"Last One Out of Beach City" was one of the episode titles leaked last year, and was assumed by some to be the title of the season 2 finale. Well, not only did it air long after season 2 ended – its title is also less of a description of the episode's events, and more of a reference to a Less Than Jake song, "Last One Out of Liberty City." While it does not advance the overarching plot, it’s a very fun episode – and at the same time, one of the best Pearl episodes in the show’s history.
"Mr. Greg", the last episode to focus on Pearl, set her on a path of moving on from her grief over Rose Quartz. After Greg has to bail on going to a rock concert with Amethyst, Pearl decides to take his place (with Steven in tow). She’s feeling rebellious, you see – and to show it, she takes on a "new Pearl" attitude. She even takes up drinking (apple juice)! But her new persona comes apart when she starts crushing on a human girl looking almost exactly like Rose.
This is yet another proof that Steven Universe is an amazingly LGBTQIA*-supportive show. Here we have a full 11-minute episode devoted entirely to a growing infatuation a woman feels towards another woman – and it’s shown as matter-of-factly as other series would do with a crush between two people of opposite genders. It’s given full focus, with both Amethyst and Steven encouraging and helping Pearl go with her heart, and who cheer her on after she makes enough of an impression to get a phone number from Mystery Girl (also known as "S.," as the strip of paper indicates).
The episode’s entire plot is a rom-com mainstay. There’s plenty of movies where a boy (it’s generally a boy) becomes infatuated with a girl, tries to impress her by acting "cool," only managing to get a kiss (or a number) after actually being himself around her. Except in this case, it’s two female characters. "Last One Out of Beach City" even uses the required contrived coincidence to make the romantic plot work – the car coincidentally runs out of fuel near the Mike Kroll concert they were going to, and Mystery Girl by sheer chance ends up being there when they arrived. It’s a bit forced, plot-wise, but admittedly very satisfactory.
Let’s hope we get to see more of her and her burgeoning relationship with Pearl sooner rather than later. And perhaps we’ll get to witness more of Greg’s surprisingly awesome car, Dondai Supremo.
In the meantime, we’ve got one more episode, next week’s "Onion Gang." For now it seems like it’s the last episode until the show’s next hiatus, but who knows with Cartoon Network’s release schedule? In any case, I’ll see you then.
Dominik Zine is a nerdy lad from northeastern Poland and is generally found in a comfy chair with a book in hand.
