Sugilite Bracelet Deobsidian

The World of Steven Universe is full of mysteries. The writers have said there "are no filler" episodes, and the theory is that when you have 11 minutes to tell a part of your story, especially in a labor intensive medium such as cartoons, every detail may be significant. This series of posts will explore interesting, weird, and/or unexplained bits of each episode. I will be inspecting any and everything that strikes my fancy - many details will be insignificant and probably amount to nothing more than world-building or just-for-fun fluff, but since there is literally nothing better to do until this, the post-Steven Bomb 4 Hiatus ends, I'm going go....Full Ronaldo.
Explanation of layout: I will record my observations in the order they occur while watching the episode. I will also make a note of whether the "mystery" or theory invoked has been Resolved, Partially Resolved, or remains Unresolved. In some cases there may not be any clear need for a resolution, where I will simply not list a status. To qualify as Partially Resolved, there needs to be significant evidence to support the theory. To qualify as entirely Resolved, the theory should be explicitly confirmed either by images or preferably explained by a character. This should go without saying, but there can and will be spoilers. I will do my best to avoid spoilers of unaired (leaks, aka advance spoilers) content, but I may reference storyboard or cut material. Consider yourself warned.
Episode 3: Cheeseburger Backpack
Note: I'm sorry all my screencaps are dim, I'm watching via Hulu and it does that when you pause.
Preamble
Aw hell yeah, now we are getting to the real meat and potatoes of this show. The most pervasive mystery in this series is that it would seem that Gems have been on earth longer than possibly even humans. Their tech and structures have been around long enough that humans seem to just completely ignore it. It is a common trope in a lot of sci-fi/fantasy that "normal" people will just ignore things that are too strange - for examples of this, check out the works of Terry Pratchett, specifically anything involving the character of Death. That's a bit of a tangent but the point is, there are these MASSIVE structures, seemingly all over the place judging by the maps in It Could Have Been Great, but they seem relatively undisturbed except for the decay of time and nature.
These structures are arguably the biggest clues to unlocking the history of Gems on earth, so expect any episode showing places important to the Gems to be longer posts - but hopefully also more mysterious!
Item 1: Steven Star Eyes Count 6
Steven is excited because he thinks he finally has found a way to become a helpful member of the Crystal Gems.
Item 2: Previous Mission (Status: Unresolved)
It would appear that the mission the CG's have just returned from involved retrieving the Moon Goddess Statue. They are covered in feathers and have a giant egg with stars on it.
My first thought was, we've only see one giant "bird" in all of Steven Universe, perhaps this egg belonged to that Gem Monster which would explain why the Roc attacked Amethyst, Pearl and Steven. Then common sense returned and I remembered that Gems almost certainly do not lay eggs of any kind. Furthermore, the Roc-type Gem Monster is highly unusual compared to other Gem Monsters we see making it even less likely to lay an egg, but we will talk about that in the episode for Giant Woman.
So, thus I conclude that there is actually a giant earth bird somewhere laying eggs, or else a normal sized earth bird laying giant eggs. Yeeowch
Item 3: The Moon Goddess Statue (Status: Unresolved)
This object is VERY unusual when you consider it in the context of all the gems we see in the show. I don't know how much of the earlier object designs are or will be considered retconned later on - the fact that we see Connie's bracelet and centipeetle in the very first episode implies to me that continuity, at least the continuity of plot objects, is very important to the writers. It's been said that Rebecca Sugar has a "Steven Universe Bible" of sorts that has the entire plot & storyline mapped out. I believe it.
There are several reasons this item is unusual. Let's take a look
The first thing off the bat is that this is a made object - there is a small blue gem embedded in a sculpture. We will come to see a number of objects involving embedded Gems, but for the post part they are considered "Gem Powered Objects" - the Gem is embedded in the object to give it non-static powers: Lapis's mirror, the pyramid gem, the desert gem, possibly the lighthouse gem, the Clocktower in the SU comic books. All of these Gem-powered objects are able to affect and interact with the world around them.
This gem does not exhibit such powers, though that's only saying we do not see it exhibit such powers. Rather, it seems intended to function as a key. At first glance, I've always assumed the base of the statue to be a second gem which would be even more unusual, but upon reflection, I believe it is only the carved base of the statue, and the lighter color is derived from the carving technique having a different effect compared to the technique used to carve the female form.
Getting to that now - the design of the statue is also very interesting. "She" appears to have the same shape/physical characteristics as Rose Quartz, and the similarities don't end there. It's hard to tell due to the placement of the statue's arms, but it looks like she might be wearing a strapless dress similar to the one Rose Quartz wears. She has long hair and a dreamy, closed-eyed expression similar to that shown in Rose's painting. Here again we see the an eye-related motif. Closed eyes may represent the state of being unaffected by or uninterested in worldly matters. Or it can represent an artist who has trouble doing eyes. Welcome to shrug city, P
Considering the events of The Test, this entire episode could have been called "Second Guess Everything When You Rewatch It Later"
There are also diamonds shown on the "stomach" area of the statue, reminiscent of the placement of gem on Rose Quartz's body. I believe these diamonds are simply the light being refracted through the blue gem onto the statue - however, that does not make this insignificant. The blue gem is being held in front of the torso/chest. We see this pose more and more as the series goes on. The only thing that gives me pause is the position of the statue's hands - compare this to the way that White Diamond is depicted in the tower on the moon. The statue's fingers are parallel to the ground, while this position is shown with the fingers held vertically in all other cases. Then there is the "wrist cross" pose that we see Peridot perform, and Pearl also performs (around her face/head) during the extended opening. There are three chakra aligned along the torso between the chest and the stomach, and interestingly enough they include the green and yellow chakra. I'm not sure if this is relevant or not yet.
Item 4 - The Mission (Status: Semi-resolved)
"We have to place the Moon Goddess Statue at the top of the Lunar Sea Spire by midnight or the whole place will collapse!"
By midnight? Midnight on the dot? Okay Pearl, that seems pretty specific but let's give you the benefit of the doubt. Even though time is based on the earth's rotation on its axis, and the moon's orbit around the earth ain't got nothing to do with it. It's a Lunar Sea Spire - not only has it got the inconstant moon all up in it's business, but the ocean too, and when those two troublemakers get together all sorts of wacky hijinks can happen. We can hazard a guess that something something, waxing and waning of the moon, its periodic orbit around the earth blah blah, rising and falling of tides, yadda yadda, incrementally undermining the foundation of this ancient structure until it reaches a critical threshold of stability.
I want to believe you Pearl, but we all know you're a dirty liar.
Item 5 - The History of the World As Told By Pearl (Status: Unresolved)
Alright, so a year ago when I started watching this show, this episode was what really grabbed my attention. I've mentioned before the central mystery of, what was the role of Gems on earth. Everything Pearl is about to tell us, we have to question, even moreso in light of everything we learned as of It Could Have Been Great in regards to what the plan was for Earth by Yellow Diamond, not to speak of any of the other Diamonds. We learned a lot in Steven Bomb 4, and that information is going to be the basis for most of our discussions in trying to analyze what we see and are told in these early episodes.
You should have seen it in it's heyday. The structure of the Lunar Sea Spire is remarkably similar to the Sky Fortress seen in The Answer. That and other evidence I'm about to point out, not least of all the fact that it's a GIANT HONKING 13 STORY TOWER BUILT ON THE SEA BED CALLED THE LUNAR SEA SPIRE would indicate that this tower was built for and by Blue Diamond.
It was an oasis for gems on earth!. Oh man. So much just in this single shot. First of all, I can see why Gems would want an oasis on earth, after facing the horrors of this terrible, hell-like planet. Hmm, wait, maybe something more like this or this is what Pearl was thinking of.
Maybe I should have started with the central focus of this shot. That statue remind you of anyone?? I want to assume that it is Blue Diamond but at this point, I really don't feel safe doing so. If we assume this statue is a water fountain, and that is water coming down from the bowl and her lower hands, it would confirm that water is the elemental domain of blue gems - however, we do not know about the powers of any of the diamonds yet, we actually have very little information on this topic still.
There are a number of statues shown later on that also bear a resemblance to this one, mainly in the episode Steven the Sword Fighter. Here on the right, we see a statue or carving depicted with a moon-type symbol, whose hair, body shape and facial expression resembles that of the Moon Goddess Statue. There's a statue not shown in the first clip, directly across from the "Moon Goddess" wearing the same style hood.
One of the biggest arguments against the idea that this statue in the Lunar Sea Spire is depicting Blue Diamond is the two pairs of arms. I'm not a subscriber to the theory that the Diamonds are fusions. I could come up with plenty of arguments explaining the depiction of 2 pairs of arms on a non-fusion Gem in a statue, not the least of which being "It's art you uncultured swine!" This is a recollection of Pearl's and unfortunately we never see this statue "in real life" to get more detail.
This shot is very important in my opinion because it also depicts other figures. When this episode first aired, we had no frame of reference to know whether they were all meant to be Gems, or a combination of Gems and humans interacting. The way Pearl talks about it, and how the Crystal Gems go on about "protecting humanity" and "saving the day" gave a very different impression early on in the series about Gems and humans coexisting, compared to what we come to find out is the actual reality.
Item 6 - Steven Star Eyes Count 7
Steven is finally on a Gem mission!
Item 7 - Steven's Heritage
Pearl is the only one who ever seems to care about Steven's heritage, or about preserving Gem tech on earth, and even then it's hit or miss. I wonder if we will see a pattern emerge of what Pearl cares about versus what she doesn't when we have more of her backstory and timeline. Perhaps she is only nostalgic of places that she experienced before turning renegade, or places she associates with that pre-war time. If my theory that this place was an "oasis" after the creation of the Kindergartens started to affect the landscape of earth, that starts to give us more clues about the timeline of the Gem Civil War on earth. It will also back up theories I have on Rose Quartz and her motivations.
However, I am not ready to assume that Pearl experienced this location at it's prime herself. She may have heard of it, or extrapolated what it was like based on her past experiences with Gem gathering places. If she experienced this place herself, when it was still being used for its intended purpose, with such a nostalgic attitude, then she must have still been a member of Gem society when she first came to earth, and went Renegade later. That seems to make sense in the context of the storyline as we know it so far.
Item 8 - The Vortex
We've seen Lapis in action. We know that she is incredibly overpowered compared to other Gems thusfar. We don't know if the vortex is created by technology(some kind of engine), magic, or a combination of both. It would seem that it has continued to exist without intervention for some time.
Based on what we see later in the episode and how the Moon Goddess Statue is designed to be used intercepting the beam of moonlight to the tower, I have a theory. There is some kind of Gem engine within this spire. When the Moon Goddess Statue is placed at the top, it channels some kind of light energy, manipulates or transfigures it, and the energy is then stored in some kind of battery/generator that continues to power the engine.
In terms of what we know about blue gems, this doesn't seem to far-fetched. They deal with "flow" - water and time specifically are the ones we know about. Sapphire is attuned to one directional flow of time and can predict likely outcomes. When she fuses with Garnet, a gem whose strengths lie in explosive energy, combustion, fire, it scatters the flow and branches - we know that Garnet also has some electrical power which is generally depicted a combination of fire and "water" elementally. If you've watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, firebenders can create and control lighting by using bending techniques that are similar to waterbending so I'm not just totally pulling this out of my ass.
My first point here is that there is some kind of narrative being told to us, via background images and clues scattered throughout the series, involving this tower, (blue) gems with water power, the moon and some kind of gem associated with the moon, possibly a white gem.
Just to return to the whole statue thing, it's very unusual that Pearl refers to it as a Goddess as we never hear that term used again on this show outside of specifically talking about this statue.
The vortex appears to be sucking the water down and doing ??? with it, before it can reach the structure of the spire. So this is not a bubble or forcefield - it's suction. This is the second instance of a sucking-type device on this show, shown to be very powerful.
In re-reading this section, I'm asking myself, what is the point of the spire in the first place. Surely there are more convenient locations for a dirty great spire than at the bottom of the sea.
Item 9 - Steven Diamond Eyes 1
Determined Steven!
Look familiar?
Item 10 - Horses and Lions
On the wall next to the spiral stairs leading up, we see 4-legged animals. They appear to have horse-shapes but at least one is holding it's tail erect.
It's interesting to me that they would show land-animal depictions, on a structure in the middle of an ocean, when all the other decorations we see are geometric abstract designs or gem statues which leads me to Items 11 and 12.
Item 11 - Diamonds and Triangles
Diamonds and triangles everywhere. There were also plenty of diamonds on the outside of the spire.
Item 12 - Gem Busts
Walking up the stairs/down the hallway, we see a bust in the background. It shows a figure that may have had arms similar to Sugilite, 2 pairs of forearms, joined at the elbow. There is no visible gem.
Continuing on, a second statue in the wall niche, same as the previous one.
And then a third statue, same arm style, no visible gem depicted.
Item 13 - HoloPearl and the Crystal Shrimps (Status:Unresolved)
We know from Steven the Sword Fighter and Beach Party that Pearl is capable of generating multiple holograms with sufficient combat strength...why does she generate holograms to show the other two what to do when she is capable of just creating holograms that can just...do that. This is a scene where I'm like wtf Pearl. If this was a test for Steven all along, why not include him in the combat plan? Was the point of the test just to see if Steven could simply accompany a mission without making things worse? (In which case...failed.) She claims the crystal shrimp are deadly which I'm forced to conclude is more lies.
"Don't touch that! Their shards are deadly!"
Crystal shrimp are another oddity in the SU world. They look and act like Gem Monsters, but as far as we know, they have no gems - Pearl specifically refers to them as "shards". Are they gem shards? Or is "crystal" a special term in regards to gem life? In that case, what is the significance of the team calling themselves the "Crystal" Gems?
I have a partial theory on this, and it also ties into my theory about Rose Quartz and her motivations. I'm not quite ready to go into that theory yet.
"Bagel sandwich!"
IF THESE ARE GEM LIFE FORES WHY ARE THEY INTERESTED IN EATING BAGELS? MAYBE THEY AREN'T EATING, JUST INVESTIGATING BUT STILL, THIS IS SO RANDOM.
This may just be a gag...but then again, maybe not...
Great, now I want a bagel.
Item 14 - Watch Out! (Status:Resolved)
Early clues to Garnet's future vision. I'm not counting when Garnet said earlier that she "sensed some instability" because I'm pretty sure that was a Garnet Joke.
Item 15 - Triangles
So many triangles up here on the roof.
Item 16 - What next Pearl?
Let's ask ourselves, what would have happened if Steven HAD been successful and brought the Moon Goddess Statue. I don't believe that it would have restored the spire. According to my theory above, they were merely re-charging the generator that keeps the water away from the spire, which would have bought them more time. Since they failed, the water came crashing in, destroying the already weakened tower. The high level of humidity, salt in the air and the suction from the vortex below is probably what caused the decrepitude of the spire. They would have had to restore the spire themselves after the moon-statue ritual, which begs the question of, if you had know this spire was here the whole time Pearl, why weren't you taking care of it and checking on it before now? It all goes back to The Test but still.
So as I was saying, whether this is a test or not, Pearl is going on and on about Steven's heritage and taking it seriously and blah blah. IF the spire had not been destroyed, what were you going to tell Steven Pearl? How much of his Gem Heritage would you have revealed?
Furthermore, as much as I love a field trip, if you're able to conjure images of the structure with your Gem...why not just TELL Steven about it while projecting slides for him to see how it looked?
Ultimately, I don't want to say that this episode's writing was weak, despite how much I am criticising it. It just had a different agenda, which is building on what we know about Steven and his interactions with the Gems. We get plunged into this complex world and it takes off at 0-60 from the start, but what I think gets lost in translation is that we are actually watching Steven's journey into the world of the Gemkind from the beginning. Steven admits that he "doesn't ask follow up questions" and generally accepts what he is told at face value a lot - something that begins to change later, but for now we need to realize that Steven has been living with the Gems, seeing them go off on and return from missions, without really knowing what's up. Based on the extended intro, I believe Steven has lived with the Gems for a little while, perhaps several months to a year. We are with him on the ride as he actually starts involves himself with what the Gems are doing on earth. The show is told from the point of view of Steven, and thusfar, everything HE knows, WE know - everything WE don't know, HE doesn't know.
That's why these early episodes can feel so painful and why it's easy to dislike Steven for people just getting into the show from the beginning, because we want Steven to be as curious about everything as we are, but he keeps sabotaging his chances at learning more, and never asking for more info.
Finally, I believe that Garnet knew Steven was going to fail to save the spire, and that's why Steven was able to take this "Test". She and Pearl conspire through the series to hide information from Steven - they both know what is at stake. If there was a chance they would have had to explain things to Steven, they wouldn't have used THIS as a test for his first mission.
Item 17 - Crystal Shrimp Redux
Do you think Crystal Shrimp can breathe underwater? If they like bagels, I'm not going to assume they are like Gems and don't need to breathe. This episode is so very perplexing.
END OF EPISODE
Edit: Wow I botched that title.