"A Single Pale Rose" might be the best episode we've received yet.
: A highly organized "Surface Pearl" who manages Pearl's current items. [S5E18] A Single Pale Rose
: Steven reaches the deepest layer—Pink Diamond’s palanquin—and witnesses the truth: Pink Diamond, wanting to be free of Homeworld’s hierarchy, created the Rose Quartz persona. "A Single Pale Rose" might be the best
: Pearl shapeshifts into Rose Quartz and "shatters" Pink Diamond using Rose's sword. Pink Diamond actually poofed into her gemstone (which she hid in Pearl's hand) while leaving behind fake shards made of compressed dirt. : Pearl shapeshifts into Rose Quartz and "shatters"
: To bypass this restriction, Pearl sends Steven into her gemstone to find her "cellphone". Steven travels through nested layers of Pearl's subconscious:
: Steven, unnerved by visions of Pearl shattering Pink Diamond, directly asks Pearl for the truth. Pearl is physically unable to answer, her hands involuntarily covering her mouth due to a final order from her Diamond.
: A dazed Pearl surrounded by the aftermath of the Gem War.