On Rubies (Part 2 of 4)

From here on, I’ll be delving into some character analysis and speculation for the Rubies we’ve seen in the show. I have an analysis on what I believe Rubies’ roles were on Homeworld here (Part 1) and I’ll be writing with that in mind, but it’s not necessary to read before the next few posts.

With that said, the names I’m using for the Rubies come from this post by Rebecca Sugar where apparently Steven names the Rubies (and it’s just adorable).

We know old Homeworld was really big on uniformity. The Rubies we see in The Answer had identical uniforms, but in Hit the Diamond, there’s room for variation.

Even among Army, Eyeball, and Leggy, there are differences in the style of their necklines, the length of their shorts, even though there would be no practical reason for it. These three don’t have their uniforms hindering their gems at all. I’ve mentioned more than once in the past that in lieu of becoming more efficient, Homeworld may have a little bit more leeway for individuality now, because aside from looking the part, it’s incredibly important in their utilitarian society to get the job done and if minor changes to a very recognisable uniform is what it takes, then they’ll probably let it slide. Additionally, having Ruby soldiers this far down from the top could mean that they’re able to slip through the cracks of enforcement a little, allowing them to deviate slightly from other forms of uniformity.

I feel as though this is why we’re able to see a little more distinction in these Rubies than we did in the Ruby Guards from The Answer. And it’s the same trend we see between Blue and Yellow Pearl.

So I’d like to look into these personalities and do a little more character analysis based on their gem placement.

1. Doc

I have a feeling the name comes from Doc of the seven dwarves from Snow White. Because Doc is the only one with glasses, in the same way Doc here is the only one with the visor (another form of eyewear).

What we know about Doc is that she seems to have the most authority in the Ruby Squad. I mentioned in the Part 1 post that it appeared very much as though Doc led the search and rescue mission for Jasper. She was the one giving the mission objectives, most clearly, the ones to search the barn and the one to leave for Neptune. And the Rubies listen to her.

Additionally, Doc has the visor, which could be interpreted as a sign of individuality and by extension status. This puts her a cut above her squad members, albeit it might not very far if we factor in that Homeworld has a gem type-based stratification system. One other thing to note is that her outfit is adjusted to have her gem prominently displayed. This may be because of weapon summoning, but I’m leaning towards showing their gems are an integral part of their identity. More often than not we’ve seen Homeworld-originated gems like Lapis or Rose display their gems in full-view even though the rest of them is covered up. Lapis in particular would benefit from not having her most vulnerable section displayed that prominently, but she still does.

It’s long been theorised that having more room for individual expression is part and parcel with higher rank on Homeworld. And for me this simply means that there was a means for a common soldier to differentiate herself on Homeworld in a way that merited an increase in rank.

Because Doc knows she’s in charge. Look at her body language.

Her first instinct upon their arrival is to stand on the ship looking over everyone else. “Let’s fan out and search the area!” She feels comfortable questioning the things her squad mates say. When Ruby says they can’t search the barn, she immediately says “Why not?” She reminds them all of their mission; she’s the one keeping track of how many Rubies there are “I think there’s more of us than usual.” When Ruby misses, Doc starts to rebuke her, as though her team’s performance was her responsibility.

As a leader, she’s on the right track, even though the execution is what some people would describe as lacking some critical thought. When Steven says they need to play baseball to search the barn, it makes sense from a leadership standpoint. Effective leaders don’t throw their people into battle every chance they have. They want to minimise costs and losses of resources of life. Fighting would take a lot out of them. Even if the Rubies won against “the humans,” that’s resources lost. They don’t know exactly what they’re up against or what Earth is like. If my hunch is right, they weren’t comprehensively briefed about Earth. Peridot wasn’t even briefed about Earth terrain and weather or the Crystal Gems, and considering she’s a non-combatant, I think that information would have been significant for her survival. What more a group of soldiers trained to fight and survive? And this may explain why they don’t question the presence of blue and purple and deathly pale humans too much.

Something else about Doc is that she feels responsible for her squad. It may be missed, but when the Rubies are leaving for Neptune, Doc grabs Leggy, who appears very lost in the scene. Other more subtle moments are when Doc congratulates Ruby for managing to hit the ball.

Here’s the thing: If Homeworld forces had leaders were ruled by cruelty and fear, then this kind of action coming from a squad leader would be unseemly. And I say this a lot. To survive, soldiers have to have each others’ backs; they have to trust each other. If not, they’d hate each other and plot and scheme, and this “conquering race” probably wouldn’t be half as successful. So what we’re seeing is a moment of positive reinforcement, and it boosts morale and motivates her squad to perform better.

We’ve seen at this point that Rubies aren’t very good at deception and hiding their thoughts and feelings. As such, it’s rather a stretch to assume this is a front that Doc is putting up in front of her people. And even if she didn’t like her squad members and felt incredibly superior, she’s not acting according to that, and the general effect is that her squad feels like they can trust their leaders. I feel this model is prevalent on Homeworld, enough that gems like Peridot can look up to and even trust their leaders like Yellow Diamond; the sentiment is that their leaders care about them.

Doc’s gem placement is smack in the middle of her chest. This to me indicates that she’s deep into interacting with things through strong feelings. From an experience, her lasting impression will probably not be the clearest details of the moment, but rather the feelings she had as she walked away from it.

This may be why she has the intention of counting her teammates, because there are feelings of responsibility. But she doesn’t do a very accurate job of it, because that’s not really her strong point. She tells her squad to double check, because “You remember what happened last time.” And I think it’s significant that the event she remembered was something funny. It’s a feeling that cements the experience for her, and that makes the experience significant.

Up until the very last pitch, none of the Rubies thought of using their abilities against the humans. They’re all capable of superheating the ball to the point of combustion. Assuming they knew they were more powerful than humans, they could have done so. But as mentioned, it would be a use of strength that they didn’t need to waste. Gems are already physically stronger than humans. It probably wasn’t the plan to use their abilities then, in order not to wear themselves out. But it’s a stressful moment; a make-or-break moment and I think that led her to put thinking aside. We know that Ruby and Sapphire made use of their abilities in Keystone Motel because they were upset. This may be one of those cases as well. It’s not a conscious decision. I don’t think she plotted to use her powers and go “Hahaha now we’ll win for certain; they’ll never see it coming.” The impression we have is that it was a spur-of-the-moment move.

Some other gems we’ve seen with this gem position? Amethyst: Things just “feel right”; Yellow Diamond: I want that planet to die; Blue Diamond: How dare you fuse with a member of my court. I’m not saying all they’re capable of is emotion and impulse. But they do factor in heavily when you look at the motivations of their actions, even if they’re not completely aware of it. When it all boils down to it, they’re the type of individuals who know what they’re supposed to do, but it’s usually verified by how they feel about it as well.

2. Eyeball

Eyeball is pretty intense. She’s the first Ruby we see emerge from the ship at the end of Barn Mates and the last one to go in at the end of Hit the Diamond. Her words often sound forced out and rougher than those of the other Rubies. She makes a lot of grunting noises in times the other Rubies use words to express themselves. And she’s the one to react most aggressively when Steven’s still explaining the rules of the game and declares her out.

It seems very much as though everything Eyeball has an amplified reaction to everything. This might have something to do with her gem placement. It’s her eye. This means that like Sapphire, she has just one functioning eye. But her gem is on one of her key physical senses. This may lead her to experience the world with very amplified senses. Things she experiences may have a greater impression on her because of this. It’s as if she’s hyperaware of everything that occurs.

It would explain her making more noises than talking. When we’ve seen Peridot make noises, it’s because she’s having trouble processing all the stimuli around her. She doesn’t really have a way to put it into words. Someone who is receiving too much stimuli to handle may also react in this matter. As such, while in an alien land with potential hostiles, her reactions would be pretty negative sounding and guarded. She’d appear very scary indeed to those who aren’t familiar with her.

The other thing is her role on the team. As mentioned, she’s first in and first out of their ship.

She’s serving the position of “lookout.” We get the feeling she’s more wary of “the humans” than everyone else. Even the “Thank you” at the end of the episode appears rather tense. Eyes are often associated with future sight, seeing things in the long run, or for what they really are. This may be why Eyeball naturally ends up falling into this position. She sees something is untrue about these people, and she’s right to feel the Rubies are being deceived. As they leave, I feel she’s wary that listening to those who’ve deceived them before is going to bite them in the back in the future (it probably will, because there is no way Jasper’s on Neptune).

One other thing about her grunting is that Eyeball is probably a very visual individual. The gemstone being the carrier of the Gem’s essence is focused in the eye. And we know much her understanding and interaction of the world comes from her eye’s amplifying her senses. Of all those senses, I think that her sight is her most comfortable. She probably remembers things based on imagery and mental snapshots. Think to the moment Doc said “Remember what happened last time,” and Eyeball probably had a clear mental image of what she was talking about. And notice also that she laughed.

She’s not as scary as we’re led to believe. She’s just in an unfriendly environment, and a lot is on the line. As Doc reminds them, this is a mission directly from Yellow Diamond, not just a supervisor or any general. She’s stressed, and combined with her hyper-sensation, it isn’t a long-shot to assume anyone else would be cranky and scary as well. (Speaking of Jasper, she’s another gem whose gem takes the place of a major sense, smell, and she’s also one to react to things rather extremely).

I doubt she acts this way towards her teammates though. Look at Leggy the “newbie.” She doesn’t know this event; she feels left out and she’s probably intimated as it is because, as Rebecca Sugar noted, this was Leggy’s first mission. But she goes straight for hiding behind Eyeball. She wouldn’t do that if, on their off-hours, Eyeball was equally scary and threatening towards her teammates. She’s probably just like Scary Spice from the Spice Girls. Scary on the outside, but you can tell she cares about her teammates. In fact, I have a feeling that she tried to show Leggy the ropes; hence, the gravitation towards someone Leggy feels can protect her, someone with whom she already has some sort of established relationship.

So don’t judge Eyeball by her looks. She’s probably a softie on the inside. If the hyper-sensation works with really uncomfortable sensations, it must also engage really nice and comfortable ones as well. I feel Eyeball is really loyal, because her clear mental images of things make certain she never forgets when people have done good by her, as much as it makes her remember every time someone destroyed her trust in them. She’s one for the evidence. She wouldn’t randomly disperse her goodwill and has to see things to believe them.

I think there’s a lot more to these Rubies than we got to see in the show. And I really enjoyed writing about them and hope that they make another appearance in the future.

I have the other Rubies lined up for this kind of analysis and I’ll link to them when I’m finished, but for those interested:

Part 1- Origin, Roles of Rubies (Plus some thoughts on Homeworld)

Part 2- Doc and Eyeball

Part 3- Army and Leggy

Part 4- Navy and Ruby Squad Fusion