So I’ve seen a lot of people talking about Pearl in Cry For Help and don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot to talk about there. But Amethyst is the one who stuck out to me in that episode, and I haven’t seen much talk about her. Now, I’m the last person who should be attempting to talk about this, but I have a lot of feelings so here we go.
In the first few minutes of the episode, I honestly thought it was going to be about Amethyst. What with Garnet refusing to fuse with her, Sardonyx being everything Amethyst isn’t and kind of rubbing it in her face, and Amethyst’s song about her guilt, the beginning established a theme of Amethyst lacking self-confidence, especially when comparing herself to Pearl, and given past episodes, I thought Cry For Help was going to go deeper into that. But then, when Steven and Amethyst went out to find Peridot, the whole episode turned around. It became about Pearl, her tricks and her insecurity. But Amethyst still stuck out to me. She understood what Pearl was doing immediately, obviously because she understood exactly how Pearl felt about fusing with Garnet.
Why is that important? Maybe I’m totally overblowing things, but I think it’s important to compare Amethyst’s and Pearl’s actions in this episode. Clearly, both of them have issues with self-esteem and feel stronger when fused with Garnet. Amethyst lost the opportunity to fuse with Garnet because of mistakes Sugilite made. She acknowledged that she had played a part in those mistakes, that she’d gotten carried away, and decided to try to earn the opportunity back. Admittedly, chasing down Peridot without telling Garnet might not have been the *best* idea, but she tried to prove herself honestly. On the other hand, when Pearl lost the opportunity to fuse with Garnet, and therefore that feeling of strength, simply because there was no longer a need for it, she lied and recreated the initial situation (probably increasing the chances that some Homeworld gem might catch Peridot’s message and decide to return to Earth).
Clearly, Amethyst wins out in this scenario. For once she is the bigger gem, worthy of greater respect. But here’s what really stuck out to me. Back at the start of the episode, Amethyst ends her song by asking if there’s anything she can do to make it up to Garnet. She desperately wants back into that position of trust, and given the events in the beginning of the episode, Amethyst probably feels lower than ever when compared to Pearl. Regaining Garnet’s trust when there’s *Pearl* there probably seems impossible. But then, Pearl pulls her stunt. Garnet is furious. To Amethyst, this should be a great victory. Garnet is angry at Pearl, not her. For once, Amethyst gets to shine, she gets to know that Pearl isn’t always better, and she gets to gain the position of Garnet’s Most Trusted, by default. It would have been the easiest thing in the world for Amethyst to just step aside, let Pearl fall, and reap the benefits.
But she doesn’t do that. Instead, she defends Pearl. Instead of standing clear of Garnet’s anger (no small thing), she puts herself in the line of fire. Why? Because *she knows how Pearl feels.* Even though she felt the same and acted differently, even though she’s been recently and painfully reminded of how much “better” Pearl is and could easily resent Pearl for it, she understands how Pearl felt and why Pearl did what she did, so Amethyst sticks up for her.
TL;DR: Amethyst finally has the edge on Pearl and instead of taking advantage of it, she goes and supports Pearl, and that is just super sweet and selfless to me
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