Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25365147-20150320073353

It seems established that at one point, there were thousands of Crystal Gems, fighting against the Homeworld Gems. Rose Quartz was fighting for Earth, but what if there was more to it? Jasper's comments seem to suggest that the Gem Homeworld has a pretty rigid society, where the strong are valued and the weak might not be cared for. She refers to Amethyst as an "overcooked runt". It's kind of implied that Amethyst came out of the Kindergarten later than any other Gems, probably long after the area was abandoned, hence why no one knew she was there. (one thing of note is that her hole is one of the only ones close to the ground)  Even if she made it to the Homeworld, she may not have been treated well.

Jasper refers to Pearl as "a lost, defective pearl"; this may just be a standard insult but considering how even a single line can hold a lot of meaning in this show, I think it's more. By Homeworld standards, there might be something wrong with Pearl, or at least, there's something about her that's different from the other Pearls that might exist. And assuming Jasper's views on fusion reflect those of the Homeworld, it seems there's at least some taboo against the practice, since weaker Gems might rely on it more.

So, what if Rose's army wasn't just about Gems who cared about Earth, but Gems who were treated poorly in Homeworld society and got sick of it? Not just Gems who were weak, but Gems who disagreed with other aspects of Homeworld culture, or who were very low ranking, or just nonconforming in any way.  