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.

First Impressions | Made of Honor (Steven Universe)

                Proposal's accepted, wedding planning has begun.  What could go wrong now?  Oh right, the guest list…

                “Made of Honor” is the penultimate episode of the latest Steven Bomb.  Taking place right after Ruby’s proposal, the Crystal Gems are filled with wedding bliss, preparing the temple  for the nuptials.  While everyone is excited, one small cloud hangs over Sapphire:  most of her old friends are unable to attend because they are Corrupted.  Steven takes it upon himself to free Bismuth from her bubble to invite the smith gem.  This leads to the two sharing a moment and reconciling.  The band is now back together.

                Given how Bismuth’s debut episode ended, her return was bound to happen.  The only questions were when and why.  When this bomb was announced I knew the when was approaching; the leaked footage with her in the background played a part, but the episode titles were another clue.  This one has a duel meaning.  The surface meaning is Steven wants Bismuth to be part of the wedding party, Garnet’s maid of honor.  The other involves Bismuth’s character development.  From the moment she reforms, Steven must fill the smith in on everything that’s occurred since they last met.  From corruption to Rose’s true nature, Bismuth is told everything.  Given the amount of knowledge Bismuth takes it well—what is lava to a Gem—but still has a chip on her shoulder.  If the Crystal Gems wanted her around, why didn’t one of them free her?  This viewpoint is logical given that Bismuth tried to shatter Steven last time.  If an old friend tried to kill a newer friend you’d be conflicted too.  This leads to a bonding moment between Bismuth and Steven where the pair make-up.  They had a tiff in the past, but have move past that.

                Bismuth raises an interesting point during their conversation:  why do the other gems stick around if everything was a lie?  While obviously the group care for one another, Bismuth raises another possibility:  they believe in Steven.  The gems view Steven as their best hope for the future, whatever it might entail.  While they rightfully question Rose when it involves the war, they trust the Diamond when it comes to her son.

                While it’s a small moment, a line Steven said early on made me smile.  He presents Ruby and Sapphire with a wedding planning book, one he claims to have assembled over his short life.  While on the surface played for laughs, there is depth too.  Steven has been thinking about marriage for years, even if only as a hobby.  This raises the question why?  Most likely we won’t get an answer, but it’s fun to theorize.  Hopefully Connie knows what she’s getting involved with.

                “Made of Honor” is another great episode.  Bismuth returns and gets some finality to her introduction arc, and the endgame is set.  Now, onward to wedding bells and war horns. 

First Impressions | What's Your Problem & The Question (Steven Universe)

I’m sorry for the delay; work following the first episode was hectic, and it was quickly followed by Anime Expo, which as an aside was fun; finally managed to hit up a Steven Universe Cosplay meetup, where I was one of two Gregs.  Sadly, still searching for pictures.  Now, with that out of the way, onto the episodes.

                “What’s Your Problem” and “The Question” are the second and third respective episodes of the latest Steven Bomb.  Picking up where the first part left off, Ruby is missing following Sapphire’s outburst.  Steven and Amethyst leave to find the Enteral Flame, but she is nowhere in Beach City.  This search leads to another bonding moment between the two.  A pizza stop leads them to Ruby, who has been calmed down by Greg but desires alone time.  This time alone leads to Ruby experiencing life as a cowboy and reflecting on her life. 

                While Amethyst blew off the Pink-Rose revelation initially, her guard slowly lowers as Problem progresses.  This lowering takes the form of frustration; at first it appears to be because of Ruby’s elusiveness, but it soon becomes apparent Amethyst is frustrated at the revelation and its implications for the Crystal Gems.  Amethyst feels that they shouldn’t have to deal with the mistakes Pink made.  While naïve when it comes to future encounters with Homeworld Gems, Amethyst has a point when it comes to their inner circle.  Pink lied to everyone, but that shouldn’t change how they feel about each other and Steven; the mother’s sins should not damn the son. 

                Ruby enjoy her alone time.  While she has been unfused before, the Eternal Flame has never had time away from Sapphire since that day in Blue Diamond’s court.  Even partners in the best relationships need me time, so this is long overdue.  As said before, Ruby masquerades as a cowboy, complete with hat, chaps and trail song; it’s always nice when Rebecca Sugar include a musical number, and hearing Charlyne Yi’s vocals is a bonus.  While Ruby enjoys herself, she misses Sapphire.  As the episode title foreshadows, this leads to Ruby asking Sapphire to marry her, a moment where every SU fan shrieked with glee.  While not a custom gems normally practice considering relationships between different casts are unheard of on Homeworld, it is romantic nevertheless.  Some might question the why, but Ruby’s reasoning is logical:  once married, even when the pair are unfused they will always be together.

                While only mentioned in passing, Greg talking Ruby down is an excellent touch.  Being the Crystal Gems longtime human friend, he knows their personalities and quirks well.  While he might not engage with Ruby as often, he knows her well enough to engage in deep conversation.  His reaction to Pink-Rose is what I expected; he’s fine with the truth, although I feel part of him wonders why Pink never told him the truth.  His spoken reasoning is logical, even if slightly humorous.  After this, Greg remains in the background as Ruby plays rider, but his dedication to friendship shines nonetheless.

                While not as packed as the two episodes that preceded them, “What’s Your Problem” and “The Question” both provided moments of character development and bonding that build beautifully off what came before.  The latter shows why this Bomb is called “The Heart of the Crystal Gems,” and hooks the audience for the final two.