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monsterdoodles · 5 years ago

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Thoughts on Steven Universe Future 3/28/2020

I wanted to write this last night, but there was just so much information to go through.

Spoilers Ahead

Homeworld Bound: I watched the episode when it came out on Cartoon Network’s website. I had planned to go see it in theaters, but that was canceled.

The gems in this episode are very concerned for Steven right now, because he has been missing for days. It must have be a surprise to see him with Jasper walking out of that bathroom. She continues to address him as “My Diamond”.

Steven seems to have run out of people to turn to in this crisis. He feels like he can’t talk to the gems anymore, talking to Connie would dredged up too many feelings, he’s lost his connection with his dad, and now he’s even hurt/killed Jasper. With no more connections, he turns to the Diamonds.

Homeworld is now more colorful than ever. All kinds of gems run around the throne room and there’s even tours of the palace. There is an upcoming election between the two Zircons we met during the trial.

Spinel is on this tour (has she done this before and does she do it all the time? Or is this the first time she’s decided to do this?). There seems to be no ill will towards Steven, and most of what plagued her during the movie seems to be gone (I’m not actually sure how “fine” she is. When Steven asks “What’s wrong with you?” she responds “The usual”. So I would possibly say that not all of her issues are resolved but at least she has the diamonds to support her). After explaining his gem troubles to her, Spinel takes Steven to see the diamonds.

This whole sequence of events felt very fairy-tale-esque. Something about visiting three people to solve a problem, with three very different approaches, except in a fairy-tale the third approach is what usually works.

Yellow can fix any gem and change their form, but the root of Steven’s problem isn’t physical. Blue can make any one happy, but Steven’s problem isn’t exactly emotional either. It’s deeper than surface level emotions, it’s trauma and a lack of a support system. White’s new ability is to let others control her and in a way this amplifies the voice of the voiceless and this can allow gems to talk to themselves. Steven, while controlling White, tries to shatter her, or at least has an intrusive thought about this. This sequence could be interpreted in many ways however, he might have been trying to hurt himself, or White, or Pink, or even all three.

Disturbed by what he did, he leaves. He asks Spinel how she got rid of her “vengeful thoughts” (because that’s how he felt about White, himself, and Pink in that moment). She tells him that she met him and that he told her that she could change. Steven does not want to hear his own advice anymore.

With no more answers or solutions than he started with, Steven leaves homeworld, leaving his sandal behind. Many have pointed out that Steven usually has lost a sandal (in bubbled and bismuth) when he is mistaken for Rose. Here, I’m not sure he’s mistaken for anyone.

So the diamond’s powers are all the opposite of what they used to be. I’m not sure why I didn’t put this together until Tumblr user its-a-gemfact pointed this out, but Pink’s powers were destructive, but she chose to be a healer instead. I think it’s the backwards reveal of all this that had me not thinking about this in its chronological order.

When this episode ended, I was unsure of where he could go. Would he run away all together? Where could he possibly go?

Everything’s Fine: Steven takes the route of denial to try and move on.

Connie calls him and he continues to deflect. He doesn’t want to admit that he’s struggling or that he has hurt anyone. His thoughts about this broadcast on the tv. When he turns it off, he sees his diamond eyes in the reflection for the first time.

So he decides to act like nothing happened. That he is the old Steven and he can just go on with his life without confronting any of this. He looks to the old painting of himself and Garnet in Poolhopping. There he is depicted as an angel. That’s what he want to be. He (unintentionally) yells “I’m fine”, this shatters the glass of his window.

He literally runs away when the gems try to talk him about this. He decides to go to little homeschool again, because it’s the place that he has felt the most needed before.

He crashes Peridot’s horticulture class. Volleyball is there and we don’t get to see whether or not her eye healed. Steven inserts himself into the lesson and offers to perk up some of the plants. Him doing so causes many Plant Stevens to grow and they just run around little homeschool telling people that they are there to help.

It looks like Garnet is some kind of marriage counselor now, so that’s interesting.

Steven then decides to “help” Bismuth at the forge. Blue and Yellow Pearl are there as well as the Crystal Gem Pearl. They are forging “wedding armor”. Is it Yellow Pearl that is getting married or is she merely a model for the armor? When doing the detail work on the armor, Steven splits the anvil in half. He can no longer do delicate things. This is because his stress management is not going well and his body just thinks he is always in danger.

He leaves to find some gems and Onion playing baseball. He joins and catches a ball that almost hits the Heaven and Earth Geodes. For once, one of his plans almost goes right. He lets out a cry of relief and joy, but this destroys the buildings around him. He says he can fix it. He and the plant Stevens begin to move the debris.

When he returns home, the Crystal Gems, Greg and Connie are all there. They confront him about how he’s been acting like he’s okay when he clearly isn’t. He’s even been subconsciously broadcasting a cry for help to Connie’s phone.

Steven has a great monologue here. He talks about the mistakes he’s made these last few episodes, the fight he had with his dad (normal he says), breaking the anvil, the vengeful thoughts towards White, and shattering Jasper. He calls himself a fraud. “How did I keep getting away with this?” He says that he will just continue to make mistakes and fix them forever and ever. He concludes that he is a monster and from within him a monster bursts.

I have felt (and sometimes still feel) like Steven here. As someone with ADHD, my days can just feel like one big series of mistakes.

I Am My Monster: Steven feels like a monster, so he is one now. He doesn’t rampage through the city though. He seems more or less confused and afraid of this new form.

The Crystal Gems, Connie and Greg do not want to hurt him. A plan of attack is never formed. They know that he could potentially damage beach city, so they need to restrain him or return him to his human form.

The B team and the Diamonds (plus Spinel) show up as well. All of these people have had their lives very much effected by Steven in a very positive way. Even the Cluster shows up.

Everyone tries a multitude of ways to restrain and help Steven. Nothing seems to be working and they all try to blame themselves, but as Connie points out, that made the situation about themselves, not Steven. She tells them that they need to show that they are there for him now.

They all give him a tearful hug and tell him all the ways he has helped and now they are there to help him.

“Steven, you must have been so afraid to show us this side of yourself, but we’re not going anywhere. We are all going to take care of you the same way you take care of us. You know what? I don’t have your powers but” and in true fairy-tale fashion, he is transformed by a kiss.

I quoted Connie here, because she said it the most succinctly. This is what Steven needed to hear. This has been a lonely season for him. His family has always been there physically, but him hiding away his problems and feelings distanced them from him emotionally. She didn’t tell him he was or good or that his mistakes are without consequence, she just told him that they would be there for him.

When he becomes human again I think he’s afraid that he has hurt someone. He cries into Lion’s mane. That crying was realistic. I’ve heard people cry like that and I’ve cried like that. It is a great way to end an episode like this.

The Future: Steven has a therapist, finally.

Steven has decided to leave and tour all 39 (apparently) states. He wants to know where to live now.

I’ve seen some have qualms with this. I do too in a way. But in the defense of the show, he does still have his support system back home, he has solid plans to continue to see his friends as well as Connie and there’s always warp pad and Lion to bring him back.

He gives the gems some homemade cookie cats to explain his leaving. They all pretend to take it well. This makes him feel like they don’t care. He goes to the B team and they give him a tearful goodbye. Peridot finally gets to wear an appearance modifier that doesn’t meld to her body.

Jasper, who seems to be living in Little Homeworld now, tries to go with Steven. For a moment, I thought he was going to say yes. She is still addressing him as Diamond, but she does ultimately decide to stay.

Greg helps Steven pack up and Steven gives Greg his room. Steven is leaving like his dad once did and Greg has finally settled back into a home. Steven, however, plans to visit again. The gems and his dad are still his family.

Steven hugs everyone goodbye, for the first time. He and Connie seem to officially be an item after all this time. She plans to meet him at one of his first stops. (Also among his earlier stated plans were college tours with her). He starts to drive away, but he’s still bothered by the fact that the gems did not give him a tearful farewell. He puts the car in reverse and lets them know this. They were afraid of holding him back. Of course they are sad and upset, but they are still his family and this isn’t goodbye forever, it’s just a change.

He finally leaves and it seems that the whole town is out with a farewell banner too. He listens to Being Human as he drives off.

While there is a part of me that wishes some other characters could have gotten more screen time or that some other things could have been wrapped up, the other part knows that this is Steven’s story. Rebecca Sugar has talked about the theory of the sublime before. That when you have a story that goes on without showing it, when the audience takes that story and makes it their own, it becomes sublime. So when the fans inevitably write their fanfiction about Steven’s travels, Jasper’s time at little homeschool, and about the myriad of other character and things they could possibly do, this becomes sublime.

I’m glad I got the watch this show from the very beginning. I’ve met some great people online and irl because of it and it has inspired me and will continue to do so.

#steven universe #steven universe future #steven universe spoilers #steven universe future spoilers #su spoilers #suf spoilers #j posts about stuff

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