So we've been shown the Crystal Heart a few time, but I haven't seen any theories about it. It seemingly powers the rest of the Temple, and maybe other things like the washing machine on the Temple's hand that Garnet said was powered by 'magic'. Does anybody have any theories about this?
I like the idea you explained about the heart aestetic. Pearl did say it's connected to the most dangerous parts of the temple but that's still possible with it just being a power source. I also can see her specifically being worried about where they keep the bubbled gems as we saw.
Erwgd wrote: I do think the Heart is a power source for the Temple, but not much else. I've explored why it's shaped like a heart in my theory below, and I have a different theory for the Temple as a whole.
We've seen power sources that slightly resemble the Heart in the Prime Kindergarten Control Room and the ship engines in "Jail Break" and "Stuck Together". All have vein-like structures in common, and these might be like power cables or blood vessels. The power sources in the Kindergarten have similar veins, but the primary one just looks like a big crystal. The engines in both the Gem Warship and Aquamarine's Ship have a circular shape. The Crystal Heart is the only one that's shaped like a heart of an animal.
With that in mind, let's say the Temple is a gem building. In that case the Heart's shape would likely be a deliberate choice of its creator, which suggests they liked the aesthetics of organic life enough to have modelled a power source after it! We've seen big cats engraved in the Lunar Sea Spire in "Buddy's Book", so gems were expressing their fascination with Earth life at the time, and the Heart may be one example of that fascination.
I have a theory of my own that the Temple is a fusion, so in my personal theory the Crystal Heart would be a gem's replica of a heart, made to distribute power from the gemstone around the gem's body.
Who do you think created the Temple then? My personal theory is that is was Bismuth, because she is the only Gem that has been shown that actually creates and builds things instead of projecting them from their gem. It clearly was not a Homeworld Gem, and the humans wouldn't have a reason to build it or the means to create the door.
I think the Temple might have originally been created by Homeworld colonists under Pink Diamond. I'll talk about my headcanon on the Temple's story.
In the warp pad room, look at the big white circle thing above the door and at the warp pad platform itself.
Both are surrounded by pentagons, much like how Pink's clothes form a pentagon around her gem, so I think the two are related.
My guess is that the circle above the door is the gem of 'Pink Pearl', a Pearl who served Pink Diamond, hence the pentagon surrounding her gem like with Pink. I think Pink Pearl is responsible for building and powering the rooms inside the Temple, as well as the door, while other gems built the warp pads and everything else.
While Homeworld hates fusion now, as did Blue Diamond in "The Answer", their views on it might have been different in the past, as we see a hologram and statue of another gem with many arms in "Cheeseburger Backpack", at the Lunar Sea Spire. The structure appears to be Homeworld-made, and the unknown fusion gem statues were allowed there. So I think it would be possible for colonists to have created the Temple as well.
However, the Temple doesn't appear in "It Could've Been Great"; we see plans for other gem structures at the Moon Base, but none are seen for the Temple, so it might not have existed in official plans.
For the Crystal Gems to move in, they may have needed to reprogram the door to open for their gems. I personally believe Rose saved the Temple from being destroyed by Homeworld during the war, so in return the Temple let the Crystal Gems live in and around itself. In this case Pink Pearl reprogrammed the door to open for Rose (Steven), Garnet (Ruby and Sapphire), Pearl and later Amethyst.
Bismuth might have built the Temple, but it seems like she concentrated more on weapons as a Crystal Gem, though in Save the Light we see she built a statue of Rose.
Why would a lowly Pearl get an entire Temple? Pearls are looked down on and are considered lower even than Rubies. As Peridot said in Back to the Barn, "[Pearls] are just there for standing around, looking nice, taking orders, and holding other Gems' stuff." and that they are "someone's shiny toy." Even a Pearl belonging to a Diamond would not be (much) more important than other Pearls.
And why would any Pearl have the ability or knowledge to create and operate the Temple Door? Even if she could, she wouldn't have been around to reprogram the door to add Amethyst to it once the Crystal Gems found her.
As for the pentagons, the pentagon may have been the first symbol of the Crystal Gems. After all, Rose Quartz/Steven's Gem facet is a pentagon. This is similar to how the symbol of Homeworld and the Diamond Authority was four diamond shapes forming one larger diamond to represent the four Diamonds with diamond-shaped gems.
It is possible or even likely that the hologram and statue in Cheeseburger Backpack could depict a same-gem fusion as neither show more than one gemstone. In fact, other same-gem fusion statues have been shown in the episode Off Colors.
It is also possible that it was not Bismuth who created the Temple, but another Crystal Gem entirely. At least four other Gems have shown the ability to shape and control matter; Lapis for water, Peridot for metal, and both Pearl and the Desert Glass have been shown to control sand. It is possible that there is another type of gem that can control stone.
What if the Crystal Heart is connected to the biggest mystery of the show; who shattered Pink Diamond? I sawa theory on Reddit the other day. The theory goes that Rose did in fact shatter Pink Diamond and Rose took her shards and used them to create the Crystal Heart.
I agree it's unlikely a Pearl would be given the responsibility of a temple, and we've never seen any objects confirmed to be powered by Pearl gemstones. I don't have any explanation as to why Homeworld would make a Pearl part of the Temple. Despite that, I still believe in my 'Gate Gem' theory, in which I believe the Unknown Object above the Temple Gate is a gem that's there to power it. My most relevant responses are below and the rest of my theory will go to my blog later.
A Pearl wouldn't be able to create or hack the Temple Gate, I agree. However, Pearls have operated simpler doors in "Gem Heist" and "That Will be All" as part of their duties. I'd suggest it's possible that a Pearl imprisoned in the temple door would be suited to operating it. She would be able to power the door like Lapis Lazuli powered the Mirror. She might also have a role in serving Steven in Rose's Room.
Lapis didn't create the Mirror, though she is able to project memories ("Same Old World") on her own. While trapped in the Mirror, she was able to control the mirror in "Mirror Gem", acting on her own free will. In my theory, the door and its gem would be in a similar circumstance, where the gem powering the door has control over its operation. As it was trapped in an object, the corrupting light wouldn't have corrupted the Gate Gem just as it didn't corrupt Lapis.
Pink Diamond's clothes did form a pentagon outline around her gem, so I think the shape would've primarily been associated with her. Of course, the Crystal Gems could have made the pentagon shape for Rose instead, with her gem facet being a perfectly good reason.
The Lunar Sea Spire's hologram and statue might not be depicting fusions of different gem types. However, of the same-gem fusions we've properly seen, three-Ruby and five-Ruby, neither of them have four arms, nor does the "Off Colors" statue, so I don't think the holo or statue depict same-gem fusions. They might have depicted mythological or fictional figures rather than gems who actually existed in the universe, and that would support multi-gem fusions never being known to Homeworld before Garnet formed (implied in dialogue in "The Answer").
I do think the Temple statue depicts a different-gem fusion, so it'd follow that Crystal Gems made it, as only they welcomed that kind of fusion.
In my Gate gem theory, I believe the Crystal Gems found the Gate already built by Homeworld. Instead of freeing the gem, they built the rest of the Temple around it, as they thought the Gate gem's personality was already gone for good.
I agree there could've been other Crystal Gems with powers appropriate for building the Temple, with the abilities to control stone and the like. This would imply it was built during the rebellion.
I get what you are saying, and most of it makes sense. However, why would the Crystal Gems just abandon the gate gem? Their reactions in Mirror Gem show that they were extremely opposed to the idea of keeping gems trapped inside other objects. The Crystal Gems would never have allowed any gem that wasn't threatening (like the Desert Glass ) to stay trapped in another object.
I'll explore how the Gems reacted to Lapis first. In "Mirror Gem", Lapis says:
"You three knew I was in there, and you didn't do anything. Did you even wonder who I used to be?!"
The three were shocked they kept a sentient gem trapped in the Mirror, and they struggled to accept what they had been doing.
Pearl didn't have a problem using the Mirror, most likely out of ignorance. She had no idea Lapis was conscious, and she may have assumed this from Lapis's badly broken gem. She was surprised Lapis behaved independently while in the Mirror. Pearl did feel remorse for Lapis, but she also feared how Lapis might have reacted to the Gems leaving her trapped, so she and Amethyst let Garnet handle the situation.
Amethyst wanted to bubble it, which would've put Lapis in another layer of imprisonment. "Let's bubble it!"
Garnet refused to acknowledge the Mirror was self-aware, and she never refers to it as a person until proven otherwise. "It's just a Mirror. A tool. It can't want anything." All Garnet tells Steven is they want to keep the Mirror under their watch.
Additionally, both Pearl and Garnet were also afraid of Lapis escaping to Homeworld and informing them about the Crystal Gems. They prioritized their safety on Earth, but it's certainly possible they would have released Lapis eventually if they kept the Mirror under watch, as they may have realised Lapis was alive on their own.
The Crystal Gems believe that many other gems on Earth are beyond help, so they usually bubble them for everybody's safety, usually taking no further action. The Desert Glass appears to be trapped in a pillow, but Pearl bubbled the whole thing without attempting to free the gem. In "Serious Steven", Steven did free the gem from its Obelisk, but the others would have probably freed it anyway as the Obelisk was too large for bubbling.
In my theory, the gems treat Lapis in the Mirror and the gate gem differently from Corrupted gems. The Temple and its Gate have always welcomed the Crystal Gems as far as we know, so Pearl and Garnet may have felt the Mirror should have been similarly helpful.
Garnet and Pearl would be OK with viewing and using both gems as objects, believing any personality within the gems was semi-conscious at most. They might think removing the gate gem wouldn't necessarily allow it to reform, as its gem may have been permanently altered.
Think of Rose Quartz giving up her physical form to make Steven. In "Three Gems and a Baby" Pearl believed Rose was trapped by Steven's body, and she almost tried to get Rose back by taking Steven's gem. The Gems conclude that they must raise Steven instead of trying to undo Rose's decision.
"Storm in the Room" centers on the fact Steven inherited Rose's gem as well as her problems, and that Rose is not there to help him. One way to interpret this is that Rose couldn't reform if Steven's gem was removed.
The gate gem might be in a similar situation, where she voluntarily gave up her existence as a person to power the Temple. Removing the gem would certainly destroy the Temple Gate, but there's no guarantee she is actually alive and able to reform. In this case, I'd believe building on and living in the Temple would be an acceptable way of honoring the gate gem, a bit like how the Gems accepted Rose giving up her form for Steven.
LapNiDal1 wrote: I get what you are saying, and most of it makes sense. However, why would the Crystal Gems just abandon the gate gem? Their reactions in Mirror Gem show that they were extremely opposed to the idea of keeping gems trapped inside other objects. The Crystal Gems would never have allowed any gem that wasn't threatening (like the Desert Glass ) to stay trapped in another object.
They weren't so much opposed to the revelation that Lapis was trapped in the mirror (or any Gem for that matter) as they were more surprised that the Gem on the mirror was still sentient. In the proceeding episode, Pearl said "How could I have known the Gem contained in that mirror would be so powerful?", this suggests that Pearl already knew that a Gem was powering a mirror, but she assumed it was a weak one.
LapNiDal1 wrote: I get what you are saying, and most of it makes sense. However, why would the Crystal Gems just abandon the gate gem? Their reactions in Mirror Gem show that they were extremely opposed to the idea of keeping gems trapped inside other objects. The Crystal Gems would never have allowed any gem that wasn't threatening (like the Desert Glass ) to stay trapped in another object.
They weren't so much opposed to the revelation that Lapis was trapped in the mirror (or any Gem for that matter) as they were more surprised that the Gem on the mirror was still sentient. In the proceeding episode, Pearl said "How could I have known the Gem contained in that mirror would be so powerful?", this suggests that Pearl already knew that a Gem was powering a mirror, but she assumed it was a weak one.
How do we know the supposed gate gem is not sentient? Perhaps all her energy is taken up powering the door.