*spoilers ahead*
I felt obligated to talk about Steven Universe at some point, because right now this show is on fire. A combination of careful world building, an endearing title character, strong animation, a diverse supporting cast and thoughtful but exciting and funny stories have made it a major hit for Cartoon Network, across a wide range of demographics. Male or female and regardless of age, the misadventures of the half human-half “Crystal Gem” alien Steven, the courageous Garnet, the fun loving Amethyst and the insecure but lovable Pearl are connecting with many people.
Among other powers, the Gems have the ability to fuse with each other to create more powerful entities, and the writers explore a number of implications and possibilities stemming from it. The latest weekly block of episodes, or “Steven Bombs”, uses a fusion to cause some rarely seen disarray within the group.
Cry For Help
Steven and the Gems discover that Peridot, a villainous Gem from their home planet (and not to mention one of the most loathsome cartoon villains in a while), is fixing an ancient communication device in order to start an invasion.
In order to disrupt the signal, Pearl suggest- or rather, insists- that she fuse with Garnet to form Sardonyx, an incredibly hammy but twice as powerful Crystal Gem to take out the tower. It turns out the two of them have great chemistry, the flamboyant Sardonyx is a perfect mix of Garnet’s cool bravado and Pearl’s enthusiastic dorkiness.
Unfortunately, it seems at first Peridot is making frequent returns to the tower and repairing it, but Steven and the others eventually discover that Pearl, now hooked on the sensation of bonding with Garnet had been fixing the signal in order to have an excuse to fuse. Considering that Homeworld could have picked up those continued calls at any point, Garnet is understandably pissed at Pearl’s irresponsibility.
What really makes this episode work is how it doesn’t completely throw Pearl in the dog house. The morality of the story is on point- the audience can be happy Pearl is paying an appropriate consequence, but we’re still able to root for her to make amends, all without devaluing Garnet’s stance. And I just grow to hate Peridot even more, she’s so obnoxious.
Keystone Motel
It’s the lovable (and Jeff Lebowski-ish) Greg Universe to the rescue, inviting Steven and Garnet on a road trip with the requisite sights, sounds and cheap crappy diners in order to hopefully defuse some of the tension in the air. Garnet tries to play along, but once at the motel her frustration proves to be too much, and she splits into her original forms Ruby and Sapphire. The two have a heated (at least on Ruby’s side) debate regarding Pearl’s actions and whether or not it’s the right time to forgive her.
Steven tries to bridge the gap, using his strongest powers outside of his bubble shields: diplomacy and kindness. This is a great character building episode for Garnet’s two halves, I like how they’re eventually forced to defy their stereotypical attitudes. And even though the writers understandably want to focus more on the relationships between the cast as opposed to their orientation, they’re still breaking some ground here.
Onion Friend
In this episodes, Steven goes to his cupboard for a bag of chips but his mute friend Onion runs off with the bag. His chase leads to him and Amethyst meeting up with his mom, the suitably named Vidalia in a Dragon Ball style food gag. As Ammy and Vidala shoot the breeze, catch up on old times and discuss Vidala’s paintings, Steven tries to bond with her strange but oddly friendly son. It turns out the two share a similar interest.
Not a whole lot happens here, but it’s a good window into how Amethyst is coping with the drama, she simply wants everything to go back to normal. Steve’s interactions and discomfort are understandable, but being Steven he never comes off as rude or mean. This show has a knack for balancing out major action filled episodes with smaller scaled ones in order to keep developing Beach City.
Historical Friction
And speaking of Beach City, its background takes the spotlight in another comedy plot. More than just a luckless mailman who pines after Garnet, Steven’s friend Jamie is developing a play based on the life of Mayor Dewey’s ancestor- written by the Mayor himself as a banal and self serving vanity piece. Simply wanting a chance to perform, Jamie plans to bite the bullet and do the best he can with the script, but after Steven shows it to Pearl she notices a number of historical inaccuracies, and Jamie is divinely inspired by her rewrites.
This is a good little breathing point for what turns out to be a pretty explosive finale. Jamie’s impersonations of the Gems are spot on (his Garnet is legendary), and Steve doesn’t do such a bad job himself as the Dewey patriarch. Pearl once again proves why she’s the Bird Mom, cheering on Steven during the play like a proud parent.
Friend Ship
When the team makes another attempt to catch Peridot, the irritating little green bitch takes advantage of their frustration and poor chemistry, evading escape and eventually drawing them into a trap. Steven oddly enough emerges as the emotional center of the team this time, the little guy’s developed into quite the hybrid alien warrior (though being about eight years old, he eventually gets exhausted). Soon Garnet and Pearl are separated from the others, and their conflict finally comes to an emotional head.
Meanwhile, Amethyst decides she’s Gotta Go Fast.
The eventual resolution between the bickering Gems is very well written. Pearl admits, as much of the fandom has suspected, that her self esteem is rock bottom. It obviously doesn’t excuse her lying to the others, but for a variety of reasons her sadness is understandable, especially with her having lost a best friend in Rose.
For her part, Garnet takes a stance that allows her to be firm with Pearl, but also show more transparency and vulnerability on her part when she admits how much she admires her. It’s another touching and emotionally powerful moment in a show that’s become famous for them, and both characters remain lovable in spite of their now resolved tiff.
Unfortunately, the little rat Peridot gets away again. God I hate her, I hate her so damn much, I’m just, ooh, OOOH!! Sorry, lost myself for a minute. But yeah, screw Peridork.
Oddly enough, there wasn’t too much Sardonyx over the course of this Steven Bomb, but the one rule of show business (something I imagine she’d would know about) is that you always leave the audience wanting more. It’s probably for the best the writers didn’t overexpose her, so that way I imagine fans will look forward to more appearances from her without a sense of burnout.
Steven Universe is a unique show for a variety of reasons, but for me personally it’s the relationship and dynamics between the characters that make me a fan of it. It’s too early for me to start comparing it to the other Steven Bombs as to which is better, but I can happily recommend the Sardonyx story on its own merits.