The most recent Steven Universe Future double-feature episodes go back to carefree antics. Two lighthearted episodes that are a welcome change from the last serious episode, “Volleyball,” which exposed some unsettling information about Rose Quartz, take us back to the first season of the original Steven Universe. Fusion enthusiasts like me were extremely excited.
The movie “Bluebird” revives an old plot line and makes some long-term important suggestions: Steven verifying that he nonetheless has Gem adversaries when utilising his new, nearly invulnerable Pink abilities.
Steven (Zach Callison) welcomes Bluebird Azurite, a new gem (Larissa Gallagher). But he instantly realises that the union of Aquamarie (Della Saba) and Eyeball-Ruby (Charlyne Yi, portraying cutsy gruffness), two erstwhile rivals, resulted in the fusion-Gem. Bluebird’s overbearing and inappropriate overtures toward Steven and his buddies, however, don’t seem malicious.
The Crystal Gems (Estelle, Michaela Dietz, and Deedee Magno), in spite of his complaints, remind him that he is trying to rehabilitate all Gems and that perhaps Bluebird has changed for the better. It’s not necessarily improper for them to support Steven. After all, he had a history of upholding his principles by reforming “difficult” Gems like the oppressive Diamonds, even those who had attacked him personally. But despite Greg’s (Tom Scharpling) assurances that it’s okay if Steven keeps his distance and the Crystal Gems’ assurances that they would capture Bluebird if she resumed her bad behaviour, it feels like the Crystal Gems are putting pressure on him to put up with his discomfort.
The message seems to be that Steven’s discomfort must be respected and that even genuinely repentant individuals shouldn’t intrude on the space of their previous victims. But that’s not nearly where the lesson ends. Unsurprisingly, Bluebird chooses Steven’s father, a human, as the hostage to take.
Steven uses his newly acquired, nearly unstoppable Pink abilities to capture them. Does he perform fusion counselling at Little Homeworld before he fulfils the role of a couple’s counsellor there? and advises that rather of hating him, they should become one over mutuality. They both despise him, and they will return to exact their retribution.
The obvious conclusion is humorous, but it doesn’t all stick the landing dramatically since it deviates from the intended course, which was probably done to set up a long-term conflict for subsequent episodes. Given that Steven already knows that some Gems, like Jasper, simply aren’t into constructive and productive change or the change he finds ideal, the premise doesn’t feel as novel as it should. Furthermore, if it’s supposed to be a longer arc, it doesn’t feel like it hits hard enough to go along with this one.
Steven learns a valuable lesson about upholding his reform-all ideas while acknowledging that some Gems would still despise him. But given that the Crystal Gems coerced Steven into putting aside his valid suspicion over their fake reformation, the Crystal Gem certainly owed Steven an apology.
As didactically 1980s as it may sound, “A Very Special Episode” is. Its goal is to show young viewers the importance of time management, but in reality, its plot serves as a welcome pretext for some of Steven Universe Futures’ funniest moments to date.
It makes sense that the pun-spouting Rainbow Quartz 2.0 (Alastair James) and the sunnily preaching Sunstone (Shoniqua Shandai) would compete for screen time in one episode, given their thrilling brief presence in the Steven Universe finale.
Steven has overbooked his time and is attempting to multitask. In order to perform their Mary Poppins-inspired musical routine, in which they animate Onion’s action figure, unsettling dolls, and… Onion’s unsettling voodoo-like improvised doll of Steven, he must first babysit the creepiest human child, Onion, with Pearl in their Rainbow Quartz 2.0 fusion form.
However, Steven must also help Garnet with brand-new safety training for gems in their Sunstone fusion. Steven had to rush back to Pearl because the strange Onion is causing difficulty for her. Steven must return to Garnet’s session as well, though. You get my point. When Steven decides to just include Onion in Garnet’s safety session, it escalates into craziness and Callison’s most priceless crazy vocal performance. The new Gems somehow end up plummeting off a cliff as a result of events going awry.
It’s all just an elaborate Sunstone PSA production, churning in every lesson it can, including: don’t pull a Steven and manage your time wisely, it’s okay to say “no” to helping your friends, cross the street safely, and don’t jump off the cliff unless you’re a trained professional. Just when you think you might find the escalating silliness and Steven’s frazzled scheduling contrived.
Tidbits:
- Was Amethyst the camera person in “A Very Special Episode”? That would explain most of her absence until she randomly pops up.
- It has been two years and it feels like Onion stayed the same size and never aged.
