How "Change Your Mind" Works
It is always such a miraculous thing for a television series to end on some of its best notes. Avatar: The Last Airbender ended with perhaps the most definitive series finale in television history, a two hour-long spectacle bringing one of the best animated series of the 2000s to a close that has yet to be matched. There are shows that come close. The Owl House is one, with its three hour-long specials acting as a 2+ hour movie finale. Gravity Falls is another with Weirdmageddon. Steven Universe has also made it up there as well.
The episode begins with a dream, soon revealed to be a recollection of Pink Diamond's previous time in the tower (both her and Steven were literally were princesses locked in a tower at one point), with Pink ultimately apologizing for her transgressions before morphing into an identity crisis for Steven. Interestingly, we see Steven confronted with a vision of the Diamond's sterilization beam before he starts morphing between Rose and Pink, and then a glimpse of White Diamond's eyes in the widescreen format. White's hold over Homeworld, perhaps even Steven himself, is strong enough to where the screen distorts itself by her will, encompassing only her. But this flashback indicates that Pink was only able to rebel upon taking the guise of someone different, likely lacking the confidence to stand up for herself. She couldn't love herself enough to fight as Pink Diamond. But Steven can, as himself.
The first Diamond to reconsider themselves is Blue, done by the five-minute mark of the episode. In the representation of the Diamonds' psychology, Blue is the Ego, or more specifically, the aspect of the Ego that regulates the incessant Id through emotional control and stability, through declaring sympathies only enough to where the shouting from below can stop. But therein lies her flaw: she assumes that her understanding of emotion, having dwelled for so long within her own, means that she understands that of others. She believes she's sensitive, for what else would her constant tears be for? Yet Steven points out that she was never truly sympathetic, never understanding, never a calming influence, especially towards Pink. She could never make anyone happy, because she always impresses herself on others, and never once did she care that others would have to repress themselves in turn.
"How many times did you lock her in here? How many times did you make her cry?"
Blue's emotionality, a rare thing in Gem society, a privilege that only Blue was able to express, imposing her grief onto the masses she ruled, provided her the capacity for sympathy, but Steven causes her to evolve that instinct into one of empathy.
"I'm doing it again, aren't I? ...And this is why you left, isn't it?"
Where Blue made concessions for Pink's grievances, what she instead produces upon interacting with Steven's confidence is an admission, an honest acknowledgment in a world where honesty is discouraged insofar as it might blemish the perfection to be sought after and perpetuated: "You were right to leave. [...] If you were happier on Earth, maybe this world was failing you." The irony of Aquamarine at the beginning of the season regretting how fusions become overly "sentimental," only for one of the Diamonds themselves to fall to that same affliction.
The second Diamond to reconsider themselves is Yellow, the might of the Gem Empire and the aspect of the Diamonds' Ego that forces the Id down below through the strength of rational thought, withholding them through chains of reasoning layered on so that no words might come out. When Yellow speaks, she ignores Steven to instead talk to Blue, but her repeat of the question at least shows an acknowledgment of his existence. From past episodes, we know that Yellow's insistence on maintaining the imperialist perfection of their empire covered over a vulnerability waiting to come out, hidden under layers of justification and ignorance of the truth, hiding what every other Gem on Homeworld feels: misery. Yellow is never happy, never fulfilled, always overseeing the next colonial project and projecting a confidence that inspires others only for providing a purpose without a reason except the ideology laid down by herself and White. Look at Yellow's face when she tries to disable Blue: she hates doing this, but continually makes herself believe that she has to, even when nothing comes of it except more expansion, more perfection, and more opportunities for Gems to suffer in silence. So Steven pokes a hole in the illusion, ripping open the tear we have glimpsed before:
"Does this look perfect to you?!" Why would Yellow want to kill her sister? What kind of perfection would support sororicide? Why fight for something that only serves to make you miserable, that destroys every opportunity for happiness?
And Yellow finds that her reasoning is flawed. She almost can't believe the tears are hers when they start coming.
As they're leaving, Connie points out that they could just leave and come back to Homeworld to try again, but Steven realizes that White wouldn't let them come back, and the corrupted gems would remain as monsters. Steven is fighting for a chance to remedy the harm done so long ago, and he needs the entire body of the Diamond Authority to do it. White will make sure that doesn't happen. But when confronted with the power of authority, it's helpful to have outcasts.
Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth remind the audience that force is a necessary tool to get the attention of authority figures, to protest, to demonstrate, and to use violence if necessary to make those heading the forces of society, secure and seemingly unapproachable in their ivory towers, listen to what has to be said. This episode does indeed act as a metaphor for resolving the conflicts within a dysfunctional family, but complaints seem to ignore that the subtext is actually quite literally the presented text: this is how the Gem Empire can be pacified, by trying to get the royal family heading it to change their minds. Yellow, Blue, and Steven force the mecha to its knees, for White to look at them, forcing an opportunity to where they can speak their minds at long last, that the oppression of Gem society, of the endless imperialism and repression of individualism, it only serves to stifle and harm the very components of the rigid, hierarchical clockwork world that the Diamonds previously professed so eagerly in favor of.
"I know my purpose isn't to be happy, but I find it harder and harder to enforce your rules when they make me miserable. When they make us all miserable."
White understands. The problem exists because of them, because of the faults of their selves. So naturally, there won't be a problem if there isn't a self to worry about, would there?
There is no arguing with White. There is only White.
One could complain about the rapidity at which the new fusions arrive, coming all at once instead of having appeared before. But these all serve as a refutation of White's doctrine, of individuality being an optional characteristic, of the self being an indulgence instead of a right, something to explore and love. Steven's connections with the Crystal Gems, his love for them is what makes them reform, what allows their selves to re-emerge with new forms, the combination indicative of contrast providing definition, all resolute in their commitment against the forces of conformity above them.
Force returns once again as a necessary option, resulting in the first appearance of Obsidian. One could make the argument that her form resembles that of Durga, the Hindu goddess of war, complete with eight arms wielding differing weapons, the aspect of motherhood dedicated to its protective force. But the volcanic black appearance and ostensible nudity can only indicate Kali, Brahman in its supreme manifest state, the ultimate reality of the universe transcending the binary of existence & non-existence, promising self-realization if given due reverence as a child would to a mother. She is time and death itself, an omen of change forcing itself upon the oppressive symbol of Western femininity refusing the possibility of anything other than its flawlessness. Compared to the sluggish movement of the Diamond mecha, neutered of two of its four component selves, Obsidian is a being of four wills of absolute control and purpose, power resultant from equilibrium, acceptance, and understanding. This is the wrath of the Crystal Gems, the wrath from which Earth was made their home.
Then White Diamond is disarmed with the Doom Crucible, and the Crystal Gems crawl in through the eyes (definite symbolism there), believing they are ready to face the consciousness that lies within.
White Diamond is a being that lacks a self, because she understands all and is all, so why would she reduce herself to being a mere individual? Why would she ever acknowledge that the parts of herself that she cast away are correct? Because that would imply that she's wrong, and she cannot be wrong, because she is all that there is on Homeworld. She is the Superego of the Diamond Authority, the representation of social norms and cultural rules, the very morality upon which this empire is founded, aiming only for perfection in conduct and in direct opposition to the chaotic tendencies of the Id, marked as nothing more than a monster to be kept in check. And now, the monster has the audacity to come to her front door.
One interesting thing is that White characterizes Yellow and Blue:
"Poor Yellow. Her impurities absorb all the Blue in her light. She's so strong, but so weak when it comes to Blue.
Ah, and Blue. Her impurities soak up all the warmth in her spectrum. She thinks she needs you, Pink.
As for me, I am certain I don't need you. After all, I'm ever color of the light."
That last sentence is notable, because it is the first time in the series, in fact, in the entire time we've known White, that she's actually referred to herself in the first person. She's being somewhat vulnerable, simultaneously acknowledging herself as an individual yet refusing to consider that she cannot be everything. God is everything and something, too, so why can't White?
Then we start the final trial.
"It's a pity the way you bring out the worst in others. See how you've encouraged their deficiencies? It's written all over their Gems: Insecure. Dependent. Obsessed."
Ironically, for someone who sees all and knows all, she remains blind to the change that these characters have undergone, their growth into better selves beyond those flaws. But that doesn't matter to White. Character development is something that must be eliminated, because difference is a hindrance to perfection. She refuses to consider the existence of change, the very idea of things becoming more than what they are, because that would imply that things as they are now, under her guidance, are insufficient. Wrong. White cannot be wrong, so change cannot exist.
Then comes the more insidious part of the dialogue, White deconstructing Pink's motivations.
"Do you understand why you encourage their flaws? I know why, Pink. You like surrounding yourself with inferior gems. You enable their terrible behavior, so you can be the best of the worst."
The worst part about this section is not that it's supposedly proving Steven's empathy as something selfish, repeating that old argument against altruistic behavior, but that this might have actually worked on Pink. Pink hated herself, so much so that originally she became someone different, someone new on earth just to escape it all. Deep down, Rose's biggest fear was that she was no different at all than when she started her journey, that she hadn't grown. White's argument is framed in such a manner than the onus is now on Pink, on Rose, on Steven to refute it, that there isn't something selfish about all this kindness and compassion, that there isn't something despicable underneath driving empathy. "Prove me wrong," she says. And Steven admits, "Even if it was true, you're not talking about me," allowing a possibility to take hold. Because now all White has to do is negate Steven's existence.
"You're wrong! I'm not my mom!"
"But don't you know things about her that you couldn't possibly know?"
Here is where White's omnipotence re-enters the scene. Of course she knows about Steven's identity crisis. And she uses this to her advantage: with the lack of proof towards the impossible, White encourages doubt. Steven is so similar to Rose already, having tried to live up to her example for so much of his life. What if it wasn't just emulation? What if it was recovery? This doubt retroactively supports White's argument: if it really is Rose, if it really is Pink within Steven, then White is right, and this altruism, this kindness towards the outcasts and the rebels, it's all just a selfish desire to stand out, to be the best of the worst. This, in turn, supports the current argument: if Steven's kindness is indeed selfish, then it really is Pink in that gem. So White decides to take initiative, and provide proof that she is, once again and for all time, correct. To be different is a flaw, kindness is an egocentric instinct, and Steven is nothing more than someone else's mask. The facade is over, and Steven can stop pretending like any of this actually matters.
Steven is near-death after having his gem pulled out, like a shell without a core to support it. One last piece of evidence in White's favor. She's right.
Except that she never was. It was always Steven. God sees a miracle, and is confused by how it could exist without her knowledge, without her consent, without her allowance. HOW?
Steven's desire to reunite with himself subtly proves White wrong once again: if he's just a shell for something else, why does he want? How can he have a will if he's only existing for someone else?
White becomes angry, and demands to know how this could happen, how something so beyond the confines of existence as she defines it, as she has established for everyone for eons, could have the audacity to be right in front of her.
"What is this? Where's Pink?"
"She's gone." There it is. The confirmation. Rose died. Pink died. Of course she did. How could it be otherwise?
"What did you say?! Answer me!" Answer me correctly. So, following Bismuth advice, Steven roars, screaming the truth.
"She's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNE!"
This is how the third Diamond falls.
Pink Steven is the true Id of the Diamond Authority. The destructive power of an alien being equivalent to a god, with shields that entirely rebuff White's attempts to force herself onto him, to conform to the standards she sets, able to bring White herself to her knees, holding back only so much as to not hurt Steven, grimly determined for one thing only, one of the most basic human desires: connection. Laughing with joy that only serves to mock White further, the two Stevens refuse into the one person they have always been a part of, that they could only be: Steven Universe.
White throws a tantrum, refusing to accommodate this new reality into her accepted view of existence. Pink cannot be gone, she cannot be this. People like Steven can't exist, because she won't allow it, so it can't be true. And yet it is. But it can't be. Yet it is. BUT IT CAN'T!
"You're just acting like a child!"
"...I am a child. What's your excuse?"
To refuse the reality of this world, that people will be different beyond how we expect them to be, that existence itself serves as proof alone of these wonders of humanity, and to try & suppress these truths, these passions and experiences that refuse to be contained any longer - THAT is childish. THAT is what every prejudiced person is, what every homophobe and TERF and fascist alike all are: a child, throwing a tantrum at a world who refuses to bend to their will. How fucking pathetic is that? How embarrassing that must be. How embarrassing for White.
And in recognition of that truth, of this overwhelmingly obvious flaw now displayed to all of Homeworld for all to see, she loses. She isn't a a paragon of "proper femininity" like she's supposed to be. She's imperfect. She's undefined. She's ruined.
"If I'm not perfect, then who am I? If you're not Pink, then who are you?"
"Y'know, if you just let everyone else be whoever they are, maybe you could let yourself be whoever you are, too."
"But I'm supposed to know better, to be better, to make everything better!"
"You can. But first, you're gonna have to leave your head."
Steven promises White something she doesn't have: an identity. Who is she beyond these ideals? She doesn't know, and before now, she didn't need to know. But now that these ideals are flawed, she's promised a chance of becoming someone.
The Diamonds were never redeemed. They were proven wrong, and changed their minds as a result of this inescapable truth. That queer people exist. They are not a fad, they are not a lie, they are not a facade. They are real, and that's enough to prove any authoritarian ideology wrong. So why believe in it at all, when you could believe in something that makes you happy to be alive?
The Diamonds come to Earth, and with the combined power of the Diamond Authority, of an institution now directed at attempting to heal the damages they have inflicted on those under their governance, the corrupted gems, after several episodes of monsters and buildup, are finally healed. This is what proper restorative justice looks like.
White Diamond's face has often been used to claim that she's "redeemed too quickly." This isn't her joining Steven. This face is saying "Well, if it makes you happy..." She's uncomfortable doing this after remaining a supreme leader over all Gems for countless eons, and she's only doing this because she's been so supremely humbled by Steven. She doesn't really care for these Gems. She still cares about primarily herself. But now she also cares about Steven, or at least what he wants as a fellow Diamond, as the only being who ever proved her wrong.
The final song of the episode tells the message well:
I don't need you to respect me, I respect me
I don't need you to love me, I love me
But I want you to know you could know me