*SU Spoiler* Never Ending Trauma
“Volleyball” was one of the best episodes in “Steven Universe: Future” premiere and maybe even the entire series franchise. We learned more about Pink Pearl’s past, the creation of Pearls, and got a new fusion between Pink Pearl and Pearl. The animation, story, and emotional rollercoaster was very well done in this episode. Most interesting of this episode was the affects of trauma and how it never goes away.
I stated in multiple previous posts that Steven cannot heal her scar. Reason being is the scar is psychological not physical. Although Steven can enter an astral projection state, he does not use it in this episode. We have seen in “Reunited” when Steven becomes an astral projection he can encourage and reason with people’s thoughts. It would not be surprising if Steven has control over that power in the two-year time skip. However, he did not use it for Pink Pearl’s scarred eye. The reason is because he thought the scarred eye was physical damage he could not fix and once hearing his mother was the cause he wanted to fix things quickly. “That doesn’t matter how it happened, what matters is finding a way to fix it.” This is unusual for Steven as he usually finds the root cause of the problem. He did not think it could be a psychological issue and instead goes to Pearl for help.
Pearl is explicitly salty with Pink Pearl. It could be because both were Pink Diamond’s Pearls and have different viewpoints. Pink Pearl is still obsessed with Pink Diamond while Pearl has moved on from her. Instead of Pearl being worried about Pink Pearl’s obsession, she is somewhat competing with her on who knew Pink Diamond better and who was the better Pearl. It was not until Pink Pearl tells the story of how Pink Diamond was the reason for her scarred eye did Pearl start fighting. Both had two different views of Pink Diamond. Pink Pearl portrayed Pink Diamond as an over-emotional child who kept throwing destructive tantrums and never changed. Pearl saw Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz as stoic and secretive leader with the ability to heal. Both only saw one side of Pink Diamond: one who changed and one who stayed the same. Pink Pearl and Pearl keep fighting about who Pink Diamond was until Steven gets angry and activates Shell protocol to rejuvenate both Pearls.Once the Pearls are trapped and about to be rejuvenated, Pearl apologizes to Pink Pearl and realizes she is still excusing Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz’s actions. Pink Pearl realizes she has done the same thing, is still in denial, and Pearl tells her it does not matter if it was intentional or accidental Pink Diamond still hurt her. Once she realizes she was badly hurt and wants the pain to go away she asks Pearl how she was able to stop feeling this pain and Pearl answers she has not stopped. This becomes important to both Pearls because it gives them an understanding of each other, and they can fuse.
Steven and Mega Pearl were able to shut down and escape the Reef and return to Beach City. Steven apologizes to Mega Pearl for not the problem not being fixed and the effort being wasted but Mega Pearl disagrees. “Your mother’s Pearls never had the whole picture. One knew your mother as trying to change, but she couldn’t understand why. The other never expected her to change at all. Now I get to understand everything. Now they have each other.” Once both Pearls had a full understanding of Pink Diamond, they understand their pain and can learn to move on.
This episode was very impactful and moving because it deals with many different aspects of trauma. “Steven Universe” has showcased the effects of trauma in different episodes and in the movie. However, “Volleyball” portrayed multiple aspects of trauma: trauma is never ending, intentional or unintentional people’s words and actions can cause lasting trauma, physical and psychological trauma can correlate, feeling pain from trauma is valid, fixing the problem and not finding the cause can cause more damage, intentional or accidental it is not okay to hurt someone, and no one is alone when it comes to trauma.
1) Trauma is never ending
Whether physical or psychological, trauma does not go away. We saw this not only with Pink Pearl but also with Pearl. In the beginning of “Steven Universe” we see Pearl was traumatized by Rose Quartz disappearance and never coped with her death until later in the series. However, once Pink Pearl shared her story of her scarred eye, Pearl fought with her about her experience with Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz. It was not until they were trapped did Pearl realize she was still making excuses for Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz’s actions just like Pink Pearl.
This is an iconic scene between the two because Pearl admits she never stopped feeling pain from Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz’s actions. Trauma can never go away, especially if it was severe. Even with help (therapy, groups, counseling, support, etc.), trauma does not truly go away. However, that does not mean it can ruin us either. Once trauma is recognized and one decides to seek help, can it be easier to cope with. Trauma is never ending and makes life difficult, but it does not have to control our lives. Like Pearl who always has her trauma with her has learned to move on with her life and become a better person. Trauma is a part of us, but we can learn to recognize it and cope in order to move on and live a better life.
2) Physical and psychological trauma can correlate
Physical and psychological trauma can be separate and together. In Pink Pearl’s case, the scar on her eye was related to her psychological trauma from Pink Diamond’s destructive powers. The crack started to expand when she was in denial of her trauma. “I’m sorry there’s nothing I can do. Her physical form shows damage, but her pearl is perfectly fine. This injury must have been so impactful that it continues to manifest despite the fact her pearl has been repaired.” Not even Shell, a machine designed to create, customize, and repair Pearls, could not fix Pink Pearl’s damage because it is psychological. However, Shell also agreed Pink Pearl’s physical form is damage. However, because the Gem was fine, Shell could not do anything with Pink Pearl’s scar and trauma. When hearing this, it reminded me of health care professionals who separated physical trauma and mental trauma. Although it has gotten better, there are still stigmatizations of people dealing with trauma and how it affects them both mentally and physically. An example of physical and mental trauma is self-harm. To really understand trauma, physical and psychological damage/stress must be considered together not separately.
3) Feeling pain from trauma is valid
Trauma is seen as fading away over time. Although it can be easier to cope with, there are still lingering effects that can be triggered. We all thought Pearl had moved on from Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz but after Pink Pearl realized she was hurt in the past and is still hurt, Pearl told her the pain never went away. Pain from trauma is recognized in the beginning but once others see you are getting help, the pain is presumed erased. That is far from the truth. Yes, trauma does become easier to cope with, but it never goes away. Much like Pearl who has gone through so much to heal her trauma still has pain related to it. Having pain related to trauma does not go away and it should be valid towards all aspects of healing from it, even if the person has been moving on for years!
4) Fixing the problem and not finding the cause can cause more damage
It goes without saying that fixing a problem without finding the main cause(s) is going to create more damage. Usually Steven is the one who wants to find the cause before fixing something but wanted to fix Pink Pearl’s eye because it was related to his mother. He does not tell Pearl the scar was done by Pink Diamond because he does not want to deal with his mother’s mistakes again. It is understandable why he wants to avoid the wrongs his mother has done. However, it makes him more focused on fixing the problem and rushes instead of taking time. It is not until the Pearls argue about Pink Diamond does Steven snap about his feelings towards his mother and causes damage to the Reef and triggers Pink Pearl’s trauma. Trauma takes time to recognize, process, and heal. Fixing someone’s trauma instead of finding the cause and taking small steps to help is does more harm then good and can even make trauma worse. It takes patience and time to heal from trauma.
6) Intention or accidental it is not okay to hurt someone
No matter the situation or reason, it is not okay to hurt someone, intentional or accidental. Pink Pearl kept saying Pink Diamond damaging her eye was an accident caused by a tantrum. She made excuses for Pink Diamond’s actions because she did not mean to hurt her. It is never ok to excuse someone from hurting the other person even if it was an accident. It was Pink Diamond’s fault for creating Pink Pearl’s scar but instead of telling her it hurt her, she blames herself for being too close. Everyone has done or said something to hurt the other person. Does that mean it doesn’t hurt the person? No. Even unintentional, actions and words can hurt someone. Even if the person who caused the pain apologizes; the damage is already done. Someone can be apologetic but meaning it and changing one’s actions and behavior towards the person to not cause more harm may help heal (not all the time). The point is it is never ok to hurt someone, accidental or intentional.
7) No one is alone when it comes to trauma
At first, trauma makes us feel alone. Especially when no one helps or help is not asked, the pain from trauma can be unbearable and lonely. This could be either the trauma is not recognized by the person dealing with it or is afraid of stigmatization or pain resurfacing. Pink Pearl was in complete denial of her trauma and does not recognize it until Pearl says she was badly hurt by Pink Diamond. Pearl was able to help her by stating she has felt the same trauma and has not fully recovered either. When fused as Mega Pearl, both Pearls were able to understand one another’s trauma. Having someone, especially when they have similar traumatic experiences, helps to feel less alone about the pain and suffering. It helps to process trauma from another’s experience and validates feelings of pain and suffering. It is truly wonderful how Pink Pearl was able to smile after all that ordeal and lean on Pearl who understands her pain. Having someone who understands your trauma is uplifting and helps process and take steps to recovery.
This episode showcased the harmful effects of trauma and how the pain never goes away. I have stated multiple times trauma is life-long, but it does not mean it is hopeless or never heals. It can be easy to heal once trauma is recognized and one asks for help. Thanks to the help of Pearl, Pink Pearl was able to understand she was traumatized by Pink Diamond and was hurting despite being in denial. Pearl and Pink Pearl now have each other, both experiencing similar trauma, and Pink Pearl can now start to cope with her trauma and move on with her life. Just because the trauma sticks with you it does not have to take control of your life. The episode showed Pink Pearl, Pearl, and Steven dealing with trauma dealt by Pink Diamond. But we all see in the end, with self-awareness and help, one can heal from trauma and learn to move forward. “Volleyball” portrayed trauma in a way that is relatable and powerful: trauma does not go away, but you can heal and move forward with the help of others and yourself. Seeing Pink Pearl at the end gives hope that one can move on with their life even with the pain of trauma following. Well done Crewniverse!
