#weekofsteven

[sagebaileyspeaks]

​I know I'm in the minority here, but Rose / Pink is a terrible character. Not terribly written, but a character who's actually a terrible person. 

In the very beginning I, like everyone else, idolized Rose and figured she must've been this great person who stood against evil as the ultimate good. But yeah no Rose / Pink is a piece of shit. I know people really started sympathizing with her after we went to Homeworld and found out how she was treated among the other Diamonds but when it came down to it Pink took all of those horrible abusive experiences and basically replicated them on Earth only this time she was in charge. 

I absolutely feel sorry for Pink and what she endured on Homeworld but even with the context of abuse in place, starting a rebellion within her own colony and faking her death is a bizarre course of action. Maybe the Diamonds wouldn't have listened to her. Maybe they would've pressured her to go through with her colonization. But you created an entirely new persona and lied to thousands of your own soldiers. You lied to Amethyst, you lied to Garnet, you lied to Greg. It needs to be said that being abused does not excuse being a selfish person who manipulates people. 

And that's what Rose ultimately was - a selfish person. I don't get the sense that Rose actually cared about the Earth and its inhabitants (see: We Need To Talk, Your Mother and Mine) being on Earth was just more fun to her than being a Diamond. She wanted to explore, have relations with organic life, give birth to a human, almost everything Rose did was about fulfilling her own needs. Including forcing Pearl to lie so that no one would turn on her. She created a whole new being who would have to fix her mistakes.

Every piece of trauma that our beloved Gems have faced is because of HER. 

And something good (Garnet, Steven, etc) coming out of a messed up situation does not negate that there was a messed up situation. What's worse is that in this class system of Gems, Rose left Homeworld, came to Earth and then created a new hierarchy and put herself on top. She made herself out to be the voice of the oppressed, the liberator of the working class instead of being honest to her subjects and using her position of power to say, "This is wrong."

Greg fell in love with a lie! Garnet and Amethyst believed in a lie! Bismuth was imprisoned by a lie! The only person who knew the truth was Pearl and knowing that Rose was Pink Diamond makes all of Pearl's love and dedication feel...wrong. Rose literally OWNED her. Pearl was programed/trained to do whatever Rose wanted and she led Pearl to believe they were in a relationship! For thousands of years, Pearl thought she was in a loving relationship with her OWNER and Rose took advantage of it by all but promising they would be together. 

It's hard to look at this character with anything but disdain knowing how selfish she was. I honestly don't know that anything she ever did was genuine and not self-serving in some way and I am so glad that we're finally moving away from focusing on her.

[squashmongler]

The Question.

[sagebaileyspeaks]

My feelings for Pearl are complicated

I did not go into Steven Universe loving this character. In fact of the core Gems, Pearl started out as my least favorite because she seemed like a neurotic know it all who was dismissive to Steven at best and rude to him at worst. 

Steven: I know I saw something outside of the stream

Pearl: And I know you didn’t.

Steven: Why is it so hard to just listen to Steven? You don’t care what I have to say.

Pearl: Steven you just don’t know what you’re talking about.

She was a huge dick to Greg

To Amethyst

To Garnet

She almost killed Steven twice

And it’s not that I ever hated her character - I just hated the conversations around her character that said because Pearl was suffering from depression or PTSD that she wasn’t responsible for being a dick. 

There were softer sides to Pearl, like what we see in “Coach Steven,” “Maximum Capacity” and “Steven the Sword Fighter” but for much of Pearl’s arc I thought she was petty. And this wasn’t helped by the fact that unlike most people, I didn’t find her obsession with Rose/jealously of Greg romantic because at the time it seemed like Pearl felt she was entitled to a relationship with Rose just because she fought by her side. 

Then this happened:

And this happened:

And I began to reconceptualize how I approached Pearl as a character. I’ll go into this more on Sunday when I celebrate the Diamonds, but long story short: all of Pearl’s trauma can be attributed to Pink Diamond. Suddenly her over-zealous loyalty makes sense, her heartbreak, her insistence that nobody knew Rose like she did, her resentment towards Greg and dismissiveness toward Steven. Her clinging to Garnet as a leader. 

She was all but promised a relationship by her OWNER, used, discarded, forced to LIE for CENTURIES. It doesn’t excuse Pearl’s earlier behavior but it certainly explains it. And while it’s easy to be annoyed as Pearl tries to find her own way, the context makes her a better character and I’m able to sympathize with her so much better now. 

GO PEARL! 

[sagebaileyspeaks]

It’s sad that Amethyst doesn’t have a SONG.

“It’s Over, Isn’t It?” perfectly encapsulates Pearl’s character: her thoughts, her feelings, her perspective on things.

“Stronger Than You” is basically the Steven Universe battle cry, as it is a statement of declaration not just for Garnet but for the fandom as a whole. 

But Amethyst has....”On the Run”? “Tower of Mistakes”? Maybe she’ll get one in the movie.

[sagebaileyspeaks]

Garnet: PERIDOT!

Peridot: What do you want?

Garnet: You can't just shove someone off of a roof!

Peridot: Why not?

Garnet: This is HUMAN. He isn't like us. He's fragile and soft.

Greg: ...hey, it's not like a six-pack is gonna save you from that height.

[sagebaileyspeaks]

Favorite Episodes of Steven Universe (in alphabetical order)

Alone Together (Season One, Episode 36)

Alone Together is such a visual episode. There isn’t much talking while the Gems try to teach Steven to fusion dance, Steven and Connie only exchange a few words before dancing, there’s no words in the song they dance to and Stevonnie doesn’t actually say too much. It truly feels like an experience where the audience is feeling the creation of this new person right along with the characters. 

Bismuth (Season Three, Episodes 20-21)

This episode was a can of worms. A new Gem who was apart of the original team, clearly coded as Black with more Black Panther/Malcolm X type views. Now knowing how this thing plays out, I know why the episode ended as it did. Even being so empathetic and compassionate, Steven can be very binary in his thinking about good and evil and you needed someone to challenge his perspective. “Shattering is wrong,” he says, “Mom wouldn’t do that,” he says...only to find out that Mom did do that. 

I really think that this episode more than any other altered Steven’s (and the Gems) perception of his mother. Bismuth is walking proof of her hypocrisy, her lies and her manipulation which is why Pink bubbled her in Lion’s mane and told the Gems she lost track of her. 

Putting the heavy stuff aside, I really love Bismuth’s design and how she interacts with the Gems. You can clearly feel the love (and later betrayal) in those relationships. 

Escapism (Season Five, Episode 28)

A lot of people hated this episode because it felt like a loss of momentum but to me, this signaled the calm before the storm. So much happens in “Change Your Mind” - action and dialogue wise - and in this episode, you just get to feel Steven’s desperation. They really need help, he is very overwhelmed and all odds seem against him. Hearing Stevonnie quietly sing “Escapism” in the background of Steven’s travels just cements these feelings of loneliness and isolation...and also the trio of Lion, Greg and Bismuth..it’s just interesting. 

Hit the Diamond (Season Three, Episode 5) 

Honestly. Every time you think Steven Universe has gotten as gay as it can get, you have episodes like this that not only has a lesbian couple playing baseball but has another character openly comment that they’re flirting. It’s never been done before and I’m not sure that another show will ever do it. 

It Could’ve Been Great (Season Two, Episode 23)

Life and death and love and birth and peace and love on the planet Earth. This is another episode that starts off super cute with a good lesson about taking a break and not working yourself too hard...and then it just spirals deeper and deeper into darkness. Peridot clearly isn't completely on the side of the Gems, she clearly still finds her prior means of life exciting and acceptable. In hindsight, Peridot is actually spot on about Rose Quartz, in that she did doom the planet and while I didn't want to see Peridot get her ass kicked by the Gems that scene, where you get close-ups of all the Gems faces INCLUDING Steven's - is just great. 

Jailbreak (Season One, Episode 52)

This was the game-changer. We found out there was a Diamond authority. We met Jasper. We got a fusion. We found out there had already been a fusion.  We got a kickass song, that to this DAY is basically the anthem of the show. And we got Ruby and Sapphire who in their five minutes of screen time gave us a glimpse into an epic love story. This episode has it all!

Marble Madness (Season One, Episode 44)

Steven and Connie reading! The goop hug! Peridot! There is so much going on in this episode but at the heart of it really is Garnet allowing Steven to be heard. Given that this is the second episode with robonoids, I have to assume that the reason Garnet goes with Steven’s idea is that she tells him in “Warp Tour”: I should’ve listened to you, you’re a Crystal Gem too. So this time she does listen and Steven was right but also very wrong. The Gems do learn that Peridot has a mission on Earth, but Steven asking Peridot questions has a few consequences down the road. 

Mindful Education (Season Four, Episode 4) 

I actually like the beginning of this episode more than I like its end. There’s a call back to “The Message” 

Garnet: Hold the phone. Now give the phone to me. 

And honestly, I just think it’s a great lesson for kids. I suffer from severe anxiety and after this episode aired I constantly replayed “Here Comes a Thought” because it helps me find my footing. It also helps my son when he feels frustrated at school or in situations he has no control over. So more for the song than for its content, I love this episode. 

Mr. Greg (Season Three, Episode 8)

The Crewniverse was able to fit SEVEN songs into an eleven-minute episode without it feeling crowded and that is an accomplishment in and of itself. I love that even though it’s a musical there actually is a point: Greg and Pearl (mostly Pearl) really needed to move past their relationship regarding Rose. We see what resentment did to Amethyst (Maximum Capacity is a trip) and it just wasn’t healthy to let those feelings continue to fester. Also “It’s Over, Isn’t It?” is absolutely stunning. It is Pearl’s defining song and tells us everything we need to know about her character. 

Serious Steven (Season One, Episode 8)

This is early Steven Universe and it’s just adorable. Steven is apart of the team but still not quite part of the team and is trying very hard to be useful, he’s still a kid and this is arguably WAAAYY to intense for him, but Garnet is there and it’s just sweet. 

Sworn to the Sword (Season Two, Episode 5)

Steven and Connie are so incredibly cute together. I love their jam song, I love that Connie's the one to learn to fight (I can't imagine Steven swinging that sword around,) "Do It For Her" sounds so sweet and motivational but it's also kind of dark? This is also the first time Steven and Connie really fight together and solidify themselves as a duo and I just love it. Quick note on the rewatch though: it seems like Pearl was trying to make Connie into a Pearl. Am I wrong?

The Test (Season One, Episode 38)

Everything about this episode: the setup, the pacing, the ending - is great. I love the levels the Gems create for Steven and I love that both parties never knew that they needed validation from the other. Steven reassures the Gems that they're doing great jobs as guardians, while Steven comes to understand that the Gems just want him to believe in himself and do right by him.

That Will Be All (Season Four, Episode 15) 

Honestly, it's the song. I do like the Famethyst and Garnet punching Holly Blue. But the clear highlight of this episode is having TWO Diamonds and hearing Patti Lupone singing "What's The Use of Feeling (Blue)?"

We Need to Talk (Season Two, Episode 8)

The intro to this episode with Steven and Connie is just adorable and Rainbow Quartz is awesome! But what I really like is that last part of the episode where Greg tries to fuse with Rose and they both realize that she doesn't completely respect him. She thinks he's fun and cute but doesn't necessarily see him as a complete person. I'm someone who really doesn't like Rose Quartz, but I have to admit that I actually do believe she was in love with Greg. I do believe that this is where she started to make an effort to be a better person and not just a Diamond playing with humans.

When it Rains (Season Two, Episode 18)

What I love about this episode was the pay off of Steven and Peridot's relationship, while her arc wasn't complete until "Message Received," "When It Rains" is when she first shows care for Steven. It makes sense as he was the first person she interacted with on Earth, he doesn't immediately attack her like the other Gems do. In fact every interaction after "Jailbreak" they've been like a set of kids. She asks him politely if the other Gems are with him, he tells her to have a great weekend, she does kidnap him but doesn't try to hurt him and he gives her back her foot. Seeing Peridot so afraid of something she's never experienced and then telling Steven not to go outside because she's worried about him is so sweet and marks a change in her character.

[sagebaileyspeaks]

While today is meant to be a celebration of Amethyst, I wanted to backtrack a bit and talk about Garnet. 

As a character, Garnet is interesting because she doesn't have an exceptionally long history. While Pearl has connections to almost every piece of Steven Universe lore and Amethyst begins (and ends) with the Crystal Gems, Garnet is a character that technically existed in some capacity before the Gem War but isn't completely tied to her allegiance as a Crystal Gem.

Which is a fancy way of saying, Amethyst and Pearl are Crystal Gems because they have to be and for Garnet this is a choice. She isn't defined by her time on Homeworld (like Pearl) and while she was accepted by Rose she wasn't taken in like Amethyst. 

What I really like about her character though, is that Garnet represents something that we don't often see in children's media: a complete subversion of the "strong Black woman" trope. At the start of the series she was portrayed as a stoic, no-nonsense leader who was tasked with keeping the team from falling apart (see: Too Many Birthdays) but as we moved deeper into the series, she became a character who could be wrong, who could have flaws (see: Future Vision.)

You have an asexual Black character who refuses to be sexualized (see: Love Letters) is confident in herself, secure in her relationship; who has boundaries for what she will and will not tolerate and makes sure that those boundaries are never compromised for the sake of others. 

This is going to sound weird but I think one of my favorite Garnet moments is that scene in Joy Ride where she doesn’t realize Steven is in Peridot’s pod and he curls himself into a ball thinking he’s going to be struck by his Square Mom. 

She is clearly so terrified she might have harmed this cinnamon roll and actually listens to The Teens when they tell her that Steven is stressed out.  

And that’s another thing I really love about Garnet. 

Because of the reveal that Rose was Pink Diamond, I really do think that Pearl’s earlier protectiveness/dismissiveness of Steven was because she both 1) believed that Rose was somewhere still inside Steven and 2) knew that Steven couldn’t know the extent of her powers. Amethyst wasn’t a maternal figure at all (which I’ll talk about more in my Amethyst post) but Garnet always gave Steven the benefit of the doubt (which is how they learned about Peridot, the cluster, etc) and made him feel valid. 

I could actually talk about my love for Garnet all day, but let’s leave it at: she’s the Square Mom with the BEST songs and my love for her is unending. 

Also, these two adorable dorks:

[sagebaileyspeaks]

This is one of my favorite moments with Amethyst because while Garnet may know that they aren’t perfect guardians to Steven, Amethyst is the only one who’s able to recognize and articulate her own faults. The Gems probably shouldn’t be raising Steven and since Amethyst plays the role of a rebellious older sister she reads the situation perfectly.