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Best episode so far for sure… I think these types of protagonists and shows are so well suited for exploring ideas of violence, strength and direction. The therapy for kids and myriad of advice in the show is almost too realistic in the sense that it’s all wrong and confusing. To me it demonstrates the problem for the youth nowadays is the idea that therapy is healthy and for everyone… and that the parents aren’t taking enough responsibility so the kids end up craving discipline and developing performance anxiety. That said, all the characters have integrity in how they are. It’s just all a blur from stevens perspective. Hopefully by the end, Steven gets a clue and is able to grasp why the life he’s in is awesome
this episode put into words to me for why I don’t love Greg as much. He’s a great characters and super funny and silly but he really dropped the ball with Steven when it came to his human half. Just like when Pearl said bad things/treated Greg badly in front of Steven it was wrong and Greg also did certain things that really put a bad taste in my mouth when I first watched the show and now during my entire rewatch. There really is absolutely no excuse for Greg to have not brought Steven to a doctor, get him involved with more kids HIS age (Connie was like his only friend), and heck! Steven didn’t even know was school was (we see that in the first Lapis episode). If he was worried about doctor’s knowing about Gems etc, then he should have been relieved when he found out about Connie’s mom and had Steven brought to her for checkups etc but he didn’t and it kinda blows my mind as an adult!! He could have had Steven put in online classes as a kid or homeschooled him. In my opinion at least the gems have the excuse of being literal aliens (who are mourning their friend/lover/leader of several thousand years) when it comes to them being insensitive and being selfish when it came to Steven, but Greg was his dad!! There’s no reason Steven should have been left alone so often in season 1, like for example how was he stranded on an island for so long without Greg noticing? Or the Together breakfast episode! How was Greg not keeping him company while the gems were gone for days on important missions? Even though he does his best to be there for Steven and his gem heritage etc and does help him a lot in the show, I’m glad this ep came out and addressed some of Greg’s shortcomings/ how it effected Steven.
I love how relatable this show can get. When I grew up I always saw my dad as just that, I didn’t realise that he was a real person until my teenage years. I have unironically felt like Steven in Mr. Universe before, like this ultimate pillar of stability wasn’t all that it seemed when I was a kid.
Now that I’m an adult, I realise that I can’t really fault my dad for that. When I think about all the stories he’s told me over the years of when he was young, I actually began to see myself in him and I’m sure he see’s himself in me the same, watching me grow up. It’s frustrating sometimes, that feeling of getting the rug pulled from under you, but no matter what happens we’re always going to be family. Not just that, but, there’s an added layer of respect there. I personally am not ready for children, but, at some point in his life my dad was. Nobody’s perfect but they do their best, we fight sometimes because of how our opinions and beliefs have deviated (I’m not my dad after all) but in the end I could never see either of us cutting each other off, it’s a different kind of stability that comes with growth. It takes time.
The Steven Universe Movie was going to be released in theaters during the release of Future. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit and it never happened. Turns out they were going to premiere Fragments right after the movie for the fans. I cannot imagine watching the movie and this episode with a room full of fans would have been like.
Fun fact! The idea that anger builds up inside of you and needs to be released in the form of agression is now understood to be a myth by experts. The best thing to do with anger is to rationalize and dissipate it, neither ignoring it nor encouraging it.
Y’all seriously need to watch summer camp island. You guys love ruby then you will love summer camp. The same voice actor is in it and they play a cute wooly mammoth witch. Please just give it a chance when you can.
Seeing the entire reaction series where H-Man has consistently been unforgiving of anything Pearl has done made it more entertaining upon seeing him being so quick to defend Greg’s pitfalls as a parent. Not saying Greg was a bad parent or anything (I love him as a character), but everybody makes mistakes. Greg just allowing the Gems to take over the child-rearing of Steven to where he wasn’t sleeping under the same roof with him… not to mention Steven living in a van with him prior to him moving in with the gems, and not even taking him to school or to the doctor or maybe taking more responsibility to realize a 14-year-old kid maybe shouldn’t be going on life-threatening missions… hell, Steven didn’t even know Greg’s original surname or any of his family members… Hello, stranger… I mean Uncle Andy (to be fair that wasn’t all on Greg as Andy had a role to play in that too)…. Yeah…. Greg’s own personal trauma dealing with overzealous and controlling parents made him go too far in the opposite direction.
I think Boom said it best when he said Greg only offered Steven this image of freedom but he never really gave Steven the full picture to see what freedom was. He only wanted Steven to have what Greg didn’t have, so in a way, the power of Greg’s parents was still dictating how Greg chose to live his life, and ultimately, how he raised Steven.
Further, the episode where Mrs. Maheswaran examined Steven and having her explain repressed trauma and non-stop trauma you condition yourself to survive as a child, and then having Steven describe all the trauma he went through (and hearing the way he described it) and it was so much and all he did was edit the first season… wow. It makes one look at the entire original series in a wholly different light. I love both shows to death, but I just respect the guts Sugar and the rest of the Crewniverse had to make this statement. The entertaining cartoon violence of the series wasn’t actually cartoon violence when it came to Steven… it was real violence.
This season came into at a time in my life where it helped me cope with a whirlwind of changes and I hope it helped alot of people in there late teems to early twenties the same way.
The scene where Steven deletes the photo of greg is by far the darkest moment in the series for me. This is the exact moment when steven becomes disconnected and this is when things become very dangerous. I have a lot of friends who used to be suicidal, and its moments like these, like greg trying to help but just creating distance, that really send you to a dark place.
I freakin’ love the in-depth conversations y’all are getting from this show. I don’t know of any other cartoon that can spark such deep, life-evaluating conversations as this one. Honestly, it’s why I think Future is a more important show than the original, because it discusses topics that need to be discussed, especially for kids and teens.
Boom broke me with that “Blue Cross Blue Diamond” joke.
Mr. Universe…yet another episode that causes a decent amount of the fanbase to annoy me. Way too many people claim that this episode “bastardized Steven’s character” because of him going off on Greg. First, he’s a child who stressing about who he is and is not receiving any of the help he needs. Second, of course he seems like a different character, he’s 16. Nobody is the same between 13 and 16 years old. Third, and arguably most important, is if you genuinely think this ruined his character, you’re basically reaffirming everything he’ll hate about himself in the upcoming episodes, completely flying in the face of the show’s message. That’s my thoughts on it, anyway.
The reaction to the shattering was everything I’d hoped for. Also, I love a piece of art that I found shortly after these episodes came out that had Steven writing, “Dear Diary, this teen angst shit has a body count.”
I really like Steven’s song to Connie, because on the surface it just sounds like a romantic song, but he’s actually singing about how he doesn’t want to exist as himself because he doesn’t know what to do or how to be on his own.
Ruff looking a little…ruff? No but seriously, this show handles some pretty heavy topics in a way that most audiences can understand so I love it for that. Listening to y’all’s experiences helps to understand other perspectives so Thank You.
Re-watching these episodes with someone blind to it is so crazy, just hearing them react in different ways to Steven’s unfortunate descent knowing it’s only going to get worse is crazy
I actually owe a huge part of my trauma recovery to this set of episodes. Not going to detail my stuff, but the end of the Jasper fight unexpectedly triggered a full blown PTSD meltdown and I was able to go get some serious help. I’ve come so far since then. I still haven’t rewatched it since, and I don’t think I should now either but I know where I can pause and skip. Excited for the finale!!
Sapphire’s calculation speech is the closest she comes to sounding like the character her voice actor played on the magic schoolbus. I half expected her to say “Let’s look at the facts!” instead of “let’s run the numbers.”
Best episode so far for sure… I think these types of protagonists and shows are so well suited for exploring ideas of violence, strength and direction. The therapy for kids and myriad of advice in the show is almost too realistic in the sense that it’s all wrong and confusing. To me it demonstrates the problem for the youth nowadays is the idea that therapy is healthy and for everyone… and that the parents aren’t taking enough responsibility so the kids end up craving discipline and developing performance anxiety. That said, all the characters have integrity in how they are. It’s just all a blur from stevens perspective. Hopefully by the end, Steven gets a clue and is able to grasp why the life he’s in is awesome
this episode put into words to me for why I don’t love Greg as much. He’s a great characters and super funny and silly but he really dropped the ball with Steven when it came to his human half. Just like when Pearl said bad things/treated Greg badly in front of Steven it was wrong and Greg also did certain things that really put a bad taste in my mouth when I first watched the show and now during my entire rewatch. There really is absolutely no excuse for Greg to have not brought Steven to a doctor, get him involved with more kids HIS age (Connie was like his only friend), and heck! Steven didn’t even know was school was (we see that in the first Lapis episode). If he was worried about doctor’s knowing about Gems etc, then he should have been relieved when he found out about Connie’s mom and had Steven brought to her for checkups etc but he didn’t and it kinda blows my mind as an adult!! He could have had Steven put in online classes as a kid or homeschooled him. In my opinion at least the gems have the excuse of being literal aliens (who are mourning their friend/lover/leader of several thousand years) when it comes to them being insensitive and being selfish when it came to Steven, but Greg was his dad!! There’s no reason Steven should have been left alone so often in season 1, like for example how was he stranded on an island for so long without Greg noticing? Or the Together breakfast episode! How was Greg not keeping him company while the gems were gone for days on important missions? Even though he does his best to be there for Steven and his gem heritage etc and does help him a lot in the show, I’m glad this ep came out and addressed some of Greg’s shortcomings/ how it effected Steven.
Gem puberty is a bitch
I love how relatable this show can get. When I grew up I always saw my dad as just that, I didn’t realise that he was a real person until my teenage years. I have unironically felt like Steven in Mr. Universe before, like this ultimate pillar of stability wasn’t all that it seemed when I was a kid.
Now that I’m an adult, I realise that I can’t really fault my dad for that. When I think about all the stories he’s told me over the years of when he was young, I actually began to see myself in him and I’m sure he see’s himself in me the same, watching me grow up. It’s frustrating sometimes, that feeling of getting the rug pulled from under you, but no matter what happens we’re always going to be family. Not just that, but, there’s an added layer of respect there. I personally am not ready for children, but, at some point in his life my dad was. Nobody’s perfect but they do their best, we fight sometimes because of how our opinions and beliefs have deviated (I’m not my dad after all) but in the end I could never see either of us cutting each other off, it’s a different kind of stability that comes with growth. It takes time.
The Steven Universe Movie was going to be released in theaters during the release of Future. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit and it never happened. Turns out they were going to premiere Fragments right after the movie for the fans. I cannot imagine watching the movie and this episode with a room full of fans would have been like.
Fun fact! The idea that anger builds up inside of you and needs to be released in the form of agression is now understood to be a myth by experts. The best thing to do with anger is to rationalize and dissipate it, neither ignoring it nor encouraging it.
“Imagine Steven goes into his villain era”
Me: *laughs nervously* yeaaaahhhh
I think these episodes slowly prove that at the end of the day, Steven is becoming worse than Rose was. At least in my eyes.
Omg these episodes. ?
Y’all seriously need to watch summer camp island. You guys love ruby then you will love summer camp. The same voice actor is in it and they play a cute wooly mammoth witch. Please just give it a chance when you can.
Boom, your Blue Cross Blue Shield joke made me spit my drink ??? that was such a great joke, and perfect timing ???
Seeing the entire reaction series where H-Man has consistently been unforgiving of anything Pearl has done made it more entertaining upon seeing him being so quick to defend Greg’s pitfalls as a parent. Not saying Greg was a bad parent or anything (I love him as a character), but everybody makes mistakes. Greg just allowing the Gems to take over the child-rearing of Steven to where he wasn’t sleeping under the same roof with him… not to mention Steven living in a van with him prior to him moving in with the gems, and not even taking him to school or to the doctor or maybe taking more responsibility to realize a 14-year-old kid maybe shouldn’t be going on life-threatening missions… hell, Steven didn’t even know Greg’s original surname or any of his family members… Hello, stranger… I mean Uncle Andy (to be fair that wasn’t all on Greg as Andy had a role to play in that too)…. Yeah…. Greg’s own personal trauma dealing with overzealous and controlling parents made him go too far in the opposite direction.
I think Boom said it best when he said Greg only offered Steven this image of freedom but he never really gave Steven the full picture to see what freedom was. He only wanted Steven to have what Greg didn’t have, so in a way, the power of Greg’s parents was still dictating how Greg chose to live his life, and ultimately, how he raised Steven.
Further, the episode where Mrs. Maheswaran examined Steven and having her explain repressed trauma and non-stop trauma you condition yourself to survive as a child, and then having Steven describe all the trauma he went through (and hearing the way he described it) and it was so much and all he did was edit the first season… wow. It makes one look at the entire original series in a wholly different light. I love both shows to death, but I just respect the guts Sugar and the rest of the Crewniverse had to make this statement. The entertaining cartoon violence of the series wasn’t actually cartoon violence when it came to Steven… it was real violence.
This season came into at a time in my life where it helped me cope with a whirlwind of changes and I hope it helped alot of people in there late teems to early twenties the same way.
On that note hehe Greg had braces.
The scene where Steven deletes the photo of greg is by far the darkest moment in the series for me. This is the exact moment when steven becomes disconnected and this is when things become very dangerous. I have a lot of friends who used to be suicidal, and its moments like these, like greg trying to help but just creating distance, that really send you to a dark place.
also just stating the obvious, greg is a terrible father. Idc if hes fun, he is not a friend he is a dad.
the way this show explains and shows PTSD is so painfully realistic. I just want to give Steven a hug 🙁
I love this series because it’s like
Season 1: Steven learns to summon his shield by eating his favourite ice cream!
Future: Steven commits murder.
I freakin’ love the in-depth conversations y’all are getting from this show. I don’t know of any other cartoon that can spark such deep, life-evaluating conversations as this one. Honestly, it’s why I think Future is a more important show than the original, because it discusses topics that need to be discussed, especially for kids and teens.
Boom broke me with that “Blue Cross Blue Diamond” joke.
Mr. Universe…yet another episode that causes a decent amount of the fanbase to annoy me. Way too many people claim that this episode “bastardized Steven’s character” because of him going off on Greg. First, he’s a child who stressing about who he is and is not receiving any of the help he needs. Second, of course he seems like a different character, he’s 16. Nobody is the same between 13 and 16 years old. Third, and arguably most important, is if you genuinely think this ruined his character, you’re basically reaffirming everything he’ll hate about himself in the upcoming episodes, completely flying in the face of the show’s message. That’s my thoughts on it, anyway.
The reaction to the shattering was everything I’d hoped for. Also, I love a piece of art that I found shortly after these episodes came out that had Steven writing, “Dear Diary, this teen angst shit has a body count.”
H-Man defending all things Greg like it’s his life haha.
I really like Steven’s song to Connie, because on the surface it just sounds like a romantic song, but he’s actually singing about how he doesn’t want to exist as himself because he doesn’t know what to do or how to be on his own.
Exactly, it could’ve just been a very sweet romantic date if he’d stopped right there
Ruff looking a little…ruff? No but seriously, this show handles some pretty heavy topics in a way that most audiences can understand so I love it for that. Listening to y’all’s experiences helps to understand other perspectives so Thank You.
Re-watching these episodes with someone blind to it is so crazy, just hearing them react in different ways to Steven’s unfortunate descent knowing it’s only going to get worse is crazy
This so always gave me anime vibes so the fight at the end doesn’t seem all that weird to me
*show*
I actually owe a huge part of my trauma recovery to this set of episodes. Not going to detail my stuff, but the end of the Jasper fight unexpectedly triggered a full blown PTSD meltdown and I was able to go get some serious help. I’ve come so far since then. I still haven’t rewatched it since, and I don’t think I should now either but I know where I can pause and skip. Excited for the finale!!
I love how Garnet basically says that Steven proposing is a canon event. Predating the meme lol
Don’t forget Jasper is a perfect gem so she’s not average for gems, she for sure could shatter someone.
She very nearly shattered Amethyst in her hand, and would have, if Stevonnie hadn’t interrupted her.
Sapphire’s calculation speech is the closest she comes to sounding like the character her voice actor played on the magic schoolbus. I half expected her to say “Let’s look at the facts!” instead of “let’s run the numbers.”
I think I cried more to you guys tearing up over this finale than I did the first time. Thanks so much for bringing me back to this show ?
“I trust in Ruby.” Lmaoooo