One thing I noticed was that we see a Lapis silhouette on/in the sky arena when the Rubys are escorting Sapphire. That seems to kill the Lapis is Blue Diamond theory I’ve seen kicked around.
Last night’s episode was interesting.
Steven is 14 but stuck in the body of a nine year old. He can shape-shift kinda but it’s a terrible strain on him. I was actually hoping the teen-Steven would be permanent since the show is getting a lot more mature.
When he was baby Steven in the car, I noted the car seat and since they have established Greg as kind of a hoarder I assumed “Eh, he just never took it out of the van.” The Amethyst reveal cracked me up.
And after two eps that significantly deepen our appreciation for major characters*, one that both moves the relationships dynamics and the arc along some.
My guess about the last bit is that Peridot is NOT planning to use that pilfered diamond against them, as we are set up to believe, although she will be accused of such, but to help their cause.
But we will see.
*I particular was struck by Steven’s expressing his upset over Connie growing up while he stays prepubescent in terms of what if she becomes President … and if he’d have to be first boy. They have fused, an experience that this show has set up to be the ultimate in intimacy … neither is chomping at the bits to become physically intimate but both clearly imagine themselves as a forever couple. His potentially staying the same boy, as she matures into a woman and then ages … is scary for both of them. I was less impressed with night one: it made their love seem more trivial to me. An accidental fusion and it’s deep and forever love? If there is to be a backstory I’d like to see a relationship develop and grow, not emerge fully formed from unintended intimacy.
This was quite a week of episodes for Steven Universe, with a ton of significant info and reveals about gem society and the gem homeworld. The cluster storyline is still unresolved, although the team has taken a few steps closer towards enacting their plan.
Of course, the big spoiler for this Stevenbomb is Peridot officially joins the Crystal Gems! It’s kind of cute how she wonders if she has to wear a star and where she is going to put it.
Notable moments from the Stevenbomb:
-We finally meet Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond. Their huge sizes, combined with whatwe learn about the diamonds’ role, should put an end to speculation about already existing characters (Lapis, Rose) being diamonds.
-Pearl’s an absolutely vicious two-sword fighter. She wasn’t boasting in “On the Run” when she said that Amethyst had no chance of beating her.
-Ruby’s awkwardness around Sapphire is adorkable. Sapphire’s probably the first non-Ruby gem to ever be kind or considerate to her.
-Rose Quartz telling Garnet “Welcome to Earth” when she is befuddled by her new circumstances. An exact parallel to Garnet saying it to Peridot in “Back to the Barn”
-Yellow Pearl’s facial expressions while Peridot is talking to Yellow Diamond.
-On the other hand, Blue Pearl present more as someone trapped in an abusive relationship.
-Steven is 14? He doesn’t look it and now we know why…
-The Maheshwarens are all about safety. They even have their own defibrillator…
-Was that a Cookie Cat cookie cake?
-Car-seat Amethyst was certainly disconcerting.
-Hey, Steven! When Amethyst, of all gems, warns you that you are doing something dangerous, you should listen.
-The map on the moonbase shows an Earth very different from ours…
-Peridot is, indeed, a massive nerd.
There is a nice little Witness reference when Garnet invites Peridot to dance/fuse. She picks the same song that Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis dance to in their barn scene. Harrison’s big city detective is even on a similar journey to Peridot, in living with and learning about an unfamiliar culture.
I really liked this sequence, and was impressed at how well the arc fit together. When Periodot makes her choice, it seemed abrupt to me at first. Then, Log date 7 15 2 made everything make sense- and brought things back to Garnet’s story in The Answer. No wonder the Diamonds hate Earth, it must seem like everyone sent there goes crazy. The place breeds rebellion.
“Terrifying renegade Pearl”
I am so looking forward to seeing where the show goes.
Still no word on when new episodes will start again, but there are two official (at least Cartoon Network UK official) preview clips up with about four minutes of footage that you can see HERE
The clips have major spoilers.
[spoiler] The first clip features a fusion smackdown battle: Malachite vs Alexandrite. Plus, the Lost Tribe of Watermelon Stevens.
The second clip features Steven, Peridot, and Lapis Lazuli being pursued by a Hunter Eye. Peridot learns why it’s a good idea to stay on Lapis’ good side. [/spoiler]
Cartoon Network has decided that “Log Date 7.5.12” was the Season 2 finale. Season 3 will start on June and then Steven Universe will run weekly throughout the summer. Also, Steven Universe has been renewed through season five. However, the remaining seasons will be short seasons (26 episodes compared to to the 52 of season 1).
Roommate has been watching it and I’ve been exposed by osmosis. I kinda like the Gems and the implied back story, but Steven is a whiny, annoying idiot. He makes Morty (of Rick and Morty) look competent and stable. Very frustrating that the show would be so much more watchable for me without the main character!
If I had started watching the show from the beginning, I might have felt the same way, as Steven’s irresponsible goofball schtick was pretty grating in the early episodes. However, this is a show that’s all about character development and Steven’s had development in spades. There are no longer any episodes built around problems caused by Steven goofing off on missions or by Steven misusing gem tech.
Zach Callison’s voice didn’t change until partway through recording the current episodes. Depending on how far you’ve watched, you might not even be far enough to hear him having to pitch his voice up to remain semi-consistent. With Steven’s recent birthday, we can only hope that someday his voice will drop.
Different but still SU related topic: On the “not officially released until tomorrow so you can’t have it yet” shelf at my local comic book store today (4/5) there was a new SU comic I’ve got to get- Steven Universe Too Cool for School. It’ll be interesting to see how public schooling plays out for Steven.
Now that Steven Universe is on a few-month hiatus, it seems there’s nothing to do than come up with fan theories about what’s going to happen in the show and the nature of the gems. The latest Stevenbomb seems to have put a stake in several fan theories that had been bouncing around (e.g The Diamonds are fusions, Rose Quartz is/was Pink Diamond), but there were still plenty floating around. Two pretty new ones that don’t fly with me are…
Pearl Belonged to White Diamond: I find this based on very thin grounds (both Pearl and White Diamond have there gems located in their foreheads) and overly complicated. Occam’s Razor would dictate that our Pearl belonged to Rose Quartz (perhaps gifted by Pink Dimaond?), who was certainly a high-ranking enough gem to have a Pearl.
Jasper Will Join the Crystal Gems: She’s just too axe crazy for me to see this one as viable. I can certainly seeing her do something rash and ending up on the outs with Homeworld, but that wouldn’t necessarily put her on the Crystal Gems’s side.
Anyone have any Steven Universe speculation of their own? I’ve got two theories of my own…They might very well have been proposed out there in the fandom, but I haven’t seen them.
Pink Diamond is broken, and Lion is a shard of Pink Diamond.
Why I think this? Older gem structures build before the rebellion have the diamond insignia with four diamonds. Newer structures have a triangle pattern made up of three diamonds. We know Yellow Diamond is still around in modern times. The missing diamond could be Blue or White Diamond, but I’m thinking it’s Pink Diamond that is the missing Diamond. I’ve always assumed that Rose Quartz was linked to Pink Diamond. Did the other Diamonds punish her for her protege’s rebellion?
In any event, Lion is obviously not a terrestrial lion. We haven’t seen any sign of a gem shard on Lion, but one could be hidden under the mane. We’ve seem a lot of gem-shard monsters mimic earth animal forms (i.e centipeetle, giant blowfish, etc) and have powers (acid spit, super wind-breath, etc), so a lion with a teleportation roar would fit the pattern. Granted lion is a lot less monstrous and a lot more intelligent than the shard monsters the Crystal Gems fight, but I figure a Diamond shard would be exceptional.
Each Diamond has a sphere of influence in the Gem Empire that they rule over or have responsibility for. I’m sure there is a good deal of overlap, as each Diamond would have their own soldiers, technicians, so on. Yellow Diamond, “the best, most logical decider in the known universe”. would be in charge of logistics and management for the empire, and possibly scientific research. Blue Diamond is in charge of exploration and colonization. She was the first one sent to deal with the rebellion because as a new colony, Earth was her responsibility. Lapis Lazuli, with her powers of unaided interstellar flight and planetary-scale hydrokinesis, is a natural for Blue Diamond’s sphere. One of the murals presumably showed Rose Quartz battling White Diamond, which probably means that Blue Diamond failed and White Diamond was called in, implying that White Diamond is likely in charge of the Empire’s Security and enforcing orthodoxy. I have no idea what Pink Diamond could have been in charge of . Did the other Diamonds divvy up her domain amongst themselves or just leave it by the wayside?
Cartoon Network has apparently decided to bump up the schedule. Now they are advertising a four week Steven Universe event called “In Too Deep” starting on May 12.
My daughters are fans, and they tried to draw me in with Pokemon, Adventure Time, Gravity Falls, MLP-FIM, and a dozen others (they aren’t young, but one just put a Steven Universe sticker on her Jeep), but they never clicked. I’m a bit tired of trying to relate to them, and will stay inexperienced. Sorry.
