Spinel: The Effects of Abandonment, Toxicity & Recovery

In Steven Universe: The Movie, we meet Spinel. Pink Diamond's old playmate, who she had abandoned and left behind in her personal garden over 6,000 years ago. This abandonment is the sole reason she comes to Earth, seeking revenge on Steven.

In order to better understand Spinel's motives and why Rebecca Sugar has called her "toxic", we need to take a closer look at the effects that abandonment can have on someone.

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Music Credit:

Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound

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[ToonRuinsOfficial]

Hey everyone! Just a reminder to take the poll regarding this video over on my Community Tab on my channel! If you’d like to start a discussion on this video, comment below! Make sure to be civil with one another while having discussions!

[thatguyonyoutube]

"Amethyst doesn't really hurt others"

Amethyst: *Shapeshifts into rose to psychologically torment greg*

[starbird]

I think the thing about “toxic” is people think misinterpret that as “bad/evil”.

It is not. It just means bad feelings are coming up, which can happen to any person for any reason. Everyone has “the worst” aspects of themselves.

Spinel was hurt, badly, and that pain was handled poorly by hurting other people. Just cause you are abused does not mean you can abuse other people. THAT is toxic behavior.

[yourlocalpharmacist]

Spinel: *exists*
The fandom:Just let us adore you
Edit(one year later):Yo wth

[cimplecyrup]

"She truly believes that she is incapable of ever being loved by anyone, because she has been made unloveable through her abuse." WhOooaa

[envysart]

It kinda shows how messed up gem society is that a living, feeling creature is literally manufactured to fill a role and then abandoned like a toy. I’m sure Spinel wasn’t the only person so badly hurt by the diamonds and their attitude - even if it wasn’t always directly linked to Pink personally.

[anagonzalez]

As someone who's been clingy and in a toxic relationship: it's wasn't really about "I'm not happy so why should they". The reason I would hurt this person back then was because I really wanted them to know how hurt I was feeling. There were times when no matter how much I tried to explain my pain, they wouldn't understand or listen and the only way to be undertood or at least listened was hurting them back.

Not justifying Spinel's bad actions (or my own) at all, just offering a different explanation of why she did what she did.

[juanpablorobayo]

"I wanted to explore what it's like when you're trying to help someone that doesn't wanna help themselves" Dang. Sugar has spine, mad respect

[Crystal_]

Trauma is explanation, but not justification

[rachelgreenberg]

Okay also Spinel was abandoned for SIX THOUSAND YEARS. Everyone else in the show was abandoned for about 14. I feel like that small detail was skipped over

[TheRealZachHadel]

Our feelings aren't always our fault, but they're our responsibility.

[idreadFell]

I also noticed how Spinel didn't really care for her own life as shown with her reaction to bring sliced by the rejuvenator. Talk about toxic to even one's self.

[marsverb]

People will be like "Pink Diamond's abuse doesn't justify her actions" and then when Rebecca says the exact same thing about Spinel they turn around and get mad at her. How people can be so hard on RS I will never understand.

[drawnkitten]

Spinel hurts my heart so much. My mother was a drug addict and basically was my pink diamond. I worshipped her and when she died because of drugs it filled me with so much hate. Now I'm a mother myself and I'm striving to be more of a Greg.

[synovelle]

I will say, Spinel is VERY smart and attentive. After watching Steven’s message to the universe about himself, Rose, Pink, and the earth, she completely understood the concepts. When her memories were erased by her own weapon, she still understood information she was given (concepts of consequences, memory loss, reenacting memories to bring them back, etc). Spinel understood the concept of human reproduction, and understood the concept of family (son, mom, dad). She understood Garnet’s fusion, and wasn’t judgmental because she understood that it’s not a bad thing.

Not even the Diamonds 100% understood all of this even after many, many long talks and discussions from the Crystal Gems about it. There’s many gems who don’t quite understand Steven’s birth, or how humans work, or what a mom and dad are. But Spinel? Spinel understands it right away, and it’s just really interesting.

Her observance and ability to take in what she is told and taught is impressive. Not even Pearl or Garnet are able to process information like her that quickly or easily. There’s things about humans that, despite it being thousands and thousands of years, Pearl still just doesn’t understand. Spinel understood it after only one video, and Steven’s explanation after she got hurt by her own weapon. Spinel was alone in a garden for 6000 years- no one taught her anything in that time, she didn’t move, nothing.

I think Spinel will be a great addition with the diamonds. She’s so funny, sweet, emotional, and intelligent. She can learn a lot from the diamonds, and the diamonds will definitely learn a ton from her. Spinel is very human-like, just as Pink/Rose was. I’d say she’s more human than Rose, because Spinel is more irrational, emotionally-driven, and defensive. Rose had the diamond poise and ability to pull herself together- but Spinel just acts on her heart. Rose didn’t understand human things nearly as easily as Spinel does.

I just think Spinel’s character is crazy in design, and I love her. I wish we could’ve gotten more from her after this.

[KickstartOni]

Spinel is weirdly good representation for what it's like to have BPD. I connect a lot with her. I don't act out much since I've got to get help for coping with my BPD, but having Spinel is like a weird comfort.

[flowersintheditch]

I think part of the reason people who identify with Spinel feel defensive about the way some people talk about her is the fact that she’s referred to as a “toxic person” rather than a person exhibiting toxic behaviors

It may not seem important, but identifying someone as a trait can negatively impact how they see themselves. Claiming that “they are toxic” can make one feel like thats just who they are as a person and thus fundamentally predisposed to being stuck that way (Like when spinel says she can “only change for the worse”- she thinks that she’s unworthy of love because of who she is). It makes toxicity feel like part of their identity and thats harmful when it comes to trying to encourage someone to break a cycle

However, I noticed you refer to pearls toxicity as “toxic behaviors” rather than her being toxic herself. This sort of language allows her to be identified by her actions- actions being something that we can feel free to change.

When dealing with a person who is already delicate about being perceived as broken, I think it would help adjust how we think about them. Especially for all of the people identifying with Spinel.

Spinel isnt a toxic person. Toxicity isnt who she is. But she has toxic behaviors that can be changed. Language shapes our realities, it really does matter

(sorry im not good at articulating thoughts, but hopefully someone understands what Im getting at)

[jill]

I hate when people criticize how Steven acted in this movie, when he had NO obligation to be kind to the person who is killing his planet and reset his family and yet because he is Steven, is still making an effort for her wellbeing anyway, even if it's reasonably not his first priority.


EDIT: i think people are forgetting that he had spent the last 3+ years of his life being galactic therapist and has barely managed to help himself, and just when he thinks he's done, he loses all the progress he has made and has to scramble around emotionally and physically exhausted over the course of a day. so yes, even if he was uncharacteristically dismissive compared to how he has acted in the past, it's still unreasonable to blame him for acting in such a way. we've all been there where we've overextended ourselves to others and are left worn tf out so give the kid a break

[binah]

“It wasn’t spinel’s fault that she was abused, but it was her fault in how she acted after because she consciously chose to hurt people.” Oof I felt that.

Edit: Oh damn i just came back to this video and saw the likes thanks y’all. The reason this resonated with me was because I’m trying to figure this out myself. I can have toxic or enabling behaviors because of being hurt in the past, but I don’t want to be that person anymore. I know I can be better, and I want to be better. Maybe I can be “found and love again”, yknow?

[papercutcreations]

Me: **scrolling through the comment section to see some opinions**
Comments Section: **is a literal warzone**
Me: *aight imma head out-*