Steven Universe
"A team of intergalactic warriors fights to protect the Earth, but the combination of three highly trained beings and one quirky young boy leaves the team struggling to overcome the dangerous scenarios that are put in front of them."
- IMDB
Season 1
While season 1 is a long list of Steven shenanigans as he comedically struggles to grow into his powers, there’s still a foundation of love and purpose under all of the innocent adventures. One thing that is for certain for the whole season is that Rose’s absence is felt literally all the time. The impact Rose made and the impact the birth of Steven made has series wide consequence that extends past Steven growing up without a mom.
I’ve heard Steven Universe be compared to Last Airbender and I definitely see some some of those similarities in the sense that both Aang and Steven were just goofy little kids and as time goes on their power grows as conflicts intensify and this leads to awesome moments.
Season 1 only gave us glimpses of gem lore and I was craving answers all through this season. What was Amethyst? What was Steven? What was Lion? We only scratch the surface in this first season but i just knew there was a whole established *universe* just waiting to be explored. Like all these gems they collect – will Steven heal them and turn them back into humanoids with his healing saliva somehow?
Season finale was goat. Like I'm awake. Ruby and Sapphire........ RUBY AND SAPPHIRE! Now this is as close to lesbian as kids shows are allowed. Gems seem to only be woman, with some gems maybe being a bit nonbinary. But gems are aliens and they don’t reproduce like humans, they’re literally grown or whatever. So with this grey area, romances between gems can be explored and pass as pg lesbian power couples, which..... Garnet totally is. While Lapis’s sacrifice was a very emotional and powerful scene, The bombshell that Garnet was a permafusion of true lesbian love is the very definition of “the ship has sailed” and I was left shook for a very long time.
Season 2
This season, I was really wondering what is home world like. What other ethnicities exist in this gem race? What are all their abilities and given purposes?
The Garnet origin story lets go!!! This episode was very welcome given my questions but also because love wins. We were exposed to gem racism, the concept of fusion of alike gems vs different gems and how mixed fusions are frowned upon in polite society.
This origin story just made me want to learn more about Rose. I needed the full story on how Rose led a resistance and all who was left behind on earth.
Season 3
I got up from my chair when steven tried to heal Centi, like I've been waiting for more exploration on Steven’s healing spit and the corrupt gems that have been collected and secured in bubbles.
They’re really trying to throw some character progression with Connie and I really appreciate that. She started to learn how to fight, bringing some human strength to the team, which is exactly what Rose stood for. Rose stood up against gems for the human race, so it’s great that a lowly human is giving all her strength and intelligence to the table when backing up these powerful gems. That human willpower along with the super cool gem powers is why Steven is so special as this unique hybrid and there’s so much potential from both sides of him.
Also Svonnie.... that is indeed an experience. This is literally like Dan and Phil creating a sim in their combined image. This is so silly but also like.... pretty dope.
While Rose inspired gems to be more than what they were designed for, Steven carried on the legacy by recognizing the goodness in everyone and everything. Everything deserves a second chance. Every enemy has a voice and Steven would rather talk instead of fight. Rose saw the potential in what they could be. Steven saw the potential in what they are. It’s a great way to both continue Rose’s legacy through Steven while also making Steven his own with individual strengths and a different idea for change.
My jaw dropped when smoky quartz entered the chat. We know Steven can fuse with Connie so it only makes sense that he can fuse with other gems. I was waiting for the day for a whole family fusion to go super saiyan.
Season 4
Pearl had a rebellious episode and it made me realize.... she is that bitch bro. Criminal with class. She’s literally my favorite character. I love her so much.
Can we please acknowledge Broadway legend Patti LuPone as the amazing voice actress for Yellow Diamond.
Also the diamonds............. they’re given Firelord Ozai in the sense that Ozai was just a voice and a face in the shadow and we didn’t get a face reveal until season 3 and only really saw his full potential as a killer in the series finale when he was about to burn half the world to ash....... so yeah.... the concept of the gems is very intimidating but I’m really excited to see more of them.
Rose says in that video “I’m half of you.” Like in terms of gem magic is that like literal and figurative because home world gems seem to think so. Is he like the avatar but for Rose like???? What is the science of this. Steven is literally the only of his kind so they don’t really have anyone to compare to.
Season 5
Man I remember at the start of the season how suspicious I was about how a diamond killed another diamond. How Pink may have been murdered by her crazy sister, White Diamond. Things escalated quickly.
We are FINALLY in Homeworld. We are so used to seeing the Gems on Earth living their life outside of their role. But being able to see the Gems in their home turf, seeing the intended roles in action, and seeing what team Earth fought so hard to be free of – this was something I looked forward to for a long time.
Did they actually try to kill Lars? And did Steven’s Rapunzel power resurrect him as a pink zombie?????? And his hair is like lion’s mane??????????? This pocket dimension is crazy bro.
Also can we talk about how we FINALLY saw the truth of what Steven is. The diamonds insisted that Steven was just Pink, and Steven wondered something similar. Rose has said “you are half of me” but did she mean that in a horcrux way. I fell out of my chair when Steven’s gem was taken from him. Turns out Steven was Steven all along. Which is such an interesting layer to Steven as a character. For the longest time, Steven was trying to live up to his mom’s name and felt pressured to be his mom. But now he knows he is just himself. That’ll add different anxiety later, but this was a huge milestone in Steven’s arc of self discovery.
Now I remember during the trial when that Pearl was about to conclude Pink was killed by a diamond, I thought it was gonna say “she was killed by her pearl” in the moment. And now that’s coming back full circle.......... It was a pearl... but.... brooooooo. OUR PEARL IS PINK DIAMOND’S PEARL and Pink was Rosequartz and Steven’s mom was Pink the whole time and the Pearl Rose dynamic finally makes so much sense now that we know the roles of pearls but this makes pearl like not a rebel because she still is following orders of Rose after all this time, always, and this is such a big plot twist ahhhhhhhhh
This literally makes Pearl’s angst toward Greg hit different. Pearls were literally created to love and be devoted to their diamond. Pearl would break the universe for her Pink diamond. Greg was just a human that existed. He did so little to warrant Rose’s affection and eventual demise while Pearl sacrificed literally everything and did everything for Rose. That was her purpose in life. The pain Pearl feels everyday, how she loves and cares for Steven so much despite him being the embodiment of what essentially was a betrayal - that's deep.
It's over isn't it? I was literally crying, Pink Pearl is such a story on their own and I thought Garnet was the otp of the show.
Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl speak so highly of Rose as well, but she wasn’t exactly the perfect the person, as Steven eventually questions. The Pink Pearl story is so complex, and raw, I may have to do a separate analysis on its own someday.
2 episodes left and they literally have never ever mentioned White diamond. I’ve been waiting for at least a dedicated name drop, and when they did, she was mentioned as something else. Then they went on a quest to meet with her and when we saw her pearl......... this was terrifying in the moment. I had no idea what to expect. Like ewwww she looked crazyyyyyyy
Steven hanging out with these diamonds is like Atreus hanging out with the pantheon in Asgard in God of War Ragnorok. But all this content on Homeworld is something I've been craving pretty much since season 1.
Now I am always freaking out over the Steven fusions with the other gems, but I was on my feet when I saw Obsidian.
The Movie
Here at the end of all things..... Is not the end. So let me talk about all the DLC of the show.
Not much to say really. The musical aspect was where it was at. I mean, Patti LuPone came to eat as she always does.
This was a good independent epilogue. As I mentioned before - Rose saw the potential in what gems could be. Steven saw the potential in what they are. His school is designed for Gems to find their own purpose and exist the way they want to. And of course, for plot, Steven once again has to confront how Rose Pink Quartz Diamond just wasn’t the bestest person and made mistakes the Steven, once again, must fix.
The Epilogue Season
This extra season is more or less what the movie was.
Steven's angst is explored a bit more as he takes on so much pressure and expectation. It really reminds me of Avatar Aang and his son, Tenzin. They were the only ones of their kind for a long time and they, especially Tenzin, had so much pressure to rebuild a dead culture from literally nothing. While I'm not saying to not watch this season, I personally would only stop after the movie in a rewatch marathon.
Overall
You know, let me bring out the big negative in the room – not an exact flaw in the show itself, just a general criticism against the characters themselves.
Steven had shitty parents. Even Rose, who is dead. She could’ve left behind a bit more instruction because Steven just felt so lost and no one could ever understand. He was the only of his kind and there were parts of him that only Rose could teach but Steven had to learn by himself, which often occurred during traumatic events.
The gems were collectively the best parents. Garnet gave wisdom, Peal gave structure, and Amethyst was able to connect better on an emotional level. But they had no idea how to raise a human in the same sense that Greg had no idea how to raise a gem. But the gems weren’t just gems – they rebelled from their original way of life and adapted to free beings on Earth. They were actively trying to understand humans for Steven’s sake, though failing miserably for comedic events.
Greg was just like “you know, I know nothing about gems so here ya go.” Greg was lowkey an absent father. I get he’d never be able to understand gems but would living in that house really put him in everybody’s way? Was it really that hard to leave his van on the beach so he was at least close by and not across town? It didn’t feel like joint custody at all. Greg just had visitation rights – a situation he placed himself. Like what a man thing to do to just trust the mom to do it right.
Greg was good guy, but not a good parent. He provided balance when Steven needed to nourish his human side away from his gem side, but that’s all. Being someone, whose parents had divorced with one parent not stepping up when he had the chance, I just feel like if I were in Steven’s circumstance, I’d be a bit unhappy with my father. Consistency matters. You don’t get to just live in your van and hang out with you son whenever he feels like visiting. There just so much to nitpick about his parenting and it’s just not enough to justify “he did the best he could with the circumstances” argument. At least for me.
Steven had a good relationship with the 4 parents he knew and they were all very supportive when he needed them most – but Steven really raised himself.
Now going past my soapbox era.... This show was overall amazing and is a Cartoon Network classic you should not sleep on. The art style, the music, the songs – this was such a cohesive animated experience.
Of course it may seem to start off as this silly kids show. Even the Last Airbender started off as much for a while. But there is so much heart and depth to the story and characters. Many complexities are shown within the plot and in characters themselves. So many ideals and concepts were explored not just though character but also through lore and universe building.
That's why the people of this world believe in Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl.... and Steven! But not just them. Lapis. Peridot. Connie. At least several characters you can become utterly attached to thanks to honest presentation, wholesome moments, and deep character analysis.
For me, Pearl is my #1 hoe – something she wishes Pink would say... I always loved her design and contrast to the rest of the core group. She is influenced by graceful ballerinas not just in movement and style but also through her perfectionist attitude. Her deep connection as Pink’s pearl had implications, revelations, and depressing moments and overall just made the character so layered and unique.
But yeah. Steven Universe. Goat. Peak animation. Will definitely watch again. 10/10 would recommend.
My Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★