged changed, a better person, after each of these events, showing that change is possible.
It might not be long before Crow becomes the new Hunter Vanguard, mainly because he has yet to process all that Savathun showed him about his past life. Some say this could lead to him taking a darker path towards Savathun and the Darkness, but it could also be that Crow's resilience and positive outlook on things allow him to not succumb to Uldren's same demons, but rather escape them.
Why Crow Could be the New Speaker in Destiny 2
However, there is also another role that could be very fitting for Crow, and that's becoming the new Speaker. While newer players might be vaguely familiar with Cayde despite his passing, many will likely not even know who the Speaker is and why this position has been vacant for four years now. As a matter of fact, the original Red War campaign for vanilla Destiny 2 is now gone into the Destiny Content Vault that came with Beyond Light, and in that story arc, the last Speaker was killed.
The Speaker was one of the most influential figures in the history of humanity after the Collapse, and at the beginning of it all, he received a mask that allowed him to commune with the Traveler. Many Speakers before him would dream and have visions from the Traveler, which would lead them to undiscovered paths and secrets the paracausal being wanted them to find. Crow has been having such dreams as well in Season of the Hunt, when Guardians would help him find the meaning of those dreams by following the Lightbearer's clues.
This eventually led to the Guardians reforging Hawkmoon after having communed with the Traveler, following a paracausal manifestation of the entity in the form of a hawk made entirely of Light. This hawk left paracausal feathers around, which the Guardians' Ghosts labeled as existing and not existing at the same time - potential energy that was the choice between action and inaction. That energy was transformed into action by the Guardians, guiding Crow towards the Traveler's Light and accepting his role of Lightbearer.
The Traveler even gifted Crow a paracausal ship, further indicating that there was a very strong connection between the two. If this connection has not been severed by Savathun's visions about Uldren's life, then it's very likely that Crow's journey may lead him to become the new Speaker in Destiny 2, reforging the last Speaker's mask as he did with Hawkmoon. This makes a lot of sense because Crow's role in the story seems to be that of repairing things - Uldren's legacy, faith in the Vanguard, and ultimately, faith in the Traveler's guidance.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.