“Sorry to make you come all this way…” – Pearl, having just spent minutes shattering the image of the past for Steven Universe… character and show.
Airdate: May 8th, 2018
Written By: Danny Cragg and Hilary Florido
Plot: Steven is still deeply unnerved over the vision that he had of Pearl appearing to shatter Pink Diamond. When he approaches her with the inquiry, Pearl is unable to give an answer one way or the other. Later that day, however, Steven receives a text from Pearl… who then reveals that she didn’t send the text, but placed it in her pearl. Accordingly, Steven goes in to try and obtain the phone, handing Pearl his mobile in the process. What follows is a look at tragic events in Pearl’s life, up to a pivotal event that answers Steven’s inquiry as to the assassination of Pink Diamond, a reveal that leaves Steven beside himself.
Review:
Do you have your coffee, tea, soda, beer, whiskey, wine, or whatever drink you can nurse over a relatively elongated period ready at the helm?
If so, good. If not, get it before reading. Because by the end of this review, you’re gonna be grateful you had something by your side.
*deep breath*
There are six key dates that every Steven Universe fan should have committed to memory.
Let’s start with the big two. There’s November 4th, 2013, when “Gem Glow” first aired and started Steven Universe‘s reign over animated television. It was a relatively inconspicuous debut, but many television shows have such launches, only gaining acclaim as time passes and the show establishes itself in the pop cultural canon. There’s March 30th, 2020, the airdate of the very last episode of the franchise, “The Future”. These are the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end – the broadest definition of the Steven Universe era of pop culture, as I call it. Even after the “imperial phase”, you could feel the shadow of the series linger above so much in popular culture – the idealism, the unabashed progressivism, the cultural representation in cast and crew, you name it. If it didn’t pioneer such themes and concepts, it encapsulated them in a way that captured the zeitgeist.
In between, though, four more dates serve as flashpoints in one way or another, and they must be recognized.
September 25, 2014, saw the debut of the “Mirror Gem/Ocean Gem” two-parter; these two episodes confirmed the launch of the show’s overreaching arc, cemented the space opera elements that are a significant element of the franchise, and introduced Lapis Lazuli onto the scene. March 12th, 2015 was the premier date of the Season 1 finale “Jailbreak”, an episode that signaled the arrival of Ruby and Sapphire, adding new context to Garnet and cementing the show’s place in the pantheon of LGBT pop culture; it fueled a wave of popularity in the series, and I would argue that it secured the show’s “imperial phase” that had built over the past 26 episodes. There’s August 4th, 2016, the debut of “Bismuth” which dared to shine a more cautious light on the show’s political philosophy and brought into focus Steven’s optimistic nature in the face of cruel reality; a divisive episode that seemed to shake the show’s once-cheerful fanbase, but one that struck at the core of the show’s principles and dared to defend them, albeit with a certain nuance.
And then there’s May 7th, 2018. In my opinion, that date marks the biggest flashpoint in the show’s history.
Where were you when “A Single Pale Rose” aired? Where and how did you first watch it?
Because, lads, this is the episode of Steven Universe, the one that shocked the bloody internet. It’s also possibly the most divisive moment in the entire goddamn franchise. To a sizable portion of viewers, it signaled the show finally losing it and either vindicated recent quality complaints or demonstrated that the show, erm, dropped the league lead late in the title race. To others, it’s one of the most fulfilling and brilliant twists in the entire series, as well as one of the best episodes of the show – some have argued that it is the best. For some, it is their “helmet catch” that secured the victory; for others, the Portillo Moment that signaled the show’s collapse.
So what is it?
Well, for me, there is one thing that biases my opinion – arguably, the episode from which the subject of today’s review stemmed.
“Rose’s Scabbard”. I’ve told the story a million times, but “Rose’s Scabbard” was the episode that made me truly fall in love with Steven Universe. It didn’t take long for me to declare it my favorite episode of the series, an opinion I’ve mentioned several times over. It was an opinion I held firm to from the word “go”, and I figured nothing else would top it.
Challenge accepted, said the gods above.
And how poetic a setup for the challenge. “Rose’s Scabbard” was the episode that set up the relationship between Rose and Pearl – a knight and her queen; a captain and her confidante; lover and lover. The relationship had many levels, but it became clear in that episode that all was not as it seemed to be between the duo. Secrets were left obscured until after her demise, and Pearl reached the descent of her grief – at both her involvement with Greg and her death – as soon as she discovered that the woman she loved kept secrets even from her.
Her arc has, in part, involved re-establishing her sense of self as well as reconciling the ideal with the real. She had to reclaim her identity, re-construct her sense of self separate from being a “mere Pearl”, and look to the positive attributes inside of her to build upon. She had to make peace with the past and the present. She had to repair her relationship with her loved ones, albeit after almost destroying them in her tragic desire for a relevance she already had. Pearl’s story is one of individual renaissance in the face of grief, moving forward from the nadir of everyone’s life with a new perspective.
But we have one missing piece of the puzzle.
Closure. Yeah, I know; closure is “a thing Stephen Spielberg made up to sell movie tickets”, in the wise words of a self-destructive equine. The point still stands – despite all discussed above, there is one major thread left in Pearl’s own life. It is the specter that lingers over her life, over the Crystal Gems, and most importantly, over the actions of Steven Quartz Universe, despite only Pearl being in the know.
And it intersects perfectly with Steven’s quest for truth involving his mother, the once-sanctified Rose Quartz, a woman whose fall from grace would’ve been complete even before today. A kid who is now wondering if his parental figure is also to a similar dark past being unearthed, and a kid who has no one else to turn to.
Confront the problem or let it fester further. In this case, the latter is no longer an option. There is an anxiety that is steeped into the first part of this episode, one that makes every single action – even comedic ones, like Amethyst teaching Pearl how to use her mobile phone – very very awkward. And this is for us the viewer.
Steven bites the bullet and downright asks Pearl the question de jour: what was her involvement in the coup de grace? More specifically, was she the one who delivered the killing blow instead of Rose Quartz? In this case, what is the worse answer – his once-sanctified biological mother committing an assassination, or one of the Gems that raised him committing the act that changed the course of history?
Pearl’s response embodies the phrase “I have no mouth yet I must scream”. She is physically unable to tell Steven the truth. It’s a reflexive reaction, covering her mouth every single solitary time the truth might escape her lips. It’s happened before, and it happens once again. Has Steven reached the ultimate dead end, his inquest unable to penetrate any conclusion only accessible by Pearl’s voice?
No. Because there is another way. A look inside Pearl’s psyche. A literal transmission into the light beam that is Pearl’s gem. Now, this is already a compelling plot twist. After all, when Gems get poofed, they retreat into their own gem to reconstruct their physical forms; this is a process that requires deep introspection and comfort with oneself. They are reformed almost always in a new state, but not always improved, as “Reformed” put so eloquently.
Steven enters Pearl’s gem and exits it a new Steven… and a Steven that is utterly gutted at what he learns. The truth gives him no comfort – it is instead the nail in the coffin for the tragedy that is his early adolescence.
On top of that, the initial invitation for Steven is a text. The naive of us think of our messages as inherently encrypted, private communications from one to another with little risk of interception from a third party given their inherently silent status. Back in “Rose’s Scabbard”, Pearl piqued Steven’s interest by wondering if the kid can keep one request. “Can you keep a secret?” Today, that request is validated with two simple texts:
- I want to tell you. but I can’t. (Emoji of a monkey covering their mouth)
- (An emoji of a flower… a rose.)
On top of that, the phone is buried in Pearl’s gem, indicating the literal manifestation of the subconscious becoming conscious. Something inside is demanding release, but it can’t escape conventionally. Steven has to be invited to pull the truth out, a task far more poignant than presented at first glance in the worst possible way.
With this, we literally enter Pearl herself – the strategist, the Renaissance woman, and a very bittersweet figure in the Steven Universe canon. This is introspection taken to the next level. What we are about to see is a fascinating parallel to how the series has gone – starting off light, shifting to moments of darkness, and then culminating in massive reveals that leave us abjectly contemplating the abject tragedy that we’ve seen under the surface.
The first scene is that of Pearl’s inner Pearl organizing her gem storage. And this scene works as the comic manifestation of Pearl’s character. Fastidious? Check. Overprepared with spears up the wazoo? Check. Having everything from a sugar packet to a literal cannon? Damn. Having several phone numbers from women she’s been able to pull despite her stilted chat-up lines, lines we can only hope she’s improved on? Bingo. The Inner Pearl taking leadership and tossing away other mini-Pearls down below? A fantastic mark of an ego streak compounded with irony (internalized “miso-pearlism”?) And with that, hints of wanting, or needing, to suppress the past, to try and find logic in a deeply disorganized situation. Welcome to the manifestation of Steven Universe the comedy – brilliant in one breath, rarely vulgar in the next, and in the third, hinting at more emotional turmoil than you can shake a stick at.
Steven is not satisfied – especially since the Cell Phone is not in the intended spot. Must have been taken by another pesky inner Pearl. So into the next Pearl gem, he goes!
Picture it – Beach City. Night. The past. Steven quickly realizes that he’s waddling through yet another emotional mess; in this case, Pearl mourning the imminent demise of her beloved and the fact that she conceived her child with somebody else. Welcome to Steven Universe: The Manifestation of Grief; “So Many Birthdays” was our first salvo, and it held no punches, and yet it got even more brutal. To hear Pearl sob so violently, grieve for the still-living, and mourn the imminent end of her romance (if it hadn’t already ended at this point) is gutwrenching. Her future, her dreams of utopia with Rose, have suffered a fatal blow, although those dreams might have been on shaky ground anyway.
Pearl is putting the pieces back together outside, as best as she can. Inside, there is that part of her that is still grieving the end.
But that’s not where the tragedy of her life lies. Her phone is in another realm, inside of this Pearl.
In the hellish turmoil of war, very likely the predecessor to the strawberry fields. The corpses of the dead – their gems, their swords – litter the battlefield for miles upon miles. In the middle of the battlefield stands Pearl, staring out into space. A major theme in Steven Universe is the hell that is war. There’s no such thing as a good war, and even the victors so often come to grips with death. The lucky, they too frequently lose their innocence. The unlucky? Besides those who lose what matters most, they often have to watch friends, brothers, sisters, fathers, cities, and towns all be destroyed.
Steven Universe combines this with the shock of living through a massive, massive trauma – the activation of the corrupting light, the action that corrupted almost every Gem on Earth. In seconds, victory was rendered utterly pyrrhic. A species was all but decimated. Sisters in arms, friends she never knew, a future that seemed so utopian, it all lay in ruins. The future has been torn apart, and the mere thought of starting anew can’t even cross her mind. Pearl can’t cry, can’t scream, can’t turn away – the horror has rendered her in absolute disbelief. Hall’s voice acting so perfectly conveys the silent nightmare of shock. And while there was some levity during Pearl’s grief over Rose’s imminent death, here, there is none.
With one killer line… “Why did I do it?” But she can answer that with one motion – taking Steven inside one more Gem. No request for cell phones, no attempt to deny or make light of the situation. Just a transition…
…into Steven looking at the pieces of Pink Diamond. The scene of the crime, the moment the universe changed forever. The apparent raison d’etre for the Corrupting Light being activated. Rose Quartz yields a sword as dust strays away from her, tears escaping from her eyes.
This isn’t the answer.
Rose lifts her head, tears streaming out of her eyes. Her big, blue eyes. And moves her head, containing a Pearl covered up by the hair.
This isn’t quite the answer.
Because she opens her palm with a diamond in her hand – a pink diamond. Intact. There’s one more path to go, inside Pearl’s mind. One demarcation point to unravel under it all.
The palanquin – the seat of power. We see a resolute Rose Quartz discussing the plan of attack with a clearly unnerved Pearl. Their dialogue says it all:
Pearl: There’s got to be another way. I mean, maybe-
Rose: Blue and Yellow don’t care. They never have. This is Pink Diamond’s colony. We can end it all right here, right now.
Pearl: You know this is crazy, right? Your status, my purpose; none of it will matter anymore. This will change everything.
Rose: I know! Isn’t it exciting?
Pearl: …it is.
Rose: We can leave our old lives behind. If this is really my world, I want to give it to the Crystal Gems. I want to live here with human beings. I want to live here with you! We’ll both finally be free!
Just this exchange alone is full of information. We have Rose acting in a rather authoritative state, that she wants so badly to take the imminent action. We have a delusion that Blue and Yellow Diamond would be apathetic to Pink’s demise, when “That Will Be All” exposed the sheer depths of their grief. We have Pearl noting that, even if successful, a new societal order is going to be created – granted, the corrupting light left few to enjoy it. We have a determined optimist in Rose contrasting with a more reserved, almost cynical, but ultimately agreeable Pearl. A new order is being created for love, for humanity (kind of), for liberation, for the escape of the self. If only it played exactly the way Rose requested.
If only.
Because even this is built on a facade. Note the request – “if this is really my world, I want to give it to the Crystal Gems.” If you read that alone, read that as Rose Quartz, you would think that it was a very democratic statement. In fact, it’s not quite as democratic as you would think.
One sentence on both ends betrays it all.
“I can’t believe I’m going to do this.”
“I can’t exactly shatter myself.”
Rose’s form shifts slowly, gracefully, completely… and in seconds, the visage of Pink Diamond stares inside of our eyes.
Ladies and gentlemen, that screenshot is our answer.
Rose Quartz was Pink Diamond. The assassination was an inside job. The shards? Dirt from a hibiscus compressed rapidly. The assassin? Pearl disguised as Rose. The plan was simple – stage the assassination and completely break away from an old era, an old way of life. Liberate Earth, liberate Pink Diamond, liberate Pearl. This is zero hour, to the point where Pink issues one last command to Pearl, to her love, physically compelling her to never speak of this plot ever again. Complete the mission, and all will likely be right in the oasis that Pink Diamond and Pearl will create with one action.
What a fucking tragedy that turned out to be.
First off, let’s not beat around the bush – almost every single aspect of Steven Universe has just been recontextualized. I could stay here all day and list the affected episodes off, but in short, Steven Universe goes from a story of a kid sorting through the aftermath of a revolution to a tragedy of a kid dealing with an emperor’s defection from frustrating leadership, wanting to rid herself of a corrupt past and embrace the planet she loved, if only her actions didn’t cause such a debacle. The Crystal Gems were a rebellion launched by a woman fed up with not being listened to by her equals. What was built up as truly selfless turned out to have selfish, if understandable, motives mixed in.
Pearl’s romance, already taboo with what we knew before, gains an even more forbidden and sobering aura – especially with one particular command lingering over their dynamic for the rest of their days and beyond. Their relationship always had a tragic aura to it, but with this, it truly becomes clear that this concept of them being soulmates came with a quite sober undercurrent. Greg, fascinatingly enough, was Pink’s equal; by all accounts a rebel against mainstream culture, without the baggage of a Diamond forcing Pearl, “her Pearl”, to keep silent on certain matters.
No wonder Pearl fell apart the way she did in “Rose’s Scabbard”. With an action like this, you would swear that Pearl was an unconditional confidante. The fact that even more secrets were kept from her, and that it was Steven that exposed more of them, had to sting in the worst possible way. Her devotion went to the highest degree, and that was the thanks she got?
This reveal pretty much torpedoed the already-foundering Rose/Pearl ship in the fandom, and what a way to take it out.
And the effects stretch far beyond the immediate participants and the Crystal Gems.
A sister of the leadership wasn’t assassinated, she left in anger at the disrespect she felt and left the remaining members in abject despair. Lest you feel too bad for the Diamond Authority, the imprisonment of several Rose Quartz soldiers, already a cold example of collective punishment, becomes utterly pointless; jailed for crimes that never happened. The Crystal Gems thought they were fighting against their callous leader; they fought for her liberation. So many were corrupted and shattered for a political illusion that was not what it seemed. The liberation of Earth did happen, but at what cost to the Crystal Gems and the neutrals that lived there? Gone. Corrupted. Left in perpetual agony as a bioweapon for thousands of years. The leadership wanted revenge, the population on Homeworld was conditioned to seek it out, and the society stagnated for eons. An entire interstellar society went full Captain Ahab.
Bismuth was imprisoned for suggesting shattering the Diamond Authority. To think she was far closer to the target than she ever dreamed. Her imprisonment on her end was, if not pointless, then almost hypocritical.
And, uh, one small cherry on top?
Steven Universe is the offspring of a one-time space autocrat. And because he has a diamond in his gut, he is a space autocrat in exile. Think about it, and it becomes brilliant; this kid who became something of a symbol of liberation and pacifism to the audience is the son of a one-time colonist who repudiated her past. From a liar spawned a son who sought the unvarnished truth. From a Diamond who had a romance with the lowest possible subordinate in Gem society to a kid who is a soulmate with his equal in Connie. The list goes on and on. Steven is the perfect foil to his predecessor.
Pink Diamond wanted peace of mind for herself and the planet she fell for. The end result was traumatic on multiple ends. Rose Quartz, once sanctified, then increasingly villainized, has now become a tragic figure on many fronts. Steven Universe isn’t a tragedy – this show retains optimism to the very end – but the Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz arc has culminated in asking so many questions, leaving one painful thought on the table.
Was it worth it?
Well…
…let’s focus on Pearl for a second. Her participation in the scheme was undoubtedly the right one for her – sure as hell Homeworld was unlikely to reform and liberate Pearls, and there was certainly some genuine love between the two, even if the sheer gulf in status makes several aspects of the relationship unnerving – but in service of her diamond, there will always be that sobering undercurrent. Even beyond Pearl, consider what else this subterfuge caused. The Corrupting Light was destructive and heinous, but Earth did rebound like a phoenix from the ashes; new, unique societies popped up. We’ll discuss this in the next episode, but remember, it was Rose who told Garnet that her existence needed no rationalization, no argument; a major step forward in Fusion identity.
Hell, look at Pink Diamond. Episodes that focused on her diamond state tended to portray her as a more irritable, self-centered, childish character. Granted, with this episode, we have to wonder if those depictions were entirely accurate. But recall the episodes revolving around Rose Quartz; she was a more inquisitive, peaceful, mature character, and even when she did act insensitively, there was little malice or selfishness behind it all. It’s character development in reverse, making for a very compelling, multifaceted character whose appearances are all post-mortem.
None of this negates the tragic impacts of Pink and Pearl’s actions, but it does add another side to the sword. A sword kept in a scabbard that has just been unsheathed, one could say.
Take all of what I listed above, and there is one inarguable fact. “A Single Pale Rose” so thoroughly transforms Steven Universe without removing a single dimension about it. If anything, it adds so much more in the span of eleven goddamn minutes. This scene makes an already rich show even richer. It’s akin to watching an atom bomb go off from miles away – you see the light, but the sound takes some time to get there.
Pearl hands Steven back the phone, leading him to text a clear code for receiving his answer. Found it.
Then the sound of the explosion finally echoes; the flash forward through Pearl’s life, akin to the concept of life flashing through our eyes before we shuffle off this mortal coil. In a way apropos – Steven Universe as we knew it has died. The old world is gone. And while Pink Diamond wanted to kill her old world off, it’s Pearl who finally gets to bury the coffin with one sentence.
“I wanted to tell you for so long.” The seal is broken. Pink Diamond’s last command has finally collapsed. Hall’s delivery is sobering, but there’s also a hint of bitter relief. Talk about a weight off her mind, yet why she had to keep it in for so long. Not even Pink’s last command could stand up to one fact – by hook or by crook, the truth will out. Pearl is now fully, abjectly free, but what joy can be taken when looking at the kid she raised realized that his life was a lie? But at last, she can move forward.
Steven, though? He can scarcely believe it. There’s no anger, no relief, only defeat and disbelief. “Mom was Pink Diamond.” Is there any other acceptable response? I can’t see it. Callison just sells the despair to the nth degree. It’s almost the opposite of his famous “I think you’re pretty great” – there, he was resolute and optimistic. Here, he’s dismayed and uncertain of what else could possibly have happened. He got his answer, and it was beyond anything that was on his radar. It might even be the worst possible resolution. Descended from a member of an overarching enemy group.
It also doesn’t help that Garnet and Amethyst overhear him and pretty much embody the typical audience reaction.
The Crystal Gems have encountered their biggest black swan event in thousands of years – a delayed trigger of a black swan event, no less – and it was all set in motion by Pearl getting a cell phone so she can talk to women. Pearl’s quest for love led her to finally get closer to closure of a lost Lenore.
Bizarrely poetic.
The show’s status quo disappeared into a gem and reformed, more dramatically than anyone thought possible. And the fallout will last for the rest of the series. This is what the narrative was building towards for four and a half years, and what a payoff. It’s simultaneous relief and heartbreak in 11 minutes. We wanted the answer, but damn it, was it worth it?
Yes.
“A Single Pale Rose” is staggering on every conceivable level. It’s close to perfection – dialogue, visuals, character development, pacing, emotional resonance, musical aura… and it takes the universe we’ve come to love, reframes it, and makes it even more striking and tragic. On top of that, it encapsulates almost every single aspect of the series we love dearly – the comedy, the drama, the tear-jerking emotional resonance, the intense character development, the political intrigue, the hell of war, the tragedy of romance, you name it. No other episode of the series accomplishes so much in so little time.
Much will be discussed about the impact of Steven Universe on television and society, and rightly so. But larger shows have fumbled the ball near the end and damaged their reputation for storytelling. Not Steven Universe. “A Single Pale Rose”, in my eyes, cemented the show as an abject success. It is the narrative crescendo, the completion of a brilliant tapestry. It’s the cartoon equivalent to, say, the guitar solo in the back half of “Stairway to Heaven” – there’s more to go, but that moment is a masterpiece on its own terms.
Like many fans, I fell into Steven Universe in 2015. This episode did as much as any other to validate my infatuation and fascination with this series. Rewatching it for this review made me proud to carry the torch for this piece of pop art. What a triumph.
So, you’ve finished your drink after reading this review, and now you are looking for a brilliant series to watch. Am I right? Well, after this post, I have a two-word answer, and I hope you concur…
Found it.
Tidbits:
- This episode starts with Amethyst yelling at Pearl for not using her phone despite having it for a month. I mean, she appears to have a solid phone, especially for the mid-2010s. (Before you ask, I’m assuming Greg added Pearl to the mobile plan.) Might as well use it at least to order stuff, chat up women, and completely change the status quo.
- Yeah, Pearl’s gone on the pull a few times! After all, she has collected quite a few numbers and stored them in her phone. Bad news, she doesn’t call the Mystery Woman during the show, at least not on-screen. (Oh, how I would’ve liked a sequel to that episode.) But Pearl’s quest for a new partner isn’t necessarily over. And besides, we always have the world of fanfiction!
- God knows I’ve praised Deedee Magno and Zach Callison’s voice acting here, but props to Susan Egan for so perfectly selling me on Pink Diamond. I know she’s meant to be a complex figure, and Pink Diamond did some tragic and less-than-ethical things, but Egan really nailed the earnestness behind her actions perfectly.
- I initially thought that Amethyst’s “Whaaaaaat?” at the end of the episode was a bit on the nose. Yes, we watched a shocking reconfiguration of the status quo. But honestly, it fits Amethyst’s character perfectly. I’m more impressed with Garnet’s reaction – silent horror. Because guess what? The next few episodes will put her to the largest possible test.
- Lastly, remember that weird crossover with Uncle Grandpa? Yeah, in that episode, the titular character of that series suggests that Steven polish his gem twice a year. You know, the suggested polishing schedule for diamonds. You foreshadowed the twist in that bizarre ass episode, Sucrose and Company? Respect.
Wrap-Up:
Favorite Scene: Since it would be simplistic for me to say “the whole damn episode”, I’m going with “the entire back half of the episode”.
Best Character: Pearl. Pearl! Pearl! This is the apex of her character development and a vindication of my initial path into fandom. My god, though; I almost wanted to give this to Rose/Pink. This episode is a character cavalcade in the best possible way.
Memorable Quote: “I’ve wanted to tell you for so long…” If your heart doesn’t break a little bit, especially after the end of this episode, I don’t know what to tell you.
Verdict: What the hell do you think?
As far as I’m concerned, this is one of the best episodes of television to ever air. Yes, I rank this episode with the likes of “Ozymandias” and “Two Cathedrals”. Yeah, I said it.
The fact that Rebecca Sugar helmed a writing staff that put together several episodes in that discussion will forever earn her my respect. This piece of television is a tragedy, a relief, and a shock rolled into 11 minutes, and I was left with my jaw on the floor at the end of it all. It is artful. Absolutely artful. This is Steven Universe‘s triumph, the climax of four and a half years of plot development.
This, of course, leads me to the hardest part of this review… the episode ranking.
In almost any other show, an episode of this quality would be the undisputed champion. And for this show, I could argue the same but for one small counterargument.
My episode. The one that made me fall in love. The one that led me to watch this when it first aired. After the airdate of this outing, I agonized for months as to whether or not “A Single Pale Rose” finally dethroned “Rose’s Scabbard” at my personal summit. The former is eleven minutes of TV perfection that set up Pearl’s character for the rest of the show, the latter utterly reshaped the entire damn series. One is a beautiful synecdoche; the other, to my eyes, is the best damn playing of an audience in the canon of animated television. I almost argued for both of these episodes to be joint champions, sharing the summit at gods among men.
But after much internal debate, after periods of protracted personal rumination, I finally made up my mind. In the end…
…”A Single Pale Rose” enters the ranking at #2.
Don’t get me wrong – a case can be made that this episode is the objective best of the entire series because it reshaped the canon in such a tragic way. With that said, “Rose’s Scabbard” has just as much brilliance, has a lot more sentimental value to me, and starts what this episode builds on and reshapes. It is a prime symbol of the show’s imperial phase, that run of episodes when it did no wrong. I find it gorgeously scripted, acted, and directed in every second. Watching that episode can put a lump in my throat to this day. It remains, in my opinion, Rebecca Sugar’s finest hour.
In this spirit, while there are more episodes to rank for purposes of completeness, I’m declaring the title race officially over – even though it was pretty clear for years who the winner would be. Frankly, this is like waiting for the day every season when Bayern Munich puts enough difference between themselves and the rest of the Bundesliga.
And that day has arrived today. “Rose’s Scabbard” is the champion of the Review Nebula’s Steven Universe Power Rankings. Long may it reign.
But nothing is threatening “A Single Pale Rose”, either. This episode is officially in second place, and it will remain so permanently. Even in comparison to the one above, it still stands as a masterpiece. Taken on its own merits, this episode is a triumph of television. Danny Cragg, Hilary Florido, Rebecca Sugar, Deedee Magno-Hall, Zach Callison, and anybody who worked on this episode, if you are reading this… thank you.
You have just lent your talents to a truly shining installment of the best show ever aired on Cartoon Network. Nay, you helped create one of the best episodes of one of the best pieces of animated sci-fi ever.
Congratulations Crewniverse, you sadistic, brilliant bunch of nutjobs.
The Review Nebula 