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Steven Universe Future Episodes 15-16 Review

I knew going into the second half of Steven Universe Future that things were going to get dark. However, after watching last night’s new episodes, I found myself in a state of shock. I swear I could feel my mouth hanging open for a minute or two as I processed what I witnessed. The epilogue series has already given us many dark moments, or at least reflected on them. The penultimate episodes before the series finale, though, may be the darkest the series has ever done.

Jaw-Dropping Moments

In “Mr. Universe”, Greg tries to help his son deal with his trauma by taking him on an impromptu road trip. It goes fine at first, until Greg decides to show his son what inspired him to become who he is. As a result, they end up sneaking into a house that is eventually revealed to belong to Greg’s own parents!

It turns out, Greg’s parents were very strict when it came to his upbringing, never really let him do anything fun. So after hearing a song called “Mr. Universe”, Greg finally snapped and left on his own, and now he hopes that same song will inspire Steven.

Greg’s solution backfires in the worst way possible. Unlike his dad, who wants nothing to do with his uptight folks, Steven’s ecstatic to learn he had human grandparents this whole time. That soon transitions into disbelief and finally rage, though, as Steven can’t understand why Greg would give all of that up and just snaps at him. I don’t blame him, either. This epilogue has been all about Steven dealing with the angst of his childhood, and to have him learn that he could have led a normal life this whole time? That would seem like a huge slap to the face. I get what Greg was trying to do: he wanted Steven to have the freedom he never did, but not telling him about his grandparents, ironically, took away that choice for him. Not cool, Greg.

Nightmare Fuel Scene

As if “Mr. Universe” wasn’t jarring enough, “Fragments” felt like it was going to give me nightmares. Steven’s anger continues to go out of control and the Gems have no clue how to help him. Thus, Steven decides to turn to the one Gem he think can help, Jasper, to teach him how to channel his anger, with almost tragic results.

In my review of Future’s premiere, I compared Jasper and Steven’s relationship to that of Piccolo and Gohan from Dragon Ball Z. However, now I see it as a dark and twisted reflection of the rapport that Gohan and Piccolo built. Jasper’s “training” is basically teaching him to let his anger loose without restraint. As a result, we get a visually impressive battle that ends with a far darker Steven shattering Jasper’s Gem.

Even before I saw what Steven had done, I could tell by his reaction what it was. But when I actually saw Steven trying to heal Jasper’s gem, I almost felt my heart break. While he does manage to save Jasper and keep himself from becoming a killer, the damage is done. Poor, sweet Steven must now only see himself as a monster.

Steven Needs Help

I’ve said it already, but I’m going to say it again: Steven needs help. He’s spent his entire trying to help others, putting everyone’s issues before his own. Now, though, we see that its subjected him to trauma and stress that no one should ever have to endure. At this point, I don’t even know if Steven can ever fully deal with what he’s gone through, and like a lot of fans, that’s enough to make me cry. He doesn’t deserve this!

Next week, we have the series finale and the end to Steven Universe the show, and I’m wondering if Steven will be able to recover in that short time. The only way I can even remotely see a light at the end of this tunnel is by everyone Steven’s ever helped coming together to help him in his time of need. It’s a bit cliche, but it would also bring the series full circle by showing us how much Steven has done for everyone before showing what they do for him. Here’s hoping.

I Give “Mr. Universe” and “Fragments” Each a 5/5

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Stray Observation

• I loved how the scene in the bathroom parallels the moment when Steven’s restoring the Corrupted Gem in “Little Homeschool”
• Steven’s unkempt hair reminds me of Josuke Higashikata from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

A Look at Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Disney’s Streaming Services

This past week saw a lot of big news regarding the ongoing streaming wars. First, Disney entered the fight with their new streaming service, Disney+. Hot on the heels of that, Nickelodeon announced their own long-term deal with Netflix. With Cartoon Network slated to join HBO Max’s lineup at launch next year, the message is clear. The Big Three have joined the streaming wars.

For an entire generation of kids, the Big Three of Animation were the ones who made the best cartoons on TV. As a result, the news of the trio joining the streaming wars was big news on social media. As a fan of shows made by all three of these entities, I couldn’t resist giving my two cents. So, I’ll be giving my thoughts and opinions on each company, their streaming service, and how I think they’ll do.

Nickelodeon and Netflix

When I was a kid, Nickelodeon seemed like the best place to watch cartoons; or rather, Nicktoons. They had so many great shows, like Spongebob, Fairly Oddparents, Rugrats, and of course, Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon looked like a cartoon giant, but then they started focusing more on their sitcoms. After that, I lost interest. However, this deal with Netflix could breathe new life into the Nicktoons.

Unlike the other Big Three of Cartoons, Nickelodeon’s not using an in-house streaming service. Instead, they’re formally teaming up with Netflix, which is the best possible move they can make. Firstly, Netflix’s still the top dog in the streaming business, and with Disney+ up and HBO Max to come next year, they want to stay that way. By relying on the lineup of Nicktoons beloved by millions as kids, they’ll be able to compete with Warner and Disney’s bigger library of cartoons. Both Nick and Netflix will win.

Cartoon Network and HBO Max

I didn’t start watching Cartoon Network until later in my childhood. However, once I started, I couldn’t stop watching. They’ve been churning out good cartoons for the last twenty plus years. As a result, I kept coming back to Cartoon Network long after I left Nickelodeon. In fact, I credit shows like Adventure Time and Regular Show for keeping me interested in cartoons. It feels natural that Warner would put them on their roster for HBO Max.

Next to Disney, Cartoon Network has access to the biggest library of cartoons, and one that’s not limited to their original shows. As part of Warner, CN can use the works of Hanna Barbera and Looney Tunes. Technically, Adult Swim also falls under Cartoon Network. While its currently unknown if they’ll bring any shows, Rick and Morty’s confirmed to join HBO Max. In other words, Cartoon Network’s got a lot to bring to streaming. However, given how much the subscription for HBO Max is said to be, this may cause them suffer.

Disney and Disney+

The last of the Big Three that I got into, I didn’t start watching Disney cartoons in earnest until Phineas and Ferb. My timing couldn’t have been better. The 2010’s saw Disney create its fair share of great cartoons; several of which I’ve written about. From the looks of things, they plan on heading into 2020 with even more great cartoons.

Disney’s library of cartoon shows is as impressive as their films, and that extends to the new Disney+. I haven’t seen much of it yet, but it seems they got most of the classic Disney Afternoon block on there, so that’s a big win. I actually went on Twitter and found Darkwing Duck to be trending! In addition to their original content, Disney+ has shows from properties that Disney owns, like Marvel, Fox, and Star Wars. All of these hit shows, in addition to how a subscritption only $6.99 a month, make for a tough combination to beat.

Which of the Big Three Will Come Out on Top?

Given everything that we know, I think it’s too soon to tell which of the Big Three will win the streaming wars. They each have really good cartoons that they bring to their respective streaming service. It may not seem like much, but since the millenials are now adults with money to spend, the cartoons they watched as kids could be a big factor in their companies’ success. As much as I love all three, I think the one that may come out on top will be Cartoon Network.

While HBO Max will be far more expensive than Netflix or Disney+, it partially justifies this given how much content they have planned. Regarding Cartoon Network, though, I think they’ve done the best job at consistently making good cartoons. Their famous line of “Cartoon Cartoons” lasted from 1996 to 2009 with the finale to Ed Edd n’ Eddy. In fact, Ed Edd n’ Eddy lasted for more than ten years. That’s superhuman by cartoon standards. In addition, the channel’s unbelievably successful cartoons this past decade. Regular Show became their first property to have an official movie since the end of Ed Edd n’ Eddy; Adventure Time spawned a generation-spanning fanbase; and need I say more about Steven Universe?

Given everything I’ve seen, and despite the high price of HBO Max, I think that Cartoon Network may come out on top in the Streaming Wars. However, I personally don’t mind who wins, as its the fans who win in the end. The Big Three are giving us a chance to see the shows we loved as a kid again, and maybe give us hope for reboots. That’s enough to make me happy, and I hope it’s enough for others out there. Besides, I’ve learned to stay out of this stuff.

Do you agree with my choice? Which of the Big Three did you enjoy the most growing up? Who do you think will win the streaming wars? Let me know in the comments down below.

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Jay’s Month of Screams, Day 29- Regular Show

I made a promise to take a look at every one of the Regular Show Terror Tales of the Park episodes, and I meant it. After a month of specials, I’m at the final episode; the one when the park gang was in space. Not even going to space will stop the Park Gang from their tradition of telling scary stories, though. It’s Terror Tales in Space!

As the Park Gang prepares to travel to the Halloween Nebula to party, they decide to help their friend Recap Robot get pumped for Halloween. So, the gang takes turns telling scary stories.

Fear Planet

Skips starts off with a story about the Park Gang forced to get gas for their ship from the worst possible planet: Fear Planet. It’s a planet made of material that bring people’s fears to life. The only way for them to get fuel is get out of the ship and walk across the planet, with their worst fears.

This story had a really good premise behind it. It’s like if Pennywise was an entire planet that tried to kill you. Unfortunately, it’s ruined by Skips’ fear: flying disc free-stylers. I’d say its the weakest story of Terror Tales in Space.

King Sized Candy Bars

In Eileen’s story, the gang goes trick-or-treating on the Space Tree when they see a quarantined dome with king sized candy bars inside. They decide to take a risk and go inside the dome. Unfortunatley, the quarantine was due to Vampires!

I’ve seen ninja’s in space before, but vampires in space was new to me. I’m all for mashing up different types of horror, but this seemed a little silly for me. If I think something from a surreal show like Regular Show is silly, then that’s saying something. Also, if there were vampires in space, then they’d never be able to go anywhere since there would be stars everywhere.

Alien Roomate

The last story for Terror Tales in Space is about the Park Gang trying to find a new roommate for income reasons. They get this creepy alien called Shannon to move in, but she ends up being the worst roommate ever. When they finally can’t take her anymore, the gang has to band together to force her out of the dome.

This entire segment’s an obvious parody of the Alien Franchise. Shannon’s appearance alone resembles a Xenomorph, but the plot also seems to follow the basic plot of the movie. It even parodies the climax of the original film with Muscle Man sacrificing himself to push her out of the airlock.

The Tyson Zone

The special’s over, but it had one last surprise for us. While traveling to the Halloween Nebula, the Park gets caught in a black hole. In all honesty, that’s downright terrifying, but still nothing compared to what happens next. The Park Gang wakes up to find themselves turned into actual spaghetti and meatballs. They then realize they ended up on the plate of Neil DeGrasse Tyson, voiced by himself, as he proceeds to eat them.

I genuinely liked the fact the DeGrasse Tyson cameoed as himself in the last Halloween special. That said, I think this was the weakest of all the Terror Tales episodes. I simply wasn’t feeling the same hype that I once did from them. The show ended a few months later on a very high note, though, so I can at least say that they went out with a bang. Terror Tales in Space may not be as fun as the other specials, but it was a fitting finale to the specials. Happy Halloween, everyone!

Click here to see the FANDOM Article I did for Halloween last year. Click here to see my other animation stuff. Or here to see all holiday related posts.

Jay’s Month of Scares, Day 18- Regular Show III

By now, it should be clear that I really enjoy the “Terror Tales of the Park” episodes from Regular Show. They’re the “Treehouse of Horror” specials of the decade. As such, I intend to include all of them in my month of scares. In Terror Tales III, the Park Gang makes a bet on who can tell the scariest story on Halloween. Winner gets all their candy, and the loser gets stuck in their costume until Thanksgiving Dinner (*cough* Thomas *cough*). As usual, here are the stories and my thoughts on each of them.

Killer Bed

Rigby starts the special off by giving us a story about a bed that’s to die for. After carefully saving up his money all year, Rigby’s able to buy a real bed for himself! However, he soon learns that his bed’s special. It was made by a murderer who fell into a bed-making machine, and the bed comes to life and tries to kill Rigby!

I found this story to be very entertaining, as it’s similar to the backstory of Chucky the killer doll from Child’s Play. However, I enjoyed the ending the most. While it looks like the Park Gang lets the killer bed go, they wait until the next day and chop him to pieces. I thought it was a funny bait and switch.

Jacked-Up Jack-O-Lantern

In Muscle Man’s story, he, Fives, Mordecai and Rigby go around smashing all the pumpkins in the park. When they come across a pair of pumpkin scarecrows with a “do not smash” sign, they smash one anyway. As a result, the angry scarecrow comes to life and attacks the guys so he can do some smashing of his own!

This story may have been the weakest out of the three in the special. I admit, a scarecrow voiced by Mark Hamill’s scary, but his revenge’s lackluster. He turns them into pumpkins so he can smash them, take the seeds, and grow them into talking pumpkins. It’s ironic, but not really good.

Previous Owner

In Benson’s tale, the park gang makes the mistake of staying in the house on the worst possible night. Two hundred years ago lived Jebediah Townhouse, the previous owner of the house. He looked and acted like someone from the 1980’s, but his people couldn’t understand him. So he fused his soul into the house to wait to return. What up, home boys, Jebediah in the house!

When I saw this story, two things immediatley came to mind for me. Firstly, this seems a lot like that film Monster House, but funnier because uses 80s lingo. Secondly, it epitomizes all the things that were lame about the 1980s in hindsight, like the slang terms and hair styles. It’s a good thing I keep up with modern lingo and terms. Happy Halloween, Fools!

Click here to see the FANDOM Article I did for Halloween last year.

Click here to see my other animation stuff. Or here to see all holiday related posts.