Cartoon Network’s Cartoon Network show's decision to split from a traditional character growth structure for Rose Quartz created a twist on the "beloved dead mother" archetype. Rose is not just the ghost haunting the narrative but the rose-tinted filter the characters must shatter to grow.

Steven Universe, created by Rebecca Sugar, is the coming-of-age story of 13-year-old Steven Universe as he attempts to master his powers and become a Crystal Gem. While the critically acclaimed animated series maintained relative lightheartedness, it was unafraid to tackle themes such as freedom, identity, and a person's right to exist as the show progressed. Steven, who inherits his mother’s legacy, struggles to carve his own separate identity. Yet even as Steven grows apart from Rose, the show cannot help but solve Rose Quartz's mysteries and the question of if he and the Crystal Gems, can truly be free of her shadow.

Rose Quartz's Steven Universe Character Arc Was Told In Reverse

Helping to Build This Tale About Self Love

Most arcs in Steven Universe follow a positive growth structure, the characters end better than they started. Rose Quartz’s arc is reversed, she is introduced with all of her growth behind her. In season 1, Rose is the deceased, flawless leader of the Crystal Gems. By season five, she’s Pink Diamond, the long-dead member of the Diamond Authority, who secretly led a rebellion against her own regime. This reveal was carefully teased even in the earliest Steven Universe episodes. Working backwards was not just done for the sake of the plot, but also because it is crucial to understand Rose.

In a show about self-love, Rose’s story could not be told differently. Rose is complex, contradictory, and ultimately unable to shake her shame and self-hatred.

In a show about self-love, Rose’s story could not be told differently. Rose is complex, contradictory, and ultimately unable to shake her shame and self-hatred. As stated in “Mr. Greg”, Rose did what she wanted. Childlike in her actions, she rarely thought of the consequences. She required loyalty as a leader but withheld her own honesty. Even the selfless act of creating Steven doubles as the selfish act of escaping herself. Desperate to be more human, Rose constantly reinvented herself. Yet she represents love, kindness, and freedom. Despite being an alien, Rose is one of the show’s most human characters.

From an audience perspective, this storytelling choice creates an exciting mystery. From the creator’s perspective, the viewers are meant to learn alongside Steven. Rose tried very hard to bury her past, forcefully restricting other people’s ability to tell it. However, Rose’s death meant she could no longer control her story nor could she evolve any further. The remaining step is to unravel her. Rose is the center of the narrative, but the story starts with Steven. Even as his own gem, Steven is an extension of his mother’s story. He must, and does, improve upon what she left behind.

Rose Became The Catalyst For Other Steven Universe Characters' Stories

Most Characters' Arc Revolves Around Rose's Legacy

Most of the Steven Universe characters have internal character arcs: they overcome and heal from personal problems. This ultimately helps them save the day, but their growth is rooted around themselves or a specific relationship. Rose, however, impacts everyone around her, directly and indirectly. Rose has good intentions, but it is the great flaw of her character to leap before she thinks. This makes her embedded so far into Steven Universe, that even in the artistic choices, it would be impossible to separate her from it. Whether she intended to or not, the world was shaped by Rose.

Just as Steven couldn’t exist without Rose, many character arcs couldn’t happen without her influence. Pearl’s identity is so entrenched in her relationship to Rose, that she struggles with self-worth and relationships without her. Garnet’s confident self-expression is due to Rose’s but is stunted by being left in charge of her grieving friends. Steven’s empathetic nature allows him to heal the universal damage Rose left. He makes the Diamond Authority accept how horribly they treated Pink, jump-starting a new era. As Rebecca Sugar said, Rose never realized her power in the lives of others, nor in Steven Universe itself.