queenofyoursoda:loreweaver-universe:I theorized over the last couple days about the Gems having know
queenofyoursoda:loreweaver-universe:I theorized over the last couple days about the Gems having known Lapis was trapped in that mirror, but having watched both Mirror Gem and Ocean Gem and had some time to think, it just keeps getting darker, because I’ve come to the tentative conclusion that while Amethyst and Garnet knew, Pearl didn’t.Think about how the three reacted to the news that Steven had woken up the gem in the mirror.Garnet reacted with shock initially:Then wariness:Then she tries to take control of the situation and lies to Steven:And, finally, rage, overpowering her love for Steven:Then, take Amethyst. Initially, shock:Then, most tellingly of the gems’ reactions, guilt:Then the same wariness as Garnet:Then rage herself, to a degree that freaks Steven out:Now, Amethyst’s lack of a poker face combined with the extreme reactions she and Garnet have made me think that the pair knew who Lapis was (or at least that there was a dangerous gem sealed in the mirror) but it didn’t seem to add up. Why react that strongly to a prisoner? It may have been a justified imprisonment, to be fair, but they wouldn’t react this strongly unless they were the ones doing the imprisoning.Now, that’s all fair enough. We’ve seen how dangerous Lapis was, and if Amethyst and Garnet had to imprison her, they had to imprison her. What is disturbing is that Pearl genuinely doesn’t seem to be aware that there’s an intelligent gem involved at all.Initial reaction: shock.Then, unlike Garnet and Amethyst, who immediately recover and act like they know what’s going on, confusion:Then, dawning realization turning to horror:And then the real kicker happens–this line right here:“Garnet!” Amethyst hisses, “Do something!”Who are they looking at in that shot? Are they looking at the mirror, the dangerous Gem they’re so afraid of? Are they looking at Steven, their innocent son, who’s the one in danger/ready to free Lapis right now?No.They’re looking at Pearl……because she’s putting the pieces together.Look at the symbolism of the entire scene. Garnet and Amethyst are watching Pearl play out one of her neuroses, alternating between teasing her and trolling her. They are separate from Pearl in almost every shot in this room; together, they are watching Pearl act exactly as they expect, and doing nothing to correct the situation.Here’s what I think happened: I think Garnet and Amethyst, with or without Rose, were involved in the imprisonment of Lapis. I’m not casting judgment on that; I don’t have enough information to conclude whether it was justified or not. Then–and this is what I am judging–then they gave the mirror to Pearl for safekeeping, knowing that she wouldn’t think enough of the mirror to try to talk to it, thinking it was just a device, something to use and store away as she saw fit. They gave it to Pearl because they knew she’d never think to free Lapis. They made Pearl her jailor without her knowledge or consent.And that’s gonna make me leery of these two for a long time to come.I want to add something because as known lapis gems are used for decoration well…. We know gems are used for powerAdding to the horror on pearls face and how well we come to know pearls may be servants/soldiers/what ever when if pedals specifically prove to be useless as a physical form are used the same way? It seems like hems used for power where broken corrupt and ‘harvest’ (remember peridots horror as she looked at all the corrupt Gems?) But that would be when gems couldn’t be physically or mentally fit….But if pearls were a bit of a mass production….. They were just used for energy the moment then were proved useless from the get go. No corruption needed.Well I mean. It is one thing to use energy from something that isn’t ‘alive’ (or like like how we use farm animals) But….. Isn’t it another to use something conscious and with thoughts as intelligent as yours? With a fate that could easily have been yours? Because how many of you seen decorative mirrors with pearls on them?I have always wondered about this. Pearl is continually shown to be similar to Peridot- they both seem to thrive on being given orders. Both seem lost when they are left on their own without direction. Pearl always just wanted to be of service and Peridot is very much the same, feeling useless without her technology, as if she is nothing without it (Much like Pearl feels she is nothing without someone to fight for). Pearl’s expressions when she sees Lapis was a real gem and not just a dormant broken gem is one of horror. Now, she could have thought that if it was that cracked it surely must be damaged beyond repair, right? It’s not impossible that seeing the gem broken could mean that it is dead and using little residual energies left over as a power source. When gems break they may believe they are dead and that can justify the use. If none of them knew she was still alive it would make sense, but they saw it broken and if I remember correctly they thought it was inactive. not “dead”. As in, there is a good chance they didn’t realize the gem was one of THEIR people. We know that Rose tried very hard to do something about the gem fragments across the world, but unlike Steven who tried to heal them she seemed to imprison them in bubbles for future… study? Perhaps? Why didn;t SHE try to heal them or talk to them? She seems like the kind of person who would try that? But then she can be biased- maybe she saw them as contaminated and beyond redemption or repair. And what are the intentions of collecting the bubbles in the first place? At first it seems harmless….. they are imprisoning dangerous ones so they don’t hurt anyone. However gems have a skewed vision of humans…. destroying the town isn;t exactly on their list of things NOT to do…. Peridot, however, gives us some eerie insight….. she thinks they are HARVESTING them (something Yellow Diamond may actually be doing) and that is seen as something terrible. If they are collecting the broken gems and keeping them there, why aren’t they actively trying to find a way to help them? Mostly the gems just stick them there and leave them be and there seems to be no real progress in aiding them. WHY? Some of them are definitely able to be reasoned with… Steven proved that. They say he is like his mother but really Steven does a lot of things that Rose wouldn’t actually do…. or didn’t actually do. And this kind of bothers me. We see her as some form of godly figure- a beacon of light in a war, but the way Greg talks about the war, it almost seems like there are hidden things of a darker nature that happened that everyone is hiding from Steven. Also we have been shown that Rose was NOT a saint and that she didn’t understand humans so therefore how could she fully understand gems if there is a social hierarchy? (Particularly if the theories of her really being a Pink Diamond and therefore royalty come into play…. but that is another theory). I do not know if she is the one who put Laps in the mirror, nor do I think that she did but you never really know. She MAY have! However if Garnet and Amethyst knew about Lapis…. knew she was in there and hid it from Pearl, then perhaps Rose asked them to keep it hidden. There is a strong possibility Rose could have been using gems in ways they may not have liked. Lapis KNEW about the Crystal Gems….. and she saw them in a bad light. Peridot also saw them as a negative thing. Even if they were on the “bad” side of the war, there IS no “right side and wrong side” of WAR. Both have their reasons and both sides do bad things. We don;t know what kinds of negative impacts Rose had…..Now, Rose knew Pearl better than anyone apparently if Pearl’s perspective is anything to go by. We have seen how Pearl was treated “special” by her but I wonder- Rose had a skewed vision of Humans she saw them as being naive and innocent. Perhaps seeing a “drone” gem like Pearl, she thought Pearl was only good for serving, or perhaps she even babied her a bit. I wouldn’t be surprised…. if she could be wrong about humans, who is to say she is not wrong about other gems? (Again, this is the gem social hierarchy theory talking) She took them in, but we know very little of how she treated them other than that they ADORED her. They idolized her and her cause, but Pearl idolized her almost more along the lines of Rose’s word being law (royalty, much?).Perhaps Rose’s viewpoint WAS skewed in regards to “drone-like” gems. Perhaps she didn’t realize Pearl could be her own person or have her own thoughts. (After all, Pearl was her knight and according to the other gems, constantly gave her life to protect Rose at the cost of poofing back into a gem. How often did she do that? Why did Rose accet this? Did she protest???) We know Pearl felt a really deep connection to her…. and they synced pretty well when fused. BUT she had hidden many things from Pearl. Perhaps it was not a matter of not trusting her, but more she did not believe she was either capable of handling the knowledge, or that it wasn’t necessary for someone of her status to know. All in all, I am positive that Garnet and Amethyst knew, which leads me to wonder- if those created in the Kindergarten are looked down on, how LOW does Pearl have to be in status to have that information concealed from her? Was that really the reason? Or is it more of they knew she was like Lapis in status or position and didn’t want her to be angry with them for using a gem in a way she herself could have been used. Either way they KNEW what she would be thinking and the fact that they concealed it is very deeply concerning. -- source link