"The Nerve to Doubt Her" - The Perfect Victim Meets the Abominable Martyr: A Critique of a Literary Analysis of Steven Universe

 “The Nerve to Doubt Her” - The Perfect Victim Meets the Abominable Martyr: A Critique of a Literary Analysis of Steven Universe

Steven Universe first aired in the United States in 2013, with episodes focusing on themes such as family, queer identity and mental health (Kožuchová, 2018: Muñoz, Chang, 2021). The thematic depth of Steven Universe created an accommodating space for adult fans of the show to provide analysis of the show as a body of work, something largely unique to Steven Universe in comparison to other popular cartoons of the time (Pladek, 2016). Even several years after the end of the series itself, as well as its epilogue series Steven Universe Future, fans still find themselves partaking in critical analysis of the characters and themes, such as the focus of this work, Youtube creator Lavaman.

Lavaman’s (2023) video essay, Why Pearl is the most Complex Steven Universe Character, attempts to explore the character of Pearl, one of the Crystal Gems, and her relationship to Rose Quartz, a former Crystal Gem and Steven’s deceased mother (Lavaman, 2023). The video makes a variety of deeply characterising claims about Pearl and Rose Quartz, though upon analysis these claims appear to be flawed and weak. This essay will aim to deconstruct Lavaman’s (2023) arguments, including the belief that Pearl initially only cares for Steven because she views him as Rose Quartz, as well as the claim that Rose Quartz was abusive to Pearl (Lavaman, 2023). A brief overview of some of the plot points relevant to the character analysis will be provided in order to place the analysis within the context of the series as a whole. Throughout, this essay will attempt to identify the true complexity of Pearl’s character, accompanied by a more in-depth analysis of Rose Quartz, identifying both character’s strengths and flaws.

Steven, the show’s titular character, is half-human half-gem, with the gems being intergalactic beings powered by gemstones placed on their bodies. Steven’s mother, Rose Quartz, gave up her physical form in order to give birth to Steven, with him inheriting her gemstone, and leaving the Crystal Gems, including Pearl, to act as his caregivers. Though never expressly stated, the show heavily implies that Pearl and Rose Quartz were romantically involved, such as in the Season One episode ‘Rose’s Scabbard’, where Pearl reenacts a conversation between the two using a hologram of Rose Quartz, who holds Pearl’s hand and says, “My Pearl, you’re wonderful.” (Sugar, 2015). Lavaman (2023) acknowledges this implication, and argues that Pearl only cares for Steven because she believes that Steven is still Rose Quartz in a new form, rather than him being his own being (Lavaman, 2023). He evidenced this using another moment from that same episode, where Pearl, in reference to Rose Quartz, says “I wonder if she can see me through your eyes.” while talking to Steven (Sugar, 2015). Lavaman (2023) claims that this means that Pearl believes Steven’s eyes to be Rose Quartz’s own, stating that, “A part of her feels like the only reason she is still with him is because of her loyalty to Rose.” (Lavaman, 2023). This, however, is not entirely accurate, as in the flashback episode ‘Three Gems and a Baby’, the Crystal Gems attempt to come to terms with Rose Quartz’s death and Steven’s birth, kidnapping Steven in an attempt to bring Rose Quartz back to life (Sugar, 2016d). When it’s Pearl’s turn to attempt to revive Rose Quartz, she says, “We can all see her. She’s right there! She just can’t reform because… she has this… baby around her.” (Sugar, 2016d). This reveals that Pearl considers Rose Quartz to be her gem, rather than any physical characteristics, and that she views Steven as his own person who just so happens to have Rose Quartz ‘trapped’ inside of his navel.

Instead, it can be argued that Pearl chooses to care for Steven because she sees him as the last project Rose Quartz took part in to connect herself with Earth and humanity. Pearl throughout the series is seen caring for aspects of the Earth that Rose Quartz loved, most notably in ‘Lars and the Cool Kids’, in which the Crystal Gems deal with an infestation of a “gross” moss that Rose Quartz used to tend to, with Pearl stating that, “[Rose Quartz] saw the beauty in everything, no matter how gross.” (Sugar, 2014a). This shows that regardless of her own opinions, Pearl is always willing to care for the same things that Rose Quartz cared about, with one of these things being Steven. This is further evidenced by the show’s extended theme song, in which Pearl sings, “I will fight in the name of Rose Quartz and everything that she believed in.” (Sugar, 2015). In the episode ‘A Single Pale Rose’, Steven enters into different layers of Pearl’s psyche, stumbling upon a version of Pearl just after she discovered Rose Quartz was pregnant, crying out, “What was [Rose Quartz] thinking? She can’t have a baby!” (Sugar, 2018). While showing clear distress surrounding Rose Quartz’s pregnancy, in ‘Space Race’, an episode that chronologically takes place after the previous proclamation, Pearl says to Steven after a failed attempt at building a rocket to travel into space, “You know, I think I’d rather be here on Earth. [...] with you.” (Sugar, 2014c). This proves that in the roughly 13 years between Steven’s conception and the beginning of Steven Universe, Pearl’s priorities have shifted to accommodate Steven and to embrace life on Earth, exactly as Rose Quartz wanted.

It isn’t revealed until the last season of the show that Rose Quartz was actually Pink Diamond, a member of the Diamond Authority who rules over the gems on their planet, Homeworld, and beyond. This secret is kept by Pearl, who was created by the Diamonds for the sole purpose of serving Pink Diamond, but eventually rebelled with her, suggesting the idea that Pink Diamond should take on the form of a Rose Quartz soldier to start the rebellion, and aiding Rose Quartz in the staged shattering of Pink Diamond (Sugar, 2018a: Sugar, 2018b). However, according to Lavaman (2023), “Rose kinda sucked”. This is not a unique analysis of the character of Rose Quartz, as the episode ‘A Single Pale Rose’ changed many people’s perception of the character, “Now, she was a crook. [...] Now, she was no hero.” (Luchini, 2018). It can be argued that this is due to the concept of recency bias, which Cambridge Dictionary (N.D.) defines as, “The fact, when you are forming an opinion about something, of giving too much attention to events that have just happened.” Although in timeline of Steven Universe Pink Diamond taking on the form of Rose Quartz happens thousands of years prior to the beginning of the series, both the majority of the show’s characters and its audience only discover this towards the end of the series, meaning any positive thoughts surrounding Rose Quartz are now coloured by this revelation. Essentially, the audience watches Rose Quartz’s character development in reverse, with the version of her we see in season 1 being her final form, and the version we see in season 5 being where her development begins (The Roundtable, 2024). However, not only does Lavaman’s (2023) analysis contain flaws due to his recency bias, he also bases his analysis on factually incorrect information.

Lavaman (2023) evidences his argument with three main points: Pink Diamond created the Human Zoo to hold humans hostage on Homeworld as a self-indulgent spectacle, Rose Quartz “poofed” and “bubbled” Bismuth due to a disagreement on how to end the rebellion, and that Pink Diamond abandoned Spinel, a gem created for the sole purpose of entertaining her (Lavaman, 2023: Sugar, 2017: Sugar, 2016a: Sugar, 2019) However, two out of three of these criticisms are factually incorrect, and should be individually explored for a deeper exploration of Pink Diamond and Rose Quartz; and Pearl by extension.

First of all, it is an understandable mistake to misidentify the true origins of the Human Zoo, as the origin story for the Zoo is upheld by the Crystal Gems in the first episode that it is referenced in, ‘Adventures in Light Distortion’, where Garnet explains to Steven that, “During her reign on Earth, Pink Diamond stole humans from their families as trophies of her conquest” (Sugar, 2017). However, later on in ‘Now We’re Only Falling Apart’, Pearl corrects this narrative, stating that “When [Pink Diamond] told the other Diamonds she wanted to preserve life on Earth, they created the Zoo and threw a handful of humans in.” (Sugar, 2018b). This displays how Pink Diamond did not personally create the Human Zoo, though her desire to preserve life on Earth brought about its inception. This theme of Pink Diamond accidentally causing great harm is a repeated one, with Rebecca Sugar explaining that, “Pink Diamond is so sure that she’s powerless, but she’s actually profoundly powerful, so much so that she devastates people’s lives without understanding it because she thinks that she has no real power or sway” (McDonnell, Sugar, 2020). Therefore, implying that Pink Diamond had a direct hand in creating the Human Zoo is both factually incorrect and a clunky interpretation of the events, as the Human Zoo was merely inspired by Pink Diamond’s love of humanity.

It is also somewhat understandable to believe that Rose Quartz “poofed” and “bubbled” Bismuth due to a simple disagreement, however upon analysis of the episode introducing Bismuth, this also proves to be a flawed belief. In Steven Universe, Gems are poofed when their bodies are badly damaged, allowing them to retreat into their gemstone to heal and regenerate (Sugar, 2014b). Bubbling gems places them into a stasis, meaning they are safe and can no longer suffer, though it also means they are unable to regenerate (Sugar, 2016c). The Crystal Gems consider poofing and bubbling corrupted and damaged Gems to be the best thing for them to prevent them causing any harm, due to the fact that for the majority of the series the corruption of Gems was deemed irreversible (Sugar, 2016c: Sugar, 2016b). Bismuth, however, believed in a different strategy, creating a weapon called the Breaking Point which could shatter Gems completely, permanently removing their ability to regenerate as a whole, stating that, “We’d be shattering them for the sake of of our cause, to protect our allies, our friends; to free all Gems from Homeworld’s tyranny!” (Sugar, 2016a). Bismuth’s intent was to shatter Diamonds, including Pink Diamond. This is arguably a threat on Rose Quartz’s life, which Bismuth herself even acknowledges in a later episode after discovering the true story of Rose Quartz, as she asks rhetorically, “Can you imagine? ‘Hey Rose! Check out this cool weapon I made! I’m gonna shatter you with it!’” (Sugar, 2018c). More importantly, a small piece of dialogue in the episode introducing Bismuth reveals that this threat wasn’t just hypothetical, but also literal, with Bismuth stating, “I didn’t want to fight [Rose Quartz], but [she] left me no choice.” (Sugar, 2016a). In the context of the episode, this line indicates that Bismuth initiated a physical altercation between herself and Rose Quartz, meaning that Rose would have been well within her right to fight back for the sake of self defence. Bismuth was a genuine threat to both her life as Rose Quartz and her life as Pink Diamond, and so it can be argued that poofing and bubbling her was the most logical response. This does not mean that Rose Quartz always acted in the most logical way, which is clear in her treatment of Spinel.

Spinel was created by the Diamonds with the sole purpose of entertaining Pink Diamond to distract her from her intense desire to have her own colony (Sugar, 2019). When Pink Diamond was eventually given her own colony, she instructed Spinel to, “stand very still”, before leaving the Garden the two would play in, never to return (Sugar, 2019). Spinel waited an agonising 6,000 years for Pink Diamond to return, only to overhear a broadcast from Steven revealing that, “She doesn’t exist now, survived by her son, and all of her brand new friends” (Sugar, 2019). Pink Diamond’s treatment of Spinel links back to Rebecca Sugar’s explanation of her character, that, “she devastates people’s lives without understanding it because she thinks that she has no real power or sway” (McDonnell, Sugar, 2020). Pink Diamond does not recognise that someone else’s life can revolve around her so much that her absence causes genuine damage. Spinel’s prolonged isolation deeply harms her, forcing her to spiral within her own mind, which in turn causes her to present many long-term effects of isolation, “Ignorance, profound prejudice, distrust, suspicion, misinterpretation of motives, perversion of purposes, incredible blindness to facts.” (Yarros, 1921). In regards to Pink Diamond’s mistreatment of Spinel, Lavaman (2023) argues, “Pearl doesn’t even consider any of [Pink Diamond’s] actions as bad, like ever.” (Lavaman, 2023). This claim isn’t entirely true, as we see Pearl question both Rose and Pink’s motives multiple times, notably in ‘A Single Pale Rose’, where Pearl questions Pink’s methods, stating, “There’s got to be another way.” (Sugar, 2018a).  This argument also appears to be disingenuous, as Pearl was frequently kept in the dark about both Rose and Pink’s actions, which causes tension in ‘Rose’s Scabbard’, “I was the one she told everything!”, and becomes something easier to acknowledge in the movie, “I haven’t seen her in 6,000 years. Something must have happened to her since then.” (Sugar, 2015: Sugar, 2019). It is impossible for someone to have an opinion on something they didn’t know about, and so Pearl’s tendency to defend Rose likely stems from the perfect persona Rose put out to the world and to Pearl, rather than the flawed individual she really was.

Now that the evidence Lavaman (2023) provided for his arguments have either been debunked or disregarded, his deeper arguments of Pearl’s characterisation can be tackled. These arguments explore very heavy real-life issues, such as domestic abuse and slavery.

Lavaman (2023) argues that Pearl is a slave to Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond, claiming that, “her world literally only makes sense in the context of Pink Diamond”, and that although Pearl was set free in ‘A Single Pale Rose’, “We can leave our old lives behind. [...] I wanna live here with you! We’ll both finally be free!” Lavaman (2023) believes that “Pearl was never free.” (Lavaman, 2023: Sugar, 2018a). Referring to Pearl as a slave brings forth very vivid imagery and connotations of real-world atrocities such as the slave trade and modern day slavery, with slavery being defined by the presence of three elements, “first, the complete control of one person by another; second, appropriation of labour power; and third, the enforcement of these conditions by threats or acts of violence.” (Bales, Robbins, 2001). An argument could be made for the element of complete control being present between Rose Quartz and Pearl, however all three elements must be present for the argument of slavery to be in the question at all. It can also be argued that Lavaman’s (2023) oversimplified definition of slavery causes harm by making the institution of slavery appear much more frivolous than it is and was, as “The words we choose matter. They shape how we understand harm, how we identify victims, how we respond, and how [people] are cared for. The language we choose can open doors to protection and justice, or it can leave [people] unseen and unsupported.” (Durán, Davison, 2025).

Lavaman (2023) also makes a very bold claim that Pearl is a victim of domestic abuse, stating that, “If your world doesn’t make sense without someone, your only option is to stay with them. [...] It sucks, but that’s why there’s so [much] domestic abuse that’s never reported.” This claim is almost entirely unsubstantiated textually. At worst, the relationship between Pearl and Rose Quartz is unhealthy, but there is a giant leap between “unhealthy” and “abuse”. Furthermore, Lavaman’s (2023) claim that domestic abuse mainly goes unreported due to the world “ [not making] sense without someone” is also factually incorrect, with most cases of domestic abuse going unreported due to personal reasons (embarrassment, fear of retaliation, economic dependency) and societal reasons (imbalanced power between men and women, victim blaming attitudes). (Gracia, 2004). It is also important to note that Pearl and Rose’s relationship is not a heterosexual one. Studies have shown that lesbian women are less likely to be victims of domestic abuse than heterosexual women, with 3.4% of lesbian women reporting domestic abuse compared to 6.3% of heterosexual women. (Kelley, 2024). While uncommon, domestic abuse is entirely possible in lesbian relationships, due to the fact that, “While neither partner in a lesbian relationship enjoys male privilege, we all live in a society that promotes hierarchy, power differentia, inequality and, yes, violence. [...] Lesbian relationships are directly influenced by other societal power inequalities that impact all citizens, including sexism.” (Kaschak, 2012). While it’s important to portray and identify negative qualities of characters in order to present them as complex, it is also important to not fall into the trap of stereotyping marginalised identities. Media representation of queer people, including lesbians, often dehumanises them and makes them unsympathetic or villainous. (Drouillet, 2025). And again, Lavaman’s (2023) oversimplified definition of domestic abuse can be deeply harmful, as “When it comes to sexual assault and domestic violence, misogyny plays a big role in the way we talk about these issues. It matters deeply, and a blasé attitude toward language and how we use it perpetuates that cycle of violence.” (Anniston, 2024).

In conclusion, Lavaman (2023) is able to correctly identify that Pearl is a very complex character, however, he does this by bulldozing over everything that makes Rose Quartz an equally complex character. They both love and care for each other and the world around them, so much so that they both have the capacity to cause indirect and direct harm. It is hypocritical to praise the ways in which one character is complex while simultaneously disregarding anything that makes another character complex because it doesn’t compliment your argument. Instead, it should be argued that the complexities of Pearl highlight the complexities of Rose Quartz and vice versa. Their character arcs cannot and should not be separated.

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