Monday, July 16, 2018

First Impressions | Reunited (Steven Universe)


I’ve heard of Diamond’s setting one in motion, but this is the first time I’ve seen Diamond’s end a wedding.
                “Reunited” is the concluding episode of the latest Steven Bomb.  Picking up where “Made of honor “left off, the wedding day has arrived.  Everything is set and the guests are gathered.  While a cloud hangs over, Steven does his best to push it away through song.  The wedding goes off without a hitch, but things turn dark during the reception as Yellow and Blue have finally come for the cluster.  Now it’s a battle for survival; Crystal Gems vs Diamond authority, No Holds Barred.  Curse you leaks for spoiling the ending.
                Having Steven begin the episode with a song felt right.  Zach’s vocal delivery was spot-on, carrying the right balance of emotion, tone and diction.  With everything that’s come to light this season, a cloud hangs over the Crystal Gems, as each deal with her own issues (Pearl with her secret, Peridot with Lapis, etc.).  As planner and friend, Steven focuses their attention back on the wedding.  While the issues are pressing, they will still be there after the wedding; why let them drag down the day? As the title states, today lets only think about love. 
                Ruby and Sapphire’s wedding was executed beautifully.  Peridot was an excellent flower girl, tossing them as only she can; I’m surprised there wasn’t a gag related her dress, but given how long she’s been with the Crystal Gems now it might have been viewed as redundant.  I applaud Rebecca Sugar and her team for switching things up and putting Ruby in the wedding gown.    Given how certain parts of the world censor aspects of the show for being too “gay,” this will make said censorship harder to execute.  While that was nice, what made this episode groundbreaking was the kiss.  While the couple have been affectionate before, this is the first full-on kiss depicted between the two; what better moment to show.  All the Gem’s human friends were in attendance, including Uncle Andy.  Episode pacing might be the answer, but I’m surprised he didn’t receive a single line.
                The episode turns serious once the Diamonds appear, having come for the Cluster.  While the gemstrocity hasn’t been a threat since Steven helped bubble them, the Homeworld Matriarchs destabilize this harmony.  Thankfully the Cluster retains enough sentience to know friend from foe.  While the Cluster Battles Yellow, the Crystal Gems fight Blue.  Even Lapis returns to help.  While she had feared the Diamond’s before, her reasoning is sensible:  if she’s going to be punished for being a Crystal Gem, she might as well stand with her friends.  Steven attempts to talk the situation out, but the grief-stricken diamond refuses to listen.  The fight is well choreographed and animated, feeling like a video-game boss battle at times.  Blue tanks everything, including Lapis dropping the barn on her.  The Diamonds had been talked up prior to this episode, but now we finally see the extent of their powers and durability.  On the Gem side, Steven shows how strong his shield has become, although he still has room for improvement.  Blue even shatters Rose’s sword.  While a simple action, given the episode’s ending it can be interpreted as the ending of one stage of Steven’s journey and the beginning of another.
                The climax reveals Steven’s mind-touch power has one further step.  After Yellow knocks him out, Steven enters a strange, ethereal dimension.  He can interact with Connie and the Gems, but only when engaging in physical contact.  He uses this dimension to boost his allies’ moral and attempt to reason with Blue and Yellow.  This reasoning leads to the Diamond’s attacking Steven together, and Steven finally revealing his latent Diamond abilities.  These abilities get through to the matriarchs, which leads to one of my favorite moments of both the Bomb and the series:  Blue and Yellow showing concern for Steven.  It’s a tossup between which Diamond has the cuter reaction.
                Like all good things, the Bomb’s ending means another brief hiatus is upon Steven Universe fans.  While past hiatuses have been during questionable points in the season—especially if only one episode contained vital story information— “Reunited” ends in a manner befitting a cliffhanger.   This episode could have been a season finale if Rebecca had wanted.  Like past hiatuses, there is a teaser.  While the previously leaked clip is not included, it shows Blue and Yellow are curious about how Pink survived.  While unsaid, they will probably inquire as to why Pink is in her current form.  Yellow’s reaction to her sister loving organic life—including having a child with one—should be interesting.  Like many of you, I also wonder how the pair will react to corrupted gems.  Will they be shocked at the results of their previous attack, or that corrupted gems can survive that long?
                It goes without saying that “Reunited” is one of my favorite episodes of Season 5.  While I haven’t gone back and watched every episode of the series yet—seeing early clips out of sequence will do that to you—I am confident in proclaiming this one of my top five favorites of the series.

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