#like I’m not As Sure on gem hinting towards the life series but timing considered it would make sense
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kayawolfhorse · 1 year ago
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Hello? Miss GeminiTay?
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(From the description of her latest Hermitcraft video)
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gem-rewatch · 4 years ago
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SU rewatch- S1E11- Arcade Mania
Hey, long time no see!
I’m desperately bored in solitary quarantine at university right now, and decided to try and pick this SU rewatch series up again for fun. It’s been a while since I’ve watched through the show in order. Plus, now that this show is completely finished, there’s plenty more connections to make. I can’t promise I’ll be consistent with this, but at the very least I can have fun trying to make a few more posts at my leisure.
Anyways. With that business out of the way. Let’s get right on to the show!
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We begin with yet another mission Steven’s guardians have brought him along on! I believe this is the fifth mission we know of that he’s accompanied them on so far. (Lunar Sea Spire, Inverted Pyramid, the unknown mission he returns from in Tiger Millionaire, the desert, and now this one.) It’s really sweet seeing the Gems begin to trust him tagging along more often. There will come a day in the near future where missions become routine for Steven, but in these early episodes, you can really tell that each and every one is a brand new adventure.
In terms of plot, though, this episode is honestly Future Vision: The Prequel.
We learn a lot about Garnet’s abilities and her role in the team here, even if all of these details aren’t spelled out word-for-word quite yet. Hints towards her future vision we see this ep include:
Garnet moving ahead of the group to be in the perfect spot to catch Steven when he falls.
Her flawless moves while fighting and dodging the monsters.
Her becoming a master at the rhythm game later in the episode.
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Like, damn. Look at this.
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Look at her go.
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My Q U E E N!
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I had to gif all of this just because it’s such a beautiful and smooth sequence of animation.
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If there’s one thing all of the Crystal Gems can 100% agree on, it’s that Garnet is friggin’ amazing.
Garnet: “Let them go. They’re just parasites. If they want to be a problem, they’ll have to answer to me.”
So, does this statement mean that- at this present moment- her extended stay at the arcade was entirely beyond her future vision? That the only futures she saw were ones where she was actually present to deal with containment of the Gem parasites? Given that later scenes insinuate she’d never been to the arcade before, and would have no “data” about its games to factor into her internal understanding of the world, this seems likely.
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I adore the gradual palette change here, from shadow, to setting sun. It’s a nice detail that adds so much more life to what could otherwise be a rather mundane transition scene. It seems like unique palettes were more common in early SU- I wonder why Crewniverse stopped implementing these as often later on?
Pearl, entering the arcade: “Humans find such fascinating ways to waste their time.”
Thanks, Pearl. Love you too. <3
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This sequence of Pearl failing at playing a car chase/road rage game hits so much different knowing what happens in Last One Out of Beach City. It’s genuinely radical how far she grows in confidence from this point, because here, she seems so shackled to rules and guidelines. Now that we know about her rebellious past, it might be tempting to write this characterization off as “early series weirdness,” but... I don’t think that’s what’s happening here.
Instead, I wonder if she’s working through grief-related regression.
Think about it... the pain of Rose’s passing is still so fresh for her. She was a rule breaking rebel once, yes, but she spent all of those days at Rose’s side. And I get the sense that she’s poured so much of herself into keeping Rose safe, into the rebellion against Homeworld, that without those, she’s caught in a vacuum. What IS her purpose now, when the very person she rebelled for is gone?
So she slips back into old pearl-like habits. Chronic rule following, and a fear of deviating from norms. How familiar. Thankfully, much of her arc throughout the show is her directly growing beyond these habits to live boldly as her own Gem.
The friggin video game when Garnet knocks its head off: “TELL MY WIFE I’M SORRYYY!!!”
Yo, what the fuck. This line is both hilarious and messed up, all at once. Please tell me the game isn’t sentient.
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Aaaand here we finally introduce Garnet to the video game sensation that is Meat Beat Mania! This game is perfectly suited to her and her power of foresight because its patterns are algorithmic and not vulnerable to spontaneous deviations, and thus easy to predict, with enough input. She’s probably getting a quick rush of satisfaction with every correct move, and she barely has to exert any energy with her future vision to get that rush. After years and years of wading through endless possibility at every avenue, this video game’s patterns must be a rejuvenating breath of fresh air.
It’s addicting.
...Kinda makes me think of how I get sometimes when I play solitaire on my phone for an hour straight. After a while, I barely even think, I’m just shuffling through my deck and moving cards almost on automatic. I don’t have to use much energy to play, and it gives me animated fireworks every time I finish a match. It’s a win-win.
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Amethyst: “I’MMA WIN AN AIRPLANE!”
I don’t know what it is about the way Michaela Dietz says the world “airplane,” but this makes me laugh every time. Does... does she think she can win a genuine airplane here because she saw Onion win a tiny motorbike from the ticket booth?? Amethyst, oh my god. XD
She’s got the spirit, this wild child.
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So, moving on- we meet up with our crew later the next morning, Garnet nowhere to be seen. There’s an interesting exchange I’d like to highlight real quick-
Pearl: “If we’re supposed to fight a giant foot, Garnet would let us know.” Amethyst: “Yeah, Garnet’s the boss!” Pearl: “Well, we’re all a team. Garnet just has heightened perception that guides us towards our mission objectives.”
Considering the specific phrasing Pearl uses here- “heightened perception” instead of “future vision-” did Garnet outright tell the two of them to not explain her powers, just like she told them not to mention she’s a fusion? Because I’m pretty sure no one ever uses the phrase “heightened perception” again in reference to her powers.
Given the fact that Garnet chose to keep the knowledge of Ruby and Sapphire under the table until she felt Steven could understand her better, my guess is that this is a similar scenario.
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Ahah, I genuinely can’t tell if this is Steven being gullible, or just impulsively playing along with Amethyst’s antics. Still- gross, kid. Don’t wipe your wet cereal face on your shirt! Ew! :O
When he goes outside and starts to use a kiddy metal detector to scan for quarters... so THAT’S where he finds his arcade money! Because I can’t imagine Greg is financially able to give him that much to spend on non-essentials at this point in the show.
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Okay, so... I just want to bring light to the fact that Garnet has literally been in this arcade ALL NIGHT LONG.
It was evening when she first arrived here- the sun was visibly setting in the background, and when Steven, Amethyst, and Pearl left, the sky was dark. But now it’s morning. Steven was just seen eating breakfast. And Garnet is STILL HERE.
Does this mean Mr. Smiley locked her IN? I have so many questions... Did he try to get her to leave, only to be intimidated by her complete lack of response? I would kill to know more about this interaction. Poor Mr. Smiley. That man deals with so much bullshit in this town, huh?
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Geebus, is Garnet a solid wall. Previous episodes have shown Steven forcibly shoving whole tons of food, and swinging a mini-freezer over his head, and yet he can’t get her to budge even an inch.
I absolutely adore how he climbs up her frame like a koala, though, ahah. Cute.
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Meat Beat Mania announcer: “That’s rare!!” Steven: “Oh my gosh...!”
I take these two lines as evidence that this is the first time Steven’s ever seen Garnet’s eyes. Specifically, the fact that there’s three of them. Which, makes sense- since Garnet is still really reserved emotionally at this point, and is only begins to get in the habit of taking her visor off to show Steven her full face later on in the show.
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This expression deeply hurts me.
Steven’s so distraught here- because the others are in danger, the town is in danger, and he doesn’t have his trusty, dependable guardian who catches him when he falls and beats up scary monsters for him. Without her, the whole team is vulnerable and blind.
He feels alone. He feels... powerless.
And so he responds to that confusing, powerless feeling by trying to compensate with his own power. When all other routes he can think of fail, he smashes the video game console.
It... uh, it works... but once again, Steven entirely fails to consider the consequences, huh? He experienced a little bit of character growth in this regard in the episode Serious Steven, but even past that it’ll remain an recurring issue for him. Hell, his impulsiveness is a general character flaw even stretching into SUF.
In summary, though:
Poor Mr. Smiley. He works so hard, and doesn’t deserve this BS. ;-;
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nickdempsey · 5 years ago
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Jason Stross vs The Multiverse
So some quick context, fellow Tumblr user @cratmang created an SU character, Conga Tourmaline, an interdimensional traveler that travels through and studies the Alternate Universes of Steven Universe.
They currently have two posts on her on their blog, which goes into better detail on her character.
So I reached out to them and asked if it would be ok to write a quick thing where my character Jason Stross meets her.
They said yes, and the result is an SU OC that isnt an SU OC being tied into an alternate version of @ask-whitepearl-and-steven, an alternate version of @lab-raised-steven, a hint of @revolver-d‘s Black Pearl, an even smaller hint of Symbiotic Titan, and topped off with Doom.
And some Trailer Park Boys for good measure.
Without further ado, I hope you read this and enjoy. lol
_ _ _ _ _
It was clear that Jason was in some sort of space station. Where said station was on the other hand, was the real mystery.
Any time he would have a chance to see through the windows available, all he would see is a thick fog of grey and orange. While he wasn’t sure where he was, one thing was clear.
He surely wasn’t on Earth.
Whoever it was that did abduct him, was of a background he was unfamiliar with, as the technological architecture in no way resembles that of anything he had ever seen. It was still Alien.
With all of that said, however, he was unsure if the unknown entity, or entities, were hostile.
He was stripped of his armor and equipment, leaving him in only his Second Skin suit. If whoever was keeping him here wanted to kill him, chances were he would have already been dead before awaking.
As he walked through the space station, one thing he saw more of were speakers, practically outlining the hallways and rooms of the large structure. Some such speakers, in the distance, seemed to be functioning.
Jason began to travel down the massive hall, toward the other far off end to investigate the source of the noise. As he stepped closer to the source of the sound, which all conveyed in a large lit room in what seemed to be the center of the station, it seemed as if the sound itself was music.
Jason stood confused as he began to recognize the sound. It seemed like familiar music, which more or less seemed to confuse him even more. The guitar strums from the music made it sound like the Earth genre of music known as “Country”.
As Jason approached the main room, he reached down to his thigh, almost out of muscle memory, to retrieve his blaster, only to be reminded that all he had was the Second Skin suit on him.
He had to be careful, as he was not 100% positive that his “host” was friendly. He continued to silently step into the room.
What he saw was a single figure, dancing along with the music. Their back was turned to Jason, so they did not notice him.
The figure in question, was nearly covered in green. Their four arms moving carelessly in the air along with the beat of the music. Jason wasn’t sure if what was at the top of her head was either a hat or hair, but the green object made sure that they stood a good two feet above him.  At first glance, Jason would have guessed that the figure floated, but after further examination, it appeared to be standing on metallic legs.
As Jason stepped forward to the figure, almost on cue as he came close to six feet, the figure turned around, still following the beat of the music. It was then Jason saw the few view of them, their long pointy nose, their goggles shielding their three glowing green eyes, and the headphones over their ears.
It was odd, other features of his captor made it seemed as if they were a Gem. That said, as he got closer to them, their suit seemed to be of other origin than Homeworld. As he got a closer look at their legs, he saw that they were much smaller than expected. The legs seemed to have ended in rather small and sharp points.
The headphones they wore were probably more for show due to the already blasting music, which didn’t turn off, only lowered in volume significantly as the figure recognized the human in their presence.
“Oh excellent!” The figure said as she clapped her four hands together. “You’re awake.” She giggled as she walked past him quickly. “I bet you hear that one a lot.”
Her voice was oddly cheery, seeming to be more focused on the excitement of the music. The most noteworthy factor of her voice was that it seemed as if it were of three different people speaking in unison.
Some of her arms were still flailing the in air to the music as she reached into a nearby drawer to dig through the container.
“No… no… not it.” She kept saying as she rummaged through. “Aha!” She said as she pulled put a round glass bottle of a reddish-brown clear liquid. She returned to Jason, who realized a bow was wrapped onto the neck of the bottle.
“Welcome, Jason Stross!” The Green figure said, as she handed Jason the bottle. “To my Studio!”
Jason took the offered glass bottle, still keeping his eye on the figure welcoming him. As he looked down at the label of the glass container, the description of the contents caught his eye. He looked back up. “Is this-?”
“Coaxian Brandy.” The Figure interrupted with a smile. “Pre-Genesis. Very rare.” She explained. She then extended one of her hands out to Jason. “We apologize, Jason. Please allow me to introduce ourselves, Conga Tourmaline, Interdimensional Traveler, Occupant to the Throne of Loki, unrivaled in magic and technology!” She said in pride, seeming as if it was a name Jason should have heard by now. She reached for Jason’s hand to shake it. “Most call me Conga.”
Before Jason could ask anything else, he heard the lyrics of the song blasting through the speakers.
“No one’s got your back, but whose got your belly?” The speakers yelled at the two.
“What the hell is that?” Jason said to Conga in a demanding tone, his confusion turned into agitation.
“Oh, sorry.” Conga said in a humorous manner as she reached for a control panel. The country music quickly turned off as the speakers switched to a more electronic song.
“Now what the hell is this?” Jason asked Conga, his agitation lowered, but still present.
“You don’t recognize it?” Conga asked. “Jason, it is your theme song after all!”
“What?” Jason asked. “I don’t have a theme song. I’m not some fictional character, where the hell am I?”
Conga raised her finger as if to explain the creators of the two of them, NickDempsey and Cratmang, discussed the possibility of her and Jason meeting. However, Jason was still human, and couldn’t possibly comprehend the possibility of the Fourth Wall’s existence. She decided to go for option B for her explanation of their interaction.
The time to decide on how to explain to him seemed to be more than too long for Jason, as he began to step closer to Conga, seeming to be more threatening.
“Listen.” He said in an authoritative tone, you’re going to tell me or- “
“Jason Stross, even without our Interdimensional Powers, I am still a fusion of three Gems. Three.” Conga said, almost in a bragging matter. “I believe that we would be considered a difficulty to harm, even by the great Reaper of Kul-Baris- “
“Don’t call me that.” Jason demanded; his aggression grew back up.
The phrase sent a chill down Conga’s back, or spine if Gems could have one. It was enough to understand why some lesser Gems in this dimension to grow fear upon the mere mention of her human guest.
“I don’t suppose ‘Blue Diamond’s Pet’ is a better title?” Conga asked, receiving the same glare from Jason. “That was a joke.” She was quick to say.
“Why am I here?” Jason asked. “Why did you kidnap me?”
“Kidnap?” Conga asked, as if to defend an accusation. “We saved you. You were almost killed by that Black Pearl!”
Jason remembered the encounter in Angel City. He was responding to a series of complaints of disappearances, only to find the violent Gem in question.
Jason had to admit, much to Conga’s defense, the Pearl did beat Jason into an inch left of his life.
“Fine.” Jason said to Conga as he placed the bottle of liquor on a nearby table. “So, you did, but that still doesn’t answer my question.”
“Well, as I’ve said…” Conga began her explanation. “During our interdimensional travels and studies, I’ve tended to notice you a few times when investigating a few AUs.”
Jason looked at Conga with a combination of confusion and curiosity. “AUs?”
“Alternate Universes.” Conga said as she moved past Jason toward a door on another side of the room. The door was closed until she approached it, causing it to open to reveal a darker lit room. The only source of light seemed to be from a series of screens inside the smaller room.
Conga looked back to Jason, as if remembering that he was still there after a split second of forgetting his presence. “Right this way, please.”
Her demeanor looked more or so like someone excited to show him a project.
Jason slowly began to approach the room, looking from behind Conga.
The source of the light, evidentially, was a series of large, floating screens flying around the small room.
“Alternate Realities, to be specific.” Conga began to explain in an amused and excited way, almost as if she had rehearsed her speech. “Universes vary. All are different. Be it a small difference, such as an object being a different color, or something huge, such as a historic event ending in the opposite way.”
A screen descended between Jason and Conga, who presented the screen to him.
The screen showed Jason in his Paladin armor, along with three other beings. Two of which were Gems Jason had not seen before. One was a Pearl, lacking any color and an eye. The other Gem, which seemed to be closer to Jason in the image, was a Blue Gem, a few inches under Jason’s height. The Gem in her chest was suspiciously a familiar shape. An odd shape to be in a Gem that small.
The third, was a small child, which seemed to have a Gem of his own pointing out of his forehead. The sight was odd, he knew he never saw the kid before, but he seemed familiar at the same time.
“I first found out about you in an alternate universe of White Diamond Steven…” Conga said to Jason.
“Huh?” Jason asked upon hearing the name Steven. “You mean the kid in Beach City? With the Crystal Gems?”
“Exactly!” Conga excitingly said. She then pulled another screen showing only Jason in a cell.
A thick wall of glass separated his cell with another, holding what seemed to be the same kid from Beach City they were just talking about.
Unfortunately, the two seemed miserable in their location, almost seeming trapped.
“This one is an alternate version of the Lab Raised AU.” Conga said as she pushed the screen away from the two, directing Jason toward the rest of the screens. “You seemed to be in so many alternate versions of the universes I was looking into, we did some digging and saw alternate versions of your own universe.”
“Alternate versions?” Jason asked Conga, looking over to another passing window which revealed him sitting in a booth, sharing a table with a man wearing red goggles and a large, black hat covering his long, silver hair. The other man seemed calm, while Jason had an expression of agitated annoyance on his face.
“Exactly!” Conga said excitingly. “Technically speaking, the universe you are from is an alternate version of your original universe.”
She was only met with the facial expression of more confusion when she looked at Jason Stross. “Right…” Conga said as she continued on her spiel.
The words that came from Conga’s mouth seemed to have went from one of Jason’s ears through the other, as he just continued to look at the other “windows”. Some seemed to be recreations of previous events he had been in, minus a small detail or two.
Then the few that really caught his attention, seemed to be windows into other worlds. Places that Jason would never see himself being in.
However, he was still there. In each window, different in one way or another, he was still there.
One however, caught his attention.
“What’s the deal with this one?” Jason asked, interrupting Conga Tourmalines lecture on the infinite universes.
Conga looked over to the window Jason was looking over to. “Oh!” She said excitingly, walking over to Jason and the window. “This one is interesting.” She resumed her excited tone. “This one is similar to this current universe.” She explained. “Only, except of arriving on Earth, you arrive to the planet of Argent D’nur.”
Jason looked at the window, studying it. While he had “less than pleasant” feelings about his time on Earth, it now seemed like cake walk next to the universe he was currently looking at.
He only saw a small glimpse of it, but it seemed more than enough.
All he saw of his time in “Argent D’nur” was him, in complete, unfiltered fear, as he was grabbed by the collar of another human in an arena looking environment.
The other figure in the window, however, complimented Jason’s fear, with complete, untainted rage as he raised his fist to punch Jason’s entire head out of existence.
Due to no audio feed, Jason could not tell what the other being was saying at first, but he could read lips. If Jason was right, the other being was saying “Rip and Tear.”
“Unfortunately, you do not last long, in that universe.” Conga said in a sudden grim tone.
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stevenuniversallyreviews · 5 years ago
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Episode 125: Doug Out
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“It can't be all ‘Bam!’ ‘Pow!’ action all the time.”
(First things first: Lamar Abrams’s delightful promo art leans away from traditional cards with the title and storyboarders, and this is my favorite of the bunch. He really knocks the visual pun out of the park.)
Dr. Maheswaran is a titanic presence in her daughter’s life, and while she does have a canonical first name—Priyanka, according to Ian Jones-Quartey—it says a lot that the show itself only presents her as “Doctor” or “Mom.” She, not Doug, is the person Connie must reconcile with in Nightmare Hospital. She, not Doug, is the one that’s late picking Connie up in Storm in the Room. She, not Doug, takes the role of Yellow Diamond in Stevonnie’s psychic dream from Jungle Moon. And Doug, as should be clear now, has a first name that we actually hear on the show. Hell, it’s in the name of the episode.
Doug’s status as a background character allows his characterization to be more fluid than his wife’s. In Fusion Cuisine, which is a weird episode period in terms of Maheswaran behavior, he tells a joke to break the tension and disapproves of Steven and Connie hugging. In the far superior Winter Forecast, he’s frustrated with Greg in the bad timelines, appreciative of Greg’s cherry sweater in the good timeline, and we learn that he can’t drive in the snow (but thinks he can). Connie has told us that her parents are strict, which logically means he’s strict, but we see more impatience than strictness in his voiced appearances.
None of what we’ve witnessed lines up too well with the Doug we get in Doug Out: sure, we’ve seen his awkwardness, and I guess his tendency towards jokes at inopportune times means he can be funny, but he’s super silly in this episode. Normally such a huge shift in characterization would bug me, buuuut:
Doug is such a minor character that it’s not a huge deal that his personality adjusts to fit the story better, and
We’ve only seen Doug with Dr. Maheswaran nearby and I can totally buy that he acts differently when she’s not around.
It would’ve been nice for the canon if a little more of Doug’s behavior from Doug Out had been established earlier, but yeah this isn’t a dealbreaker for me. It’s already weird that Connie said in Bubble Buddies that her family moves around a lot because of his security job, considering they don’t move at all over the course of the show and her mother’s job certainly pays more than her father’s, so at least showing Doug at work lends some consistency to her claim.
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Entering the episode by pulling a prank on Steven is a succinct way for the show to tell us this is a new Doug. We do get references to the Maheswarans being all about safety, namely his concern over Steven's hydration after eating salty fry bits, but he’s simultaneously silly with the kids and proud that his daughter is a “swashbuckling swashbuckler.” Plus his dopey smile is the same as his daughter’s dopey smile and it’s the most precious thing in the world.
There hasn’t been any indication that Connie is distant from her father, despite his lack of screentime; in fact, one of my favorite unspoken bits of characterization for the family is how she (and through her, Stevonnie) often wears his signature flight jacket. But it’s still great to see them get along so well, keeping up the light mood from the beginning of the episode and amplifying it through paternal playfulness. 
While bringing kids along for a security mission after hours doesn’t sound like something an ultra-responsible parent would do, I choose to see it as a sign of Doug’s respect for his kid and her friend. He knows they’ve handled dangerous situations before, and it’s neat to see him acknowledge this by allowing them to ride along. Moreover, the whole point of the episode is that he doesn’t think his job is exciting, so it’s not like he thinks he’s throwing the kids into a violent situation. And considering he wants to see more action like his daughter does in missions or his wife does in the hospital, I’m glad that this jealousy never turns petty or mean-spirited: this wasn’t a given, as he’s been unfriendly in the past. Doug sort of rules in this episode, and it’s nice that veteran voice actor Crispin Freeman finally gets something to do with him.
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The goofiness isn’t limited to Doug, as half of what makes him great is his playing along with Connie and Steven’s prepackaged goofiness. The kids are in top form in Doug Out, dressing as ridiculously-named parodies of Carmen Sandiego and Mario while they’re on the case (Connie’s assertion that Pizzapoppolis sounds more Greek than Italian is in contention with her bemoaning the laws of physics in the Gravitron for the best “Connie’s A Nerd” joke of the night). They’re down to mess around and ruin a teen’s night, and I’m here for it.
Still, I wouldn’t call this a full-on goofy episode, particularly when it evolves into a sequel of sorts to Gem Hunt. Aivi and Surasshu’s soundtrack evokes exaggerated noir as Doug talks shop, but shifts to a menacing drone as the trio encounters evidence of something sinister afoot at Funland. Steven and Connie stay in-character during the chase, but drop the act when discussing the possibility of a Gem Mutant or Homeworld Gem. Whatever they’re hunting is clearly hunting them, and perhaps the most impressive aspect of Doug Out is maintaining a tone of genuine looming danger that isn’t undermined by the episode’s numerous jokes.
The mystery, as in Gem Hunt, is complicated by a red herring. During Connie’s first big mission we’re led to believe that a Corrupted Gem might be healing itself, given the multiple distinct footprints, but we learn in the third act that it was Jasper all along. This time we get a wide array of dangerous possibilities, so the third act Onion reveal initially comes as a relief. But we’ve never seen him this scared before, and his distinct silhouette doesn’t match that of the shadowy figure on the roof.
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Before we can think about the hints that Onion isn’t our perp, the focus shifts back to Doug as we conclude his character’s episode-long arc. He wants to be taken seriously, projecting a badass vibe that’s often undermined moments later by an intentional joke (like calling his daughter by her “Cucamonga” alias with a straight face) or by the emergence of his inner square (pretending to be undercover by removing his glasses then instantly relenting because he needs them to see). He’s not incompetent, correctly deducing that the culprit isn’t a regular teen and quieting the children to listen for clues, but he’s just a normal security guard in a family with a surgeon and a kid hero. You can’t blame the guy for developing a bit of an inferiority complex.  
So again, I really appreciate that his behavior doesn’t devolve into toxic overcompensation, because that’s the obvious route to go and it would’ve made this episode so much worse. He respects the kids and doesn’t pretend he needs to protect them, and he doesn’t let his desire for action let him get in over his head—in another similarity to Gem Hunt, he stresses the importance of calling for backup instead of stubbornly going it alone. When Connie talks about how much she loves and values him, we’re allowed to feel it, because she’s reiterating what we’ve seen rather than letting a petty control freak off the hook.
We’re coming off another terrific Dad Moment in Lion 4, but Greg being great is par for the course. Most Dad Episodes are understandably about him: other father/child relationships have their days in the limelight (Fryman and Peedee in Frybo, Kofi and the Pizza Twins in Beach Party, Bill and Buck in Shirt Club, and Yellowtail/Marty and Sour Cream in Drop Beat Dad), but Greg gets more focus episodes than all of those combined. So while I would’ve liked to see more of him in an arc that hinges on the phrase “my dad,” I love that we get one last new Dad Episode to kick off the end of Season 4, especially if it lets us see Connie again before her kidnapping.
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Onion may be a red herring, but the whole ending with Doug and Connie’s sweet talk is another red herring, tricking us into thinking the episode is wrapping up and that despite the suspicious inconsistencies, Onion was just being Onion. Unlike Gem Hunt, our heroes don’t solve the mystery, and because they don’t, neither do we. We have more information than Steven that something sinister is afoot, with an alien threat that for some reason is going after Onion, but before our sleuths can learn more, we cut to black.
After the victories of taking the ocean back from Lapis and saving the world from the Cluster, Act III of Steven Universe is the first with a tragic midpoint, and the fallout of Steven’s sacrifice at the end of Season 4 ripples through the first third of Season 5. Episodes like Storm in the Room and Lion 4 bring plenty of angst as well, so Doug Out wisely gives us some comic relief before the sweet-and-somber flavor of The Good Lars and the tension that follows. That tension is still present here (we get a cliffhanger, after all), but I’ll take moments of pure happiness where I can. This isn’t a silly episode in the vein of The New Crystal Gems, but it’ll still be a while until we have this much fun in one episode again.
We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!
It’s time again to expand our Top List, from a Top Twenty to a Top Twenty-Five! Most are Act II classics that got pushed down by the sheer volume of great episodes, but Lion 4 makes the cut as well. We’ll keep it at 25 until Change Your Mind; normally I’d switch to 30 at Episode 150 to keep up the Top 20% trend, but it seems more fitting to expand when the original series concludes.
Doug Out sadly does not make the cut, but it’s still an episode I love. We’ve had plenty of cliffhanger episodes that feel incomplete, and while this one also leaves us wanting more, it still works as a full story and not just setup. And the story is great!
Top Twenty-Five
Steven and the Stevens
Hit the Diamond
Mirror Gem
Lion 3: Straight to Video
Alone Together
Last One Out of Beach City
The Return
Jailbreak
The Answer
Mindful Education
Sworn to the Sword
Rose’s Scabbard
Earthlings
Mr. Greg
Coach Steven
Giant Woman
Beach City Drift
Winter Forecast
Bismuth
Steven’s Dream
When It Rains
Catch and Release
Chille Tid
Lion 4: Alternate Ending
Keeping It Together
Love ‘em
Laser Light Cannon
Bubble Buddies
Tiger Millionaire
Lion 2: The Movie
Rose’s Room
An Indirect Kiss
Ocean Gem
Space Race
Garnet’s Universe
Warp Tour
The Test
Future Vision
On the Run
Maximum Capacity
Marble Madness
Political Power
Full Disclosure
Joy Ride
We Need to Talk
Cry for Help
Keystone Motel
Back to the Barn
Steven’s Birthday
It Could’ve Been Great
Message Received
Log Date 7 15 2
Same Old World
The New Lars
Monster Reunion
Alone at Sea
Crack the Whip
Beta
Back to the Moon
Kindergarten Kid
Buddy’s Book
Gem Harvest
Three Gems and a Baby
That Will Be All
The New Crystal Gems
Storm in the Room
Room for Ruby
Doug Out
Like ‘em
Gem Glow
Frybo
Arcade Mania
So Many Birthdays
Lars and the Cool Kids
Onion Trade
Steven the Sword Fighter
Beach Party
Monster Buddies
Keep Beach City Weird
Watermelon Steven
The Message
Open Book
Story for Steven
Shirt Club
Love Letters
Reformed
Rising Tides, Crashing Tides
Onion Friend
Historical Friction
Friend Ship
Nightmare Hospital
Too Far
Barn Mates
Steven Floats
Drop Beat Dad
Too Short to Ride
Restaurant Wars
Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service
Greg the Babysitter
Gem Hunt
Steven vs. Amethyst
Bubbled
Adventures in Light Distortion
Gem Heist
The Zoo
Rocknaldo
Enh
Cheeseburger Backpack
Together Breakfast
Cat Fingers
Serious Steven
Steven’s Lion
Joking Victim
Secret Team
Say Uncle
Super Watermelon Island
Gem Drill
Know Your Fusion
Future Boy Zoltron
Tiger Philanthropist
No Thanks!
     6. Horror Club      5. Fusion Cuisine      4. House Guest      3. Onion Gang      2. Sadie’s Song      1. Island Adventure
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choupetit · 6 years ago
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GOT Recap: Iron Throne
Airdate:  5/19/19  Season 8, Episode 6 (Finale)
Well, here we are, everybody!  The Game of Thrones Finale has dropped and I for one was completely loving it.  It was so riveting and they were totally able to justify Dany’s mad queen arc,  plus, the way they tied up all the loose ends was truly spectacu ---oh for the love of god, I can’t do this anymore!  Here’s the truth:  The finale was GARBAGE!  It was disappointing and boring and, honestly, we all deserved better.  I know people say “You can’t please everybody.”  I get that.  But, dude, when the majority of people ain’t happy, you’ve done messed up.
That said, it’s dunzo and now we all can walk around dazed, like the survivors of King’s Landing, trying to make sense out of the madness.  I suppose, in a way, I’m grateful that the previous episode was so god awful, because it really helped me prepare for a let down.  So in that sense, expecations were met.  Let’s remind ourselves how this series, as a whole, was truly a special thing…most of the time.  It’s just too bad it had to end this way.   This is by far my least fave episode to recap, but I can’t just let the final notes of the Song of Ice and Fire go unplayed, so here ya have it:  My final GOT recap of “Iron Throne”:
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Yo.  The massacre of King’s Landing is over – or is it? Tyrion Lannister -clearly not considering his own life or survival- has decided to stick around and take a long walk through the charred human remains and toppled buildings.  Jon Snow and Ser Davos follow him, equally stunned by the devastation.  White ash covers everything. We see a handful of shell shocked survivors as Tyrion passes through the streets to make his way to the Red Keep.  Jon tells him not to go in without backup, but Tyrion insits on going it alone. He gets into the castle and makes his way through the ruined map room and down the stairs to check on the secret passageway that he told his bro about.  It’s all moody and sad…but also confusing, because we saw the ceiling collapse last episode and it didn’t seem like there would even be a basement left to go to.  But maybe I’m just being a stickler for things that make actual sense.  Tyrion finds a giant pile of rubble blocking a passageway. A hint of light peeks from the top and he manages to climb and pick his way past the blockage.  Seems totally safe to me to disturb the unstable structure and debris.  
On the other side, there is another huge pile of rubble and Tyrion spies Jaime Lannister’s golden hand peeking out of the rocks.  Yeah, that’s right, the ceiling - and presumably entire structure - came crashing down on Jaime and Cersei Lannister last episode and yet here we are with body pieces barely covered.  Tyrion clears away a few bricks and voila! He has excavated Jaime and Cersei – nestled close together.  That whole thing is so…whatever.  I mean, Tyrion seems pretty upset, but when you look at the surrounding scene you’re just like “So…if Jaime and Cersei had simply stepped a few feet to the right, they would’ve been fine?”  It’s all kinda dumb, if I’m being honest.  But Tyrion’s feelings are real, and he’s devastated to see his siblings dead in each other’s arms.
As Jon and Davos make their way through the city to the Red Keep, they come across Grey Worm with a handful of Lannister soldiers on their knees, about to be executed.  Jon’s all “Whoa, man.  The fight’s over, these dudes should be prisoners!”  And Grey Worm is all “I’m following my queen’s orders to kill her enemies.” Jon wants to talk to his superior – aka Daenerys – and Grey Worm’s all “Cool, let me know how that works out.” He proceeds to cut the throats of each of the kneeling men.  Yowzers, that is cold!  
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Meanwhile, Arya Stark walks up to the crowd of Dothraki who are hooting and celebrating outside the Red Keep.  It’s nice to know that the symbolic white horse at the end of last episode was able to carry her a full two blocks and then disappear for his next Lyft fare in King’s Landing – it’s surge pricing right now, people.
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The Unsullied stand at attention, lining the long stairway up to the Red Keep and Jon slowly walks up. Grey Worm is already there – dude, the Unsullied are FAST! Tyrion stands to the side.   Drogon swoops overhead and lands in the courtyard and a few seconds later, Queen Daenerys Targaryen walks out to the top of the stairs to address her loyal Dothraki and Unsullied troops.  
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She speaks to the crowd in Dothraki and then High Valyrian and gives a super creepy Hitler-esque speech “Thanks for helping me liberate the city, y’all!  You guys have been so supportive and we are not going to rest until we have liberated the entire WORLD from the shackles of life!!!”  All of Dany’s supporters cheer. “Also, we are going to have a big potluck tomorrow to get to know our 27 surviving King’s Landing citizens! This is a reminder that I’m making my famous ambrosia salad flambée  and I really don’t want anybody one-upping me, so please steer clear from any and all other pineapple dishes with cool whip, m’kay?  It might just push me over the edge.  You guys are the best! See you tomorrow at 3pm near the charred moms and toddlers where the garden used to be!” Jon and Tyrion don’t understand a word she said, but they’re pretty sure it ain’t good.  Of course it’s not – ambrosia salad is not meant to be flambéed, it’s gonna be a disaster. But at this point, nothing Dany does would surprise me anymore.
Tyrion steps forward and stands next to Dany, who goes “You freed your brother, traitor.” And Tyrion goes “Yeah, but you just massacred a city, psycho, so there! Oh and btw, I don’t want to be your hand anymore.”  He removes his pin and tosses it down the stairs – y’all that is a bigger burn than what Dany just did to all of King’s Landing!    Daenerys’s guards escort him away.  Frankly, I thought she would just barbecue him right then and there, so things are going better than expected.
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Jon stares warily at Dany who coolly gazes back at him and marches into the interior of the Red Keep. I don’t get how anybody can believe this is a sound structure, but then again all the building code enforcers are likely buried under a pile of rubble.  
Suddenly, Arya pops up next to Jon who is surprised to see her in King’s Landing.  She tells him of her plan to kill Cersei, “but your queen got there first.”  Jon is quick to remind her that Daenerys is everybody’s queen.  Arya retorts “Tell that to Sansa.” She also warns Jon that now that Daenerys knows his secret lineage, she’ll probably kill him one of these days.
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Shortly after, Jon pays a visit to Tyrion, whose makeshift prison cell is a room filled with off-season Pier 1 decorative vases.  Talk about cruel and unusual punishment.  Tyrion attempts to turn Jon against Dany and gives him a whole spiel about how people with access to weapons of mass destruction and a penchant for mental instability somehow shouldn’t be allowed to be in power.  Jon’s all “Meh, it’s not really my decision to make. I’m gonna focus on the things I can control – like the tightness of my man bun and the number of steps I’m clocking on my fitbit.  Dude, this whole King’s Landing trip has got me up to 50K steps and it’s not even lunchtime!” “O-kay…but Dany really needs to be stopped.”  There’s a bunch of bumbling convo about how Tyrion really did love and believe in Dany and how love clouds reason. Jon tells Tyrion “Love is the Death of Duty” and Tyrion is blown away by the poetic insight, then realizes it’s Jon saying it and goes “Did you just come up with that on your own?” “Nah, man.  Maester Aemon said it to me once.”  “Yeah, that makes more sense.  Well, let me just take that gem, flip it and reverse it:  Maybe sometimes Duty can be the Death of Love…just sayin’.”  This wordplay is way too much for Jon to handle and he has to take a seat.  Probably as a defense for the writers to take Dany down the path of crazyville, Tyrion points out all the cruel things Daenerys has done in her pursuit of the crown and he says she was cheered on and thus validated in feeling that she is right and good.  When Jon tells him none of it matters now that the war is over, Tyrion goes “Is it though? She won’t stop till she’s the queen to everybody in this world – how is your family going to react to that?  And do you really think that she won’t kill you, too, one day – the person with a better claim to the throne?” Finally, Tyrion tells Jon that he has to make a choice – and has to make it now. Visiting hours are over and Jon leaves, making no commitments either way. Just Jon being Jon, folks.
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Jon approaches the entrance to the throne room – Drogon is guarding it.  The dragon stirs from a pile of ashes, gives Jon a once-over and deems him worthy to pass.  Damn straight, ‘cause he’s a true Targaryen!
Meanwhile, Daenerys enters the throne room – or rather, what’s left of it.  The roof has been blown off with several of the exterior walls missing and the floor is covered with so much ash, it looks like a blanket of snow.  She stares at the Iron Throne - solitary in the open space -and walks toward it.  At last, she reaches it and touches one of the swords. This throne has always been so far from her grasp – even in her vision from the House of the Undying she never did manage to touch it - this moment has been a long time coming.
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She turns to see Jon Snow at the doorway and she tells him a boring story about her childhood and how she assumed the Iron Throne was this gigantic behemoth of a throne.  Jon is just all “Hey, gurl…so…your soldiers are still slaughtering peeps in the street.  That’s pretty effed.”  Dany is all calm with crazy eyes saying things like “We can’t hide behind small mercies – sometimes you have to kill a whole bunch of innocent people to save an even bigger bunch of innocent people.” When Jon asks her if she’s actually seen all the children that she’s killed in the streets – children, women, men who had nothing to do with any of this, he insists that mercy has to be a part of the vision for a better world.  
Dany’s just all “I’m a visionary – I get that it’s really hard for you to see the grand scheme here, since you know nothing, but just trust that I know what is good and right.” It’s a callback to the convo Jon had with Tyrion just five minutes ago. Jon asks “Well, what about everybody else who thinks they know what’s good and right?” Dany replies, slightly flippantly “They don’t get to choose.”  She asks Jon to be a part of her awesome dream and of course he tells her “You’re my queen.  You always will be.”  They kiss and embrace.  
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 Then, mid-hug, THWUMP! Jon plants a dagger into Daenerys’ chest. Dany didn’t see this coming and is flummoxed.  She collapses and dies in Jon’s arms, a trickle of blood spills from her mouth as he lays her on the ground.
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Sensing a disturbance in the Force of the Mother of Dragons, Drogon flies up to investigate.  He sees him momma lifeless on the ground and gives her a few nudges with his nose “Wake up, mama!!!” It’s all kinda heartbreaking if you can forget the entire last half of the previous episode where Drogon and his mommy were burning up all of King’s Landing.
Drogon looks at the dagger in Dany’s chest and then at the Iron Throne and Jon.  He breathes in deeply and you can see the fire near the back of his throat.  Holy Moles, is he going to toast Jon and then we see Jon arise from the flames? Nope. He lets out a huge stream of fire…not on Jon, but on the throne.  What?!  Is Drogon a big dumdum for thinking the pointy throne killed his mom or is he such a genius that he understands the Iron Throne is a symbolism for power, the pursuit of which ultimately led to his mother’s demise?  We’ll never know, but either way, I think we can all agree it’s a weird reaction coming from the dragon.  But it looks cool, so I guess there’s that. Drogon melts the entire throne to the ground.  Then he picks Daenerys up gently in his talon and takes off.  Jon is completely unharmed and would ya look at that – no dead body!  Thanks Drogon!  Now Jon can be all “I dunno where Daenerys went…she said she was going out for some milk”, and nobody will be the wiser.  #PerfectCrime
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We get a close up of Tyrion’s face – he wakes up from his prison cell floor and guards take him to the old dragon arena.  Judging by the length of his beard, several weeks have gone by.  Grey Worm leads him to a semi-circle of seated noblemen and women. It’s pretty much all the noble families left in Westeros - about a dozen or so peeps:  Yara Greyjoy, the new Dornish prince, Robin Arryn and his adviser, Ser Davos Seaworth, Ser Brienne of Tarth, Lord Gendry, Samwell Tarly, Edmure Tulley and a few faces we don’t recognize, plus the three Stark siblings: Bran, Arya and Sansa.
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When Sansa asks where Jon is – he was supposed to be at this meeting - Grey Worm replies that he’s their prisoner and the Unsullied get to decide who earns a get out of jail pass to attend the Westerosi Nobles Summit.  Hold the door, people!! Wait a second.  First of all:  Jon’s milk cover story didn’t work???  Also, are we supposed to assume that Grey Worm has just been hanging out twiddling his thumbs waiting for somebody to tell him what to do?  Isn’t he second in command to Daenerys and thus the new person in charge?  Wouldn’t Tyrion and Jon be dead already for their crimes?  And who called everybody for this summit anyway?  Ok, none of these questions will be answered, so let’s get back to the action:
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The gist of the gathering is that all the nobles have to decide what to do next, since there isn’t a monarch to make any decisions for the realm.  Tyrion, the prisoner, is the dude who gets to do all the talking and comes up with a plan where all the nobles should just get to vote on who should be king.  Sam suggests they try a democracy and everybody yucks it up. Lame.  Edmure Tulley tries to nominate himself and Sansa tells him to sit the eff down.  
Then Tyrion goes on to suggest that the person with the best stories should get to be the ruler – because, ya know, it’s stories that unite people.  And who has a better story than Bran Stark? Um…pretty much all the other perfectly qualified women in the half-circle.  Sansa objects that Bran doesn’t want to be king and besides, he can’t have kids.  But for Tyrion, this is a minor detail:  Who better to rule than somebody who doesn’t want the power?  And let’s just elect rulers rather than passing down the throne via birthright!  From now on, all the nobles will get to vote for their next king or queen.  When Tyrion asks Bran if he’s ok being the Big Kahuna, Bran with his super dead-in-the-eyes mug goes “Why do you think I came all this way.”  HOLD THE DOOOOOOOR, people!!!! Are you saying Bran knew this WHOLE time that he was going to be king?  Are you kidding me?  Is this the dumbest thing ever?  Do I now have to pick apart a gazillion instances that make this so messed up if Bran always knew where things were going?  No.  We’ll stop here.  
Everybody votes for Bran except for Sansa who goes “I love you little bro, you’re gonna be awesome as king but I can’t support you because the North is going independent baby. We’re ruling ourselves!!!” And Bran just nods.  Now everybody else feels like a total moron for not putting in any special requests for their regions when they voted “Aye” for Bran. Ha, suckers!
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Finally, to conlude this extremely boring scene, Tyrion names Bran king and puts in a super offensive name in his official title:  Bran the Broken, first of his name…yadda, yadda.  Bran looks around at everybody super hurt and goes “You guys have been calling me that behind my back this whole time?!”  To get back at him, Bran tells Tyrion he has to be hand of the king. Grey Worm is all “You can’t do that! He’s our prisoner!”  And Bran’s all “I can do what I want cause I’m king! Nanny, nanny, boo, boo!  Also, Tyrion messed up big time and now he has to dedicate the rest of his existence to fixing his mistakes.”  Um, seems like a pretty cush job to me, frankly.  
They also throw in that the Unsullied can take The Reach as their own land, since pretty much nobody in Westeros lives there anymore.  It’s the equivalent of telling them they can have Nebraska, and guess what?  Nobody wants it.
Next, Tyrion visits Jon, whose beard is also looking cray from all the weeks of growing it out.  He gives him the news:  The Unsullied wanted Jon dead and the Stark sisters wanted him released, so Bran hit a compromise wherein Jon has to go back to the Wall and live out the rest of his days there, just like a regular Night’s Watchman:  No wifey, no kids, no lands.  Jon’s all “Why the hell is there even still a wall?” –“Duh, because.”
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We see a freshly groomed Jon walk through the docks of King’s Landing, accompanied by two dudes from the Night’s Watch.  Grey Worm gives him the stinkeye from his ship – the Unsullied are heading to Naath. Hey, maybe Grey Worm can find himself another nice girl from there!  
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Jon says goodbye to his siblings/cousins.  Sansa is now queen of the North, which is pretty much what she always wanted.  She laments that they lost their king, though.  When Jon tells Arya she can still visit him she’s all, “Nah.” She wants to explore the seas west of Westeros where the maps end – so basically, our girl is gonna hang out in Hawaii for the rest of her life, hopefully doing more Eat Pray Loving than colonizing.
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Brienne of Tarth is seated with the big Knight-o-pedia book in front of her.  She finds the entry for Jaime Lannister and adds on to it.  She is sure to mention that he had the best sex of his life with her, in spite of his tiny cock.  Or, ya know, she takes the high road and puts in something really nice about him dying while protecting his queen.  Ugh, Brienne, why you always gotta be so good?
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In the Red Keep, it’s time for the very first small council to convene.  Tryion gets all the chairs ready just so, and then in walk Ser Davos, Samwell Tarly, and Lord Bronn of the Blackwater – he finally got Highgarden, btw. They exchange some banter which falls short.
Soon thereafter Ser Brienne of Tarth and Ser Podrick Payne (awww he got knighted, too) enter with King Bran.  Bran notes they are still missing a few positions: boring, boring, and dullsville. Then he goes “Does anybody know what Drogon is up to?” He was last seen flying east and Bran excuses himself to do some Professor X-ing to see if he can find him.  But of course, we don’t actually get to see Bran warg.  The small council continues with the boring business of figuring out how to spend money on rebuilding King’s Landing and it all ends with Bronn gunning hard for new brothels.  Ugh.  Seriously.
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At the Wall, Jon arrives to be reuinited with his good pal Tormund Giantsbane and also:  the bestest direwolf of them all, Ghost!  This time, Jon gives Ghost an affectionate cuddle.
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We get a cross-cut of a bunch of dull scenes of Jon, Arya, and Sansa getting dressed and walking. Sansa is crowned Queen in the North, Arya sets sail on a ship with the Stark sigil and Jon walks out to the Castle Black courtyard.  
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In the final scene, Jon heads out on horseback with Ghost and Tormund and a slew of Wildlings returning to their home. Has he abandoned the Night’s Watch? Is he Lord Commander again and can do whatever the heck he wants?  Is he finally a ranger and is just going out on a temporary jaunt with his pal Tormund? Who knows.  But it’s worth noting that the series finishes in the exact same way as it started:  Men leaving the wall to head North into Wildling territory. The end.
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And there we have it: 8 years of Game of Thrones came to a lackluster end with the Starks all on top.  I’m still processing the weirdness I feel about the show ending this way.  Truly, watching the episode was so dull at times that I just wanted it to be over already. While this could have been a much worse end to the series, it certainly wasn’t satisfying.  But after the bombshell they dropped in the penultimate episode with Daenerys going nuts, I guess this final episode of the series didn’t have anywhere else to go that would have made it much better.
There are gazillions of cool things that were introduced throughout the previous seasons which were rendered somewhat pointless in the end.  I would have loved more exploration and explanation of the mythology and its origins:  The Children of the Forest, the Three Eyed Raven, the Night King, the previous defeat of white walkers and how they came back, the Lord of Light, all the fire priestesses in Essos, where the dragon eggs came from, the faceless men, etc.  Also, I guess Varys’ letters about Jon being Aegon Targaryen were never delivered – or peeps just didn’t care?  [shrugs] Oh well?
I thought this past season would be bittersweet to watch, but it took such an unfortunate turn in storytelling that I just wanted the bad plotlines to end.  Season 8 never did live up to the hype of fan theories that were swirling about for two years.  Can we blame it for coming up short?  Kinda and kinda not.    All I know is that I feel oddly cheated by the final season.  Taken as a whole, though, I still love the show.  I was always blown away by the sweeping visuals, the epic battle scenes, the engaging complexity of the characters.  The acting, sets, costumes and music were all amazing.  And of course, there was the joy of ruminating over all the possibilities of what might come in the next episode, and discussing the show with my fellow fans. Very few series are as special and engaging as Game of Thrones and I’ll miss it for sure.  It’s nice to know there may be some amount of redemption for the story, when George R. R. Martin finally releases the last two books. So I’m holding onto hope for a slightly more satisfying end to this saga.  Thanks for joining me on my recap adventures each week!  It’s been a fun ride.  And now my ‘caps have ended.  Sorry, but I had to.
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monkey-network · 8 years ago
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Good Stuff - THE TROOF ABOUT STEVEN UNIVERSE - Part 2
WARNING: If anybody’s got a clown suitcase, I would very much like to see it. And here’s part 1, if you wish to know more. Thank you, take care out there, and enjoy.
Steven Universe is a charming, popular show with a quad-polar fandom, and I’m only here to point out what I say is legitimately wrong with the cartoon. Simple enough? Fair enough. Previously, I talked about how their action is so basic, it’s inexcusable. Now for Point number 2, which is also my favorite:
THE VILLAINS:
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I fucking love villains. Not just for the who, but why and how they do it. When bad guys like the Joker, Lord Dominator, DIO, or Him do their thing onscreen, I enjoy every moment of their threatening essence (except Jared Leto’s Joker, he sucked). Villains remorselessly do unethical, downright vicious, things to fulfill their goals while initiating setting up the heroes to correct these effects with their efforts and abilities. Steven Universe has villains, sure. Yet, after having so many chances, Rebecca Sugardaddy has failed to make them REAL villains, specifically the Great Diamond Authority.
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Now originally, I was gonna compare the Diamonds to the likes of Fire Lord Ozai (Avatar: The Last Airbender) or DIO (JJBA); villains that work in the shadows and when they’re eventually revealed, they’re already a force to be reckoned with. But looking into how they and Homeworld is set up, there was no other villainous ensemble that could stack up with the Diamonds perfectly like the Gorosei from the anime One Piece.
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Looking more badass than the US Government
Now these five gentlemen aren’t necessarily what make up the end all be all for the series, but above all, the Gorosei are the ruling leaders of the organization that controls the entire world of One Piece. They command the military, the police, and other agencies, like their investigative and espionage departments, and the only people that out rule these gentlemen are the descendants of those who created it several centuries ago. Like the Diamonds, they seek to maintain order and justice for the people of their world and doing so means taking on any sign of revolution (namely Pirates) that could damage not only their image, but their purpose. Both Authorities possess absolute rule over the many classes that are under them and their stance of power can be present with the many actions that effect the characters we focus on currently. The difference between the two ruling classes is nuance, aka a grey sense of morality, aka an actual sense of relatability. So when I see a series having an overall narrative villain, Steven Universe has shown me that sympathy should NOT be a factor in storytelling.
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And their crocodile tears are not welcome either...
Now when I say this, I don’t mean you can’t sympathize with any villain you see. Most of the time, you can feel for the antagonist when their lives never were good to begin with, that’s namely how villainy starts out, therefore making their actions not so much justified, but understandable. Take the rogues gallery that are the enemies of Batman.
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Every one of them has a story to tell and a method to their madness. Their histories weren’t as nice or as hopeful as they may have hoped, and you can feel their pain as their efforts to be successful at something grand falls apart due to the Dark Knight or life’s unforgiving nature. However, the sympathy stops there because none of these masterminds, with the Joker being an exception, serve as a main villain to Batman’s crusade for justice, they’re continuous rivals and one off stories that expand the DC Universe. No evil in Gotham is powerful enough because Batman’s story has no real endgame. Steven Universe and One Piece will eventually have an endgame. And while the Gorosei represent an Oligarchical commodity that separates its order seeking rule from their affiliating countries, The Diamonds have amounted to being under one system alone:
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Yep. Nazis.
And it’s weird I bring this up. For I would’ve thought to have called Homeworld an authoritative caste system where the gem you’re born with defines your class and status, coinciding with the gems’ natural abilities. The specific gems are given a role and everyone plays a part to maintain societal order, like what India has, with the Diamonds being the biggest and strongest gems and therefore are the de facto Matriarch of the gem society, you feel me? That would’ve earned a little sympathy from me, because the Diamonds losing Pink would’ve meant the massive changes to accommodate their order and resources might not have worked out so well and their image as leaders are slowly diminishing and that can explain the huge resentment for Earth and Rose’s Rebellion.
But no. Instead the Diamonds are a repressive totalitarian government that basically control everyone and everything, all the gems below to strictly follow and almost never question their line of reasoning, and they’re reasons for destroying the Earth has been summarized down to the emotional baggage and grudge that came with their failure long ago.
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CAN YOU NOT FEEL THEIR PAIN?!
Wanna know why I didn’t compare the Diamonds to Avatar’s Fire Nation when talking about humanizing the enemy and the connection couldn’t be more obvious? Because before Ozai is ever mentioned, The Last Airbender states very clearly that the Fire Nation is the region Aang and his friends need to infiltrate to stop their manifest destiny. And when we’re early hinted that Zuko’s not full on evil, it lets the audience know that not everyone is on board with those in charge of the Fire Nation invasion, leading up to Ozai's big debut where we see that as the endgame villain, he’s irredeemable and has such a lust for power, that he’s recognizably the main drive everyone has to stop. Avatar did this right because little by little, the main enemy was narrowed down to a single force that hasn’t made itself known until near the end when his presence bear more importance. The same can’t be said for Steven Universe because Rebecca Sugar Rush presented yet another faint mistake.
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The Diamond’s personalities are given to us before they’ve shown us who they are and what they’re capable of...
So we see Yellow Diamond as a vindictive, no nonsense leader that wants shit to get done and Blue Diamond as a more tender looking, yet no nonsense leader that’s grieving over Pink Diamond’s death and does whatever she can to move on and remember the fallen fondly. So, have they done anything before we’ve met them personally? Sure.
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*They corrupted thousands of their own kind (because of the rebellion)
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*Allowed experimentation towards shattered gems to make artificial fusion (because of the rebellion)
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*Ordered a search and destroy on all “defective” gems that go against the Authority’s standards and prevalence while said defectives put themselves in a literally hole of despair for coming out wrong (Gaslighting)
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*And let’s not forget the Cluster (because of the rebellion)
So yeah, quite a lot actually. Now you might be thinking, “But Monkey Network, what does those five old men have to do with what the Diamonds did?” Well, when you see the villainous shit the Gorosei have commanded, their actions are actually more relatable.
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*Ordering the destruction of an island of archaeologists because they were secretly researching forbidden history
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*Allowing a hit on their own government affiliated island to erase any potential surviving threats that invaded there
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*Directing the Marines, or the front line enemies of our Pirate heroes
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*And contemplating their system’s next move when updates arrive
Now I don’t know about you, but these gentlemen make up quite an authoritative class with understandable motives and relatable notions on running the world without necessarily being on the front lines. Kinda like the US over the years? Even when their level of corruption can be on par and we still know little of their true power and who they really are, they’re instantly better than the Diamond Authority because we can see why they’re in command, their thoughts and actions towards our heroes shows no sign of being sympathetic, and yet we see where their motives lie. I mean, their Government’s enemies are pirates. You know, Pirates? People who’ve robbed and killed and are the opposite of order? See where I’m going here? They namely go after our heroes who are seen to be the enemy even when the Pirates and plenty others consider them the enemy. It’s almost as if there’s a grey choice for the audience to wonder whom the real bad guys are. OooooOOh.
Also, quick side note. The Gorosei look fucking cool. Like their designs aren’t exactly human, credit towards Eiichiro Oda and his expressive designs, but they’re drawn with such a level of seriousness and stature that it presents their elder wisdom and grave subtlety towards a subject in a contrasting light to the pirates bombastic, emotional appeal. But the Diamonds?
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This picture summarizes how I will never take them seriously, no matter how hard they try or how good Patti LuPone is
So, what has this amounted to? Basically, Rebecca Sugardop has given us nonthreatening villains that showed no sign of any redeemable qualities beyond their ability to mesmerize us with their acting. That and give us an episode that, in summary, tells the audience that killing an enemy like the Diamonds makes you no better than them. Yeah, I have to go there.
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I’ll try and make this quick.
This episode was Crime and Punishment done bad. For Crime and Punishment, it was an old Russian tale of a man killing a woman that’s rich yet unliked in the community because he believed it was for a greater good; implying that murder is permissible in pursuit of a higher purpose. Same can apply to Bismuth, having faith that in killing the Diamonds, Homeworld can be liberated from the oppressive elite. Here’s where that tie-in ends: the effect. In Crime and Punishment, the killer shows sincere regret towards his actions because it didn’t present any change in the community beyond the fact that an old woman got murdered and the only thing the she was despised for was being a greedy pawnbroker. What regret would’ve there been in using the Breaking Point on the Diamonds? Bismuth wasn’t set on killing any Homeworld gem around, just the leader who show that they mean and will mean business unless they’re fully out of commission. The show wanted to say killing the Diamonds is bad even when the effect of it could be good, but never offered any other method to success and just shunned Bismuth to dormancy until they need her again, proving she might have been onto something.
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Whew. So, what’s the tl;dr aspect of this since you probably won’t take this seriously. Well, call this a domino effect. Rebecca Sugar Pop is trying to make sympathetic dictators, which is itself an oxymoronic detail. In doing so, she failed to make them real villains. In doing that, there really are no real villains in the show. And when there are no villains, the conflict feels dry and absent. And without conflict, she failed at putting together HALF an overall story. And when you’re a coming of age story where it has to end on some note with maturity and change, after almost five years in the making, you just FUCKED yourself over when you didn’t even invest time in HALF of what makes an overall story of good and evil investing and engaging. Oh I’m sorry, what makes an overall story of a blurred line between good and evil. Investing and engaging.
I can’t care anymore. If they get redeemed, sure. If they end up dying like a tragedy, fine. They feel less like villains to overcome and more like stairs Steven has to step on to become a better person. Just let White Diamond be as grandiose and badass as Tumblr’s AUs of her, because again...
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The fandom is doing the show a bit of justice
309 notes · View notes
luzrof-rulay · 8 years ago
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Tales of Zestiria - Post Game Thoughts
(Or, I Ramble For Far Too Long About My Feelings And Theories Concerning This Beautiful Game)
Topics:
Introduction
Gameplay (graphics, systems, all that technical jazz)
Plot
Sidequests
Characters
Character Relationships
Music
Other Media (Anime, Manga, Novel)
In Conclusion
Introduction
Last night, I finally sat down and defeated the final boss in Tales of Zestiria. Needless to say, I had a lot of thoughts after witnessing the ending. Even after having written this monster of a post, I still have thoughts which have gone unwritten. This is just a few of the things I have to say about this game.
For a quick general review, though: 4.5/5 stars. A great story (albeit slightly rushed) with amazing characters and a beautiful gameplay and soundtrack. Even if you’re new to the Tales Of series, I’d recommend you to play this game.
Now, onto the meat of this post. I’ve tried to avoid spoilers as much as possible, and I’ve marked where I talk explicitly about spoilerific subjects. Still, be on your guard a bit.
Gameplay
Right off the bat, this game is beautiful. Having come from playing Tales of Vesperia (a 2007 game with good graphics which are nothing in comparison to TOZ) and Tales of the Abyss (which I’m still in progress with and switching between TOZ and TOA is always pretty jarring), I could not help but marvel at the graphics at every point during the game. The 3DCG animation is fluid and natural – in conversation, the characters have quirks which make them seem more realistic, something which I felt the aforementioned games lacked (not for lack of trying). The 2D anime cutscenes were also stunning, though I felt some were not particularly memorable.
The overall aesthetic of the game is also gorgeous – something I feel the Tales of series does particularly well in general. The character designs are gorgeous, especially for the main cast (though I feel this is a given). The towns are beautiful. Some of the scenery is downright stunning. I’m not an artist or designer, so unfortunately I’m not to grips with technical terminology or criticism, but that doesn’t stop me from drawing breath every time something caught my eye.
The system itself I found mostly easy to understand. The menu is akin to the other Tales games I’ve played, and I found map actions easy enough to understand. (My immediate reaction was that it was similar to the Sorcerer’s Ring in TOV, for a while.) I sometimes found having a secondary character running after me a bit annoying (Rose, this corridor is tiny and you’re blocking the door, please move- oh, fuck, a hellion). For the most part though, being able to speak to the secondary character and get hints about both the main story and sidequests was a godsend.
The battle system, though different from those in TOV and TOA, was in my opinion improved on in this game. I enjoyed having different kinds of artes to play around with, though telling the difference between the three was sometimes tedious. I also liked how easy it was to switch between melee attacks and hidden artes. Also backstepping and sidestepping became so useful in boss battles, particularly towards the end once I got to grips with it.
What I found more tedious was the skills system – I’m sure it will be less so once I get to grips with it, but having a skill tree with different combination options is something that might take me a while to wrap my head around. I also still haven’t ventured near the ‘forge arms’ option in stores, because I’ve heard that’s to do with skills and honestly I still don’t understand them enough to want to do that yet.
Though I do appreciate the ways in which the game gives you tutorials – not through a tedious tutorial battle, like in TOV, but through monoliths (which were fun to find and read, even if I wouldn’t normally have bothered reading the contents of them) and skits (which at least tried to make them sound interesting).
I also appreciated the game’s switching between battles and puzzles for dungeons. It really instilled a sense of, the answer to everything isn’t just beating it up, even when I used Edna’s map action (which seemed like beating up walls and rocks). And though some of the puzzles might have been a little tedious (*cough* water shrine *cough*), once I figured out how to get around the puzzles, it became really interesting to me. Yes, even for the water shrine.
(On that note, is it just me or was the wind shrine really easy? Like, easier than the others, I mean.)
  Plot
The plot of Zestiria, in my opinion, was mostly well done. It follows the journey of Sorey and his friends as he becomes the Shepherd and fights in order to free the world from malevolence, with a focus on defeating Heldalf, the Lord of Calamity.
*** The following paragraph contains massive spoilers. ***
To be completely honest, the plot did feel a little rushed, at times. Even when I got to the final dungeon, I had to check it was definitely the final battle, because it felt like there should have been more. After all, we didn’t get so much resolution on Maotelus’ history or future (though I suppose much of it was up to interpretation). I also kept thinking that there had to be another way of ending it all, especially since in the beginning, Sorey resolved within the main plot to help Edna to purify her brother, but that isn’t addressed in the main plot at all after that point.
In the end, though I had wanted a different ending, I understand that this might be reflection of what the story is trying to tell us. Not all endings are peaches and cream happy fun times. Something has to be sacrificed in order to gain a good outcome, and not all people – humans or seraphim – necessarily believe that what the Shepherd is doing is for the best. (For that reason, Symmone’s story was really interesting for me, though she had more potential than what was utilised.)
So after some consideration, I feel that they ended the game in the best way they could have done for the story that it’s trying to tell. Even if it wasn’t the most positive and happy-ending kind of story, there still is a positive in the future.
(Again, I feel that’s something the Tales games do well – illustrating the multiple facets of a situation, how any solution has consequences, both good and bad. Not everyone will agree, and not everything will be solved, but when the root of the problem has been fixed, that is where the story ends for us, even if it goes on for them.)
*** Spoilers end here. ***
Some points of the plot also felt rather tedious – purify the malevolence here, find the iris gems there, go to and from Glaivend Basin about ten different times. Still, the story behind the plot is strong enough to make an interesting game. It has certainly made me interested in the lore behind the Shepherd and the history of that world as well as the future of it.
(On that note, is Glenwood the only continent mentioned in the game, or is it just me? How do you save the world by travelling over one continent? Are you just saving that continent from malevolence?)
Sidequests
Despite the fact that I’m glad so much of the story was told through the main plot, I feel that sidequests were somewhat lacking. I think it’s because I’m so used to Tales of Vesperia, which has a gazillion sidequests (which I’m almost finished completely! The fact that it’s taken me five years to get close to 100% completion is definitely saying something). Since this was only my first playthrough, I haven’t thought much about the sidequests. I’ll come back to this when I’ve done more of them.
(Sidenote: The turtlez sidequest made my entire life.)
  Characters
Sorey
Sorey, my boy. My sunshine child. Can I just wrap him up and protect him from the world?
I love Sorey so much (if you couldn’t already tell). He’s an innocent, sheltered boy, having lived in the remote Elysia alongside seraphim for all his life. And yet he is filled with a passion and charisma and general optimism, especially when it comes to things like ruins (I love his history nerd side so much, but maybe that’s because I’m interested in history too). He has a definite hero complex (and perhaps a martyr complex?) which feels like a main part of the plot – the fact that he wants to save everyone, to see everyone living in peace and harmony together, and the fact that in this world filled with malevolence, it seems unlikely to ever happen.
Some people might feel that Sorey is too vanilla for them, considering his hero complex and naivety, but in my opinion there is a lot more depth to his character when you consider the hardships he has to go through, particularly towards the end of the game.
Mikleo
I loved this boy even before I played the game. I knew nothing of his character, but his general aesthetic pleased me greatly. The game did not disappoint. Mikleo is a stubborn but kind seraph, one who relies heavily on logic and analysis to think through situations. For that reason, he loves ruins just as much as Sorey, particularly trying to analyse them and to see how things work and what the reasons for certain things might be. (I’m not kidding, a skit about matryoshka dolls is what triggered me to find this interesting.)
His character depth and development is beautiful, especially when you consider his fears in the beginning of the game (not wanting to be a burden to Sorey, but not wanting to be left behind, with the knowledge that he will age much more slowly than Sorey and will certainly end up outliving him). Though he is still a bit of a kid (that much is obvious in how he rises up to Edna’s teasing), he is still rather mature and eloquent.
Alisha
I can see where the controversy comes from, surrounding Alisha. The advertising for the game made it seem as though she was the main female character assisting Sorey, but she ends up leaving the party for the majority of the game. Still, I think Alisha was a well-written character and an interesting contrast to her successor, Rose.
Alisha is a strong-hearted, optimistic girl who wants to serve her kingdom in whatever way she can. Like Sorey, she believes in the Shepherd and the seraphim and wants to see the world rid of malevolence. The only trouble is that Alisha’s resonance, whilst stronger than most humans’, is still not quite up to par, making it difficult for her to assist Sorey as his Squire.
In my opinion, I felt this was an interesting character flaw. It gave depth both to her and to Sorey, considering the effects of it on the both of them as time goes on. Even though many might have been disappointed that she could not armatize in-game due to her lack of resonance, I felt it befitting of her character.
I’ve not played her DLC yet, but I still enjoy her character very much and think her development throughout the game was strongly written, even if it was mostly in the background.
Lailah
I love Lailah so much. As the guardian type of character, she has the most knowledge – and yet, she cannot pass on much of it due to an oath restricting her from it. This, I feel, is a huge part of what makes one of the main plot themes, ‘finding the answers’. (I’ll talk about that later, though.)
Lailah is a cheerful but conscientious character. She has experienced being a Prime Lord for a Shepherd before, and knows about the truth behind the Dawn of the Age of Chaos. Her inability to speak about it makes her rather mysterious (though I enjoy her whimsical methods of avoiding the subject). Outside of her role as a Prime Lord, Lailah is a humorous and almost motherly character (though she’d rather you call her ‘big sister’, thanks). She cracks puns and jokes quite often, much to the chagrin of her friends.
I also enjoy the development she goes through and her subtle way of realising that she doesn’t have to carry her burden all on her own, either. (The Lailah and Rose conversation before the final battle makes this all the more poignant, in my opinion.)
Edna
I will fight for Edna. I love Edna. Protect Edna 2K17.
Seriously, though, Edna is wonderful. She is a sassy, sarcastic character with a troubled past and present (particularly familial). She enjoys poking fun at the more gullible characters, particularly Mikleo (or Meebo, as she calls him).
Her development is also beautifully done, particularly in the sidequest concerning the dragon at Rayfalke Spiritcrest. Though she is reluctant at the beginning of the game, we see her opening up to her companions and fighting alongside them for their cause. I might have liked to see more development for her in the main plot, though I feel the sidequests did her justice enough.
Rose
I love Rose.
By day, she’s a cheerful merchant, always shaking the hand of capitalism in search of a deal. By night, she becomes an assassin, gracing weary bones with peaceful rest. And her dual personality is only the top layer of her character – it doesn’t even scrape the surface of her past.
(This is something I feel particularly in regards to the anime, though I’ll speak about that later.)
I love that Rose acts as Sorey’s foil – the dark to his light, in a sense, though they fight for the same cause and are both of pure heart. She is just as selfless and forgiving as he is, though her way of solving problems is different from Sorey’s. (Is anyone else getting flashbacks to Flynn and Yuri? One seeks justice through what is morally right, the other through murder…)
Her reluctance to accept the existence of seraphim also intrigued me and gave her role as Sorey’s second squire an interesting twist. I also love how she develops, eventually accepting and embracing the seraphim, and being grateful for their presence around her.
Dezel
(Brb, currently weeping softly.)
Dezel grated on me a bit at first, mostly because of how he acts when we first meet him. And to be honest, for most of his role in the game, he is the same way, though obviously he does have some development which helps towards his major change of thinking in his final scene. His backstory greatly intrigued me and through it, you can certainly tell that he is only young, and hence gets easily riled up. Any mention/indication of him after That One Scene made me want to cry. His redemption truly was well done. I would have liked to see more of him.
Zaveid
This man needs to be stopped. Stop Zaveid 2K17.
(I’m joking, but still.)
I love Zaveid. He reminds me a lot of TOV’s Raven – kind of a comic relief in his commentaries, particularly concerning ladyfolk, but with a depth of character hidden behind that mask. I did feel that his entrance to the party was a little rushed (they could have given us a little time to grieve, dammit), but other than that I enjoyed playing as him. I feel like his development was a little less obvious because of the façade he keeps up, as well as his status as a semi-antagonist in the beginning, but in general, he was well written and interesting.
  Character Relationships
In general, I love the relationships between the characters. I love that the game places no emphasis on romance and tonnes of it on the platonic bonds between our main cast, and how they work together and support each other. By the end of the game, they felt like a real family, which brought back fond memories of TOV for me.
For now, I’m only going to go into depth on one relationship. I might come back to add more, once I’ve had more time to ruminate on them. There are so many different relationships in this game that it would take me forever to go through all of them.
Sorey and Mikleo
Arguably the most important relationship in the game. Whether you see it as romantic or platonic is kind of irrelevant (though I will not deny that I see it as romantic, I still deeply appreciate the bond between them regardless) – Sorey and Mikleo share a deep bond and understanding of each other. They are childhood friends, and having been raised together have experienced everything together – the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s together that they spent their childhood exploring ruins and having fun.
As the developers have mentioned, they are each other’s ‘one and only’, in that they care more deeply for each other than for anyone else. They both worry for each other when they leave Elysia – with Sorey worrying that Mikleo will get hurt and Mikleo worrying about being a burden on Sorey. Added to that is the fact that Mikleo is a seraph and Sorey a human, and so there is a time limit on how long they can spend by each other’s sides (or so they think).
One of the most beautiful aspects of this relationship, for me, was Mikleo’s resolve to stand by Sorey’s side, no matter what. This kept cropping up at various points, particularly towards the end of the game.
*** Massive spoiler section. ***
In the final battle, Sorey and Mikleo armatize to perform a coup de gras of sorts (then immediately fall down sobbing, causing me to also start sobbing). This happens directly after Sorey makes it clear that this is something he has to do for himself and asks no one else to help him with – it’s almost as though he knows that Mikleo will stand by him regardless.
Then, in the end, as has been confirmed by developers, Mikleo slows his aging so Sorey will recognise him and waits for him to wake up, even finding a way to protect him as he sleeps. And the look on Mikleo’s face when a familiar gloved hand stops him from falling into a pit in the ruins (it has to be Sorey, who else would it be, who else would Mikleo look at like that?). It just kills me every time. The fact that their joint dream is to be together, exploring the world.
*** Spoilers End Here ***
Honestly, there aren’t enough words to describe the relationship between Sorey and Mikleo. All I will say is that it reminds me of Makoto and Haru from the anime Free! – two childhood friends whose dream is to stay by each other’s sides, with a bond transcending words, one which shines through, no matter whether people see it as platonic or romantic.
  Music
(Prepare for me to go all music nerd on you here, because the OST is what made this game special, in my opinion.)
(Little secret – this entire thing has been written whilst listening to the full OST. As I write this, I’m 1 hour 32 minutes in.)
The Tales OSTs are generally strong, from what I’ve heard. Vesperia’s will always have a space in my heart, and I use a few songs from it in my writing playlists. But in some ways, I feel like Zestiria’s is on a whole other level. But maybe that’s because, this time, I’ve paid more attention.
My favourite thing about this soundtrack is its leitmotivs and arrangements. For example, one that I only noticed after finishing the game was that a couple of the battle tracks (but particularly ‘Uphold Your Will with a Sword in Hand’) are arrangements of one of the first themes you hear in the game, ‘Unchanging Everyday’. Just a masterful technique in giving us something familiar in a new way, in my opinion.
But the arrangements which stole my breath were the ones for the four shrines: Fire (‘Flaming Bonds are Being Tested’), Water (‘Melody of Water is the Guide in Spiritual Mist’), Earth (‘Competing with the Honour of the Land’) and Wind (‘Fight Between the Wind and the Blinking Sky’).
Oh. My. Word.
When I first heard the fire shrine’s theme, I thought it was badass enough without knowing what was to follow. With a flamenco vibe, it gives an air of fiery passion reminiscent of a bullfight or a pasodoble. The use of the orchestra in tandem with flamenco guitars and synth melodies gave it a modern vibe and made the piece feel much bigger and more alive. Any time I hear it, it makes me want to go out and do something. Punch a wall. Fight a man. You know, that kind of thing.
But boy, did I not know what was to come.
I teared up at the water shrine’s theme. I’m not even going to lie; it still makes me emotional. At first, it was because, hey this is an arrangement of the fire shrine, how awesome! Then the orchestra backed up what was already an amazing piano piece. It flows like water, with an elegant classical vibe in the oboe and harpsichord, giving off a feeling of a grand orchestral concerto. Then it has pumping, staccato sections, mimicking how water can change quickly and without warning. The middle section feels like a rushing current or a waterfall – powerful and intimidating.
I’ll stop waxing poetical about the water shrine theme now. But it’s still my all-time favourite.
Out of the four, the earth shrine theme is my third favourite (with first and second place for water and fire, respectively). I love how it mixes choral music with a tribal vibe by adding panpipes and thundering percussion. I also really appreciate the addition of electronic instruments; it gave the piece a vibe I didn’t expect. The piece uses strong brass to portray the strength of earth, but also makes use of quieter sections to illustrate how earth can also be peaceful. The strong bass beat also fits the theme exceptionally well. Also the change in time signature at the electronic section really gives a beautiful contrast. As for the chorus, I love how they use a staccato technique, making every word stand out. Even if you don’t understand what they’re saying, the impact is clear.
And then we get to wind.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the wind shrine’s music. I prefer the other three, but I still think this piece is masterful. Part of what strikes me with it is the sibilance in the choral part – the repeated use of an ‘s’ sound. It makes it sound like it’s actually the wind which is singing. I also love the use of strings, which create a flowing, legato sound which still manages to sound strong due to the addition of the other orchestral instruments, particularly the brass and percussion. The drum section with the gongs which leads into a section of faster choral singing (with so much sibilance, oh my word) is invigorating. And then, how it slows down and calms afterwards really gives a nice contrast, showing how the winds change, how they can go from brutal to calm in only moments. And then, once again, electronic effects aid to give the music a modern vibe as well as adding an interesting percussive effect.
If I had time, I would love to do in-depth analyses of all four arrangements, but for now this will have to do. In any case, these pieces in particular are not the only ones which caught my attention during the game. There is one other piece which made me particularly emotional, and that was the first piece which played in Glaivend Basin – aptly named ‘War at Glaivend Basin’.
From the very first notes, this piece had me enraptured. The strings combined with the synthesisers managed to create a beautiful and heart-wrenching atmosphere. The way I tweeted about it when I first heard it is what I think sums up my feelings from it: “the beautiful, languid string melody; the thudding, heart-wrenching bass; the feeling of hope, despair and the tragedy of war all in a song.”
I’m honestly not kidding, this piece made me have a lot of emotions, particularly when associated with the emotions already in the plot at this point, what with the war going on.
And how could I speak about music within TOZ without giving a mention to the opening theme?
White Light by Superfly is my JAM. Has been for months, but still. It’s the only opening theme I’ve not skipped once (I apologise to Bonnie Pink’s Ring a Bell, I adore it but I do skip it sometimes). I love the thudding bass, the amazing guitar riffs, how during the verses it focuses on the vocals (or solo guitar, in the game’s OP) and the percussion. The singer’s vocals are so strong, and the guitar in the game gives an amazing feeling of badassery with its distortion at times. It does an amazing job of making you feel pumped up, no matter the situation.
(Case in point: I listened to it whilst trying to write this paragraph. I got distracted singing along, but it made me smile and feel motivated.)
(Not to mention the animation for the OP is beautiful. It fits the mood of the song perfectly.)
(THIS JUST IN I FOUND AN ORCHESTRAL ARRANGEMENT DONE FOR THE TALES OF ORCHESTRA PERFORMANCE AND IT’S BEAUTIFUL PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS MASTERPIECE.)
In any case, TOZ’s soundtrack is amazing. It’s a difficult one to rival.
  Other Media
The thing with the other media associated with this game is that there is more of it than I’ve had a chance to explore properly. In any case, I have a few points to make.
I’ve read a little bit of the manga, and look forward to seeing more when it comes out – so far I like how it takes a slightly different approach to telling the game’s story. I’ve also yet to read the novelisation, but that’s something which particularly interests me and I’m certainly going to make time to do it.
As for the anime.
Ah.
Tales of Zestiria the X.
Naturally, it makes differences from the game. That much is a given – if they just retold the game, there wouldn’t be much point in making an anime adaption, right? I also understand that they wanted to fix the controversy about Alisha and Rose – of Alisha’s story not being developed enough and Rose being a bad substitute for her.
Still, I think in their quest to right the wrongs of Alisha and Rose, they have neglected both the other characters and even some aspects of those two characters. In recent episodes, I haven’t felt that Rose was in line with her game characteristics at all – she’s much more negative and seeks revenge openly, something which the game’s Rose did not do since she, like Sorey, has a pure heart. I don’t want to spoil too much, so I won’t go into detail, but it irked me.
Another thing which irks me is some of Sorey’s characterisation – as though there’s no in-between of goofy ruin nerd and the moral shepherd. Alongside that is the relationship between Sorey and Mikleo – I understand that the anime’s point is not to retell their story, but I feel like they downplayed a lot of their dynamic.
(Also, what the heck happened to Zaveid? And why is Lunarre suddenly worthy of redemption? He’s always been a Zagi-like villain to me – a nutcase representing malice who keeps coming back and doesn’t learn, right until the end. It doesn’t make sense to suddenly change his role, in my opinion.)
Of course, it’s also important to remember that there are restrictions that the anime has – for instance, it doesn’t have as much time and space to explore character development in the way that the game does, and the studio budget also affects what kind of anime it can produce.
I think the most important thing is to think of the anime and the game as separate entities, each with their own different and distinct way of telling the story. You as the viewer/player are at liberty to decide which you prefer.
  In Conclusion
I feel like Tales of Zestiria will be a game which sticks with me, both for its moral storyline and for its beautiful cast of characters. Though it hasn’t quite overtaken Tales of Vesperia as my favourite game of all time, it’s definitely up there on the list.
This is only the beginning of my thoughts about this game – after all, I only finished it yesterday. I have a feeling there will be more posts about it here in the future.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for reading. Please feel free to message me with headcanons or thoughts – I love discussing this kind of thing!
Here’s to the journey ahead, kids.
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stevenuniversallyreviews · 6 years ago
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Episode 93: Alone at Sea
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“But why would a fish ever bite a hook?”
Something I don’t believe I’ve mentioned here before is that both of my parents are ministers. I myself am not religious (not because of trauma or anything, my folks are great), but I was raised in the Presbyterian Church by a mom and dad who often saw things through a “hey, that could be in a sermon!” lens, and that tends to rub off on a kid. Not to oversell the value of these posts, but it’s not lost on me that I ended up writing something to share with people every Sunday. I can think of worse people to emulate.
So it’s hard for someone like me not to notice that Gems take crucial steps towards becoming Crystal Gems through some pretty baptismal circumstances. I’m not saying the symbolism is intentional, because neither aquatic rituals nor the show’s crew are uniquely Christian—Rebecca Sugar, for instance, comes from a Jewish background—but we’ve yet to see a Gem fall in love with Earth without being reborn through water. Peridot first bonds with Steven in the rain. Ruby and Sapphire land on solid ground together in the rain. Pink Diamond and Pearl first realize they need to rebel as a storm brews.
And then there’s Lapis Lazuli. 
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Lapis literally entered the series because Steven broke a mirror, so it’s no wonder she’s misfortune personified. Bad things happen to Lapis. Bad things happen because of Lapis. And sure enough, she might control the same waters that herald rebirth for other Gems, but she’s also consumed by them. Her old life can’t get washed away because she’s still submerged. So an episode about Steven trying to reconnect her with water is bound to be a bit more complex than a joyous scene in the rain.
Alone at Sea takes us to a dark place for Steven Universe, even compared to its preceding episode, the harrowing Monster Reunion. Plenty of bad things have happened to our characters, but for the first time since the Week of Sardonyx we must confront that one of our characters has herself intentionally done a bad thing. Not day-to-day meanness or misguided acts of loyalty to Homeworld, but something truly awful. Almost as if we’re priming for some big reveal about a core character’s moral ambiguity at the end of the season. 
This isn’t to say that Lapis, who also entered the series by stealing the ocean and battling the Crystal Gems, is a stranger to doing bad things. But there’s a gulf of difference between seeing magic antagonist stuff and the learning that she was abusive to her ex. Not many kids are gonna cause marine catastrophes, but way too many kids are gonna have to deal with abusive relationships one day, so Alone at Sea can’t help but feel more raw.
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The first moments of the episode show that Lapis is more than her suffering; she’s capable of having genuine fun, especially with Steven. She hints at her deeper issues by insisting she doesn’t deserve to be treated nicely, but she’s just as quick to snort with laughter. And even after boarding the rechristened Li’l Lappy, she’s willing to give happiness a shot. While she’s uncomfortable about dipping her toe in the water, she still finds moments of joy (particularly when it comes to horns). But more often than not, this positive outlook is hindered by her crewmates.
Greg, bless him, hurts more than he helps. He introduces himself as the guy whose leg Lapis broke, his discomfort around her water powers stifles her floundering self-confidence, and he bores her to death with regular fishing. Likewise, while Steven means well, he’s overbearing in his attempts to make Lapis happy. As awkward as it is, I’m glad the show acknowledges how easy it can be to mess up when trying to cheer up a friend in the dumps. Despite Steven’s apology about pushing too hard, we don’t get an explicit lesson about paying attention to how your friends are feeling instead of steamrolling them with fun. This isn’t a criticism: it’s okay to not get explicit lessons all the time, and it’s a nice change of pace from the show’s recent string of episodes that outright tell us the moral, even though these morals are sound.
Everything comes to a head when the rudder is thrown off, veering Li’l Lappy and her namesake off course. Steven gives that apology, but Lapis reiterates that she doesn’t deserve his help, and this time we learn why: as brutal and bullying as Jasper is, in some twisted sense Lapis learned to love their toxic relationship, using it to take all her grief and rage out on Jasper. We saw a hint of her aggression in Chille Tid, but in Jennifer Paz’s best delivery of the episode, Lapis reveals that she misses Malachite. And right on cue, the opportunity to fuse with Jasper again reveals itself.
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Jasper’s last lines that weren’t just shouting “YOU!” at Steven were all the way back in Jailbreak, but Kimberly Brooks is worth the wait. Her hungry correction that she was “looking for you” instead of the crew as a whole is perfect (the woman knows her way around second person pronouns), and she manages to become even scarier when she transitions from menacing to begging. All at once we see that Jasper is still monstrous, but has been changed by Lapis. Not in the way she’s saying when trying to convince Lapis to fuse again—there’s little indication that Malachite would be any healthier if she came back—but in the way this massive warrior is on her knees pleading to essentially be made a prisoner again.
From her debut, Lapis has been the most powerful being on Earth by a country mile thanks to her mastery of its most abundant resource. She effortlessly bested the Crystal Gems in Ocean Gem, and had the mental fortitude to overcome Jasper’s iron will and wrest control of Malachite. But only now, in Jasper’s pleas, does a character finally acknowledge Lapis’s power. It speaks volumes to their relationship, because it’s not just about control and manipulation: at some level, beneath all the toxicity, Jasper understands Lapis in a way others don’t. It’s not enough to make them a functional couple, but it shows that there’s an uncomfortable level of nuance even in relationships that are obviously bad. It would be much easier to write either Jasper or Lapis off as totally rotten, but Malachite wouldn’t work without a hint, however small, of real affection. 
Malachite made both Jasper and Lapis feel stronger, but they weren’t strong in the real way: they were suffering, and instead of trying to fix this problem, they each learned to like the suffering. And it might be easy to place more blame on Jasper than Lapis, because even here we see how manipulative and violent she can be, but Alone at Sea doesn’t shy away from Lapis’s complicity even when presenting her in a more heroic light. Steven doesn’t call her out on her behavior, but he doesn’t exactly correct her when she reveals how terrible she’s been.
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Back in It Could’ve Been Great and Message Received, we got a taste of uncertainty in terms of Peridot’s future. Sure, a promo spoiled that she was staying with the Crystal Gems, but otherwise there was no telling whether she was a temporary addition. Lapis has the same quality, but amplified to a thrilling degree due to her rockier stance with the Crystal Gems. When I first watched Alone at Sea, I legitimately didn’t know what would happen next. Lapis was such a new and tenuous ally and had so much baggage with Jasper that it wouldn’t have shocked me if she had gone back to being Malachite, especially considering how underused Malachite ended up being. It gives the episode way higher stakes than, say, the Week of Sardonyx, where despite the turmoil you could pretty much guarantee that the Crystal Gems would come out of it okay. Lapis is fundamentally not okay, so anything could happen.
And that actual chance of returning to Jasper makes Lapis’s rejection so much more triumphant. She seems to sincerely consider Jasper’s offer, even when she sounds sickened by the prospect, but when given a true choice she’s able to see past her longing for that life. Malachite began with Jasper’s forceful “Just say yes,” and she can’t come back if Lapis says no. It might be alluring, but unlike Jasper, Lapis refuses to take the bait. 
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I haven’t gushed about Aivi and Surasshu for a while, have I? I’ll be honest, a big part of that is that with the release of Steven Universe’s first soundtrack, the composers stopped releasing background tracks on the internet, and only several years later have these tracks finally popped up again. Access to their music got scarcer and scarcer, but I’m so glad that before it dried up, we got the instrumentation of this final sequence, because it’s really something.
As the clouds gather and she talks about her time fused with Jasper, we hear the buildup of Lapis’s darker theme, and the moment she reveals that she misses being Malachite, the fusion’s ominous two-note motif clangs just once. The track is soon overtaken by Jasper’s synth drum war march, with only hints of Lapis’s celesta leaking in (just like in The Return), but as Jasper begs to fuse again we get the very first quiet version Malachite’s motif (at 1:49, it’s so easy to miss); the fusion’s theme is no longer a force of nature, but a desperate plea. 
A piano rendition of Lapis’s theme drowns out Jasper as she considers her options. Strings build to the same fever pitch that we got when Lapis first agreed to dance, but they fade to a quiet conclusion as she refuses to go back to Malachite. Jasper’s drums make one last appearance as she lashes out at Steven, but Lapis’s counterattack is as musically calm as her rejection. Lapis could have gotten loud, dramatic variants of her theme for her one-two punch defending herself and then Steven, and it would have sounded awesome, but instead both big moments show that she’s shunning loudness for peace. Tying all these musical themes together is impressive enough, but that restraint ties the whole scene together.
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Jasper is about to dominate the final arc of the season in a story that has nothing to do with Lapis, but everything to do with Lapis. It’s safe to say Jasper doesn’t handle their breakup well, and her collection of Corrupted Gems is less a matter of a soldier raising an army and more a jilted lover looking for acceptance after being abandoned for what’s likely the first time in her very long life. This is the first in a string of blows that knock Jasper down more than her fight with Garnet ever did: it’s one thing to lose, but it’s another to be rejected, and until Jasper learns to make a change, rejection is the only future she’s got.
Lapis goes right back to being an angsty teen after this, despite getting more comfortable around Peridot. But Alone at Sea makes me appreciate her eventual abandonment of Earth when the going gets tough again, because while it’s not the right thing to do, it makes sense that a character with massive unresolved trauma would follow the most defensive instincts possible to avoid further pain. I’m not huge on the show just saying Lapis did something awful and not following it up with much soul-searching, but she does plenty of work outside of Jasper and perhaps it’s for the best that she focused on less toxic parts of her life for self-improvement.
The big bummer of Lapis and Jasper’s story is that it never really resolves: even when Jasper halfway reforms, she and Lapis will never share a screen again, let alone have a conversation. I’m not saying I want a reconciliation, but apology is good for the soul, so I hope that someday Little Homeworld sees a moment where Lapis says she’s sorry for her part in Malachite’s agony, even if Jasper was worse.
Still, seeing Lapis refuse to re-fuse still works as a resolution to the episode, if not the arc. And she does work on her issues in other ways, even if Jasper doesn’t. But even though this is their last interaction in the series, admitting your mistakes and choosing not to repeat them is itself a noble step.
I’ve never been to this…how do you say…school?
She’s not even in the episode, but Pearl and her swim cap are the winner of this entry. Does nobody else care about their hair?
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We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!
This is our second excellent feel-bad episode in a row. We may not ever get an acknowledgement about the abusive nature of Lars and Sadie’s relationship in Island Adventure, but at least we have this episode addressing the issue.
(Bear in mind I’m not champing at the bit for more abusive relationships in children’s media, but if you’re going to have them, I just think it’s irresponsible not to use them as an educational tool, is all.)
Top Fifteen
Steven and the Stevens
Hit the Diamond
Mirror Gem
Lion 3: Straight to Video
Alone Together
The Return
Jailbreak
The Answer
Sworn to the Sword
Rose’s Scabbard
Mr. Greg
Coach Steven
Giant Woman
Beach City Drift
Winter Forecast
Love ‘em
Laser Light Cannon
Bubble Buddies
Tiger Millionaire
Lion 2: The Movie
Rose’s Room
An Indirect Kiss
Ocean Gem
Space Race
Garnet’s Universe
Warp Tour
The Test
Future Vision
On the Run
Maximum Capacity
Marble Madness
Political Power
Full Disclosure
Joy Ride
Keeping It Together
We Need to Talk
Chille Tid
Cry for Help
Keystone Motel
Catch and Release
When It Rains
Back to the Barn
Steven’s Birthday
It Could’ve Been Great
Message Received
Log Date 7 15 2
Same Old World
The New Lars
Monster Reunion
Alone at Sea
Like ‘em
Gem Glow
Frybo
Arcade Mania
So Many Birthdays
Lars and the Cool Kids
Onion Trade
Steven the Sword Fighter
Beach Party
Monster Buddies
Keep Beach City Weird
Watermelon Steven
The Message
Open Book
Story for Steven
Shirt Club
Love Letters
Reformed
Rising Tides, Crashing Tides
Onion Friend
Historical Friction
Friend Ship
Nightmare Hospital
Too Far
Barn Mates
Steven Floats
Drop Beat Dad
Too Short to Ride
Restaurant Wars
Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service
Enh
Cheeseburger Backpack
Together Breakfast
Cat Fingers
Serious Steven
Steven’s Lion
Joking Victim
Secret Team
Say Uncle
Super Watermelon Island
Gem Drill
No Thanks!
     5. Horror Club      4. Fusion Cuisine      3. House Guest      2. Sadie’s Song      1. Island Adventure
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stevenuniversallyreviews · 7 years ago
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Episode 61: We Need to Talk
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“I’m…not…a real person.”
In Reformed, we see Amethyst’s discomfort with her physical state lead to self-destructive self-loathing, and that’s her arc until Earthlings. In Sworn to the Sword, we see Pearl’s lingering feelings for Rose enhance a sense of worthlessness that damages her friends and herself (usually in that order), and that’s her arc until Mr. Greg. In Keeping It Together, we see Garnet face the consequences of an outsider who misunderstands and perverts fusion, and that’s her arc until Log Date 7 15 2. And in We Need to Talk, we finally explicitly see that Rose Quartz wasn’t as flawless as she may have seemed, and that’s her arc for the rest of the series.
This is a watershed episode in a series that lives in Rose’s towering shadow. Hints of her more problematic traits go all the way back to the second episode, where the conflict hinges on her secrecy, and we get glimpses into the more negative effects she’s had on Pearl (and Garnet) in Rose’s Scabbard and Sworn to the Sword (and Keeping It Together, a little). But these clues are much easier to see in retrospect, when we know that despite her kindness and love of humans, there’s a certain cold distance that Pink Diamond maintained with even her closest allies that’s just as responsible for Steven’s existence. It may be a given these days that the hero (and villain) of the rebellion was far from perfect, but her humiliating condescension towards Greg is a lurching change of course for her character that hits like a slap in the face.
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Crucially, the reveal that Rose has issues doesn’t take away from what makes her great. She likes and loves her friends. She’s funny, as seen in her banter with Greg (my favorite: countering ”I’m getting a little worried about the future” with “Oh, just ask Garnet!”). And despite her blithe spirit, which is the source of all the positives and negatives we see in this episode, she’s willing to take Greg seriously when he affirms his sincerity. Which makes sense, considering what makes her such a huge deal among Gems is her appreciation for change.
Rose Quartz is the savior of Earth, but Pink Diamond was the person who tried conquering it in the first place, and they were the same person. Rose and Pink were both liars, but Rose and Pink both loved humans. They both knew that they needed to change, and that’s how Pink became Rose and Rose became Steven. And it’s vital that this change comes when Greg demands to be treated as an equal, because Pink Diamond’s entire life was a desperate attempt to gain respect. It’s chilling to watch this episode after meeting White Diamond and seeing how closely Rose mirrors her belittling behavior: she treats Greg as a joke, but because she knows how that feels, she immediately recognizes that she’s gone White when she’s called out on it. It’s not shocking that Greg is the love interest that sticks, because Greg is more of a kindred spirit than even he knows.
It goes hand in hand with a more mature depiction of Rose that this is also the first time we focus on her as a sexual figure. It’s kid’s show level to be sure, but the camera’s attention to her eyes and lips during What Can I Do (and, y’know, the song itself) gives us a glimpse of how Greg, an adult who’s at the very least in lust at this point, sees her. And it doesn’t hurt that Susan Egan can go full Megara to inject a certain sultriness in lines as simple as “Oh, yes.” If we’re going to have an episode about seeing Rose for who she really is, well, this is part of who she really is.
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What Can I Do is another big flashback number on the heels of Comet, and not just because we finally hear Rose Quartz sing (which, again, Megara). Scroll down to any of my episode rankings for the past thirty-nine reviews and you’ll see that my favorite is Steven and the Stevens; forget Greg and Rose, the most monumental reveal of this episode is the origins of the Crystal Gems, Backup Band! And, if you haven’t already, close your eyes and just listen to Greg’s Stemage’s guitar solo on its own. Heck, listen to that guitar the whole song. Kudos to Greg for keeping up while his girlfriend turns into an even huger woman.
Greg remains the focus character, and he’s grown since Story for Steven. I love the new lived-in relationships he has with the other three Crystal Gems, from open rivalry with Pearl to big brother friendship to Amethyst to chummy admiration of Garnet. It would make no sense for him to get to know Rose without getting to know her roommates, and seeing most of them hanging out happily and even starting a band of sorts is a testament to Greg as a likable novelty. It’s one thing for Rose to see him differently by the end of the episode, but the rest of Gems take him more seriously as well. He’s a keeper.
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Still, it’s his relationship with Rose that’s at the forefront here, and although we know they end up together, it’s great to see the dramatic first steps. Greg wears his heart on his sleeve, and I love that we’re seeing a more mature side of that earnestness after a flashback that saw him abandon his dreams of stardom for a mystery woman. He’s given a lot for this relationship, and this episode respects him enough to acknowledge it. Rose wasn’t an escape route and Greg isn’t a flaky quitter, and We Need to Talk puts a hard stop to that potential interpretation of his impulsive actions in Story for Steven.
At the same time, Flashback Greg is still a huge romantic prone to huge gestures for huge women, which allows him to believably set up a shining dance floor on the beach just for the two of them (it’s just the backdrop of their stage laid flat!). He and Rose are both shown to be infatuated—Rose even goes starry-eyed—but sustainable relationships also need the sort of dependability and resolve that Greg shows in his words and actions. He proves himself someone that deserves respect, which is critical for their conversation to work.
The talk itself is nicely understated, touching on the fact that both characters have been in relationships before without dwelling on details, and selling Rose’s confusion and distress in regards to love without falling on hackneyed “human emotion does not compute” tropes. It’s just the start of the next step in their relationship, and we get just enough to understand that progress is being made.
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Structurally, I appreciate that We Need to Talk spends less time outside of Greg’s perspective than Story for Steven; it’s not perfect (the final scene in the past involves the other Crystal Gems saying things Greg couldn’t have possibly heard) but it’s better! It’s also a much more immersive setting than the other flashback, using an eighties vibe (Rainbow Quartz’s appearance, Garnet’s keytar) as shorthand for the past even though this definitely happened in the late nineties at the earliest given Sour Cream’s age. And on a fantasy Earth with locations like Delmarva, Keystone, and Empire City, I’m so tickled by Greg’s offhand reference to the real-world Marx Brothers: for the record, I’m pretty sure taciturn Garnet is Harpo, talkative Pearl is Groucho, and clownish Amethyst is Chico. 
If it’s interesting to see Rose diverge from what we’re used to, it’s downright fascinating to see Pearl so confident and sassy around Greg. Story for Steven only references the Pearl factor with a one-off joke, but she practically needs to be a major plot point in We Need to Talk if we’re going to take seriously the notion that she loved Rose. This is Pearl pre-grief, still fighting for Rose, and I love that she’s a giant brat about it, especially after Mr. Greg clarifies how accustomed she was to Rose’s other flings. We only see Pearl act like her modern iteration at the very end as she’s crushed by the realization that she has actual competition: after all those years, she never thought she’d lose. And the tragedy, for her, is that her nettling of Greg about fusion is what caused him and Rose to get closer.
(Amethyst and Garnet are more similar to their modern counterparts; Amethyst is a bit more feral in the past, but she drinks motor oil to this day so there you go.)
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Present day once again bookends a Greg flashback, but unlike Story for Steven we get thematic mirroring between the two time periods. Connie’s on a roll in terms of bonding with non-Stevens, first with Pearl in Sworn to the Sword and now with Greg. We’ve witnessed the pair hang out a few times now, in situations as intense as Ocean Gem and mundane as Winter Forecast, but we haven’t seen anything close to the connection they share here. Which is a shame, because Connie and Greg’s wildly different personalities help hide what this episode finally makes obvious: they’re both regular humans who love magic and are lucky enough to be close with magical people. In fact, they’re the only members of that club on the planet. In that way, they’re alone together.
Stevonnie’s grand reappearance lasts all of ten seconds, but it’s enough to leave a major impression. Greg once again proves to be a fantastic parent, quickly shifting from his initial shock to warm reassurance when Connie panics. Even though his straight recitation of the episode’s moral is a little After School Special cliche, we get a surprisingly bittersweet ending out of his desire to help Connie.
It’s lovely to that these two make this new connection, and while it’s never spoken, their bond is strengthened in retrospect with the knowledge that Greg can see his own stressful childhood in Connie, and is trying to be the helping hand he never got as a kid. And Steven’s exclusion allows him to understand his mother better, holding his gem as he observes the others grow closer. But as we’ll see in Steven’s Birthday—and the entire back half of Steven Universe Future—it’s a somber thing to see him left out of the Human Beings club.
Future Vision!
Connie’s secrecy regarding magic finally reaches a turning point in Nightmare Hospital, which alongside Sworn to the Sword and We Need to Talk solidifies her new role as Deputy Crystal Gem.
Pearl’s confidence in fusion as the thing that puts her and Rose’s relationship at a higher level than Greg could ever achieve is given new layers after seeing the birth of Rainbow Quartz in Now We’re Only Falling Apart.
While the title of this episode is a common enough phrase that it might not be an intentional reference, Yellow Diamond telling White “we need to talk” begins a similar baring of her soul that Greg gives here, to a condescending figure similar to Rose. The difference being that Rose listens, while White zaps away Yellow’s personality, because Rose may be flawed but she’s not a villain, no matter how much some fans want her to be.  
The movie’s rock show mirrors the small rock show here beautifully, this time making Greg the one whose new fusion prompts Pearl to change.
I’ve never been to this…how do you say…school?
It’s been a minute since we’ve seen Hilary Florido’s AU, and here’s another instance of it being the official promo art; like the lack of traditional promo art for Keeping It Together, this may be due to the Steven Bomb rushing things, but if that’s the case then I’m doubly grateful for the time she took to give us such a wonderful gaze into the Steven Universe Academy.
We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!
Definitely an upgrade compared to Story for Steven. There’s something to be said for love at first sight, but this is a great moment in developing both Greg and Rose as people in a real relationship.  
Top Fifteen
Steven and the Stevens
Mirror Gem
Lion 3: Straight to Video
Alone Together
The Return
Jailbreak
Sworn to the Sword
Rose’s Scabbard
Coach Steven
Giant Woman
Winter Forecast
Keeping It Together
On the Run
Warp Tour
Maximum Capacity
Love ‘em
Laser Light Cannon
Bubble Buddies
Tiger Millionaire
Lion 2: The Movie
Rose’s Room
An Indirect Kiss
Ocean Gem
Space Race
Garnet’s Universe
The Test
Future Vision
Marble Madness
Political Power
Full Disclosure
Joy Ride
We Need to Talk
Like ‘em
Gem Glow
Frybo
Arcade Mania
So Many Birthdays
Lars and the Cool Kids
Onion Trade
Steven the Sword Fighter
Beach Party
Monster Buddies
Keep Beach City Weird
Watermelon Steven
The Message
Open Book
Story for Steven
Shirt Club
Love Letters
Reformed
Rising Tides, Crashing Tides
Enh
Cheeseburger Backpack
Together Breakfast
Cat Fingers
Serious Steven
Steven’s Lion
Joking Victim
Secret Team
Say Uncle
No Thanks!
     4. Horror Club      3. Fusion Cuisine      2. House Guest      1. Island Adventure
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