Steven Universe

[Jayngfet]

Personally I loved this episode. It's actual contents aside I knew the minute that fusion happened it'd make people complain it was sexually charged. Well that, and generate a whole lot of even less clean fanart that'd make those same people even less comfortable. If there's one thing I enjoy more than a good metaplot, it's things that make the fanbase uncomfortable, mainly because I hate fanbases as a rule. The sexually charged bit wasn't exactly left on the one character either. If the Garnet/Pearl dance number didn't set something off in your brain, the blushing and eye contact probably did. People don't pin each other to walls like that for very many reasons.

[Flickerdart]

If the Garnet/Pearl dance number didn't set something off in your brain, the blushing and eye contact probably did.

I forget, have we had a Garnet/Pearl fusion yet, discounting the one where they all fused together?

[Jayngfet]

I forget, have we had a Garnet/Pearl fusion yet, discounting the one where they all fused together?

We have not. It's presumably coming at some point.

...along with a bunch of other stuff. In the coming episodes we're supposed to see more space drones, see more of Rose's hidden bases, and in the finale some mysterious new threat is supposed to return, beat the crap out of the gems, then force Steven to team up with someone else to win.

This just being the stuff mentioned in preview. There's still a whole lot of stuff we haven't got answers to yet, like: Who is Bismuth supposed to be, and why is their bubble kept separate by Rose in secret? Why does Pearl have a suit with the same motif as the enemy in her wardrobe? What's in that big secret treasure chest rose locked away? Why does Garnet keep seeming like she's a fusion? What did the gems do to alter earths timeline and show up on money? Why are there so many corrupted gems on earth?

Not to mention the big one of: What the heck is the deal with the gems and what was their reason to come to earth?

[Flickerdart]

Spoiler: Isn't it obvious?

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[Scowling Dragon]

Personally I loved this episode. It's actual contents aside I knew the minute that fusion happened it'd make people complain it was sexually charged. Well that, and generate a whole lot of even less clean fanart that'd make those same people even less comfortable. If there's one thing I enjoy more than a good metaplot, it's things that make the fanbase uncomfortable, mainly because I hate fanbases as a rule.

Nope. I saw people discussing an 8 year olds sexuality, more then they did finding it creepy. You can't win.

The sexually charged bit wasn't exactly left on the one character either. If the Garnet/Pearl dance number didn't set something off in your brain, the blushing and eye contact probably did. People don't pin each other to walls like that for very many reasons.

I know, I found that off as well. I thought gems where generally asexual beings. Feels kinda off.

None of those have anything to do with Steven's character arc.

And that is my point. I don't know about anybody else, I did not have to deal with sexual harassment at age 8 at raves. It was a skip ahead and didn't really have anything to do with Steven.

I guess I just really like the show for its well made Platonic relationships (Which we see FAR FAR FAAR to little in tv), and this just kinda off puts it in my soul.

[Jayngfet]

I know, I found that off as well. I thought gems where generally asexual beings. Feels kinda off.

Well generally speaking they can't be asexual. Mainly because then our title character wouldn't exist.

In a general sense I never got much of an asexual vibe from the gems anyway, or at least not in an explicit sense. Most of the time they're around a child so they're naturally going to dial it back a bit in that context but amongst themselves Pearl and Garnet kind of always seemed to have a thing going on between them. It was always kind of ambiguous but it was also always there. I'd also guess from a few other scenes that Pearl's view of who Rose was wasn't entirely chaste either, at least by the way she talks about her in a couple of places. It's just that Pearl is kind of reserved and outside of a couple of outbursts tries to keep herself locked up in a number of ways, since I've been getting the vibe that there's more there than she lets on in both a relationship sense and backstory sense. But the outbursts are becoming much more common as the plot progresses onwards and the gems more rapidly lose control of the situations they find themselves in. The only one I think is genuinely Asexual or close to it would be Amethyst, and that's only because her vices lie in other places.

[Scowling Dragon]

Well generally speaking they can't be asexual. Mainly because then our title character wouldn't exist.

I meant asexual because they are rocks. Rose Quartz was one that wanted to be the most Human. You can even see it in her design.

Fundamentally their bodies are an illusion, and so with it you get very many good cues about things. The most human one of them all was a sexual being because she willed it so. They are as sexual as they desire because of their shapeshifting body creation abilities.

Amathyst feels like a Victorian era explorer that mockingly joins into a Tribal dance because its funny. Not because she actually cares.
For Pearl it just doesn't fit. She harbors the most doubts, and thus Human things are very much beneath her. Even the act of eating.
Garnet felt very refined because I believe she is actually a Fusion Gem, so it requires lots of concentration to maintain that level of Power.

Each one felt alien in a Unique way, and asexual in a way as well, despite being ancient Roamers on earth it still made sense for them not to see themselves as human.

I mean sexuality is a Human or the very least an Earthly thing related to the act of Human Procreation. Rocks don't hump.

You may be right and, I just gave the show too much credit, making them feel actually alien (And clever) was accidental. And that they are as horny and as regular and dull as most TV aliens.

[Jayngfet]

I think you're misinterpreting Amethyst's intentions. She's been shown eating on her own with nobody around to "get" the joke, and she's evidently been doing it longer than Steven's been at the temple or longer than he could be influencing her in any real way. Their bodies may be an illusion, but they still feel and have senses more or less identical to a human.

They may not be human, but they're still "human". Hunger and Lust may not be vital bodily processes to them but they've clearly been present before the last episode.

EDIT: So the preview for the next episode is up online. Steven has very clearly developed a whole lot from the earliest episodes and is taking himself much more seriously, in fact much more seriously than the other gems seem to be taking themselves. He's still very clearly Steven, the mostly human screw up with all the idiosyncrasies that implies, but recent events have matured him somewhat. He definitely has an understanding that the gems and the things related to them are important, and important in the sense that they can be life and death matters.

Which makes sense, when you realize just how much crap he's been though between that episode and this one. He's watched multiple friends almost die slow, torturous deaths up close through suffocation, corruption, or absorption basically nonstop. He's seen that gem stuff allowed to run amok can cause major damage and tear up whole blocks. He watched himself die, after seeing himself reach out and beg. Not to mention he's seen how ridiculously irresponsible the Crystal Gems can be. Amethyst almost ruined their chances of getting the hourglass and apparently already did several times in the past. Amethyst almost died, because she was screwing around in a way he didn't want her to. Pearl didn't just hand him Lapis trapped in a millennia old prison, but she was throwing the thing around like an old leaf blower despite knowing exactly how dangerous it was. They were all being willfully ignorant and didn't react until Peridot was basically right on top of them. They've basically given up on their corrupted comrades and aren't doing anything to save them.

I think it's become apparent that while the gems are pretty good in a fight, he can't really count on them to take initiative or take the larger situation too seriously.

[Scowling Dragon]

I dunno. So far I guess it can be interpreted both ways.

Im just itching for a Platonic relationship. Im so sick of Romances. Its much harder to make a convincing friendship.

[Fralex]

OK, I'm back! Whoa! This show DID get really awesome! Good for it. I'm glad I gave it another chance. Alone Together... that was an interesting episode. Not just because of the content, but because there wasn't really one central conflict like usual. It was just two kids turning into a moderately-sized woman and running around excitedly, being adorable. I guess all the little conflicts, like Steven having trouble fusing, Pearl getting uncomfortable when he does it with a human, and Kevin unwittingly hitting on a pair of conjoined 12-year-olds, sort of added together and kept it entertaining. It's kinda nice to have a low-key episode like this every once in a while!

To Scowling Dragon, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it. I hope the next ones are more fun for you. I personally really disliked Fusion Cuisine for similar reasons (in that watching it just made me really uncomfortable).

Oh, have you all been keeping up with Ronaldo's blog? Because it's a real thing that's been running since before the show started. It lets you see each episode from the unique perspective of everyone's favorite conspiracy nut, and it's really funny.

I tried to get my dad to carry wasabi mayo at the shop, but he’s not as open minded as me - culturally speaking. What I mean is - he’s not into anime.

[RagingBluMunky]

I'm with you on that, Fralex. It was an interesting episode (Thought it was rather good myself). I liked learning (kinda) what it was like to be a fusion, how it was like neither being one person or two people. I think Pearl was so upset because it upset her sense of Order so much (i.e. She doesn't believe humans and gems are able to fuse, and I believe that she sees humans as less than gems, as she has been quite dismissive of them before, I also believe that she doesn't see Steven as a human). Also, I believe that Connie and Steven DO have a platonic relationship, even if it's just that they're too young to care or realize about romance yet.

[Scowling Dragon]

YESSS! More of what I wanted! WHOOOOOO!

Faith-RESTORED! Its not going to be like Adventure time when I FELT the episode at which it all went downhill!

[Flickerdart]

Spoiler: Glowing orbs on the star

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Opal is yellow, Amethyst is lavender, the one that doesn't light up is Rose, and the remaining two are red and blue - which when mixed would make Garnet's violet. Another piece in support of her actually being a fusion, I guess.

[Fralex]

Oh. My. God. That was one of the sweetest episodes. And this is Steven Universe we're talking about.

Spoiler: Why I loved the ending

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At first Steven feels betrayed that the Gems deliberately gave him a "test" he couldn't fail. Then he learns it's not because they have no confidence in him as a hero; it's because they don't need to give him a test to determine what they already know: He's come incredibly far in spite of all his past mistakes. Then he learns his own mentors/sort-of-parents are just as insecure about their ability to raise him as he is about his ability to be a member of the team, and decides to do to them what they were trying to do to him: give them confidence in something he already knew they could do. They always looked up to his mother, and they need him now as much as he needs them.

Like I said. It's all so... sweet.

ADDENDUM: For a while I'd always seen the Gems more as parents than Steven's older siblings (with Pearl being the most motherly and Amethyst being the most sisterly), but I've come to realize it's more that Rose was like their mother. She took care of the others, and they looked up to her for guidance. The Crystal Gems are like three older siblings trying to figure out how to be parents to their baby brother after losing their mother. Remember what Rose's box-DVD ended with? "Take care of them, Steven." I... I think I need a hug.

[CaDzilla]

Spoiler

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Best homage yet

Also a theory: The gem leader is going to be named Diamond

[Scowling Dragon]

Spoiler

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Best homage yet

Oh god that thing. No. Thats an insult.

[Fralex]

Rebecca Sugar said she watched all of Evangellion with Steven (her younger brother) in two days, which was "a very bad idea."

[Fralex]

Aw, Garnet. It's so sweet how much she loves Steven.

This power explains her impossibly-quick reaction time in a lot of previous episodes, like Seroius Steven and Arcade Mania (and I guess she was so transfixed by Meat Beat Mania because even her third eye was focused on predicting the game's next command).

Poor Ronaldo.

[Pokonic]

Poor Ronaldo.

Poor Amethyst.

[Devonix]

Poor Amethyst.

Welp that explains a lot. Now we know what the Gems were here to do. And why Amythest seems to act like the younger sister.

[Scowling Dragon]

The Bacteriophages where a nice touch.

[Zmeoaice]

I saw the first episode. It was terrible. I'll doubt I'll watch another one.

[Flickerdart]

I saw the first episode. It was terrible. I'll doubt I'll watch another one.

I read your post. It was terrible. I doubt I'll read another one.

[Jayngfet]

I saw the first episode. It was terrible. I'll doubt I'll watch another one.

One of the issues Steven Universe has is that it's incredibly slow to get going. The first few episodes are incredibly hit and miss but it becomes increasingly solid once it builds it's momentum.

The latest episode is a perfect example: It starts with a callback to some previous stuff it built on, does a bit of setting establishment, steven segues it into an extended gag and musical number, then the second half of the episode just punches it home with some heavy hitting emotional stuff. Then the last few frames of footage rearrange themselves to change meanings(As in, literally the last few frames).

[Tectonic Robot]

Quite the episode. Quite the episode indeedly.

[Scowling Dragon]

I saw the first episode. It was terrible. I'll doubt I'll watch another one.

I will agree. The first couple of episodes are pretty bland and uninteresting, but its worth giving some a few episodes later a try. Cat Fingers is a cool one to start with.

[endoperez]

I saw the first episode. It was terrible. I'll doubt I'll watch another one.

The series has so far stayed true to the themes of friendship, a naive boy who can't quite use his powers, and monster fights.

What first episode doesn't show are the worldbuilding (we're only given hints, which makes it all the more interesting!), the writing that is clever despite being aimed at kids, and the versatility and amount of power the boy is slowly learning about.

If you didn't like the tone, sure, this isn't your thing. If you thought this was too simple or childish, you might want to give it another chance.

Spoiler

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The cookie cat song was a hint, one of many to come, about the Gems. "Refugee from an interstellar war... ...he left his family behind".

The monsters are "of the week" variety, but they are occasionally referenced later, like with this green thing.

The shield is a combat power, mainly. Steven's out-of-combat uses of powers are the more surprising ones, so far.

[Fralex]

Yeah, some of the earlier ones were not that impressive. Nowadays, Steven Universe breaks your heart in new, creative ways each week. And you will love them for it.
*sob*

[Scowling Dragon]

As I hudle in fear of the storm outside, i cant help but find the latest episide relevant.

[Fralex]

Yeah, the East coast in general has been getting some really bad snow lately. The mayor of Boston is quoted as saying, "I don't know what to say to anybody anymore. Hopefully it will stop eventually."

I really liked Greg's snoring in the background of the last scene. Little things like that really bring it to life.