Have you SEEN the leaked trailer?!
So I’m not gonna say that this is absolutely evidence for corrupted Steven theory, but it certainly doesn’t negate it, and it certainly suggests a potential internal conflict that I could easily see spiraling into corruption, if in fact Steven IS able to corrupt himself.
(I’m still solidly in the camp that IF Steven ends up corrupted, it will be entirely self afflicted.)
But let’s take a look at this, shall we?
Something has clearly set Steven off, here. Disturbed, perhaps? I’ve seen some people musing that this location maaaay be the human zoo. And then, from the color schemes, seemingly at the same place… he goes full Diamond Mode.
The floor ends up cracked.
I think this may be the first time this has happened to him, based on the visceral reaction here.
And then the second time we see Diamond Mode Steven, it’s out of self-defense. This pink glow seemingly overtakes his body under extreme stress, unlocks power he didn’t even realize before now that he had access to.
So, yeah. What we have here is new confirmation that Steven is indeed capable of tapping into the raw power we saw Pink Steven exhibit. But what’s really going on here?
From what little I can see, my weird-hybrid-biology theory would be that in this moment, Steven is more hard light than organic. And that this shift is what allows him far more energy output in regard to his powers than usual.
From our two glimpses thus far, it also seems to be very closely linked to emotion, specifically anger.
Anger isn’t something Steven’s prone to very often. He definitely values peaceful conflict resolution, and for the past 5 seasons, hasn’t really had enough self-esteem to get angry on his own behalf when he gets the short end of the stick in life. There’s a few moments where that’s not the case… Storm in the Room, the beginning of Steven’s Dream… but as the seasons roll on, it’s very rare. He begins bottling that all away.
And now, he’s starting to tap into the deepest recesses of his abilities… maybe not by direct choice… and all that anger for the hand he’s been dealt, all the ways he’s been mistreated, the weight of the galaxy that’s just been so rudely thrown upon his shoulders, without giving him so much as a choice… is boiling up right alongside.
I think Steven’s scared of himself. Of what he fears he’s becoming.
Of losing his ties to humanity forever.
Elsewhere in the teaser, we see Steven watching the tape his mom made for him, but he rushes to the TV and shuts it off when she’s at the point of saying “You’re going to be something extraordinary- you’re going to be a human being!”
Because… is that a lie?? Was he always destined to just… become more and more Gem-like as time went on? And if he can’t control his anger as well when he falls into this state, anger that he HATES having to feel, then what is he to do?
The vibes that I’m getting from this glimpse when it comes to Steven’s personal arc is a war between both sides of himself.
The more idyllic human existence he hasn’t gotten much of a chance to explore for himself at all (outside of being a Crystal Gem, what does he want for his life??), vs. the never ending reminders of his Diamond heritage, the sheer power he wields for better or worse, and all the forces that stand ready to oppose him and everyone he cares about.
There’s stress and fears and burden coming from BOTH sides of who he is now, and he’s going to have to deal with it sooner or later, or collapse inwards under the pressure.
And IF some of the ideas presented in the corrupted Steven theory are true, if Steven really can corrupt himself as a result of the sheer strain he’s going through, then the conflict hinted at here definitely stands as a valid reasoning for why that might happen.
