Sunday, November 19, 2017

STEVEN UNIVERSE S4:E17-REVIEW

Nice Peanuts reference.
Beginning shortly after the last episode, Connie waits for her mother to come and pick her up. Hours go by and Connie begins to worry, Steven tries to distract her, but none of it works. Finally, Connie's mother arrives to pick her up, revealing an awful day kept her from arriving. As things settle down for Steven, Rose's room opens up, with little else to do, Steven decides to imagine his mother in the room, they share a great time, laughing, playing, doing plenty that Steven has missed out on. Eventually things get heated as Steven questions why his mother left so many messes for him and the Gems, this goes on until Steven calms down, accepting that it was all probably never intended, with the imaginary Rose comforting him one last time. The episode ends with Greg and the Crystal Gems relaxing, happy with each other's company, a peaceful end to the day.

With season four back to a more episodic run, we see the show also return to a common theme of the season, acceptance and moving on. While Steven meeting his mom is a thing that will never truly happen, seeing the interaction here is both cute and depressing, it feels so real, even if we know it isn't. What makes this different from previous episodes dealing with the same theme is that the acceptance here can only come from Steven's perspective, he never knew his mom, so his vision of her is based in the vision created by others, but that's okay because much like there's limits to what Rose would've said/done about her past, the possibilities of who she truly was is limitless. Maybe she wasn't kind every waking minute, but at the same time no one knows why she wasn't, what is known is that she brought a positive life to others, a positive that Steven continues to benefit from. Steven isn't getting an answer over who or what Rose was, he's gaining an appreciation of what she meant to many, understanding the flaws don't erase the perfections, he's accepted that she's made mistakes despite her accomplishments and it's okay.

If there's one minor flaw this episode has, it's in seeing the Connie story play out, I get why it's there, it just runs a little longer than needed. Personally, I would've preferred more bonding in this episode, but what's there is more than enough to satisfy me. It may not be among the best episodes this season, but the emotions run high in this one, more so than in most episodes.

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Written by Octaviano Macias 

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