Summary of Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl

The Demise of Rose Quartz

Steven Universe starts with a bunch of innocent and fun adventures, but it all changes when we learn of Rose Quartz. It is sadly revealed that in order for Steven to exist, Rose Quartz had to give up her physical form permanently. Everything that made her who she was was wiped from her gemstone so that Steven could use it to live. This event marked the start of the Crystal Gems' character development, and was further catalyzed by the reveal that Rose Quarts was in fact one of the rulers of Homeworld. Essentially, Rose Quartz was part of the reason why so many gems have suffered and so many planets were destroyed. The show used these reveals to introduce mature topics in a way that children can understand.

Character: Rose Quartz of the Crystal Gems
Gem: pink stone placed on navel
Summoned weapon: Shield

Important topics

Body positivity and disabilities:

Through Amethyst, the show was able to convey that being born different from everybody else does not make you inferior. That the right people will love and support you no matter what you look like or what you are physically capable of.

Healthy Relationships:

Through Garnet, the show taught us that love at first sight does not exist. Love takes time, effort, and commitment. And most of all, the healthiest relationships are based on trust.

Trauma and Abuse:

Through Pearl, we learned that finding people to support you is crucial in healing from trauma. Pearl faught in wars and was emotionally abused by Rose Quartz for more than 5,000 years. She also formed an unhealthy attachment to her abuser, which is very common. However Steven and the Crystal Gems were able to pull her out of this darkness.

Final Thoughts

This show is important for adults and children alike. It teaches us that harmful behaviors are not normal, and that we do not have to put up with them. It also teaches us how to heal from these experiences and empathize with others. And most importantly, it teaches us that there is always hope. The video below is the new intro to the series, and it depicts how hopeful the Crystal Gems are after overcoming their trauma.

Character Profile: Pearl

Role

Pearl is the first of the Crystal Gems to be recruited by Rose Quartz. Out of all the Crystal Gems, she was the only one who knew that Rose Quartz was one of the malicious rulers of Homeworld from the start. Since Pearls are created to obey and serve their masters, Pearl was forced to keep Rose Quartz's secret from the others. After Rose Quartz died so that Steven may draw life from her gem, Pearl becomes a maternal figure to Steven. Every once in a while, her roots in servitude resurface as she is shown cleaning Steven's house and grieving over Rose.

Character: Pearl of the Crystal Gems
Gem: white stone placed on her forehead
Summoned weapon: Spear

Powers and Abilities

Abilities that all gems share:
-Summon a weapon
-Shape-shift
-Reform (regenerating after their physical bodies have been destroyed)
-Fuse (merging with another gem to become a new being)
-Extra-human strength and agility

Fusions:
Fusions involving Pearl tend to have a thinner appearance with a pointed nose, poised, and have precise attacks.
-Opal (Fussion of Pearl and Amethyst)
-Sardonyx (Fusion of Pearl and Garnet)
-Rainbow Quartz (Fusion of Pearl and Rose/Steven)
-Alexandrite (Fusion of Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst)
-Obsidian (Fusion of Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst, and Steven)

Unique Abilities:
Since Pearls are designed to be servants, they can store vast amounts of physical items inside their gemstone. Pearl can also create holograms of herself that can deal damage to opponents, record past events in detail, and can project images of her thoughts/memories out of her gem. Since Pearl has perfect memory, she is able to teach herself many skills such as swordsmanship, dance, and engineering. Pearl has a gem placed on her forehead where she can summon a spear that is capable of shooting laser blasts at opponents.

First fusion: Rainbow Quartz (Pearl + Rose Quartz)
Gem: multicolored stone placed on chest and navel
Summoned weapon: Umbrella (Pearl's spear + Rose Quartz's shield)

Character Development

Pearl is by far the most tragic character in the Crystal Gems. She had fallen deeply in love with her former master, Rose Quartz, yet those feelings were never returned. She had to watch as Rose waged wars, fell in love with a human, and died to bring a gem-human hybrid into the world. To top it all off, she was tasked to keep Rose's dark past a secret from everyone and raise Steven as her own. The video below does an excellent job in depicting Pearl's pain. Pearl's development is the longest, and she still has not fully healed from Rose's emotional abuse, but Steven was able to help her deal with these feelings by planning a trip with Pearl and his father. This trip forced Pearl to reevaluate her grief and stop blaming Steven's father for taking Rose away. In the end, she was able to become her own person. She had truly become her own master.

Character Profile: Garnet

Role

Garnet is the fusion of the two gems Ruby and Sapphire. On Homeworld, Sapphires belong to the elite class which consists of rarer, more important gems. Sapphires are designed to be cold and calculating to aid in battle strategy. Rubies are common foot soldiers/escorts that work in groups of three or more so they may fuse into a giant Ruby in times of conflict. When Rose Quartz, original leader of the Crystal Gems, and her Pearl try to "poof" Sapphire (destroy her physical form), Ruby steps in to rescue her. This resulted in the accidental cross-fusion between Ruby and Sapphire, thus Garnet was born. Since the fusion of different gem types is taboo, Ruby and Sapphire flea from Homeworld to avoid getting their gemstones shattered (the gem equivalent of murder). After Rose Quartz passes away so that Steven may live, Garnet becomes the new leader of the Crystal Gems and acts as Steven's stern yet loving parental figure.

Ruby and Sapphire (Garnet's fusion components)

Character: Garnet of the Crystal Gems
Gem: magenta stone placed on each palm
Summoned weapon: Spiked guantlets

Powers and Abilities

Abilities that all gems share:
-Summon a weapon
-Shape-shift
-Reform (regenerating after their physical bodies have been destroyed)
-Fuse (merging with another gem to become a new being)
-Extra-human strength and agility

Fusions:
Fusions involving Garnet tend to be the biggest in size, confident, and have some element of breaking the 4th wall (speaking to the show's viewers)
-Garnet (Fussion of Ruby and Sapphire)
-Sugilite (Fusion of Garnet and Amethyst)
-Sunstone (Fusion of Garnet and Steven)
-Alexandrite (Fusion of Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst)
-Obsidian (Fusion of Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, and Steven)

Unique Abilities:
Garnet is exceptionally skilled at fusion. In Steven Universe, a fusion's stability is based on the relationship between the gems involved. Since Ruby and Sapphire have a love lasting more than 5,000 years, they are able to maintain their fusion indefinitely. The video at the bottom shows how triumphant Garnet is in battle because of how stable her fusion is. Garnet has several unique abilities, which are derived from Ruby and Sapphire. She can see future timelines, is fireproof, has incredible strength, and can make electricity. Since Garnet is a fusion, she has two gemstones: one on her right palm and one on her left palm. From these stones, she can summon a pair of guantlets with spikes on the knuckles.

First fusion: Unstable/original Garnet (Ruby + Sapphire)
Gem: magenta stone placed on each palm
Summoned weapon: Spiked guantlets (Ruby's glove + Sapphire's unrevealed weapon)

Character Development:

Throughout the show, Garnet had always been a stoic and strong leader with little changes in her character. However, after it was revealed that Rose Quartz used to be an evil tyrant of Homeworld, Garnet's fusion fell apart. Sapphire was upset that her future vision never saw past Rose's lies, and she blamed Ruby for it. When Ruby and Sapphire fuse, Garnet loses that future vision and can only see future possibilities/timelines. So Sapphire abandons Ruby and Ruby goes on a journey to find herself. Eventually Steven is able to come through to them and help them see that they really are in love with eachother and it's not just all based on Rose's lie. This led to a historic moment on television: Cartoon Network's first show to feature a lesbian wedding. 

Character Profile: Amethyst

Role

Amethyst is the only member of the Crystal Gems that has never seen her kind's planet of origin: Homeworld. Amethyst was first discovered in an abandoned Kindergarten on Earth by Steven's mother. When Homeworld gems conquer a planet, they use Kindergardens as a means to create new gem life while simultaneously draining the planet of its resources. Homeworld Amethysts are meant to be giant brutes that act as frontline soldiers, but our Amethyst incubated in the Kindergarten too long and has a small, inoffensive form. Currently, Amethyst acts as Steven's mischievous adopted sister, as she is the youngest member of the Crystal Gems. She occassionally gives in to her pre-programmed role as a soldier as she participates in underground wrestling tournaments.

Character: Amethyst of the Crystal Gems
Gem: purple stone placed on chest
Summoned weapon: Whip

Powers and Abilities

Abilities that all gems share:
-Summon a weapon
-Shape-shift
-Reform (regenerating after their physical bodies have been destroyed)
-Fuse (merging with another gem to become a new being)
-Extra-human strength and agility

Fusions:
Fusions involving Amethyst tend to be strong, violent, or wreckless.
-Opal (Fusion of Amethyst and Pearl)
-Sugilite (Fusion of Amethyst and Garnet)
-Smokey Quartz (Fusion of Amethyst and Steven)
-Alexandrite (Fusion of Amethyst, Pearl, and Garnet)
-Obsidian (Fusion of Amethyst, Pearl, Garnet, and Steven)

Unique Abilities:
Though all gem life can reform and shape-shift, Amethyst is exceptionally talented at them. Amethyst can shapeshift into more complicated forms such as a helicopter, and she can hold these forms longer than any of the other Crystal Gems. While most gems take their time in reforming after their bodies have been destroyed, Amethyst has been shown to regenerate several times in the span of an afternoon. Amethyst's gem is found on her chest, and she can summon a spike encrusted whip from it. Since Amethyst is a quartz soldier, she has the ability to spin-dash (similar to Sonic the Hedgehog).

First fusion: Opal (Amethyst + Pearl)
Gem: prismatic stones located on chest and forehead
 Summoned weapon: Bow (Pearl's spear + Amethyst's whip)

Character Development

Amethyst's entire identity hinges around feeling inadequate. She is constantly reminded that she is not who she is supposed to be either by villainous Homeworld Gems or interactions with the Crystal Gems. Her feelings of inadequacy eventually prompt her to run away from home, as shown in the video below.

During a battle with Jasper, the perfect Homeworld soldier, she was confronted with her inadequacy head-on and was heading down a dark path. That is, until Steven comforted her and he reminded her that he too feels inadequate. He could never live up to his mother's potential. This experience marked a huge turning point for Amethyst, and her relationship with herself and the Crystal Gems grew stronger.

Welcome to A Steven Universe Blog

What is Steven Universe?

Before I get into the details, I must disclose that from this point on there will be spoilers. You have been warned.  For those of you who decided to stay, Steven Universe is a show whose protagonist, Steven, is a 14 year old boy-gem hybrid. In this show, gems are extraterrestrial beings whose magical abilities are derived from a gemstone embedded in their bodies. In fact, their bodies are projections that come from their magical gems (more on that later). Steven Universe presents itself as a goofy children's cartoon in the beginning, however it quickly delves into more serious topics after we learn that Steven's mother, Rose Quartz, died so that he may draw life from her gem. These topics along with the music made me fall in love with the show. If you want to get an idea of how talented the songwriter's are, please watch this extended intro.

Blog Objectives

When creating this blog, I had a hard time deciding what to focus on. The show's story is so rich that I felt like it would be a huge disservice if I just focused on one thing. For that reason, I decided to cast my net as wide as possible. I will be creating extensive profiles of my favorite Steven Universe characters, starting with the Crystal Gems. The Crystal Gems are Steven's guardians and self-proclaimed defenders of earth. The video above gives a good introduction to the team. In each of these character profiles, I will discuss their role in the show, their powers and abilities, and the character development they underwent. I hope you enjoy the posts!

From left to right: Pearl, Amethist, Steven, Garnet