Flossing and also watching the most recent two episodes of Steven Universe

[conuly]

I suppose I hadn't thought about the fact that if Steven is now in his late teens, the teens of Beach City aren't anymore. And Steven clearly didn't realize that they were all going to mature and grow up with or without him standing around fixing all their personal problems.

That greenhouse is the saddest thing I've seen ever. Also, this is one of those weird episodes, isn't it, where the moral is "don't hide your plant under a box if you want it to be your friend". I mean, that's good advice, but better advice might be "Steven, go to college and while you're there, find somebody to talk to who isn't involved in all your business already".

Is his desire to be involved and direct everything a Steven thing or some sort of latent Diamond thing or both, do you think? I know that the first is thematically appropriate, but all the new feeling powers make me wanna go with both.

Also, I gotta ask... are human governments at all involved in Little Homeworld etc? You'd think they'd want to be. And not just the mayor of Beach City. Who's been doing that job of dealing with them?

Comments

[zesty_pinto]

I have to admit the new series is pretty interesting for that reason and the reversal of Steven's growth akin to his mom who was so destructive at first but I think later realized empathy. I'm glad people are moving, it kind of goes with the small town vibe of the story; of course people are going to leave that town when they're full of dreams, and maybe some of them will come back, but for now it's about finding new things. In a way, Steven's prepubescent emotional maturity may have made him too comfortable for his own good but now it's filled him with FOMO.

The cactus was very obviously a metaphor for his own emotional frustration. He's losing that comfort zone and it's breaking him, and his being treated as a kid is, well, just a reminder that no one is seeing him progress.

Reading AV Club comments, one person commented that the end credits may be a clue as to how the series ends. I think it's a fair assessment.

In truth? He has a rich dad and access to instant teleportation. He might be seen as a savior god to a society understanding a democratic system, but he could also be doing more than being comfortable at his age.

As for the government thing, I always like that people seemed to be meh about the affairs of gems, like it's just something that's always been there, like how people in FLCL reacted to the gigantic death iron in the middle of their city, so the town is just there and they're all "okay!" I guess Beach City's government is relatively easygoing, and if this ever went into NYC then things would be a lot more bureaucratically rigid.

[conuly]

I've never watched the end credits all the way through! Should I?

[zesty_pinto]

It's a loop, so I don't think you're missing anything, but I don't want to say what it is so new people can see. If repeats all the time, but it's beautifully animated so worth enjoying, imo.