# Steven Universe: Intriguing beyond belief **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 30, 2015, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356 "2015-03-30T18:16:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/321 "2018-01-14T14:47:55Z")
> [@bmoak](#): > > The Pink Diamond we see here looks different than the admittedly stylized depictions of PD we’ve seen. Perhaps she was poofed and reformed at one point? Or perhaps it is because > [@bmoak](#): > > Stevonnie has Steven’s dreaming powers, but filtered through Connie’s experiences and perceptions. The filter, I think, is keyed into Pink’s perceptions, of Yellow as a mother figure controlling, and disappointed, in her. That explicitly played first as seeing Pink as Mom, well giant Mom, and then also in a critical self-perception of herself as childish (which spun differently was Rose’s positive child-like qualities). I do not believe it says anything about what her actual physical form was at the time. These dreams are not realities; they are filtered interpretations of the past. This one through the POV of Pink. Consequently I am not sure this scratches any theories. Pink may have felt Yellow loving her as an overbearing but distracted and busy mother loves, but Yellow’s experiences could still have been different and even if not, an overbearing mother’s sort of love can be jealous as well. Of course the implication could also be that when childish Pink got her planet Yellow was critical of and disappointed in how she ran it … with what happened next growing out of that. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/322 "2018-01-25T04:58:32Z")
I don’t think there’s much you can definitively say about what we saw in Jungle Moon, but I believe we can certainly say the following: 1. Pink Diamond is younger/newer than the other Diamonds. 2. Pink Diamond, whatever her exact size is, is smaller than the other Diamonds. Other thoughts: I can’t remember what episode(s) it would be shown in to confirm this, but I’m almost certain that Pink Diamond’s gem is on the money we have seen in Beach City. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ecks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ecks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ecks)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/323 "2018-01-25T15:12:25Z")
I first thought that Pinks Diamond’s small size was a dream distortion, like Yellow Diamond’s altered voice and appearance. However, when Stevonnie sees the cracked window, it exactly matched the dream in position and appearance. If the dream was inaccurate and Pink Diamond larger, the damage would be higher. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2018, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/324 "2018-01-28T23:21:28Z")
Hulu has new Steven Universe episodes confirmed on schedule for April. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/325 "2018-02-18T02:26:26Z")
Well, Steven Universe Volume 1 was finally released a few weeks ago, but it took me a while to track down a copy and then watch the whole season and the extras. It’s great to finally have a full season of the show out. All SU fans have had were two bare bones DVD releases of ten episodes each. I mean the show was launched in 2013 and we only get a full season DVD in 2018. And still have three more full seasons in the can waiting for a release. There are extras in the DVD set, but it wasn’t that impressive of a collection. No audio commentary tracks. A lot of the features were about the show’s music: interviews, original demos by Rebecca, Aivi & Surasshu, and so on. There are also boards/animatics of a handful of episodes. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/326 "2018-02-18T02:33:51Z")
Also, I always thought that Season 1 ended with The Return/Jailbreak, but this set has “Full Disclosure”, “Open Book”, and “Joy Ride”, which I always thought were Season 2 episodes, on it. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/327 "2018-02-18T03:38:22Z")
There’s two counts of the seasons - where CN put the season breaks, and the production order. The DVD clearly uses the production order. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/328 "2018-02-18T03:38:43Z")
Now that I have an actual physical DVD I can share with people and introduce them to Steven Universe. After re-watching every first season episode, I’m kind of wondering HOW I can share with people. I started watching the show in the second season (IIRC “Cry For Help” was my first episode.) and became a fan of the show right way. However, I don’t think I would have liked the show as much if I started at the very beginning. I wasn’t a big fan of early-show Steven’s irresponsible goofball schtick and some of the mission-of-the-week episodes. Also, some early eps were missteps in that they introduced concepts that didn’t really fit into the show and weren’t brought up again (replication wands and time-travel hourglasses, anyone?). IMHO, the show doesn’t really hit it’s stride until “Mirror Gem/Ocean Gem”. The show gets a lot of constant and coherent in the second half of the first season, gets more upfront in introducing the show’s lore, and has a bunch of the show’s first emotional gut-punch eps (“Lion 3: Straight To Video”, “On The Run”, “Maximum Capacity”, etc.) That being said, I’m trying to separate the wheat from the chaff and condense the first half of Season One into about eight quality episodes I can show friends to introduce them to Steven Universe and its core characters and concepts before getting to “Mirror Gem/Ocean Gem” I don’t think I would start with “Gem Glow” as the first episode, either. Maybe “Laser Light Cannon”, as that ep introduced Greg and Rose, or maybe skip right to “Bubble Buddies”. Can anyone narrow this down to just eight episodes? ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/329 "2018-03-11T01:47:41Z")
CN Twitter Promo [Here](https://twitter.com/cartoonnetwork/status/971777749298896897). New episodes start April 7. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/330 "2018-03-23T02:17:11Z")
4 of the new episodes will be up on CN’s app (and presumably On Demand) this Monday March 26th. [Official CN twitter feed](https://twitter.com/cartoonnetwork/status/976540698156720128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fs9e.github.io%2Fiframe%2Ftwitter.min.html%23976540698156720128) ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/331 "2018-03-24T01:59:15Z")
Cartoon Network has released a three-and-a-half promo/recap for the upcoming block of episodes called [“The Series So Far”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRzcciuZus0). Narrated by Steven over clips of mostly already-seen footage , it goes over the history of Rose Quartz, the Crystal Gems, and the Diamond Authority. We do see some glimpses of upcoming episodes, most of which appear to be flashback stories told with stylized visuals as per “Story For Steven” ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/332 "2018-03-24T02:20:01Z")
Broadcast schedule and episodes titles for the next four eps: 4/9 “Your Mother and Mine” 4/16 “The Big Show” 4/23 “Pool Hopping” 4/30 “Letters to Lars” These are all Mondays at 7:30pm. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/333 "2018-03-27T20:12:55Z")
Why did I never notice before that Jasper and Amethyst have exactly the same hair? ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/334 "2018-03-28T02:03:43Z")
The four newest episodes have dropped on On Demand and the CN App. anyone watch them yet? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/335 "2018-03-28T08:50:27Z")
Yup. Hold on discussions until after live airing I presume. But enjoyed. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/336 "2018-03-29T01:35:28Z")
I’m tempted to start talking about the new eps, especially “Your Mother and Mine”. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/337 "2018-04-21T03:26:53Z")
Well, the new episodes have been airing on CN, long after they dropped on the app., so I’ll start running through the eps. “Your Mother and Mine” presents a conundrum. The episode is basically Garnet narrating a stylized flashback of the story of Rose Quartz and the Crystal Gems to the Off-Colors. It’s one part The Gospel of St. Rose and one part morale-booster for the Off-Colors, who still have self-image issues. Garnet’s storytelling is as stylized as the animation used in the flashback, but how much weight should we give to the facts presented here? After all, it flatly contradicts lore gleaned from previous episodes. As with every episode involving Pink Diamond, there is a a question of an unreliable narrator. There is also a question about how much of Rose’s story is propaganda. Did it really happen as Garnet told it (and Garnet was’t around for the start of the Rebellion), or has Rose Quartz’ story been tweaked to make her more sympathetic to recruit other Gems for the Rebellion? More points: -Garnet swore she would never lie to Steven. However, since she was directing the story to the Off-Colors, would she consider any untruths in the story as being told to Steven? -Rose’s white poofy dress is a choice of her own and not part of her original design. -Padparscha actually has a function: She can comment on things in the present that others overlook. She noticed that Lars pushed the wrong button and that Garnet was making the Off-Colors uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/338 "2018-04-21T20:23:42Z")
Beginning to agree with you about having it fair game a reasonable amount of time after they drop on the app … as now it is so long ago I forget many details! Agreed and thought along similar lines. This is Garnet telling a story. Maybe it is the story as she believes it even but she was not there for much of it. It may be what she wants to believe, or what she thinks the Off Colors need to hear, but one suspects the actual events are a bit more complicated. Do I remember right that the story described Pearl as having been an unattached Pearl? That seems important to various theories. Getting ahead “Pool Hopping” was an interesting development for Garnet’s character. And sad that Sadie is so mean to her mother. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/339 "2018-04-22T04:22:23Z")
The next episode in the block was “The Big Show”. I’m starting to get annoyed with segments of the fandom that dump all over any episode not about the Gems or the show lore as “townie” episodes that are just filler or a waste of an episode. This was a very good episode, focusing on Sadie and the Cool Kids and their budding musical career as Sadie Killer & The Suspects. Steven is present in the episode, but kind of takes a backseat, as he is filming the story on Greg’s old camcorder. However, Steven does introduce them to Greg, who agrees to act as their manager, and throws in some money to upgrade their stage show. He also plays their demo to one of his old friends from his music days (played by Joan Jett), who books the band for a show at her club in Empire City, a place where Greg never got to play. Greg even gets Sadie to thaw towards her mother after telling her that his parents never took the slightest interest in his music career (or seemingly anything else about him). More Points: -“G-g-g-host” might even be a better song than “Working Dead” -Considering that all the songs in this show are done in-house by the animation/writing crew, the song quality on this show is amazing. -I don’t know if Rebecca and the Crew planned for Sadie to become a rock star, but it was brilliant casting Kate Micucci, who first came to notice as one half of the musical comedy duo Garfunkel & Oates. -Sadie Killer can draw bigger crowds than Mike Krol! -Mystery Girl is at the concert. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ecks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ecks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ecks)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356/340 "2018-04-23T16:34:33Z")
Just FYI, a series of Steven Universe shorts, “Pensive Moments with Steven Universe” are now available on Youtube- It’s basically Deep Thoughts with Jack Handy, but with Steven. My thoughts on the recent episodes are positive, they continue the theme of change and acceptance as a good thing. I think that Garnet is telling the truth as she understands it, but with the strong possibility that she is wrong. I can imagine a future episode using the same images and a new narration to tell a different story. Something like… “Pink Diamond sent her most trusted quartz to investigate the organic lifeforms. When she reported that they were intelligent, Pink Diamond was shocked and tried to stop the colonization. Yellow and Blue misunderstood their sister’s actions, and send armies to insure it continued. When she couldn’t make them understand, and refused to fight them directly, she conspired with Rose to fake her death.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steven-universe-intriguing-beyond-belief/716356.md?page=18)