• Fan Theory: The Lighthouse Gem


    We don't know much about the gem in the lighthouse, other than that it's been dormant for awhile. It's been there since Lars and Ronaldo was kids, probably before Steven was even born as well. Check out a neat theory about the bigger purpose the gem - and Lars himself - may have in the future.




    So, yet another new theory that people can check out. :D  This one concerns the Lighthouse Gem.
    Most of my previous theories about the gem had one commonality:  they all operate from the assumption that the gem is reactionary and that it’s just responding to what the other characters are doing.  But there are some hints that this may not be the case and that has some really dark potential implications.

    Just to break this down into some relevant parts:

    The Gem is Aware of Ronaldo (and Others)

    There’s already stuff present in the basement when they come in.  It seems like maybe Ronaldo’s been here before and is just introducing Lars to it, for use as their clubhouse.  This might mean that the gem is already familiar with Ronaldo when Lars first shows up there.
    It also seems to be the case in later episodes when it does or doesn’t show its presence to other people (more on that later)

    The Gem Affects Ronaldo’s Behaviour
    Basically my thought was that if the gem is aware and can act deliberately, it may also be doing all of these things with a purpose in mind.  Look at how Ron behaves currently:
    Over time, he’s cut himself off from other people, slowly but surely and become more and more engulfed in this obsession.  He split up with his best friend as kids and he’s basically been creating an entire living area for himself at the lighthouse.  It’s even pointed out at one point that he ‘practically lives’ there. 
    The lighthouse even has electricity, furnishings and a mailbox.  He could potentially spend more time there than with his own family.
    That’s also not mentioning that his obsession has created tension between him and his family.  He drags Peedee into his crazy plans (putting him in danger as well) and also leads to his father not trusting him or expressing much faith in him (as mentioned both directly on the show “this one can’t take care of himself” and in Ronaldo’s gripes on his blog “Why does Peedee always get to sit in the front?”).  The recent KBCW posts about Ronaldo arguing with his father are also worrisome, since currently Ronaldo’s family is his only real grounding influence.
    It seems implied that the gem gives him information somehow, since he knows many very specific things he shouldn’t.  Examples include the exact title of the the Great Diamond Authority, the plans to hollow out the earth, what the drills from the kindergarden look like and what the four-diamond symbol looks like.
    Ronaldo also seems to have a certain expectation of being able to call on it (as when he tried to use 'psychic ghost powers’).  He seems perfectly confident in taking on the gems with this fallback (even though it didn’t work out, more on that later).  He doesn’t seem particularly surprised when he calls on it for a sign and it answers, even though he does seem off-guard at how quickly it escalates.

    More of a personality trait, but one that can easily be twisted and/or fed into for manipulative purposes, but Ron has a strong need to feel special.  It’s more important to him than his own safety (and the safety of others).

    Ronaldo also continually states things along the lines of  'needing to do this alone’ and 'other people don’t/wouldn’t understand’ and tries to avoid getting close to people, even though he seems to be more gregarious by nature and enjoys being around people and interacting with them.

    To me, there are aspects of this, that if the gem is conscious and can make decisions, comes across a lot like child grooming
    The gem gives him information, it makes him feel special, it isolates him from other people close to him.  It feeds into his obsessive/negative behaviours and directs them
    Is it any coincidence that Lars shows up again and the gem essentially drives them down to the basement and puts them in a scenario which demands Ronaldo choose to sacrifice Lars?
    This comes across as one of two things…
    1) It views Lars (or Ronaldo’s feelings/past relationship with Lars) as a threat of some kind

    2) it is pushing to see how far it can make Ronaldo go on its behalf
    Some food for thought there.

    As for whether or not it has the capacity to think and reason in such a manner… Well, the gem is smart enough to know NOT to show itself when the gems show up to save Steven in Keep Beach City Weird.  It does also respond to Ronaldo speaking to it in Horror Club and the way it 'kidnaps’ Sadie and maneuvers them down to the basement is pretty deliberate.  And when this fails because of Steven’s presence, only THEN does it show the recorded images of Ronaldo and Lars as kids.
    So why did it show this?  I don’t think it was actually for Steven’s benefit at all.  I think it was for Ronaldo.  There are a lot of things it could have shown if it was trying to elicit a response from Steven, but instead it chose to focus on a crucial - and painful - moment in Ronaldo’s past.  It didn’t cut off when Lars left either, it took a moment to show him being alone at the end, thus making even more of a point about how Ronaldo is isolated.
    “Your friend left, but look, I was still here and I still saw” it seems to be saying.
    And Ronaldo is absolutely fascinated by the gem.  The first thing he does is to try and touch it.  When Steven bubbles it and sends it away, Ronaldo is still caught up in this fascination and it takes him a moment to even remember anyone else is there.
    I suspect the projection was an effort to reassert to Ronaldo that the gem is actually the 'ghost’ he was friends with, and also an attempt to get his help, which only failed because of Steven’s power to bubble and remove the gem so quickly.
    But what if he were to encounter the gem again?  Ronaldo’s been set up in a position where he could (and likely would) choose to help the gem if they were to meet again.
    In a world where the gem no longer has much power and no army/allies to speak of, it has managed to create a potential ally/tool in this naive human boy, and all it really took was smacking his best friend in the face (and a well timed photo-op) to get the entire process underway.

    Random other thoughts:
    It’s also possible that being around the gem has had other influences on Ronaldo.  For example:
    * Ronaldo is so resilient, more than it seems like he should be.  He stands up to the gems and takes a pretty good beating from them.  This could be just played off for laughs but a lot of the time violence is taken pretty seriously on the show
    *Along the same vein: he’s also a lot stronger than one might expect.  He hoists Lars over his head with no problem in Horror Club.  Also generally speaking, he’s surprisingly agile and doesn’t seem to get winded very often compared to Peedee.
    * This may or may not be related, but I made a comment once that his father and brother both have very straight hair, and Ronaldo’s hair was very straight as a kid.  I jokingly said that maybe being around the gem makes Ron’s hair curly.
    These are all more amusing speculation than to be taken as fact, at least for now

    TL;DR   What if the gem is aware and deliberately 'grooming’ Ronaldo to be useful to it later?


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