3000+-word analysis on Pearl/our favourite birbmom under the cut.

I just discovered SU 3 days ago, so please forgive any factual inaccuracies (and feel free to message me about them!).













I am freshly-minted Pearl trash. But how could anyone blame me? Just look at this qtnerd. LOOK!



No, really though - I’m a little more sensitive/empathetic and level-headed, and a little less of a coding/engineering/mechanical whiz, but that’s about where the differences end. (Of course, I’m not a magical alien who’s a legendary swordsman with an incredibly graceful and balletic fighting style that puts Pavlova to shame. However, I do require almost alien-like levels of sleep - that is, nearly none? Heh.)









About to commence a mini-essay on Pearl, but before I get to that, let me pretend for one moment that the following essay is delivered in classic Pearl style through animated holograms:









(Yes, I am a geek. Thank you.)











For completion’s sake, let’s start off with some background on Steven Universe. The show basically revolves around a trio of sentient, virtually-immortal gems who project corporeal light-bodies, and Steven, who’s half-human and half-gem. The trio calls themselves the “Crystal Gems”, and they’re a bunch of defectors who have, at one stage or another, rebelled against the dominant Gem aristocracy back on their home planet, Homeworld.

The rebellion was led by Rose Quartz, a general in the aristocratic army, who was said to have killed (by shattering the gemstone of) her superior, Pink Diamond (one of 4 Diamonds, the pinnacle of Homeworld’s hierarchy). I believe this was because while Rose was under orders by Pink to establish gem colonies on Earth, Rose loved and cared for life in all its forms, and was sympathetic towards humanity and earthly flora/fauna, so much so that she decided to forsake personal prestige and favour in favour of protecting the Earth from the Diamonds. Rose was joined at the time by Pearl (how Pearl came into Rose’s acquaintance remains a mystery).









Various events throughout Steven Universe (e.g. “some lost, defective Pearl” - Jasper, “The Return”, or “I’m just a Pearl!” - Pearl, “Friend Ship”) strongly suggest that Homeworld has some form of caste system/dystopian sort of “predetermined roles” thing going on. From what we can see, Pearls are intended as servant/entertainment classes, meant to serve their masters. “That Will Be All” makes this especially clear, especially when Holly Blue Agate orders Pearl around (and seems to expect Pearl to be familiar with the access codes throughout the ship), and when Yellow Diamond orders her (Yellow) Pearl to sing to buoy the spirits of the melancholic Blue Diamond later in the same episode.

What Pearls are not meant to do is display any sense of autonomy or individuality. And that, I think, might be where our precious Pearl falls short.









Brilliant, talented, so much untapped potential…and condemned to a life of silence and menial service. (And for gems, that could be, literally, forever.) Originally under an unknown master (many theorize she belonged to White/Pink Diamond or either of their courts, or Rose herself), she somehow came into the acquaintance of Rose, and ended up joining Rose’s rebellion.

Throughout the thousands of years she spent with Rose (and the ~1000 they spent in outright warfare with the Homeworld gems), Rose recognized her autonomy and individuality, encouraging Pearl to cast away the shackles of servitude and come into her own. To the Homeworld gems, this was an avant-garde and entirely-unwelcome point of view. Both through her submissive nature as a Pearl and conditioning by gem society at large, Pearl had grown accustomed to the idea that she was “nothing” (Pearl, “Sworn to the Sword”); Rose’s acknowledgement of her autonomy, alongside her companionship and attention, made Pearl feel like she was “everything” (Pearl, “Sworn to the Sword”).

Because of this, Pearl developed an undying devotion towards Rose, unhesitatingly sacrificing life and limb to defend Rose in battle and serve Rose as best as she could. Having been taught the art of dance as a Pearl, Pearl picked up the art of sword-fighting and combined deadly blades with balletic grace, creating a uniquely precise and effective fighting style. (Oh, and she can project corporeal holo-Pearls as training dummies, too.)









With much practice and determination, she also learnt to summon a Gem weapon (a corporeal weapon drawn directly from her gem) - hers is a spear/glaive with delicate fluting, that sometimes fires blasts and can also take the form of a trident.









Oh, and have I mentioned Pearl’s incredible aptitude for coding/hacking/technology/engineering? Despite being a regular servant who was deeply unlikely to have been instructed in piloting, Pearl taught herself to fly. Of the Crystal Gem trio, she’s the only one who knows how to pilot spaceships. This is what happens what our resident dork interfaces with coding. (Pearl, you are not a beluga!):











Okay, so we’ve established that our Pearl has so much potential. She seems to be able to teach herself anything. Defying all possible stereotypes of a conventional Pearl - meek, vulnerable, servile, she’s forged her own path and proven time and again that she is so much more than her gem type.

But Pearl doesn’t feel that way.











Pearl struggles with her identity, conflicted by her inner self thrashing against the self- and society-imposed bonds of the ideal Pearl - downtrodden, obedient, ornamental.

She resents the mere concept of idleness, and is often eager to take on her next quest. (In her free time, her excess energy manifests in her passion for household chores. Whether this is due to her ingrained role as a servant or a by-product of a lover of organization is unclear, but it’s probably a mix of both.)

She oscillates between proactive and vocal (e.g. suggesting a plan of attack in “Cheeseburger Backpack”), and deferential and self-abasing (e.g. “I need someone to tell me what to do!” - Pearl, “Friend Ship”).

She goes against the very concept of being an ornamental status symbol (Peridot points out that she’s a “fancy Pearl”, from which we can infer that she probably belonged to someone of high station) - she fights, flies, and figures things out.









Pearl’s first major slip occurs in “Sworn to the Sword”, where she projects much of herself and her experiences onto Connie, subconsciously colouring Connie’s relationship with Steven in the same liege-lord relationship she appeared to share with Rose.

“Do It For Her” is one of the best songs I have ever heard, especially because Pearl’s voice is astounding - the depth of her zeal and emotion ring true throughout. Scrutinizing the lyrics, however, one would feel vaguely uncomfortable. “What they / don’t know / is your real advantage; when you live for someone / you’re prepared to / die…” - not quite a healthy mentality. But combine what you’ve known of Pearl so far with her background as a servant who meant “nothing” to most of gem society, and one will realize that this was her warped single-minded devotion and loyalty to Rose.



So much so that she was prepared to throw herself in front of a giant gem many times her (or even Rose’s) size, just to defend Rose:









Steven and Connie extol the power of a partnership, ganging up on her to prove their point. A futile but laudable attempt, though - they are swiftly disarmed, which is no surprise, given how rapidly our terrifying renegade!Pearl poofed these trained militants who were, unlike her, born and bred to fight:









A key moment of character growth occurs here, though, as Pearl begins to acknowledge that a healthy relationship involves both parties’ investment and a mutual affection (“I see now, how deeply you care about each other. *sniffs* That will make you both great knights!” - Pearl, “Sworn to the Sword”). Not that we’ve received absolute indication to the contrary regarding her relationship with Rose, but I think it’s safe to say that Pearl sacrificed more for Rose than Rose ever did for Pearl.









At the time of “Friend Ship”, Pearl still has yet to build up considerable self-esteem. She’s constantly looking for the next ‘Rose’ to anchor her and assign her life some kind of meaning and value.

Pearl’s self-esteem is highly extrinsic in nature - if unaccompanied by validation from others, her achievements and accomplishments mean little to her. Still weighed down by the idea that she’s nothing more than a Pearl who needs a master to function, she is sometimes blinded or paralyzed by her insecurities and background.

She messes up terribly in “Cry for Help”, when she rebuilds a communications tower Peridot (a villain at the time) was using to communicate with the (presumably diabolical) Yellow Diamond. Of course, our Pearl is smart, so she only sends staticky transmissions out into space. But why would Pearl do that?

Before we come to that, we need to introduce the concept of fusion. Various gems can fuse to form a ‘fusion’. After all, one must remember that their corporeal forms are merely light, and are not difficult to change. When they are mentally/emotionally in sync, they can fuse to form ‘better’ compound gems. (A gif on that can be found further below, when Pearl fuses with Rose.)

When gems fuse, their emotions, thoughts and personalities mix. Upon fusing with Garnet (Garnet herself is a semi-permanent fusion of Ruby and Sapphire) to form Sardonyx in order to topple Peridot’s communications tower, she realizes that she enjoys being a part of Ruby and Sapphire’s relationship, as Garnet is generally balanced, confident and self-assured - traits that Pearl desperately lacks.

Enjoy Pearl’s sleek dance moves and view part of the process of her fusion with Garnet:









Pearl’s plan was to rebuild Peridot’s communications tower to get Garnet to fuse with her again, just so that she could bask in the high of experiencing healthy self-esteem and sheer strength (Garnet’s brute force is rather formidable). That’s entirely inexcusable - but given her background, it makes perfect sense.

Raging within Pearl is a perfect storm: insecurity, an inbred need to feel ‘useful’ and a desire to experience a reciprocated, healthy relationship (even if indirectly). Fusion with Garnet provided these to her, however briefly. Blinded by her near-addiction to these fixes of strength and confidence, she uncharacteristically endangered those around her, and took advantage of Garnet’s trust in her. Garnet was understandably enraged, because she herself is a fusion of Ruby and Sapphire held together by love, after all, and she felt that Pearl’s actions constituted flagrant abuse of the privilege of being allowed a glimpse into their inner sanctum.

Conversing with Garnet in “Friend Ship”, Pearl receives a much-needed confidence boost and reality check. Garnet reminds Pearl to become her own gem, living life for herself and not for “…me, not Rose, not Steven. But you must choose to be strong so we can move forward. So I can trust you again.”

This is a pivotal moment in Pearl’s character growth, for she becomes determined to “not give up”, and actively wants to confront her weaknesses and revise her self-perception.

In fact, in “Back to the Barn”, when Peridot insults Pearl by implying that she’ll never be anything more than a servant (a reference to the conventional role of Pearls on Homeworld), Pearl stands up for herself (“That’s right! I am a pearl!” *satisfying punch*):









Take that, you clod!









Pearl’s feelings towards Rose are unquestionably romantic. Whether these romantic feelings are borne out of a pure love, an unhealthy obsession, a knight’s obligatory loyalty to her Queen, or an imprint resulting from her servile breeding (much as I wish I could soundly reject this theory, I believe that this does account for a few wisps of the indescribably complex thread connecting Pearl and Rose).

If you wish to argue that those feelings weren’t romantic, I urge you to check this excellent tearjerker of a song out and scrutinize the lyrics very. Very. Carefully.

Have a gratuitous appreciation gif of our dashing (but sad) Pearl in a suit:









(Singing, dancing, balancing precariously on a razor-thin edge and grieving, all executed to perfection? Wow, Pearl, you’ve really cornered the market in the multi-tasking department…)

Now that that’s settled, we can return to the main discussion at hand. While the nature of Rose’s feelings towards Pearl aren’t exactly clear, the show’s producers have said that they wouldn’t say Pearl’s feelings were “unrequited” - whether they were requited in a romantic or platonic sense, however, remains to be seen.

An interesting thing to note is that Rose and Pearl kiss during their fusion in “We Need To Talk” (kissing is categorically not a prerequisite for fusion at all; fusion need not be romantic in the slightest):









Also, the fusion of Rose and Pearl, Rainbow Quartz, looks relatively normal, apart from an extra set of eyes. Generally, the more stable the fusion, the fewer the abnormalities - this goes to show how in-sync Rose and Pearl truly were with one another, which I feel lends credence to the idea that it’s complicated between them. The only fusions that appear even more stable than this are Garnet (Ruby + Sapphire) and Stevonnie (Steven + Connie), and they’re both sort of established couples. (Plus, to me, Stevonnie doesn’t quite count as Connie is human, which implies to me that their fusion is more ‘human’ than ‘gem’; of course it’s going to look more normal!)

Pearl saw her relationship with Rose as one that had been tried and tested by time (literally thousands of years), and endured Rose’s dalliances with humans as they passed by in a (relative) blink of an eye. Knowing that she had virtually an eternity with Rose, Pearl was content with Rose’s presence and divided attentions, as she would be Rose’s only constant.









However, Rose fell for a human, Greg Universe, and wished to conceive his child. Gem physiology is strange, though, and though the mechanics aren’t clearly explained, Rose had to give up her active consciousness and corporeal light-form in order to “give birth to” her son, Steven Universe. Embedded in Steven’s belly is Rose’s gem, her rose quartz crystal; Steven inherited Rose’s powers, such as her healing tears (or in Steven’s case, his healing saliva - yuck, I absolutely agree), her energy shield/bubble which became his gem weapon, and her possessions.

Imagine the maelstrom of emotions within Pearl. The one person she’s devoted her entire existence to and fallen head over heels in love with, that she’d imagined an actual eternity with, has simply upped and left, falling in love with a mere human, a mortal deadbeat-like wannabe rock star. To make things worse, she’s decided to effectively sacrifice herself to give birth to a half-human son, who is now a constant walking reminder of 1) Greg’s victory over Pearl in winning Rose’s affections and 2) Rose’s effective death. Sure as hell ain’t a good feeling.

Furthermore, Steven’s only a kid - as of “Steven’s Birthday”, he’s 14 years old. 14 years is pretty much a mere blink of an eye to gems like Pearl and Rose, who are well over 6000 years old. To Pearl, Rose may as well have broken her heart and left just yesterday. I find it incredibly hard to blame Pearl for her occasional outbursts - grief comes in stages, and takes time. How is it remotely reasonable to expect Pearl to skip right to “acceptance”?

Pearl’s come an incredibly long way, though. She’s lashed out at Steven and those around her a couple of times, evidence that her grief is far from resolved, but she’s making baby steps.

She’s the resident overprotective borderline-neurotic birdmom, who chronically underestimates Steven and generally tries to keep him sheltered from the harsh realities of the Crystal Gems’ task of defending Earth.

Behold Pearl having a mom moment:









Just look at Steven: Mooom, you’re embarrassing me!









I’d argue that amongst the three Crystal Gems, Pearl’s had it the hardest. Garnet’s been a stable fusion for thousands of years now, and her main challenges are being the de facto leader of the Crystal Gems and balancing Ruby and Sapphire within her.

Born on Earth, Amethyst has little idea of the horrifically dystopian nature of Homeworld, and is mostly a good teenager with a lot of steam to blow off. Her key struggle would probably be tempering her teenage restlessness and rebelliousness with maturity that she’s slowly learning. The last gem on Earth known to have been synthesized within a Kindergarten, a spooky place where gems are synthesized, she feels self-loathing. Growing up in the shadow of powerful figures like Garnet (strength and maturity) and Pearl (intelligence and grace), she struggles with feelings of inferiority towards her fellow Crystal Gems.



Pearl’s had to contend with being right at the bottom of the caste system back in Homeworld, the immense internal turmoil she’s faced with regards to autonomy versus her inbred subservient nature, her seemingly one-sided love for Rose, Rose’s ‘death’, the acceptance of Steven and Greg into her life, and the duty to care for Steven (remember what was written above about what Steven means to Pearl!). The numerous trials and tribulations she’s been battered with have shaped her personality, for better or for worse, but what I love Pearl for is her awareness of her flaws, and her constant attempts at self-improvement.









Something unique about Pearl is that several of her strengths are precisely her foils; her protectiveness results in nagging, her meticulous nature leads to overthinking, her undying love verges on obsession. At her best, her potential is limitless - determined, resourceful and precise, Pearl has proven herself to be the most talented, versatile and dynamic character on the show.

Speaking of talented (or beautiful, or elegant, or graceful)…









She’s a beautifully broken gem embodying the essence of what a relatable character ought to be, and I am endlessly grateful to the people who have developed her character in such a full-bodied and meaningful way. In many ways, Pearl’s character and her strengths/weaknesses resonate deeply with me, and her progress and growth serve as absolute inspirations to me.











Pearl. Accept the compliments. You deserve them.

Also, how many Pearl Points do I get for this essay? Hehe.