We all know and love the corruption theory. If you’re not familiar with it, check out this post here that explains it in depth.







But one thing many people have been questioning is how would Steven even corrupt in the first place?





Let’s take a dive into that.



What first had me thinking about this theory was the Steven doll we see in “A Very Special Episode.” Most people in the community are familiar with the increasing number of times that it has been referenced that Steven will either lose or gain a pink eye, but this one was a little too on the nose for many fans, including myself.





Let’s take a look at that doll, shall we?

There are many things unnerving about this stuffed animal, from the sewed shut mouth to the exposed chest, this thing’s just creepy! But it also made me think about McBear Bear, a device once used to explain corruption. To quote Garnet, “ It’s sort of like if MC Bear-Bear didn’t tear the fabric of his arm, but the fabric of his mind. “ So, one could assume that the stuffed animal is linked to corruption. But does that mean the eye is linked to corruption as well?





How would Steven’s eye even turn pink?

Well, believe it or not, it’s already happened.

Of course, both of Steven’s eyes are pink here, not one. But, it does instantly make a connection to this reoccurring pink eye theme we see with Steven.

So, what does this all mean?

Well, I think it has something to do with Bluebird. Bare with me here. The inclusion of her in this limited series was a very strange choice, seeing as there are clearly more evils we could be focusing on other than this harmless fusion that was instantly defeated.





So why did they include her?





To show us once again that fusions cannot be built on hate without unfusing.





Steven is a character with some extreme self loathing. I mean, it’s what even allowed him to fuse with Amethyst in the first place. It was even commented on again by Sunstone in the most recent episode, coincidentally the same one where the doll came from.

“Don’t be a Steven, amirite?”





But, unlike most fusions, Steven needs both of his halves for the other one to exist. So, would they even be able to unfuse physically without removing Steven’s gem? I personally don’t think so.





So how does a fusion in extreme emotional distress, that is unable to unfuse, stay together?





We’ve seen this before as well.

I’d like to remind you that the fusion experiments had to try multiple times before finally being able to create a form. While this is most likely due to the fact it is composed of gem shards, I wouldn’t say it discounts the theory either. The gem experiments also prove that the crewniverse is not afraid to go where I theorize they might.

We also see this again with corruption, a gem tries to take it’s normal form when poofed, but is unable to.





So, to recap, there is a LOT of foreshadowing about something to do with Steven’s eye turning pink. It becomes increasingly more obvious when we see this stuffed Steven animal. Stuffed animals have been used before in an important role when explaining corruption, thus creating a link between the two. Pink Steven shows us a time when Steven would be able to have pink eyes in the first place, thus it’s logical to make the assumption he is connected to the pink eye.

Steven is also a fusion, one that is full of hate for itself and under any other circumstance, would likely have already unfused. But seeing as these two sides are bound to each other, this is physically impossible. Gems with extreme mental states have been seen to corrupt/change forms under these circumstances.





So, how do I think it’ll go down?





Steven’s attempts to distance himself from his gem half/past eventually actually come to a head as Pink Steven, forces himself to be heard. His “pink episodes” become more frequent, and eventually, parts of his body start to even stay pink. Steven continues to ignore his gem’s half’s cry for help (Perhaps a reference to the closed shut mouth.) Making Steven even more emotionally unstable, and thus his form. With his body now actively trying to unfuse, it doesn’t take long for his form to fall apart by the seams, (much like the doll again) resulting in a monster.





But that’s just my take on it.