Post by Zab Jade on Oct 17, 2019 7:14:32 GMT -8
So, it's been about a month and a half since the Steven Universe movie came out, and I have thoughts. These thoughts have more to do with Spinel and Pink than with the movie as a whole.
So, Spinel comes to Earth with the plan to destroy it and all of Pink's "other" friends. She's lashing out at innocent people. Her pain has made her as toxic as the poison she pumps into the planet. Rebecca Sugar has said as much.
A lot of people adore Spinel and (I love the character and feel bad for her) want to wave away what she did, arguing that she only did it because she'd been mistreated by Pink, who was mistreated by the other Diamonds. So, if Spinel's actions can be waved away due to the mistreatment she suffered, why can't Pink's?
I think part of it is that Spinel is small and cute. She's like a child, so she triggers the protective instincts. I think another aspect of it, though, is how people are looking at what Pink did without considering why she did it. It's shrugged off as "Oh, well, she's a selfish Diamond who doesn't really care about others." Pink is selfish, but she isn't uncaring about others. That's a big part of why she didn't fit in with the other Diamonds. It's also part of why she lost her first Pearl. And I think that loss is why Pink treated Spinel the way she did.
Pink's Pearl was her best friend. When she was taken away, the Diamonds replaced her with a new Pearl... and a new "best friend." Let's say you have a friend of a different skin color and your parents/guardians are racist assholes. They separate you from your friend with no way to get back to her and present you with a "more appropriate" friend. This new friend looks up to you and wants to play with you, but she isn't your old friend. You still miss your old friend, and every time you play with this new friend, who you were given no choice about, it makes you miss your old friend even more. I think that fits the way that Pink looked in the garden flashbacks. She starts looking sadder and sadder. It also fits with how she was looking at and reacting to Pearl before Pearl started showing individuality and creativity.
Pink's best friend was taken from her, and she was told it was her own fault for being herself and not what others demanded she be. She was punished and locked up for being herself. She was abused. And after her friend was taken away from her, she was replaced with two other gems. A new Pearl to be her servant and a Spinel to be her friend and playmate. I think that a part of her resented them. She was able to shake it off with Pearl, but not with Spinel.
Both Pink and Spinel were mistreated, and both of them reacted badly to it. Spinel attacked innocent people and tried to destroy the world. Pink, I think, started to detach. She bonded deeply with her first Pearl, and then lost her. She could never fully invest herself in others after that.
She decided to be a "real" Diamond, to get her own colony. If she'd acted more like a Diamond, maybe she never would have lost Pearl. And she fell in love with the planet. She fought for it. And then she decided to "die" for it, ending her life as a Diamond. I think that was a relief to her. To be throw aside Pink Diamond and be Rose Quartz. But that led to the attack that corrupted so many gems, after a war that shattered so many others.
I think this really ate at her. I think that part of why she became Steven was a way to kill herself while leaving something for her loved ones to remember her by. As Pink Steven said, Pink Diamond is gone.
So, Spinel comes to Earth with the plan to destroy it and all of Pink's "other" friends. She's lashing out at innocent people. Her pain has made her as toxic as the poison she pumps into the planet. Rebecca Sugar has said as much.
A lot of people adore Spinel and (I love the character and feel bad for her) want to wave away what she did, arguing that she only did it because she'd been mistreated by Pink, who was mistreated by the other Diamonds. So, if Spinel's actions can be waved away due to the mistreatment she suffered, why can't Pink's?
I think part of it is that Spinel is small and cute. She's like a child, so she triggers the protective instincts. I think another aspect of it, though, is how people are looking at what Pink did without considering why she did it. It's shrugged off as "Oh, well, she's a selfish Diamond who doesn't really care about others." Pink is selfish, but she isn't uncaring about others. That's a big part of why she didn't fit in with the other Diamonds. It's also part of why she lost her first Pearl. And I think that loss is why Pink treated Spinel the way she did.
Pink's Pearl was her best friend. When she was taken away, the Diamonds replaced her with a new Pearl... and a new "best friend." Let's say you have a friend of a different skin color and your parents/guardians are racist assholes. They separate you from your friend with no way to get back to her and present you with a "more appropriate" friend. This new friend looks up to you and wants to play with you, but she isn't your old friend. You still miss your old friend, and every time you play with this new friend, who you were given no choice about, it makes you miss your old friend even more. I think that fits the way that Pink looked in the garden flashbacks. She starts looking sadder and sadder. It also fits with how she was looking at and reacting to Pearl before Pearl started showing individuality and creativity.
Pink's best friend was taken from her, and she was told it was her own fault for being herself and not what others demanded she be. She was punished and locked up for being herself. She was abused. And after her friend was taken away from her, she was replaced with two other gems. A new Pearl to be her servant and a Spinel to be her friend and playmate. I think that a part of her resented them. She was able to shake it off with Pearl, but not with Spinel.
Both Pink and Spinel were mistreated, and both of them reacted badly to it. Spinel attacked innocent people and tried to destroy the world. Pink, I think, started to detach. She bonded deeply with her first Pearl, and then lost her. She could never fully invest herself in others after that.
She decided to be a "real" Diamond, to get her own colony. If she'd acted more like a Diamond, maybe she never would have lost Pearl. And she fell in love with the planet. She fought for it. And then she decided to "die" for it, ending her life as a Diamond. I think that was a relief to her. To be throw aside Pink Diamond and be Rose Quartz. But that led to the attack that corrupted so many gems, after a war that shattered so many others.
I think this really ate at her. I think that part of why she became Steven was a way to kill herself while leaving something for her loved ones to remember her by. As Pink Steven said, Pink Diamond is gone.