#WHERE TO WATCH THIS FR?!? 😭 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

roseofcards90 · 6 months ago

Text

STEVEN UNIVERSE WATCH:

Hi hiii, everyone! I am planning on making a series of posts for my first time watching Steven Universe! I’ve been watching with @mgjong and it’s been so much fun omg! I can’t thank her enough for watching with me ❤️

For these, I’m going to talk about my breakdown analysis for each season (I’ll be doing Season 1A and Season 1B as separate), and I will also give commentary on every episode (yes I am insane) and highlight certain ones that are my faves! I will give my overall thoughts about the season as a whole, as well as the main characters and what I’ve learned of them so far.

Episodes marked with a ⭐️ are some of my personal faves from this season! Here is my overall breakdown of Season 1A down below:

*I also wanted to preface this saying that my knowledge of the show is very limited. Most of the things I’ve heard about it have come from when it was still airing, and my childhood friend who was obsessed with it at the time would also ramble about the show to me. I already know some major plot points (such as Garnet being a fusion and the Ruby and Sapphire stuff) and other minor details, but yeah most of this overall is still pretty blind to me!

So first off! I wanted to talk about some general points about the show:

- I absolutely love the art backgrounds in each episode. Some of them are just so pretty to look at. I know the animation can be iffy at times, but overall it is very consistent across episodes.

- Character designs are also pretty unique, and each one stands out to me among the cast! The fact that you can easily pick out even the minor characters is a huge win for character design imo

- The title cards also reflecting the time of day/weather for the episode is a neat detail! I did not realize that, Mg had to point it out to me kdfjdfnk and the fact that they imply little things from just that one shot (like it being the temple hand above the house where they do their laundry) is a great attention to detail!

- I think the setting is also really nice! Having it take place in a coastal town near the beach feels refreshing to me.

- Soundtrack amazing that is all 🫡

General Character Thoughts:

Steven:

At first, I really didn’t think much of Steven’s character I would have to admit 😭 I thought he was a sweet kid ofc, but I wasn’t sure where the show was gonna take his character and his development. That is, until I started to see more of the bigger picture and realize what direction they were going to take him. And now I have high hopes on how Steven is going to develop throughout the series just from all the expectations placed on him from his loved ones and the other gems. Your mother was amazing, she was everything. She gave up her form so you can be born. How do you deal with that? How do you cope with being the only one to not know her at all, your own mother? Can you fill the void she left behind? Will you falter when you can’t?

Also, having a mother-son version of this trope is one I haven’t seen much? Barely at all tbh, so it’s refreshing! I think it’s very sweet to portray a male character as very emotional and compassionate, and have him take after his mother.

Amethyst:

Amethyst is great I love her LMAO she’s so silly!!! On the surface, she seems to be the outward comic relief in the cast. But when you look more closely at her character and her reactions towards certain things, then it becomes clear that there is something deeper, the feeling of self-hate and resentment towards herself compared to Pearl and Garnet. I like how this is first hinted at in Tiger Millionaire, an episode about Amethyst’s hobby with wrestling. I think it shows that even in her own space, that self-hate will still find a way to manifest (it didn’t help that Pearl and Garnet showed up but yeah 😭)

Pearl:

Oh, Pearl. Where do I even start? There’s…a lot. I’m going to be honest, my perception of Pearl from what I remember is just “very gay lady” back when the show was airing LMAO which isn’t wrong necessarily. She is that, but she’s also a lot more than that. Pearl is tragic. She is a character who continues to grieve because of her closeness and her love towards Rose. She can be a bit overbearing and critical at times with Steven, but it’s because she cares about him and wants him to grow. Ofc she loves him, that’s her son. But Pearl isn’t perfect. She’ll have outbursts, she’ll panic, she’ll slip back into the loss that continues to consume her and project it onto others. And it’s not healthy at all 😭 I am curious to see how her character will be in the later seasons, but for now she’s one of my faves! Absolutely love tragic gays who cannot move on 🫡

Also I just love how at first glance, she seems like the character to have the brain cell in the group, but then you realize episode after episode that nah, she’s just as insane as everyone else LMAO it’s so good (I believe in OCD Pearl too btw SO REAL)

Garnet:

AAAA I LOVE GARNET!!! I love how calm she is but also deadpan LMAO??? She’s so silly sometimes, it’s cute! I like how she’s the one to ground the whole team together, not wanting to underestimate Steven, but ofc, still being protective of him. There’s more we learn about her in Season 1B (which I’ve already seen by this point), so that’s why I don’t have a lot to comment on here. But she’s still pretty cool, especially with all the various hints towards her actually being a fusion!

Greg:

Greg is an interesting guy! I didn’t have many thoughts on him at first, but some episodes later in the season had made me rethink my initial thoughts on him. He’s clearly trying his best as a father, wanting to still connect and bond with Steven. And he’s also another character we see deal with the grief of losing Rose. I love how he has many parallels with Pearl because of this, with the way they deal with loss and also their personal relationship with Steven. I’m looking forward to seeing more of him and also more interactions between him and Pearl I think they would be funny DJDKFKF

Connie:

I LOVE CONNIE I LOVE HER SO MUCH!!! IDK MUCH ABOUT HER BUT SHES SO CUTE AND I LOVE HER AND STEVEN'S RELATIONSHIP! I do like how she’s written to be a bit of a weeb LMAO it’s very accurate for 12 yr old kids obsessed with anime. I can’t wait to see more of her in the main cast!!!

Rose Quartz:

Besides her sharing my name (which I already love lmao), I have heard many things about her character that have piqued my interest! From what I've seen, she's a character who haunts the narrative, always being mentioned in the other's words as a lasting memory, or just her own portrait in the house being displayed in the background during some scenes. I love how the writing continues to portray her like this, and us as the viewer are curious to learn just who she really was as a person. We know that she was important, that she led a rebellion against her own kind to protect the Earth, and that she meant a great deal to the Crystal Gems and Greg. But just who was Rose really? Behind everyone's fondness and memories of her? Is she really just the all-loving heroic sacrifice we're presented with?

It's funny, because we are a lot like Steven in a way. We are in the same shoes as him, where we learn alongside him in finding out more about is mother and what the kind of person she is behind everyone's rose-tinted glasses. It's a really neat touch that helps connect the viewer to Steven as both a protagonist and a character

Episode Breakdowns (very brief):

Gem Glow:

• I think this is a decent introduction episode that lays out the characters and initial dynamics in the show! The Crystal Gems fight but they don’t want Steven to get hurt, but Steven ends up helping in his own way and starts using his powers as a result. I don’t have much else to say about it, but I think it’s neat!

⭐️ Laser Light Cannon:

• I like this one because you can start to see Rose haunt the narrative, and also the implications that are shown in the episode: the main one being that the cannons activate due to Greg’s phrase! I just love how much this implies how close her and Greg were that she made it so that the cannons activate because of something so silly, yet obviously meant something to her back then

⭐️ Cheeseburger Backpack:

• I stared this episode mainly because I absolutely love how it comes back in the best way possible in Season 1B. It is such good foreshadowing, and while the episode itself isn’t too noteworthy to me, I think viewing it as a mirror of the other episode that calls back to it makes it so much more interesting

Together Breakfast:

• I don’t think there’s much to note in this episode, other than it’s a characterization moment for Steven. It shows how much he sees the gems as his family, and how he wants them all to be together. It’s sweet!

Frybo:

• …I have nothing to say other than…yeah, nightmare fuel 👍

Cat Fingers:

• Okay lowkey this episode disturbed me a bit while I was watching KJDFDFKL 😭 I did not find the cat fingers cute, but I do like how this showed Steven’s ability to shapeshift! We’re starting to see Steven be able to wield some of the abilities the Crystal Gems have too!

⭐️ Bubble Buddies:

• Connie’s first appearance!!! I love it so much, the fact that they had met each other before and Steven was waiting to see her again and return her bracelet, how Connie also paid attention to him too! I love that little backstory they have together before they officially meet

Serious Steven:

• Another characterization one for Steven! Him wanting to help the gems no matter what, and I like how this episode kinda parallels the first episode a bit? Instead of being childish here like in the first episode, we see Steven be more serious, but he still helps them in his own way. Also this had an interesting frame showing a mural with presumably Rose Quartz fighting? Very curious indeed…

⭐️ Tiger Millionaire:

• This is where we see Amethyst’s self-esteem issues at the forefront. Seeing Amethyst’s and Steven’s relationship be expanded upon was nice too. We see one of Steven’s core traits with wanting to make everyone happy. He wants to continue accompanying Amethyst in her wrestling hobby and even uses a made up back story for Amethyst’s wrestler persona to help people understand her better. In relation, we see that Amethyst takes pride and confidence in wrestling because she’s good at it. It gives her something meaningful to her existence. So overall, I think this episode does a good job with characterizing the both of them

Steven's Lion:

• Lion’s first appearance! I love how he’s just…not explained LMAO he’s a pink lion and he’s chilling, and it’s obvious with his connection to Rose because of his pink color scheme

Arcade Mania:

• I like how this episode focuses on Garnet’s competitive side, as well as showing her 3rd eye under her visor. It’s silly, especially with the rhythm game (why did they name it that…), but it’s cool that it showed how Garnet is an important member on the team and seeing Pearl and Amethyst rely on her too. Also her relationship with Steven as well and how determined he was to snap her out of the game was sweet

⭐️ Giant Woman:

• OPAL FIRST APPEARANCE ALSO PEARL AND AMETHYST BEING GAY AF WHEN OPAL FIRST TALKED I THINK I DIED AND CAME BACK TO LIFE 🪦 but seriously, I like how we see fusion for the first time and they make a cool point that many fusions are their own person, and they take the best aspects of said gems and have them be in balance together. Very cool fr!!!

⭐️ So Many Birthdays:

• They went the existential crisis route omg 😭 but besides how dark this episode is, I do like how we see the gems care for Steven a lot. It also emphasizes the point of Steven’s powers being heavily influenced by his emotions!

⭐️ Lars and the Cool Kids:

• It’s a Lars episode and it exists, but the main thing I loved about it was towards the end. It had such a great moment with Steven standing up for himself and his mother, but it was also a bit heartbreaking too? Steven never met his mother, but he still believes in and realizes how much she cared for living beings. He will stand up for her no matter what because he doesn’t have anything to doubt her on, only what he’s heard from the others. I do wonder if this will be forshadowing later on when Steven learns something less…positive about Rose he can’t stand to believe as the truth

Onion Trade:

• This one is funny LMAOOO I HOPE THAT ONION CONTINUES TO BURN DOWN BEACH CITY

⭐️ Steven the Sword Fighter:

• Another dark one with Pearl literally getting stabbed in front of Steven. Along with the Tiger Millionaire and Arcade Mania, this one is my favorite among the episodes showing the relationship between the gems and Steven! Having him try to deal with the hologram Pearl while the real Pearl isn’t around really showed how much Steven has grown as a person. He’s tying to be more responsible and mature without Pearl around, which I think is a great character moment for him

Lion 2: The Movie:

• I like how this episode both develops Steven and Connie’s relationship (they’re silly kids who both think that the other doesn’t want to hang out with them but Connie provides normalcy for Steven, while Steven provides excitement for Connie. They both accept each other is the main thing that I love about their relationship), as well as whatever tf is going on with Lion DKDKDK it becomes even more clear now that he was Rose’s lion with the training temple they go to (love how this also comes back too). Also COOL SWORD

Beach Party:

• A silly one! This one is more of my favorites among the episodes that focus on the Beach City residents. It doesn’t get too bogged down with silliness, but it still focuses on character interactions between the gems and the residents! It’s overall very funny <3

⭐️ Rose’s Room:

• Rose first voice appearance! In the form of a whale LMAO I couldn’t imagine when this episode first aired and people lose their shit when this happened. It’s cool to get a glimpse into how Rose’s room works, that it gives anything Steven wants, but whatever it creates is still imperfect

Coach Steven:

• Sugilite first appearance! I cannot believe Nicki Minaj voiced her 😭 also I do like how it touched upon Pearl’s insecurities. “I’m not strong enough to do anything” THATS SUS PEARL WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN THROUGH WHY IS THAT SOMETHING YOU BLAME YOURSELF FOR??? I NEED TO KNOW MORE

Joking Victim:

• Lars and Sadie are cool ig??? I mean Sadie is cool, Lars is…there LMAO but it’s interesting to see more of their dynamic. I assume they’re a popular ship in the fandom, and I think Lars in his own way can be sweet at times. But in general, I just think that Sadie deserves so much better 💀

Steven and the Stevens:

• Very convoluted episode fr 😭 it doesn’t make much sense to be canon either? I feel like if the gems had access to a time travel artifact thing, they would’ve already used it a long time ago. I’ve also been told this doesn’t come up again, unless it’s with Steven recounting his trauma during this episode, so idk it really doesn’t make much sense, besides it being another silly episode

It’s nice though how this episode hints at the season finale by showing the desert created by Lapis in Mirror Gem in the background! Very cool detail there

Monster Buddies:

• We start to see more of the corrupted gems and learn about them. This one also highlights Steven’s overall kind and compassionate nature that he’s willing to extend to corrupted gems, seeing their humanity beyond the corruption. It’s another reflection of how his mother acted before. Also he’s able to bubble gems now and becoming more and more like his mother

An Indirect Kiss:

• An interesting way to show that Steven has his mother’s healing powers? 😭 was not expecting it to be through his spit DJDKDLDL the title is clever for that. I also like how it subverts our expectations (as well as the gems’ expectations) that Steven has the exact powers his mother did

⭐️ Mirror Gem:

• Lapis first appearance! I love they just casually show that Steven hasn't attended school 😭 it's kinda sad in a way? Like ofc we see Pearl try her best with teaching him, but it still highlights the differences between Steven and the other kids. He still doesn't have the most normal life when it comes to being 12 and not sharing experiences other kids his age have gone through.

⭐️ Ocean Gem:

• The season finale! I loved it a lot. Mainly because of how they start to set up some doubts regarding the Crystal Gems and their motivations. Lapis obviously doesn't like them and tells Steven to not trust them. She says they "never cared about the other gems, only Earth", so it leaves the viewer wondering if what Lapis is saying is true or not. But it also reinforces the point that they gems have been fighting for Earth, in the name of Rose Quartz and her mission. In contrast, Lapis only wants to go back "home", not seeing the beauty in Earth like they do. She's a good foil to the crystal gems (I would also say she parallels Pearl in a way because they both want to go back home, but Lapis follows her own ideals and wants to be set free, while Pearl's takes on Rose's ideals as her own and follows them to the end).

BUT YEAH THIS HAS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH SO COOL SEASON I LIKE HOW IT'S SETTING UP A BUNCH OF THINGS FOR LATER STUFF AND IT'S SILLY AND HAS ITS SERIOUS MOMENTS TOO!!! I think the show towards the end started to become more grounded on what it was going to do, so I like that! I can't wait to start my review of Season 1B fr 🫡

#THIS IS VERY LONG IF ANYONE DECIDES TO READ THIS YOU DONT NEED TO READ ALL OF IT FR 😭#also I'm not including Lapis in this review since I wanted to leave her for the next one where we see more of her!#steven universe #rose watches su #my posts

10 notes · View notes