"Pearl" is a member of the Crystal Gems. One of Rose Quartz's closest followers and her sole confidant, Pearl is one of the last surviving Gems on Earth who joined the Crystal Gems in their rebellion against the Gem Homeworld. Pearl would afterwards protect the Earth over the next several millennia alongside her friends, while later teaching Rose's son, Steven, the ways of Gems.
Role in the series
Personality[]
Pearl is a perfectionist knowledgeable on a plethora of topics that values organizations. Pearl has a penchant for symmetry (going so far as to impale M.C. Bear Bear to maintain the symmetry of a pile of appliances and school supplies) and a high attention to details.
Despite her perfectionism and occasional bragging, Pearl suffers from low self-esteem. In "Friend Ship", she admits she is very dependent on others to validate her, which loops into a strong inferiority complex. According to Amethyst in "Reformed", she needs everyone's constant approval to feel secure. Without anyone to tell her what to do or to depend on her, Pearl feels lost without meaning or value. Pearl admits she often feels extremely weak and/or useless when compared to others who appear better than her, going so far as to describe herself as ineffective on her own; always in need of a leader she can follow. Her self-destructive behavior stems from the Homeworld caste values, where pearls are viewed as property rather than Gems. This has led her to take drastic actions to prove herself — though, thanks to Garnet's encouragement in "Friend Ship", she has started to take initiatives instead of letting other's words define Pearl herself. It appears Pearl has taken this to her heart, as she asserted herself against Peridot when she treated Pearl in a degrading tone. Pearl even went as far as physically punching Peridot to show that she was an individual, not a piece of property.
Pearl is easily flustered and overwhelmed when confronted by the unknown or when her plans fail, which can lead to her judgement being clouded or cause her to act on impulse instead of rational thinking. Her inner turmoil over her love for Rose (and her subsequent absence) has made Pearl lash out at Steven more than once. Her fierce desire to feel "strong" and have more victories as a Crystal Gem even caused her to betray Garnet's trust and basic principles so they could keep forming Sardonyx. When realizing how much she hurt others, Pearl will apologize and try as hard as she can to set things right, working hard to counteract the damage she may have inflicted.
Out of all the Crystal Gems, Pearl is the most poorly adjusted to life on Earth, being unaware of human social conventions and culture, such as jokes, games, arcades, food, and birthday parties. Pearl has expressed a great desire to leave Earth in "Space Race", going so far as to risk her and Steven's lives. Pearl also has a pessimistic view of humanity, as evidenced by her statement in "Keep Beach City Weird," though in Political Power, she seemed to be around at the time when humans lived without light for millennia, and knew that they used to hunt and gather, she was quite surprised that they no longer do that anymore.
Relationships[]
Sly Cooper[]
Pearl and Sly are known to get along quite well.
Sonja Farrington[]
Pearl acts as a motherly figure to Sonja.