Steven Universe “A Single Pale Rose” Review
The first episode in this thirty minute special had Steven talking with Lapis up on the moon. But at the end Steven saw Pearl near Pink Diamond, seemingly about to shatter her. The dream then ended and caused Lapis to leave again. So, how will Steven confront Pearl about what he saw in his dream?
Story (SPOILERS)
Steven is reflecting on what he’s heard about Pink Diamond's shattering. Steven asks Pearl about it, and she physically isn’t able to tell him about it, as her hand forcibly covers her mouth. Pearl then has Steven go inside her gem, to get answers. Steven meets a Pearl inside of Pearl, who has no idea of what’s going on. There are also more Pearls inside of the Pearl in Pearl’s Pearl. That sentence was as confusing to read as it was to type. Steven then finds another Pearl, crying about how Rose will disappear. Steven then goes inside that Pearl’s pearl into the strawberry battlefield. Steven sees broken gems and is alone with this Pearl. Steven then goes in her gem, and sees Rose poofing Pink, but it was actually Pearl disguised as Rose. Steven then goes inside Pearl’s gem again, where he sees Rose telling Pearl to shatter Pink, and how they can live together and be free. But apparently Rose was actually Pink Diamond the whole time?!? Pink eats some gem shards, and then Pink tells Pearl that nobody can know, so Steven is the only one who knows. Garnet and Amethyst then find out that Rose was Pink Diamond, and that causes Garnet to unfuse.
Presentation
Where do I even begin? This episode not only took us through tons of different locations, it also took us through many different Pearl designs, even one of her as Rose. The locations were also very indicative of Pearl’s past, not to mention the bombshell that was dropped on us about Rose being Pink Diamond.
Final Thoughts
Going into this special I, as well as many people, thought there was no way to top the reveal of Pink Diamond. Well we were all insanely incorrect, as this episode confirmed the almost crackpot theory that Rose was Pink Diamond. Not only that, but we also saw tons of indirect characterization from both Pearl and Rose. Pearl showed hers in all the emotions and memories she suppressed, and Rose by living a lie on who she was this whole time. And it even left off with a cliffhanger on how Amethyst and Garnet, or should I say Ruby and Sapphire, are going to deal with this. Also, if you want to know how deep it goes, Steven’s final Pearl was a Pearl inside a Pearl, inside a Pearl, inside a Pearl, inside of Pearl’s Pearl. That was worse than Inception.
