Steven Universe | S4 | Ep 6-9
Added 2024-03-14 16:00:06 +0000 UTCHai everyone! another batch, technically 4 episodes - I didn't realize one was a long boy. Overall, a super nice batch of character development. I'm glad I stopped at ep 9 because it seems like episode 10 kicks it up again!
Anyway, hope you enjoy! :)
Episodes 6-9
Comments
"nostalgic for the suburbs? They've only existed for what, 70 years?" - Pearl being orangepilled
dys
2024-03-17 01:18:46 +0000 UTCThree Gems and a Baby- Man, ANOTHER crunchy character focused ep! This batch has just been cooking with character development and expansion. I agree with you, it's really nice seeing representation of a genuinely GOOD single father in a cartoon. We don't see too many great fathers in animation to begin with, really (a few from the Avatar universe come to mind, though- Katara and Sokka's dad, namely- come to think of it, he's actually solo fathering it too after a time, so he also counts)- and so to see all that in a single father is awesome. More of this energy from western animation, please. I enjoy that this episode is mostly focused on various theories about Steven's nature as a hybrid. Each one of the Gems takes a solid swing at it, and what I find interesting about this is that their theories are all based on their own worldview or desires- of course Amethyst, the shapeshifter, would believe it's just Rose shapeshifting into a baby. Of course Garnet would theorize that it's fusion. Of COURSE Pearl- the grief-stricken one- would be trying to hypothesize a way that Rose could still be active within Steven, just a Gem trapped within a baby. All interesting (and in some cases, horrifying) possibilities, ones that just add more intrigue to the lingering question of what Steven's whole deal *actually* is. At the end of the day though, Greg's right- how he exists isn't what's important, what's important is that raising him gon take a village lol. No Gem or human alone would be up to the task and able to take care of all his needs. As my closing comment, once again, I think this is the perfect breaking point for you, and heartily look forward to the next batch of eps. Thank you so much for sharing!
Novantinuum
2024-03-15 06:38:29 +0000 UTCOkay, actual watch time! Last One Out of Beach City- Agreed with your thought, it's nice to see an episode for Pearl that develops her in a way that isn't adding more sadness to her backstory or showing her making a very oof mistake and having to work past said mistake. (Like in season 2.) She's dealt with a LOT, and it's fun to see her get a personal victory here. Not only did she get a night out on the town, but she is making those first few steps towards getting over Rose and moving on. They're still baby steps- the whole reason she became fixed on this particular person is because of the pink hair lol, but I think it's really huge for Pearl as a character that she's even remotely entertaining this moment of attraction instead of bottling away her own feelings entirely and continuing to wallow in her grief over Rose. I love that Amethyst almost gets to curse and say "badass" in this ep before being cut off by the car lurching, ahahah. Those moments in cartoons are always funny to me. _ Onion Gang- I genuinely think you may be the only reactor I've seen who seemed to generally enjoy the character building this ep brings, ahah. I feel like this one tends to be in some fan's "skip" piles, and like... to be fair, it IS mostly a bizarre collection of quick gags with no super high stakes, so I get it- but I think I like this episode more and more with every watch I give to it. Not only does it firmly and vocally point out Steven's loneliness and isolation from other kids his age- an aspect of the show that's always been teased at but never played with so directly- but it also like... really challenges Steven's own values. Steven's always trying to be as kind and uber accepting of other people as he can, and so this episode throws him the most bizarre characters possible and basically goes, "yeah, but what about THESE people? you gonna be tolerant and accepting of them? are you gonna work to understand THEM like you did Onion?" I just find this a very interesting situation for him to be thrown in. Lmao your VISCERAL reactions to how strange these kids are (and the bugs!) had me giggling. Yeah, bugs coming out of a pot some kid wears on their head would be the line for me, too. I am incapable of being as open-minded as Steven tries to be on that one, lol. _ Gem Harvest- I love, love, LOVE this episode. And I love, love, LOVE Uncle Andy as a character addition, as I mentioned in my previous comment. I love him because he instantly gives so much more depth to not only Greg and his family situation, but also Steven and his desire to actually know the human side of his family too. Not to mention, it's fun to see a complete outsider react to all the Gem weirdness with zero context. I don't know who did the VA work for Uncle Andy off the top of my head, but it was just a really good performance. Lots of great vocal energy there, ahah. And like, the plane scene at the end messes me up a lot- Uncle Andy has absolutely NO knowledge that Steven can float. To his perspective, his nephew is literally plunging from the sky to his death. And of course, when Steven is rescued, he's so used to near-death experiences that he tries to play it off as "no big deal," "aw that was a good one" as he usually does to placate the Gems and his dad and keep them from worrying about him, but... Uncle Andy IS worried. He's horrified. "Do you have ANY idea what could've happened to you??" he asks. Steven's rendered speechless. And for the first time maybe ever, he finally has a moment of clarity where he's forced to recognize the underlying truth in that question. What could've happened to him? He literally could've died, and he's just become so desensitized to these sorts of experiences that he's stopped thinking about it. I am FERAL. This is one of my favorite little one-line character nuance moments in the whole of the show, I think. Oh, and as clarification bc I just heard you mention "brother," Uncle Andy is Greg's cousin. (It's blink and you miss it, mentioned once, to be entirely fair.) So like, I guess the "uncle" part is just a simplification, really- just so Steven doesn't have to say all the "whatever whatever once removed" stuff ahahahah XD _
Novantinuum
2024-03-15 05:11:52 +0000 UTC
