@@ChaosEnthusiast there's a channel called sai that made a video around the time HIP made their video on Steven universe Her video was especially on how lily orchard misrepresented and slandered both the show and its creator In the video she reviewed lily says "imagine writing a scene this sinister looking" in a shot of lapis gripping peridot by the shoulder Sai though it was really funny and asked people to make that into a meme
Something I love about Steven Universe is how it allows its good characters to be ugly and unlikeable sometimes. Usually those types of characters only have small, surface level flaws, nothing too ugly or problematic. It's really brave, even if it made the show a target for people with no media literacy who will claim Pearl is a monster instead of a flawed, but ultimately good person
and even better: those ugly facets get worked on!(usually, the diamonds kinda never actually got an arc). Watching the flaws in characters like Lars die out through actual, meaningful character progression, was a part of why i could never stop watching.
totally agree. the personal conflicts in this show get so unneccesarily ugly and i live for it! the only characters in this show that are free of having flaws are garnet and greg (which honestly i am more than happy for them to be just all around good people as stevens life is so chaotic and his parents, yes i include garnet as his 2ndmother figure, being just kind and good people is a nice balance. the only character whose flaws i got unbearably sick of was lars and perhaps lapis. pearl would get on my nerves alot too but she was just so interesting and complicated, whereas i think lars and lapis were just insufferable.
Its part of why SU hit so different for me back then, and why all these messages actually reached me. It doesnt hide from ugly parts, it never makes the victims pure and innocent while still saying very loudly that these victims still need help and support no matter how ugly they act or how unpleasant theyve become. Plus it never makes abusers to be just villains. For example, stuff with Spinel helped me finally accept my own traumatic experience of being abandoned by my then best friend - so much of how Spinel felt resonated with me, as none of the other media was brave enough to portray how vengeful feelings make you feel. So many characters with bad friendship/familial experiences are either completely innocent or are so wretched theyre portrayed as broken monsters. Spinel is really the first character like that that ive resonated with. Like, complete 1:1, its uncanny. First, the feeling of being stuck - from your perspective, that person has moved on in every way while youre still stuck in the loop of that moment where your heart was broken. I had nightmares about this for TEN YEARS after this happened. Then, the feeling of being broken, as clearly since it happened so long ago you shouldve just get over it by now, but you didnt. What in the world is wrong with you? Then, the feeling of being ugly and corrupted, as the vengeful feelings make you feel strong and in control for a while, I literally daydreamed about meeting her and destroying her life in some way. When i learled where she worked at i was consumed with idea of messing with her somehow. Then regret and sadness about how small these feelings make you feel, how tiny your world is, how pathetic you are, how unrecognizable you are from the time where you were so happy and joined at the hip with your most favorite person in the world. Innocent, loving, STUPID. Then, the feeling of pride for seeing better now, for knowing how much hurt there is in relationships, for feeling like youre prepared to defend yourself next time. More importantly, feeling like a victim really hurt in the long run. Its nice for a bit to imagine yourself as a sacrifice with crown of thorns but whats after that? Plus, all these vengeful thoughts - if you really WERE innocent why are you so obsessed with hurting people? All of these feelings were on a loop every time i thought about that person and i kinda resigned myself to feeling this way forever. Watching the movie felt like therapy. The assurance that all of this happened, that your feelings are real, that perhaps you did change for the worse, but you can also move on by being kinder to yourself. The key really was the lack of input from Rose. If Spinel somehow talked to Rose/avenged herself i feel it would make me feel worse. Too much media does this and it drives me up the wall. This person already feels like such a huge part of your life, and now moving on requires this person too? But you dont HAVE them anymore. Thats the entire POINT. Steven VERY SMARTLY glides over Rose and focuses on Spinel and what SHE could do on her own. Makin a change on your own has been a consistent theme but i guess i really needed to see myself exactly in that place to really feel that message. Spinel's hurt is still there, she still looks all freaky and stuff. I still remember these feelings. But theyre just kind of.. dont hurt anymore. I havent had a nightmare after this, i havent felt vengeful, i stopped looking up what shes up to. Somewhere, someday, somehow finally happened and it was a children cartoon of all things. I really do think SU is a fantastic tool for children to deal with their emotions. BECAUSE the characters can act ugly, BECAUSE vengeance is never the answer, BECAUSE responsibility comes with agency, which is WHY SU pushes responsibility. Feeling like a victim makes you feel powerless, which is why responsibility for your emotions hurts as it clashes with the idea of not being in control, and if you were in control, why did you let this happen to yourself? This is an unpleasant but important feeling. But you have to push through the hurt and accept it. This is the real strength and power, the real way to move on. I reiterate - too many shows have victims punish their abusers, but why give abusers so much power you HAVE to punish them to move on? How is it realistic to many people? Katara decided not to kill that fire nation guy because hes pathetic and sad. Zuko thwarted Ozai and put him in prison. I sure imagined that person as pathetic and sad and putting them in fire nation prison or whatever. Felt good for a bit. But what if they arent? What if they became a good person while you were consumed by your hurt? What if theyre not here anymore? Lapis doesnt need Jasper. Steven doesnt need White. Spinel doesnt need Pink. And you dont need them, whoever they are. All you need is YOU. You can make a change.
One thing I find interesting about Cry for Help is that Garnet is so angry that she actually browbeats Amethyst into fusing. So Amethyst gains an understanding of how Garnet feels (and learns that maybe sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for), but it also foreshadows what Garnet says to Pearl when they're stuck together. She's not perfect.
That video didn’t make me hate it, but I did feel embarrassed about liking youtube clips of it until my partner sat down and watched it with me and we both enjoyed it a lot!
@@ChaosEnthusiast ive been fan of SU for ages, watched her video agreed while watching then when i finished watching it i was like… no I dont agree actually. Its because she plays both sides for almost every point, contradicting herself constantly so if you arent paying attention you end up passively agreeing
In Sadie's song, I actually did not experience second hand cringe for steven, but for sadie. Steven looked like he was enjoying it (or at the very least, fully accepting what had to be done) where as sadie looked incredibly uncomfortable with the whole thing, and that made me uncomfortable about it.
He even it it was all me with stars in his eyes, i feel like he literally planned it for himself, which is why he was so comfortable in it! We love a confident king!
It would be a funny April Fools joke to "analyze" the Uncle Grandpa crossover episode and then at the end of the video reveal that Garnet says it's not canon
Historical Friction could also be read as foreshadowing how the idealized image of Rose will begin to crumble as they learn more about who she really was. Pink Diamond was not unlike the Dewey ancestor when she first came to Earth.
It’s a minor line that’s easy to miss, but they actually used Rising Tides, Crashing Skies to foreshadow the human zoo in season 4. Ronaldo says it aloud when rapidly asking Steven questions.
38:15 Idk why but Pearl's pose here feels so visceral and visibly uncomfortable to me. The way her fingers dig into her stomach just really adds to how embarassed, afraid and deeply ashamed she is. It's an awesome scene
I really enjoy the posing of the show, at times it's absurd like Steven and Pearl crying excessively, and at others you can really feel the painful emotions of the characters when something horrible happens. Greg's face when Amethyst mimics Rose, Garnet's expressions seeing the fusion experiments. It's visceral as you say! *insert a 'frame this sinister-looking' joke here*
Fusion is two people holding hands. Sometimes people can only manage to hold hands when they are doing the same thing, or going the same direction - and they let go when they are done. Sometimes it is easy for them to hold hands no matter what. They would RATHER hold hands than NOT hold hands. They will make decisions about their day specifically so they can continue to hold hands. The cluster is a bunch of people tied together by force. A fusion like Lapis and Jasper is them holding on so tight it hurts, their nails are digging in, they won't let go. Thats how I see it, anyway.
I understand the choice to use the Max order so as to not confuse newer watchers but to clarify the situation (and to help boost engagement for this video), the order that Cartoon Network released the show (which is the order in which Max uses) was not the official order that the Crewniverse worked during production and is often lauded as an example of Cartoon Network's apathy towards the show's serialized storytelling.
This is most evident in Shirt Club. An episode that, despite being labeled as a season 2 episode on Max, was very clearly produced for season 1-since the form Garnet is drawn in was her pre-Jailbreak form.
Got sick last week, and while I was at home recovering, I re-watched the whole of Steven Universe. While doing so, I realized two things. 1. The show does break from the Steven perspective at least once. During the Garnet v. Jasper fight at the end of season one. Steven leaves right at the beginning of the fight, but we see the whole thing. Just an interesting tidbit I noticed. The other thing I noticed was a bit more intriguing. During the airing of the show, a lot of people had some issues with the pink diamond/rose reveal. Namely, the way that her character arc is presented is in reverse and lead a lot of people to really kinda hate her as we learned more of her flaws and mistakes. But when I was watching season 2 and 3, I noticed that, if you go through her arc in chronological order, it mirrors Peridots arc a lot. They both came to earth on a mission to use it for the diamond empire, both decided to try to save it in self interest, both spent time on earth and started to appreciate it as it was, both attempted to plead with the diamonds to reconsider their plans and allow the earth to flourish, and when that failed, both decided to take a stand, to risk everything to protect the planet from the diamonds plans. Both made mistakes along the way, and had caused pain that would have to be addressed. Both strived to do better when they realized they were in the wrong. The only real difference at the end of the day was that Rose had the opportunity to end her existence to create something better than herself, and by extension, she wouldn't be around to be able to be held accountable for any situation her past actions put in motion after the fact, while Peridot is still around, living and learning. I just thought that this comparison was fascinating, considering Peridot is generally loved by the fans, while Rose is considered questionable.
I need to tell you that you absolutely cooked with the Rose/Peridot comparison. Ive been a pink stan since her reveal in 2018 and I think the part most people get hung up on is probably the last part you mentioned about Rose "running from her problems" and Peridot sticking around to learn and grow. I feel like people forget that even if Rose never met Greg, there would likely be no earth left for Rose to be held accountable on because the only reason the gems even had a chance against modern homeworld is because they have Steven, not Rose.
Yeah, I feel like a lot of the "Pink Diamond is evil" stuff is mainly people misunderstanding that most of the stuff Rose doesn't fix is because she is not strong enough to do so. She couldn't make the other diamonds understand her, she lost most of her friends in the war, and she can't leave earth for fear of putting it in danger again. At the end of her journey, she gives up her existence to create a new life that she thinks will be better than her. In this I feel like there is some sort of hope on the part of Pink that Steven would be hable to change what she couldn't, and that the events of the show would play out like they did.
I'll be real, both rewatching clips from the series and the "White Diamond Steven Universe" AU on Tumblr have given me a much, much better opinion on Rose as a character, and i'd even argue a person. She's incredibly flawed, and she still was by the time she was pregnant with steven, but she's so, so real thanks to it. She feels like a person, a human character, and that draws a really interesting parallel between her and the humans she herself loved. Also i agree with a previous response. You cooked with the Rose/Peridot comparason
It just hit me. Fusion isnt an allegory to anything physical but rather its sort of the ultimate form of validation. Two individuals who are so in sync and agreeable that they become one. You dont need to feel alone or isolated because someone else is there and understands you so well that all fears of your perspective leading to abandonment or misunderstanding leave you. Just purest truest trust with evidence to back it up. Damn.
sugar said that fusion is taking a relationship and making it a person. which is a genuinely fascinating thing to think about: you act differently when youre with a different person and your personality comes off different and in tandem, youre not just two people, youre both changing. su is the first children cartoon that really talked about it without holding your hand! its not just about "being yourself :)" its also examining what makes you "yourself" and how you contain multitudes.
Hey I was a big fan during the Steven Bomb era- And just wanna say these videos validate my perspectives at the time. I was constantly telling people "Its not filler- These episodes are the whole point of the show"
It drives me crazy when people say Hunter is a better character than Peridot because "He wasn't responsible for his actions so you can forgive him" That isn't remotely how characters work
I think people are just bending over backwards to try to say The Owl House is good in comparason to Steven Universe, which is SUPER DUMB because they're both AMAZING or at the very least, they're pretty good man! Comparing Peridot and Hunter is pretty dumb imo since the only things they have in common is that they get redeemed, they're considered disabled by the standards of their societies and alot of people think they're autistic. Otherwise, their personality, stories and trajectories are different. Why can't they both just be good. Also what is that argument. That's not how anything works
@@lilaniloxi hunters turnaround and sanitizing of his character in spite of his violent upbringing is a huge waste of potential, as well as the narrative and the writers admittedly tormenting him for the sake of it is really gross. Like the kid was lied to about his family, raised in a cult after being cloned from a corpse, and violently abused, but oo lets just torture him some more because it's fun! Like how aren't more people bothered by this? Peridot is a lot more fleshed out with regards to her changing from being stuck in Homeworld propaganda in spite of her being lower class to actually realizing that she doesn't have to follow their orders. In comparison to Hunter just suddenly character shifting and not having to actually struggle with his harmful ideology, he's barely recognizable in the worst way possible from that snarky asshole we got at the beginning of season 2. Like Peridot doesn't have the same kind of personality shift, she's always been this goofy nerd from start to finish There can be comparisons to make of these characters and that's why I bring them up in the first place. Just because you don't want to see issue in TOHs writing doesn't mean there isn't any
@@cyanidenightshade Damn you've actually thought about this! I do think Hunter's change in personality makes sense, and frankly if Season 3 wasn't cut down so much we probably would've seen Hunter's struggle with the harmful ideology he was raised with. I will point out however, Peridot really only showed her goofy nerdyness after the hand ship landed on Earth; in her first appearence she was mysterious, and intimidating. in that way her and Hunter are similar. Also examining the faults in TOH's writing is really important too! Often it feels like a well liked piece of media can have some of it's flaws completely looked over while different series/characters/media will get critised for those exact flaws relentelessly. From what i know, TOH gets a pass for them due to the sheer amount of excecutive meddling the show received, but that *also* applies to Steven Universe.
I love seeing the redemption of Steven Universe- I was around for the love and hate train and honestly, throughout all of it, I still loved the show. But these videos allow me to not only see it through the lens of a kid, but as an adult that’s able to understand the mature themes in the show. I have really come to treasure SU and it has truly become one of my all time favorite shows.
Its kind of crazy how well done the scene was with Steven going onstage dressed as a girl. I almost feel like it was brushed over back then and conservatives would push back on it a lot more today.
Garnet’s “Yes it did” response at the end of “we need to talk” makes me wonder if she sees Steven dancing in her future vision, instead of Rose and Greg.
Fun fact I learned in middle school literature: a "keystone" in the literary sense is a vital part of the story that changes the message or theme or sets you up for the conclusion
I just had a realization Garnet's very first outfit we see her in red and black. I like to imagine this as her having to mask as the 'strong one' and using more of ruby while sapphire chills in the back. Having to take up a position of being a lot stronger and stoic than fun loving and laid back and witty. The Garnet we are first introduced to almost feels like she isn't allowed to be the full range of herself that she feels she can be. It gives me the impression of a woman who has to put on a tough front because others rely on her. If she shows weakness to the wrong ppl, it will shake their faith in her and may question her reliability. The longer we get to know Garnet the more purple she becomes. The black in her outfit becomes blue, and the pink becomes darker red. The asymmetry of her design balances out. Steven brings out the untempered rage of ruby and the softer compassion of sapphire. Steven unmuted her emotions and therefore her colors changed !!!! I know her palette isnt technically muted in the literal sense. But in them metaphorical sense it goes from bright red and no blue to purple and wine red to equal purple, red, and blue , i just !!!!
I rewatched these episodes so much when I was younger that I thought the stuff with sardonyx and peridot happened waaaay later than they did. Season 2 is so goated.
I wish someone made a comprehensive guide to how fusion works in and out of universe, because it's such a complex and interesting topic, yet most people jump to the simplest and most bad faith interpretations.
28:42: I know that Rose never literally fused with Greg but there was a flashback of her pregnant with Steven and given her fascination with humans and all human things, i'm pretty sure she would have just interpreted creating Steven with Greg as another form of fusion(since shes the first gem ever to experience that). Of course, since its a kids show, they couldnt get into the details but its all implied.
Sworn to the Sword is 100% my favourite episode and has my favourite song. It is such a fun analysis of the ‘kids in combat focused shows.’ Just everything about it is amazing.
It brings me an insane amount of joy that when Steven Universe donned the dress and makeup and sang for Sadie I didn’t even pick up on the fact that it was intended to freak me out (as a man). I was just happy for Steven lol
Was thinking about this earlier today and was like “I wonder when HiP is gonna drop that vid” and NOW IT HAPPENED! so excited, you’re one of my new fav channels
I think it's so interesting that in "Cry for Help" Garnet likely saw what Pearl would do as a possibility because of her future vision but still fused because she thought better of Pearl.
After i saw season1 I was inspired to rewatch steven universe in one sitting since the laast time i watched it fragmented, its so good, I think a lot of people who dislike the show that were fans back int he day have a soured memory of waiting for the hiatus's to be over
I was just thinking "gotta rebleach my hair, I hope there's something nice and long to watch while I do that" then angels descended from the heavens and delivered this, the vid I've been anticipating more than any other. Looking forward to watching!!!
I know a lot of people came to this channel just to see you tear into Lily Orchid but this series is really good in isolation too. Its fun to havr a retrospective like this thats untainted by a lot of the frustrations people had with how Cartoon Network managed Steven Universe at the time (and how CN managed their network in general, a lot of shows fell victim to it). The era between cable and streaming I grew up with was not kind to this show so its kind of cathartic to see it in a new light untainted by bad scheduling.
me and my partner have been watching all of your steven universe vids in awe bc you're just so concise and thoughtful about everything, giving each detail the acknowledgement it deserves and it just feels so good to see things that we noticed but didnt even know the words to identify being talked about so well from you. amazing amazing videos we cant wait to keep watching.
This series of yours is great but I have a video recommendation. Lily Orchard made a new video called “Was I Wrong About Steven Universe?”. It’s basically just her retreading her points from her last video while somehow coming off as even more condescending. I feel like it would still be important to critique her, even now. She also made a video about the SU movie a while ago which is somehow even more egregious than the first.
See that would be a neat video but I think if it were me I'd just. Leave orchard to her own devices. I don't think she wants to consider other opinions and she doesn't have the influence she did years ago when she made her first SU video. Idk. Maybe thats just me but Lily just seems like a pest at this point aside from the genuinely vile stuff she's done but those are unrelated to her bad opinions
@@resentfulshrimp8044 agree. lily isnt... like... a reasonable person honestly. its pretty sad shes still this unhinged and mindbroken - i thought she left the internet for her own good. pretty pathetic she wants to climb back into the limelight with ANOTHER su thing. like... just stop, people still make fun of your "writing advice" list, just stop, thats so sad.
Oh here’s a small detail I remembered. Barb actually appears in a group shot of the townies in The Return (first part of the season 1 finale). But her first speaking line is actually in Love Letters. So she makes two brief appearances before her prominent role in Sadie’s Song. I like how the show organically established her beforehand before putting her in focus.
this is literally media literacy maxxed out. after watching su like 7 times over i actually never strongly understood why people hated rose. but omg just the explanation for sworn to the sword episode opens up everything!!!! thank you so much for whatever you planned on making this series to do
The Answer officially being the last episode of season 2 is so fucked up because The Answer - Log Date 7 15 2 we're all aired in one stevenbomb, none of the season breaks make sense to me lol. By my perception Steven Universe didn't really even have seasons, it just kinda... Happened lol
The inconsistent season breaks in this show are fascinating to me. For whatever reason, the copies of seasons 1-3 my dad downloaded when I was younger cut season 2 off at Log Date 7-15-2 and start season 3 on Super Watermelon Island. Does any other order of the show do this
Thinking on the ep friendship I love when things approach their lore from that perspective. We the audience haven't learnt yet that gems are made for specific roles or not in detail at least but cause garnet and pearl know that detail very well that's always a relevant factor to them even before we know it. There's definitely some series out there where a story detail seemingly only matters after it's explained and doesn't feel like it's always been a consistent detail so I like when it's done so well as here. Secondly I love the detail of how she tries to avoid talking about it. Cause she was raised to think being a servant is the height of what she can do her way of trying to make up for her mistake is to "do a good job" getting peridot cause right now she's thinking that's all a pearl can be good for, and that actually talking out your issues aren't what pearls are for.
DUUUUUDE YOUR MAKING A FUCKING GAME??? ALL OF YOUR MODELS AND CONCEPT ART(i assume that was concept art) LOOK SO COOL AND WELL DONE AND HOLY FUCK IM JEALOUS your making me wanna get back into gamedev man goddamn. your awesome dude im so excited for when the game/any new updates about it comes out. love your stuff man keep up the good work!
The episode placement is weirdly disputed between platforms, but as someone who watched the series as it came out, Message Received / Log Date 7 15 2 was the S2 finale.
God, you are just so analytical. And much like others have said in the comment section, you're great background noise. And will help me greatly in understanding how to write good stories. Especially in characters. This is all I can really do to say thanks right now, but there's no way I'm not subscribing!
I feel like Steven Universe would have made my childhood better. Unfortunately, I did not get to watch past season 1 because by then my family had stopped watching TV. Thank you for making this series of videos on Steven Universe
One thing I think you should also be focusing on is the vocal performances, particularly Steven's. Season 5 and Future Steven is some of THE best work I have heard from a single voice actor. With two words ("she's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!!!") Zach Callison cemented himself as a brilliance. And then Future happened and at first I was like "haha okay he grew". Then you go through that whole series and it's like oh he GREW!!!!
Comment for the algorithm? You got it! Because it has nearly been a full year since I watched through Steven Universe, I forgot how good season 2 was. The finale of season 1 and the entirety of season 2 definitely got me hooked until the very end of the series. Thank you for these videos. P.S. I'm excited to see what you'll do with your game!
I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO FOR SO LONG!!! 🎉 Your videos on Steven Universe honestly bring me so much joy as a huge fan of the series because for too long, Steven Universe has been the internet's punching bag and it just made me really sad to see people hate on my favorite cartoon series... But because of your videos, I 100% believe that they are indeed helping to combat all the bad faith interpretation and all of the misconceptions of the series!! 😄 And for that, I salute you Hiding In Private...!! 😊
The way you analyzed Friend Ship made me burst into tears, Pearl's insecurities hit too close to home man I remember that episode, i vividly remember their conversation, but your personal interpretation/framing and the words you used just make it hit so much more
I absolutely adore these videos. Thank you so much for fueling my new hyperfixation (one that you kinda helped create considering I only watched the show because of your video debunking all of Lily Orchard’s outrageous claims). I’m still sad I missed the original fandom hype and got most of it spoiled but I’m glad I get to experience it now. Looking forward to seeing your game! The work you do in blender is absolutely splendid (as someone who’s tried to use it myself, it is incredibly difficult so I applaud you).
When you were talking about Pearl's arc in Friend Ship, I was thinking to myself, "dang, I feel that way as a woman sometimes." And then you pointed out that possible theme right after. I've always related to Pearl, but I've never thought about her story this way before. I really appreciate your interpretation, I lowkey think it's healing something in me
My god this is such a cool way to remember the show it makes me feel all giddy Like I watched this through middle school and somehow between that and college I guess I forgot just how good this show was and the lessons it was trying to convey Truly the series is immaculate especially the music I’d die for the music Rebecca Sugar slays every time they simply don’t flop
I was so happy to see the thumbnail for this video in my recommended! I was worried the series wouldn't be able to continue because of the issues from last video but I'm super happy that this video was able to release :D
I'll be honest, i had forgotten a lot about season 2 so i was genuinely surprised to see so many memorable and cool episodes right next to eachother, i for some reason remember them being spaced apart more but nah, just banger after banger
Been looking forward to this. I've really loved your Steven Universe videos, especially as someone who has been generally exhausted by certain sentiments expressed about the show online. Great stuff.
Back when these aired, I was in college, dealing with the looming recognition that I wasn’t cis. Watching “Sadie’s Song” with my then-girlfriend left me a sobbing, happy, inconsolable wreck. It didn’t read like a comeuppance or a punishment to me- not then, and not now. “It was always me [that wanted it],” after all. He innocently pushes her into the kind of performance that he’d like to put on, and accepts that it’s his kind of performance at the end, dress and glitter and all. I was so, so happy for him, and for the courage of the show, and I saw myself there on stage, too.
Ive seen someone misconstrue the Sadie Episode so badly, but that was because they came from a home with completely Unsupportive parents with what they wanted to do. Despite that it more a less exposes that type of thing to people,rather than form a solution if the problem is already there. Chiefly because in most cases parents that are oversupportive can be complete narcissists, and trying to change their ways is like doing the impossible, but its a good way of keeping it from happening in the future. Def a good relatable episode.
Season two really is just great. The character work with the gems, and especially Peridot, is stellar. I also wanted to say that I am incredibly interested by that announcement that you made at the end of the video. I hope that you post more updates when you can, and I look forward to seeing what becomes of it.
Thanks for your amazing insights and perspective. You're really repairing the media literacy for Steven Universe, in my perspective, at least. It's such a refreshing feeling to see someone go into the show's details so thoroughly, and I'm learning new things that I'm surprised I've never heard about. Good luck on developing your video game. I already know it's gonna be FLAMES!
LETS GOO! Leaving a comment to boost the video!! Ive been loving these retrospectives, they’ve really been making me see these episodes in a new light! In other news, super pumped on the video game, best of luck for it!
As someone who did watch every single episode as it came out, thank you for this, theres so many things i didn't see or understood back then and now i get why i loved the show so much, and that it probably was the reason why i grew up to be such a people pleaser(i was steven all along)
My favorite thing about s2 e1 'Say Uncle' is that Uncle Grandpa says "You should make sure you get this thing polished at least twice a year" quartz gems do not need to be cleaned or polished. But diamonds do! So people have theorized that this foreshadows for Steven being a diamond. (However it was later addressed in a podcast to be just a coincidence!)
30:10 also could be an allegory for people who are split between cultures, with parents being one nationality but their child is born in a different country which creates a sort of barrier between them.
JUST TO LET YOU KNOW I REALLY APPRECIATE THESE VIDEOS SOOOOO MUCH. For one, it’s nice to listen to in the background when I eat, clean and do stuff. But also this helps me rewatch the show essentially reliving everything with a more updated look on it without having to actually sit through all the episodes again when I don’t necessarily have the time. I hope you do these for other shows in the future I love the videos keep up the good work ❤❤❤❤
Just- the way you explain and put everything together is simply perfect! It’s very clear how much love and effort you put into these videos, and I couldn’t be more grateful! Can’t wait to see what you have next, and super excited to hear more about the video game!
tbh im so happy someone who actually likes steven universe and understands its thenes is talking about it ^^ the hate it used to get was unreasonable to the point of just bullying
![The Point of Steven Universe [Season 3]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LmlkQn06Twg/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Point of Steven Universe [Season 3]](/img/tr.png)
NEW BACKGROUND NOISE WHILE I DRAW JUST DROPPED 🔥🗣💥💥🔥💯🔥
My favorite way to consume youtube
Are you the real Dave Strider??1!?!??!?!!?
When the background noise makes you cry 🥹
I CAN'T ESCAPE IT
EVERYWHERE I GO
I SEE HOMESTUCK
I SHOULD HAVE LISTEN TO THE WARNINGS BEFORE READING IT
You are so real for this
imagine writing a video THIS SINISTER LOOKING
Pool hoping
Optimistic video game geek announces his own creation 😈
wdym
@@ChaosEnthusiast there's a channel called sai that made a video around the time HIP made their video on Steven universe
Her video was especially on how lily orchard misrepresented and slandered both the show and its creator
In the video she reviewed lily says "imagine writing a scene this sinister looking" in a shot of lapis gripping peridot by the shoulder
Sai though it was really funny and asked people to make that into a meme
@@airplanes_aren.t_real ah ok thanks
COMPLETELY glossed over the Uncle Grandpa episode. Immaculate.
Its so funny
As someone who's never seen uncle grampa I really loved it! It was fun!
We were robbed of getting to see Uncle Grandpa fight White Diamond.
Which is funny considering that he learns to properly summon his shield in it.
@@Squiddlewheel it's not canon
Something I love about Steven Universe is how it allows its good characters to be ugly and unlikeable sometimes.
Usually those types of characters only have small, surface level flaws, nothing too ugly or problematic. It's really brave, even if it made the show a target for people with no media literacy who will claim Pearl is a monster instead of a flawed, but ultimately good person
and even better: those ugly facets get worked on!(usually, the diamonds kinda never actually got an arc).
Watching the flaws in characters like Lars die out through actual, meaningful character progression, was a part of why i could never stop watching.
totally agree. the personal conflicts in this show get so unneccesarily ugly and i live for it!
the only characters in this show that are free of having flaws are garnet and greg (which honestly i am more than happy for them to be just all around good people as stevens life is so chaotic and his parents, yes i include garnet as his 2ndmother figure, being just kind and good people is a nice balance.
the only character whose flaws i got unbearably sick of was lars and perhaps lapis. pearl would get on my nerves alot too but she was just so interesting and complicated, whereas i think lars and lapis were just insufferable.
Its part of why SU hit so different for me back then, and why all these messages actually reached me. It doesnt hide from ugly parts, it never makes the victims pure and innocent while still saying very loudly that these victims still need help and support no matter how ugly they act or how unpleasant theyve become. Plus it never makes abusers to be just villains.
For example, stuff with Spinel helped me finally accept my own traumatic experience of being abandoned by my then best friend - so much of how Spinel felt resonated with me, as none of the other media was brave enough to portray how vengeful feelings make you feel. So many characters with bad friendship/familial experiences are either completely innocent or are so wretched theyre portrayed as broken monsters.
Spinel is really the first character like that that ive resonated with. Like, complete 1:1, its uncanny. First, the feeling of being stuck - from your perspective, that person has moved on in every way while youre still stuck in the loop of that moment where your heart was broken. I had nightmares about this for TEN YEARS after this happened.
Then, the feeling of being broken, as clearly since it happened so long ago you shouldve just get over it by now, but you didnt. What in the world is wrong with you?
Then, the feeling of being ugly and corrupted, as the vengeful feelings make you feel strong and in control for a while, I literally daydreamed about meeting her and destroying her life in some way. When i learled where she worked at i was consumed with idea of messing with her somehow.
Then regret and sadness about how small these feelings make you feel, how tiny your world is, how pathetic you are, how unrecognizable you are from the time where you were so happy and joined at the hip with your most favorite person in the world. Innocent, loving, STUPID.
Then, the feeling of pride for seeing better now, for knowing how much hurt there is in relationships, for feeling like youre prepared to defend yourself next time.
More importantly, feeling like a victim really hurt in the long run. Its nice for a bit to imagine yourself as a sacrifice with crown of thorns but whats after that? Plus, all these vengeful thoughts - if you really WERE innocent why are you so obsessed with hurting people?
All of these feelings were on a loop every time i thought about that person and i kinda resigned myself to feeling this way forever.
Watching the movie felt like therapy. The assurance that all of this happened, that your feelings are real, that perhaps you did change for the worse, but you can also move on by being kinder to yourself. The key really was the lack of input from Rose. If Spinel somehow talked to Rose/avenged herself i feel it would make me feel worse. Too much media does this and it drives me up the wall.
This person already feels like such a huge part of your life, and now moving on requires this person too? But you dont HAVE them anymore. Thats the entire POINT. Steven VERY SMARTLY glides over Rose and focuses on Spinel and what SHE could do on her own.
Makin a change on your own has been a consistent theme but i guess i really needed to see myself exactly in that place to really feel that message.
Spinel's hurt is still there, she still looks all freaky and stuff. I still remember these feelings. But theyre just kind of.. dont hurt anymore.
I havent had a nightmare after this, i havent felt vengeful, i stopped looking up what shes up to. Somewhere, someday, somehow finally happened and it was a children cartoon of all things.
I really do think SU is a fantastic tool for children to deal with their emotions. BECAUSE the characters can act ugly, BECAUSE vengeance is never the answer, BECAUSE responsibility comes with agency, which is WHY SU pushes responsibility. Feeling like a victim makes you feel powerless, which is why responsibility for your emotions hurts as it clashes with the idea of not being in control, and if you were in control, why did you let this happen to yourself?
This is an unpleasant but important feeling. But you have to push through the hurt and accept it. This is the real strength and power, the real way to move on.
I reiterate - too many shows have victims punish their abusers, but why give abusers so much power you HAVE to punish them to move on? How is it realistic to many people? Katara decided not to kill that fire nation guy because hes pathetic and sad. Zuko thwarted Ozai and put him in prison. I sure imagined that person as pathetic and sad and putting them in fire nation prison or whatever.
Felt good for a bit. But what if they arent? What if they became a good person while you were consumed by your hurt? What if theyre not here anymore?
Lapis doesnt need Jasper. Steven doesnt need White. Spinel doesnt need Pink. And you dont need them, whoever they are. All you need is YOU. You can make a change.
One thing I find interesting about Cry for Help is that Garnet is so angry that she actually browbeats Amethyst into fusing. So Amethyst gains an understanding of how Garnet feels (and learns that maybe sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for), but it also foreshadows what Garnet says to Pearl when they're stuck together. She's not perfect.
To be honest; Lilly Orchid ruined my view of steven universe. I used to hate it just like her until I realized how wrong she was.
NTA but I think she did make an update video on her old views and corrected some errors she’s made
i agreed with her... for like, a day. but i realized pretty quickly how absurd what she was saying was
@@ChaosGodEnerjakMay I recommend the video “Lily Orchard STILL does not understand Steven Universe” 💀
That video didn’t make me hate it, but I did feel embarrassed about liking youtube clips of it until my partner sat down and watched it with me and we both enjoyed it a lot!
@@ChaosEnthusiast ive been fan of SU for ages, watched her video agreed while watching then when i finished watching it i was like… no I dont agree actually. Its because she plays both sides for almost every point, contradicting herself constantly so if you arent paying attention you end up passively agreeing
Coming back a month later to say that the "How to Talk to People" self-help book is my favorite joke of the season.
It's pretty strong.
In Sadie's song, I actually did not experience second hand cringe for steven, but for sadie. Steven looked like he was enjoying it (or at the very least, fully accepting what had to be done) where as sadie looked incredibly uncomfortable with the whole thing, and that made me uncomfortable about it.
Bro rocked that outfit
ikr, i would have felt embarrassed for Sadie becuase she didn't wanna do it, but for Steven it's just like 👍good for him
He even it it was all me with stars in his eyes, i feel like he literally planned it for himself, which is why he was so comfortable in it! We love a confident king!
It would be a funny April Fools joke to "analyze" the Uncle Grandpa crossover episode and then at the end of the video reveal that Garnet says it's not canon
LETS GOO WE BACK
Historical Friction could also be read as foreshadowing how the idealized image of Rose will begin to crumble as they learn more about who she really was.
Pink Diamond was not unlike the Dewey ancestor when she first came to Earth.
It’s a minor line that’s easy to miss, but they actually used Rising Tides, Crashing Skies to foreshadow the human zoo in season 4. Ronaldo says it aloud when rapidly asking Steven questions.
Upon a rewatch, Ronaldo foreshadows a lot. He also mentions the "Diamond Authority" before they are even mentioned as well.
And because of that people thought the main villain of the show was gonna be lizard people
You have no idea how much you're saving the show with these videos
Wha? How?
38:15 Idk why but Pearl's pose here feels so visceral and visibly uncomfortable to me. The way her fingers dig into her stomach just really adds to how embarassed, afraid and deeply ashamed she is. It's an awesome scene
I really enjoy the posing of the show, at times it's absurd like Steven and Pearl crying excessively, and at others you can really feel the painful emotions of the characters when something horrible happens. Greg's face when Amethyst mimics Rose, Garnet's expressions seeing the fusion experiments. It's visceral as you say! *insert a 'frame this sinister-looking' joke here*
Fusion is two people holding hands. Sometimes people can only manage to hold hands when they are doing the same thing, or going the same direction - and they let go when they are done.
Sometimes it is easy for them to hold hands no matter what. They would RATHER hold hands than NOT hold hands. They will make decisions about their day specifically so they can continue to hold hands.
The cluster is a bunch of people tied together by force. A fusion like Lapis and Jasper is them holding on so tight it hurts, their nails are digging in, they won't let go.
Thats how I see it, anyway.
I love that this means Fluorite is just a little chain of people holding hands
@@Jellied_Slime_Games conga line
My third eye has been blasted open by this
you cracked the code dude
I understand the choice to use the Max order so as to not confuse newer watchers but to clarify the situation (and to help boost engagement for this video), the order that Cartoon Network released the show (which is the order in which Max uses) was not the official order that the Crewniverse worked during production and is often lauded as an example of Cartoon Network's apathy towards the show's serialized storytelling.
Ah so it's a Production order Vs Release order?
This is most evident in Shirt Club. An episode that, despite being labeled as a season 2 episode on Max, was very clearly produced for season 1-since the form Garnet is drawn in was her pre-Jailbreak form.
Got sick last week, and while I was at home recovering, I re-watched the whole of Steven Universe. While doing so, I realized two things. 1. The show does break from the Steven perspective at least once. During the Garnet v. Jasper fight at the end of season one. Steven leaves right at the beginning of the fight, but we see the whole thing. Just an interesting tidbit I noticed. The other thing I noticed was a bit more intriguing. During the airing of the show, a lot of people had some issues with the pink diamond/rose reveal. Namely, the way that her character arc is presented is in reverse and lead a lot of people to really kinda hate her as we learned more of her flaws and mistakes. But when I was watching season 2 and 3, I noticed that, if you go through her arc in chronological order, it mirrors Peridots arc a lot. They both came to earth on a mission to use it for the diamond empire, both decided to try to save it in self interest, both spent time on earth and started to appreciate it as it was, both attempted to plead with the diamonds to reconsider their plans and allow the earth to flourish, and when that failed, both decided to take a stand, to risk everything to protect the planet from the diamonds plans. Both made mistakes along the way, and had caused pain that would have to be addressed. Both strived to do better when they realized they were in the wrong. The only real difference at the end of the day was that Rose had the opportunity to end her existence to create something better than herself, and by extension, she wouldn't be around to be able to be held accountable for any situation her past actions put in motion after the fact, while Peridot is still around, living and learning. I just thought that this comparison was fascinating, considering Peridot is generally loved by the fans, while Rose is considered questionable.
I need to tell you that you absolutely cooked with the Rose/Peridot comparison. Ive been a pink stan since her reveal in 2018 and I think the part most people get hung up on is probably the last part you mentioned about Rose "running from her problems" and Peridot sticking around to learn and grow. I feel like people forget that even if Rose never met Greg, there would likely be no earth left for Rose to be held accountable on because the only reason the gems even had a chance against modern homeworld is because they have Steven, not Rose.
Yeah, I feel like a lot of the "Pink Diamond is evil" stuff is mainly people misunderstanding that most of the stuff Rose doesn't fix is because she is not strong enough to do so. She couldn't make the other diamonds understand her, she lost most of her friends in the war, and she can't leave earth for fear of putting it in danger again.
At the end of her journey, she gives up her existence to create a new life that she thinks will be better than her. In this I feel like there is some sort of hope on the part of Pink that Steven would be hable to change what she couldn't, and that the events of the show would play out like they did.
I'll be real, both rewatching clips from the series and the "White Diamond Steven Universe" AU on Tumblr have given me a much, much better opinion on Rose as a character, and i'd even argue a person. She's incredibly flawed, and she still was by the time she was pregnant with steven, but she's so, so real thanks to it. She feels like a person, a human character, and that draws a really interesting parallel between her and the humans she herself loved.
Also i agree with a previous response. You cooked with the Rose/Peridot comparason
It just hit me. Fusion isnt an allegory to anything physical but rather its sort of the ultimate form of validation. Two individuals who are so in sync and agreeable that they become one. You dont need to feel alone or isolated because someone else is there and understands you so well that all fears of your perspective leading to abandonment or misunderstanding leave you. Just purest truest trust with evidence to back it up. Damn.
sugar said that fusion is taking a relationship and making it a person. which is a genuinely fascinating thing to think about: you act differently when youre with a different person and your personality comes off different and in tandem, youre not just two people, youre both changing. su is the first children cartoon that really talked about it without holding your hand! its not just about "being yourself :)" its also examining what makes you "yourself" and how you contain multitudes.
Hey I was a big fan during the Steven Bomb era- And just wanna say these videos validate my perspectives at the time. I was constantly telling people "Its not filler- These episodes are the whole point of the show"
Season 2 was a really strong season. Pearl makes a lot of *interesting* choices throughout it but it honestly adds to how much I love her characters
It drives me crazy when people say Hunter is a better character than Peridot because "He wasn't responsible for his actions so you can forgive him" That isn't remotely how characters work
That's also not how forgiveness works lol
I love both Peridot and Hunter but you can't tell me one is redeemable and the other isn't
Hunters development is a crumb to Peridots cake
I think people are just bending over backwards to try to say The Owl House is good in comparason to Steven Universe, which is SUPER DUMB because they're both AMAZING or at the very least, they're pretty good man!
Comparing Peridot and Hunter is pretty dumb imo since the only things they have in common is that they get redeemed, they're considered disabled by the standards of their societies and alot of people think they're autistic. Otherwise, their personality, stories and trajectories are different. Why can't they both just be good.
Also what is that argument. That's not how anything works
@@lilaniloxi hunters turnaround and sanitizing of his character in spite of his violent upbringing is a huge waste of potential, as well as the narrative and the writers admittedly tormenting him for the sake of it is really gross. Like the kid was lied to about his family, raised in a cult after being cloned from a corpse, and violently abused, but oo lets just torture him some more because it's fun! Like how aren't more people bothered by this?
Peridot is a lot more fleshed out with regards to her changing from being stuck in Homeworld propaganda in spite of her being lower class to actually realizing that she doesn't have to follow their orders. In comparison to Hunter just suddenly character shifting and not having to actually struggle with his harmful ideology, he's barely recognizable in the worst way possible from that snarky asshole we got at the beginning of season 2. Like Peridot doesn't have the same kind of personality shift, she's always been this goofy nerd from start to finish
There can be comparisons to make of these characters and that's why I bring them up in the first place. Just because you don't want to see issue in TOHs writing doesn't mean there isn't any
@@cyanidenightshade Damn you've actually thought about this! I do think Hunter's change in personality makes sense, and frankly if Season 3 wasn't cut down so much we probably would've seen Hunter's struggle with the harmful ideology he was raised with.
I will point out however, Peridot really only showed her goofy nerdyness after the hand ship landed on Earth; in her first appearence she was mysterious, and intimidating. in that way her and Hunter are similar.
Also examining the faults in TOH's writing is really important too! Often it feels like a well liked piece of media can have some of it's flaws completely looked over while different series/characters/media will get critised for those exact flaws relentelessly. From what i know, TOH gets a pass for them due to the sheer amount of excecutive meddling the show received, but that *also* applies to Steven Universe.
I love seeing the redemption of Steven Universe- I was around for the love and hate train and honestly, throughout all of it, I still loved the show.
But these videos allow me to not only see it through the lens of a kid, but as an adult that’s able to understand the mature themes in the show. I have really come to treasure SU and it has truly become one of my all time favorite shows.
Yellowtail ain’t a stepdad, he’s the dad who stepped up
These videos are healing my inner child that always thought he should’ve hated the show. Thanks HIP, I can’t wait play your game.
Its kind of crazy how well done the scene was with Steven going onstage dressed as a girl. I almost feel like it was brushed over back then and conservatives would push back on it a lot more today.
Conservatives would considered Steven dressing in a pop star outfit as "woke" by today's standards. Some people never change.
In keystone motel I like the metaphor where saphire is always looking into her hair and it's only at the end she looks directly at ruby
damn she just like doppio fr
Does that make Ruby her Queen Crimson?
Sadies song is one of my favourite episodes because sadie singing was so fun.
She is voiced by half of Garfunkel & Oates. It makes sense that she would be a good singer.
this video reminding me just how much season 2 kicks ASS!!!! so many absolutely legendary episodes
Garnet’s “Yes it did” response at the end of “we need to talk” makes me wonder if she sees Steven dancing in her future vision, instead of Rose and Greg.
I love that episode where Steven said "it's Universin time!" and Steven Universe'd all over those guys
Same 💯💯💯
truly a moment of all time
GET OU-
Fun fact I learned in middle school literature: a "keystone" in the literary sense is a vital part of the story that changes the message or theme or sets you up for the conclusion
I just had a realization
Garnet's very first outfit we see her in red and black. I like to imagine this as her having to mask as the 'strong one' and using more of ruby while sapphire chills in the back. Having to take up a position of being a lot stronger and stoic than fun loving and laid back and witty. The Garnet we are first introduced to almost feels like she isn't allowed to be the full range of herself that she feels she can be.
It gives me the impression of a woman who has to put on a tough front because others rely on her. If she shows weakness to the wrong ppl, it will shake their faith in her and may question her reliability.
The longer we get to know Garnet the more purple she becomes. The black in her outfit becomes blue, and the pink becomes darker red. The asymmetry of her design balances out.
Steven brings out the untempered rage of ruby and the softer compassion of sapphire. Steven unmuted her emotions and therefore her colors changed !!!!
I know her palette isnt technically muted in the literal sense. But in them metaphorical sense it goes from bright red and no blue to purple and wine red to equal purple, red, and blue , i just !!!!
I rewatched these episodes so much when I was younger that I thought the stuff with sardonyx and peridot happened waaaay later than they did. Season 2 is so goated.
I wish someone made a comprehensive guide to how fusion works in and out of universe, because it's such a complex and interesting topic, yet most people jump to the simplest and most bad faith interpretations.
28:42: I know that Rose never literally fused with Greg but there was a flashback of her pregnant with Steven and given her fascination with humans and all human things, i'm pretty sure she would have just interpreted creating Steven with Greg as another form of fusion(since shes the first gem ever to experience that). Of course, since its a kids show, they couldnt get into the details but its all implied.
Sworn to the Sword is 100% my favourite episode and has my favourite song. It is such a fun analysis of the ‘kids in combat focused shows.’ Just everything about it is amazing.
It brings me an insane amount of joy that when Steven Universe donned the dress and makeup and sang for Sadie I didn’t even pick up on the fact that it was intended to freak me out (as a man). I was just happy for Steven lol
Also Greg’s album Space Train to the Cosmos is a reference to the anime Galaxy Express 999.
LASPER AND JAPIS 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
WE GETTING OUT OF THE OCEANIC TRENCH WITH THIS ONE 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥
Steven’s Blowout in Keystone Motel is genuinely the best scene in the entire show in my opinion
Was thinking about this earlier today and was like “I wonder when HiP is gonna drop that vid” and NOW IT HAPPENED! so excited, you’re one of my new fav channels
deadass
was thinking about it yesterday
I think it's so interesting that in "Cry for Help" Garnet likely saw what Pearl would do as a possibility because of her future vision but still fused because she thought better of Pearl.
After i saw season1 I was inspired to rewatch steven universe in one sitting since the laast time i watched it fragmented, its so good, I think a lot of people who dislike the show that were fans back int he day have a soured memory of waiting for the hiatus's to be over
I was just thinking "gotta rebleach my hair, I hope there's something nice and long to watch while I do that" then angels descended from the heavens and delivered this, the vid I've been anticipating more than any other. Looking forward to watching!!!
I know a lot of people came to this channel just to see you tear into Lily Orchid but this series is really good in isolation too. Its fun to havr a retrospective like this thats untainted by a lot of the frustrations people had with how Cartoon Network managed Steven Universe at the time (and how CN managed their network in general, a lot of shows fell victim to it). The era between cable and streaming I grew up with was not kind to this show so its kind of cathartic to see it in a new light untainted by bad scheduling.
And now it is time once again to *Believe in Steven*
me and my partner have been watching all of your steven universe vids in awe bc you're just so concise and thoughtful about everything, giving each detail the acknowledgement it deserves and it just feels so good to see things that we noticed but didnt even know the words to identify being talked about so well from you. amazing amazing videos we cant wait to keep watching.
This series of yours is great but I have a video recommendation. Lily Orchard made a new video called “Was I Wrong About Steven Universe?”. It’s basically just her retreading her points from her last video while somehow coming off as even more condescending. I feel like it would still be important to critique her, even now. She also made a video about the SU movie a while ago which is somehow even more egregious than the first.
See that would be a neat video but I think if it were me I'd just. Leave orchard to her own devices. I don't think she wants to consider other opinions and she doesn't have the influence she did years ago when she made her first SU video.
Idk. Maybe thats just me but Lily just seems like a pest at this point aside from the genuinely vile stuff she's done but those are unrelated to her bad opinions
@@resentfulshrimp8044 yeah, I get that. It’s just some people are still pedaling/buying into her ideas and it worries me.
@@resentfulshrimp8044 agree. lily isnt... like... a reasonable person honestly. its pretty sad shes still this unhinged and mindbroken - i thought she left the internet for her own good. pretty pathetic she wants to climb back into the limelight with ANOTHER su thing. like... just stop, people still make fun of your "writing advice" list, just stop, thats so sad.
HBO Max does not list the episodes in the order intended by the creators. It is NOT the correct order.
omg you made lasper and japis a running joke
Can't wait for Alexandrite to unfuse *Lasper and Japis*
Oh here’s a small detail I remembered. Barb actually appears in a group shot of the townies in The Return (first part of the season 1 finale). But her first speaking line is actually in Love Letters.
So she makes two brief appearances before her prominent role in Sadie’s Song. I like how the show organically established her beforehand before putting her in focus.
this is literally media literacy maxxed out. after watching su like 7 times over i actually never strongly understood why people hated rose. but omg just the explanation for sworn to the sword episode opens up everything!!!! thank you so much for whatever you planned on making this series to do
I CLICKED SO FAST
Same
Bc wdym I get to have another passionate defense of Steven universe
This show, though I only watched it for the first time a year ago, means so much to me. I'm so glad you are making these videos defending it.
The Answer officially being the last episode of season 2 is so fucked up because The Answer - Log Date 7 15 2 we're all aired in one stevenbomb, none of the season breaks make sense to me lol. By my perception Steven Universe didn't really even have seasons, it just kinda... Happened lol
The inconsistent season breaks in this show are fascinating to me. For whatever reason, the copies of seasons 1-3 my dad downloaded when I was younger cut season 2 off at Log Date 7-15-2 and start season 3 on Super Watermelon Island. Does any other order of the show do this
Thinking on the ep friendship I love when things approach their lore from that perspective. We the audience haven't learnt yet that gems are made for specific roles or not in detail at least but cause garnet and pearl know that detail very well that's always a relevant factor to them even before we know it. There's definitely some series out there where a story detail seemingly only matters after it's explained and doesn't feel like it's always been a consistent detail so I like when it's done so well as here. Secondly I love the detail of how she tries to avoid talking about it. Cause she was raised to think being a servant is the height of what she can do her way of trying to make up for her mistake is to "do a good job" getting peridot cause right now she's thinking that's all a pearl can be good for, and that actually talking out your issues aren't what pearls are for.
You're making me fall in love with the series all over again with your insightful analysis of the episodes. It really was an excellent show.
DUUUUUDE YOUR MAKING A FUCKING GAME??? ALL OF YOUR MODELS AND CONCEPT ART(i assume that was concept art) LOOK SO COOL AND WELL DONE AND HOLY FUCK IM JEALOUS your making me wanna get back into gamedev man goddamn. your awesome dude im so excited for when the game/any new updates about it comes out. love your stuff man keep up the good work!
The episode placement is weirdly disputed between platforms, but as someone who watched the series as it came out, Message Received / Log Date 7 15 2 was the S2 finale.
God, you are just so analytical. And much like others have said in the comment section, you're great background noise. And will help me greatly in understanding how to write good stories. Especially in characters. This is all I can really do to say thanks right now, but there's no way I'm not subscribing!
I feel like Steven Universe would have made my childhood better. Unfortunately, I did not get to watch past season 1 because by then my family had stopped watching TV. Thank you for making this series of videos on Steven Universe
One thing I think you should also be focusing on is the vocal performances, particularly Steven's. Season 5 and Future Steven is some of THE best work I have heard from a single voice actor. With two words ("she's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!!!") Zach Callison cemented himself as a brilliance.
And then Future happened and at first I was like "haha okay he grew". Then you go through that whole series and it's like oh he GREW!!!!
Comment for the algorithm? You got it!
Because it has nearly been a full year since I watched through Steven Universe, I forgot how good season 2 was. The finale of season 1 and the entirety of season 2 definitely got me hooked until the very end of the series. Thank you for these videos.
P.S.
I'm excited to see what you'll do with your game!
I LITERALLY JUST WATCHED THE SEASON 1 ANALYSIS AND WAS HOPING THE NEXT ONE WOOULD COME SOON!!!! RAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! GREAT VIDEO!!!
Algirithm Comment. I absolutely love this series. And enjoyed the Persona Four character analysises. My favorite characters is Ryuji.
Ah Ryuji, my favourite hive mind
Yay :D!!! Very cool
1:20:41 :o GL! That's GL as in Good Luck, not to be confused with Girl's Love which is *basically* relavent here
I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO FOR SO LONG!!! 🎉
Your videos on Steven Universe honestly bring me so much joy as a huge fan of the series because for too long, Steven Universe has been the internet's punching bag and it just made me really sad to see people hate on my favorite cartoon series... But because of your videos, I 100% believe that they are indeed helping to combat all the bad faith interpretation and all of the misconceptions of the series!! 😄 And for that, I salute you Hiding In Private...!! 😊
The way you analyzed Friend Ship made me burst into tears, Pearl's insecurities hit too close to home man
I remember that episode, i vividly remember their conversation, but your personal interpretation/framing and the words you used just make it hit so much more
I absolutely adore these videos. Thank you so much for fueling my new hyperfixation (one that you kinda helped create considering I only watched the show because of your video debunking all of Lily Orchard’s outrageous claims). I’m still sad I missed the original fandom hype and got most of it spoiled but I’m glad I get to experience it now. Looking forward to seeing your game! The work you do in blender is absolutely splendid (as someone who’s tried to use it myself, it is incredibly difficult so I applaud you).
When you were talking about Pearl's arc in Friend Ship, I was thinking to myself, "dang, I feel that way as a woman sometimes." And then you pointed out that possible theme right after. I've always related to Pearl, but I've never thought about her story this way before. I really appreciate your interpretation, I lowkey think it's healing something in me
My god this is such a cool way to remember the show it makes me feel all giddy
Like I watched this through middle school and somehow between that and college I guess I forgot just how good this show was and the lessons it was trying to convey
Truly the series is immaculate especially the music I’d die for the music
Rebecca Sugar slays every time they simply don’t flop
I was so happy to see the thumbnail for this video in my recommended! I was worried the series wouldn't be able to continue because of the issues from last video but I'm super happy that this video was able to release :D
I'll be honest, i had forgotten a lot about season 2 so i was genuinely surprised to see so many memorable and cool episodes right next to eachother, i for some reason remember them being spaced apart more but nah, just banger after banger
Damn once u finished all the seasons with future and the movie u need to release like a 10 hour video of all this together. good stuff
Your analysis is so good and refreshing. Good to combat the extremely common negative takes on this show.
Been looking forward to this. I've really loved your Steven Universe videos, especially as someone who has been generally exhausted by certain sentiments expressed about the show online. Great stuff.
Back when these aired, I was in college, dealing with the looming recognition that I wasn’t cis. Watching “Sadie’s Song” with my then-girlfriend left me a sobbing, happy, inconsolable wreck.
It didn’t read like a comeuppance or a punishment to me- not then, and not now. “It was always me [that wanted it],” after all. He innocently pushes her into the kind of performance that he’d like to put on, and accepts that it’s his kind of performance at the end, dress and glitter and all.
I was so, so happy for him, and for the courage of the show, and I saw myself there on stage, too.
Ive seen someone misconstrue the Sadie Episode so badly, but that was because they came from a home with completely Unsupportive parents with what they wanted to do. Despite that it more a less exposes that type of thing to people,rather than form a solution if the problem is already there. Chiefly because in most cases parents that are oversupportive can be complete narcissists, and trying to change their ways is like doing the impossible, but its a good way of keeping it from happening in the future. Def a good relatable episode.
30:33 I'm so glad you actually caught that even though i am many months late xD
Season two really is just great. The character work with the gems, and especially Peridot, is stellar.
I also wanted to say that I am incredibly interested by that announcement that you made at the end of the video. I hope that you post more updates when you can, and I look forward to seeing what becomes of it.
Thanks for your amazing insights and perspective. You're really repairing the media literacy for Steven Universe, in my perspective, at least. It's such a refreshing feeling to see someone go into the show's details so thoroughly, and I'm learning new things that I'm surprised I've never heard about.
Good luck on developing your video game. I already know it's gonna be FLAMES!
I love all your su defenses its nice to hear something positive! Good luck with the game!!
These videos are the shit, always elated the moment one pops up into my feed
This will help greatly with 1/12th of my work shift 😎
*[I can't wait for the next one!]*
LETS GOO! Leaving a comment to boost the video!! Ive been loving these retrospectives, they’ve really been making me see these episodes in a new light! In other news, super pumped on the video game, best of luck for it!
Extremely excited for s3
As someone who did watch every single episode as it came out, thank you for this, theres so many things i didn't see or understood back then and now i get why i loved the show so much, and that it probably was the reason why i grew up to be such a people pleaser(i was steven all along)
Omg it’s so cool seeing myself on the patreon!! So glad this video was able to come to fruition! Literally got me back into Steven Universe.
I NEEDED THIS TODAY!!!!!
My favorite thing about s2 e1 'Say Uncle' is that Uncle Grandpa says "You should make sure you get this thing polished at least twice a year"
quartz gems do not need to be cleaned or polished. But diamonds do!
So people have theorized that this foreshadows for Steven being a diamond.
(However it was later addressed in a podcast to be just a coincidence!)
30:10 also could be an allegory for people who are split between cultures, with parents being one nationality but their child is born in a different country which creates a sort of barrier between them.
PEAK JUST DROPPED!! Can’t wait to fully listen to this~
17:22 Watching the episode for the first time I distinctly remember the white noise in the room disappearing after Pearl slipped
JUST TO LET YOU KNOW I REALLY APPRECIATE THESE VIDEOS SOOOOO MUCH. For one, it’s nice to listen to in the background when I eat, clean and do stuff. But also this helps me rewatch the show essentially reliving everything with a more updated look on it without having to actually sit through all the episodes again when I don’t necessarily have the time. I hope you do these for other shows in the future I love the videos keep up the good work ❤❤❤❤
Love this series!!! Patiently waiting for the rest!!! Thank you for what you do!!!
Thank you for making these videos, I genuinely love them
Just- the way you explain and put everything together is simply perfect! It’s very clear how much love and effort you put into these videos, and I couldn’t be more grateful! Can’t wait to see what you have next, and super excited to hear more about the video game!
tbh im so happy someone who actually likes steven universe and understands its thenes is talking about it ^^ the hate it used to get was unreasonable to the point of just bullying
Thanks for these videos, really appreciate how they point out the interweaving emotional arcs