yâknow, a lot of folks point to Stevenâs line from the extended opening (âI will fight to be everything that everybody wants me to be when Iâm grownâ) as being sad and not a good, solid reason to be fighting because its not personal (âI will fight because people want me to be someone Iâm notâ). And thatâs definitely true. But by my observation, his isnât the only âreason I fightâ thatâs a little hollow.
Pearlâs âreason I fightâ is âI will fight in the name of Rose Quartz and everything that she believed inâ, which is really not personally relevant at all. Sheâs saying âI will fight because it was important to someone I care aboutâ, which isnât a bad reason of course, but its a little impersonal (what do YOU believe in, Pearl?). Which itself would be an issue but we happen to know from the narrative that Pearl has huge self-worth and autonomy issues. She needs validation and only finds worth through other people (Rose in particular) and we know this is something the narrative is addressing (âFriend Shipâ) so I donât believe weâre meant to just accept her reasoning as though thereâs no fault in it.
The line speaks to her current mentality, sheâs extremely, obsessively devoted to Rose and she really doesnât know any other way to be. I feel like as she develops, sheâll become less reliant on Roseâs memory and be able to find truly personal reasons for what sheâs doing that donât revolve around another person (âYou are your own Gem, you control your destiny. Not me, not Rose, not Steven.â)
Amethystâs âreason I fightâ is âI will fight for the world I was made in, the Earth is everything Iâve ever knownâ which is certainly not a bad reason. But personally the second bit really jumps out at me as âI will fight because I literally donât know anything elseâ. Unlike Garnet and Pearl, Amethyst never chose Earth over Homeworld. From what little we know, it seems Amethyst was born after the war started (and maybe even after it was over), sheâs never been off Earth, she knows nothing else. She never decided to fight against Homeworld and defend Earth, doing so was her only option and the only way she knows to be. She was never given a real choice in the matter and choice is a pretty big theme of the show (in my opinion) so I feel like this is definitely relevant.
Amethyst was âbornâ and essentially immediately drafted into a war she doesnât really fully understand. She does what she does, because sheâs always done it, its the only thing she knows. I feel like as the show goes on, sheâll learn more and more about Gem stuff (more directly, not just through Pearl) and will be put in a position where she actually has to choose between Earth and Homeworld. And sheâll choose Earth, of course, but it will be because she WANTS to, not because its the only option she was given.
The only character whose âreason I fightâ line is actually really solid is Garnet (âI will fight for the place where Iâm free, to live together and exist as meâ). I know thereâs a lot more going on with Garnet than we know but âI will fight because here I can be together and am actually allowed to existâ is a pretty solid reason to be fighting.
Garnet will certainly be getting development but I donât see her reasoning changing, except maybe broadening to include genuine concern for the Earth?
So, yea. I know some people think Stevenâs line is out of place, but I donât think it is. imo, these lines are all meant to set up character growth. Theyâre setting up the characterâs mental states now and a season or two later, if they do another extended opening, I feel like their reasoning will be a lot more solid and more personally relevant.
Thatâs just my take on it though.
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