THAT WAS THE MOST PRECIOUS THING EVER HOLY FUCK Also: SECONDED SO HARD. There's no Big Important Moral, there's no unfortunate implications...The Answer is just a pure and simple love story, and it's portrayed in exactly the same way a het love story would be portrayed. And unlike so many fictional queer romances that I've seen, there's no big tragedy to it either. It's so triumphant and happy and just...fuck, guys, I'm so happy about this, I'm legit tearing up a little (my girlfriend outright cried at the episode herself for the same reasons).
ALSO CAN I JUST Spoiler: a spoiler just to be safe GARNET'S FIRST FORM WAS BEAUTIFUL HOLY FUCK THE SPLIT TONED HAIR AND ZIGG_ZAGGED OUTFIT IS SO GORGEOUS AND REALLY GOOD AT ILLUSTRATING HOW AS A FUSION THEY WERE REALLY NEW AND NOT THAT USED TO EACHOTHER YET AND HHHHH???????
Spoiler Also looked noticeably like Stevonnie, hmmmm also holy fuck that "so/um" exchange. so fucking adorable. best take on the "after first sex awkward pillow talk" trope I've seen I was wondering if there might be something like this behind Garnet's "welcome to Earth" to Peridot in Back to the Barn
Something I found interesting Spoiler: Pearl Thoughts At Blue Diamond's side, there's a Pearl. She doesn't talk and barely moves, but she's still drawn in more detail than most of the other incidental characters. And I'm wondering why that is - to contrast with our Pearl, I think? To show where she started, and why her becoming so much more than a decoration - becoming a fighter strong enough to take down proper soldier Gems - is such a terrifying rejection of their order.
Spoiler: more pearl thoughts it also might be another hint at the Rose Diamond theory because... this pearl was fairly fancy, just like crystal!Pearl. the chiffon, the hair, the bodice... it all makes me think that she was shown in so much detail because this is quite literally where our pearl started out. At the side of a diamond.
Spoiler: thing I didn't like I hope the whole "don't question this" is foreshadowing for the nastier parts of Rose. It horrifies me to see any kind of curiosity getting discouraged.
Spoiler: Pearl She was described as Rose's "terrifying, renegade Pearl" so I'm willing to bet she was either Rose's Pearl specifically from the get go (and the amazing awful implications that all of this implies) or she was already a renegade who happened to side with Rose. I think evidence points to the former if you go with Pink Diamond theory and Blue Diamond clearly has a fancy Pearl. ....I wanna see Yellow Diamond's Pearl now :o Other thoughts: BLOOD KNIGHT PEARL. BLOOD KNIGHT PEARL. YEEEESSSS. she originally used swords instead of her spear? Other than that, no more spoilery talk other than it was the cutest episode that cleansed my soul, and yelling and flailing "THIS!!!" at all of your posts that have already talked about queer romance.
OK so here is my Pearl Weapon Theory Once, there was a Pearl, and she had a little weapon - all Gems do. Except Pearl's was just a little spirally wand, not good for any kind of fighting. Maybe it could make some sparkles, whatever. But then the revolt happened, and she needed to fight, she wanted to fight. So she made herself - or stole, or somehow got - a sword, or multiple swords, maybe even from the same place Rose got her permanently-existing sword, and stashed them in her Gem. And then she started using them to fight, and got really really good at it. And then there was a battle - and she lost all her swords, or couldn't get them, or whatever. So she pulled out her original weapon, her little useless wand - and learned how to change it. To make it a spear, and then how to use it to fire blasts, and how to fight like a real warrior Gem.
HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT I watched it and then I immediately watched it again. That is so awesome. That is so... everything. All the words. I can't even.
Spoiler Well, it was followed by "you are the answer" (and by "you" it was herself and her feelings, the most important of which being the love they have for each other) I don't think it was meant to squash curiosity so much as "don't worry about it" which is something a lot of kids can relate to. Especially since I think their relationship is really symbolic for being gay, and a lot of kids who have different genders and sexualities that they have never heard of before and didn't even know existed can feel a lot of anxiety and confusion. and if not, well, this isn't the first time Rose has done something wrong. Like how she treated Greg and his feelings before they talked it out.
I think maybe she didn't know her weapon yet. Why would a Pearl be encouraged to find her weapon? Steven didn't know his weapon from birth and it looks like Peridot doesn't either, so why would Pearl? And in Gem Glow, Pearl has a kind of complex way of summoning her weapon that might have taken her a while to find. That might be intentional in the way she was built -- compare how simple it was for Amethyst, who was built to be a soldier.
i love how disney this episode was - despite, of course, not being made by disney. like, i think it's the first official queer love story i've seen that hits all those notes, really. it's a classic, happy, kid-friendly, sometimes kinda cheesy love story - and a queer one. just yeah, wow, i don't think i've seen anything quite like this before.
OH ALSO Spoiler: Further Design Thoughts Blue Pearl's design seems specifically set to contrast to Blue Diamond's? Like, Blue Diamond is wearing a long skirt and long sleeves and that veil thing, very little of her skin is exposed. But her Pearl is basically wearing a swimsuit and a sheer skirt. Considering how Pearls are made-to-order and customizable (BPearl has BD's colors everywhere, and Peark's got pink hair and pink leggings this time around) I wonder what we're supposed to take as a clue towards Blue Diamond's character?
maybe i'm jaded from lots of people's "militaristic rose" theories, but her whole dialogue with garnet just made me feel like she was expressing her delight at finding the secret weapon to drive off the rest of the homeworld gems. the rest of the episode was awesome though.
yeah, rose did sound rather cold and tactical in this episode, i think. even with how the central idea of the episode, which garnet said she was hinting at, was that love is important.
Spoiler: re: your hopes here I think it might well be, actually. We're definitely starting to see the darker side of Rose bit by bit. Look at how casually she cut down Giant Ruby, after all--even laughing as she did so. It pretty clearly wasn't a matter of "I must do this, so I will, but I won't enjoy it" or what have you. She was outright enjoying that fight. (So was Pearl, but Pearl's Blood Knight tendencies were already fairly well-known and it's become VERY clear that Pearl is a deeply fucked up person...and also someone who totally hung herself on Rose, which honestly makes Rose seem even darker if she was encouraging that degree of enjoyment from hurting others.) I don't think Rose is gonna be an outright villain, but she's definitely not some pure and perfect goddess like we're initially led to see her as.
though garnet and the rest of the gems', and even greg's (especially greg's) veiwpoints and portrayals of rose quartz are super biased. if this is the rose we're seeing even through rose colored glasses (hehe puns) i wonder what she was actually like.
This episode gave me some fuel for my theory that there is a triangular gem who is ranked above diamonds (and possibly a circular "queen"). Evidence before this episode: -the logo with the three diamonds is always surrounded by a triangle (and then a circle) -Lapis Lazuli has no diamonds on her clothing but she does have a triangle From this episode: -Sapphire had a blue diamond on her clothing, showing further possible proof that Lapis's triangle isn't just a blue diamond thing
