Review: Steven Universe “The Trial”

A conspiracy in the courtroom.

Spoilers Below:

Steven is kept in a room without doors, and can’t find a way out. He meets a frantic Blue Zircon, who explains to Steven that he’s being put on trial by the Diamonds. Blue Zircon has been assigned to be Steven’s defense attorney, and says that it’s impossible for him to defend the case of Rose Quartz shattering Pink Diamond, which happened in front of many witnesses.

Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond act as the judges, while their Pearls act as the stenographers. Yellow Diamond wants to shatter Rose, but Blue Diamond wants to hear what Rose has to say. Green Zircon, acting as the prosecution, uses Lars as an example of human confusion. Green Zircon calls Eyeball as an eyewitness to prove that Steven is Rose Quartz. Eyeball testifies, saying that Steven and Rose are the same, and is still hostile towards Steven. Yellow Diamond is convinced and is ready to execute Steven, but Blue Diamond wants to hear the defense.

Blue Zircon shakily defends Steven, but Steven admits that he did it, in an attempt to take responsibility for his mother’s crimes. He says that he’ll accept any punishment they give him, as long as they return Lars and leave the Earth alone. Yellow Diamond is satisfied, but Blue Diamond asks how he killed Pink Diamond. Steven, not actually knowing the events, tries to make up a battle, but Blue Diamond exclaims that a sword was the thing that shattered Pink Diamond. She starts to weep, and Yellow Diamond calls the court into recess.

Back in the room, Blue Zircon demands to know what Steven was going on about, and Steven admits that he doesn’t know what actually took place. Blue Zircon realizes that the reason the Diamonds want Steven to explain Pink Diamond’s death is that it doesn’t make any sense. Back in the courtroom, Blue Zircon says that although Pink Diamond and Rose were enemies, was it possible for Rose to kill her. She asks Blue Diamond to summon her palanquin, which is a twin of Pink Diamond’s. According to witness testimony, Pink Diamond had stepped outside her palanquin when Rose attacked her. However, Rose had been a criminal for centuries by then, and there were no Rose Quartzes in Pink Diamond’s guard, making it impossible for a sneak attack. It would be impossible for her attendants to not have noticed, for her Sapphires to not have foreseen it, and for her Pearl to not have noticed. Blue Zircon says that the culprit must have been someone with Pink Diamond’s trust, someone who would have been able to get past her guard and convince her to come outside without raising any suspicion. Someone, perhaps, with an authority like one of the Diamonds.

In a fit of fury, Yellow Diamond destroys the forms of both Zircons, much to the ire of Blue Diamond. As the two Diamonds argue, Steven and Lars hijack the palanquin and escape from the court.

Overview:

What an episode!

Pink Diamond’s shattering has been a large question for several episodes already, and the new information this trial gives shows that there was more than we originally thought. If all the information is correct, then it’s very possible that Rose was framed for Pink Diamond’s murder. While Rose is responsible for the Rebellion, the thing that truly angered the Diamonds was the killing of one of their own. To know that she was framed opens a whole bag of questions. Why was Rose framed? What was there to gain from a Diamond falling? And most importantly, who did it?

Interestingly, Yellow Diamond was very combative- almost defensive, during the trial, and eager to get Rose executed. She’s a possible culprit, but it’s still too early to tell, without having met White Diamond yet.

This episode has it all- suspense, new information, and a possible conspiracy, definitely the best episode out of the special.