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Examples from the original series go here, and examples from Future go here.


  • Alternative Character Interpretation:
    • Is shattering Gems a regular habit of Blue Diamond that Steven forced her to drop, or did he just tell her to stop doing it knowing of her past experience with Garnet, unaware if she actually did it regularly?
    • Regarding Pink leaving Spinel:
      • Did she really forget about Spinel, or was the Galaxy Warp on Earth being unusable after the War the reason she never went back for her? The fact that she could've fixed the Galaxy Warp with her healing tears at any time implies the former.
      • Did she not realize that Spinel would be Literal-Minded enough to stay in the garden for millennia, and assume that she would eventually give up and leave on her own?
      • Did she not go back because of how risky it would be, including not knowing how Spinel would react when she explained what happened to her?
      • Rule of Symbolism: Some fans feel like the scene is meant as commentary. A tall, realistic Pink Diamond is tired of being treated like a kid, and desires a more refined, sophisticated life. She abandons a short, cutesy, cartoon-like character in the process, as she believes the character is just designed as a mere one-note child’s plaything, and will hold her back from reaching her goals of branching out into full maturity and exploration. Remind you of anything yet?
      • Word of God clarifies that Spinel was abandoned due to her being grating to Pink and believing the former was holding her back. This clears up some issues, but still leaves it up in the air whether she had any thoughts of Spinel afterwards, as she never brings the topic to anyone.
    • Spinel seems weirdly unperturbed when Steven hits her with the rejuvenator—was she simply that mentally gone at that point, or was getting rejuvenated part of her plan? If the latter, was it because she wanted to stall Steven and the other Gems to let the injector work, or was she miserable enough to want a reset? Or did she simply not care either way what happened to her, because once the injector started working it was mission accomplished for all intents and purposes?
    • When White Diamond parrots Steven's "not judging a book by its cover" philosophy, was she trying to endear herself to him by reminding him that she changed, or was she being sarcastic in that condescending Drama Queen manner we all know and fear from her, wanting to judge but trying to save face? Steven's reaction seems to imply that he himself suspects its the latter.
    • Do the Diamonds actually see and care about Spinel as her own person, or just as an extension of Pink?
    • Was Spinel holding Steven over the edge of the injector just long enough for him to remember his "missing piece" and get his powers back classic Bond Villain Stupidity, or was her subconscious making her drag the moment out as she truly didn't want to kill him, considering the mental breakdown she suffers shortly after?
    • Sapphire's exact words regarding Ruby was that the latter won't last more than a day. This ends up technically true, but misleading; instead of Ruby being shattered like they assume, Sapphire saves her, and they fuse into Garnet and spend the rest of the movie like that. With this in mind, was Sapphire's rescue really a case of her deciding Screw Destiny, or did she foresee them fusing into Garnet from the start and was going through the path that allowed that? The latter would also explain why Sapphire foresees, seemingly randomly, that she and Ruby follow Steven to Little Homeworld, which allowed the chain of events that led to them fusing.
  • Alternate Self Shipping: While not as popular as Pink Pearl/Spinel or even Steven/Spinel, shipping Spinel with her past self as a Gleeful and Grumpy Pairing is a common sight in the fandom.
  • Awesome Music: See here.
  • Base-Breaking Character:
    • Pink Diamond, one of the series's most divisive characters continued to break the base in the movie with her actions in regards to Spinel. Pink abandoning Spinel and leaving her traumatized (on top of her making the opposing sides of the war fight each other, bubbling Bismuth, etc) ended up being the final straw for many fans who feel that ultimately she's past the point of being forgivable. Others feel it ties into the tragedy that is Pink's arc, hurting others and herself even as she tried to do the right thing and there's a lot of speculation on whether or not Pink was unable to go back for Spinel. Finally, another contingent feels that the movie unfairly lays the blame for the conflict at Pink's feet and lets Spinel and the Diamonds be Easily Forgiven. These conflicting opinions were further compounded by the movie being Pink's last major onscreen appearance in the series and debate still rages over both how sympathetic she is and how much sympathy the show/movie conveys for her.
    • The remaining Diamonds. Some love their Flanderization from evil space dictators to overbearing extended family. Others found their doting behaviour and borderline assimilation to be somewhat hard to endure. Spinel leaving with them is also seen as an Esoteric Happy Ending by some, due to the Diamonds' long history of domestic abuse, though thankfully, Future portrays them as genuinely loving towards Spinel.
    • Steg. While he's been called the highlight of the movie by many, due to his awesome song, levitation powers and surprisingly attractive design, others are somewhat uncomfortable about the fusion that involves Steven being so flirtatious with the other gems and are also somewhat grossed out by the people finding him attractive. And that's not even going into the folks who wrongly accuse him of being a case of Parental Incest.
  • Crazy Is Cool: While the reason why she is so crazy is extremely tragic, Spinel is definitely Ax-Crazy, moves and acts like a deranged 30s cartoon character, knows how to effectively use that in fights and manages to beat the Crystal Gems minutes upon her introduction despite the fact that she was made to be a simple entertainer and the fact that she stood in one place for 6,000 years up to this point. And she does that while singing a ridiculously catchy Electro Swing Villain Song.
  • Crosses the Line Twice: Spinel's tragic backstory is punctured a bit by Steven bluntly saying that after everything he's learned about his mother, he has no problem believing she'd do something that hurt another so badly.
    Steven: I can't believe Mom did that to you... [looks aside] Actually, I can totally believe it.
  • Crossover Ship:
    • There are some people shipping Spinel with Bendy due to both being a homage to 30's animation and being abandoned by their creator.
    • Ditto for Spinel and Sam-I-Am, due to their similar personalities and backstories.
    • Spinel/Peacock, either as genuine best friends or Vitriolic Best Buds, due to their shared Inkblot Cartoon Style and Break the Cutie characterization.
    • Spinel is generally a bicycle in that regard. If there's any Monster Clown and/or Inkblot Cartoon Style character you can think of, chances are high that there's fanwork of them shipped with Spinel. Even Laughing Jack is paired with her, at least platonically.
  • Cry for the Devil: Spinel was introduced as an unrepentant psycho out to kill the Earth and everything on it, taking manic glee in beating the snot out the Crystal Gems, even giving one last cackle before she poofs from a rejuvenator hit. When she reforms, we are introduced to what Spinel was originally like; a Genki Girl clown, made to be the best friend and entertainer of her owner. The audience then gets a front row seat to her lovable antics before finally seeing the trauma that changed her into the Spinel from the beginning of the movie, and all simultaneously cried out for her and shouted that she deserved better.
  • Diagnosed by the Audience:
    • Many fans have speculated that Spinel has Borderline Personality Disorder, with features of all the subtypes: a fear of abandonment that persisted even after her memories were erased, intense anger at those around her, including those who personally did her no wrong, and wildly shifting moods and opinions. Most tellingly is by her own admission at the end of the movie that she has no real idea why she wants to hurt Steven as bad as she does.
    • Many neurodivergent viewers see rejuvenated Amethyst's Baby See, Baby Do moments as being reminiscent of echolalia.
  • Draco in Leather Pants: Spinel quickly became a fan favorite character for being both a charismatic, sympathetic villain, and a villain with an incredibly strong character arc, complete with one of the most horrifying backstories in the franchise. However, many like to paint Spinel as The Woobie; a wholesome, adorable, irresistible cinnamon roll who did nothing wrong before her Face–Heel Turn. While true of her original self, this is not at all accurate to Spinel pre-Heel–Face Turn; she came to Earth specifically to murder Steven and the rest of Earth's life in revenge for Pink abandoning her. Unlike most of the other antagonists in the series, Spinel is fully aware that Steven is not Pink Diamond, and that she's taking out her pain on others who have done absolutely nothing to her, but she simply doesn't recognize or care until the end of the film. In an interview, Rebecca Sugar explains how Spinel's character is an exploration and exaggeration of how toxic a person can be when they let their pain become who they are.
    Sugar: The thing about Spinel is that she's a really toxic person. She's so toxic that she's literally trying to poison people. In my interactions with friends who have had a history difficult enough to make it hard for them to trust other people and sometimes even actively want to hurt others, it's just a very difficult situation to navigate. [...] I wanted to explore what it's like when you're trying to help someone who really doesn't want to help themselves, who wants to embody the negative feelings that they have about themselves. [...] Spinel, unlike many other characters, actually has the goal of hurting people, which is new territory for the show. She really wants to hurt Steven, and there's a reason that she does—because she's in so much pain. I just wanted to explore all the dimensions of that.
  • Epileptic Trees:
    • Since the teaser shows a heart-shaped gemstone spinning and turning, with each Crystal Gem being shown in a different angle, some concluded that the movie would be about the Crystal Gems traveling into Another Dimension and meeting other versions of themselves. It wasn't, though the Gems did get to meet other versions of themselves in a way.
    • There were two major theories about the villain's true identity. Some speculated that she was a Morganite, possibly even Rhodonite's former owner due to their similar gem placement and Rhodonite's name drop of her in "Off Colors". Others went into riskier theories, thinking that she was another Diamond, either Pink Diamond's Flawed Prototype or Evil Knockoff, calling her "Red Diamond" or "Pink 1.0/2.0". In truth, she was neither of these, actually being a new Gem called "Spinel", the former playmate of Pink Diamond.
    • After Rebecca Sugar confirmed that at least one new fusion would appear in the movie, people immediately assumed that Steven would be part of it, either fusing with the second generation of Crystal Gems (Peridot, Lapis, Bismuth), a human (Greg and Lars being the most common candidates) or even a fellow Diamond (Yellow, Blue, White). Greg turned out to be the correct answer.
  • Estrogen Brigade: The hunky and suave Steg's surprise debut made all the ladies swoon (and a few gentlemen as well).
  • Evil Is Cool: Spinel quickly became very popular due to her unique character design, her being both one of the funniest and most terrifying villains in the series, and her tragic backstory earning a fair amount of sympathy from audiences.
  • Fandom-Enraging Misconception: The widely-held misconception that fusion is purely a metaphor for sex as opposed to any close relationship rears its head in regards to fandom response to Steg, as fans who dislike the fusion use this misunderstanding to help justify their distaste by claiming it is a representation of Parental Incest.
  • Fanfic Fuel:
    • What would happen if any other Gem was hit with the rejuvenator, and what arcs would bring them back to their current selves?
    • It didn't take long for fans to start speculating about how things would have played out if Pink had taken Spinel to Earth with her, if Spinel had been found before the events of the movie, or if Pink took Spinel with her but left Pearl behind.
    • Spinel returning to Steven and the others if the Diamonds lost interest in her too, or if she herself decided to evolve past being a Diamond's jester and try and find her own identity on Earth like Pearl and by extension Peridot did, is also a very popular concept.
  • Fan Nickname:
    • Steg (the fusion of Steven and Greg) has been given the nicknames "Mr. Multiverse"/"Mr. Universe" and "Greven", the former due to him being a fusion of two "Universes" and the latter being the other commutation of the portmanteau.
    • Before her name was revealed, a lot of people dubbed Spinel "Heartstone", due to her heart-shaped gem. Alternatively, in-line with the Crystal Gems' "Mom" nicknames and her child-like appearance and demeanor, some have started to call her "Noodle Child".
  • Fanon: In humanized fanart, Spinel is usually portrayed as Hispanic or Latino, given that "Spinela" and "Spinelli" are common Spanish names. Her "innocent" self is usually headcanoned to be what her personality was like at 6-8 years old, while her "evil" self is a 16-year-old Emo Teen. She's usually portrayed as Steven's long lost sister, though many vary in how they're related, adopted siblings is popular for Stevinel shippers.
  • Genius Bonus: A few shots of Pink Diamond's Garden during Spinel's flashbacks feature a couple of specific kinds of flowers: Forget-Me-Nots and Red Spider Lillies, the latter carrying its Japanese meanings of "never to meet again", "lost memory", and "abandonment", perfect for Pink leaving Spinel behind in the garden and never coming back for her.
  • Harsher in Hindsight: The movie's events become this in Future when a corrupted Steven starts lashing out in pain and self-loathing, nearly destroying Little Homeschool and his town. He then inflicts karma on Spinel while fighting, because he's lashing out the way she did with her opening fight. Even worse, Spinel starts crying mid-Heel Realization because she realizes how her actions badly impacted Steven's psyche.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: For years, it's been very common for AUs where Steven is Blue Diamond's son to have him wearing a blue shirt. Steven's aged-up attire actually does have him wearing a blue shirt.
  • I Knew It!: Many fans correctly predicted based on the trailer that Steven and Greg would fuse, and that Opal would return.
  • Inferred Holocaust: While it seems no one is hurt for long, part of the Earth was still filled with poison that, if Beach City is any indication, caused a lot of plant life to wither and die. As Garnet mentions, they'll need to get water for Steven so he doesn't dehydrate while healing the Earth with smooches.
  • It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: While most were able to overlook it due to Spinel's sympathetic origins and reaching her Heel Realization mostly by herself, some were still rubbed the wrong way that yet another villain in the show was redeemed, sympathetic or not.
  • Jerkass Woobie: Spinel. She was made to make Pink Diamond happy, but Pink eventually got annoyed with her. So, she proceeded to abandon Spinel by telling her to stand still in their garden until she returned, but Pink never did return, resulting in Spinel standing there all alone, for 6,000 years. When she recieved Steven's transmission and found out Pink had replaced her with other friends and is now gone, the emotional trauma caused her to break down crying and just poof. Later, once she believes she's finally found another friend in Steven, she comes to mistakeningly believe he wants to throw her away as well, prompting her to continue with her plans to destroy Steven and the Earth.
    Spinel: How you gonna forget with me around? I'm the source of all your problems! Don't pretend you want me here. What's your plan for me, huh? You gonna put me somewhere? You gonna leave me somewhere? You gonna leave me alone!?
  • Just Here for Godzilla: Many fans who had gotten tired of the original show or stopped watching altogether returned at the word of Spinel and found her character to be a delightful return to form for the show, many finding her the best, or in some cases, only worthwhile part of the movie.
  • Memetic Mutation:
    • Steven, in his new aged up design, now has a properly visible neck, leading to a lot of jokes making this out to be the most important development in the show so far or suggesting he inherited it from Yellow Diamond (whose design is often affectionately mocked for having a long neck).
    • The promotional poster gave everyone a better look at the movie's villain, who immediately gained many comparisons to Jenny Wakeman for their extremely similar face shapes and pigtails. Comparing her to Dee Dee is also quite common, again because of the pigtails. In the trailer proper, due to her Looney Tunes-like animations, people have compared her to bosses in Cuphead, namely Sally Stageplay and Baroness Von Bon Bon.
    • Many people have been joking about how Steg looks like a JoJo's Bizarre Adventure character or Elvis Presley, especially with the way his pompadour looks. With the former, many compared Steg to Josuke Higashikata from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable, whose Stand is Crazy Diamond and has healing and reparation powers similar to Steven's.
    • Pink had her own Pink. Explanation
    • Pink Diamond went out to get cigarettes.Explanation
    • Spinel's backstory and the film's overall themes feel eerily reminiscent of Toy Story, leading to a lot of jokes comparing the two. In particular, the infamous "I don't wanna play with you anymore" scene is frequently quoted in reference to Pink's treatment of Spinel. And if not that, they probably make references to Jessie with Spinel's song "Drift Away" being compared to "When She Loved Me", or compare Spinel's backstory to that of Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear (unlike him, however, Spinel was legitimately abandoned and had a Heel–Face Turn).
    • Because of her pink color scheme, Toon Physics, and Genki Girl attitude, it's not uncommon to compare original Spinel with Pinkie Pie, with present-day Spinel as Pinkamena.
    • Spinel's backstory has been compared favorably (if tragically) to Seymour, Fry's dog from Futurama, who waited until the day he died for Fry to come back, unaware Fry was trapped in a cryotube for a thousand years.
    • "In the garden, Spinel is still waiting." Explanation
    • "That's right, I heard "Other Friends" over and over again!" Explanation
      • Alternatively: "I've listened to "Other Friends"... ON LOOP!"
    • "That's right, I heard the story, don't really like how it ends!" Explanation
    • "I'm rusty! Give me a break!" note 
    • "Finally something. Finally news. About how the story ends." Explanation
    • Being played by the same actress (over on Broadway), it's become a recurring idea to have Spinel singing "What's Gonna Happen" from the Tootsie musical, coming from a high-strung character played by Sarah Stiles singing about trying to prove her worth as an entertainer.
    • "Who cares about the rock show?" Explanation
  • Moe:
    • Cotton Candy Garnet returns, and we actually get to see a good look at her personality. She's absolutely adorable in the way she plays with her surroundings, like being utterly fascinated by a spork. It's hard to believe that she and the Afro Asskicker Garnet are actually the same person.
    • Spinel, after she loses her memories, is a boundlessly energetic, perpetually upbeat bundle of adorableness. Heck, even her evil self is somewhat Creepy Cute; the Diamonds certainly agree. And considering the type of character she is, you'll likely want to reach through the screen to give her a Cooldown Hug.
    • As disturbing as it is to see Pearl revert to a servile state, the innocent-looking expressions she makes when reset are endearing smiles.
  • More Interesting as a Villain: Spinel is considered to be a highlight of the movie from her Villain Song "Other Friends", her status as a villain who has it out for Steven personally which is topped off with a violent, unstable personality in contrast to her heartbreak at being abandoned by Pink Diamond, while being a solid threat that gives the movie its high stakes. It also helps that she's one of the strongest villains in the series, being physically strong enough to actually make Steven bleed during their final fight. Suffice to say, some fans weren't too happy about her becoming a Replacement Goldfish for Pink Diamond at the end of the movie and her role in Steven Universe: Future being someone who tries and fails to help Steven before he ends up going into a meltdown.
  • Narm Charm: Spinel's Curb-Stomp Battle against the Crystal Gems involves her weaponizing her cartoon-like body to toy with them while singing an upbeat, jazzy song. It's hilarious and terrifying since the Crystal Gems are usually able to at least put up a fight, but they can't even touch Spinel.
  • Never Live It Down: Pink Diamond for what she did to Spinel. Although what she did was wrong and cruel, many use this to paint her as an irredeemable monster, ignoring her own tragic past in the previous season and everything she would eventually do, constantly bringing up this moment when discussing the character. In actuality, this event happened before Pink got any of her Character Development that changed her for the better, even though she didn't believe it herself. Also, it is unknown if she had intended to leave Spinel in the garden for all that time when she first got her colony, but by the time the rebellion happened and the Gems on Earth were corrupted, there was obviously no way for her to go back to Spinel even if she wanted to (or assuming that Earth was being surveyed, no way to go without it being a Cover-Blowing Superpower that would inform the other Diamonds the Crystal Gems were still alive).
  • No Yay: Steg's interactions with Pearl, Amethyst, and Opal in "Independent Together" are commonly interpreted as flirtatious, and become Squicky as a result; even without discounting that fusions are their own people, Steg is still made up of Greg and Steven, the latter of whom is still a minor, to say nothing of Pearl and Amethyst basically being mother and sister figures to him, respectively.
  • One-Scene Wonder: Steg and Opal literally and figuratively steal the show with their brief duet, and are considered a highlight of the movie by many. It's easy to forget that they each had less than two minutes of screentime.
  • Refrain from Assuming:
    • The song sung by the main Crystal Gems toward the beginning isn't titled "Once Upon a Time" or "Here We Are in the Future" as the lyrics would suggest. Its actual title, "Happily Ever After", only shows up in the first and last verses.
    • The song Pearl sings when she reforms in her original state is titled "system/BOOT.pearl_final(3).Info". Needless to say, this isn't found anywhere in the lyrics.
  • Ships That Pass in the Night: Spinel/Pink Pearl, called "Spinearl" by fans, immediately sprang into existence following the movie's airing. It is heavily implied that Spinel was only given to Pink after Pink Pearl became White Pearl/got replaced with our Pearl, meaning that two have never met, not that that's stopping fans - some even use it for a Meet Cute.
  • Signature Scene:
    • Spinel's introduction and her accompanying song "Other Friends", where she proceeds to completely wipe the floor with the Crystal Gems, establishing herself as one of the deadliest villains in the series and setting the tone for the rest of the movie.
    • The sequence of the Ruby and Sapphire Garnets forming into a single Garnet, accompanied by the song "Isn't It Love?", is frequently praised as one of the most beautiful scenes, not just in the movie but in the entire show.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
    • Spinel's role in the movie could've been easily filled by Pink Pearl, since she already had a villainous look going for her and she was very intimidating while being controlled by White Diamond. In fact, before the movie's release, some fans theorized that she was Pink Pearl who would Go Mad from the Revelation that her Diamond was dead. The fact that Pink Pearl doesn't even appear in the movie, while both Yellow and Blue Pearl do, doesn't help.
    • It's a bit disappointing that we only get to see Little Homeworld in passing. You'd think that at least one of the uncorrupted gems would be named, but only the Geode Beetles show up, referred to as "the Geode Beetles" rather than their actual Gem name.
    • The plot of the movie revolves around Beach City, and the rest of Earth, being slowly poisoned by Spinel's injector, so one might except some of the Beach City citizens to get involved in some way. Nope! Only Greg, Sadie, Lars, and Nanefua have lines, with Greg being the only one who is vital to the plot. Every other Beach City citizen is reduced to a background cameo. For Lars in particular, it would have been awesome to see him assist Steven in getting the injector out of the Earth's surface.
    • Any Gem that isn't part of the Crystal Gems or a Diamond. Jasper, Aquamarine, the Ruby Squad, Topaz, and Emeraldnote  all have cameos during "Happily Ever After", and the Off Colors appear frequently in the background, but none of them have any real focus put on them. It's especially strange in Emerald's case since she was the only antagonist who acted on her own accord and there's no implication of her coming for the Sun Incinerator.
      • Rhodonite's lack of dialogue is also a bit of a surprise. Who didn't want to see her react to Cotton Candy Garnet?
    • Fans of Bismuth, Peridot, and Lapis expected the benching of Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst as capable heroes to give the B-Team Crystal Gems more room to act as supporting protagonists to Steven, possibly by helping the main trio get their memories back in a way that mirrored how the Crystal Gems had helped them. They do get a song and a scene helping Ruby and Sapphire fuse, but after that they spend most of the movie offscreen dealing with Spinel's injector.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
    • The damage done by the end of the movie could've stuck and led to interesting repercussions that could have been further explored in Future, such as Greg permanently losing one of his arms or a good chunk of Beach City being barren and destroyed; instead Steven's spit heals everything, though it's implied not everything was able to be fixed completely.
    • The Rejuvenator is an interesting concept that makes total sense in the show's universe. How is it used? The three full-Gem main characters, Steven, and the villain are hit with it. Ignoring that servant Pearl is basically a robot, Steven himself was fine and only his powers were reset, and "Cotton Candy" Garnet's semi-established personality mostly being shown through background antics, only Amethyst and Spinel actually bring something new to the table. It would've been much more interesting to see a less established Gem, such as Peridot, Lapis, Bismuth, Jasper, Eyeball or maybe even a Diamond, being hit with it and the conflict resolving around bringing them back to their former selves, or Steven getting hit with the rejuvenator causing more than just his powers to reset.
    • Jasper's absence from the movie (aside from a cameo at the beginning) is quite noticeable when you think about it. The world is ending and surely you'd expect Jasper to take some interest in finding the source of it, if only so she can beat the crap out of it. Jasper wouldn't even need to pull a Heel–Face Turn because just the opportunity to fight another battle would enough for her and it'd allow Jasper to stick it to Steven and the Crystal Gems. Alternately, Jasper and Spinel are as different as night and day in terms of characterization and both have a strong connection to Pink Diamond, leading to the two either being a Big Bad Duumvirate with a Straight Man and Wise Guy dynamic or Jasper becoming The Dragon to Spinel due to her tendency to submit to those far stronger than her.

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