Steven Universe fans rejoice! After years of speculation, White Diamond has finally made her first appearance. While hinted at through imagery, this is her first proper appearance in the beloved Cartoon Network show. Her premiere did not disappoint, and the Steven Universe fandom is abuzz with new and exciting fan theories.
Although things were a little rough for a while, between story spoilers and a lack of new content, now is a fantastic time to be a Steven Universe fan. It’s anyone’s guess as to how White Diamond will fit into Steven Universe’s lore, but here are the five best fan theories we’ve seen so far.
White Diamond Literally Holds Homeworld Together
Homeworld — a planet governed by the Great Diamond Authority of White, Blue, Yellow, and formally Pink Diamond — is the presumed capital of the Gem empire. Notably, the planet consists of several broken parts within two large rings. While each of the Diamonds help hold the society together, it appears as though White Diamond literally holds the shattered world together and acts as its power source.
In the mural of White Diamond shown far before her actual appearance in the show, she holds what appears to be Homeworld together, while her body is bisected. The theory gains more support from the chords of white energy extending from her cape and covering the entire planet, and why she emits so much light that her gemstone is not visible. This further establishes the absolute power and authority White Diamond wields over all the other Gems in the series.
White Diamond Altered Pink’s Pearl
Pearls are customizable servants for the elites within the Gem society, with the fancier Pearls serving the Diamonds. As seen with the Yellow and Blue Pearl, the location of their gemstone, their personalities, and their aesthetic match those of their Diamonds’. However, both Pink and White’s Pearls do not mirror their masters, leading many to believe that the two Pearls switched places.
The main Pearl in Steven Universe and White Diamond both have their gemstone in their forehead, while Pink Diamond and the Pearl serving White Diamond both have their gemstone located in their navel. Pink Diamond, who was rather childish and rebellious, probably needed a more sensible Pearl to better guide her. The crack on White Diamond’s current Pearl and her drained color palette likely come from the massive internal alterations need to make her less like Pink Diamond and a better servant to White. This theory also gains support from the Pearl serving White and White Diamond herself sharing the same voice actor, — Christine Ebersole — while Deedee Magno-Hall voices all other Pearls.
The Origin of the Diamonds
This theory postulates that White Diamond is a husk of her former self, as she used different parts of her personality to create the other Diamonds. Predating injectors, — the usual means of gem reproduction — White Diamond divided her personality into colors and gave them form as the other Diamonds. She likely did this to remove what she considers impurities from herself, become a more perfect being, and have subordinates. This theory inverts the well-established fusion ability and introduces the concept of fission to the show.
Yellow, Blue, and Pink Diamond each possess a very specific collection of personality traits. Together, they represent the full range of emotions a person can experience, but their separation may explain why White is more of a stoic husk. This may explain why White has a grayscale color scheme, rather than the entire color spectrum as white light actually does. This may also explain why White calls Steven “starlight” in their meeting, as he is light that she emitted from herself.
White Diamond Encouraged Pink’s Rebellion
Based on White’s conversation with Steven, it seems as though she knew all about Pink Diamond’s rebellion, her Rose Quartz disguise, and her transformation into Steven. While she does not acknowledge Steven in their meeting, she does not seem surprised that he is Pink Diamond’s new form, as opposed to the other Diamonds.
This implies that she allowed her fellow Diamonds to suffer, the destruction of countless gems, and the corruption of both loyal and rebelling gems. Moreover, White may have prompted Pink to rebel, as she expresses an expectation that Pink is now more level-headed from the experience in her conversation with Steven. She basically equates Pink’s frustrations and dissatisfactions with her life to a mere tantrum that the passing of time expunged.
White Diamond is a False Leader
This theory states that Pink Diamond is the real leader of the Gem Authority and the creator of the other Diamonds, while White merely stole that position and power. This theory came about because, during the attempted de-corruption of Centipeetle, it seems that White has the ability to rewrite other gems permanently. Pink Diamond is uniquely able to create life, was a very motherly figure during her time as Rose Quartz, and it makes sense that the creator of other gems would also be their leader. However, White could have easily altered the memory of the other gems and fellow Diamonds to conform to her new hierarchy and ownership of homeworld.
This explains why White did not care about the rebellion, as Pink’s supposed death only further establishes her as the leader. It also indicates why both Pink Diamond and Steven both gravitate towards positions of leadership and succeeds in them. Hopefully, future episodes of Steven Universe would depict the Crystal Gems uncovering this deception and working to restore balance to gem society.
