Alright sit your butts down, ladies, gentlemen, and all other configurations of being. I’m about to tell you why this latest episode of Steven Universe turned Pearl from probably my least favorite character in the show to one of my favorite characters of anything.

So now that we know that Pearls are mass produced on Homeworld, we know that Pearls are also seen as nothing more than servants. And this fact has made me go from hating Pearl to loving her,

We don’t know how long Pearl was on homeworld, I assume a few thousand years. And she was in this demographic that was seen as inferior. And you know how that happens in the real world. She was looked down on. She wasn’t allowed to excel at anything. She was nothing more than a tool and if she DARES to be anything more than that, she’s a defective threat. This was her LIFE. 

And then she comes to earth, and serves under Rose Quartz. A woman who lets her be more than “just a pearl”. She learns sword fighting. She learns spear fighting. She learns all these things and does all these things that she previously wasn’t allowed to back on homeworld. And for once, she actually feels like she’s worth something. Like she’s proving to all those people who called her “just a pearl” that she’s MORE than a pearl.

And then it all goes to her head. 

She wins the war. She’s proven herself. And now she’s so high on self esteem, something she usually doesn’t have, that she becomes the very person who looked down on her.

She becomes the person who look down on others. 

“You’re a human. You’re a novelty. At best.”

“Humans just lead insignificant lives until their ultimate demise.” 

She’s so used to being looked down on that she absolutely MUST be on top. And thats why she learns so many things and does everything she can to better herself. So she can continue being “more than a pearl.”

And whenever she’s proven wrong, whenever she’s beaten, or threatened, thats when her defenses kick in. That feeling of being “just a pearl” starts flowing, and she’s so desperate to be “more than a pearl” that she gets mean. Rude. Condescending. 

Thats why she hated Greg so much at first. He was taking the one person who believed in her and hogging her all to himself. He was being more to Rose than Pearl was. And she was feeling like “just a pearl” again. So she does whatever she can to fix that. 

She instead comes off as an egotistical bitch.

Then Steven happens. He’s sure of something. He just KNOWS he saw something in the warps. But Pearl knows better. He was seeing things. And than he suddenly says those magic words.

“You’re wrong.”

Whats this?! Pearl thinks. This LITTLE BOY think he knows more than ME?! This is UNNACCEPTABLE.

And she does it again. She refuses to be looked down upon so much that she starts looking down on others herself, and she ABSOLUTELY needs to be right. She desperately tries to prove to Steven that she is “more than a pearl”.

Again. She come off as an egotistical bitch.

Then. Sardonyx. She finally fuses Sardonyx. And thats the breaking point for Pearl. Pearl may have done everything she can to prove she’s “more than a pearl”, but while fusing Sardonyx, she feels something else.

She feel POWERFUL.

She has POWER.

She has a thing that NO OTHER PEARL HAS.

And she gets SO addicted to that power that made her feel superior to ANYTHING, that she wants more. She wants to feel that again. She doesn’t want to feel like “just a pearl” ever again. And she thinks Sardonyx can do that.

And then. She’s caught. Garnet is mad. The one person she doesn’t look down to is outright pissed. And Pearl KNOWS it’s because she FUCKED UP. And now she feel like “just a pearl” more than she has in thousands of years. And when she finally admits it, that she’s “just a pearl”, Garnet shuts her down. Shows her that she’s more than that. She’s her own person.

And now.

Now we have the best part.

Peridot.

Peridot comes in and outright says it.

You’re “just a pearl”

And this sets her off. She’s on the defensive again, and now she’s determined to prove herself again.

But this time it’s different. 

I’m not “More than a pearl”

I’m not “just a pearl”

I am A PEARL.

SO LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT A PEARL CAN DO.

…but she lost the fight. Peridot gets her way, proved to the others that she’s “just a pearl”

And best of all, it doesn’t matter. Steven and the other still came to HER, thinking no less of her. 

And now I think she’s realized that it just doesn’t matter. 

She’s not “just a pearl”

She’s not “more than a pearl”

She’s not “a pearl.”

She’s Pearl. 

And thats all that matters.