#so witnessing a character with such a confused identity is both alien and fascinating to me

[queen0fm0nsterz]

thinking about the Lady again and she actually is the Character Ever.

Starting off with her design. How ridiculously simple it is, right? Her yukata is plain brown and has a single layer, her wig (and yes, I am positive what she wears is not her hair but a wig soley because of how easily it comes undone... that kind of hairstyle is meant to STICK when done with actual hair) has no decorations befitting a woman of her powerful status and her mask is nothing but... empty. You could mistake her for a mannequin and you wouldn't even be wrong. It's by design, after all: she is as insanely important, as a figure, as she is anonymous as a person.

But then, it's with amusement that you note that that boring, unexpressive mask is called the "Rascal's mask" when unlocked. It's such an oddly affectionate nickname stemming from a person so utterly despicable. And then you notice her hair. Her long, black hair that should be hidden under her wig, as the hairstyle goes, but are instead hanging out freely. Not very traditional at all, right? You could almost read it as a small act of defiance of... something. Now, what that thing is, I doubt even she knows. Maybe it's just her way to seek individuality without having to step into zones she does not want to touch.

And then, of course, the lack of shoes. It's not uncommon for people to wear slippers in the house - especially for the Japanese - but she just... doesn't. In that small, small way, she is similar to Six - and every other child in the Maw running around barefoot. Except she's above running, of course. She's got the privilege of floating like a ghost so that she may never touch the ground.

(The only time when this rule is broken is when she fights Six, poetically enough. You can see her visibly step back.)

These strange little things are the first things that push you to wonder about her as a person. Not the title, not the Lady of the Maw: the individual behind the mask. Who is that person? What is she like? Is there a way to answer these questions? I think yes, if you know where to look - but is it worth to ask these questions considering what she does?

That depends on you. Me personally, I think there is narrative worth to be found in what she has to hide. Her foil, Six, finds value in the aspects of herself she does not hide: she is very unapologetic in her selfhood. The Lady isn't, for the most part.

(I wonder if that would make her envious of her younger counterpart in a different context?)

Frankly, looking back on her choice of attire, the fact that her personal bedroom is barely decorated is not surprising. She only has the essentials: a bed, the vase with the key, a few pictures of importance (of people long forgotten, herself included no doubt) and... an ungodly amount of misplaced clothes all over her quarters. All the same yukata, repeated over and over, maniacally folded and arranged in towers, but never where they're supposed to be.

A bedroom is the reflection of yourself. Of your inner world. The fact hers looks so barebones is quite telling about who she is. Or isn't. She herself may have some trouble trying to figure that one out.

I think that, in a vacuum, it's easy to assume that the reason she's so displeased by her reflection is soley out of vanity. That is definitely part of it, but I don't think that's all there is. Because after seeing the mannequins that all look just like her, the four women in the picture who also wear her same exact clothes... and that hidden quote.

This quote, which is from Alice in Wonderland. Specifically from a conversation in which Alice expresses how she doesn't recognise herself anymore because of how many times she grew big and small during the course of the day. She is not the same person she was before entering Wonderland.

I find the way she clings to the dolls and the music box to be much more... sombre when keeping this in mind. In a way, that scene is reminiscent of Monster Six clinging to her music box in the chaos of the Tower; an attempt to attach to something safe. For the Lady, it's even more personal. Those are her toys. Her song. No one can take them from her and claim them as theirs. These materialistic tomes are physical proof of her identity. She likes dolls, and she likes to sing that song from her music box. Surely, that much is something.

But a ceramic toy and an old music box are not really enough to placate the inner turmoil. Hence the broken mirrors, the hidden statues... the hung down portraits with their eyes scratched out - from times of the past. There is a person looking back in the mirror which she does not recognise. That can't be her, right?

It isn't. The reflection is but a faux image of her outward appearence. The inside, however... much like this concept art shows, she is melting away. Rapidly decaying no matter how much she tries to stick to her youth.

Because at the end of the day, that's what she's doing, no? The toys, the music box, her appearence... all of it, just to cling a bit more to the person she used to be. Point being that I doubt even she remembers what she used to be.

You'd think a person like this would be inclined to feel at least some sympathy for all the lost children wandering the Nowhere. A sense of kinship, perhaps, or even just... basic human compassion. She has proved to have very human emotions, after all. This is where she proves you wrong. Whenever you think she's stepped the lowest, she always goes lower.

In her humanity, she is brutal. Relentless, ruthless. She offers no sympathy to anyone and has no empathy to spare either. She is very much aware of what's going on under her roof: she not only allows the Maw to continue being the way it is in spite of having the power to change things, but she actively engages in its despicable practices. She has petrified children in her quarters, as well as their ashes - of which the use is unclear - and then she is responsible for the Nome population and exploitation being so large and so eerily heavy. She's twisted necks, broken bones, murdered innocents.

The Shadow Children are, to me, one her greatest offenses. I don't think they serve any particular purpose other than... being there because she wanted to make them. Children ripped away from their life because of her whims. Not even in death can they rest because she can get her hands on their souls. They're nameless, forgotten shadows with blank masks: they're just like their creator, in that way. Ripped of all individuality and devoid of everything.

Everything she sees, the Lady devours. Not a creature is safe from her shadows and her wrath, especially if they come and actively intrude in her activities. She's twice as aggressive if the Maw is at stake.

The Lady's personal bedroom has another motif piece which I did not previously mention: the Maw wallpaper. While Roger and the Chefs have wallpapers that portray them with her, the Lady... does not. She only has the Maw. She's not part of that picture.

The Lady can't let the Maw change its ways. She is the Maw. The Maw must survive: so must she. To change the Maw would mean challenging herself enough to bring about a change; to her, who does nothing but lament what she lost, that would be too much effort. Too outside of the comfortable zone where she can survive in peace. Miserable, but unbothered.

... For the most part. Until Six comes around.

[lashesofsakula]

Rebecca Sugar’s Queer Universe

Here are the notes from my presentation on Rebecca Sugar and queer theory in Steven Universe.

Today I’m going to talk about Rebecca Sugar, an american animator born in Maryland in 1987 who graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York. She worked for several years on Adventure Time, where she  wrote some of the best loved songs of the series including: “Making Bacon Pancakes”, “Daddy why did you eat my fries” and “Everything Stays”. At the same time she started work on Steven Universe, which premiered on Cartoon Network in 2013. She is the first and only woman to have her own show on the network.

Steven Universe is about a kid called Steven, who lives with three aliens: Amethyst, Garnet and Pearl - the four of them together are the Crystal Gems.

They live in a temple, next to Beach City. (The backgrounds to this show are incredible.) where they spend most of their time saving the earth from being invaded and colonised by hostile gems from their home planet.

They also spend a fair amount of time eating doughnuts, going on road trips, practicing fighting and learning about friendship, love, community and all that good stuff.

Each crystal gem, is a distinct character, in the superhero tradition each have their own weapon and way of fighting. In order to make themselves more powerful they can join together to make a fusion who embodies the powers of the gems that make her up. All the gems are referred to by female pronouns, but as projections of light they can’t really be said to have a gender. Fun fact: the animators worked out what the fusions would look like by playing the game exquisite corpse, where you fold up a piece of paper and different person draws each part of the body, until you unfold it to see what the thing looks like as a whole.

Rebecca Sugar uses her cartoon to explicitly talk about different kinds of genders and relationships. When asked about this in an interview with The Verge, she says:

So much of the preexisting language for cartoons is heavily gendered. For example, how many cartoon couples are two identical characters, except one has eyelashes and a bow? This is the time and this is the tool to expand people's visual language when it comes to what a couple looks like, and to create gender nonconforming characters that are so compelling that you can't deny their humanity. *

If you look at Mickey and Minnie mouse or Mr and Mrs Potato Head there is nothing essential in the characters that genders them, they are merely accessorized in such a way to signal that they are male of female. What happens when we remove those accessories? Does the system of binary gender disintegrate?

In her book, Undoing Gender, Judith Butler describes the performance of gender as follows:

If gender is a kind of doing, an incessant activity performed, in part, without one’s knowing and without one’s willing, it is not for that reason automatic or mechanical. On the contrary, it is a practice of improvisation within a scene of constraint. Moreover, one does not “do” one’s gender alone. One is always doing with or for another, even if the other is only imaginary.**

Here, Butler separates the idea of gender from that of biological sex. Gender is not to do with what our bodies look like; but rather it is the place where what we project out into the world, and what the world recognises in us, comes together. We enact our gender everyday in the way we move around and interact with the world and because everyone’s performance is different, then it follows there must be as many genders as there are people to enact them.

In Steven Universe, Rebecca Sugar shows us the expansiveness of gender and its myriad presentations. In Sadie’s Song Steven dresses up in drag to perform a show stopping hit at the Beach City talent show. Unlike many other cartoons, this is not played for laughs. Steven totally smashes the set and the fact that he is wearing a dress is not even commented on.

In Alone Together, Steven and his best friend Connie fuse to form the genderqueer character Stevonnie. We witness the exhilaration that Stevonnie feels in their body that is neither male nor female, but also the confusion of the humans who encounter them. Where the gems are excited, and celebrate Steven and Connie’s fusion, the human characters are uncomfortable with Stevonnie and they don’t seem to know why.

This is highlighted because while she celebrates the diversity of gender, Sugar doesn’t brush over the fact that it is far from easy to slip outside of the gender binary.

In Undoing Gender, Judith Butler describes how “social norms” are used to police our performance of gender and that we have to choose whether to resist or submit to these in order to live what she calls a “livable life”. How much will it cost us in violence, abuse and/or invisibility to transgress these norms? How much will we be dehumanised, isolated or unfulfilled by remaining within them?

If I am a certain gender, will I still be regarded as part of the human? Will the “human” expand to include me in its reach? If I desire in certain ways, will I be able to live? Will there be a place for my life and will it be recognizable to the others upon whom I depend for social existence? ***

We rely upon others to recognise us, and thus recognition becomes a site of power for those who seek to give or withhold it.

Steven Universe shows this struggle in the episode Fusion Cuisine. Steven’s best friend Connie tells her parents that Steven is part of a normal nuclear family, so that they will let her hang out with him. But they become suspicious at never meeting his parents and ask them to come to dinner with them. Steven wants to bring all three of the crystal gems who play the role of mother to him - but Connie tells him he has to choose just one. Steven lines up the gems and asks them: "Which of you would make the best and most nuclear mum?" (see clip: Fusion Cuisine 2:40) We see Steven trying to force his queer multi-gendered family into a nuclear mold that they can not possibly fit.

In the end they decide all three gems will fuse, to be one mother. This totally fails to convince Connie’s parents that they are “normal”. The fusion, does not know how to behave at a human dinner party - they are too big, too loud, too “uncivilised”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_3zuh6QjfM

And this is where I think the show goes beyond the mere representation of gender non normative characters and enters the realm of queerness. To explain what I mean by this, I want to start with a couple of short definitions of queer theory - while acknowledging that it is a huge and varied field of which I will only brush the surface:

“For scholars influenced by queer theory, “queer” names or describes identities and practices that foreground the instability inherent in the supposedly stable relationship between anatomical sex, gender, and sexual desire” ****

“Queer is by definition, whatever is at odds with the normal, the legitimate, the dominant” *****

Queer theory uses the non-normative as an entry point for discussion, it flips the script on “social norms” and “societal expectations” by questioning their legitimacy. Through queer theory we are able to observe the world from a whole other angle, where the the “normal” or “natural” ceases to be so and it’s weirdness is fully exposed.

As a quick example lets look through a queer lens at the way gender is constructed in our society: babies genitals are glanced at at birth and whatever the doctor believes they have identified determines the shape of that child’s life: from the clothes they will wear, to our expectations of their intelligence and athleticism, to their paycheck when they enter the workplace. This is patently ridiculous, and causes huge amounts of pain and suffering to humans of all genders who are forced into the system, and yet it is widely accepted as both “normal” and “natural” in societies across the globe.

Judith Butler argues that “the capacity to develop a critical relation to these norms presupposes a distance from them, an ability to suspend or defer for them'. In Steven Universe, Sugar achieves this distance is by having the main characters LITERALLY come from another planet. The earth is alien to them and so they see it without the normalising filter that we do: everything that humans do is strange to them and the gems continuously question things that to the humans in the show and the audience seem completely obvious. In an interview on Hot Topic, Rebecca Sugar explains that this idea underlies the entire series:

It’s always been our theory of the show, this sort of reverse escapism theory, which is that a fantasy world and fantasy characters became interested in real life and wanted to participate in that and Steven is the son of a human being and a crystal gem and he’s the product of fantasy having this love affair with reality. And all the imperfections of real life could be beautiful and fascinating to someone and those are things that are exotic and foreign and interesting to these characters who are used to the impossible perfection of their fantasy world. ******

So the gems alienness coupled with their non-normative genders and relationships give them a queer perspective on the earth. This scene between Peridot, Steven and Amythyst - shows the potential comedy of such a scenario:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKBCW8Hcl4k

When we compare these moments with the scene with Connie’s parents we see the multiple ways in which characters are “alienated” from their surroundings. But this alienation is not always painful, sometimes it creates comedy and sometimes it enables the gems to see the beauty in things that humans have long taken for granted.

In conclusion, much has been made of representation in this show, which is part of what has garnered it it’s HUGE internet following. Representation is important: being able to see yourself reflected in these worlds can be life changing for children and adults alike. But I think Steven Universe goes even further: it doesn’t just SHOW us admirable non-normative characters, but the show embodies a queer perspective on the world we live in, in all its humour, terribleness and beauty.

Footnotes:

* Rebecca Sugar, quoted by Kwame Opam, (2017), Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar on animation and the power of empathy, https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/1/15657682/steven-universe-rebecca-sugar-cartoon-network-animation-interview

** Judith Butler, (2004), Undoing Gender, New York and London: Routledge, p.1

*** Judith Butler, (2004), Undoing Gender, New York and London: Routledge, p.3

**** Robert J.Corber and Stephen Valocchi (2003) Queer Studies, An interdisciplinary Reader, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, p.1

***** Nikki Sullivan (2003) A critical introduction to Queer Theory, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, p.3

******  Rebecca Sugar in Hot Topic interview, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9rQlh0KxYo (2.10)

[mcutrio]

Farm House [2]

Farm House [2]

Character Description

Tags: @buckys-little-monster @imaginesofeverykind

The trio sat awkwardly in the Avenger’s jet, watching them unravel from their collective nightmares that Wanda had struck upon them. Kat, although shaken up, had managed to brush away the spike of anxiety as she now sat solemnly beside Tabitha and Court, who both also remained silent.

Out of boredom, Tabitha began manipulating a pen, letting it hover in the air in a cloud of purple energy, twirling it this way and that. Bucky sat opposite her, his elbow on his knee as he lay his head in his hand, fascinated by the powers she manifested.

Upon noticing his stare, Tabitha immediately dropped the pen which fell to the floor with a clatter, causing some of the distressed Avengers to jerk in surprise.

Bucky smiled softly to himself, noticing her immediate shyness. She flushed and looked away, her fists clenching at the bench beneath her.

Gaining courage, Kat brushed her hands down on her thighs and stood to her feet, stepping near the quiet, mind-wandering Thor, who stood straight when he noticed her approach.

“Hey, uh--” Kat fumbled with her fingers, “I came to apologise for earlier. You know, if we’re spending more time together than I ever planned, I guess I might as well start off on good terms with everybody, right?”

Thor smiled at her. “Do not worry-- I would’ve been able to fight back equally as hard if the situation had arisen, fair lady.”

Kat grinned at his reply. “Oh, really? You think so?”

“But of course,” Thor gave her a smug although incredulous smile, “I am a god, after all.”

“I believe you’re underestimating me,” Kat laughed, “there’s no way you would’ve possibly been able to keep up with me. You might be a god, Thor. But you are no match for my--”

“Just get it over with and arm-wrestle, would you?” Court shot at the two of them, fumbling with the music player in her hands. “Jeez, and you called us kids.” She scoffed, glancing at the back of Tony’s head as he sat at the control panel of the jet.

“Well, I’m not one to turn away from a challenge,” Thor clapped his hands together and sat himself down on one of the chairs, where Kat followed and sat opposite him.

“I’m glad you see me as such,” she grinned, clasping his hand in hers.

Meanwhile, Courtenay’s mind wandered to the boy she’d grown infatuated with. Peter Parker, she mused, wondering how his name had stayed so far off SHIELD’s radar considering the havoc he’d caused in New York, Queens in his give or take eight years of being Spider-Man.  The two had met when she’d been sent on a mission to retrieve the Spider-Boys identity, though she’d kept it classified and sworn him an alien of sorts. The two had fallen in love soon after and nobody knew of their involvement.

The journey continued for a few more hours, which consisted of Clint taking the wheel and directing the team and the new additional three to his safe-house, well guarded and hidden off in the countryside.

The trio was relieved to finally get off of the constricting, stuffy jet, and was the first to exit and stretch their legs in the fresh air. They glanced up at the farmhouse, exchanging confused glances.

“This doesn’t look like much of a SHIELD safe house,” Kat commented, rolling her sore wrist from her previous arm-wrestle with Thor which had ended up in an equal tie of clenched muscles that lasted for give or take twenty minutes, considering how stubborn both counterparts were.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Tabitha commented, looking around the area. Clint brushed passed them all carelessly, rolling his eyes.

“That’s because it's not a SHIELD safe house,” he commented, glancing at them as he held an unsteady Nat to his side, “it’s mine.”

“You’re joking, right?” Court commented, raising her brow. “Come on, guys-- we can’t stay here. It's not safe.”

Knowing what would happen if they were caught, Tabitha and Kat were hesitant to argue against Court’s warning.

“It’s the best thing for us right now,” Tabitha answered first, “and if we do get caught… well, at least we’ve got these guys on our side.” She muttered, catching Bucky’s eyes for a moment again as himself and Steve moved past and into the house.

“She’s right,” Kat agreed, “come on, Court. We’ll be fine for a little while.”

Courtenay frowned, still paranoid that the three of them would get caught. “If they come after us--”

“They won’t,” Tabitha said firmly, “and even if they do, they’ve got no chance of hurting us.”

“Come on, Angels, don’t dawdle,” Tony sighed, “you’re not out of the woods yet. Scoot.”

Rolling their eyes simultaneously, the three finally began to move into the house. Though it may lack in physical protection, it certainly made up for it with homeliness. They were almost in awe, having never really set foot in a home that they intended to stay in.

“What is this place?” Thor questioned, not recognizing the structure to be anything familiar to what he had seen at SHIELD.

“Safe house?” Tony shrugged.

Clint swung open the door and glanced back, “let’s hope.”

“That’s… reassuring,” Tabitha breathed, her voice dripping with sarcasm to cover up the quiet worry she had over the situation.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Bucky commented, twitching his metal arm.

Tabitha glanced up at him, a moment of wonder washing over her. There’d barely known each other a day, and their introductions had been in a messy situation. They knew nothing about each other personally-- for all he knew she could be a complete bitch with a nasty, ignorant attitude (which was far from the truth), yet he was here, accepting her and making her feel a little involved and listened to with his comments. She smiled to herself and looked away.

“Honey?” Clint called out, “I’m home!”

A pretty woman with a swollen stomach rounded the corner, her smile dropping to a confused and somewhat surprised glance at the swarm of Avengers in her home.

“Hi, company,” Clint smiled sheepishly, nodding to the group. “Sorry I didn’t call ahead,” he apologised, kissing his wife.

“Hi,” she breathed, hugging him.

“This is an agent of some kind,” Tony remarked, turning to Thor who looked just as confused as everybody else.

Despite everybody’s surprise, the trio remained unfazed, having no thought that Clint wouldn’t have a family.

“Gentlemen, this is Laura,” Clint introduced, smiling.

She smiled, “I know all your names--” she hesitated, looking at the girls. “--Most of your names.”

“These are our new… recruits,” Clint covered, “they won’t be here too long.”

Suddenly, the rampant sound of quick footsteps came tumbling down the hallway to their left, and two children ran into the room, grinning, and launched themselves at Clint who hugged and kissed them happily.

“These are… smaller agents,” Tony said, to which Thor rose an amused brow.

“Did you bring Aunty Nat?” The small girl asked.

“Why don’t you hug her and find out?” Natasha asked, beaming.

It was an amusing sight for the three girls to witness the two seemingly cold-hearted assassins turn into a happy, compassionate family. Only moments ago it appeared that Clint and Natasha were breaking necks and piercing chests with arrows.

“We’re sorry for barging in on you,” Steve apologised respectfully.

“Yeah, we would’ve called ahead but we were busy having no idea you existed,” Tony commented, folding his arms.

A moment or so later, Kat and Steve heard an unmissable plastic crunch, and turned to the sound and watched as Thor quickly moved his foot away from the Lego's he’d just broken apart. Looking up at the two with an innocent ‘nobody saw that’ glance, he quietly kicked the blocks of plastic under the couch.

While Clint explained the situation, Kat noticed Thor slowly become spaced out. His eyes were on the ground, his arms were tense, his forehead was shining with sweat… his daze only became broken at the ding of a toaster in the corner of the room. At that moment, he left, with Steve and Kat hot on his heels. Though she felt as if it wasn’t really her place to follow and intrude, she couldn’t seem to help herself.

Tabitha, alongside Court and Bucky, stared at the three leaving the room, though decided not to question it.

“Thor,” Steve spoke out, standing on the front porch as Thor stepped onto the grass.

“I saw something in that dream… I need answers,” he explained, “I won’t find them here,”

Steve clenched his jaw and straightened his body, watching over the god of thunder who seemed clearly shaken from his dream.

“You took my mind off of things earlier and I am appreciative-- though now I must go.” Thor nodded towards Kat, who sucked in a breath and nodded at him, watching as he spun his hammer round and shot off into the air, a rumble of thunder following. Steve took a breath, eyeing the landscape.

“You could leave, right now,” Steve noticed, glancing at the girl, “why don’t you?”

Kat shrugged, “got nowhere to go.”

With a final, unconvincing nod, Steve finalised the conversation with a flat smile before walking off of the property to be alone, leaving Kat feeling uneasy as she felt Tabitha and Courtenay approach from behind.

“Oh, this is one big mess,” Court huffed, “what have we got ourselves into?” Tabitha folded her arms and leaned against a pillar. “At least we’re safe.”

And though not one of them replied, they each knew that the answer was simply ‘for now.’

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 50*: Full Disclosure

“I want to be a part of your universe.”

Steven Universe is a hero, but is he a superhero? Sure, his powers are magical, and his enemies tend to be more monstrous than villainous, but the same could be said of fellow Steve-with-unusual-surname Stephen Strange. Steven certainly evokes your typical sidekick, and the Crystal Gems have a cool team name that sounds more like the Justice League than the Jedi Order or the Fellowship of the Ring. Most importantly, Steven lives in contemporary times despite his sci-fi/fantasy adventures, and lives a dual life between the weird and the mundane.

He doesn’t fill quite enough tropes for me to firmly put him in that category, but I bring it up because Full Disclosure uses a plot straight out of superhero lore: keeping a secret to keep a loved one safe. This secret tends to be the character’s identity as a hero, which has frankly been done to death; great shows like The Flash (well, its first season is great at least) grind to a halt as our lead continually lies for no actual reason (why would your friend let villains know that they’re prime kidnapping material?), and the plot point has been brilliantly deconstructed by the likes of Brian Michael Bendis’s Ultimate Spider-Man and Mark Waid’s Irredeemable. Steven Universe similarly subverts this story, thankfully in the span of a single episode, to show us just how childish this self-distancing really is.

Not that Steven’s reticence isn’t understandable: Greg, who we’ve seen worry about his son plenty of times before, has a massive freakout after hearing what Steven went through in The Return and Jailbreak, and any kid could make the logical leap that their friend might have a similar reaction. Greg’s message of support through his hyperventilation is everything to this scene; Tom Scharpling really can dad with the best of ‘em.

From here, we have a rare stretch of Steven alone and introspective. This isn’t Samurai Jack we’re talking about, so Zach Callison is either talking to a hypothetical Connie or singing about his feelings. Regardless, we have poignant moments of silence as his rambling falters to the physical aftermath of Homeworld’s attack. 

Ronaldo makes his way into the plot, and does exactly what Ronaldo should do: act pompous and give lousy advice. Scenes like his are why I can never be too hard on the guy, because he has a role to play that no other character can, and he plays it well. His speech is a nice dose of comedy in what could be a bleak sequence, but nonetheless captures Steven’s internal struggle. Most importantly, he doesn’t overstay his welcome!

It’s unfortunate that the song that follows has to come on the heels of Stronger Than You, because it’s one of the show’s finest but it sorta gets lost in the fray:

Integrating the ringtone we’ve been hearing since the end of Jailbreak into an actual song is unspeakably clever. While the workmanlike lyrics aren’t too special compared to other Steven Universe numbers, it’s a welcome return to Steven singing; we may have gotten a taste in On the Run and The Message, but he hasn’t gotten a full-length solo song since all the way back in Island Adventure. Steven may just be singing what he’s obviously thinking, but between Zach Callison, the visuals, and the instrumentation, I’m good.

The sequence has two flashback montages of sorts: Steven looking through past pictures of hanging out with Connie to reestablish their history, and actual events we’ve seen in the past two episodes. Even if these episodes are fresh in our minds, Steven’s specific memories highlight just how much he’s witnessed: Garnet’s destruction, Lapis’s imprisonment, the menace of Peridot and Jasper, the crash, and the formation of Malachite. Note that the headbutt that gave him his black eye is omitted, because Steven is most upset about bad things happening to other people, which fits right into his concern about Connie and his dad.

After some fun with the Gems, we immediately see how childish Steven’s behavior is, first using exaggerated vocabulary and then sloppily avoiding Connie rather than confront his feelings. Episodes like this are the reason Connie is so surprised to learn that Steven is older than her in Steven’s Birthday, because her maturity saves their friendship; Grace Rolek even incorporates a little Doctor Maheswaran as she admonishes Steven for making her worry. But not before this perfect little moment:

Full Disclosure’s insistence on letting destruction speak for itself is wonderful, considering we just got a song that spells out Steven’s exact thoughts. After seeing Steven shocked into silence a few times earlier in the episode, Connie’s wordless run through the hall of the ship as she chases Steven hammers in just how big of a deal Jailbreak was. Moreover, the visual storytelling reinforces her character: this alien stuff is confusing and a little scary, but she’s more focused on her friend than sating her curiosity.

The staging of their confrontation builds enough suspense that it made me a little worried in my first watch, which is pretty impressive considering Steven and Connie obviously aren’t going to stop being friends. I love that we don’t see Steven explain what happened, not only because we saw it and got his summary already when he told Greg about it, but because it allows for one of Full Disclosure’s departure from the show’s signature style. Beyond the reverse star wipe opening, we get not one but two fade-out transitions—one after Steven’s song, and the other during this implied conversation—and both enhance the pensive tone of this aftermath episode.

All this worry makes the conclusion that much more satisfying. On the micro level we see that Greg has calmed down, and on the macro we see the whole town coming back together. It’s not Ocean Gem’s three-cheers-for-Steven ending, but what he needs after such a life-changing finale is a little relief.

And yet.

Act I of Steven Universe is over, with Steven having a major victory that marks a turning point in his growth. Considering the shape of things to come, it’s fascinating that his first adventure post-Jailbreak involves him keeping the truth from loved ones in the exact way his mother did. And it’s fascinating that he’s so concerned about others that he's willing to put his own happiness on the line for their sake, because that’s the self-destructive martyr complex that drives his actions after the story of Rose shattering Pink is revealed. And it’s fascinating that Connie debunks both of these notions well before they become major themes in the show’s third and final act (not counting the movie and epilogue series). We’re playing the long game, and the seeds of the angst that consumes Steven after Back to the Moon are planted right here, but Connie has already revealed the solution to Steven’s eventual problems: trust is the antidote to Rose’s legacy of secrecy, and love is the antidote to Steven’s sacrificial mindset.

Future Vision

Steven gets a taste of his own medicine in the aftermath of Wanted, where Connie ignores his calls and texts. Both incidents are sparked by Steven going to space without her, but her differing reactions speak volumes about her character development: here she’s worried because she’s out of the loop, but by the time he goes to Homeworld she’s furious and hurt that he let her go through it again. Ignoring how far their partnership has come to take on danger by himself betrays how hard Connie’s worked to be a part of his universe, and I’m thrilled that the show addresses this. 

See below.

I guess you could read it that way…

If you watch Full Disclosure first, the knowledge of the Temple’s fence is foreshadowing. If you watch Story for Steven first, it’s a callback. I gotta go with the foreshadowing on this one.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

As the unofficial third act of a two-parter, Full Disclosure suffers a bit compared to individual episodes. But tone is still king for me, and I welcome any portrayal of the immediate aftermath of major episodes. Characters in serials tend to be unrealistically resilient when it comes to episode after episode of drama and trauma, and a big part of Steven Universe’s second season is establishing just how much these past events we’ve seen (versus the first season’s focus on past events in a character’s history) affect our leads.

While Full Disclosure itself doesn’t make the cut, now that we’re fifty episodes in I’m expanding the Top Ten to a Top Fifteen. Congratulations to On the Run, Warp Tour, Maximum Capacity, The Test, and Ocean Gem for getting out of the runners-up slot!

Top Fifteen

Steven and the Stevens

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

Rose’s Scabbard

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Winter Forecast

On the Run

Warp Tour

Maximum Capacity

The Test

Ocean Gem

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Future Vision

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

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

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

No Thanks!

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