Isn't it nice Amethyst finally got to meet other gems ( bc she only ever knew the crystal gems), and also it was gems ALSO FROM earth, FROM *her* kindergarden, who were all Amethysts and jaspers. And unlike Jasper Jasper they treated her like family instead of like trash.
Ever since Crack the Whip and Steven vs. Amethyst, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how Amethyst feels she belongs with the Crystal Gems, with her friends, and in the world.
When Amethyst first comes into existence, she’s alone. Everyone is gone, and she pops into existence with only a rock - and not the sentient kind - to keep her company. She doesn’t know her purpose, she doesn’t know what she is, and she doesn’t know why she’s here. She doesn’t feel bad about it, though, since she’s never known anything else - all she knows is the silence and solitude. She’s okay with it, for now.
Along come the Crystal Gems, and with them come Rose. Finally, some other people! She has people around her and they’re friendly and they love her and they accept her. Her relationship with Rose is always what gets to me the most, though. While around them, she learns of what a gem is, what Homeworld is, and what an Amethyst is, albeit, through the revised lens of the Crystal Gems’ perspective. Rose, though, is different. Despite Amethyst knowing now what she could have been, Rose reassures her that she is perfect, just the way she is. There is nothing wrong with her, and she believes that. But then Rose is gone.
Without Rose, she’s left wanting for the emotional support that the Quartz gave her. Pearl and Garnet can try all they want, but they just physically can’t compare to the love that a gem who was made to love was able to give. They don’t have the capacity to give Amethyst the support she needs. She had Greg in the past, too, but... their friendship is in a rough spot at the moment. When confronted with her inadequacies in the face of the newly realized Homeworld threats, she begins to doubt what Rose told her more and more.
This all comes to a head in Crack the Whip, where she’s defeated and, frankly, humiliated by Jasper. She isn’t shattered or captured, thankfully, thanks to heroic efforts on the part of Steven, Connie, Lion, and Stevonnie, but that in her unhealthy mental state, that only serves as further kindling for the fire of insecurity that Jasper kindled. It had been building for months - years, even - but it was here where it was the most obvious. This was the breaking point.
Then, Steven vs. Amethyst happens. The two titular characters argue over who is the “worst” Crystal Gem, in a combat context, and come to the conclusion that they’re both the “worst”, and share in this conclusion a camaraderie. This is a decent remedy, and even allows them to trust each other enough to form Smoky Quartz and defeat Jasper in combat in a later episode, Earthlings. This is a huge victory for them, even if they don’t actually do the poofing! Still, the detriment of Jasper’s words lingers, and without a solid support system, they fester.
This is why I’m so thankful that Amethyst, in the leaked episodes, was able to meet other gems, who have shared a lot of the same experiences she has, and who offer her respect, love, and acceptance. The famethyst are so much like her in so many ways, and don’t care that she’s shorter than them. She’s their sister! They’re just glad to see that she made it out of the ground okay. For the first time in a long time, I think Amethyst was able to believe - truly, honestly believe - that she had people who understood her, and I think that’s something she, more than anyone, needed and deserved.
