Sworn to the Sword - Discussion! [Expect spoilers!]

Here is the thread to discuss Sworn to the Sword!

I can't even begin to describe how I feel right now so can I just say that this episode left me shaking

Also I'm doing the StevenBomb bingo thing and 6 of my predictions happened this episode

I'm on the west coast so I haven't seen it yet but I'm excited!

Alright, I just finished the episode online because I couldn't take it anymore lol

That was SO. GOOD. WOW. Holy shit. So much was happening in that episode. Like, confirmation of like rose/pink diamond, Steven and Rose being like a form of royalty (clearly), thus nodding to Rose Quartz being that rose/pink diamond. And Pearl...

There was a lot to be learned in this episode. Pearl taking hit after hit for Rose, Pearl idolizing Rose so much that she felt she was nothing in comparison... But Rose made her feel like everything. But Steven and Connie showed Pearl that she's not "nothing", even if Rose was super important. You're a team. Teamwork gets the job done and everyone is valuable.

Then we have the song Pearl was singing, serving as a double entendre for her and Connie - "not built for fighting" basically, but doing it anyway. A nod towards Pearl not meant to be a fighter but did it anyway because she was passionate for Rose? Thus "defective Pearl"?

Pearl is so in love with Rose. Wow.

Pearl also had one of her moments again I believe - forgetting how fragile humans are. Where she could regenerate over and over when hit, Connie can't. She can realistically die. But I think Connie knows more about Rose now and what position she held and therefore what that means for Steven...

AHHH THERE'S JUST SO MUCH! THIS SHOW IS SO DAMN GOOD! I HATE IT!

No kidding when it was said that Pearl was the gem Steven knew the least about.

And holy I didn't think Pearl could be so thirsty.

I also noticed that Connie was playing the violin at the beginning of the episode. At the end of Steven and the Stevens, Pearl was also playing the violin. That's some serious foreshadowing.

OoOOOoOOO good eye, winduko, good eye. Connie, a parallel to Pearl. hgfkjlghdfsjlkhgdskjl

Makes sense!

I LOVE how much we're learning about Pearl. I really feels her. Feels. My feels.

There is SO MUCH information to extract from how Pearl percieved her relationship with Rose. Sure, the behaviour in itself was needlessly self sacrificing and self destroying, it was supposed to be a contrast to a balanced relationship were those involved are partners and equals; but it also says so much about Pearl. Through the series we've seen glimpses of the extend of her devotion to Rose, so her being so dedicated isn't really uncharacteristic.

But I wonder if Rose was ok with Pearl's desplays of devotion? At one point in the episode Pearl yells "Why won't you let me do this for you?!", implying that maybe Rose didn't like Pearl risking her life for her, worshipping her, serving her. Maybe Rose didn't see Pearl as her knight, but as her loyal friend (and possibly lover) and didn't like Pearl thinking of her like she was some grand God, and Pearl was worthless. Pearl's perception might have been one sided, but that of course remains to be seen.

I definitely think Rose was opposed to Pearl being a knight because she was a loyal friend. It was obvious in Rose's Scabbard that Rose deeply cared for her - she called her "my Pearl". And when you saw the holo flashback of the war, Rose was like :O when Pearl jumped in front of her.

What's interesting is that Pearl says Rose made her feel like she was everything but to this day, Pearl references herself as "nothing", even rubbing off on Connie that she is nothing and Steven is everything.

Love makes people do and believe intense, crazy things sometimes - like Pearl looking to Rose as an idol.

I'M DEAD I'M SCREAMING IN MY GRAVE THIS EPISODE IS EVERYTHING TO ME

PEARL'S DEDICATION
CONNIE LEARNING THAT SAME DEDICATION FROM PEARL FOR STEVEN
STEVEN BEING EXACTLY LIKE ROSE AND NOT LIKING THE TOTAL DEDICATION BECAUSE CONNIE AND PEARL MATTER TOO
JUST
EVERYTHING HURTS

THE HISTORY FLASH WE GET
PEARL BEING SO SINGLE MINDED ABOUT ROSE THAT HER SENSE OF SELF PRESERVATION IS COMPLETELY OUT THE WINDOW
ROSE BEING SO CONCERNED FOR HER FRIEND AND HOW SHE'S NOT ONLY TREATING ROSE BUT HERSELF
I JUST CANT HANDLE ALL THIS

PEARL AND CONNIE'S SONG
PEARL SCREAMING ROSE'S NAME INSTEAD OF STEVENS WHEN SHE GETS UPSET
PEARL JUST PEARL

I HAVE DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN I CANNOT HANDLE MY OVERWHELMING FEELINGS OVER PEARL AND HER LOVE FOR ROSE JUST UUUUUUGGGHHHHHHH

And you guys are right, for Pearl, Rose is everything. In Pearl's mind she is nothing of importance in comparison to this beautiful entity of love and compassion and royalty (possibly) and she's ok with that. But the way Rose makes her feel, as an IMPORTANT PART OF HER LIFE, AS HER DEAR FRIEND AND COMPANION, messes with Pearl's self image and makes her do things that she sees as proof of her dedication but Rose sees as self-destructive. And she's SO CONFUSED as to why Rose won't let her die for her because in her mind she's like "I am nothing and you are the Sun this isn't rocket science of course I'd put my life on the line for you" and Rose is like "no you are not nothing you are someone dear to me and seeing you die over and over is hurting me" and Pearl can't wrap her mind around that and jsut ALSDKFJAWLEI RJAOSERIT JA;LSDIKFJ

Def. So much Pearl. I love it. I love seeing these flaws in Pearl. I love how she's like "wtf I don't get you humans you're so weird" but she's the most human out of Garnet and Amethyst.

Also - Steven and Connie are SO. CUTE. omfg. Their chemistry is so natural and their jam song was adorable and everything about them is adorable and I just. I cannot handle this show.

The opening and this episode I think are pretty much confirmations of my Steven/Connie theory that when bad shit starts going down in the future, Steven and Connie are gonna form Stevonnie and Steven will man the shield while Connie rocks Rose's sword.

A little late, but this episode was fantastic! I can't wait for Connie's sword skills and devotion and Steven's shielding abilities to come into play when we inevitably get another appearance from Stevonnie. And that song.... I think I played it on loop for a straight hour.

I had no idea just how deeply Pearl had fallen for Rose until that song happened, and those flashbacks. XD I wonder how many times Jasper crushed Pearl with that battleaxe before the war ended?

We are not sure if that was the same Jasper - I'm feeling no because she didn't recognise Pearl. She would've had more to say to Pearl had that been the same one.

So now it's a question of how many Jaspers there actually are. Though we do know that the one we know did meet Rose Quartz at some point, or at least was aware of her. And she called Pearl a defective gem, so maybe Pearl was so insignificant to her that she could barely remember? I mean, after you hit someone with an axe that many times, it looses its effect.

Hey guys, I wrote up a super long followup post with a bunch of screen shots and some things you may have missed. I'd post it here, but it's really in depth and long. Feel free to reply here about it though, and I'll see it!

Find it here!

Now this was a beautiful episode! The song was fantastic, Steven worries were very realistic, we got to learn more about Pearl, Connie being awesome as usual, everything was great! I do find it a little hard to believe that Connie became an instant expert and swordfighting in whatever short amount of time, but then again, this is coming from a person who watched one of the Rurouni Kenshin OVAs, so I guess I may be a little jaded. I do think Pearl's "I am nothing" attitude may hurt her in the future. Why do I get the feeling its an allegory for depressed, suicidal people who yearn for something and someone to live for?

PinkSapphire wrote:

I do think Pearl's "I am nothing" attitude may hurt her in the future. Why do I get the feeling its an allegory for depressed, suicidal people who yearn for something and someone to live for?

Pearl merely has a severe case of idolism. Dictonary.com defines an idol as, "Any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion." When Rose was alive, Pearl was not depressed, merely obsessed. It's not a healthy lifestyle for a person.

As another note, Rose was the leader of the gem rebellion from Homeworld. Pearl explained that she saw herself as a knight, "completely dedicated to a person and a cause". Back when Knights were around, they pledged loyalty to their king, and would die to protect him. In much the same way, Pearl had the same feelings about Rose. She was dedicated to freeing Earth from Homeworld, but also to protecting Rose Quartz. If the king died, that meant the battle was over and the enemy had won. Pearl felt the same way about Rose. Without their leader, all the rebelling gems would be lost. Rose was their figurehead, and without her Earth wouldn't stand a chance.