Cry For Help Episode Discussion [There will be Spoilers!]

I fixed my thirstdar to ensure that it will not break until after the first time we see Sardonyx on TV.

No guarantees that it won't break, but the upgrades might just prevent it.

I hope this is an Amethyst episode, because we really need more of those.

I AM HAVING AMETHYST FEELS RIGHT NOW.

i feel like this week is gonna be character develop-y for amethyst i am excite.

Okay. This episode was just wonderful. Even though it felt more like an Amethyst episode, there was plenty of focus on the other characters, and all of their flaws were explored perfectly!

I think Wednesday's episode is very much another Amethyst episode. The Brazillian Fortune Teller that I talked about in the Stevenbomb 3 topic was completely right about this episode, so I seriously doubt that we'll be seeing a lot of Amethyst tomorrow.

And my thirstdar did break. It broke literally right after Sardonyx unfused. It probably would have broke again after we learned that Pearl was repairing the tower.

man. i have a feeling that there are going to be some conversations between pearl and amethyst, and perchance some bonding about shared experiences. garnet is probably also going to lecture them about fusion and how it's not meant to be taken lightly. though i don't think the other gems take it lightly, they just, take advantage when they can.

poor pearl and amethyst, they both just want to feel important. powerful. gosh. this episode was sooooo gooood. i wanna see what happens between the gem relationships.

HOW WAS THAT DANCE KID-APPROPRIATE?!
on another note poor Pearl, she made a mistake but realized it.

The creators seem really intent on showing the characters' flaws, like Pearl abusing fusion for her own purposes, Garnet being angry with Pearl, and Amethyst's insecurities. It really shows how much they care for the show and its characters, and how they want to make characters people can relate to, with flaws and who make mistakes.

God. All my gems right now. Pearl, Amethyst, Garnet. Ugh. This sucks. But! Character development is coming!

silver linings. angst is a tool for growth. and awesome plot reveals!

This is only episode one of the Pearl Hits Rock Bottom Arc. Things can't get better for Pearl.

only episode 1 and i have died

i think it's gonna climax on thursday man.

Friday will probably have Pearl be corrupted or something.

What? It's the Pearl Hits Rock Bottom Arc. Anything bad can happen to Pearl. Except maybe for gem smashing (attempts at such I can definitely see, but I can't really see Pearl's gem fully smashed), anything is fair game.

hmmmm. time for some thoughts revisiting this episode, as well as taking into account the things that have been said on the actions of amethyst, pearl and garnet in this episode.

yes, i do believe that they all messed up. there were points in the episode where each one of them, had they done something different (or in pearl's case, not done anything at all), the outcome would not have culminated into this rift we're seeing. but, i've seen some things on tumblr that are kind of putting all of their mistakes onto a level paying field, and as much as i love each and every gem, i don't think this is the case.

amethyst, all she did was react poorly to her situation. she was having warring feelings of anger towards pearl, anger and disappointment for herself, and a jealousy towards garnet, towards her and pearl's stability as sardonyx. she is a baby, and i don't think she could clearly process what and when the best course of action to tell garnet about what pearl was doing would be.

garnet's was a bit more processed, a bit more chosen. she knowingly put pearl in danger, put steven in danger, heck, put EARTH in danger (though not as much as pearl did) by fusing into sugilite, all the while pushing down amethyst's feelings and giving her the message that sugilite wasa revenge tactic, nothing more. that's coming from her feeling of disrespect, from the fact that in her eyes, both amethyst and pearl see fusing as something expendable, and don't value the relationship, the conversation and emotions it fosters.

pearl, though, i love pearl i do, but she, more than anyone, put their universe in danger by again and again PROACTIVELY building up the tower. she made a choice, chose to act on that choice and on those emotions (which i think is the more forgivable part of the whole thing) by goading garnet into fusing as sardonyx.

all that said, i do think they all messed up. but not all on an equal front, and that's another thing that makes this show all the more interesting!

I agree. They didn't mess up equally. Pearl screwed up the most here by far.

Amethyst had a very understandable jealousy. Sardonyx wasn't as unstable as Sugilite.  What I find really interesting is that she stood up for Pearl, understanding her reasoning as to why Pearl was fixing the tower.

Garnet did react with very strong anger, but if your closest friends made a mockery of what you deemed most important, wouldn't you? I think that while Garnet did not react appropriately, she did react realistically.

Pearl just simply done goofed. She done some really bad stuff. She manipulated Garnet into fusing with her. However, her motivation is what makes this most interesting. She feels great as Sardonyx, the greatest since she was Rainbow Quartz. She did selfish things for selfish reasons, but yet, I still sympathized. Not as much as I did with Garnet or Amethyst, but I don't think Pearl was totally evil because of this.

She had this grey morality that, in my opinion, an ideal antagonist would have. And yes, this counts, as Pearl was unquestionably the antagonist of the episode.

Aside from the fact that it felt way too fast, which I think is due to the nature of this bomb, this is one of my favourite episodes because of how the characters are portrayed.

winduko wrote:

Garnet did react with very strong anger, but if your closest friends made a mockery of what you deemed most important, wouldn't you? I think that while Garnet did not react appropriately, she did react realistically.

She had this grey morality that, in my opinion, an ideal antagonist would have. And yes, this counts, as Pearl was unquestionably the antagonist of the episode.

Aside from the fact that it felt way too fast, which I think is due to the nature of this bomb, this is one of my favourite episodes because of how the characters are portrayed.

i totally agree. i mean, garnet's reaction, while not appropriate, was logical in the face of what happened to her. it was a reaction. i wasn't meaning to say that hers was without logical reasoning behind it. that logic may have been driven by anger, by strong emotion, but yeah, appropriate.

i think it's interesting and accurate to look at pearl as the antagonist. i mean, until we find out that it's her rebuilding the tower, we ostensibly believed that it was peridot, who is an antagonist in all senses (by that i mean its general negative connotations). so learning that it's pearl definitely blurs the line because pearl's a good guy right? her motives are what are in question here, not her actions. her actions speak for themselves, and her motive.

opalescent wrote:

i totally agree. i mean, garnet's reaction, while not appropriate, was logical in the face of what happened to her. it was a reaction. i wasn't meaning to say that hers was without logical reasoning behind it. that logic may have been driven by anger, by strong emotion, but yeah, appropriate.

First of all, I didn't mean to imply that you said that at all. I apologize for that, as I can see how it can be taken that way with my emphasis and implications that I'm talking to you specifically. xD I was more explaining my opinion on the matter.

opalescent wrote:

i think it's interesting and accurate to look at pearl as the antagonist. i mean, until we find out that it's her rebuilding the tower, we ostensibly believed that it was peridot, who is an antagonist in all senses (by that i mean its general negative connotations). so learning that it's pearl definitely blurs the line because pearl's a good guy right? her motives are what are in question here, not her actions. her actions speak for themselves, and her motive.

I honestly think most people are uncomfortable with Pearl doing bad things because we aren't used to seeing good guys in kids shows do bad things. When we see one of our heroes do something seriously antagonist-like, everyone's all "WHAT AN IRREDEEMABLE VILLAIN!" Even when the occasional hero in a kids' show does something bad, they are forgiven and it was just the actions that were bad, not the intention.

Pearl is not your typical kids' show heroine. She is one of the protagonists (generally, with the exception of Stevenbomb Episodes that air on Mondays, in which she is more often than not the antagonist, and I don't say 100% of the time since it's arguable with Rose's Scabbard) on Steven Universe. Steven Universe is not your typical kids' show, as it includes a variety of morality even within the same character, and Pearl is the farthest from being an exception.

Pearl does some really bad stuff, on purpose or not. The thing is, it's not just her actions today. It's her motive. Most people haven't seen anything like this on a kid's show. She is also punished for her misdeeds. She is not easily forgiven for what she has done.

It feels refreshing to have such realism in a show. At least to me.

To others, however, it is not very refreshing, and feels too new. And so we get nice lovely terms thrown around about Pearl like "thirsty bitch" and the like.

The Crewniverse intended for it to feel refreshing. They have said that those who dislike Pearl are missing the point of the show, and the fact that people are missing the point of the show, which I can guess is that everyone screws up, is really depressing.

Especially when the point of the show is something everyone needs to learn, most especially those that are missing the point of the show.

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Even when the occasional hero in a kids' show does something bad, they are forgiven and it was just the actions that were bad, not the intention.

Pearl is not your typical kids' show heroine. She is one of the protagonists (generally, with the exception of Stevenbomb Episodes that air on Mondays, in which she is more often than not the antagonist, and I don't say 100% of the time since it's arguable with Rose's Scabbard) on Steven Universe. Steven Universe is not your typical kids' show, as it includes a variety of morality even within the same character, and Pearl is the farthest from being an exception.

Pearl does some really bad stuff, on purpose or not. The thing is, it's not just her actions today. It's her motive. Most people haven't seen anything like this on a kid's show. She is also punished for her misdeeds. She is not easily forgiven for what she has done.

It feels refreshing to have such realism in a show. At least to me.

definitely!! and it was a nice turn around to see them going further to explore garnet's reaction, to explore the victim vs them focusing on pearl and how her perceived victimization of herself grew. i think it's sooooo great that we can see the consequences of pearl's actions on garnet instead of her beating herself up or reasoning with herself, though seeing how she dealt with garnets silence is interesting to me too, i think the better direction is where they went.

and yep, that's what i meant when i said her motives were in question; most kids shows deal with the action that a character takes, and motive is kind of like the backburner understated thing. i think its totally great that we get to see a motivational crime being punished with actions. it's super realistic, and i like how her actions backfire into consequences for garnet. it shows how the chain of events is not a linear one, that there are ripple effects for every decision we make, however our reasons (harmless but selfish) may be.

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To others, however, it is not very refreshing, and feels too new. And so we get nice lovely terms thrown around about Pearl like "thirsty bitch" and the like.

The Crewniverse intended for it to feel refreshing. They have said that those who dislike Pearl are missing the point of the show, and the fact that people are missing the point of the show, which I can guess is that everyone screws up, is really depressing.

Especially when the point of the show is something everyone needs to learn, most especially those that are missing the point of the show.

i totally agree with this last point. it's unfortunate that those who need it the most are too, well, wrapped up in their own interpretations that they miss the reality.