Steven Universe | S4 | Ep 15-19
Added 2024-04-13 02:00:07 +0000 UTCHey y'all! Sorry for the late post on this one. Fallout has been on my mind HARDCORE. I feel like I was pretty correct the other week in assuming these episodes would be more fun adventures than anything else and judging by the wrasslin' episode, I was pretty spot on haha
With that said though, these episodes were super fun. With the exception of Rocknaldo...but you know.
Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy 💜
Episodes 15-19
Comments
Yeah, I don't think I'd actually skip on the first go around. But man... It's tempting haha
So Everdream
2024-04-26 12:03:05 +0000 UTCI'd probably have been fine with you skipping Rocknaldo. But you never know, one of these days a Ronaldo episode might have some payoff you'd regret skipping...
dys
2024-04-26 02:20:56 +0000 UTCRocknaldo: I have a love-hate relationship with this episode. Ronaldo... is a character I can only enjoy in very small bit comedy doses. (Although I DO actually like the episode Rising Tides, Crashing Skies, because it's more focused on what the town thinks of the Crystal Gems and Ronaldo's dumb theories than Ronaldo as like... a person.) I just can't personally get into him when the episode focuses super hard on him, and like... that's fine. Not every character can be a winner. So I'm not huge on this episode for that basis. However, I always laugh really hard at the way Pearl calls him something entirely wrong every single time. And I also do think this ep marks a very important lesson for Steven, in that there comes a point where he HAS to stand up for himself instead of being a complete doormat to others' whims. Thus, I can't entirely write it off as "eh." There's fun moments in it. But Ronaldo is pretty exhausting here, lol. "Please Ronaldo, get the FUCK out of here-" LMAO me. _ Tiger Philanthropist: While not focusing SUPER intensely on this thread, I think this ep is a nice lil character development capstone for Amethyst. It really speaks volumes to me that she no longer feels like she needs this outlet to find balance within her life, and is ready to move on to other things... when initially, part of her reasoning for doing wrestling as the heel was taking all her inner frustrations and channeling them into some acceptable form of violence, and also like... grappling with her own self hatred by acting in a role by which others "hate" her, but here it's all a part of the act. Of course, what she wasn't super attentive to at first was the fact that Steven still LIKED having this outlet with her as bonding time and felt pretty left out when she stepped away. Some silly fun. I like that this episode retroactively suggests that the two of them have been doing underground wrestling every Saturday night this entire show lmao. A part of me kind of wishes we could've glimpsed evidence of this fact a bit earlier, though... just for continuity's sake. _ Room For Ruby: I love how Navy essentially gaslighted you as the viewer. You were confident in her being an interloper, and then she successfully made you doubt your stance for JUST a moment, lol. I like that moment in this episode where Lapis has some self reflection on her journey of acclimation so far... and realizes that she's just jealous of the idea of someone else being able to adjust to a new place and situation quicker than her. And yet... it's not a jealousy that's fair to take out on others. That's some serious growth from her. A fun batch, thank you!
Novantinuum
2024-04-14 05:51:55 +0000 UTCOkay, finally sitting down to watch- _ The New Crystal Gems: Peridot really IS the one of them who's most like Pearl, huh? XD Lapis sure called her on that one. But hey, who of us doesn't wanna be as cool as Garnet? I always laugh at the moment where Connie is reminding Lapis that they've already met, and that she tried to drown her with the ocean, and she's just "eh I almost drowned a Lot of people..." Ohhhh Lapis. Oh boy. This is a light and silly one- much needed after the roller coaster of the past few episodes. I like how Connie goes to the extent of keeping Steven's bed warm and wearing his shirts, ahah. It's very cute. Not much to comment on beyond this. _ Storm in the Room: This episode rips my soul straight out of my body. Just... augh. The way that Connie's reunion with her mom makes Steven start thinking about his OWN mom... the way that Steven doesn't fully take off the zoo clothes (and thus, his "mask" of being fine) until he's entirely alone... the way Steven even admits HIMSELF that he knows what the Room manifests isn't real, and yet... and yet. He's still sucked in by the illusion of Rose, of his mother, still enticed to pretend that maybe it IS really her, all up until he points the camera of his phone at himself and the illusion is shattered. The accusations he makes to his own mother here are devastatingly cutting. "I know what you are! You're a LIAR!" "Did you make me just so you wouldn't have to deal with your mistakes?! [...] Is that all I'm here for-?" What a horrid, horrid thought to have to comprehend as a kid. Hell, at ANY age. I've noticed you ask "wait, How old is Steven again?" at a few points this season, particularly at moments where he is expressing extremely heavy emotions, and while we do have a canon answer (he turned 14 back in season 2, during the arc with Peridot and the Cluster), I think the lingering visual ambiguity of his age makes these moments all the more jarring as a viewer. Because he canonically does not LOOK his age, and thus it's alarming when these very strong, very complex emotional moments- things you might expect from a teenager (which he is), but not from a child- rear their heads. Easily one of my top ten favorite episodes of the entire show. The most fascinating Steven moments to me are always the ones where he's entirely alone, and has no one to put up a cheery facade for.
Novantinuum
2024-04-14 05:37:18 +0000 UTC
