Critical Hits & Misses #191

• Over at the Lady Geek Girl blog, there is a pretty good discussion about how we need optimism in our escapism these days, and how Steven Universe and Overwatch both fulfill that role in their respective genres.


• And Charlotte Loftus at Bitch Magazine analyzes the use of disabilities in fiction, and in sci-fi and fantasy in particular, and maps all the various tropes that tend to come with characters and disabilities.

For today's musical hit, we have Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas, and "Run Too Far"

Today's critical rolls: what other optimistic escapism is out there these days that you like, in any genre or medium?


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #180

• Last Sunday was Easter, and even if you're not a person of faith, Patheos has a blog post worth reading, for those of us who care about feminist issues. It has to do with Mary Magdalene, the Biblical figure and follower of Christ, and how she has been wrongly maligned as a prostitute for a long time. Turns out that theologians are trying to right the narrative, and prove that Mary Magdalene has simply been reduced to her sexuality... a story that modern women are familiar with. A fascinating and rather academic read that's well worth checking out. 


• In case you hadn't heard, Fox blowhard Bill O'Reilly is facing the music these days, after several women have accused him of sexual harassment. After tons of advertisers pulled out of supporting his show, O'Reilly has gone on a "two week vacation," although some folks in the know think he won't ever be coming back to Fox. The New York Times has an excellent article on O'Reilly, and how his behavior drove away Megyn Kelly, another former superstar at Fox who is now at NBC. 


• Everything is awesome (sometimes): Steven Universe is getting its first soundtrack album!

For today's musical hit, the super cute dodie and this homemade but adorable video for "you"

Today's critical rolls: Happy Hump Day! How was the week been for you so far?


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #179

Photo credit: Geeks of Color

• Are you tired of white people trotting our black Nick Fury, or black Heimdall, or black insert-this-character-here, as a response when you point out the bullshit whitewashing that goes on constantly in Hollywood (hello Ghost in the Shell)? Well Geeks of Color has written a great post on the differences between whitewashing and racebending, and it's worth a word. 


• For this week's feminist indie artist, we direct your attention to this New York Times interview of Diet Cig and her "peppy feminist pop-punk." 


• Pretty Little Liars’ last season premieres this week. Over on Autostraddle, Heather Hogan takes a critical feminist look at the show and its development over time, posing one question for the final season: "Will an adult man be forced to take responsibility for literally anything?"

For today's musical hit, we have Diet Cig and "Tummy Ache"

Today's critical rolls: I've asked about racebending before, but it's worth revisiting. What kinds of characters/stories do you want to see racebent?


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Steven Universe Recap - S04E11-15

Before we start, I'd like to take a moment and applaud the sheer level of incompetence displayed by Cartoon Network. Accidentally releasing a spoiler-filled promo or airing two episodes in other countries before their US release date is one thing, of that kind best described as "shit happens." But leaking the entire five episode event marking Steven Universe's 2017 return is reaching never before seen heights of idiocy. I swear, if I didn't see a member of the Trump's cabinet accidentally tweet not one, but two confidential passwords, I'd probably start to find the "CN wants to cancel Steven Universe to make space for stuff like Teen Titans Go" more plausible. Just... stop screwing up, Cartoon Network. Jesus.

And now we bring you your usual Steven Universe recap.

(Spoilers beyond this point.)

Plagued by weird dreams of a pink palanquin, Steven is anxious to find out answers about Pink Diamond (allegedly killed by his mother), but is unable to break the Crystal Gems' silence. Eventually he comes to blows with Garnet and ends up recruiting help from Greg in order to get to Korea. That's where the pink palanquin from his dreams, according to Buddy's journal, was when we first saw it, and is located. And that's where we meet Blue Diamond.

Voiced by an Irish singer/songwriter/musician Lisa Hannigan, Blue has been in mourning over Pink Diamond since her death, millennia ago. The two were definitely in a very close relationship, so she devoted a lot of care to securing everything connected to Pink. And that's why Steven and Greg find her near the palanquin, crying over the near destruction of Earth (unaware that the Cluster is contained and nothing is being blown up). It's unclear if she and Pink Diamond were closer to each other than the other Diamonds. On the surface level, Yellow (who returns towards the end of this set of episodes) seems more collected. But the end of her song "What's the Use of Feeling" reveals her calm is only surface-deep. In the final verses, that veneer cracks, giving a glimpse of grief likely as deep as Blue's. That puts her determination for Earth to be destroyed in Cluster's "birth" in a different perspective; at first, it seemed like she was a conquer bent on destroying the place she was defeated at. Now, it seems like someone in mourning, who wants nothing to do with anything connected to their deceased loved one and especially with the place they died.

(It also suggests the Diamonds might be in a polyamorous relationship, but this will have to wait until White Diamond finally appears.)

Out of grief, Yellow wants Earth destroyed, and Blue wants to preserve as much as she can before the planet is destroyed. So when she accidentally meets Greg, who empathizes with her feelings, she kidnaps him, to save the (as she assumes) only human capable of understanding her from the literal earth-shattering event.

Terrified Steven runs back to the Crystal Gems and together they travel by Ruby ship to Blue Diamond's destination, the Zoo. This place is a deep-space structure, resembling a space station, where Pink Diamond kept humans that caught her eye. What follows is a fun, science-fiction adventure that reveals not only the Diamonds' depths, but also what happened to Quartz soldiers from Earth Kindergartens, other than Jasper and our Amethyst. Basically, Blue took them under her wing and put them on guard duty in the Zoo; an equivalent to putting your deceased loved one's things and putting them in one spot, a shrine devoted to their memory. Unfortunately for them, she put one of her entourage, Holly Blue Agate (voiced by Christine Pedi), in charge, who is an overbearing, bureaucratic dictator.

The payoff of that reveal comes when Steven helps Greg out of the enclosure where descendants of Pink Diamond's pet humans live in ignorant bliss. To infiltrate the Zoo, the Gems have to pretend to be a part of Blue Diamond's court, with Amethyst shape-shifted into a body resembling what her full-grown form would look like. She's eventually found out by other Quartzes, but not, as you might suspect, brought to the Zoo's overseer. The Amethysts from Prime Kindergarten and Jaspers from Beta Kindergarten are overjoyed to find a sister they never knew existed, and our Amethyst has a family, people who are just like her.

After the daring rescue that the Quartzes do absolutely nothing about (instead excited to see Holly beaten), the Gems return home. The mystery of Pink Diamond's death remains unsolved for now, and Yellow Diamond is definitely working on something involving Earth. But for now, all is well.

On a more technical side, this was the most well-crafted of Stevenbombs. Those five episode events are done when Cartoon Network feels like it, as opposed to when it makes the most sense plot-wise. That's why only two of them thus far formed any sort of arc—the first and season finales. And even then their opening episodes were unrelated to the rest of the bunch, and the first one only worked by pushing a couple of episodes into season 2. The other either had a very loose structure (the Sardonyx one) or were five unconnected episodes, loosely put together. This, on the other hand, was a very clear story arc, with a five part structure, an opening and an end. This suggests the Crewniverse and CN were more closely working together, which led to a positive outcome. Hopefully future events will be crafted as well.

But for now, we're finally back to weekly releases, at least for a while. We're starting with the episode showing the effects of Connie, Lapis and Peridot taking on the role of defenders of Earth in the main group's absence. I'll see you then.

Dominik Zine is a nerdy demisexual lad from northeastern Poland and is generally found in a comfy chair with a book in hand.

Steven Universe Recap - S04E08-10 - "Gem Harvest" + "Three Gems and a Baby"

I may be late, but ain't nothing gonna stop me from covering Steven Universe episodes. Thus, we're going to go over last year's final two episodes, before the show's (probably) temporary return on January 30.

(Spoilers beyond this point.)

S04E08-09 - Gem Harvest

Ones of the reasons I was late in reviewing this episode (which affected the following one) was uncertainty in how to cover it. When it comes down to it, it's a regular Steven Universe story, only twice the usual length. Peridot and Lapis are living the dream in the barn, and are even trying their hand at farming (which may or may not be a jab at last summer's ridiculous "lesbian farmers" incident). Their shenanigans are interrupted by the arrival of an interloper: Andy DeMayo, Greg's cousin and Steven's uncle. The barn turns out to be DeMayo family property that Greg just decided to allow the Gems to use (speaking of which—not cool, Greg). Andy is understandably pissed, especially since Greg pretty much cut ties with him and the rest of the family. It's up to Steven and the Crystal Gems to win him over.

The reason I struggled to tackle "Gem Harvest" has little to do with the actual episode, and more with its timing. The general plot is not out of the ordinary for the show—reaching out to someone, finding out what ails them and helping them through it; if not entirely fixing it, then at least making it more bearable for a while. The reason Andy lashes out at Greg and the Gems isn't the barn: it's his inability to deal with change in familial relations (and in general) and abandonment issues. Nothing out of the ordinary for the show, or any other seasonal special.

But boy, did it come out at the wrong time. By which I mean—right after that election. I'm actually curious how the show's target audience reacted to the episode, because I and a few others whose thoughts I read did not take it well. Andy's rants against aliens (a term used against immigrants and their children), Greg not being married and other complaints; we've had the displeasure of witnessing similar for most of the year. And that made empathy towards him all the harder, even though he was right to feel the way he did.

In time, I'm certain "Gem Harvest" will be looked upon as a regular Steven Universe episode, and will be all the better for it. There's a lot to like about it: the animation is as good as usual, there are a number of great moments (for instance Pearl's "let's all marry each other" and the Gems' table conversation). There are also a few details from Greg's history, like his last name (Universe did sound a little too cool for a real name). It's already more tolerable just a couple of months after its release, but we could use a little more time.

S04E10 - Three Gems and a Baby

This one, on the other hand, is pretty un-problematic: another one of Greg's "once per season" stories from before the start of the show. This time, we get a tale from Steven's infancy and the Gems' early attempts at understanding him.

This is a very Gem-focused episode, as all three are still dealing with the idea of Rose’s passing and Steven’s birth, and they all process it in different ways. Amethyst has trouble differentiating the two and most of the time still calls him “Rose,” needing to be reminded by Garnet that those are two different individuals. And when Steven’s gem begins to glow, she assumes he really is Rose still, only for some reason still shapeshifting as a baby.

Pearl is still grieving for her lost heart (obviously) and takes the same occurrence as a sign Rose is trapped in the baby and wants to get out. And as a result (in what seems to be the start of a streak of Pearl willing to go to extremes to achieve something she feels has to happen), she’s seriously pondering killing him to free her love—only barely stopping out of respect for Rose’s dying wish.

Garnet seemingly takes it best, trusting in her future vision, but while she gets the closest by assuming Steven’s a fusion (because he is in a small way), even she only barely starts grasping the idea of him as an individual. She’s in a better place than the other two, though. In the end, it’s a fun, if occasionally dark, blast from the past, showing us how Gems—as completely alien beings—started grasping how to treat and understand Steven.

And that's it for now. We'll be back in early February to cover the new Stevenbomb: five episodes spread across four days (January 30 will have 2 episodes). After that, who knows? Maybe we'll get another Summer of Steven in 2017? In any case, I'll see you then.

Dominik Zine is a nerdy demisexual lad from northeastern Poland and is generally found in a comfy chair with a book in hand.

Steven Universe Recap - S04E07 - "Onion Gang"

One of the show’s longest running gags was Onion’s criminal career and his growing reign of terror. This episode, thematically following up from season two’s "Onion Friend," seemingly puts an end to it and shows the child underneath all the wanton mayhem and quiet strangeness.

We open up with Steven spending time with Onion, having fun together (...okay, only Onion seems to be having fun). Steven is under the impression that he’s the only person who’ll spend time with the little fellow. But, as he discovers the very next day, he couldn’t be more wrong, as Onion takes him with a whole group of friends. Those are Garbonzo and his little sister Pinto, Squash and the protagonist of Undertale lookalike, Soup.

(On a side note, Soup’s choice of accessories wouldn’t look out of place with the game's choice of armor and weaponry.)

All four of Onion’s gang share his odd and harmless sense of fun, which  – as usual – makes Steven confused and uncomfortable. His breaking point comes when, after a bug race, he’s asked to smash the winning insect. Steven has always been a friend to all living things, and his recent near-death experiences would only increase his unwillingness to do pointless harm unto others.

It's worth pointing out how perceptive Onion has become of whenever Steven gets uncomfortable with the group’s antics. He may not know the cause of Steven’s outburst, but he’s able to recognize there’s something going on and tries to mend fences. The boy has grown since "Onion Friend."

The entire event makes Steven leave the group and look for other people to hang out with, only to learn that, contrary to what he previously thought, he’s the boy without anyone to hang with, not Onion. Which... honestly, only works in an episode featuring none of the Gems, like this one. Sure, there aren't many kids in Beach City that are Steven's age, but when both Connie and Peedee are busy with their own things, he still has his Gem friends to spend time with, particularly Amethyst and Peridot.

In any case, Steven starts sulking, and only snaps out of it when Onion makes him visit the forest meeting spot again. As it turns out, the four kids were only in Beach City for the summer and with the end of holidays, they all have to go back home. United in their shared relative loneliness, Steven and Onion end up bonding and become closer friends.

And that’s the last episode for now. After about two months of new Steven Universe almost every day, we’re back to a hiatus of indeterminate length. And I wouldn't put it past Cartoon Network to withhold release until 2017. In the meantime, we've got a new animated show returning - Star Wars Rebels, which I’ll be recapping for you, starting next week. I’ll see you then, and whenever SU returns.

Dominik Zine is a nerdy lad from northeastern Poland and is generally found in a comfy chair with a book in hand.

Steven Universe Recap - S04E06 - "Last One Out of Beach City"

"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.

Steven Universe Recap - S04E05 - "Future Boy Zoltron"

Contrary to my worries, the latest installment was in fact a breather episode – with a touch of potential foreshadowing hidden between the lines. And boy, did we need it after Mindful Education.

The title – which, per the show’s custom, has nothing to do with the episode’s plot – comes from two anime titles. One of them is Voltron (the anime, not the 2016 Netflix show) and the other, one of Rebecca Sugar’s primary influences on SU – Future Boy Conan, a post-apocalyptic story Hayao Miyazaki worked on. The title also references the 1988 movie Big, where a fortune-telling machine called Zoltar Speaks grants the main character's wish to be "big," by aging him from a kid to a 30-year old man.

(The rest of Sugar's self-professed influences, in case you’re wondering, were Revolutionary Girl Utena – obviously – and The Simpsons.)

The last one is the most plot-relevant influence, because the titular Zoltron is an old fortune-telling robot that Mr. Smiley bought years ago and decided to put to use again. After Steven tries it out and accidentally breaks it, he ends up taking its place to repay Mr. Smiley. He forgets that he could avoid this by using his healing saliva, but whatever.

At first, these circumstances allow for Steven to regain his confidence by making everyone’s day brighter. For the last stretch of episodes, Steven was unable to talk down any of his opponents, and even the Beach City episodes have often shown Steven choose his strategy wrong in dealing with the residents’ drama.  And then he meets Mr. Frowney – Mr. Smiley’s old comedic partner. And we finally learn what’s hidden under Mr. Smiley’s constantly-smiling face.

The buildup to the meeting between the two men takes up most of the episode. The writing is verisimilar enough: we don’t get a lot of backstory between them – only as much as they would naturally reveal to a bystander. It works, especially thanks to the voice actors, who manage to infuse unspoken history shared by the two characters. While we don’t learn the specifics of their relationship (though I’d like to point out that the dialogue along these lines is commonly used in romantic comedies) we can sense that their history reaches far into the past, and that it is fraught with melancholy. In the end, with Steven’s nudging – helped by the temporary gift of Future Vision thanks to Garnet – the two men reconcile and part on good terms.

And now, the promised hidden foreshadowing. Remember the lucky numbers Zoltron – and later Steven – repeats? "16 47 N W”? They’re coordinates – and while in the real world they’re in the middle of the sea, in the show’s world they’re one of the Gem locations on the map from Buddy’s Book. And if they don’t end up leading to Blue Diamond’s palanquin, I’ll eat my hat.

Next week, Steven, Pearl and Amethyst go to a rock concert. 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.

Steven Universe Recap - S04E04 - "Mindful Education"

After everything that’s happened in the final stretch of season 3 episodes, you might think there would be some effect on Steven’s psyche. You’d be very correct, and this is where Mindful Education delves. Also – Estelle sings.

But before we get to both main items, a little setup. This is the first time Steven and Connie are training as Stevonnie, and Garnet–always excited by fusion–sits in to cheer. She ends up taking on the role of a teacher however, after Stevonnie unfuses. The reason for that is an incident earlier in the day when, after a fellow student accidentally bumped into her, Connie's Pearl-honed instincts took over and she accidentally hurt him. During training, she ends up being triggered and breaks apart from Steven–and so does Stevonnie.

Luckily, there’s Garnet, who along with being the show’s personification of a lesbian relationship, also personifies a healthy relationship. Being thousands of years old, she had enough time for Ruby and Sapphire to find out the best way for the two of them to live with each other. And, considering during the show’s run there was only one instance of Garnet unfusing over a disagreement (in Keystone Motel), she is the perfect teacher for Stevonnie. And she does it through a song, which later turns into a duet with her pupil.

Here Comes a Thought was written by Rebecca Sugar as a personal song, previously unrelated to the show. It describes the therapeutic process of dealing with intrusive thoughts, like anxiety or depression, called the mindfulness meditation (hence the title). Its focus is placed on negative thoughts, becoming aware of them and dealing with them, as opposed to ignoring or being consumed by them. It’s presented with the example of Ruby and Sapphire.

Ruby is the more open of the two, so when she has an intrusive thought (represented by a butterfly), she deals with it immediately and head-on–but she also gives it her full attention, ignoring her partner. Sapphire, meanwhile, ignores them–with catastrophic effects, as the negative thoughts cumulate. The butterflies turn into a swarm, which in turn becomes a maelstrom that threatens to consume everything. In the same way a small problem, if ignored, can become much greater, seemingly all-consuming. But by supporting each other and being open about their worries, the two Gems are able to counter their effects and remain a single whole. They’re able to put their problems in perspective–and solve them. Conversely, if either of them would leave their anxieties unaddressed, the effect would have negative repercutions on their relationship–and, in the show’s world, their fusion. Fusions are, in Pearl’s words, "the ultimate connection"–and have for a long time been the show’s metaphor for a relationship.

Mindfulness doesn’t stop the intrusive thoughts, but it helps to calm down and look at them from a more logical and less anxious perspective. The repetition of "It’s okay" in the lyrics mimics reassurances one is told (or tells themselves) during an anxiety attack. One can not remain happy all the time–it’s okay to feel bad. It’s the only way you’ll be able to confront your own fears and grow.

With that advice, Connie is able to address her problem–but the next day, it’s Steven’s worries that drown their fusion.

For the last huge number of episodes, Steven has faced death on multiple occasions, from people he was unable to reach by words and talk down. Bismuth, Jasper, Eyeball the Ruby–he had to hurt all three of them (and in Eyeball’s case, leave to certain death) to save his own life. And even that pales in comparison to his Rose Quartz issues, his constant anxiety at not measuring up to his mother. On the outside he’s his old optimistic self–but on the inside he’s barely holding together.

All of that causes Stevonnie to accidentally fall from the edge of the ruins–and unfuse on the way down. Only when Connie repeats Garnet’s mindful advice is he able to reconnect with her and fuse once more, saving their lives with his floating ability. Those issues will remain, lingering in the back of his mind, but with Connie and the Gems’ help, he’ll be able to hold them at bay.

To end on a different note, the episode was storyboarded, alongside Crewniverse regulars Jeff Liu and Colin Howard, by Takafumi Hori, Studio Trigger’s animation director. You may know his work from Kill la Kill. He storyboarded the episode’s dream sequences during Here Comes a Thought and Stevonnie’s anxiety attacks, and the effect is stunning, with fluid animation. It's a sight to behold.

Next time, Steven plays fortune teller at Funland. It could be a lighthearted episode, but who knows at this point. Afterwards, we’ll be back for at least two more weeks, with the second one featuring two episodes. After that–who knows? In any case, I’ll see you at Future Boy Zoltron.

Dominik Zine is a nerdy lad from northeastern Poland and is generally found in a comfy chair with a book in hand.

Critical Hits and Misses #14: August 25th, 2016

Jamilah King on why "The Get Down' is the Queer Hip-Hop History We've Been Waiting For." (Tova)

Here’s a gorgeous animation done by Ashley Nichols to the Steven Universe end theme, Love Like You. (Dominik)

Karen Walsh over at the GeekDad blog just posted an awesome interview with fabulous comic book artist Alex de Campi, in which feminism plays a large role in their chat. (Ivonne)

Critical Hits & Misses Musical Performance of the Day: Hop Along perform "Horseshoe Crab," "Well-Dressed" and "Sister Cities," from their 2015 album Painted Shut. (Etienne)

Critical Hits & Misses Question of the Day:  Some sets are members of themselves, others are not. What about the set of all sets that are not members of themselves?

—Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: don't be a frelling drannit.

Steven Universe Recap - S04E03 - "Buddy's Book"

Welcome back to Steven Universe recaps, now back to their regular release schedule (for a few weeks at least). We're still early in season 4, so no big drama yet. Instead, we get a bit more worldbuilding and a bit more foreshadowing.

Connie takes Steven for his first trip to the library, which elicits the reaction every young bookworm has when first entering a library or a big bookstore. While she studies ahead for seventh grade, the lovable dork that she is, Steven explores the place. He ends up finding the journal of Buddy Buddwick, Beach City founder Bill Dewey's travel companion and friend. Upon hearing the news, Connie drops her homework (it's not like she has a deadline for it) and the two start devouring the book. And because they have no idea how anyone looked during the events described by Buddy, they use their imagination to fill in the blanks, with Steven's friend Jamie, the former mailman and current thespian, imagined in the role of Buddy himself. We can only be certain how the Gem structures Buddy illustrated looked (also because Steven already knows how they look); everything else was likely filtered through his own eyes, in an "unreliable narrator" way.

Buddy, left to the sidelines after the founding of Beach City, was worried about leaving a mark on the world of his own and decided to become an explorer himself. During his travels he ended up in the Gem battlefield we first saw in "Serious Steven," which we now know is located somewhere in Norway (that's partially the shout out to supposedly delicious Norwegian strawberries, which as a Pole I find preposterous; the claim that you can grow tastier strawberries in the fjords than in the lowlands located more to the South is laughable. Laughable, I say!). He had an encounter with Pearl and Garnet: as Steven visualizes it, wearing the old timey clothes from the picture way back in "So Many Birthdays" (strap yourselves in, folks, we're in for a continuity cavalcade this episode). Pearl is, typically for her, surprised and annoyed at the presence of a human in a Gem-related location and marked several more of them for him to avoid. And because this isn't a clear enough schmuck bait, Garnet pitched in to say that only the bravest and boldest of explorers would dare go there. Until such a time either version is confirmed, it's equally possible that Garnet actually wanted him to embark on his journey (knowing thanks to her Future Vision it'll be needed), or Buddy just interpreted her words that way.

Regardless, Buddy decided to do exactly that: visit all the locations Pearl marked. He embarked on a frankly impressive journey, visiting the mountain home of the Heavenly Beetle from "Giant Woman," the Sea Spire from "Cheeseburger Backpack," the inverted pyramid from "Serious Steven," the Communication Hub from "Coach Steven" (fully operational and frankly impressive), and apparently Blue Diamond's palanquin (which is the first time Steven sees it), for some reason abandoned on Earth.

His final stop was the Prime Kindergarten, where he met Amethyst during her visit with her rock. He ended up boasting of his journeys, quite proud of himself, until Amethyst innocently asked him a piercing question what he actually discovered in his travels. Which led him to realize he never actually discovered anything, as the Gems were there long before him. As he despaired, he never was an explorer - but a tourist.

Amethyst suggested (more to get him out her hair) that he should visit the Sand Castle: a moving structure that we know from "Steven's Lion" is actually a corrupted Gem. Since it's never been in the same spot, upon finding it he'd technically discover it. Unfortunately, the Sand Castle's location was somewhere in the African desert, so the journey almost ended in his death, if it weren't for Rose Quartz and her pride of lions. While they're shown to be of a more typical color than Lion's pink, Buddy was more concerned with there being seven lions all around him than with their coloring. For all we know, they're Lion's ancestors. There's also the fact that Rose was apparently visiting the Sand Castle's location and the Gems didn't bubble it until much later, so for now it's anyone's guess what she was doing there.

In any case, he ended up finding the Sand Castle but only because Rose pointed it out for him, so he failed to discover a single thing. However, Rose was impressed with his writing and illustrations, which made the structures seem new and exciting even to someone who's already seen them. She suggested that instead of an explorer, he should become an author. And he did, writing enough to fill a library; the very library Steven and Connie are sitting in.

While primarily focused on the locations we've seen before, the episode finally gives us more of a handle on where they're located, while also foreshadowing future discoveries. Also, thanks to the use of unreliable narration, it allows the Crewniverse not to be bound by anything shown there. It also allowed us a little fun with Jamie, who we haven't seen since "Historical Friction," without having to do another theatrical play episode.

Next week, we're back to training with Steven and Connie and, according to the previews, Stevonnie. 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.

The Final Summer of Steven Masterpost - Steven Universe Recap S03E22-25 + 4x01-02

And here we are: the very last week of Summer of Steven. This time, we’ll have the explosive final four episodes of season 3, and begin season 4, with nothing being the same anymore.

S03E22 – Beta

Steven takes Amethyst, who is still anxious about her near-death encounter with Jasper (minus the Bismuth episode) to Peridot and Lapis's countryside home (i.e., the barn). It turns out that the two managed to work things out with each other and create what could tentatively be called a friendship, or at least, on Lapis's part, a tolerance with shades of affection. The two spend their time watching “Camp Pining Hearts” (the Canadian romance TV series Steven introduced Peridot to a while back) and creating what Lapis calls “meepmorps”—what the rest of us know as “modern art.” 

It's actually surprising and fun to see Peridot in the role of an “artiste,” explaining the meaning of her newest creations to Steven and Amethyst. It's equally fun to see Lapis take a more aloof and literal approach. The two also are nicely supportive of each other: when Peridot messes up using her magnetic powers to be a one-Gem band, Lapis offers her help, taking one of the instruments and playing it with her. And when Amethyst inevitably blows up that they're wasting time and should be readying for Jasper, Peridot informs her not to use the J-word in front of Lapis, and takes their guests outside to find out what's bugging Amethyst—and to allow Lapis some time to cool down. It's encourageing to see the show touch upon the idea of triggers, no matter how briefly.

Anyway, Peridot laughs off her concerns about Jasper, revealing that their antagonist was, like Amethyst, made on Earth herself though in a different kindergarten called “Beta Kindergarten” (hence the title). Beta was established in the middle of Rose’s rebellion to create a lot of Gem troops as quickly as possible, and much less organized than Amethyst's Prime Kindergarten on account of being a rush job. The trio (leaving Lapis to calm down in front of “Camp Pining Hearts”) warp to the facility in question, and at first it seems that Peridot was right: the Kindergarten was indeed poorly designed, with every hole the Gems would come out of badly misshapen. Every hole, that is, except Jasper's, which Peridot is forced to admit—after thorough inspection—to be absolutely perfect. Somehow this does help Amethyst's confidence, who vows to not stop until she defeats Jasper.

A chance to fulfill her promise presents itself no sooner than she utters it, as the trio find out that Beta is where Jasper has been keeping her captive Gem monsters. And Homeworld's top-ranking bruiser is still there.

S03E23 – Earthlings

The second episode of the three-parter begins where we left off, with Jasper unaware of the Shorty Squad’s presence in her hideout, and the trio keeping out of sight. That is, until Amethyst tries sneaking up on Jasper, who ends up noticing her despite seeming busy monologue-ing to a corrupted Gem about how Earth destroys everything on its surface, except for her (the whole speech suggests that she doesn’t know the Diamonds are responsible for the corruption). Amethyst attacks her, but is barely able to land a scratch on her. In the end, Steven finally gets through to her: she won’t beat Jasper not because she’s imperfect, but because she’s doing it the wrong way; Jasper’s way, that doesn't work for her. Amethyst is perfect the way she is. This, and the shared understanding they gained back in “Amethyst vs. Steven,” allows her to reach out to Steven and…

…form the first Steven/Crystal Gem fusion! Give it up for Smoky Quartz, playfully and punnily voiced by Natasha Lyonne, the show’s second guest star from Orange Is the New Black in the span of a single week.

After a short fight the yo-yo wielding fusion defeats Jasper and frees all the Gem monsters she held captive except one Jasper immediately fuses with. This fusion gets quickly defeated as well, and the monster runs off, unwilling to fuse with Jasper again, with her looking sadly and still unable to understand that you don’t force someone to fuse with you.

Unfortunately, fusion with a Gem monster spreads the corruption to Jasper, and her stubborn adherence to the toxic value system in which she was brought up (where Gems are supposed to do what the Diamonds intend them for) makes her reject Steven’s offer of healing, no matter how much she needs it—and hates herself for wanting it .The trio tries talking Jasper down, but she stands her ground even as she slowly turns monstrous and reveals why she hates Rose Quartz, whom she continues to mistake Steven with: Rose did something to her Diamond. Not Yellow Diamond; Pink Diamond, the subject of many long-running fan theories. We still don’t know what happened (only that something did), but this marks a major step that means the Crewniverse is ready to start spilling some answers.

In the end, Jasper becomes corrupted, and is poofed by a piece of rebar Peridot used her magnetic powers on. This is, obviously, not the end of Jasper but it means Steven has finally someone he can practice his corruption-healing skills on. The trio warps back to barn, exhausted, satisfied and in Peridot’s case excited—only to find Lapis, Garnet, and Pearl with the Ruby squad trapped in Lapis’s water orbs.

S03E24 – Back to the Moon

The Rubies finally realized they’ve been tricked and came back, demanding to be told where Jasper is. Since she’s just been poofed, Amethyst decides to shapeshift into her. And since the Rubies are unimaginably dumb, they fall for it and start gushing over her, especially Eyeball (Steven nicknamed them after the placement of their gems), who is revealed to be a veteran of the war on Earth. "Jasper" claims she has to stay and guard the Crystal Gems but that leads to Rubies needing her to submit a proper report in the Homeworld base on the Moon. They take her and her "prisoners" (minus Lapis and Peridot) and blast off.

Along the way we get more delightful antics as Amethyst, increasingly tired from holding this form, does all she can to trick the Ruby Squad. Finally, as they reach the Moon, we finally get more information on how the Crystal Gem Rebellion began: as it turns out, Earth was the colony of Pink Diamond, now dead and treated as an un-person by the other Diamonds. And, according to Eyeball, Rose Quartz shattered Pink Diamond’s gem.

Steven can't—and in fact, doesn’t—want to believe it, but Pearl’s shaken reaction to the revealed truth is proof enough. The fallout has to wait as the Rubies discover the communication panel Garnet smashed way back in "It Could’ve Been Great." Amethyst manages to convince them to return to the main ship and make that report in her place, as a favor to their hero. Everything almost ends well until the Rubies accidentally find out about the whole charade. It almost seems like a fight will break out, until Steven opens the base’s blast door, and with Sardonyx’s help sends them all out into space.

Along with Steven himself.

S03E25 – Bubbled

Thankfully, this isn’t The Walking Dead, and there’s practically no doubt Steven would survive his deep space adventure. This allowed the series’ background artists to show off their skills by creating stunning space backgrounds. Meanwhile, Steven (who instinctively surrounded himself with his bubble) has a chance to interact with Eyeball (who was caught by the bubble’s gravity). Eyeball reveals herself as a witness to the shattering of Pink Diamond, pretty much completely confirming her story, even if we still don’t know the full of it.

After they pass through an asteroid field, Eyeball’s gem ends up with a crack. She unhappily allows Steven to heal her, which confirms his previous claims of being a transformed version of Rose Quartz—and leads to Eyeball turning on him, trying to kill him for the glory of being the one who ended the infamous Rose Quartz.

Faced with a murderous Ruby, Steven has no choice but to release his bubble and send Eyeball into space. This event, the resulting loneliness and the truth of his mom’s act forces him into a fetal position, with a shrunken bubble around him. That’s how the Crystal Gems find him in the Ruby ship. And, after a minute of everyone crying their eyes out with relief, Garnet confirms Eyeball’s story. This leaves Steven in an introspective mood, wondering if he’ll be forced to do the same thing one day.

And thus we end the show’s third season (which felt like the second part of the first season) and start a new one.

S04E01 – The Kindergarten Kid

After all this plot-related drama we begin our new season in a lighter manner, with some Wile E. Coyote-style antics starring Peridot. The team is cleaning up after Jasper in the Beta Kindergarten by corralling the remaining Gem monsters, poofing them and bubbling their gems. The final one proves too quick for Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl, which in turn elicits a mocking reaction from Peridot. She announces she’ll prove her cleverness by capturing it, and Steven volunteers to help.

Since I mentioned Wile E. Coyote at the start, you can probably guess how well that went. What I didn’t mention is that those antics aim to further Peridot’s redemption and increase her empathy. So far, she managed to take a first step by becoming friends with Steven and a member of the Crystal Gems. But she still often struggles with empathy and it’s hard to find a better example of this than the corrupted Gems, which have oftentimes served as the show’s allegory for mental illness.

It’s also worth noting that a concern raised by Amethyst is how different bubbling corrupted Gems is, from Jasper imprisoning them. This is parallel to treatment of mentally ill people in real life. Bubbling is akin to giving them a temporary place to stay, until they can be helped, as opposed to keeping them in a prison and treating them as potential threats.

S04E02 – Know Your Fusion

For our final episode of the week, we get the long awaited return of Sardonyx and her voice actress, Alexia Khadime!

Steven and Amethyst finally tell Pearl and Garnet how they defeated Jasper and introduce them to our new Fusion, Smoky. It's adorable and hilarious to see Garnet overcome with Joy to an even greater extent than when Stevonnie made their debut. However, Smoky is so excited to show theirselves off to them that the house can't take it, forcing the other two Gems to form Sardonyx and take them into Sardonyx's room in the temple. Apparently the structure creates new rooms every time a new fusion is formed, which exist as long as the fusion does. This makes sense: Garnet herself is a fusion and she has her own room, why shouldn't the other ones?

Sardonyx's room takes the form of a late night show stage, with an (easily amused) audience she herself created. Unfortunately, this means the big introduction Steven and Amethyst were planning gets hijacked by Sardonyx, who in her excitement downplays their yo-yo skills and starts looking for comparisons with other, past fusions (who only get a video or a voice clip, in order to keep to the budget that's already probably overspent by having Khadime and Lyonne for most of the episode). The problem is, Smoky is not Opal, Sugilite, or Alexandrite, and continued comparisons to these fusions takes an increasing toll on their self-confidence. It adds up to the confidence issues Steven and Amethyst already had, as their fusion came from their feeling of impotence compared to Pearl and Garnet. It's heartrending as their self-deprecating jokes turn more into outright self-aimed insults. The effect is compounded by the audience's continued laughter, to the point that even Sardonyx doesn't think it's funny anymore.

Sardonyx realizes that she ruined Smoky's big surprise by making it all about herself; this leads to her defusing and the immediate unraveling of her room. This crisis allows Smoky a moment to shine, as their yo-yo skills get everyone out of the pocket dimension just before the door disappears. In the aftermath, Pearl and Garnet take a step back to let Steven and Amethyst explain their new fusion—they way they wanted to do it.

And that’s it for Summer of Steven! With the month-long binge behind us, we can finally return to a regular, weekly episode release—at least for a few weeks until September 1. We’ll start next week with “Buddy’s Book.”

Dominik Zine is a nerdy lad from northeastern Poland and is generally found in a comfy chair with a book in hand.

Summer of Steven Masterpost #3 - Steven Universe Recap S03E17-21

Welcome to the third week of Summer of Steven! This time the plot is in full swing, with all the revelations and twists that entails.

S03E17 – Gem Hunt

It’s Connie’s first Gem mission! She and Steven, under Pearl’s watchful eye, warp to the Great North (most likely Canada), looking for a Gem monster. It quickly turns out that there are two monsters, and that they’re anxious about something to the point they don’t care about our heroes. They run off, splitting up, and Connie, eager to prove her worth, suggests they do the same.

Thus begins her and Steven’s big trip, following the monster trail, which, thanks to the snow, isn’t very hard. Connie is very happy to put to use the knowledge she learned from the survival books she read, and it’s very much her episode. While Pearl and Steven do get a chance to shine, this episode is an important step in her becoming a crucial member of the team. I really hope this means that, come next version of the opening, she gets to be one of the Crystal Gem members singing the opening lyrics.

And in case you're wondering after watching this episode, yes, tea made from pine needles (specifically, needles of a white pine) does help with Vitamin C and A deficiency: they have more Vitamin C than six lemons. Live and learn, huh? And you can make them not taste terribly with honey! Though I doubt they'd need a vitamin boost that fast.

Getting back to the main plot, the duo finds one of the monsters, cornered and thus even more anxious. And so is Connie, who freezes during the encounter. This is her first proper encounter with a Gem monster, and it suddenly becomes way too real. Luckily, she manages to snap out of it and do her job: get to the walkie-talkie and call Pearl.

And then we learn what, or who, scared it: goddamn Jasper. That water punch Lapis hit her with sent her really far. She's been hunting and poofing Gem monsters for purposes revealed in the next episode. She ignores the duo and the arriving Pearl and goes off into the blizzard.

S03E18 – Crack the Whip

Garnet and Pearl warp back to the Great North to search for her, leaving Amethyst to hold the fort and watch Steven… and Connie, who was supposed to have a sword-fighting lesson with Pearl. Tsk. Very irresponsible of you, Pearl.

She and Steven continue training, and at first it seems like Amethyst is going to be teaching them how to fight in her more flexible style, but this gets interrupted for a snack break, which in turn becomes an actual break. It’s really enjoyable to see Connie have fun with Amethyst but as I think we’ve all been trained by fiction, it’s only a prelude to danger and heartbreak.

And so it happens here, when Jasper appears to pretty much declare war. It is revealed that she’s been building a small army of corrupted Gems and attacks Steven, Connie, Amethyst and Lion. Amethyst rather easily dispatches the first monster she sent alone, but when Jasper arrives with the last one, she focuses on the Gem soldier, leaving the other three to deal with the other corrupted Gem.

And she regrets it. Unlike her, Jasper is a soldier Gem built according to Homeworld specs and Amethyst is fighting an uphill battle. This, along with the Jasper’s remarks of her inferiority, has a shattering effect on her psyche. At this point it’s also clear that, whatever is planned for Jasper in the show’s future, it’s on hold until she is defeated. It’s clear war and combat is all she understands, and unlike Peridot, she’s not likely to persuaded to abandon her beliefs.

Jasper poofs Amethyst, forcing Steven and Connie to focus on her and fuse into Stevonnie. They didn’t even intend it consciously, it just happened. This two are really in synch. Using the two skillsets at their disposal, and using Lion as their mount, Stevonnie defeats Jasper and forces her to retreat.

This has crushing effect on the reformed Amethyst, who was grappling with issues of being useful for a long time. After last season’s “Reformed” it seemed like she might be over them, and she has grown over the course of the series. But her defeat, later to be saved by the two kids she was supposed to be protecting, plus information she got in “Too Far” from Peridot of how she was “supposed” to be, brings back her fears and issues. It’s heartbreaking to watch, even as Steven and Connie celebrate their big victory, and Michaela Dietz nails it. And the irony is that Stevonnie won because they followed Amethyst’s advice of going with the flow of the combat, but she didn’t see it.

S03E19 – Steven vs. Amethyst

Those issues get addressed in this episode, which serves as the show’s version of Civil War. Amethyst is in a low point after Jasper pretty much pulverized her, and it gets worse when she participates in Pearl’s training with Steven. While she starts out chill enough, Steven’s continued successes over her only get her more depressed. Finally, when in his attempts to cheer her up, he lets her win at a video game, she has enough.

After ages of being, as she perceives it, the weakest of the Crystal Gems, her self-worth takes a huge blow when Steven, a rookie, starts overshadowing her. Steven protests that he’s still a weak team-member: he still hasn’t got a handle on his abilities, which half the time don’t work, he keeps forgetting he can float, and in general he’s still a trainee. This turns into an argument over which of them is the worst, which in turn becomes a duel in the arena ruins.

It’s a tough fight, with both of them trying to prove the other is the better Crystal Gem. In a funny twist to the typical fight between two allies, they heap each other with praise, angrily telling each other how awesome their attacks are and how clearly that makes the other better. It’s amazing to watch and very in the vein of the show.

In the end, the fight stops after they both wear each other out, ending up on their backs. It’s only then that they actually talk to each other. As it finally turns out, both of their anxieties come from not being who they feel they were supposed to. Amethyst was (according to Homeworld) meant to be bigger and tougher, like Jasper, and she feels she’s not living up to her potential, thanks to being "born" different. Steven, on the other hand, feels the weight of his parentage, not helped by being continuously called Rose by Jasper. He’s been training to live up to his mother’s legacy.

S03E20-21 – Bismuth

Speaking of his mother’s legacy! We finally meet the bubbled Gem from Lion’s main after Steven accidentally pops the bubble. The titular Bismuth (voiced by the talented Uzo Aduba) is one of the original members of the Crystal Gems, for millennia thought by Pearl and Garnet to be lost. The two are overjoyed to be reunited with their friend, and the initially suspicious Amethyst is won over when Bismuth starts giving gifts. She was the Rebellion’s blacksmith, providing it with their weaponry, and upon reopening the Forge, she upgrades the Crystal Gem weapons.

For most of the episode Bismuth is a delightful, fun character. While initially overwrought by the outcome of the losses suffered by the Rebellion and eager to show Homeworld what they’re made of, once she gets introduced to Gem pastimes she enjoys and shows an easygoing side. She seems like a great fit to the team, even though it’s easy to tell that it’s not meant to be.

And that’s when the main part of the episode’s plot kicks in. Bismuth offers Steven a replacement for Rose’s sword: The Breaking Point. It’s a weapon that’s able, unlike others she made, to completely kill a Gem by shattering their gem instead of just poofing them. She explains that the Homeworld is fighting dirty, so they have to step up their game and be as ruthless as the Diamonds to win. Steven is horrified at that thought and when given the object he refuses to use it.

The problem is, he uses the same words Rose did when Bismuth showed it to her. Rose is the reason Bismuth’s gem was bubbled and hidden in Lion’s mane, having poofed her during their confrontation and she never told anyone about it. And now, convinced Steven is her, attacks him. He manages to poof her, but that’s the closest he’s ever been to death. He promises to tell the Gems what happened and that seems to convince Bismuth that he really is a different person than Rose.

We’ve been learning for a long while now that, though Rose genuinely seems to have been a loving and caring person, she also was very secretive and practical. Of course she disagreed with the concept of the Breaking Point; not only would she find it unethical, it’s also a bad idea on a practical side of things. If the Rebellion started shattering Gems, this would like lead to escalation of the conflict, and the Diamonds would in the end likely obliterate Earth. It would also likely lead to a schism in the Rebellion, with two sides forming around the issue of the use of the weapon. Rose seemed to have been primarily interested in getting the Homeworld to let Earth Gems be and preserving the organic life of the planet. Bismuth, on the other hand, sounds like her aim was taking the fight to Homeworld and destroying the abusive system governing it, and it’s likely there were other Gems like her. Rose was loving and caring but also clearly secretive and not trusting. That’s why she swept the issue under the rug by taking Bismuth out and hiding everything that’s happened. This also means that, while Steven may have made the same decision regarding the Breaking Point Rose did, he’s also very different in that he makes sure to tell the Crystal Gems what happened in the Forge.

The downside is that Bismuth seems to have been created primarily to provide a point of contention with Steven. It’s possible she will return (the show has a history of not wasting important characters and plot points), but for now, it feels like a waste of an interesting character to only use them as an opposition to Steven on a single issue.

And that’s it for the penultimate Summer of Steven week. Next week, we’ll have the big season 3 finale and start season 4 with two episodes. And after that we’ll be back for a more regular, weekly schedule for at least 3 weeks.

Dominik Zine is a nerdy lad from northeastern Poland and is generally found in a comfy chair with a book in hand.