Anonymous: The parallels between 'Rose's Scabbard', when Pearl tells Rose that she will stay and fight on Earth for her and 'Space Race', where Pearl tells Steven that she would rather be on Earth with him, never get talked about... Do you think it's evidence that Pearl only sees Steven as an extension of Rose, or that it's actually showing that she sees him as his own person? What are your thoughts?

fandom has a habit of recontextualizing everything a character has ever done after a new and significant detail about them comes to light. it happened after “Jail Break” with Ruby and Sapphire, where it seemed like the fandom combed through every single one of Garnet’s actions to determine whether it was Ruby or Sapphire doing it, or how Ruby and Sapphire felt about it.

and that’s mostly harmless, I think, but the version of the recontextualization effect that happened after “Rose’s Scabbard” is extremely harmful.

ofc, finding out that Pearl was and still is in love with Rose, and that she believes that Rose is a part of Steven (…which…she actually is…), will recontextualize a lot of Pearl’s behavior. but there’s a fine line between appreciating how Pearl’s love for Rose informs her behavior toward/parenting of Steven and using what Pearl has said or done while in the thick of her grief to recontextualize every bit of affection, care, concern, love, pride in, etc. that Pearl has ever shown Steven as “really toward Rose, because Pearl doesn’t REALLY see Steven as his own person.”

would Pearl care for Steven if he wasn’t Rose’s son? I think we can all answer that with a pretty emphatic no…but the exact same thing can be said for Garnet and Amethyst.

none of the crystal gems really get involved with humans unless Steven has something to do with it: Garnet completely ignored Kofi when she broke his sign in “Beach Party”, and none of the crystal gems were interested in making amends with the Pizzas until Steven pressured them into it; Pearl openly mocks and behaves condescendingly toward Mayor Dewey and Ronaldo, and Amethyst joined her in making light of humans’ existential crises in “Keep Beach City Weird”; when the three of them had their way, they put up a fence to keep humans away from the temple–even when Rose was around.

so yeah, no. none of the crystal gems would particularly care for or about Steven if he was just another ordinary citizen of Beach City, but that’s the point. Steven being Rose’s son and having her gem were the point of entry for Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst to start caring about him–and while that remains important to them–it did not limit how they came to love him as his own person: as their teammate, and as their kid. Steven also widens the gems’ empathy, and not just for other humans either: Lapis and corrupted gems like Centipeetle come to mind.

but okay, back to Pearl:

my post-“Rose’s Scabbard” interpretation of “Space Race” is that it depicts the moment that Pearl becomes cognizant of the fact that her reason for remaining in exile on Earth–“Why would I ever want to go home if you’re here?”–no longer exists, and that she can act on that absence by building a spaceship to show Steven what she loves about the galaxy.

see, Pearl recognizing Rose’s absence also hinges on Pearl believing that Steven and Rose are two separate people. if Steven is Rose, then Pearl still wouldn’t have had any reason to leave, because “Rose” is still there with her on Earth.

her dream to explore the galaxy with Steven really is with Steven, not Rose: she wants to show Steven, she wants to teach Steven, she wants to experience all space has to offer again with Steven, who’s experiencing it for the first time, and bond with him through it.

but to follow up on that, the episode ends with Pearl accepting that she still has a reason to stay on Earth, even without Rose, because she has Steven.

Steven: I’m sorry I couldn’t help you go to space. We’ll get there someday. I promise.

Pearl: You know…I think I’d rather be here on Earth.

Steven: With me!

Pearl: Yeah…with you.

two versions of this exchange bookend the episode, and that’s done intentionally for contrast. at the beginning of the episode, Pearl is sad that she’s trapped on Earth without Rose to stay with anymore. her response to Steven reassuring her that she’s with him is supposed to sound strained, overshadowed as it is by her grief and wanderlust.



but at the end of the episode, please note that Pearl gently affirms her preference to remain on Earth, and that she also fondly reaffirms that she will be with Steven. these bookends illustrate growth and progress: Pearl was sad, but during the episode she realizes that she values Steven over making it to space, so she’s content to stay on Earth with him, even though Rose is gone.

as for “Rose’s Scabbard”…

the running theme throughout the episode is Pearl likening Steven to Rose, yet realizing that Steven isn’t Rose…

Pearl: Sometimes, you look so much like her.

Steven: …Really?

Pearl: …

…and trying to improve her relationship with Steven by sharing the secrets Rose confided with her and only her, and showing him how much Rose trusted her by giving him a holistic perspective of his mother as an individual, a gem, a leader, etc. (which, I think, hinges on Pearl differentiating between Steven and Rose.)

it’s only when her hopes for mentoring Steven have been dashed and she’s grieving Rose’s loss again/reeling from the blow to her perception of Rose’s trust in her not being total that she asks Steven, almost rhetorically, if he has any of Rose’s memories.

of course, she already knows the answer–which is why she creates the Rose hologram to act out the memory for him.

her wondering about this also speaks to all gems’ difficulty wrapping their head around the fact that Steven isn’t Rose. remember, when Jasper witnesses Steven summon his shield, she reflexively identifies him as Rose Quartz. Jasper cannot differentiate Steven from Rose because Steven has Rose Quartz. she wasn’t destroyed or shattered. she literally still exists right on Steven’s belly, and everything that the gems know about themselves as a species points to the conclusion that Rose is still there.

Pearl, of course, knows that Steven is an entirely different person…but she still struggles with the mechanics of it, and wonders if he can access her memories. and, I mean, if you think about it, a gem’s gem is their entire nervous system; it contains their entire “self.” so if Steven can summon Rose’s shield and inherited her healing+plant animation powers, then who’s to say that he can’t experience her memories? Pearl certainly doesn’t know, and neither does Steven. neither, by the way, do we. Steven is the first of his kind. for all we know he could very well access Rose’s memories, and even meet her. she does still exist, after all.

but it’s clear that Pearl differentiates between Rose and Steven:

Pearl: Everything I ever did, I did for her. Now she’s gone…but I’m still here. Sometimes…I wonder if she can see me through your eyes. Oh, what would she think of me now?



Pearl knows that Rose is gone, and that Steven is his own person. she only wonders if that hypothetical connection goes both ways: if Rose can still see her through Steven.

and to end the episode on the final note of that theme, comparing Rose and Steven only to have it reinforced that they are different individuals…

Steven: Well…I think you’re pretty great.

…Steven answers Pearl’s question–not for Rose–but for himself, and that’s what moves Pearl: the knowledge that, despite the way that she hurt him by lashing out, and despite the fact that he’s seen her at one of her lowest points…Steven still loves her, and believes that she’s worthy of love.

it’s an echo of what Rose showed her all those years ago, to be sure, but it’s made new in that it’s coming from someone else: Steven, who’s his own person.

Steven doesn’t have Rose’s memories; he may never know all the things Pearl did to “prove” her love. he isn’t Rose, who told Pearl proof was unnecessary and loved and accepted her for being herself in every way…but he still loves her, completely on his own…and it goes a long way to prove that Pearl isn’t broken or unlovable, because Steven loves her unconditionally.

so, uh, no…I definitely believe that Pearl sees Steven as his own person, even if his similarities to his mother cause some of her old issues and patterns to reemerge.

though at the end of the day, I think it’s a matter of interpretation: if you rewatch all the pre-“Rose’s Scabbard” content with the idea that Pearl can’t differentiate Steven from Rose at the front of your mind, then you will doubtlessly come to the conclusion that Pearl only cares for Steven as an extension of Rose…

…even though there’s a ton of content to suggest that Pearl loves Steven as Steven…which is what I choose to believe, anyway.

thanks for your question!

EDIT: OH, and one more thing that I forgot to add–please read oathkeeper-of-tarth‘s incredibly insightful post about how Pearl’s dream in “Chille Tid” demonstrates that her ideal fantasy involves running off to explore the galaxy with Rose…who’s visibly pregnant…which says a lot about how much she loves Steven, because she wants to be with them both.