I don't think we have too much to worry about. a show like this despite all the feels tries to find the good in everything, and i really think this whole arc will end on a happy note probably right at the end of the week.
And yeah, I have complete faith in the crewniverse. Things will get dark and sad, but it'll just make the happy ending that much more satisfying, I believe.
Oh and re: yandere pearl theory... I fully admit I'm into it just because I like the trope. I'm WAY into characters who try to be perfect and revolve their lives around a love interest snapping under the pressure, or just people doing terrible things (intentionally or not) in the name of love. BUT there's not anything concrete to support it and I'm not gonna be angry if it doesn't happen. Hell, I don't think this show could do anything that'd upset me at this point. Whatever theories end up being right, I'm on board.
There are a couple theories I hope aren't right (servant pearls and Rose Diamond, mostly), but even if they are I trust the crewniverse to pull them off well.
I stumbled upon a conversation some friends were having about Rose/Pink Diamond, actually, and there does seem to be some evidence in the show to support it. For whatever that's worth. Spoiler: pics under cut
Spoiler: Buddhism and spoilers for the episode Tanha is definitely a big part of it, yes. Everyone in the show is obviously tormented by it but Pearl sticks out the most in regards to it. She has a very unhealthy relationship with it and also with attachment. It also doesn't at all end with her either. It's affected others on numerous occasions, with this being the most recent example. The whole thing shows wonderfully just how dangerous pleasure can be. Pearl had fun. She was nice and strong and people approved of her heavily. Well, Amethyst was bummed and pretty meh about it but she did get approval from both Steven and Garnet. And that seems to mean a lot to her because Pearl has the self image of a depressed slug. Things were fun and Pearl got caught up in that and she fucking fucked up and used people because of it. Amethyst and Steven also messed up on some level by keeping so quiet about it until the last moment. While nothing they could have done would have stopped some degree of fallout, at the least more could have been done. Inaction can still be Wrong Action because it can be the absence of Right Action when it is standing in front of you. Garnet meanwhile let her temper get to her. While she was definitely justified in being upset she did basically bully Amethyst into fusing into Sugilite. And now everything is just sour and everyone is all being quiet and pissy about shit. Which makes sense but it's not fixing things and people are probably just going to grow progressively more upset.
Spoiler: ARGH MORE BUDDHISM Oh another thing is that I really like that Amethyst understood and tried to defender her. Yes Pearl fucked up and no Pearl's issues do not excuse her fucking up. But Pearl is a person who really needs help and Amethyst gets that at least on some level it seems. That sort of thing is important to me. Compassion is very important. And it is? Yay. I use many such descriptions. It is always slugs and snails. The poor slugs why are the all so depressed or dead or stupid.
The Pink Diamond theory seems incredibly likely at this point, though I'd laugh a lot if after all this fan speculation and foreshadowing that it turns out that Lion is Pink Diamond.
Spoiler 'Fragile and erratic'. Yeah. Pearl reminds me of my mom sometimes. Highstrung. Defines herself and her worth through the success of whatever/whoever she supports. Wants everything to be just so. Vulnerable to addiction. That's what got me about this episode. Amethyst realized so quickly what Pearl was after. Hardly a second or two of seeing Pearl on the tower, Amethyst's voice was full of recognition and resignation and worry. She recognized what Pearl was craving from fusion with Garnet. Sure, what Amethyst gets out of Sugilite seems to be more about the physical strength, the power and gleefully letting loose with it. For Pearl, what she gets out of Sardonyx seems to be emotional strength, the ease and confidence. Both of those fusions seem fearless, self-assured, doing whatever they find fun. Look how twitchy Pearl was, just before the confrontation. That looked so much like withdrawal and the almost relief of knowing she's about to get the relief of satisfying her craving. It was also nervousness, a slipping mask to hide her lies as she rushed Garnet along, but...I really see and feel something familiar there. Like Pearl was so relieved from the absence of her usual jittery insecurity that she never wanted to feel any other way again.
