YMMV / Steven Universe S5E28 "Change Your Mind"

• Broken Base: This episode is either the perfect ending for the Diamond arc, with White Diamond's Heel–Face Turn being thematically relevant and fitting, or it's one of the biggest cop-outs in animation history, with some arguing that White was better off shattered, due to her multiple evildoings within the onscreen story, to say nothing of the likely countless billions of never-identified lives destroyed under the Diamonds' agenda in the past.
• Creepy Awesome:
  • Obsidian; a giant, eight-armed, literally-two-faced black-stone fusion with magma veins who only talks in roars and screams and spews out magma.
  • Pink Steven; compared to normal Steven, Pink Steven is almost devoid of emotions, only emoting when he reunites with Steven. He shrieks soon after forming, and his behavior and movements make it appear as if he simply is on another plane of reality compared to the others. He also manages to easily deflect and shrug off blasts from White Diamond, and all of her People Puppets.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Rainbow Quartz 2.0 had people ecstatic over them due to them being the first masculine fusion-design seen on the show, along with it screaming Mary Poppins.
    • And it also helps that he's one of the VERY FEW flaming male characters to be who he is and not be ridiculed for it. Steven is already quite feminine, but Rainbow goes even further.
  • Sunstone also got a lot of fans due to their laid-back personality and fourth-wall breaking abilities on a similar manner to Sardonyx, leading many to compare them to a late 80s/early 90s cartoon character that wants to be an ideal role model for children. Their unique design certainly helps.
• Fanfic Fuel:
  • White implies that the other Diamonds are some kind of Literal Split Personality situation for her, but doesn't elaborate.
  • While it is clearly implied that Steven cannot live without the Pink Diamond gem, it was White's implicit intention for the gem to live on without him, which might in theory amount to a new gem identity, distinct from the original Pink/Rose, being born as its new incarnation in the event of Steven's death in the correct circumstances.
  • If there's really no remnant of Rose in the gem, where did she go?
  • Ronaldo will have plenty of questions as to what happened at Homeworld, particularly about Lars' adventures.
  • What would've happened if the Gems accidentally threw a different kind of Gem monster into Rose's Fountain? Like the Hand Cluster or the Gem shards that brought Frybo to life? Would they still be "uncorrupted" and what effect would it have?
• Fan Nickname: Some reviewers and fans have taken to calling the Diamonds' Combining Mecha a "Gem Voltron".
• Genius Bonus: Obsidian is simply rapidly cooled lava, hence the lava streaks throughout the fusion's body.
• I Knew It!: There were many fan theories that were confirmed in this episode:
  • A few people wondered if Lapis would reform with pants or shorts instead of a skirt. She did.
  • "Rainbow Quartz 2.0" was a popular Fan Nickname for a hypothetical Steven and Pearl fusion. When they finally debut, they call themself exactly that.
  • A number of fan art depicted Rainbow Quartz having an umbrella as their Gem weapon, which is indeed what Rainbow Quartz 2.0 has.
  • People have wondered for a long time if the Crystal Temple, with its prominently placed gemstones and the name "Obsidian Temple" in the concept drawings, represented a hypothetical fusion of all four main Crystal Gems. It is, and they're named Obsidian, and their hair, which was in Rose-like coils on the Temple when she was a component of the fusion, is now a massive version of Steven's natural fluff.
  • After Steven wondered what would happen to him if his gem was removed in "Bubbled" and Pearl contemplated doing it in the "Three Gems and a Baby" flashback, many people predicted that someone would try to do that or even successfully do it later on. Some people also theorized that Steven's gem could somehow be removed without him dying instantly. While they were right with both, what they couldn't predict was what would happen when it was removed.
  • Fanart commonly portrayed de-corrupted Gems as maintaining some traits from their corrupted form, such as discolouration, horns, etc. This wound up being exactly what happens, exemplified in Jasper maintaining green spots and horns from her corrupted form.
  • A number of people predicted that White Diamond would use her powers to mind control the other Diamonds or the Crystal Gems. She controls all of them in this episode.
  • While it had become fairly obvious by this point, the episode finally demonstrates that the Diamonds' ships are indeed components of a Combining Mecha.
  • White Pearl is indeed the former Pink Pearl, turned into a mindless puppet for White Diamond as a punishment for befriending Pink Diamond.
  • A couple fans figured Peridot would use her metal powers to ride a disc-like object like a hoverboard (ala, Static Shock). She does so here when emerging from Blue Diamond's ship, having gotten her hands on a trash can lid.
• Like You Would Really Do It: Admit it, while you were shocked at White turning Yellow and Blue into the same thing she turned White Pearl into, you were relieved when she did the same to the Crystal Gems, because that meant it wouldn't be permanent, and the worst you had to fear was them still being that way by the end of this episode and not being restored until a later one.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • "EVERYONE IS HERE!"^Explanation ALL of the main characters in the show, as well as almost all of the show's storyboarders, coming back for this episode.
  • "I'M MARY POPPINS, Y'ALL!"^Explanation Rainbow Quartz 2.0 floats down with a parasol and has a (male) British accent.
  • It's Taako! (You know, from TV?)^Explanation Other fans made this comparison to RQ 2.0
  • At Last, The Collection is Complete. ^Explanation Every Diamond now has a particular face that they are associated with which is memeable.
  • Steven Goes Super Saiyan/Killer Instinct. ^Explanation Pink Steven's infamous "SHE'S GOOOONE!!!!" scream, referring to Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz's consciousness no longer a part of the Pink Diamond Gem, is so powerful, that it causes a crater to suddenly form underneath the Gem form, and shatter the walls and floor of White Diamond's Sanctum.
  • Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann memes immediately popped up thanks to Peridot's Kamina shades.
  • "You won! And she chose you! And she loved you! And she's GOOOOOOOOOONE! ^Explanation One of the most common forms of memeing Pink Steven's line is to splice it to Pearl singing "It's Over, Isn't It?"
• Moe: A villain—namely, White Diamond—Luminescent Blushing pink is for some reason always bound to make them look utterly adorable.
• Narm:
  • The mood of the scene where Yellow and Blue talk to White about how they feel is slightly ruined whenever it cuts to White's ship, which has a bit of a goofy expression throughout.
  • When Steven sings the titular song, Garnet looks at him with a frown which slowly shifts into a smile. It's adorable, yes, but Garnet's mouth is slightly open when she's frowning, which looks a bit like she has a tooth gap.
• Narm Charm: "She's GOOOOOOOONE!" A difficult line to deliver, Zach Callison gives it his best effort, while it comes off as ridiculous in a serious scene, but is no less powerful or chilling with the Wham Line or how stoic Pink Steven looks when he says it.
• Only the Author Can Save Them Now: Halfway through the episode White Diamond has won, effortlessly mind controlling all the main cast minus Steven and Connie, neither of which have any way of posing any threat to her existence. White refuses to listen to anything Steven says and pulls out his gem to forcibly bring Pink Diamond back, which is heavily implied will be fatal to Steven past a few minutes. Instead of Pink Diamond or Rose Quartz reforming, though, the gem manifests another Steven and after a single moment of anger, this experience humbles the otherwise completely self-absorbed White Diamond so thoroughly she lets everyone she mind controlled free and decides to stop being tyrannical in the span of a few minutes when she had been set in her ways for tens of thousands of years. The base is deeply divided on whether this was an appropriate thematic ending to the series or the biggest Ass Pull and Writer Cop Out possible.
• One-Scene Wonder: Rainbow Quartz 2.0 and Sunstone had fans the instant they came on screen.
• Paranoia Fuel:
  • It's implied that White Diamond was triggering Steven's memories as Pink Diamond on the Jungle Moon base, since she seems to know too well that Steven knew more things than he should have. Also, unlike the other Homeworld Gems, she knows what a mom is.
  • Before it's proven otherwise, Steven is briefly horrified when White suggests that Pink was using him as a vessel to make herself the best of the bunch, and that he's not his own person.
• Shocking Moments:
  • Bismuth returns having repaired the two Diamond ships with Peridot and Lapis's help, and Peridot and Lapis have stars on their forms! That, and Peridot has some sweet new shades.
  • Steven fusing with Pearl. This is followed by him fusing with Garnet... then by all four Crystal Gems forming Obsidian.
  • Steven's gemstone being removed.
  • The Reveal that Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond is truly gone and that Steven is not another facet of her; in other words, when Rose gave up her physical form to create Steven, it was permanent. Rose ceased to be Pink Diamond, and instead Steven became the new Pink Diamond. Even more shocking, Pink Steven can No-Sell every attack White Diamond can throw at him.
• Signature Line:
  • Pink Steven shouting "She's GOOOONE!!!!!" to declare that Pink Diamond is no more, largely because of how unsettling it is.
  • "I am a child; what's your excuse?" Steven's Armor-Piercing Response which is also a Development Gag to the pilot.
• Signature Scene: Pink Steven's "SHE'S GONE!!!" declaration, followed with the beautiful scene of Steven reuniting with himself.
• Squick:
  • Even with it actually being a spaceship that doesn't feel any pain, Lapis and Peridot slicing up the "crotch" of Pink's ship can be pretty wince-inducing.
  • We actually see Steven's gem being removed, albeit in shadow at first, to reveal the full diamond shape. And Steven is barely keeping himself together after it happens - the poor boy has a disturbing ashen pallor and dark rings under his eyes, and he’s so weak he can barely move without help.
• Visual Effects of Awesome: The animation gets a major bump for this episode, and just keeps increasing in quality, peaking when Steven reunites with himself before a catatonic White Diamond; this movie-quality, extremely fluid sequence of animation was brought to you by Disney legend James Baxter.

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