Mindful Education is an episode that has been talked about at length by a million different people a million different times before. I don't think I could say anything that others haven't said better so I'll keep my comments brief. This is an incredible episode. Its imagery is jaw-dropping and I've taken its lesson on mental health to heart.
If the show were to be renewed, I'd love to see the crewniverse try to make an episode that rivals Mindful Education.
“rose is always wall eyed, sad eyed even when smiling.” — rebecca sugar
this is such a simple note describing rose’s appearance in rebecca’s concept drawings for rose’s lion 3 debut, but it’s incredibly tragic when you consider rose’s character
she’s so deeply ashamed of herself and her past; the way she worships everyone around her is so sincere; she can’t stand herself
rose keeps her eyes closed in every picture she leaves behind. rose with her boyfriend, the portrait in steven’s house. she wouldn’t want him to be anywhere near that kind of pain. even rose’s fountain has a statue of her with her eyes closed. she hides parts of herself, literally & figuratively.
she can’t open up about her past; she would much rather shut it out. she can’t bear the thought of even having to look at her own pain.
“oh, i’m so happy for everyone who’s going to know you.” — rose, lion 4
“rose quartz hoped with all her being that her child would grow up surrounded by love & kindness & care… and would never find a way back to her horrendous old home.” — the tale of steven
“sometimes i wonder if it's even you up there, smiling all day and night. i just want to know the real you. not the you that everyone tells me about.” — steven, storm in the room
just on a pearlrose note, i always loved how pearl was in the picture on the left. rose really did trust her & garnet & ame, despite the fact that it took time for them to understand how to show their love & raise a half human kid properly. but he was a gift to them & she believed in them too. she’d be proud of them, especially with everything going on.
rose hides her past, but one person was there for most of it. she was the type to notice small details—maybe it was painfully easy for her to notice rose’s eyes. i wonder if this complicated things even more, as she was already focused on what she could do to make rose happy. simply being herself made rose feel loved, but that was always something she struggled to feel worthy of
[first I.D.: Image is of Jasper from Steven Universe wearing a yellow button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, brown cuffed pants and brown shoes.
Second I.D.: Pearl from Steven Universe is talking to Rose. Pearl is blushing, and Rose is looking at Pearl with a soft expression. Rose is wearing a tied t-shirt and jean shorts and has her hair in a high ponytail. End I.D.]
Even without diving deeper into Pearlrose and their history, there is no way it’s unrequited love. Looks at the way Rose looks at Pearl, she loves her girlfriend and her girlfriend loves her
But I’ve been imagining things, even when you haven’t asked me to? I image that I ran away, and met you here, on Earth. A Rose Quartz… and I’m not yours, but I make you so happy anyway! Hah, isn’t that ridiculous? Tell me to stop!
[id: digital art of rose quartz from steven universe. she is drawn waist up and is holding one hand to cover half her face. her only visible eye is crying and she has a pained expression as she looks to the right. her hair is blowing to the left. the lineart is black and smooth and the drawing is shaded with dark pink in her hair and light pink on her body. there is a soft yellow light. end id]
creators: “so rose will be soft and pink with a button nose, stars in her eyes, cute chubby cheeks, & the most precious (often confused) facial expressions. she will be filled with childlike wonder and a desire to heal others. she will spend her days playing with Lion Friends. she will be loved for 6,000 years by this badass swordfighter who thinks everything about rose is precious and her main soft spot is her fear of not being able to protect her.”
also creators: “but she’s SAD. like really sad. she has a dark past & no one knows how much they mean to her & she doesn’t know how much she means to THEM because she like, hates herself. lots of people won’t understand her so they’ll hate her, too. she’s also dead before the show starts. alright let’s get started—”