Like many have already theorized, there was something going on between Pink and Pink Pearl – and White, very clearly, didn’t approve of it.
I remember back when We Need To Talk was released, Matt Burnett confirmed that Pearl’s jealousy, regarding Rose and Greg, was indeed romantic. And I’m pretty positive, that someone asked him if it was an one-sided thing from Pearl’s side, which he answered in another tweet, and I quote, ‘’It was more complicated than that.’’ (I think, it’s been a while, but he did say it was complicated between them)
What if the ‘’complication’’ was Pink Pearl? What if Pink had actually fallen for her Pearl, and vice versa? It seemed like Pink Pearl went along with Pink’s shenanigans, and from Steven’s dream in Together Alone, where he enacted in Pink’s place, she blew kisses at her and such. Maybe their romantic(?) relationship had gotten too close and too obvious, and White thought it to be so inappropriate, that she took away and punished Pink Pearl (and indirectly punishing Pink as well). Although Steven’s dreams about his mother’s memories can be sometimes a little weird and incoherent, the air-kiss and their laughs and smiles didn’t seem outrageous.
While Pink was heartbroken and possibly heavily traumatized, White made her a new Pearl, that would enact as the perfect Pearl – keep Pink in line, and not go along with her free-spirited, rebellious nature (ironically enough, huh lol)
And as we know, the rebellion happened, and Pearl changed to become her own self, and Pink became Rose, etc. And then Pearl slowly fell in love with Rose, the more she became free from Homeworld’s oppressive standards and social rules – and the image of Pink being Rose slowly faded, and started to see Rose as, well, just Rose, the leader of the Crystal Gems.
But Rose couldn’t forget. She was still traumatized, as to what happened to Pink Pearl, and Pearl possibly reminded her of that painful memory, in all of their thousands of years together. How White gave her the Pearl, we know and love now, to replace the original one.
Her reaction in Now We’re Only Falling Apart, when Pearl freaked out about needing to be replaced, seemed quite dark and frightened. Maybe that’s why Rose could never fully open up to Pearl (like she did with Pink Pearl perhaps) and kept secrets even from her – maybe that’s why Pearl couldn’t make Pink Diamond or Rose truly happy, because Rose hadn’t really let go of her past and the memories of Pink Pearl.
I don’t think Rose ever told Pearl about Pink Pearl, which is possibly why Pearl hasn’t brung it up yet (which caused lots of heartbreak for Pearl, as she could never figure out Rose’s complicated feelings towards her). I think Rose knew of Pearl’s love for her and wanted to return it somewhat, but never really could.
And we know from the episode Mr. Greg, that their relationship was complicated, even before Greg entered the picture. And although Rose expressed no interest in returning to Homeworld, her room seemed heavily inspired by the way the pebbles work. So maybe her love and sadness for her original Pearl never really went away?
Now, I’m not saying Rose ever took out her sadness over Pink Pearl at our Pearl and I do think she cared about her greatly, but she could still be a sad reminder to Rose in the back of her mind. Which isn’t fair to Pearl, but life really do be like that sometimes™.
And just to clarify, I don’t think Pearl was an emotional replacement for Pink Pearl, actually quite the opposite. Rose seemed to never fully commit to her. Which also makes it so much more tragic for Pearl, and that’s why I’m happy she’s letting go of Rose more and more.
All in all, I think Rose and Pearl’s story just got a whole lot sadder.
It did… It did get sadder…
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