Personally I was freaking out xD I sat there screaming "WHAT?! WHAT AM I SEEING RIGHT NOW?!" at my tv. I was stuck in "WHAT?!" mode for a while afterwards.

I had heard of the theory that Rose = PD , and I knew that it had been treated as being ridiculous by some people, but I didn't have an opinion either way and I didn't look into it.

So many theories were confirmed at once. My own were that Pearl "did" it and that Pearl was physically unable to talk about it for whatever reason. Both were correct but not in the ways I imagined. Also that Pearl was THE pink pearl. Although due to her gem placement, and I read that Pearl was a gift to PD from the other diamonds (where did this info come from? I need to rewatch something?) it makes me feel like Pearl was maybe White Diamond's pearl first. Just from gem placement alone. But we know so little about WD and why would her own Pearl be given away when apparently pearls can be custom created and PD would have her own pearl instead? People feel like WD will make an appearance in season 6 (which is confirmed to have VA recording started in other countries) so hopefully we find out more sooner rather than later.

A lot of Rose's behavior makes sense now. I'm especially thinking of flashbacks where she called Pearl "my Pearl". omg.

All that aside, the aftermath of this and the implications of this are huge. My mind was racing. The crystal gems reactions, telling Greg, thinking about redemption for Jasper, what about Bismuth?, reveal to the other Diamonds, should we tell the offcolors?, what is Lapis going to think?, reconsidering every scene that ever had Rose in it and thinking of it as being PD instead... wow.

At the end of the episode, I don't think it's hit Steven yet that he is now technically Pink Diamond. Steven Diamond Universe?

The preview for the next episode shows Garnet unfusing. But we have to wait for the summer. I await it....

I wonder how long it will take Steven to realize he isn't a Quartz at all.

The fact that Steven is a Diamond is probably going to take some of us some time to digest, I think.

Also Lars???? My dude??? I definitely want more development there. Now that we know some vital information, I have a theory about how Lion came to be, but I'm going to wait for more evidence before I'll be sure.

I am SUPER excited for the next episode. I really hope they don't make us wait so freakin' long this time.

I guess I'm wondering if he'll try to change his gem, and what a confrontation with the Diamonds (which is obviously coming, I mean we all know this lol) will look like. 'Hey, long-time-no-see sisters?' Blue Diamond will flip her shit, excuse my language. She'll be happy but I think she will be more furious than anything at what she's been put through for millennia. Will they want PD/Steven back, or is the end of the series going that way but then they'll be like 'No, this isn't where you belong, go back to Earth, we banish thee on friendly terms' or some such junk.

As for how she can even move her gem in the first place... Dont know. I figure it's something diamonds can do. Or maybe all gems could but they have no reason to? If a gem can move the orientation of their gemstone while they're shapeshifting or reforming ... This shirt with the gemstones on it for reference For example Amethyst's gem looks the same on both sides with the facets facing outward. If she moved it horizontally like it is on this shirt, so the side was sticking out, it wouldn't look as good. It's funny because this photo came out a year ago and you can clearly see a sharp point coming from the back of Steven's gem.

When PD reformed after being poofed by Pearl I assume she reformed as RQ instead of having to permanantly shapeshift she would have just had that form always, with the gemstone turned on its side showing the face of it (until the next time she is poofed, but I have a feeling Pearl protected RQ and never allowed that to happen to help protect her identity?)

For years I've wondered how exactly Steven was born. And I don't think it's something that will come up in detail in the show. It was confirmed that RQ had to shapeshift all the necessary parts to carry Steven but... like...

Steven has her gem embedded in him. When he was born, she disappeared. H..how was he born exactly? Did they share the gem while he was in the womb? How did he exit the womb with the gem? Steven's body being around the gem is the "reason" why RQ can't reform, and taking out his gem would kill steven. So I've always been confused as to how Steven and RQ technically existed at the same time during pregnancy. If he was like a normal baby with an umbilical cord at what point did the gemstone transfer to him?

And I don't think Steven can move the orientation of his gem to show that he's a Diamond, for the same reasons we don't think he can be poofed, or have the gem removed. If he can move it then... well ouch, his intestines xD

I don't know how YD and BD will react... People theorize that White Diamond is the season 6 villain - for some reason? so maybe whatever happens will make the other diamonds team up with the CGs. Although I don't know why WD would be a villain and the other diamonds not.

There's a lot of unresolved things... PD's human zoo... and all the bubbled Rose Quartz gems. I would like to see those innocent RQ's released... For the human zoo I was thinking, maybe PD kept humans there because she was afraid she wouldn't be able to preserve the Earth and didn't want humans to be extinct. I don't know if it would be good for those humans, but maybe they should go to Earth.

Your comment about WD's gem shape being a mirror of PD's is interesting and I really hope they go that route. Already because of PD's gem shape, the diamond authority symbol seems representative rather than literal.

I hope we get a Summer of Steven with lots of new episodes until the season finale. After this bombshell I think it's a good time for a long episode, like how the Bismuth one was. It would suit the season finale. And yes the long wait between episodes also annoys me Dx This show is honestly best binge-watched, which is how I got started on it myself. Now I'm in for the long waits like everyone :(

I believe she changed her mind about wanting her own armies and planets when seeing the beauty of the earth and the freedom of its inhabitants, and knowing that she would be killing them, which is the same as shattering a gem---and remember, that's the highest punishment any gem can face. She didn't want to punish the humans living their lives, so she created a character that would entice other gems to join her cause.

Yes she was still selfish, but I don't think people giving her enough credit. She never intended for her secret to get out because of many reasons:

1.) It would undermine the cause of the Crystal Gems 2.) If the other Diamonds found out, she would be in deep crap 3.) The Crystal Gems would lose their morale 4.) Infighting could occur (as seen in the synopsis of the season and in the sneak peek for next episode) 5.) The Crystal Gems would be accused of harboring/kidnapping a Diamond 6.) Homeworld Gems might decide to rise up against their diamonds as well, potentially causing anarchy 7.) And also potentially killing PD's superiors/family 8.) Even an intergalactic war 9.) Probably a bunch of other reasons I'm not thinking about atm

Also, would anyone be interested in a ping group for news/updates about the show? Anyone could use it in the ping group

Something that's brought up thematically and by RQ herself is that gems don't really change; they are born with a purpose and role and are designed to perfectly fit that role. But gems can grow as people, which we see with the Crystal Gems. Based on PD/RQ's character progression however, it makes me wonder if gems can grow in a more developmental/maturity sense, because I definitely do see that with PD in flashbacks.

PD's decisions as RQ weren't always the best but I don't really mind because I like characters that are fallible. PD figured that the other diamonds wouldn't care about Earth anymore if she died, but she didn't think about the emotional consequences and pretty much every issue going forward has to do with the fallout of that decision. RQ was keeping secrets and got accustomed to doing so, just to cover for the initial lie. And as you said, there's a whole lot of issues that would have occurred had she gotten busted.

On a side note, when the second episode came on I didn't realise it was Cheeseburger Backpack at first. I was about to be like "BRUH THEY DOIN A SLICE OF LIFE EPISODE IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL THIS- oh it's old"

It was beautiful the way that PD changed everything after meeting Garnet. She was more focused, more driven, and more protective and aware. She wasn't perfect and no one is, not even the diamonds. Not the leader of the rebellion. We ALL have faults, and that's something that we ALL have in common! It's nothing to be ashamed about so long as we acknowledge them and try to work on them.

Anyways. GREEN FREAKING DIAMOND, AMIRITE?????

And isn't Steven supposed to be involved in a new fusion as well? I hope so!

I do feel like this episode was too fast-paced. I love how PD was being led by her gems, her friends, and doing her best to support them all because of that single encounter.

UNTIL I realized it was all a front and Amethyst was internally suffering from the Rose/PD reveal but trying to stay strong and move on. Then it definitely seemed more in character since I feel like she does have a habit of internalizing everything and trying to act like a tough guy. Idk if that has anything to do with maturity or not, she just seems like that kind of person to always do that regardless. Like yeah I guess she's right, they shouldn't be responsible for anything Rose/PD did but they're also entitled to their emotional response to the trickery and having one's significant other run away from home without Amethyst being really callous about it. The episode's "lesson" was kinda muddied for me, or maybe I'm misremembering or interpreting it wrong.

So after an episode of Ruby being a cowboy and me feeling like it didn't accomplish very much other than Ruby came back and asked Sapphire for Garnet to be their own decision. which I understand wanting to reclaim the relationship and not feel like Rose/PD has any part of it anymore. I think that's awesome and making Garnet special to them again.

And Bismuth came back! Sweet! I felt like this episode was noticeably fast-paced, and I agree with you that sometimes the episodes have that problem. I just felt like she didn't have a big enough emotional response to Rose/PD being the same person. She struggled to understand that Rose and Steven were different people for like the whole episode last time she was around, and became more militant and fought Steven as if he were Rose at the end. But this time.. nothing, really. idk, it just seemed to neatly and conveniently resolve itself for time's sake.

But the final episode this week was AMAZING imo. 30 minute special... It was sooo kickass I was crying like 100 times every time something cool happened. First it was so cute with Ruby and Sapphire's wedding. I absolutely LOVE that they put Ruby in a dress and Sapphire in a suit, subverting the expectation. SU in other countries and languages has a problem where it tries to censor them and pretend that Ruby is masculine, and even some people in USA try to deny the truth. This makes it VERY clear what it really is and I appreciate it. And Garnet's suit-dress hybrid is cool. And I love Peridot's dress so much.

And then the action... My first thought was how exactly did Blue and Yellow's ships sneak up on them so fast without detection? In season 1 it seemed like ages before the Hand ship actually reached them. Omg, the Cluster emerging almost made me crap myself at first, until it was just a hand and it was helping. Then I was screaming with excitement. All the crystal gems and Lapis returning to be part of it and this insane battle against Blue Diamond... It was so cool.. It finally feels like the big payoff to all the slow storyline and haituses. I'm satisfied with how this turned out and I'm so glad that they set it up to bring Bismuth, Peridot and Lapis into it. Now that Peri and Lapis have been poofed everyone's hoping they'll return with the crystal gem star on their new form.

It was all SO cool, and I'm not sure what to think about Steven's weird ghost powers near the end. That weird plane of existence where everyone's represented by a statue of themselves with the live version on top.. I love Steven jumping through everyone and inspiring and motivating them not to give up... And it ends with YD and BD finally starting to understand that Steven really is PD.

The preview for the future episodes shows Steven showing the diamonds the corrupted gems... Maybe they can finally help them back to original form.

And of course everyone's question now is that since the Diamonds are becoming allies, who is the new threat? Everyone says White diamond. We'll have to see how that goes... idk how the series could end, but as much as I love it, I do want it to properly end someday and not be dragged on to death (moreso than some people already think it is) or cancelled before it can finish.

The wedding was so adorable, and Peridot in a dress?? YES! I loved her throwing something so flimsy as flowers hard enough to knock someone over. Flower for YOU! Ruby was also adorable in her wedding dress and the way she rushed to Sapphire!

Also the debate/talk whatever about them being lesbians or something, supposedly they are genderless but refer to each other as 'she' and 'her' so yeah, seems pretty obvious anyways.

And then Garnet's wedding finery, so cool!

Lapis, bb gurl, she came back stronger than ever, finally deciding to take control of her life and being like 'bitch you don't know what I'VE been through' was aghaghakgaugrbag!

The sword breaking, symbolism was not subtle lol. I REALLY wished that Steven's gem would revert back to its original shape of PD, so that it would really show that he's NOT RQ.

What new power does Steven have now?? I don't really know how to explain it, tbh.

Bismuth came back for good, and her reaction I think was reasonable. I mean she said that it all made sense, and after freaking out at first, yeah. It's kind of like us, how we were all WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT and then OOoooooh, yeah I get it now. Totally obvious signs were obvious. I'd like to have seen Peridot being told this stuff and her reaction, but nope :(

And where the heck is Lars at?

I'd also like to know why the Diamonds came to Earth in the first place. Last I knew, they thought the cluster was going to destroy the Earth, so why did they come back and specifically awaken them?

Soooo many questions, I need to sort things out still 0.o