Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26208943-20150224183255/@comment-26205636-20150314221851

I always thought there was some symbolism in the fact that Rose was the leader of the crystal gems while a lion is the symbol for the regality aka  "the king of beasts".

1.Rose did not die, she simply gave up physical form so steven could be born. Steven has Rose's inactivated body, her gem while lion has her soul.

2. Lion is probably a male lion mostly for the benefit of the viewers since without his mane, it would simply look like a Puma or any other overgrown cat.

3. Although this only raises a question, Why doesn't lion help Steven in any way against Jasper and Peridot despite appearing in The Return to bring Steven back to Beach City to face them and at the end of Jailbreak to welcome him back? Even though, Lion has been shown to have some protective insinct toward Steven and some combat capability.