The Diamonds. Intergalactic tyrants. Slave owners. Colonisers. Murderers. Bigots. Redeemable? No.
I’m all for the redemption of villainous characters. Characters like Peridot and Zuko are among my favourites, and the ability to give a villain a believable and compelling redemption arc is a great skill to have in writing. It brings the character to life, it lets them grow and develop while still staying as themselves… until they’re put into a barn.
But there’s a line that must be drawn between a villain that is bad and a villain that is evil. Let’s talk about all the things that The Diamonds have done that make them irredeemable.
I can’t say I entirely agree with this.
The Diamonds have done a lot of
horrible things, but the thesis of Steven Universe is more that there
are no evil people, just an evil society.
People can change, can do
better, can learn they were wrong. While the Diamonds do benefit from
the current status quo, they are also kept down by it, albeit not to the same degree as their subjects. Like how Blue Diamond isn’t allowed to mourn the death of Pink Diamond, her sister, because it’s unfit for a Diamond to be vulnerable.
Also let me ask you this: Did you think for a second that Steven would shatter the Diamonds? After Steven has made it clear that he thinks even the shattering of Pink Diamond was wrong?
There exist so many coming of age stories about killing off the villain, but you can’t do that in real life. You can, however, teach people if they are willing to listen, and you can teach them why they are wrong. That’s what I think Rebecca Sugar wants to show children watching the show; to not give in to anger and react with violence, but to try and see things from others perspective, no matter how wrong those people are, and use it to help them become better people.
You can see this method working with groups like Life After Hate that help Neo Nazis getting away from those beliefs by showing them why they are wrong.
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