Everyone knows about the silly gay show Steven Universe. It’s all about this kid named Steven and his adventures with the Crystal Gems, and I'm gonna tell you why it's one of my all time favorite shows and give you the over analysis of the main characters (except for Steven, he’s boring).
Background Knowledge
Steven's mother died in a war, and his dad is the main guardian in his life. He’s raised by his mom’s three best friends Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl (yes, they’re all crystals). They were all in a group called the Crystal Gems, along with a few other crystals. They fought against their leaders, called the diamonds, for freedom (there's a lot of hierarchy in Steven Universe), but I'll get into them later. They go along and fix problems that the diamonds caused, finding new gems (people) along the way. They're trying to save both earth and Homeworld, which is where the gems are from and where the diamonds stay.
Now let's get into the fun part: the lore.
Now let's get into the fun part: the lore.
Characters
(The crystal gems)
Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond
Rose Quartz was the leader of the Crystal Gems. She was originally a diamond who had control of earth. Once she went down to earth and saw how fun it was to be normal, she wanted to stay. She asked her sisters to stay on earth and to not blow it up, talking about how much life was on Earth and how beautiful it was. None of the diamonds agreed with her, which led to Pink Diamond faking her shattering to stay on earth as Rose Quartz forever.
Pearl
Pearl was a servant back on their original planet, Homeworld. She served Pink Diamond, eventually helping her lead the gem rebellion. Pearl and Rose were very very close; she told everything to pearl. This led to Pearl being very in love with Rose, even going so far as to try to break her up with Steven's dad, Greg. Later on in the season, there’s an episode where Pearl sings about missing Rose and how she’s never coming back. The song is called “It’s Over, Isn't It?” and it's all about how in the end Pink Diamond still chose Greg and not her. Rose died giving birth to Steven, leaving Pearl without an owner, a lover, or her best friend.
Garnet
Garnet is a fusion, made up of two gems in a relationship: Ruby (a servant) and Sapphire (the equivalent to a princess). A sapphire can see into the future, and they have three ruby guards to protect them. They fused completely by accident and got kicked out of Homeworld due to their fusing and due to Sapphire not being able to predict the event from happening. Once they got kicked out, they found Rose and Pearl and joined the rebellion so they can stay fused as one.
There’s an episode where they get split up and separated from each other. Ruby and Sapphire both have separation anxiety. From the traumas they endured together, they’re too scared to be apart. Ruby always wants to protect Sapphire and Sapphire always wants to look out for Ruby. There’s an episode where they were fighting and Ruby actually leaves Sapphire completely. Sapphire is put into a panic, not knowing what to do or where her lover is. Ruby, however, enjoys being impulsive and not being able to see into the future. Ruby eventually comes to her senses, and actually proposes to Sapphire. They get married in a big happy gay wedding and they stay separate, only fusing if needed.
There’s an episode where they get split up and separated from each other. Ruby and Sapphire both have separation anxiety. From the traumas they endured together, they’re too scared to be apart. Ruby always wants to protect Sapphire and Sapphire always wants to look out for Ruby. There’s an episode where they were fighting and Ruby actually leaves Sapphire completely. Sapphire is put into a panic, not knowing what to do or where her lover is. Ruby, however, enjoys being impulsive and not being able to see into the future. Ruby eventually comes to her senses, and actually proposes to Sapphire. They get married in a big happy gay wedding and they stay separate, only fusing if needed.
Amethyst
Amethyst is the only gem from the Crystal Gems who isn't actively in love with someone. Amethyst has always been about being “good enough.” Amethyst, unlike Pearl and Garnet, was born on earth. She came out of her pod, where she was born, much much later than every other Amethyst there. This led her to be much smaller than everyone else, which led her to not be able to do as much. She is also the weakest, mentally and physically, of the Crystal Gems. She is very insecure and not very confident about herself. This makes her aggressive and more angry than the others. When they were fighting the diamonds, she was the only one who didn't have anything to lose. All she cared about was looking strong in front of everyone and to not look scared. All she wants to do is be good enough for her team and to not hold them down. Most of Amethyst’s songs are about her not feeling strong enough to be a Crystal Gem.
The Diamonds
Homeworld is ruled by the 3 toughest gems in the Galaxy, the diamonds. There were four of them before Pink Diamond died. Once Pink Diamond was shattered, this led them to be bitter towards the Crystal Gems and to their own gems on homeworld. They eventually get nicer, some of them, and learn to accept the gems. They all have their own courts full of diamonds who serve them and do whatever they want. They all look like their diamonds and speak very highly of them.
Yellow Diamond
Yellow Diamond was always my least favorite. Yellow is a very egocentric Gem. I would say she's the most cocky, but she's really not. She acts stronger than she actually is to protect her younger sister Blue. She wants to be strong so that Blue can be as weak as she wants. She needs to be the strong one and hide all her emotions so things keep progressing. In reality, she is just as weak as her sister, who’s actually physically stronger but not emotionally; she just won’t admit it to herself yet. She also tells Blue in the song “What The Use of Feeling Blue” to get over Pink's death and that being weak won’t get her anywhere. Yellow power is electricity. She can put gems back into their gem forms and even shatter them. Her court is just as aggressive as she is. They shatter the most gems and are the angriest in general. When her court talks about her, they always say how powerful she is.
Blue Diamond
Blue Diamond is the more emotional diamond. Her emotions dictate what she does very heavily. When she comes to earth to finish off the Crystal Gems, she can't bring herself to kill them because she knows they were loved by her sister Pink. Pink and Blue were very close. If Yellow punished Pink, Blue would let her free. Blue took Pink’s death the hardest, crying a lot more, not leaving Homeworld, not getting much done in general. She leans on her sister Yellow for support and she sometimes just gets ignored by her.
Blue is the one who keeps anything Pink touched alive. She makes sure that earth is doing well, that Pink’s court is doing well, and that her human garden (yes, she had a human garden) is still alive. She was the first one to forgive the Crystal Gems and the one to help them talk to White. She’s the nicest out of the three of them, and she’s my favorite overall.
Her power is crying. Yes, crying. Her sorrow is so strong that when she cries, it makes every other gem, including the diamonds, cry with her. Her court always speaks of how beautiful their diamond is. Her court is also entirely blue, obviously.
Blue is the one who keeps anything Pink touched alive. She makes sure that earth is doing well, that Pink’s court is doing well, and that her human garden (yes, she had a human garden) is still alive. She was the first one to forgive the Crystal Gems and the one to help them talk to White. She’s the nicest out of the three of them, and she’s my favorite overall.
Her power is crying. Yes, crying. Her sorrow is so strong that when she cries, it makes every other gem, including the diamonds, cry with her. Her court always speaks of how beautiful their diamond is. Her court is also entirely blue, obviously.
White Diamond
White diamond is the cockiest, oldest, and most powerful gem in the universe. She stands at 90 feet tall, and when she talks, it echoes throughout Homeworld. She has no color besides black and white, which is what makes her “perfect.” She didn't care when Pink died; it led to her being much more closed off, stopping talking to her daughters, Blue and Yellow, and not coming out of her tower.
White Diamond’s power is mind control. She sends her Pearl to get anything she needs with mind control. She shoots a gem with a ray of light at whichever gem she chooses and they turn white and lifeless, losing all their color and their ability to talk and think for themselves. She can now talk through the gems she controls, making them “perfect” like her. When the Crystal Gems talk to her for the first time, they each get controlled by White. She speaks of what makes them imperfect: “Insecure, Dependent, Obsessed.” Not only can she control simple gems, though, she can also control the other 2 diamonds. She states once again when the Crystal Gems visit White on Homeworld she mind controls her own two daughters, speaking about what makes them imperfect and why they'll never be as good as her. Once Steven explains that Pink isn't dead, White tries to physically take the gem out of Steven to bring Pink back. Once she admits it to herself that Pink is now Steven, she turns pink. She starts panicking, she's not supposed to have color, she’s supposed to be utterly perfect.
White Diamond’s power is mind control. She sends her Pearl to get anything she needs with mind control. She shoots a gem with a ray of light at whichever gem she chooses and they turn white and lifeless, losing all their color and their ability to talk and think for themselves. She can now talk through the gems she controls, making them “perfect” like her. When the Crystal Gems talk to her for the first time, they each get controlled by White. She speaks of what makes them imperfect: “Insecure, Dependent, Obsessed.” Not only can she control simple gems, though, she can also control the other 2 diamonds. She states once again when the Crystal Gems visit White on Homeworld she mind controls her own two daughters, speaking about what makes them imperfect and why they'll never be as good as her. Once Steven explains that Pink isn't dead, White tries to physically take the gem out of Steven to bring Pink back. Once she admits it to herself that Pink is now Steven, she turns pink. She starts panicking, she's not supposed to have color, she’s supposed to be utterly perfect.
Overall, I love this show. I relate to the characters much more than a sane person should. There’s so much more I could say and in so much more detail as well, from the science behind fusions to the musical aspect. Honestly, you should just watch the show for yourself. It’s better to see it than for me to describe it to you.
Allyse Walker
