Steven Universe

[Daikun]

Rebecca Sugar has gotten married.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Congrats to her and Ian.

[Painted Outlaw]

8 episodes of SU: Future have aired by now and while there have been parts I've liked (such as "Volleyball" and parts of "Why so Blue?"), this thing's kinda aimless isn't it? It's not wrapping up plotlines otherwise episodes like the Jasper one and the Aquamarine/Eyeball fusion episode wouldn't have ended so openly. If it's starting new ones then, it might need more time than what I assume is twelve 15min. episodes or maybe just not waste time with Steven Tag or that PSA episode. So, I'm not too sure of the point of it all and I kinda feel that maybe it should've just ended with the movie.

[Peanutbutter]

Huh, I already knew Ian Quartery and Rebecca Sugar were a couple, but didn't know until now they tied the knot. Congrats to them!


Since Steven Universe might well be in it's last season and KO wrapped up, I wonder if they won't make a brand new cartoon together?

[Avaitor]

I agree that Future is a little superfluous so far, but I'm not really minding it. Maybe part of that is CN's release schedule for it, since the show's lighter episodes work better in weekly chunks than the Steven bombs the network often does. I'm also not sure how much more story the show needs to share, since this is more of an epilogue, right?

The Aquamarine and Eyeball episode seems like the best and most important episode thus far. Not only is there an implication for something bigger, I like that for once, the show suggests that not everyone wants to or should be redeemed, which might be the show's biggest flaw. Granted, that could still change, but let them be irredeemable for a change. But besides that, my favorite part of the episode is how they didn't think anyone could recognize their fusion.

[Peanutbutter]

I agree that Future is a little superfluous so far, but I'm not really minding it. Maybe part of that is CN's release schedule for it, since the show's lighter episodes work better in weekly chunks than the Steven bombs the network often does. I'm also not sure how much more story the show needs to share, since this is more of an epilogue, right?

The Aquamarine and Eyeball episode seems like the best and most important episode thus far. Not only is there an implication for something bigger, I like that for once, the show suggests that not everyone wants to or should be redeemed, which might be the show's biggest flaw. Granted, that could still change, but let them be irredeemable for a change. But besides that, my favorite part of the episode is how they didn't think anyone could recognize their fusion.

What I liked most about that episode was it showing that not every villain redeemed themselves just because of Steven freeing the Corrupted Gems. In fact, with the two of them plus the one Lapis that didn't take Steven and Our Lapis' offer to join the school it's obvious they're building a rogues gallery likely for the series finale. The title sequence has that one shot heavily implying too.

I'm hopeful that at least some if not all of them will not become good because that has gotten really old. Love Steven Universe, but White Diamond being redeemed despite what was done with the Gem Mutants is still very off kilter to me.

[Daikun]

The final 10 episodes are airing throughout the month of March.

[Peanutbutter]

Hope it has a good ending. A lot of the episodes of Future have done a good job wrapping up hanging plot threads from the main SU series. I imagine Bluebird will be back at some point if nothing else.

[Daikun]

A sing-a-long version of the Movie airs this Friday at 5:30, with two new episodes of Future airing right after.

This is it. The beginning of the end.

[Peanutbutter]

So Bismuth has developed a crush on Pearl. Makes sense, I guess since there's a lot of people who fall in love with their friends after being with them a long while. Especially when they grow and change enough they gain confidence. I just wonder why that wasn't the main focus of that episode instead of Steven stressing over skates?

[Daikun]

The final four episodes air tonight at 7PM. Season 6 marathon starts at 1:30.

This is it. The end of CN's 2010s Renaissance shows.

[Peanutbutter]

Well, unless you count Gumball which to my knowledge hasn't ended.


Still a big shift coming for Cartoon Network, though. Wonder when the shows approved under the new CN President start?

[Avaitor]

Well, unless you count Gumball which to my knowledge hasn't ended.

It.. kind of has? I think the last of the new episodes has aired, but we are still getting that HBO Max miniseries, I believe. From what I can tell, the creator is still waiting for confirmation of the movie being picked up, which I'm shocked that CN hasn't done yet, considering how popular it is.

There's also We Bare Bears, which I think is waiting for its movie to air before the baby spin-off takes the original's place.

[RacattackForce]

So, how did everyone feel about Future? On initial viewing, I thought it ended on a more satisfying note than Change Your Mind did for the original show, but the more I dwell on it, the more I see the cracks and feel like the film would have been the best stopping point for the franchise. Despite Future essentially being an extra season for the Crewniverse to tie up any remaining loose ends, we didn't really get any of that: I don't think Jasper is a character that necessarily needed "redeeming", but there was no real conclusion for her character arc. She feels angry, lost, and without purpose outside of war and... she's still angry, lost, and without purpose when the credits roll. Some interesting ideas were briefly explored, such as others Gems being resistant to the change in status quo that Era 3 brings and resenting Steven for it, but that never goes anywhere in the long run. Which I could respect if the main crux of the season, Steven's depression, PTSD, and slowly eroding mental state was done well. That was the focus, so if they pulled that off, the auxiliary stuff doesn't matter too much. But it didn't click all that well in the end.

Steven's new stress/anger-based powers were confusing, with some episodes making it seem he had control and others making it clear he doesn't. Also, while some episodes nailed the idea that all the anxiety and stress is finally catching up with him ("In Dreams" and "Growing Pains"), others just felt off in their execution ("Together Forever" was just painful). And the finale rushed its conclusion yet again, having the issue with corrupted Steven resolved in a single episode and skipping over Steven's months of therapy. You could argue that kids wouldn't enjoy it if the final episode of the show was Steven sitting in therapy and reflecting on the events of the show, but Hey Arnold had the episode "Helga on the Couch" which, while not my favourite episode as a kid, was still one that I really liked even when I was six. Seeing everyone say goodbye in that final part was still a comfy string of moments that left me with a smile on my face, but the first three parts of the 4-part finale were a bit of a mess. And they missed a good opportunity to have Spinel actually talk to Steven and try to help him as he helped her, rather than use her purely for comic relief. Was looking forward to that and all we got was a joke about "Change". What the hell, Sugar?

I'll kinda miss Steven Universe, but it was always a show that did individual moments far better than entire story arcs. Which made the whole cartoon a fun watch in the moment, but frustrating when you actually stop to think about everything.

[Avaitor]

I think that's the thing about Steven Universe. It felt more than it thought, which made for fun, impactful TV, but could be a little frustrating when you tried to piece it together. You're right about Jasper's material really going nowhere, as neither did much, including Steven's PTSD for reasons you mentioned. I admire the concept of Steven moving forward, but the episodes of the rest of Beach City moving on would came off as mostly filler and broke the pacing for the season's structure, making it feel tedious. The resolution was nice, but almost wasn't deserved with how the previous few episodes went.