I think it goes without saying that the latest "Steven Universe" reveal from the May special, the fact that Rose Quartz didn’t shatter Pink Diamond but turned out to be Pink Diamond all along has rocked to the core of every fan within the whole fandom. I know I was! I screamed and had to watch the special a second time that day and a few more times after that...
However, despite the shock value that this new revelation has caused for the fandom, most of the fans, especially the die-hard analyzers and speculators, feel that this wasn’t a very good plot twist for various reasons.
Though there are many, I’m only going to give the most important three: one, it strongly devalues the portrayal of Rose Quartz, a character that up to this point was already getting to be very questionable; two, it devalues Pearl’s unique personality, puts her true independence from Homeworld into question, and makes her an even more tragic character than she already was up to this point; and three, it seemed predictable for the especially loyal fans who have been with the fandom since the show’s premiere, or close to it, and were already aware of this theory possibly becoming canon.
Although I can agree with these points to a certain extent, all in all I actually enjoyed the twist and felt that it made so much more sense to me now as it really recontextualizes the whole series given all the previous pieces (pun not intended) of foreshadowing that I have come across online, making me love the twist even more! Now, I have to take it upon myself to watch through the whole series, that I only saw through once, with this new piece of information in mind, a special re-watch I think I will never forget…
It is worth noting that the Crewniverse (the show’s crew) had this idea from the very beginning, a decision on the crew’s part that should nevertheless be respected. Plus, it really shows how much thought the crew put into all the bits (again, pun not intended) of foreshadowing that went over most people’s heads, from the Diamonds’ murals to Pearl’s outfits to the Gems’ flag to completely overlooked lines from characters like Peridot and Fluorite all the way to the fry bits and the meanings behind seemingly non-sensical songs, like “Giant Woman,” “Steven and the Crystal Gems,” and “Haven’t You Noticed (I’m a Star)!”
Despite the backlash that this twist might be getting, this is a twist in which the crew takes pride in bringing out in order to give them the “Aha!” moment that the show’s creator Rebecca Sugar has always wanted the fans to experience after they watch a revelation like this unfold right before their eyes.
I for one can agree that she certainly delivered and can’t wait for what’s in store for the Gems and how they will recover from this shocking discovery when the show returns this summer (hopefully within a few months) and gives us a few more things that’ll make us have more of these precious moments.
