Ramblings about Science and Steven Universe

Ian: [Steven being able to fuse with humans] made so much sense, because we had all these ideas about what Steven was, and I remember one of our early ideas was that, 'Oh, he's human cells held together by magic—by gem magic.'

I was looking through my old Google Docs and found this. I've decided  to post it-as is (including the references to who shattered Pink Diamond still being a mystery), rather than completing it. I may get back to working on it someday, but I'd rather share what I have so far than just let it sit in a digital drawer for another year.

Greg: Rose and I talked about tons of important stuff. Music, comic books, getting sand between your toes, y'know, feelings. We both made a lot of mistakes when we were young. I thought disco was coming back, she started a war, I think she felt like she needed to confess everything to me, but I told her, “The past is the past. All that matters to me is who you are now.” And who she was, was an incredible, loving being

-“Steven’s Dream.” Air date: January 2, 2017

Greg: I don’t know anything about Homeworld. I don’t know anything about your society.

- “Gemcation.” Air date:  December 15, 2017

Rebecca Sugar: What I like about it is that everyone is being sincere. Like, nobody is trying to trick Steven into thinking something. Greg adores Rose. Ian Jones-Quartey: He adores the Rose he knew. Rebecca Sugar: Yeah, the Rose he knew, which was a very specific side of her. Everybody knew her in different ways, at different times, met her for different reasons, and she meant something different to each of them. That’s really fun.

In “Full Disclosure,” we see Steven swipe through the photos on his phone, and there’s this one of Steven and Connie at a restaurant. 

Notice the painting and the stuffed cow head. Stuffing and mounting an animal’s head is usually what you do with an animal that you’ve hunted and killed, not with domesticated farm animals that are slaughtered for their meat. 

And that painting is based on a real painting of Theodore Roosevelt, who was (among many other things) a big game hunter. 

And then there’s this line from Garnet in “Too Far:”

Vrai Kaiser's 2015 review of "We Need to Talk" makes for some interesting reading these days.

It was only a matter of time before our collective visions of Rose Quartz were dashed. They had to be, for the sake of Rose existing as a three dimensional character and not just an untouchable goddess on a pedestal. That her flaws wound up tied to what others remember most about her (her love of humans) is just a painful little stroke of brilliance. Rose is a puzzle of a Gem

...

Of the very little we know of Rose, one thing we’ve seen over and over is that she’s secretive. She has a hidden cache of weapons. None of the Gems knew about Lion. Steven himself might be a long con unbeknownst even to Greg. In this very episode Rose says it’s “good” that Greg knows nothing about her (referring, I imagine, to her role in the rebellion and the way it clearly continues to haunt her).

There goes a popular theory that Rose is former Gem royalty of a sort, a “Pink Diamond” who reinvented herself as Rose Quartz and broke away from Homeworld. Whether or not that proves true (there are certainly some compelling bits of evidence), reinventing seems to be something Rose is doing constantly. She’s a caretaker to Amethyst, a role model to Garnet, a confidant and idol to Pearl (probably. Hold that). And she tried to be the winsome mysterious lover she no doubt saw in movies (she catches on to the Marx brothers reference pretty quick and loves music, so I imagine she’s absorbed humanity largely through pop culture) for Greg until he out and out demanded she stop. And perhaps that’s what ultimately ended up being special about him.

It’s hard to say anything, with all these gaps – none more glaring than the one revolving around Rose and Pearl. This makes three episodes now (“Rose’s Scabbard,” “Sworn to the Sword,” and this one) that feature Pearl’s feelings for Rose as a major component. And yet, even when we have Rose there in person it’s hard to gauge the dynamic of their relationship. There are a few suggestions, particularly in the fact that Rainbow Quartz is a highly compatible fusion (like Garnet, she is completely humanoid except for having extra eyes). But Rose is so flippant in both of her flashback appearances, always laughing and putting on a cheerful front, and we have yet to see a real one-on-one conversation between the two without an audience.