Yeah, that’s been a pretty common theory even before the character was introduced. People noticed that Yellow and Blue Pearls had gem placements that matched their diamonds, then speculated –
Blah blah
Man. So. The Rose is Pink theory is super old, and was once really popular. At a certain point, partially through the show’s misdirection and partially through exhaustion, it grew discredited and turned into sort of a joke. But while it was going on, there was this notion that, well, if Rose was Pink, what if CG Pearl was Pink’s Pearl? But then, her gem didn’t match up. So maybe she was originally White’s Pearl, somehow, and they traded Pearls for some reason?
So that idea was out there, and had become kind of subconscious by the time of Single Pale Rose. When that hit, the Pearl thing exploded back into prominence. Surely our Pearl can’t be Pink’s original Pearl, right? Not just the gem placement; all of these other passing comments suggested she hadn’t been with Pink for too long before things got weird.
Then we saw White Pearl, and she was strange as hell, and wasn’t voiced by Deedee Magno Hall, and her gem placement matched Rose/Pink, and she was dressed kind of like Pink, and… yeah.
Then the show was off the air for, like, six months, for no particular reason, given that the episodes were all ready to air in late 2017 (seriously, look at the timestamp), letting people go nuts with that information. Which shouldn’t have gotten as nuts as it did, because only two episodes later they showed a flashback dream where Steven, as Pink, was caught dallying with a pink version of that same Pearl, only to start coughing up The Hair of Rebellion and see Pink Pearl swept away into darkness.
So. Yeah. The notion of White Pearl being Pink’s original Pearl has been out there for a super long time, so seeing it here comes off more like confirmation than a revelation. But what’s new about this whole scenario is how the show seems to be using it as a metaphor for conversion therapy.
Anyway, uh.
Man, that episode.
In the past I’ve been kind of ambivalent toward Big Plot Event episodes, as they have tended to come off like checklists of things that need to happen or would be neat. And given the show’s short run-time, that approach leaves no room for the things that make the show worthwhile, which is to say the character and thematic work. The best part in all of “Reunited” to my mind was Connie being a dork about Steven’s weird psychic ghost situation. “Ah, of course!” It was a character being allowed to be weird and themself for just a moment, rather than churning through obligatory functions.
“Change Your Mind” is, like, the plottiest big-plot explosion the show has ever done, and is full of more fanservice than entire past seasons. But, most of that is in aid of some pretty fucking important thematic and character work. And to that end, I find it so satisfying. “SHE’S GONE!” may in itself be my favorite moment of the entire show. I seriously have watched that over and over. It’s turned into a meme sensation over the last couple of days. And I can’t help tearing up every single time.
Five seasons of repressed anxiety and doubt and anger, all in two words.
And, you know. Personal stuff. The way this show handles its stuff, it’s… uh, helpful.
That final song is also so amazing, as short and unrefined as it is.
