Spoiler: Live reactions! Well, well, well. Still annoyed I can't go in COMPLETELY blind but... Aww everyone is cute to Steven LION YOU KITTY Whose shirt is that... Steven never wears any other ones. SO KITTYLIKE Well I was wondering how that was gonna go. ohno. SHE IS SO BIG ....that's an interesting title card. well technically Bismuth is a metal LION wow she took off the visor PEARL MISSED A GIANT FRIEND 'who do you belong to' 'NOBODY :D' oh my god they're all friends. ...oh boy This is gonna be a hard explanation. when is she going to see the painting wait lost TRACK of her? HOW? OK but you guys need to make sure Steven is ok with not being Rose again. Crazy-lace, is a kind of Agate right? Pix, snowflake? So does Bismuth have her own Gem weapon... Nephrite! Holy shit Pearl. ARE WE GONNA GET NEW WEAPON ...interstitials? Not yet, huh Volcano! Genius loci? PUNS So this is where things like Rose's sword came from? WEAPON UPGRADES! UPGRADES FOR EVERYONE! now make stuff for amethyst. She needs to feel not abandoned. And make stuff for Peridot! MAKE HER NEW ENHANCERS. AND LAPIS wait shit SHE POOFED LAPIS ...fair point Amy awww complimenting Amethyst WARFLAIL 'that's RIGHT' aww amethyst needed that though... battle? there's no battle coming... song ritual? HOMEMADE PIZZA amethyst you heathen but seriously I cannot WAIT for this girl to meet Lapis and Peridot. ...and for her to meet Connie too. awww Bismuth ...don't break the sword though. Connie needs it. So does Stevonnie. oh she was building a oh shit it's to BREAK GEMS it's to kill Gems. Unless you can't close the range quickly enough. Oh, Bismuth.... Steven's a healer, a protector. And this is what Rose said, right? ....oh shit. But it wouldn't have. It wouldn't have stopped the Diamond weapon. ...ah, she can't make a weapon from her Gem so she makes a weapon from herself. Bismuth you're going to actually KILL steven oh shit. ohno. throw it into the lava. Good.
Spoiler: spoiler episode of spoilers OH MAN I LOVE BISMUTH'S DESIGN AND VOICE AND PERSONALITY So fierce and powerful. Powerfierce. I love her. (I hope this doesn't alienate Amethyst even more since this is someone from before the war and someone who knew Rose and aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.) I know I saw someone theorize that Bismuth would be a weaponsmith or something. So good on them! They were so right. Also she can do lava too, like Garnet. CRAFTER GEM. It's nice that she can make weapons gems can use. Also nice that Amethyst got a little bit of attention, so good on Bismuth for recognizing that. HMM STEVEN are you uncertain about all this fighting and destruction???? (Me too a little.) "Usually they try and kill me!!" Well it's nice to see that Bismuth is as worried about that as every other gemmom. (Also that cartoon episode with INFINITE POWERR is a bit uh. Prophetic probably. Jasper or Bismuth do you think?) OH noooo. If the sword is designed not to smash gems then this is. WELP. OH DEAR. SHATTERED THE GEM. That sure is super horrifying. INFINITE POWERRRRRR. AAAA ROSE WHAT DID YOU DO Oh no. Oh no. Poor Steven oh no kiddo don't get hurt. Steven you're too good for this world. No Bismuth sweetheart you don't deserve this and neither does Steven ahhhhh. Rose is. Not coming out of this looking good huh. And Amethyst guessing there was a reason why no one had ever talked about Bismuth was pretty on the nose, huh. (I wonder if it's intentional or just a bit unfortunate that all of their big, burly gems (Jasper, Sugilite, Bismuth) have a uh. Mad with power thing going on. Or at least, an overt mad with power thing.)
Spoiler: spoilers HI BUFF BLACKSMITH WIFE bye buff blacksmith wife :( I am a little distraught that they rebubbled her right away...like, maybe they could have talked it out? She took well to the alternate 'rituals'.. maybe later? Also I'm really worried Steven is gonna get PTSD from that, like, we saw how Pearl being impaled by her holoclone affected him, and he just impaled another living gem. He had no choice, she was going to kill him, but dear god :( He needs all the hugs.
Spoiler: leaked ep spoilers My theory is that they're keeping her bubbled for now so Steven and the rest of the gems can talk about what happened to him and put together as much as they can of what they know about Rose and what Bismuth said, and put together a plan to talk things out with her. She's obviously very hurt and betrayed and it's going to take some careful handling to get her to come around. Poor woman. :( Steven needing time to process is possibly a part of it, too. And hell, he doesn't just have to process what happened with Bismuth, but the things he just found out about his mom. I think he needs to be in a stable place before they can let Bismuth reform and start to help her. edit: OH, I have a theory-- Spoiler: more leaked ep spoilers My guess for why Rose didn't tell the other Crystal Gems what had happened to Bismuth was because she didn't want to let them know about the weapon, for fear they would want to use it and turn against her for refusing it and bubbling Bismuth after poofing her. She was already fighting a war on one front; it would have been way worse if she'd had to start fighting a war with her own former allies, too. It doesn't explain why she left Bismuth bubbled, though. Maybe she didn't think she could get through to Bismuth?
Spoiler: spoiler spoilers that spoil Fair point, I didn't take that into account. And yeah, Steven definitely needs time to process. I think Rose would have been worried that the others would have supported Bismuth's idea, maybe especially Pearl? Given her 'it doesn't have to make sense, it's entertainment' response to the game, I think when there are real stakes she might have argued in favor of the weapon? And as well, her recounting of the war to Steven ages back, where she talked about the glory of the battle while Garnet was like: No. I'm babbling and this might not make much sense, I'm out of spoons though, sorry :C I'm glad Lapis wasn't there, I honestly think she would have dragged the whole temple into the ocean. If THAT Bismuth was the one who got her stuck in the mirror, and since the others are all crafters it's very likely, it would have been Bad.
Spoiler: spoiper AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I FEEL BAD FOR BISMUTH I hope she comes back and comes around in the end, but obviously she feels very betrayed and upset, and I get that. I hope she can come around in the end, because I LOVE HER
Spoiler: spoiler I'M TERRIBLE but my first thought on seeing her buffness was "I need to draw her and jasper wrestling", and then I watched the rest of the ep and my thought became "I REALLY NEED TO DRAW HER AND JASPER WRESTLING"
Spoiler You made plenty of sense, don't worry! And man, yeah. I remember the flashback of Garnet's when Sapphire and Ruby met Rose and Pearl for the first time and how bloodthirsty (so to speak) Pearl looked... yeah, I can see why Rose would have wanted to keep it a secret. It wasn't a very good way of keeping it a secret, but.
Spoiler: Today's ep, the liveplurk S҉wirlingFlight I already know a bit, saw the promo S҉wirlingFlight Man this game cube gets a lot of use S҉wirlingFlight Maybe the other reminders? S҉wirlingFlight Lyon looks so dejected S҉wirlingFlight Just give him a chew you S҉wirlingFlight Toy S҉wirlingFlight Steven your first mistake was exposing that the magical world is solid S҉wirlingFlight Interesting music at the episode title S҉wirlingFlight Pearl crying, Garnet putting down her shades, and Amethyst is loudly unimpressed by a mystery. S҉wirlingFlight "Who do you belong to?" "Nobody" and laughter S҉wirlingFlight Sounds like an old joke S҉wirlingFlight Bismuth's expression about the ziggaurat... Like she had something to only say to Rose S҉wirlingFlight Steven stop being sorry for not being Rose S҉wirlingFlight 5300 years S҉wirlingFlight Snowflake in particular S҉wirlingFlight Upper crusts huh S҉wirlingFlight Bismuth is offering the bravado Jasper might have if she were willing to stop being evil Vegeta... S҉wirlingFlight But a more team-oriented sort S҉wirlingFlight Omg the tinies at the transition S҉wirlingFlight Amethyst isn't passed about being unfamiliar with all of this S҉wirlingFlight Pearl is enjoying being mysterious S҉wirlingFlight Pearl is so pleased by this blast from the past S҉wirlingFlight Bismuth's music is a different sound. S҉wirlingFlight Nice propaganda poster at the confirmation re: weapons S҉wirlingFlight Every material weapon S҉wirlingFlight Bismuth likes bad puns S҉wirlingFlight Pack a punch, try a trident S҉wirlingFlight Amethyst is confiding to Steven S҉wirlingFlight Huh. Why didn't the others tell stories about the old gems? Trying not to seem too good of the dead? S҉wirlingFlight *too fond S҉wirlingFlight And why was Bismuth in Lion, where maybe Rose could've gotten her any time? Why the two cutaways of Bismuth trailing off, referring to that battle...? S҉wirlingFlight ...She sure lightened up after hearing Steven doesn't remember her. S҉wirlingFlight Even if it's a forced good mood. S҉wirlingFlight Do I smell a double agent...? S҉wirlingFlight Complimenting Amethysts weapon and giving her the chance to wreck shit S҉wirlingFlight Steven looks a little alarm. S҉wirlingFlight Ahh, she's more intense and powerful. Too much a present time sword S҉wirlingFlight "Most of the new gems I met try to kill me" and boy she doesn't emote much at that S҉wirlingFlight "Glad to have another chance" UM??? S҉wirlingFlight Another arena for important fighters to fight in... another spire for important thinkers to think in... S҉wirlingFlight Did she just say Rose was from earth??? S҉wirlingFlight "Just another quartz soldier made right here in the dirt" S҉wirlingFlight ....Oh no. S҉wirlingFlight He fights defensively, approves of fighting fair, tries to befriend gems.... S҉wirlingFlight So she's winning and suggesting he gets a weapon for shattering. S҉wirlingFlight Yeah that was not a happy face he made S҉wirlingFlight She... Is a lot more prone to insulting their enemy. Seeing them as not-people. S҉wirlingFlight ....Heh S҉wirlingFlight Shaded eyes S҉wirlingFlight "That's exactly what she said." S҉wirlingFlight "That's exactly what You said." And she looks ready to hurt. S҉wirlingFlight Damn, I should've thought of "extremist violence undermining what they stand for" S҉wirlingFlight "The breaking point would have changed everything. I didn't want to fight you but you left me no choice" S҉wirlingFlight Good damn it SU stop making the buff gems be aggro and unwilling to consider other options S҉wirlingFlight I want at least one of Jasper and Bismuth to join the team. :/ S҉wirlingFlight ...So What lies did Rose tell the others about Bismuth? S҉wirlingFlight And where did Rose bubble her? The battlefield, and the ziggaurat reference was the lie...? S҉wirlingFlight The gorge over the weapon was the truth...? S҉wirlingFlight "You can be anything you want. But some things, I won't let you be" S҉wirlingFlight ....oh man S҉wirlingFlight "...then you really are better than her" S҉wirlingFlight I live plurked on mobile so I could not hear responses. In purpose, wanted stream of consciousness. S҉wirlingFlight Opening on computer now. Spoiler: THIS ARGH GIVE ME BIG BURLY GEMS WHO DON'T GO MAD WITH POWER AND FIGHT AGAINST THE GEMS DAMN IT
Spoiler: But my biggest thing is... Who does Bismuth think they'd be liberating, if they'd used the Breaking Point and gone after Homeworld, shattering every gem who gets in their way? Because you can bet the Diamonds wouldn't be lining up to be in their path. There'd be a lot of foot soldiers destroyed, and for what? A gem who wants to break people for the sake of some ideal...?
Spoiler: I suspect... that she is just angry and upset at this point. she's tired of seeing her friends ordered shattered, and hasn't really considered that it wouldn't much hurt the Diamonds or anyone important on Homeworld to see foot soldiers shattered.
Spoiler I'm gonna make a gifset comparing 'who do you belong to' 'nobody!' From this episode and back to the barn. Or try to at least.
Spoiler Man, that kind of hypocrisy leaves me with a bad taste. Where people say "for the good of people!" when they don't actually mean the people, they really mean "because I'm hurt and angry!" Why say for the good of the people? Because the real answer doesn't sound good, right? To have the frame of mind to try painting it in a good light.... well. I guess that's how she was saying it to herself, too.
Spoiler: holy FUCK I think what fucks me up more than anything is the implications for Rose. The more we learn about her, the more she seems like...not villainous, but not exactly one of the good guys in the greater scheme of things? Like I'm seriously starting to think the whole "Dark Rose" theory has something to it. I mean, quasi-killing one of your allies and then, even worse given the context, lying about what happened? That's just...kinda cruel, in a way. And I love her all the more for it. I love that we're finding out that this character that everyone put on a pedestal had the potential to be downright nasty. I think, when the Crewniverse said this episode was a game-changer, that's what they were referring to. The Crystal Gems are learning things about their leader they never knew...and that they're probably going to wish they didn't know.
Spoiler yeah and... keeping prisoners doesn't hurt the crystal gems. A weapon like Rose's, then bubbling and sending back - why not? Bubbles last forever. And it wouldn't have changed the war, really. Gems were already being broken, and a very short range weapon that needs a charge up. In that time you could just stab them.
Spoiler but from her perspective she probably did think it was for the good of the Gems as a whole. yes, some would get shattered, but so what? they were following the Diamonds' orders anyway, they hadn't stopped to even consider what the rebellion was about (probably not realizing that the Diamonds were most likely flat-out lying about the rebels and their cause). in the end, the number of Gems saved, Bismuth probably thought or rationalized, would be greater than the number of those shattered. and the ones who were shattered, well, maybe it would be a blow to the Diamonds on the way to shattering the Diamonds themselves.
Spoiler: RIGHT??? I'm still not on team Evil Rose, but man oh man I have always been on team "You guys are seriously overidealizing Rose, she had just as many flaws as you, but since she was the leader her mistakes had way more repercussions, and since we know she kept secrets and told some of you what she thought you needed to know, and always did what she wanted to... Oh, you had better believe she manipulated you guys."
Spoiler: leaked ep to me it seems less "im hurt and angry" and more "from my point of view we were in a war just yesterday, and as the weapons maker i have the ability to cause less casualties for my side. this will insure victory." because part of being a soldier is learning to see the enemy as not people. it's a coping thing. soldiers wouldn't be able to kill if they were too busy considering whether or not the life they're taking is worth anything.
