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Post by PFA on Mar 21, 2020 15:59:11 GMT -5
Caught up on SU Future and The intro song is becoming more and more jarring by the episode XD
The episode with Dr. Maheswaran telling Steven about the lasting effects of trauma hit hard though, dang. Steven could really use a good chat with a therapist or something. |
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Post by Killix on Mar 21, 2020 16:20:54 GMT -5
SU Future really isn't shying away from talking about and showing the effects of trauma.
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Post by Liou on Mar 22, 2020 7:51:02 GMT -5
On 13) Together Forever and 14) Growing Pains Glad to see the show confirm that it's not as simple as shoving Connie and Steven together.
Such an excellent Garnet quote we got.
So Ruby and Sapphire still occasionally split to do their own things and then fuse back, to me that really clarified the somewhat hasty resolution of their split from season 5.
Doctor Maheswaran is so cool about this.
She didn't even kick up a big, counter-productive fuss over Steven not having seen a doctor earlier.
She explained things so simply for a kid who's never heard of medical stuff before.
Steven X-ray VS gem X-rays was pretty interesting to see.
I was really surprised that Steven needed an explanation of trauma, after dealing with so many traumatised gems. But then again, it's so much easier to understand other people's problems before your own, and it'd make sense that he never considered how he might have something similar. On 15) Mr Universe and 16) Fragments Okay, is an evil genie behind this show?
Because yes I did want more Greg -
"Here you go, plenty more Greg, with backstory! And also his relationship with Steven crumbling =D"
and yes, I did want training with Jasper and Pink Diamond powers -
"Here you go, a gorgeous training montage!! Oh! did you want it to help Steven get to a better place emotionally? Seriously??"
So I loved seeing more of Greg's background, and I do like to see Steven reach that stage of late-teenage / young-adulthood where you take down a parent from their Parental Figure pedestal and see them more as another regular human who didn't always have all the answers and used to be someone you didn't know at all.
But...
I get the impression that the show was framing Greg as in the wrong? It's fairly common for a parent to give their kid X upbringing because the grandparents gave them Y upbringing and they hated it, only for their kid to realise that they would have loved Y upbringing.
But does Steven even know what that lack of freedom would have done for him? He's a really emotional and spontaneous kid. Is he seriously yearning for Dolores Umbridge's house and glass goats? The lack of schooling and normal human socialising, I understand. But I don't think he quite realises what Greg went through. Present Steven might be in dire need of safety and stability and lots of care, but that doesn't mean that would have suited him in childhood.
The ending was so grim and well-done that way, with Greg's voice fading behind Steven. The deleting of his yearbook photo could have meant Steven was letting go of Greg's past, specifically, but it really looked a lot more like cutting his father out of the people he looks up to.
And Steven's complaining that Greg took his surname from a song that helped him find himself?
That makes it... so much more meaningful than taking it from some old dude he never knew??
This episode was just. Not on my wavelength at all. |
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Post by PFA on Mar 23, 2020 0:23:59 GMT -5
Re: Mr. Universe, I feel like it's more nuanced than just Greg being in the wrong. Sure, running away from home without any real life plans was a pretty questionable decision on his part, and maybe he could have done a better job in raising Steven, but Steven's the one ignoring Greg talking about how miserable he was. He keeps saying that maybe Greg's upbringing wasn't so bad, but does he really know that? Or is he just so caught up in wanting more stability that he doesn't want to admit that it's not always sunshine and roses? ...Speaking of roses, "You're just like mom!", yeah Steven, your mom who had completely legitimate reasons for running away from literal dictators.  EDIT: Also, it just occurred to me how they play Dear Old Dad in that episode, and I was like "oh no sad in hindsight"... but then I remembered that that song originates from that other episode where Steven has a fight with his dad. That's some next-level foreshadowing. XD |
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Post by Killix on Mar 24, 2020 16:11:58 GMT -5
Re: Mr Universe
I didn't get a "Greg is the only one wrong" vibe from this episode. It's definitely more nuanced, and there are some subtle things to unpack.
Greg was in a toxic situation at home and he was miserable.
His parents were massively controlling. They forced him into activities/hobbies he didn't want to do, gave him absolutely no freedom of self-expression, and refused to allow him to pursue his own interests (such as music)... well into his young adult years. The photograph of Greg with the shaved head also might be suggesting that they might've been planning to send him off somewhere Military-related.
He had to get out of this situation, and despite the sacrifices he had to make, he was much happier once he did.
Greg claims that he never looked back, but the letters that Steven find suggest that Greg, at some point, reached out to his family. Perhaps he really tried to reconnect for Steven's sake? Well, the fact that the letters are all shoved into a drawer unopened also tells us how that outreach panned out.
(I want to point out too that the phrase "never looked back" can have multiple meanings. I suspect Greg's was along the lines of "I didn't regret my choices".)
So yeah. Greg had a miserable childhood and didn't want Steven to ever grow up in that kind of situation, so he gave Steven the most freedom he could ever want...! unfortunately, in his efforts to make sure Steven had freedom, he flipped to the opposite extreme and gave Steven a life with no structure.
Could Greg have done better? Yes!
Was Greg doing the best he knew how to do, from a place of love? Yes.
Moral: Nobody is perfect, and even those with the best intentions can fail.
Steven is totally right to feel upset at the failures of Greg's parenting.
But throughout this episode, Steven is also projecting a lot of his own biases and dismissing Greg's experiences and choices. There were some pointed "My life was way worse than yours" type things being thrown around by both parties... Never a good statement to make to anybody you want sympathy/understanding from.
This seems a bit out of character, but it greatly highlights that Steven is in a very very poor mental state at the moment. He's thinking emotionally.
Anyway, that's what I got out of the episode. I could be way off, but I think it's supposed to be an indicator of Steven's own worsening mental state more than commentary on whether Greg's decisions were sound or not.
Homeworld Bound
Steven's mental state worsens. Again.
An important piece of info from this episode seems to be that with the changes they've made to their own mindsets, the Diamonds have been able to restructure their powers for new positive uses.
Yellow could destabilize a gem's physical form. Now she can restore a gem's physical form.
Blue could force others to experience her sadness. Now she can allow others to share her joy.
White could mind-meld and control other gems like puppets. Now she allows other gems to control her.
Steven could perform miraculous healing. Now he has outbursts of raw destruction.
We already know that Steven's powers are Diamond powers and that they are influenced by his mental state, so this all makes a lot of sense. It's a good reminder here that Steven's worries about his powers are exactly what fuel his destructive powers in the first place. It's a vicious cycle, and self-fulfilling prophecy.
(That scene where he mind melds with White Diamond was scary. That was supposed to be Steven having some really violent intrusive thoughts, right? Even White Diamond was visibly shaken from that. X'D)
I think he's headed for corruption, which should be an interesting plot thread to see.
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Post by June Scarlet on Oct 17, 2020 20:07:43 GMT -5
Found out my library has seasons 1 and 2 of Steven Universe, so I ordered season 1. Finally get to see things for myself!
I thought I'd watch it with my grandma, I go to her house about once a week, and we often watch movies together.
I do have random, incoherent spoilers for this show, but that's okay. I still think it'll be good.
Any advice for watching it for the first time?
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Post by Ginz ❤ on Oct 17, 2020 22:40:34 GMT -5
June Scarlet Personally, I feel like Steven Universe takes a little bit to really kick off. Don't dismiss it if the first few episodes seem just kind of random. It builds up to a beautiful story if you give it a chance. <3 I hope you and your grandma enjoy it!!
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Post by PFA on Oct 17, 2020 22:53:40 GMT -5
I actually like the early episodes, but then I've always been a sucker for fantasy slice-of-life, haha. But season 1 SU can be really cute and wholesome, in my opinion. Definitely a different vibe than the later episodes though. I guess my first watcher advice is the Uncle Grandpa crossover episode in season 2 was pretty polarizing, so keep that in mind if you decide to watch (or skip) it. |
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Post by June Scarlet on Nov 26, 2021 17:43:32 GMT -5
I finished watching Steven Universe. From my first post in this thread, it's been over a year since I first ordered them from the library. It took me months and months to get through the first half of the first season. I finished the rest in a month, maybe?
There's a character named Padparadscha who has the power to predict the recent past. To finally watch the show and experience it just after everyone's finished with it, I think I know what that feels like. But that's okay, it was still so worth it. It was so good, and gave me a lot to think about.
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Post by Liou on Dec 23, 2023 10:52:57 GMT -5
I've been focusing on this show on and off for the past months, going back to favourite scenes for comfort.
Sometimes I try to tempt people into watching the show, but it's tough to share anything from this show: so much of the good stuff is good because of pre-established context and continuity and just won't have the same meaning if I throw it at someone who's never tried watching.
If you had to throw one clip from Steven Universe at someone who's never watched the show, but who you hope will watch it, what clip might you use?
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Post by downrightdude on Dec 24, 2023 2:03:52 GMT -5
 I can't believe I watched the entirety of SU this year! |
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Post by PFA on Dec 24, 2023 13:13:19 GMT -5
I've been focusing on this show on and off for the past months, going back to favourite scenes for comfort. Sometimes I try to tempt people into watching the show, but it's tough to share anything from this show: so much of the good stuff is good because of pre-established context and continuity and just won't have the same meaning if I throw it at someone who's never tried watching. If you had to throw one clip from Steven Universe at someone who's never watched the show, but who you hope will watch it, what clip might you use? Hm, maybe one of the songs? I'd say Stronger Than You, but that's a bit cliche at this point (and is technically fairly spoiler) XD |
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I can't believe I watched the entirety of SU this year!