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| “ |
I wanted to tell you for so long. |
” |
| —Pearl | ||
"A Single Pale Rose"[2] is the 18th episode of the fifth season of Steven Universe and the 146th episode overall.
Synopsis
Steven helps Pearl find her cell phone.
Plot
Upon returning to Earth, Steven anxiously waits to ask Pearl about Pink Diamond while she and Amethyst try out her cellphone. Amethyst leaves to get Pearl a phone case and Steven uses the time to ask about his latest dream. Pearl immediately covers her mouth and doesn't answer, seemingly shocked. Amethyst returns and she swiftly changes the subject, leaving Steven hurt.
After getting something to eat, Steven suddenly gets a text from Pearl. In it, she apologizes and says she can't tell him. Steven returns home and confronts her about it, to which Pearl responds she hasn't used her phone since that morning. Trying to retrieve her phone from inside her gemstone fails, and eventually Pearl tells Steven to go inside and get it himself, saying to "let me know when you find what you're looking for". With that, Steven is sent inside of Pearl's gemstone.
He ends up in a cleanly compartmentalized area featuring another Pearl who organizes all of Pearl's possessions. Steven asks the whereabouts of the phone and she responds that it may be with the "other Pearls", but advises him not to go to where they are because it's a "mess". Nevertheless, Steven insists, and Pearl takes him inside her gemstone yet again. The cycle continues several times as Steven is taken further into Pearl's gemstone, passing through her memories including Rose's pregnancy and the aftermath of the Gem War. Eventually, he reaches the scene from his dreams, except this time, it's Rose Quartz having shattered Pink Diamond. He steps closer, and when she raises her head and opens her eyes, Steven realizes it's Pearl in Rose's form. He questions this, and Pearl holds her hand out, revealing Pink Diamond's gemstone, before taking him into her gemstone once more.
He's inside of Pink's palanquin hearing a conversation between Rose and Pearl behind the throne. While Pearl is hesitant to do what Rose's asking, Rose insists, and tells her that their life will be better and they'll be free afterwards. Pearl finally agrees to Rose's plan and, to Steven's shock, "Rose" reverts into Pink Diamond. They step out into the open and Pink holds out her hand, which has a handful of dirt and the head of a single, pale rose, which she hands to Pearl. She then changes the dirt into the lookalike of diamond shards and swallows them. Before Pink leaves, she gives one last order as a Diamond to her Pearl: she orders Pearl never to speak of those events again. Pearl then turns to Steven, who has been watching speechlessly the whole time, and holds out her cellphone with apologetic words. Steven wordlessly takes the phone as Pearl forms into "Rose" to stage the fake "shattering". Steven texts Pearl through her phone and Pearl pulls him out of her gemstone.
Outside, Pearl says she wanted to tell Steven for a very long time. Somberly, he realizes that his mother wasn't a Quartz, but Pink Diamond. Behind him, Amethyst and Garnet, who just walked in, stare and gasp in shock.
Features
Characters
- Steven Universe
- Pearl
- Amethyst
- Garnet (non-speaking)
- Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond (flashback)
- Jasper (flashback)
- Ruby (Eyeball) (flashback)
- Stevonnie (flashback)
- Zircon (Defense) (flashback)
- Blue Diamond (flashback)
- Yellow Diamond (flashback)
Locations
- Beach City
- Pearl's Dimension (debut)
- Gem Battlefield (flashback, in Pearl's Dimension)
- Trial Room (flashback)
- Korean Peninsula (flashback, in Pearl's Dimension)
- Moon Base (flashback)
Objects
- Pearl's cellphone
- Steven's Phone
- Rose's Sword
- Rose's Scabbard
- Pink Diamond's Palanquin
Music
Instrumental Songs
TBA
Trivia
- This episode reveals that Rose and Pink Diamond are the same Gem, and thus Pink Diamond is Steven's mother and Pearl's role in Homeworld as Pink Diamond's Pearl is confirmed.
- After this episode, Steven is now a Diamond. Therefore, in Homeworld's term, he literally owns the Earth and the Moon Base.
- The reason Pearl never spoke about the Diamonds and is forced to cover her mouth every time she attempts to do so is revealed to be the final command of Pink to her to never speak of her faking her death ever again.
- Garnet once stated that Rose shattered Pink so Pearl can be free. However, since the shattering of Pink Diamond was revealed to be a ruse the whole time, it can be indicated that Pearl was never free from her servitude role as she had been executing Pink's final order for centuries as well as fighting along side her for a whole rebellion.
- This is the first time Pearl has been shown to shapeshift.
- It is revealed that there are multiple Pearls inside Pearl's gem; each Pearls represents her specific memories and thought.
- Pearl is shown to have had a handful of cellphone numbers aside from the one Mystery Girl gave her, which are all stored within her gem.
Cultural References
- The numbers 555[3] which can be seen in all of the cellphone numbers stored within Pearl's gem is a common trope used in fictional media whenever a phone number is presented. This area code is used in order to avoid prank calls to real-life people.
Continuity
- Flashbacks from "Back to the Moon", "The Trial", "Jungle Moon" and "Your Mother and Mine" are shown.
- This episode takes place right after "Can't Go Back".
- Pearl covering her mouth once the Diamonds were brought up was first referenced in "Gemcation".
- Pink Diamond's ability of being able to make other gems stay silent about certain events is first foreshadowed in "The Answer" and "Know Your Fusion", when she folds Garnet's hands together similar to how she did with Pearl when she told her to never speak of her plan again. But when she does it to Garnet, she tells her to not question the idea of fusion anymore. Thus, Garnet telling Pearl that she "can't" after Pearl asks her if they should inquire Steven and Amethyst about what they were up to before they revealed Smoky Quartz.
- Mystery Girl's number is seen again in the episode, next to a handful of other cellphone numbers that Pearl had previously acquired, all stored within her gem.
Errors
- Pink Diamond's gem turning to look like that of a Rose Quartz gem doesn't make sense. If Pink Diamond's gem were to turn because of it's angular design, it would be hexagonal, not circular.
- The circular shape of Rose's gem could be explained by the separation ring we can see in some pictures of this episode, for example in the cameo of Rose-Pearl's hand after she poofed her Diamond when Steven came back to the real world (the same kind of separation ring we can see through Amethyst's gem, which is featured in "Reformed" when Amethyst is poofed and both sides of her gem is revealed). However, this ring mysteriously disappear from Pink's gem when she turn back to her real self.
Transcript
View the episode's transcript here.
Gallery
