Channel Awesome
Discovering Steven may know more about Rose than Pearl, something tells me they may have been more than just friends. Check out today’s Vlog on Episode 45 of Steven Universe – Rose’s Scabbard.
Tagged with: channel awesome doug walker rob walker rose's scabbard steven universe steven universe vlogs television
About Doug Walker
Other Posts By the Author:
68 comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Personally, I don’t get how people can envision a romance existing between Rose and Pearl…
As far as I can tell It’s a master/servant relationship, with Rose being the reluctant master and Pearl revering Rose to a ludicrous degree, groveling constantly, and showing her master with adulation at every opportunity..
…
Mhm…
She’s entirely co-dependent to Rose…
…
This will fall on deaf ears of course, as it will likely be drowned out by a cacophony of rapid opposition…
In the end, you can’t argue with shippers…
Dude, do you KNOW what a spoiler warning is? Neither of the Walker Bros watch ahead, and there are a bunch of people who are watching the show for the first time who will be following along with these vlogs as they go along. Don’t be inconsiderate. Do NOT post information here that’s only revealed in a later episode!
I don’t recall citing anything from a future episode…
I just gave my impression of the relationship…
But good work on indirectly confirming my speculation by chastising me for giving away spoilers…
…
Good work genius…
Really guys?
you don’t have to be a shipper to think their relationship was intimate in the romantic sense. there is of course what you mentioned +future events in the series rob & doug haven’t gotten to but it really does seem like a form of unrequited love
You have my sympathy there and I know what you mean. I’d rather wait for it to show, but many fans just jump to conclusions so fast and stick with what they prefer as their own head canon.
Yeah, I mean how could anyone look at Pearl in this (or future) episodes and just assume that she has feelings for Rose? I mean, she admires her, stares at a picture of her and sighs about how “beautiful” she was, she dreams about her at night, she’s super jealous of the guy that Rose ends up with, I mean seriously! I do that with my platonic friends all the time.
Really you too? When I do it people just call me obsessive. Or ask ” why are you watching me sleep?” Like its a bad thing.
I love how a person trying to desperate dismiss canon examples of LGBT individuals pretends to be the victims in this scenario.
Exactly, people like sitromxe have blocked themselves into a heteronormative cage and anything new or foreign to them is scary lgbt propaganda
Like come on, go back and watch through the series and try and reason Pearl not having some sort of crush or romantic interest in Rose. Oh, and I don’t ship them, I don’t have to, the writers do it for us. š
We Need To Talk. Case. Closed.
If you’re going to argue that someone is suffering from confirmation bias you also have to turn that lens on yourself.
Even taking Pearl’s nature as a, well, Pearl into account, I think you really have to stretch to pretend that she wasn’t head over heels in romantic love with Rose. That said, it was just as obviously one-sided, with Rose’s love for Pearl being the same platonic love she had for the other Gems.
re: Lion’s gender: Guys, he has a mane. Duh.
You’re forgetting something… the creators confirmed that Pearl had romantic feelings towards Rose ^_^
And in later episodes it’s very obvious š
The creators have stated false things too, like the Uncle Grandpa crossover would be canon (which pissed off a lot of SU fans.) Yes it was a joke but still.
Considering Steven was able to use his shield much more extensively after that crossover, I DO consider it canon.
Is the bit where Uncle Grandpa says it isn’t canon canon? :p
Uhhh….maybe?
Oh they did? When was that? The only reason I said that was not because of the LGBT themes, hell, I LOVE ruby and sapphire. Its just my experience with shippers have been very sour, but PLEASE, tell me where you heard that!
Apparently it was a couple of tweets by Matthew Burnett:
Misc 1: “@mcburnett let me guess, are you still getting questions about pearl having strong platonic feelings for rose”
Matt: “No, I think it’s been made abundantly clear exactly what those feelings are by this point.”
Misc 2: “@mcburnett Hello Matt Burnett! I have noticed a trend of ppl assuming Pearl + Rose’s feels were one-sided. Can we get confirmation?”
Matt: “Much more complicated than that, and future episodes will continue to share their story.”
So largely confirmed that there was -something- there (And really, when you go pizza surfing with someone you *know* it’s love).
But yes, aggressive shippers are the WORST.
Because that sort of thing never happens in romantic relationships.
Also, apparently D/s relationships don’t exist.
Seriously, though. I’m not a shipper, but at this point in the series, Pearl’s feelings about Rose became pretty clear, while Rose herself remained a big mystery. Given that, at this point, we haven’t seen the two interact directly, it’s not strange at all to think they had a romantic relationship.
Now, maybe the events of a future episode will show us otherwise. But if that does happen, then this is not the episode to comment on. Instead of complaining about shippers, wait until an episode comes up that shows why you think they weren’t a couple. Then make your case.
For the record, I see it as unrequited love on Pearl’s part. The way she acts around Steven shows how strong her feelings were, but also makes it seem like there’s something unsaid between the two of them. Given that she struggles to think of him as a separate entity (probably viewing him as something similar to a fusion), this seems to suggest that she never got the chance to tell Rose how she really felt.
Actually future episodes have pretty much confirmed this. While there is no evidence supporting the fact that Rose and Pearl were in a relationship or that Rose ever reciprocated Pearl’s feelings, It is an undeniable fact at this point that Pearl was in love with Rose. Future episodes such as “Sworn to the Sword,” “We Need to Talk,” and “Chille Tid” further support this.
Mhm…
I think it is pretty much as you say…
…
Pearl is in love with Rose…
But, not simply romantic love, the kind of adoration Pearl has for Rose is obsessive, demented, and utterly absolute…
And, as you also said, that kind of affection can’t be reciprocated…
…
Love, I think, is too weak a word, it doesn’t accurately represent the full dimensions of Pearl’s feelings for rose…
Andor, perhaps, with a few especially hyperbolic adjectives thrown in front for good measure, might be a better fit…
*Ardor
(Is there actually no way to edit comments? Geez…)
Maniac, yes. But after the dream, after the jealous antics with Greg, after cretaor confirmation, it’s plain delusional to not acknowledge it as a romantic attraction.
Well, that wasn’t patronizing at all…
sure, and Korrasami was just imagined as well.
Being a non-shipper (shipping has never interested me) I don’t understand how anyone can not see their relationship is at least a little romantic. I think it’s a little more complicated than just being romantic though.
I will admit that the whole relationship does kinda creep me out. Pearl’s really obsessive over her and from we find out later *spoiler*there’s an extremely high chance that Rose owned her *end spoiler*. Add to that that she’s dead. So even if I was into shipping I would not ship it (though if others do I am OK with it). But I will not deny the text.
Going by Chille Tid (and the infamous salt) I’d buy that Pearl had some romantic feelings towards Rose. Whether or not that’s a byproduct of being a [REDACTED] or just came naturally is up in the air though.
I’m not a “shipper” but haven’t you seen “A Story for Steven”?
It most definitely reveals that Pearl has clear romantic feelings. I mean, I really don’t want to spoil it here for those who are as far as the Walker bros. But she emits a clear display of jealousy.
Actually, it’s pretty much futile to argue that Pearl and Rose are just master and servant. Matt Burnett confirmed on Twitter that Pearl’s feelings aren’t platonic.
Specifically, when asked “Are you still getting questions about Pearl having “strong platonic feelings” for Rose?”, he replied “No, I think it’s been made abundantly clear what those feelings are by this point.”
Hey guys, quick question: Do female lions have manes? Hehe
http://www.sciencealert.com/why-do-these-lionesses-in-botswana-have-manes
Normally no, but Lion clearly isn’t a normal lion with it’s supernatural abilities and odd coloration and it has been shown in a more feminine way in certain shots. So it’s sort-of up in the air right now.
So pink=girl?
Not sure that’s really how it works.
Lol it’s male. It has a mane, and Steven calls it he. Not sure why that’s worth arguing about.
Holy cr…ispy noodles! I actually cried watching this. An adult manly man (well, a man… A guy with manliness issues) crying over a kid’s show… That never happened to me before. This show really have a lot of heart. And it is really relaxing watching it.
The thirst begins.
I think it’s not jealousy but more being distraught over the realization that Rose didn’t trusted her as much as he thought. Pearl has issues but she genuinly loves Steven and seems much more distraught over her treatment of him than anything else.
Pearls relationship with Rose is a bit more complicated than you think explaining the (probably even justified) hero worship. Just keep watching.
You REALLY seem to think that Steven and Rose are one and the same character do you?
If Lion is more of a regular lion and not a Gem than it should be a he. I also think that Rose adviced him to help Steven as good as he can wich is why he reacts to things like Steven saying that he isn’t well trained and has all the stuff inside of him.
I am very glad that they picked up on the nuances of Pearl’s actions. When the episode first came out, a lot of fans really dumped on Pearl for not helping Steven after he fell, but it was obvious, just like Doug said, that after making sure he was okay, she was kind of just paralyzed by all her conflicting emotions.
And I loved the analysis here; its what Rob and Doug do best, and this showcased it really well. I think they nailed a lot of the intentions of the show’s creators on the head
Lion has a mane, so, he should be a male š
When Rose said “My Pearl” it doesn’t means what you think. You’ll have to wait to see what I mean š
The ending of this episode always gives me the chill. It’s just perfect! ^_^
As far as we know, Rose didn’t feel the same for Pearl. Maybe she knew that Pearl felt something for her, but she never adressed it to not hurt her feelings. Also, Gems are genderless, so homosexuality doesn’t apply to them š
“Sometimes, you even sound like her…”
This was another great episode. After a couple that focused on Amethyst’s emotional baggage, now it’s Pearls turn to be put through the wringer. Even at this point I still wasn’t one hundred percent sure if Pearl’s devotion to Rose was romantic or not, though the answer would become clear during the second Steven Bomb. The montage that closes out Rose’s Scabbard is one of my favorite scenes from the entire show; it’s stuff like that that makes Steven Universe my favorite currently airing cartoon.
Gems don’t really…. have sex. So the question of ‘is it sexual’ is a human question. But it was romantic, as shown.
they do fuse, though. remember how jelly Greg was when he saw that?
oh yeah, also, spoilers. :^)
Though they do have “*bump bump* you know.”
Pearl did loved Rose but she loves Steven two but not like Rose because he is family that is so alike to Rose and it makes Pearl miss Rose a lot
There will be past you will know
I think Pearl was way more into Rose than Rose was into her. Pearl spent thousands of years in the friendzone.
Rose’s Scabbard is a lovely episode and one of the few that I have watched a numerous amount of times from just how well put together it is. I’m glad that you guys are over the non-plot hump and getting into the thick of it.
With the upcoming episode and on though, it would be great if you could give your thoughts on the songs that go on in the episode. They have a lot more meaning in the future to the plot of the series, as well as being very catchy. š
Um.. of course it’s male, it has a mane.
I like you Rob payed attention to the wording Rose used. The episode Back to the Barn makes those words very interesting and make it seem that Pearl might be over estimating Rose’s feelings towards her.
Yeah, that line kinda hits like a brick in hindsight.
Like “We kept Amethyst,” just less funny.
I think the word you’re looking for is ‘resentment’. Pearl loves Steven pretty much as her own son, but at the same time, she still feels that resentment towards him because he’s partly the reason (along with Greg) Rose is no longer with her, not helped by the fact that he is half Rose. It takes how some people resent their kids because they remind them of their dead souse/partner to a much more literal and visceral level.
I really liked the way they made steven address Pearl’s heartbreak. He responds in really the only way he can. He pretty much says that I know your sad that Rose is gone, there’s nothing I can do about it. I cant speak for Rose, I cant say that she loves you and she will always be with you or anything like that. All he can say is “I think your pretty great.” I felt that pearl needed to hear this. She cant keep projecting her love for Rose onto Steven, she needs to accept that they are two different people. She needs to love Steven for who he is not for who Rose was.
I always thought that if Steven was made of HALF of Rose, then Lion would be the other half.
I thought that too, but then how did Rose put the VHS tape to Steven inside Lion’s pocket dimension?
It wouldn’t surprise me if it was her, but I honestly don’t want Rose to come into the present. She’s kind of special as this absent figure that he can never truly get to know.
I’m a smidge split on the issue. Obviously it would be a HUGE detriment to the show if Rose came back in some way, but I can’t help but feel she’s still influencing things in some way or another.
Particularly one otherwise unexplained bit in Open Book, but a couple other things seem suspect too.
Yea very serious episode here and touching. Also *SPOILERS*
Its more of a one sided thing with pearl and rose. Pearl being the one sided thing.
No, pull it backwards!
Well I think you’re pretty great,
Seen through Steven’s eyes.
This episode really cements how incredible of a voice actress Deedee Magno-Hall is. Her speech to Steven once he climbs the vines is so wrought with mixed emotions: regret, shame, tenderness, love. It’s an astonishing piece of acting. Pearl’s always been my favorite Gem, and it’s scenes like this that make me fully confident in my choice.
You touched on a lot of great points about how this episode set Pearl up for a fall. Steven’s growing older, her relationship as Rose’s sole confidant was being questioned, and her grief for Rose’s loss hit her all at once. Pearl doesn’t handle stress well under the best of circumstances, but at that moment even the person she loved most suddenly became a stark reminder of the lie she’s built up in her mind. Her yelling at Steven is probably the cruelest thing anyone has said to him since Lars way back in “Lars and the Cool Kids”, and it’s a credit to Steven’s maturity and affection for Pearl that his first reaction was to chase after her to help her and not unload on her the way he did on Lars.
One final thing I like to point out is that Pearl’s projection of Rose is just that: a projection. Pearl provides the voice and presumably controls the content. Future episodes will show that she’s not above lacing those projections with some wishful thinking. Considering how complicated her relationship is with Rose, I remain skeptical about the contents of her projection in regards to how much Rose returned her affections.
I think from everything weve gotten rose saw pearl as a comrade and dear friend like the other gems. Rose actual romantic love went to greg while pearls affection of love was one sided. Also I found pearl far to annoying and sometimes would make some of the dumbest decisions out of all the gems. While I dont hate pearl im not a fan ether.
To each their own, for sure. I can’t help but like a character that can dispense motherly advice to Steven while neck snapping a Centipeedle spawn, all without changing the tone of her voice.
I love this episode so much. It’s beautiful in so many ways. Also, Amethyst and Garnet trying to fit the axe through the door.
If space race was the beginning of Pearlās um ācharacter arcā, then this episode is the one that really sets the storyline into motion, because of that itās also one of the episodes that divided the fandoms opinion of pearl, with her increasingly becoming a love it or hate it character.
Personally I think her flaws make her a lot more interesting but also a lot less likeable, although that is an opinion heavily colored by future episodes.
To be honest when I first watched this episode I wasnāt completely sure if Pearl and Roseās relationship was really romantic, Rose was clearly the kind of leader who could inspire people to follow her through the gates of hell, so tis possible Pearl just cared deeply for Rose as a leader, but after a lot of recent episodes thereās no doubt in my mind that Pearl wantās to polish Roseās gem.
Next up:ā¦ā¦Iām not sure to be honest, depending on how you watch the episodeās its either Open Book Or the message.
Maybe Rose acted like a surrogate mother to Pearl, treated her as an equal rather than piece of jewelry.
Nothing seems to indicate so far that Rose had the same feelings if this truly is what I’m assuming it is. I can’t say anything besides that since I haven’t seen this episode. Follow up comment to come. š
It’s shocking, *shocking*, the lengths heteronormative folks will go to deny Pearl’s romantic feelings for Rose, or any non-heteronormative romance in any fiction at all.
Shocking, but it shouldn’t be, sadly.
Pearl is possibly over 10,000 years old, her relationship with Rose lasted AT LEAST as long as they had been on Earth, which is a little over 6000 years at the least, Steven seems to be somewhere between 9 and 12 to me, as far as Pearl is concerned Rose died like yesterday and the wounds are still very fresh.
Was I the only one who got a French Revolution feel from the ending scene after Seven started pulling stuff out of Lion?
this is actually a weird issue I have with the episode, and this is just all based on my interpretation; it’s Pearl’s lack of consequences, and this popped up a couple of times in the series. To me, when Pearl argues how only “she can love Rose the way she did, and no one else could understand what they knew about each other”; which is a perfectly understandable reaction mind you. But I also agreed with Amethyst and Garnet’s side when they tried to counter argue “well, you’re not the only one who’s affected by this, Rose loved all of us”. Um…. yeah, that’s actually a pretty good point. ALL sides to the argument were legitimate points, but the episode wanted me to side with Pearl, even though I found her behavior to be, well…. not right. We understand WHY she takes her anger out on the other gems and Steven, but that doesn’t make it right. And STEVEN is the one who has to apologize for it. I”m sorry, but to me, that just doesn’t seem right. Yeah, Steven doesn’t know Rose, and wouldn’t know how to feel about her, but it isn’t his fault. In fact, there are a couple times where Pearl seems to avoid consequence to her actions and faults. And I’m not trying to bash her character at all, I still love her character. But this is something that just bothered me for a while.
I always interpreted the last look Pearl gives Steven as her reassessing her own view of him. Really from the point he hugs her, it seemed to me that, in that moment, she was beginning to consider that the part of Rose that is Steven is actually perceiving her, if subconsciously and his telling her she was pretty great is a small affirmation of this. That is why it has so much emotional weight. Because Steven telling her that he loves her IS Rose telling Pearl that she loves her. Rose and Steven are literally the same person and his feelings for Pearl are also Roses feelings for Pearl even if Steven is his own person.
Her finally opening up to someone else, even in a small emotional way, is analogous Rose opening up to her. Then as she is riding off on Lion, she is slowly reshaping her view of Steven. Yeah, she feels genuine bitterness and jealousy that Rose didn’t choose her. She even harbors a tiny bit of well hidden resentment towards Steven. In that moment though, she is realizing that Rose may be gone but she is not lost. She is starting to understand that the parts of Rose she sees in Steven are genuine and that these similarities that spark such hidden anger in her aren’t subtle mockery of her shameful emotions and bittersweet memories but literally Steven being Rose in a very real way. It’s like seeing a child of someone who died and they spark an emotional memory. Then you realize that they aren’t reminding you of their parents, they are product of their parents. A thing made from their upbringing. That is their legacy.
Wow, the Gems have a LOT of baggage. This was kind of another plot-based episode. Oh, and this was yet another episode that made me want a pink lion with a inter-dimensional mane.