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Steven Universe Future Episodes 17-20 Review

As Tony Stark once said, “part of the journey is the end”. We may not always like it, but it happens all the same. Now, after seven incredible years, Steven Universe ends its run on TV. Technically, it already ended last year, but then we got the movie and Steven Universe Future. The latter did a great job of showing that Steven’s life as a child hero left a lot of emotional scars that he doesn’t know how to handle. If I’m being honest, last week’s episodes were some of the darkest moments I’ve ever seen in animation!

So, did the series finale to Steven Universe blow my mind? Nah, it wound up following the route that I predicted. However, instead of taking away from the end, I think it complimented the final lesson of the show.

Homeworld Bound

Picking up right where “Fragments” left off, Steven’s close to rock bottom after what he did to Jasper. So, he runs from one part of his family to another in the form of the Diamonds and Spinel. Despite their best efforts, though, they don’t know how to help. All Steven knows is that he just wants to “be better.” I know it’s not said outright, but I think part of his problem is learning that he can be as angry and selfish as his mom. After knowing how much of a jerk Pink Diamond could be, that’s the last thing he wants to be like!

To be honest, this episode was hard for me to watch. Not because it was bad, but because of how dark Steven can get. In one particularly dark moment, White allows Steven to take control of her body. However, Steven’s memories of her removing his gem surface and fill him with rage. He actually tries to force White to shatter herself! That was absolutely terrifying!

Everything’s Fine

As hard as it was for me to watch Homeworld Bound, that was nothing compared to Everything’s Fine. This episode basically sees Steven in complete denial over his dark side and insisting to everyone that “he’s fine.” Yeah, being the size of your mom, pink, and having your mom’s eyes does not make you fine, Steven.

Watching Steven be in denial all episode and try to help others only to fail was about as painful to watch as they come. All Steven’s ever done is help others; he’s the nicest, sweetest boy you could ever meet. And to see him fail in that was, in a word, heartbreaking. It all comes to a head at the end where he vomits out everything bad that’s happened to him in recent weeks. He’s at the absolute lowest point in his life, and think he’s no better than his mom, that he’s a monster.

I Am My Monster

As a result of hitting his breaking point, Steven transforms into a massive Gem Kaiju, the same one that we saw in the intro. Points to all the fans who speculated about this, but it doesn’t make it any less painful to watch. What’s even worse is that no one knows what to do help Steven in his state. Not the Gems or the Diamonds, and everyone’s basically in tears.

Except for Connie. Connie probably knows Steven better than anyone alive, and she’s the one who says what everyone needs to hear. Steven’s always been there for them when they needed help the most; now it’s their turn to do the same. As she puts it, “the only one who never had Steven is Steven”. It’s summing up the whole point of the epilogue series: that even someone as selfless as Steven can need help. So, in an action that embodies the show’s message on love and acceptance, everyone rallies together to give Steven a big hug and let him know that they’ll always be here for him. Even the Cluster gets in on this!

I’ve seen a lot of stories where the hero’s friends come together to let them know that they’re there for them. It’s always an emotional moment to behold, and I suspected that this would ultimately be what would happen. However, the fact that this entire show is about help others makes this feel so much more genuine. I loved this scene, and when Steven finally changed back and let out all the tears he was holding in, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Such a great moment.

The Future

Months pass, and Steven’s gotten some much needed therapy off screen and seems to know how to accept his dark side. The only question is, what does he do now. A few months ago, I suggested that it maybe it would be best for Steven to leave Beach City. To go out in the world and see what it has to offer. Turns out, that’s exactly what he ends up doing. Steven Universe is hitting the road! So this episode is all about saying goodbye to everyone in Beach City.

This has to be one of the best finale’s I’ve ever seen, and that includes A:TLA! In a callback to the first episode, Steven even breaks the news to the Gems over his own home-made Cookie Cat sandwiches.

Out of all the characters reactions to Steven leaving, though, I think my second personal-favorite was Jasper. She acts like such a Vegeta during the whole thing, saying she wants to come with him and trying to act like it’s not a big deal when he says no.

The thing that surprised me the most, though, was how Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl are so calm about it. I knew they were holding it in to “be strong”, and I was right. As soon as Steven calls them out on this, they start bawling their eyes out.

One big thing about Steven Universe is that Rebecca Sugar wanted the show to fight toxic masculinity. In other words, that it’s fine for guys to cry when they’re sad. I don’t get sad enough to cry very often, but I think that somewhere, in the back of my mind, I was bawling my eyes out. Thus we get our true ending as Steven drives away from Beach City to begin a new chapter in his life.

That’s How You End a Show

Steven Universe could have ended with “Change your Mind” a year ago, or Steven Universe: The Movie. Yet Rebecca Sugar did the impossible and wrapped up any unanswered questions and give us a definitive ending to the world she and the Crewniverse created. In short, I loved the finale and how it stayed true to the show’s message.

Do I think this is the last time we see Steven and the Crystal Gems? Not really. Like with Star vs, Steven Universe ends with enough legroom to return in the future. I’d love to see Steven traveling the country helping people. But if this is goodbye, then I think it’s ending at the best possible place. My only regret is that I never watched the show from the beginning.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go look up how to make Cookie Cat Ice Cream Sandwiches.

Final Score

Homeworld Bound: 4/5

Everything’s Fine: 4/5

I am My Monster: 5/5

The Future: 4.5/5

Stray Observations

• We finally got that Steveonnie/Connverse kiss! I tweeted this, and it’s gotten thousands of likes!

• I need to find someone making fanart of Jasper and Vegeta. They’re so much alike!

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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

I may not have watched it as long as Nickelodeon, but once I found Cartoon Network, I loved it just as much. But after Ed Edd n’ Eddy came to an end in 2009, it was the end of an era. I mean that both literally and emotionally. It was the last of the 90s era cartoons to go off the air, and the one I loved most on that channel. There was Adventure Time next year, but that was it.

Then, I found Regular Show.

I may not have liked it much at first, but once I warmed up to it, I fell in love it. Watching the surreal adventures of these two slacker best friends, Mordecai and Rigby, something just clicked. It had a great mix of humor for both kids and adults. I loved it, especially the numerous holiday specials. 

Regular Show did a bunch of Halloween specials, and while those are my favorite, I have a great love for their three Christmas episodes. So, why not? Let’s look at a Regular Show Christmas special.

Full disclosure: this one is split into two segments, so I’m going to do each in a separate article. With that out of way, here’s White Elephant Gift Exchange.

The park gang is getting ready for their annual white elephant gift exchange, which everyone despises. Why? Because every years, Muscle Man steals all the good gifts and leaves them with prank ones. And not just used tissues or gum: we’re talking gloves made out of underwear and sweaters with itching powder.

So, Benson and the others decide to rig the game this year to make sure Muscle Man won’t steal their gifts and instead open their prank gift. 

It seems like they went overboard, though, with the prank. Especially when Muscle Man reveals he got them a flat-screen TV to make up for being a jerk.

The gang gets banished to the temple of the White Elephant, who chastises them for not getting the spirit of the game: you give gifts you hate, which makes it fun. So, lesson learned about the spirit of the Holidays, they go home and have a fun time, the end.

PSYCH! Muscle Man pranked them again. Sympathy gone, they go ahead with the plan, leading to what has to be one of the funniest moments I have ever seen in a cartoon:

When I first saw this on TV, I couldn’t stop laughing at how funny it was. Seeing Muscle Man’s reaction to one prank after another in slow motion while everyone laughs at payback was funny enough. But doing it over “Holly Jolly Christmas” sung by Burl Ives had me in stitches! By the time the elf elbows him, I was practically rolling on the floor laughing.

This was comedy gold to me. The pacing, everyone’s reactions to the events, the choice to play it over a classic Christmas song was perfect. Some may say it was still pretty mean, but Muscle Man never knew when to stop pranking others. He needed to be taught a lesson for a while, and I doubt he’d hold any ill will over it. This is one of my favorite Christmas episodes, and I hope you like it as well.

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