Steven Universe - General Discussion

[Trench]

Editor's Note: Discuss Steven Universe here!

 

YAY IT'S BACK!

 

Some serious world building. We got to see one of the Diamonds (and her Emo Pearl!) as well as a lot of context for why Garnet is a fusion that's looked down upon. The Gay metaphor was pretty strong in that one.

[Dilandau]

I loved seeing that blue Pearl, she was really cute!  I think this was one of the best episodes yet. Cotton candy Garnet was also adorable. 

Edited January 6, 2016 by Dilandau

[possibilities]

I love this show so much. And it seems to get better and better. I love that they are not bowing to pressure to make it less female and less about love between and among women.

[johntfs]

Since this was a full week of Steven, I figure to combine the episode discussion together.  A lot happened this week what with Garnet's origin, Steven's actual age (14) and Peridot formally breaking with Yellow Diamond by calling her a clod.  I'm now wondering when they'll change the song to include Peridot as one of the Gems.

 

Probably the most significant/interesting part of the week for me was Peridot "vs" Yellow Diamond.  While the other Crystal Gems obviously rebelled against the Diamond Authority, it's unlikely that any of them ever did what Peridot did.  It's really cool to me how much progress Peridot has made in such a relatively short amount of time.

[possibilities]

I don't know if there's an upper limit on how much it's healthy to adore a TV show, but if there is, I am probably rapidly approaching it, possibly tipping over to excess. Tonight's episode (where Peridot continues to learn about Earth creatures, television shows, fusion, jokes, and gifts, and to bond in friendship with the Gems, especially Garnet), was possibly my favorite episode so far.

 

Steven's dad: he's soft and squishy but his beer belly will not protect him from a fall off a roof.

Wordplay and sight gags are the humor of choice.

Shape-shifting takes a lot of energy, and fusion is a more careful way to do things.

Disobedience is scary as well as exciting.

 

Life lessons, people! I loved the show before, but I need a new word for loving the show at a whole other level.

[johntfs]

Perhaps Peridotophila?

[Matt K]

I am worried that Peridot might sacrifice herself to stop the Cluster. I hope not. Her bonding with Garnet was amazing.

[Dilandau]

This week was so great. I wish we could have Steven episodes every week!

 

I think for me my favorite part was seeing two new Pearls. I really liked both of them, Blue Pearl was beautiful and intriguing and Yellow Pearl was hilarious. It's interesting how so far the only gems we've seen on homeworld that have any sort of variety are the Pearls, but not because of their own individuality, it's because they were custom made for their owners. 

 

Seeing how Peridot became a Crystal Gem was a highlight. I was worried they were going to go down a "she wants to betray them but then the power of friendship stops her and they all accept her with open arms" route. It's more refreshing to see that it was all just a misunderstanding and she was trying to save the planet in her own way.

[johntfs]

I relly liked the bit where Peridot shoved Greg off the roof just see if he could fly. She's so hilariously alien and nerdy.

[Trench]

Peridot as shipping trash made me quite happy.

[johntfs]

We got some more world detail too with the green Canadian flag.  I found it adorable in 4 15 2 when Garnet picked Peridot up and carried her off to calm her down.  Tiny, portable Peridot is the best Peridot.

 

Considering the shipping bit, I wonder if Peridot is going to randomly kiss somebody like Lars or Ronaldo.

 

I loved Steven taking a beat and then lying to Peridot about "no more episodes."

[possibilities]

I was reading a few recaps of this week's episodes here: http://www.themarysue.com/steven-universe-recap-log-date-7-15-2/and I found this news:

At last report there are no more new episodes planned for January, and the new episode schedule for February won’t make an appearance until the end of the month.

 

<insert weeping sounds of forlorn fan here>

[Panda3ear]

I absolutely loved cotton candy Garnet. She was just so beautiful. Loved seeing blue pearl. Loved BD. Who am I kidding, I loved everything. The coloring and the characterization and the world building and GAH this show is amazing.

[possibilities]

Super Watermelon Island Season 3 - Episode 5

Steven finds out what happened to all those sentient watermelons he created.

 

Gem Drill Season 3 - Episode 6

Steven takes a journey deep underground.

----

If not for the autorecord on my DVR, I wouldn't have known the show was back tonight!

[johntfs]

Wow, they dealt with Malachite and the Cluster in 22 minutes.  I'm impressed.  I'm still looking forward to seeing Peridot and now Lapis interacting with humans other than Steven.  Peridot shoving Greg off a roof to see if he could fly was cool, but I want a little more give and take.  Either of them with Connie would be great.

[Dilandau]

Really excited to see Lapis in action again! She's my favorite gem and I missed her a lot. 

[Dilandau]

Finally some of Lapis' backstory! It's a lot simpler than some people imagined, but in some ways that makes it sadder. It seems like she was just a civilian who got caught up in the war and got royally screwed over. 

I do wish they had waited a bit longer to bring Peridot into the mix, like maybe next episode.  It would have been nice to see Lapis have a few minutes to be happy with her decision instead of becoming upset again immediately. 

[possibilities]

I was confused about where they are-- I thought Beach City was Califorina-ish, but then they seemed to be very close to New Jersey. Also, New Jersey is the Garden State-- despite the jokes.

Also... I must have missed something because I didn't understand why Peridot (reformed) was a deal breaker for Lapis. But then... she seemed to be a very jittery and nervous sort of traumatized, so maybe there's some more layers to her than we've seen. I kind of wanted Lapis to interact with Connie for some reason. I don't know why. But LL doesn't seem to really know what she wants, and maybe she needs to explore a bit before settling, and figure out her options. Her backstory is really sad.

I wonder where Lion went.

Edited May 20, 2016 by possibilities

[Matt K]

In our world, they be located on the Delaware coast, near Bethany Beach/Dewey Beach/Rehoboth Beach area.

I liked the episode and it was great to get the back story on Lapis.  My take away, especially based on The Answer (assuming that was her and not another Lapis) is that she was there as a reporter or scribe (or other similar function) for Homeworld. 

[johntfs]

On 5/20/2016 at 3:10 PM, possibilities said:

I was confused about where they are-- I thought Beach City was Califorina-ish, but then they seemed to be very close to New Jersey. Also, New Jersey is the Garden State-- despite the jokes.

Also... I must have missed something because I didn't understand why Peridot (reformed) was a deal breaker for Lapis. But then... she seemed to be a very jittery and nervous sort of traumatized, so maybe there's some more layers to her than we've seen. I kind of wanted Lapis to interact with Connie for some reason. I don't know why. But LL doesn't seem to really know what she wants, and maybe she needs to explore a bit before settling, and figure out her options. Her backstory is really sad.

I wonder where Lion went.

I don't think it was Peridot per se (though seeing her former jailer probably didn't help).  Most of the episode involved Lapis coming to terms with the idea that she wouldn't be coming home to Homeworld and was stuck on Earth, but that she also had choices about where she could live on Earth.  So, she makes her decision "Here.  Here in this barn is where I'll live."  And then Peridot immediately breaks in with "No you won't, I live here already."  So, figure the next episode will likely be Steven having to bring the two together.

 

I wonder if they'll ever do anything with the concept that Lapis is probably the closest to current conventional human ideals of beauty.  She might get bothered by Ronaldo, Lars or Jaime or Connie might get jealous since Lapis doesn't fit into the family dynamic that Garnet, Pearl (moms), Amethyst (big sister) and even Peridot (little sister) do.

[Janet Snakehole]

Loved the callback of Peridot saying "wow thanks" when Steven told her he loved her.

[Janet Snakehole]

I would like to see Lapis get along with humans more than the Crystal Gems. She is basically a sullen teenager (except around Steven), so it could be fun to see her hanging with Sour Cream, Buck, and Jenny.

[Dilandau]

This is probably easier than making an individual topic for every episode. Especially since we're getting a full month of daily episodes starting July 18th! 

(PS if you think of a more creative title for this thread, let me know.)

Edited July 10, 2016 by Dilandau

[possibilities]

Tonight's musical episode broke my heart, but I loved it anyway. I had never really thought about the Pearl-Greg situation before. I thought this was a really gutsy episode.

[possibilities]

Is anyone else watching? I love having 5 episodes a week.

I'm noticing that Steven is going on more adventures and expeditions on his own, and solving problems without the Gems. I don't even think the Gems were in the one about the fry war, or the cheese nightmares.

[Janet Snakehole]

I like the balance of the current batch of episodes. It was nice to catch up with the residents of Beach City before all the gem action.

Lost at Sea.... I am still trying to wrap my head around this episode. I am glad that they are exploring the darker side of Lapis. I was proud of her for getting Jasper out of there and not giving in to missing being Malachite. I do think she is hiding the real reason she came to Earth.

I loved Greg the Babysitter. I was never a huge Rose fan, but her interactions with the coolest baby ever, Sour Cream, had me cracking up. I really enjoy the flashback episodes.

As a side note, a Peridot twitter has been made and has been greatly entertaining me all week. I really want to see a Peridot and Lapis as roomies ep.

[Miles]

The new bomb was interesting (batch of episodes with the human zoo).

I've long since thought that the only chance the humans had on this show is to get through to the diamonds, prove to them that they are intelligent beings and broker a piece. Why? Because pink diamon was by faaaaaaaaaar the weakest, least influential of the diamonds. She had one planet and one moon (earth and it's moon) for a colony, while blue diamond has 8 planets, yellow diamond has 9 plantes (although two might be dyson spheres which would be seriously impressive) and 14 moons and lastly white diamond has 15 planets and 20 moons. And the rebellion could barely defeat pink diamond. How on earth would they ever defeat the others.

But in this episodes we've seen that the diamonds aren't as hard as they've always seemed. They cared for pink and miss her deeply, now that she's gone. Even yellow, who puts on a rough exteriour, but inside is still as broken up about it as blue is.

So if our heros can show that humans are sentient, maybe through the hybrid Steven, maybe there is a chance to get through to those diamonds.

[possibilities]

Were there new episodes? How did I miss that?

-- I'm off to scold my DVR....

[Miles]

The TV release is end of January, but CN already uploaded all 5 episodes to their Website. I'd check them out, because man are there some good reveals in there.

[AAEBoiler]

Gah, for a "kids show" it really hits me in the feels sometimes.

[Matt K]

So new episodes start Monday.  That said, all the episodes are currently available on the CN app and at least for me on demand (FIOS).  Watched all the episodes and damn they were good.  I hope we get more soon.

[johntfs]

I love the way that this shows has you going "Aww, this is so cute with Steven and his friend and gay space rock aunts and HOLY FUCKING CHRIST!  WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?!?!"  Topaz with all the people sticking out at awkward angles was just disturbing as shit.  Aside from Gravity Falls, this is the only kids show I know of that can go from cutesy to full-on screaming horror that quickly.

[Matt K]

So apparently the next episode is on demand (but for some reason the FIOS app won't show any episodes available).  Supposedly, we're getting like four new episodes on May 29 for memorial day.  

 

As for the episodes, the Lars episode seemed required given them being on the ship together.  And I actually really enjoyed that episode (plus that it was instead a stealth Sadie episode.   Topaz and Aquamarine were both super intimidating  so curious to see more about them.  I guess they were sent by Blue Diamond since they  unwittingly encouraged her to put more humans in the Zoo.  Hoping we'll see more of the Amethysts/Jaspers in the upcoming episodes.

[possibilities]

Is anyone watching the new episodes? I'm spluttering to take in that

Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond and the shattering was a ruse

[Matt K]

That was a crazy episode.  I'm glad the next episode will deal with the ramifications.

 

Spoiler

I had always figured the shattering was a ruse.  The sword was designed to never shatter.  That said, I'm not sure if I like how this paints Pearl.  I liked the idea that she rebelled on her own, but now she seemingly was always Pink Diamond's servant and only did as she was told.  I think that diminishes Pearl but hopefully one of the next episodes will deal with it further.

[possibilities]

Hmmmn. I didn't read it that way. I read it that Rose and Pearl were in it together as peers, and faked the "shattering" in order to escape the Diamond tyranny and be free to live together and in peace with/on Earth. But what I don't understand is... was Rose/PD a tyrant too, until she had a change of heart? Or...?[

I will catch the episode when it repeats later this week, and see if I will understand it differently on second pass/spoiler]

[Matt K]

Spoiler

I'm hoping the next few episodes make it clearer as I'm hoping that Pearl wasn't just following her Diamond and there is some things to back it up, like in Bismuth.  As for Pink Diamond, my understanding is that Earth was her first colony.  She was doing okay until she found life on the planet.  At which point she balked to the other Diamonds.  The she found sentient life and tried to stop/slow down the colonization (somewhat speculation as in the episode we know PD complained to the other Diamonds about those issues).  Speculation is that at this point is when she takes the form of Rose Quartz and actively tries to make things difficult for the Diamonds hoping they'll give up and leave Earth alone (probably like they abandoned that planet Stevonie was stuck on a few episodes before).  They don't and so she takes things further.  

 

That said, everything Rose did seems to be for the purpose of new expiriences.  I can understand based on the strict purposes imposed by Honeworld on all gems.  It also explains why she took new form.  But I feel like her whole deal was chasing new expiriences.  I'm starting to get the feeling she didn't particularly do this out of altruistic reasons (I'm having trouble explaining what I'm getting at but essentially she seems now more like a flighty teen than the stoic, kind and caring leader of the Crystal Gems).  I'm curious to see how all this plays out with everyone else.  I do trust the creative team here so I'm really looking forward to how this fallout shapes the characters and the season.  That said I hope they bring back Lapis as she is one of my favorites.

[possibilities]

I'm going to abandon the spoiler tags, since hopefully anyone who's interested will know enough to watch the episode before reading here.

I agree the show has never really let me down, so it's worth just waiting and seeing where they're going. I also hope Lapis comes back, and that she gets some kind of resolution for her fear and trauma. It seems like she and Peridot really miss each other, and it would be good to have her come back not just out of loneliness but also to get some genuine relief from her anxiety so she can relax and actually enjoy her life and not be worried all the time.

We've always been led to believe Rose Quartz was a loving, healing person.. It will be interesting to find out whether that's always been true or what really was happening for her. I was shocked that Garnet didn't know Pearl's secret. They keep things from Amethyst sometimes, but Garnet is usually a step ahead of everyone, and is usually considered their leader. I wonder if Pearl will change significantly now that she's no longer harboring her secret.

[Miles]

Of course there is obvious big news, but I don't want to gloss over the Lapis episode. I thought it was great. I hope Lapis has another change of heart and comes back. She was so close to doing the right thing. The right thing not for anybody else, but for herself. She needs these connections. But she is too afraid to stay. That fear comes from an understandable place, but it's destroying her life. So relateable.

 

On 8.5.2018 at 5:04 AM, possibilities said:

Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond and the shattering was a ruse

I'm a bit annoyed. That was my theory from the beginning, but then other fans talked me out of it. Listing all the reasons why that couldn't be the case. Damn. I should have stood my ground. I would feel so smart right now. XD

The reveal and how it was done was really great.

 

On 8.5.2018 at 4:03 PM, Matt K said:

I had always figured the shattering was a ruse.  The sword was designed to never shatter.  That said, I'm not sure if I like how this paints Pearl.  I liked the idea that she rebelled on her own, but now she seemingly was always Pink Diamond's servant and only did as she was told.  I think that diminishes Pearl but hopefully one of the next episodes will deal with it further.

You could read it that way. But it was made clear, that not talking about the fake shattering was Pink's last request as Diamond. So Pearl could have left anytime afterwards and could have done whatever she wanted. She chose to stay with Rose because she loved her and what she stood for.

[theatremouse]

My favourite parts of tonight's episode:

• Which gems were wearing suits vs dresses
• Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance = DJ equipment

The battle was underwhelming.

[johntfs]

I recently bought season passes for all seven volumes of SU on Amazon.  I have missed Peridot so very, very much.  I also missed Lapis.  You know, assuming he could get the Gems to understand what money was in the sense of "charging by the hour" a therapist/counselor could be raking it in in Beach City given all the various emotional and psychological issues our lovable crew of gay lady space rocks has.

[johntfs]

Wow, this thing is getting intense!

[possibilities]

I think that's part of why I like it so much. It blows me away that a show supposedly for children takes on the topics it does.

"Mindful Education" is one of the best teachings I've ever encountered on the topic of meditation, and I am an avid meditator who's had a lot of teachings come my way!

[johntfs]

I think there's one more episode in the "Diamond Days" arc on Monday, then we skip a week and it comes back Jan 21.

[johntfs]

I'm curious to see what, if any, changes will be made to Lapis and Peridot when they reform from getting "poofed."  I suspect Lapis will remain as she is.  With Peridot, I wonder if she'll reform without appearance enhancers AKA naked.  Peridot seems to be the only Gem we've seen with an interest in wearing human clothing.  It might be interesting to see her in a position where she actually needs to wear it.

[possibilities]

I didn't know Peridot was the only one wearing clothing. Doesn't Pearl wear little dresses? And... are the others naked and I just never realized it?

[johntfs]

4 hours ago, possibilities said:

I didn't know Peridot was the only one wearing clothing. Doesn't Pearl wear little dresses? And... are the others naked and I just never realized it?

Gems' "clothing" (including Peridot's) is more like tattoos or body paint.  It's effectively part of the "hard light" humanoid form that gems use to interact with the wider universe.  Pearl's dress, is basically part of Pearl.  Think back a bit to when Peridot was slightly astonished at the idea of "appearance modifiers that aren't melded to your body."

It's possible that there was an exception to this during the wedding of Ruby and Sapphire with most of the Gems wearing wedding clothes.  It's also easily possible that they simply modified their forms to give the appearance of wedding finery.  

One question I'm like to see answered is, "Why do the Gems closely resemble human (or at least humanoid) females?"  According to the show's history, the colonization of Earth was the first time Gems encountered human.  However, it seems like a pretty large coincidence that the two life forms resemble each other closely enough to mate and produce offspring.  The likeliest explanation is "that's just how it is" in the same vein of "why does Kirk keep running into bangable alien chicks instead of sentient slime molds or something?"  However, it would be interesting if it turns out that Gems (who really seem to be more manufactured than reproduced) were original some kind of servant class to another group of humanish aliens, like the Cylons or the 'bots from Westworld.

[johntfs]

One reason I bring up the "Why do Gems look humanish" is that the 21st will have the one hour "Battle of Heart and Mind" special that presumably ends the Fifth Season.  With that end it seems likely that we'll see a resolution to the conflict between Steven + the Crystal Gem and Homeworld/the Diamonds.  Once that happens it's difficult to see how the show continues absent some other element.  Conflict is Story.  The ultimate conflict in Steven Universe was with Homeworld and was based mostly on a misunderstand that has since been corrected.

Still, there are other considerations that could lead to other conflicts/stories.  For one thing, why is Homeworld so militarized?  When the colonization of Earth began, they were still very focused on making soliders.  Why?  It's fairly clear that the early inhabitants of Earth were no real danger to them, so why the emphasis, well before any hint of rebellion, on the military?  Perhaps because there was another threat out in the stars?  Aside from killing the Earth, why was Yellow Diamond so fiercely determined to make a massive "geo-weapon?"  Why did she think she needed something that required the destruction of an entire planet to create?

[possibilities]

I love so many things about this show, it's funny that it's got this undertone of war all through it, because that's not the aspect of the show I find most compelling. I will be sad if ending the war ends the show, but I concede that it's entirely possible that's the plan.

[johntfs]

Well, sporadic combat aside, there really hasn't been much of a war.  Yellow and Blue grieved for Pink but assumed that Rose Quartz and her followers were all shattered.  Jasper and Peridot were originally sent to check progress on the Cluster Geo-weapon.  The Rubies were sent to find Jasper.  Topaz and Aquamarine came to get the new form of Rose Quartz once the Diamonds figured out that she was "in a new form."  Finally, once "Rose" escape, Blue and Yellow came to Earth personally to avenge Pink and finally learned the truth.

There's definitely been conflict, but not really a war.  And even the upcoming "Battle of Heart and Mind" seems like it will eventually become, well, a battle of heart and mind as opposed to a more physical conflict (though that will certainly be part of it at first).  Still once that's over (and Steven effectively wins) that ends the main conflict in the show.  So, either another conflict has to arise or the show ends because everyone "lives happily ever after."