Steven Universe Future | Episode 3 & 4
Added 2024-08-15 14:00:05 +0000 UTCIt never once occurred to me that there'd be other Rose Quartz. To say I am shocked is an understatement 🤣 It makes sense though!
Comments
Ahh, ok. That makes sense. I didn't assume that they were created specfically for the Future Series, but it's wild we didn't get a glimpse of them til now. It was really fun to see them though!
So Everdream
2024-08-20 13:42:05 +0000 UTCVolleyball: Very petty admission: I HATE that Steven named friggin' Pink Pearl Volleyball in this episode, I think it's dumb as hell and I as a fan refuse to use it as her "name." Steven, you're such a dumbass (affectionate) and bad at nicknames, and you should feel ashamed. XD With that out of the way, WOW is there a lot to break down in this one. By the time I saw this episode, I was pretty damn sold on what I thought the ultimate subject matter of this epilogue as a whole would be, and it all came down to two little lines: Shell: "This injury must have been so impactful that it continues to manifest despite the fact that her pearl has been repaired." Steven: "So, it's like... psychological?" Injuries so impactful that their impacts continue to manifest despite the physical injury long since healing over. *Stares at Growing Pains and the X-ray of Steven's healed over myriad of old breaks, and the way this serves as a stark visual cue for all the traumatic events he's lived through.* But yeah, even without knowing where this show would ultimately lead, this moment in the episode was quite exciting to see, as someone who always had a big passion for stories tackling the question of "what happens to a hero after the conflict?" It told me that I was right in keeping a close eye on Steven's mental state, because if such things can happen to a Gem side character, then perhaps this is what the show aims to explore for Steven, too. But! Moving back! I always giggle at the silly little Ruby being so happy to get a lollypop, that's cute. It's also quite charming to me that Steven seems to have set up scheduled healing sessions for any Gems who need a bit of a magic touch. It makes me wonder how often he hosts these kinds of sessions. "Sorry! It's just baggage." The way some small part of Steven fundamentally grasps what's going on with his uncontrollable pink state before he even cognitively puts all the pieces together. You're right, it IS just the manifestation of baggage. Poor mans. "Did you come to compete?" Tsk tsk tsk. Oh, Pearl. She's clearly still got baggage and insecurities of her own, if this is where her mind jumps upon seeing Rose's first pearl. This is an interesting episode for her, because much like Lars after he became a space pirate, she almost experiences a bit of slipback on development here. Like, as if just being around Pink Pearl drags up all these old bad mental habits and inclinations. I think she shows her truest colors, though, when she manages to push past all of her own baggage surrounding Rose and her relationship with her and her jealousies about others and actually provides some much needed camaraderie to Rose's other pearl, to someone who's been hurt and is lost and confused and just needs the comfort of someone who's Been there (albeit more emotionally rather than physically) and understands. One of the things I often see wildly misinterpreted within the fandom about what Pink Pearl says about Pink's little tantrum is that there are some who think Pink overtly "hit" her pearl. From everything this episode showcases, I see this as 100% wrong. In fact, Steven's explosion of anger gives us a very clear template on what likely happened- Pink was upset about White telling her off, and so she screamed in anger about it and the shockwave damaged her first pearl. She was "standing too close that time," she said. Thus, this sort of display must have happened before without any injury, but just... this one particular time, whoops. Even if Pink never physically laid hands on her though, having to even WITNESS such a visceral display of emotion can be traumatizing all on its own, and the impacts of that cannot be discounted. I mean, look at how Pink Pearl reacts when Steven does it. She's absolutely terrified at the reminder of it. Speaking of Steven, I really do love the way this episode progressively inches us towards that freak out of his- there's this question lingering over the audience's head the whole time of "man, How did Pink manage to damage her pearl so bad?" and then... as Pink Pearl starts to explain, and brings up Pink Diamond's tantrums, her screams that could crack the walls... and we're seeing Steven, clearly super uncomfortable, becoming more and more tense, right on the verge of, well... Something... It's just great tension building, because the whole time I was watching for the first time I remember thinking "oh god, now HE'S going to do it," like my brain was just PRIMING itself waiting for a visual on what Pink Pearl was describing. But oofies, yeah- there's really a lot you can glean about Steven's headspace in this ep. Pink Pearl: "You're just like her!" Steven: "No, no, no. I'm not like..." Shell: "Welcome, Pink Diamond." Steven: "Uh, no- I'm Steven Universe." Steven: "Stop it! I can't deal with one more horrible thing she did, okay?! I don't want to hear about it! I don't even want to think about it! I just want to FIX it!" He's terrified about becoming like his mother- about making all the same mistakes she did, even though he's trying so hard to move in an opposite direction... trying so hard to reverse all the damage of her troubled past and build a better world. In a world where everyone's becoming empowered to be the best versions of themselves, to grow and to change... he's terrified that he himself is only going to become Worse. With all these confusing outbursts starting to crop up that he doesn't yet understand the truest cause of, it's no wonder he's harboring this fear. Just as Pink Diamond acted out due to the way the other Diamonds treated her and how that psychologically damaged her, so too is he starting to act out due to the unaddressed traumas of his own past. And the only way to escape this cycle, of course... is to address it. :( Anyways, I could probably ramble on about Steven's deal all day, but enough of that, ahah. I can't finish this comment without mentioning that epic Pearl fusion. I was absolutely NOT expecting a double Pearl fusion. I haven't seen the anime, but I hear from a ton of fans that this particular fusion has huge Revolutionary Girl Utena vibes. Very epic, in any case. That action sequence at the end was so hype, loved getting to see Steven shred on his shield, lol.
Novantinuum
2024-08-15 20:41:55 +0000 UTCWell, what a perfect day for this next batch to post, because today (the 15th) is Steven's canonical birthday! Gah, both of these are some heart punchers in their own little way, though. Ramble time... Rose Buds: I think there's a lot that can be said about the portrait of Rose that Steven's trying to move elsewhere, and what that means for him and even for Rose herself as a character. Amethyst has one stray comment about this that I think about a lot... "I'm telling you, man, it's not the placement. It's the frame." Information that we learn about Rose's past in Volleyball loops right back into this as well, because in a metaphoric sense, this comment is just as much about ROSE as it is about the portrait. It's not the placement, it's the frame. It's about how one FRAMES her past, about how one Looks at her history. This entire show we've been peeling back the layers of time with her, revealing more and more lore on her time as Pink Diamond... and I think with how fast the story progressed it's often easy to forget that we are looking at her younger, more immature self. She was Not a good person back then, absolutely. But really, with the influences she had, who can blame her? When one re-frames our learnings in s5 and beyond and looks at things chronologically, it's genuinely a wonder how much Rose DID in fact change and mature, and thus it's even more a tragedy that she decided to cut that journey short by giving up her gem entirely. (Especially since plenty of episodes play around with the idea that Rose genuinely did not see herself as capable of true change and freedom from her origins, despite fighting for exactly this for other Gems.) But yeah, no- I absolutely get why Steven didn't want that portrait just hanging up over his life in this new era. He admits it himself this episode, that he's still super messed up over her. I think his ultimate final resting spot for the portrait is sweet- in Lion's mane, where it can have a peaceful end and be retrievable if they ever want it, but they don't have to see it. Mind you, I also think that Steven hiding this portrait from his sight entirely could serve as a metaphor for his own growing emotional repression, so. There's both positives and negatives to this, in my mind. Poor Greg is really just riding the ex and deceased partners suffering train this episode, huh? XD His reaction to seeing the Rose Quartzes was so funny to me, LOL. As was Steven's reaction. I was never super expecting to get a conclusion to the Human Zoo arc in Future, but I am actually pretty satisfied with their ending here. There was always that question about "what does one do with those humans, should they be left in the zoo, or be re-integrated on Earth," and this episode decides to chose a third option instead- give the Zoomans full autonomy on the ship and let them go wherever they wish. I like this because it means that whatever any of them chose to do, it's entirely on their own terms. I kinda want to smack Steven every time his emotionally stagnated ass blurts out something even stupider this episode. Like... m'guy. A SLUMBER party? Be SO for real, lmao. I love you man, but you're so dumb. There's some very amusing expression work with him this episode. I feel the conclusion Steven comes to by the end of the episode is both very apt and sweet- the Rose Quartzes are like his siblings! Emo about it. ;w;
Novantinuum
2024-08-15 19:38:03 +0000 UTCThe Rose Quartzes were briefly mentioned earlier, but we didn't get to see them since they were bubbled (Blue wanted to keep the bubbles around since she collected things related to Pink and Pink created them, while Yellow wanted to shatter them because she thought a Rose Quartz shattered Pink.) The original Rose Quartz (Pink Diamond) was just based on Pearl's idea of a Quartz disguise she could use among the Amethysts, so it's generally assumed that Pink then decided to make actual Rose Quartzes to make her Rose form less suspicious. Also, it's never been directly confirmed, but the implication seems to be that Pearl and Spinel were created around the same time to replace Pink Pearl (Volleyball:) she was considered too friendly and playful with Pink for a Pearl, so Spinel was created to fill the role of a friend and playmate while Pearl was made to be a more serious servant (this part, that Pearl was created to be a more proper and sensible Pearl, has been confirmed.)
Vilmu
2024-08-15 18:06:24 +0000 UTC
