Steven Universe

I was waiting for someone to make a comment of that nature when she said it.
 
Dr. Alphys said:
"Steven deals with (random Beach City citizen)'s problems for 11 minutes, the gems either don't exist or are used as throwaway props"

Welp, celebrated too soon.
 
Dr. Alphys said:
Dr. Alphys said:
"Steven deals with (random Beach City citizen)'s problems for 11 minutes, the gems either don't exist or are used as throwaway props"

Welp, celebrated too soon.
Eh, to be fair to this episode, I don't really see anything the gems could've added except for telling Steven not feel like a piece of shit.

That...was a actually an ok episode involving Onion.

Also Garbanzo is a Pokemon.
 
I think the Gems could have enhanced the episode by... being in a completely different episode that would have replaced this one.

Like, in moderation I have no problem with Steven-only episodes, but it's kind of gotten to the point now where it's a staple. And I feel like that staple is seriously impacting the show's potential. I just look at the last episode (which technically was filler, just as this one), and I see how much better these stories become when it's Steven AND the Gems being involved. If they want to have some down-time before shit hits the fan again, why not have more of these kinds of episodes? They're great!

There's also the factor that I don't particularly care for Onion. It seems like the writers don't know what to do with him. Most of the time he is portrayed as an uncaring, destructive, unrepentant crook who breaks into arcades and sets buildings on fire on a whim, without caring who he hurts. But then every once in a while, for some reason, someone seems to realize: "Oh shit! This unpleasant character with no redeeming qualities we created is not well-liked by the fans! How could this have happened??" and they quickly put out an episode in which Onion is suddenly human and just misunderstood. Then, once that is over, Onion goes right back to being a jerk. One semi-nice gesture does not make all the very questionable deeds from the previous episodes forgotten. Just like saving one bug does not make up for the countless ones that were undoubtedly smashed before.

And to round it all off, I didn't like how Steven was portrayed in this episode either. There's a problem where Steven seems to only be as competent as the plot allows. Steven is actually very insightful and strong in his own way, if he is allowed to be. Yet here, after being dragged into the woods and confronted by... a bunch of weirdos in masks, he completely falls apart. He just slumps over and gives up. This is the same Steven who fought a seasoned war veteran one-on-one and won. He didn't even use his bubble (which is usually his first go-to in situations like these). The fact that he didn't even try to protect himself is seriously out of character, and it just soured the episode even more for me. Let Steven be competent please, it is fun when he's allowed to be more than a bumbling oaf.

So yeah, I don't like Onion-centric episodes, I don't like no Gems allowed episodes (since there've been too many), and I don't like episodes in which Steven's competence suddenly nose-dives for no reason. This was all three of those things in one, so... yyyyeah. Not the most enjoyable episode for me.

Still better than The New Lars, though.
 
Well, I won't disagree for having a different episode, that's for sure. For an Onion episode, it certainly could have gone worse, and I was surprised that Onion didn't try to pull any punches on Steven considering his character.

And yeah, they seem to want to push Lars, and now Onion into being likable characters, but I don't think they're going to make them work. We're about 110+ episodes in, I personally think the ship has sailed for them to even bother trying to pull a 180 on them. Lars especially. Then again they've shown conflicts can be resolved in like two minutes so who knows.

Waiting for the inevitable Ronaldo episode to cap off the trifecta.

Kind of weird that we're getting a lot of meaty episodes in such a short amount of time about two months ago and now we're getting mediocre "filler" episodes a week apart from each other. At least last week's episode was good.
 
i normally like onion but this episode really pushed it. he's a character who's meant for small doses and this one just wasn't... interesting

didn't help that no one else talked
 
I dunno, I've never disliked all these filler episodes. I like slow-paced time for character explorations. Onion's a weird kid, but SU is quirky enough to keep things interesting even when the plot development isn't really happening.
 
thought i'd bump this to mention there's a new ep in like five days, and it's a 22-minute long special so it's something to look forward to because Bismuth did an amazing job with the extended format
 
Boy did that episode basically come at a point where the US is dealing with this very conflict now after the election. Though even if Hillary had won, the episode probably still would of felt quite like a poignant lesson about the division. And as with all cartoon episodes they go into production for a while, so it's only a coincidence (Though it's certainly possible for them to at least plan it to be around what was going on though they certainly can't base anything regarding the end results).

I think it's pretty great they had a character who obviously has opposite political views to not only I imagine staff of the show but many of it's fans and not completely demonize them for it because deep down fear of change is something that's there. Now obviously the lesson's going to feel too optimistic as of course there are people who would be alot more stubborn then the happy ending that was shown this episode. But this certainly felt like an episode that in lieu of the election came at a time where it'd be the most poignant.
 
Pearl: "We heard you all like marriage, so why don't we all marry each other?" *presents wedding cake with various figurines stabbed into it*

i figured this would be some kind of holiday special episode but wasn't expecting the sharp veer towards tackling steven's human family for sure, like at first you think its gonna be a "steven shows the gems weird human traditions" ep (and in the end it essentially was that) but they handled Andy well enough. his case at the beginning, aside from literally showing up out of nowhere, was actually pretty understandable, though they resolved it I don't feel Peridot or Lapis really understood why there was an issue to begin with in the end. i appreciated the minor developments on lapis and peridot the most of everything though (peridot trying to command corn that she grew)

not to mention the autumn appearance of everything was comfy and pumpkin pupper a cute

edit: one last observation, I think the Gems recapping their situation at the table in jest was pretty adorable in its own right and highlights how far the characters have come and yet how much of the crystal gem's past we don't know yet. but I feel that now we've been given a soft-recap of everything we might see some major developments occurring in the next few episodes

or idk
maybe we'll get an episode focusing on the lint connie's dad finds in his belly button because he's the next minor character yet to receive a dedicated episode /s
 
Yapyap said:
Anyway, next episode is called "Gem Harvest", so I assume we'll return to the homeworld intrigue with that in some way. Unless it's a filler episode where we meet the owner of the barn, who ropes the gems into doing farm work in exchange for letting two people live there. Who knows, really.

You know, I said this as a joke, but...
 
The more I think about it, the more disturbed I am by fusion. I don't think there's ever been a fusion between different gems that can be described as healthy.

Ruby and Sapphire have become essentially addicted to each other.
Sardonyx was formed from what can only be described as Pearl raping Garnet.
Sugilite is violent with little to no self-control (and is also Nicki Minaj).
Smoky Quartz and Stevonnie involve children below the age of consent.
I don't even need to say anything about Malachite. Or that other fusion Jasper attempted.

Maybe this is part of the reason why the Diamond Authority forbade it other than for its intended use (making gems stronger).
 
Magikrazy said:
Smoky Quartz and Stevonnie involve children below the age of consent.

Fusion isn't just a straight sex metaphor. It is more complicated than that.

Also, you left out Opal. Two friends who tend to bicker a lot putting aside their differences in times of need doesn't seem particularly unhealthy to me.

And if someone makes a "of course it's not a straight metaphor, the show is about lesbian space rocks, hue hue" comment, I swear I'm going to... slowly shake my head in disapproval, probably, idk.
 
Yapyap said:
Magikrazy said:
Smoky Quartz and Stevonnie involve children below the age of consent.

Fusion isn't just a straight sex metaphor. It is more complicated than that.

Also, you left out Opal. Two friends who tend to bicker a lot putting aside their differences in times of need doesn't seem particularly unhealthy to me.
Yeah, I left out Opal. I never saw that episode, so I don't really know what she's like.

Maybe fusion isn't a straight up sex metaphor, but you can't deny it plays a huge part in the act, especially considering how sexual some of the fusion dances get. Either way, consent is still very important when it comes to fusion. That's why Garnet got justifiably angry with Pearl during that whole Sardonyx arc.

And ok, not every relationship involves sex. That doesn't change the fact that Amethyst is much older than Steven and that he has a girlfriend who probably wouldn't take to kindly to the fact that someone else fused with him.
 
well, here are the problems with that

-steven and connie aren't dating
-connie is totally aware of the shit steven is doing so she wouldn't care anyway
-i don't think fusion follows arbitrary age of consent laws invented by earth governments
-steven is intelligent enough to make his own decisions at this point. if he can defend himself against monsters, i think he can decide if he wants to fuse
-if you want to get technical, steven is a reincarnation of his mother who is older than amethyst. shrug

if your only complaint is "they're different ages!" then i don't think you really can say it's an unhealthy relationship
 
Magikrazy said:
Maybe fusion isn't a straight up sex metaphor, but you can't deny it plays a huge part in the act

I am actually going to do that (in part at least, please pay attention to the context), and have done so already:

Yapyap said:
Fusion isn't really primarily an equivalent of sex. Like, it can be, but it's not its defining factor. It's more about your relationship with someone else. Like, the phenomenon of feeling so in-synch with one another, with your feelings and desires, that for that moment the two of you might as well just be one person. Sexual attraction/advances only factor into that by virtue of being one possible catalyst for such a moment, but it's far from the only one.

Like, I really doubt Steven and Connie were consumed by raging lust when they fused for the first time. They were just two kids having fun and being honest about themselves, and they felt a deep connection at that moment that happened to manifest as fusion.

This has been my interpretation of fusion so far. It is not always about sex, and it's not even always romantic in nature. Fusion is the physical manifestation of a relationship between two or more people, be it romantic, platonic, sexual, whatever really.

Connie and Steven's fusion is the manifestation of a deep friendship blurring together with a budding relationship. There's nothing outrageous going on with their fusion. It is exactly what is shown on screen: two kids having fun together, dancing, holding hands, and discovering what they like about each other. Stevonnie is the personification of that.

Amethyst and Steven's fusion is even less morally questionable. I've always got a real brother-sister-type relationship out of that. Even the "dance" is completely platonic: It's a hug in one instance and a high-five in the other.

The overtly sexual fusion dances on the other hand are reserved for Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, and Rose amongst themselves, and those four are all of proper age and can do that if they want to.

And really, if fusion was that intrinsically and inseparably intertwined with sex and lust in all instances, that would make it an abysmally awful technique in combat scenarios. Like, imagine trying to get aroused while your and everyone else's life is in danger and hinging on you pulling this off. That's a lot of pressure that's going to get in the way of your fusion boner.
 
yeah i basically agree with all of what edo says

fusion is used as a metaphor for sex at some points but it's a very fluid concept that doesn't have a direct human equivalent and so it shouldn't be treated like such
 
Nabber said:
-steven and connie aren't dating
Guess I was mistaken then. I missed a few episodes so I assumed they probably started going steady at one point.

If you aren't put off by Smoky Quartz, that's fine. It's your prerogative. Fusion ain't always sexual.

That being said, I still feel there are enough ties to sex to disturb me. You know, raise some red flags in my head.

Remember kids, if a stranger appraches you and asks for fusion, say NO, run away as fast as you can, and tell an adult you trust.
200_s.gif
 
Magikrazy said:
Sardonyx was formed from what can only be described as Pearl raping Garnet.

no, that's just being too much of an edgelord

fusion isn't inherently sexual in nature, and while Pearl was wrong to misinform Garnet on multiple occasions in the way that she did, it was about miscommunication and lies in a relationship (WHICH ARE A NORMAL THING THAT HaPPENS), not a metaphor for something as brutal as sexual assault

equating the two is actually pretty fucked up

Sugilite is violent with little to no self-control (and is also Nicki Minaj).

implying Nicki is a bad thing

Smoky Quartz and Stevonnie involve children below the age of consent.

STOP THINKING WITH YOUR DICK IT'S A KID'S SHOW
 
regarding Three Gems and a Baby walk into a bar:
pearl almost killing baby steven was preeetty messed up, even for pearl. I saw a comment on reddit saying that if she pulled out his gem it would most likely result in the complete end of steven. thank god for cuteness

also, I wonder if one of the reasons steven didn't know garnet was a fusion until jailbreak was because she was worried of the thought of upsetting steven. baby steven was so used to garnet that when he saw her unfused, it put him in hysterics. so maybe garnet thought he wouldn't be ready for the revelation until he was older, idk
all in all, great episode
 
wait there's a new episode

shit
 
so as some of you know, the stevenbomb that was supposed to start at the end of this month has been leaked by cartoon network. this might go without saying but

For the love of all that is holy, watch the leaks at your own risk. these episodes are plot bombshells and have spoilers that will change everything. seriously, this leak is 5x bigger than alexandrite vs malachite. and if you have seen the leaks (at least via any source besides cartoon network), I wholeheartedly suggest that you watch them again when they come on the air for the first time

that will be all
 
btw screw those asshats on youtube who make videos with spoilery thumbnails and think it's justified by placing "WARNING DON'T CLICK SPOILERS" in the title.
 
Kamina said:
so as some of you know, the stevenbomb that was supposed to start at the end of this month has been leaked by cartoon network. this might go without saying but

For the love of all that is holy, watch the leaks at your own risk. these episodes are plot bombshells and have spoilers that will change everything. seriously, this leak is 5x bigger than alexandrite vs malachite. and if you have seen the leaks (at least via any source besides cartoon network), I wholeheartedly suggest that you watch them again when they come on the air for the first time

that will be all
o boy

time to binge i guess
 
just to clarify is it the whole bomb
 
Back