The Diamond Essence

Episode 15 & 16 Analysis Bits

This is a analysis post of all the little things that I, and probably some of you guys noticed in the latest 2 episodes.

The Diamond Essence

So Steven used all the diamond essence. Everyone knows that. But the contrast between how the essence blends in episode 1 and 15 is pretty interesting.

In episode 1 of SUF, the blend of essence looks very smooth, bright, and wavy. It sparkles in a very nice and harmonious way.

However, in the latest episode, the blend looks far more... fragmented. Unstable. Dark.

This is probably a representation of his mental state being far more jarred, unstable, and just unhealthy. Rather than spreading evenly and properly, his essence just spreads, like a stain. Or a corruption scar....

Steven's forms

Steven has changed shape, size and even color this season. There are some things to take note of:

Steven's form changes either uniformly or chaotically. This probably indicates weather the change is a reaction or an internal change. That's why Steven grew so chaotically and unsustainably in Growing Pains, but grew in a “healthier” way during Fragments. Not that the way he grew was healthy at all.

We know from the series that gems, including Steven, change form depending on their mental state. Steven changed into chad Steven because he felt stronger. Steven might change into the wyrm because he feels out of control, like a corrupted gem.

Pink Diamond Resembelence

Steven underwent a number of physical changes during Fragments, but one of the most significant ones was his increasing resemblance to his mother.

He's taller, about quartz height. His hair is poofier, like Pink's hair, and it even has the same tufts as hers. And the eyes? People have been pointing out that they have white pupils like White's , rather than Blue and Yellow's black pupils. And that must be deliberate.

White said she wanted to fix things. When she couldn’t, she moved ahead. Steven wants to fix things, but he can't live without a purpose. His family saw him as a burden when he couldn’t do anything. That has fed into his current state, if not created it.

Betraying Every Single Crystal Gem Value

This is probably one of the things that hit me the hardest in this episode. He managed to:

Destroy organic life

SHATTER A GEM

Enjoy violence and causing pain

Within 3 days. All things that his mother fought so hard to prevent from occurring. Perhaps this is why he has decided to do it. His mother didn’t want it, so in an attempt to prove that he's his own person, he does all of the things that would cause disapproval from anyone but Jasper.

It's convoluted and awful, but in a way it makes sense. If he does what his family wants, they will always want more. They'll never want more of this.

Greg

When Steven said “You’re just like mum”, I was astounded by how offensively Greg took it. Astounded for a good reason. He realises that Rose wasn't an entirely altruistic person.

I think this actually shows an incredible amount of strength in Greg. I feel like Steven overreacted in the situation, but Greg has grown nonetheless.

He did get carried away though. He whisked Steven through his youth, without any regard for his feelings. Instead of sitting and talking, he tried to distract Steven. And that CD... context, Greg. Context.

Also, they way that he implies that Steven was “free” shows how little he helped bring up Steven after he moved in with the gems.

Anyway, that was a lot to unpack. I hope you enjoyed reading it! If you have any thoughts, let me know.

- Pasta