because no it’s been almost a week and I’m still not over the SU movie help me

The ending of the movie, with Spinel getting happily adopted by the Diamonds, feels a little too neat of a conclusion, and it comes with sad implications - are they using each other as replacement goldfish? Would they have a healthy relationship? Why hasn’t Spinel stayed on Earth?

I can agree that the end felt slightly too “fast” and convenient, but I, as I like to do, over-thought about it, and tried to understand why the movie felt the need to conclude Spinel’s and the Diamonds’ subplot like that.

Has it ever happened to you, that you looked back to how you were two, three, five years ago, realized you are a much different person now, a better one, and that the people who knew “you” knew a different version of you and that distorts the perception of the new you? So you think it’s a better idea to cut the bridges and start anew with people who have no idea of who you are and were? People who ended school on a slightly sour note and went to college in another place might understand what I mean.

This is what happened with Spinel. It’s made very clear that she doesn’t like herself - she talks with scorn and resentment about her “younger” self, the one who was so eager to please Pink that she wasted 6000 years of her life*, but she’s also ashamed of her “new” self, asking multiple times “who would want me like this?” and even crying that if before she wasn’t good enough for Pink, now she’s no good at all. Understandable, as her first actions after leaving the Garden were to find a giant injector filled with poison, go on Earth and viciously attack Steven and the CGs out of jealousy. This was their first impression of Spinel: a madwoman singing how swell it was to beat Pink’s friends and with plans to destroy the Earth. Of course she feels like she’d forever be the odd one if she stuck around, maybe she even feels like they would never truly forgive her.

Now, we know Steven is no stranger to include former enemies in his friends circle - the movie itself jokes about Bismuth’s, Lapis’ and Peridot’s “turnarounds”. But Spinel’s has such a little sense of self-worth, she probably couldn’t handle to form her own small circle of acquaintances in a corner of Little Homeworld. We see her looking with teary eyes at Steven going to greet the CGs after everything is over: she’ll always be the fifth wheel in her mind, and being the fifth wheel is still a deep trigger for her.

This is why Spinel is overjoyed at the idea of going to live with the Diamonds. They knew that she existed, sure, but only vaguely (you can bet your ass that otherwise Blue would have busted in the Garden to rescue Spinel and put her along with the bubbled Rose Quartzes) - they don’t really remember how she was thousands of years ago, and they don’t know what she had tried to do to the Earth. They were instantly smitten with her, and ready to shower her with love for who she was. … and who she represented, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

So what about the Diamonds themselves? Now, I’d never dare to say that Steven dismantling Homeworld was a bad idea - HW was an awful system and it deserved to be destroyed. But it left the Diamonds lost and without purpose, and we know there’s nothing worse for a Gem than to feel purposeless, even more so for the Diamonds. It’s no wonder they cling to Steven: not only he’s what’s little is left of Pink, as much as he reminds them many times that he’s not her, but he’s also their new guide, the only one who could make sense of their new existence.

There’s also an important fact: Steven is trying to teach the Diamonds how to be better people. They still have… a long way to go, but they’re putting the effort at the very least. This likely means that by this point, all three of them are aware that they had treated Pink like shit, maybe know what exactly they did wrong, and regret that it’s too late for them to apologize to her.

Enter Spinel. She’s just like the Pink they remembered: small, pink, cute, playful, funny, and in need of love. Like her, Spinel was abandoned and made feel like she was unloved - and ironically, it was Pink herself who did that to her, and we can speculate the other Diamonds are indirectly responsible for Pink’s callous behavior.

The Diamond can’t apologize to Pink anymore. Steven isn’t willing to indulge their needs, because, unlike what some crits think, Steven isn’t buddy-buddy with them - he’s cordial, and willing to help them, but the show and the movie have made quite clear that he doesn’t like them that much. But Spinel is a small Gem who was wronged by all the Diamonds and is in a desperate need of a new place to live, so the Diamonds can start anew with her, and give her all the love they didn’t know how to give to Pink. They can learn how to be even better people with her, with a person who’s willing to love them.

Now, with all this said, I am a bit afraid that the four of them would fall into a co-dependent relationship. Their needs click together like a puzzle, but this is the problem. Would they push each other to improve themselves? Can the Diamonds teach Spinel to be less afraid of being left on her own? Can Spinel teach the Diamonds to be less attached to Pink’s memory? I don’t know. Maybe this is where Steven can help, because no matter who you are, Steven is more than willing to teach you the amazing power of change, as long as you accept it.

I hope we see them in the future, even just an episode. The Diamonds have all the potential to break free of their toxic mindset, and most importantly Spinel deserves to be happy.

*related to this, I’ve seen people talk as if Pink placed a Geas on Spinel in the same way she did on Pearl. This is also something that was brought up when Now We’re Only Falling Apart aired, with people “realizing” that Pink forbid Garnet from ever asking questions with her great Diamond powers. It’s been confirmed that Pink could only place such a compelling “spell” on her Pearl, as she was her personal servant and as Pearls are more “robotic” than other Gems. This means that Spinel could have left any time, which just adds yet another layer of humiliation and frustration on her ordeal. Just to clarify

I see many people calling Pink a bitch because she abandoned Spinel, as if she deliberately planned to leave her stuck there because she got annoying…

But that’s a little too OOC for her.

This is how I’d summarize the whole flashback:

Pink and Spinel were like childhood friends. At first, Pink wasn’t allowed to have any responsibilities and was treated like a little kid, so of course she’d have fun with another little kid whose entire purpose was “entertain Pink Diamond”. When you remember Pink was abused by the other Diamonds, and how her first Pearl was taken away from her and turned into a grotesque mockery of a “real Pearl”, it’s even sadder how Spinel was for some time her only source of joy.

But then Pink’s life changed, because Yellow finally caved in and let her colonize the Earth. Suddenly, she was treated with the adult respect that she wanted! (at least on the surface)

Spinel’s games and attitude felt suddenly too childish. She didn’t change, because how could she? Being Pink’s jester was her only purpose.

And it annoyed Pink. Suddenly she couldn’t relate to her anymore, she couldn’t have fun with her anymore. But she never told her this.

And I think it’s because Pink was treated like a dumb kid so much, she knew how humiliating it was. She didn’t have the heart to be the “bad guy” and tell her old friend that she was annoying and no fun anymore, and that she needed to grow up because now Pink had better things to do.

Also, we’ve seen how Spinel is - she’s clingy, even more than a Pearl, both physically and mentally. She probably wasn’t the kind of person you could reason with like an adult. How can you tell a Gem programmed to be a playmate for a kid that her existence is not wanted anymore?

So Pink clumsly tried to reach a compromise - she pretended to play yet another game, the only thing Spinel seemed to understand, but one whose purpose was to keep Spinel away from her, and let her breathe while she learned how to be a real Diamond.

I fully believe Pink meant to come back, eventually. Maybe when everything got settled and she could call herself a full-fledged Diamond with her own colony, maybe Spinel would have helped her to take a break. But we know what happened - she went on Earth, realized her colonization would destroy it, decided to stop it, and then she got involved into a war in which she had to lead both factions…

Of course Spinel, poor little Spinel standing there in their garden, completely slipped her mind.

And then, after the Crystal Gems were corrupted and the Warp Pads destroyed, she became yet another mistake in the long list of Pink/Rose’s mistakes. And we know that Rose never had the courage to deal with her many, many mistakes, as Steven discovered years later.

Before the reveal, Spinel, “evil” Spinel in particular, being associated with distorted old-sounding strings is a way to make her sound creepy and deranged, plus it’s fitting for her ‘30s aesthetic.

After the reveal, that particular choice of instrumentation brings to mind an old recording of a nice tune, but abandoned, never played for a long time, and left there to age without a care.

From a new interview with Rebecca Sugar:

ComicBook.com: Why did Pink leave Spinel by herself? 6,000 years is a long time to just forget someone when, as Spinel notes, Pearl was brought with.

Rebecca Sugar: Right. Well, the thing about Spinel is that she’s a little overwhelming. She can be pretty grating. I think Pink also, she wanted to feel like she was moving forward. This Gem was given to her to placate her in a certain way, and she was ready to move on. She wasn’t really thinking about how that would affect other people because she tends to not think about that. That’s a bit of a recurring theme for her. I think there’s a quality to Spinel that’s also about our young audience having grown up, and all the kids that have grown out of the show and left it behind, and how silly it can feel to be here working so hard to make this cartoon when there are people who will just leave. Pink, she grew out of her. It doesn’t excuse what she did. It absolutely doesn’t because it was very cruel, but she can be very cruel.

–

Probably nothing new, but it confirms what many people theorized about Pink’s reasoning: she felt too “grown-up” for someone as childish and irritating as Spinel, wanted to feel like she was maturing and didn’t need a garden and a “toy” anymore, and didn’t stop to think about the consequences that her actions would have brought. There is definitely a metaphor about desperately wanting to become an adult. Plus, Spinel was given to Pink to “placate her” (presumably after Pink Pearl was bleached by White), which must have felt like a slap in the face for the Pink who kept begging for a colony to feel worthy

(so for the person who keeps editing TvTropes to add the information that Pink wanted to protect Spinel from the Diamonds’ wrath, you can rest now)

Like look at this. This one sequence is literally perfect, and it’s the highlight of the entire movie for many reasons

• Steven’s gorgeous voice, that makes me angry that we had to wait until now to hear it - to think Zach had to talk in falsetto until Change Your Mind, we were robbed, listen to that high note <3
• Steven kissing his blood away like a badass
• The animation of Steven stomping with his flip-flop, Mundane Made Awesome
• That smooth animation when he summons his shield
• Spinel turning into a Beyblade and making it look cool
• “You don’t understand! You can’t change the way I feel!” I just love Sarah Stiles’ intonation here, the way she almost growls in anger
  
• Steven showing how much he has mastered his powers by using his bubble as makeshift boxing gloves
• Speaking of which, this is the first time Steven is alone in a fight against a Gem that really really wants to kill him, and when he gets his powers back, Spinel can’t even scratch him…
• … and yet Steven never even attacks Spinel directly. He summons his shield and blocks her attacks, but he shows that he doesn’t want to harm her - he lets her vent while trying to convince her she can make things better, and this is how he “wins” the fight
• Spinel yeeting Steven into the sky, with animation straight out of a high-budget anime (which, let’s face it, it’s what this movie is)
• The sequence of Steven and Spinel circling each other in the clouds, with that one focus on Steven’s teary eyes when he sings “You can make it better!”. Remember that it’s all hand-made.
• The shot of Steven with welcoming arms up in the sky, in front of the shining moon, which is straight-up wallpaper material
• The whole song, really - it’s one of the extremely rare times we hear a true orchestra in SU (Obsidian’s theme had strings and french horns, and I think that’s it), and even the notes and chords used are nothing like Rebecca Sugar’s usual style, making it a very compelling “boss” theme. On top of it, the lyrics are the very essence of the show’s philosophy: you can change, but it’s up to you. (and again, Zach Callison’s range is unbelievable) It’s my second favorite song of the movie, even more than Other Friends, and one of my favorites in the entire series
• The frames of Spinel looking uncertain or even tear-eyed, as she really wants to believe Steven’s words but being afraid of doing so
• “You can’t just make everything better by singing some stupid song!” Self-deprecating joke aside (and screw you spinel this song is great), I just love how this movie revealed that when the characters sing, they sing in real life. (I still crack up when Steven says “Look at them they’re not even singing along :(” in Who We Are)
  
• When Spinel megapunches Steven into the injector, the heart at the top of it breaks - and totally shatters later, when she cries that she’s not good enough. Obvious symbolism maybe, but it yet another cool touch

when you realize spinel’s black lines on her cheeks are meant to represent her crying and crying all alone after realizing Pink discarded her like That

Originally posted by baby-vintage

The post I made about Spinel made me think about something.

I already got two people who told me, “are you seriously trying to defend this abuser? It’s clear that she was a little shit”.

And I think this is more of a general problem, that comes out both with morally grey characters and in more important real-life situations: no one wants to put themselves into the shoes of a bad person.

Since I was younger, I always loved to read stories from the POV of victims of horrible things, victims of abuse and rape and witnesses of tragedies. I wanted to understand trauma and PTSD and depression, and how they manifest, and what these things might lead to. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with works such as SU, Berserk and Bojack Horseman, who all deal with trauma and its effects.

But I’ve very rarely seen works that are told from the POV of a rapist, an abuser, or basically the kind of person who does something unforgivable, the kind of thing that makes us think “you’re a monster”. The only examples I can think of are again Berserk and BH - in the former, the entire Golden Age arc explained in great detail how Griffith could ever come to sacrifice his Band of the Hawk (but it doesn’t even try to explain why in the world would he rape Casca in such a cruel way), while in the latter not only Bojack often looks like the villain of the story with how much he hurts people, but two whole episodes were dedicated to Beatrice and how she herself became the pathetic excuse of a mother we have seen. Especially in BH’s case, the show wants to to feel both pity and anger at the two.

Now, Pink wasn’t even that bad - she was a chronic (literally) two-faced liar who rarely if ever took into consideration the feelings of people around her, but she was no abuser, she never hurt anyone intentionally, she has quite the tragic backstory that explains every action of hers, and she did plenty of good that we musn’t forget. But generally speaking, very few people want to understand what really goes on in the mind of a really awful person, because there’s this idea that “to understand” means “to lowkey approve”, or that if you empathize (not sympathize) you’re just like them. So we tend to generalize and distance ourselves. They do what they do because they’re evil! And I’m not evil, so I can’t possibly comprehend what they were thinking. Who cares about their reasons, who cares about how they feel, they are evil and I am good and that’s the only thing that matters.

Personally, I’ve always found the dark parts of our psyche, the ones we’re ashamed of, fascinating, and I think understanding them is important. Reducing people to “awful pieces of shit” doesn’t help. It doesn’t help those who might be bad people now but have the potential to change, and it doesn’t help us, who are not perfect and might screw up and aren’t always the hero of the story.

And this is why I want to understand why Pink Diamond abandoned Spinel like that, even though I relate much more to the latter than the former - aside from the fact that doing otherwise would be a disservice to Rebecca Sugar’s writing, it’s because I refuse to reduce anyone, character or person, to simply a “piece of shit”, because we could also hurt others and be branded as bad people because of it, and it’s necessary to face our ugly side if we ever want ourselves and others to become better people.