Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26198832-20150313023659/@comment-26297377-20150505195157

The episode with the sliverer brings us interesting new information.

1) There are "corrupted" gems. This immediately puts me in mind of corrupted data on a hard drive. Think along the lines of the damage to Lapis's or Amethyst's stone, before Steven healed them both. I'd guess a lot of these damaged Gems were actually the result of the war.

However, you can't assume they were all necessarily humanoid, since there are crystal worms (which Pearl regarded more like pests) and the acid spitter which was treated more like a dog. Peridot's repair robots are very likely the same.

2) Gems can choose their physical form to some extent. Some forms are a better fit for a Gem's personality however. This is consistent with Peridot's cyberpunk appearance, as she has the outlook of an engineer.

I don't think Pearl's "defect" means that she's socially disobedient. Rather, she has a literal flaw in her "specifications." Otherwise Gem like Rose would also be "defective," although Jasper had nothing but the highest praise for her. I think any speculation that Pearl comes from a line of servant Gems, however, is grossly misplaced. There is no evidence of that.

In retrospect, I recognize now that Pearl's defect affects her personality. She is constantly overcompensating for her "flaw" by being a perfectionist.