Hope you all enjoy. To hurry along the production of the Season 4 video, I will be releasing one episode chunks weekly on Patreon until the whole video is completed. As a general rule, the less financially desperate I am, the quicker it can come out. Dozens of exclusive videos on Patreon now, and a handful of exclusive videos for channel members here. Thank you all again for your support, even if that shows itself through comments, shares and likes. I appreciate it greatly. Hope you enjoy. Patreon: www.patreon.com/HidinginPublic Kofi: ko-fi.com/hiding
Lapis slander makes me sad as a person with ptsd. Her worry that the coping mechanisms she developed to survive make her a bad person at her core is very relatable. She truly is just misunderstood.
It took me a while to understand lapis. I used to be a hater, not of her trauma or even how it's shown in the show, but just cuz she seemed moody and mean which is kinda annoying as a personally type for me. But then I realized a lot of how she was, was because of what she's been through, and I can't really be mad at that. Now that I'm older and have watched the show so many times at this point, I actually really like her a lot
People not understanding that Jasper was in the wrong in Alone At Sea is so frustrating. She shows up, knocks Steven aside (literally), tries to emotionally manipulate Lapis into believing that she’s too dangerous to be around anyone else, and then tries to kill Steven when she doesn’t get her way. There is nuance to the situation of Malachite as a relationship, but Jasper is trying to drag her and Lapis down. To read it as Lapis being the sole abuser is so messed up. On a lighter note I love that Log Date is the first ep where we get Peridot’s running gag of saying “Wow thanks”. It starts off as a sarcastic saying, and then she genuinely means it when thanking others. It’s cute.
Jasper can be in the wrong without being an abuser. Was she wrong in seeking out malachite again? Yes. Was it because she just wants to use lapis in an abusive way? I don't think so. The amount of people who read malachite as one-sided abuse instead of a toxic relationship when literally all spoken diologe about her including from garnet stands in sharp contrast is just as sad as the read that lapis is an abuser and jasper was innocent and in the right
@@ivaniawren5014 idk why you write this as if the two are mutually exclusive. lapis and jasper was a toxic relationship, however jaspers abuse is the reason for lapis' toxicity in the relationship. They're both toxic towards each other, but jasper is abusive in the relationship.
@@ChespinCraft jasper, by reaching out for mutual strength, being betrayed, then going back to who hurt her because she wants that feeling again, is an abuser. Why. Tell me why, besides she is big, that *she* abuses lapis by being betrayed and trapped by her
@@ivaniawren5014 because context. Jasper *imprisoned* lapis, then after the ship crashed she grabbed lapis to stop her from getting away, forcing her to fuse as her only option. Then as the video mentions and original comment mention, in alone at sea she comes back and begs/manipulates lapis to come back into the toxic relationship, getting violent to anyone standing in her way. Jasper is over and over the one who traps lapis, and lapis trapping Jasper is only in retaliation (and by fusing with Jasper she traps her in order to save others, very different from jaspers motivation to trap lapis).
lol didn’t steven universe do that with misleading titles all the time? I wasn’t watching the show as it was airing but I remember people theorizing about Gem Harvest and then it turned out to be a silly thanksgiving episode.
There's this one scene in episode three I always loved. Before the big confrontation with Yellow Diamond, while locked inside the car, Peridot is explaining her plan to Steven, which he misunderstands as her going back to her old ways and wanting to sell both the earth and crystal gems out to homeworld. In reality, bless her little neurodivergent heart, Peridot had attempted to explain to Steven how she was going to reason with Yellow Diamond to save the earth and preserve it, effectively only taking the least amount of resources necessary without hurting it and its life. This is why later on, Peridot is so confused when her seemingly perfect, intelligent and logical diamond ignores her ideas and appears unreasonable. Yellow responds emotionally, with rage and denial, ignoring all rhyme and reason, which is anything but the image Peridot had painted of her. This would also be consistent with her characterization later on. Yellow Diamond copes by being both dismissive and aggressive, avoiding any emotional distress and baggage. (and failing miserably in her attempts) Steven Universe has always had (mis)communication as one of its big themes after all.
no joke, I just finished re-watching all the previous installments of this series YESTERDAY. I'm so so so excited to add this to my comfort videos playlist 🫶🏻
@HidinginPrivate finished the vid. Mainly listened to it but I hope you know that despite the compromises to avoid copyright, this was an amazing video that held up perfectly without any visual! You put a lot of effort into your script and analysis, I’m excited for the next one >:3
This is the first Steven Universe analysis I've seen that actually considers the fact that it's a kid's show. You take the time to think about what each episode is trying to communicate to its target audience. Many people like Lily analyze it at surface level ignoring the target audience. For many "it's for kids" is just an excuse for bad writing. Being for kids doesn't mean talking down to your audience but it DOES affect the way you communicate things to them.
With how I always see people say that the Season 1 finale ''Jailbreak'' is the peak of SU. I get the feeling people just wanted to see queer people beating up a totalitarian regime with style and saw the other elements of the show as secoundary or pointless...
56:37 tiniest correction (more a nitpick really) - Yellow DID try to wipe Peri out via the exploding communicator after being called a clod. But you're right that she didn't even care enough to confirm the kill, and probably assumed the Cluster would taker her out if not
@@thevarietychannelofyoutube4769 Peridot says “because it can be remotely detonated.” When she hands the communicator to Pearl, so I think it’s safe to assume Yellow diamond or someone set the communicator off on purpose.
I think we pretty much all agree season 3 is the best Steven Universe season. Hell it might not even be my favourite, but it’s very clearly the best season. It’s one of the best seasons of animation period really, it’s incredible just how much they were able to pack into a 26ish episode season. I know it’s not a perfect comparison but I’ve always thought the first 4 seasons are built around a different crystal gem. Season 1 is Pearls season, Season 2 is Garnets season, Season 3 is Amethysts season and season 4 is Steven’s season. And of the four, Amethysts season arch is by far the most satisfying, it took a lot of seeds that were planted earlier in the show but not really expanded on (Amethyst wasn’t born “right”, her lack of self-esteem, her still being relatively new to the group, her reluctance to rely on others) and contextualised all of it around Jasper, who ends up becoming the physical manifestation of Amethysts insecurities. And then her defeating that by accepting the help of others, accepting she is loved for who she is and embracing that her strength has nothing to do with her physical attributes or power but instead her emotional maturity, her self image and the relationships she has with others. All things Jasper doesn’t comprehend or refused to engage with, leading to her eventual defeat and corruption Plus you have some fantastic towny episodes, Lapis + Peridot stuff which is fantastic and episodes like Bismuth and Mr Greg that are rightly consistently considered among the shows best. If you are going to be nit-picky, I’ve always thought having 4 or 5 Town episodes in a row can hurt the shows pacing but that only becomes an issue when you are getting consistently dud town episodes. And this season set up the foundation for seasons 4 and 5; Pink Diamond’s shattering, exploration of corruption, the Cluster, Lapis and Paradot joining the gems, substantial doubts on Rose’s character, morality and honesty, way more homeworld Gems coming to Earth. A significant amount of which isn’t even focused on but is instead explored thematically or just mentioned in conversation. It’s such a good season, pretty much all hits no misses
@@imonly1man_ unfortunately because of how the episodes are organised the cluster arch only gets resolved in season 3. If season 2 had Super Watermelon Island and Gem Drill, then I’d call it right about even
Great season but season 5 is my favorite honestly, sure the lil Connie arc at the start after the great homeworld tease we got was a slow "filler" arc but after that, some of my favorites episodes are in that season
@@yonsetv5223I probably prefer season 5. However from a purely critical perspective, season 3 is definitely better. I happily overlook 5’s flaws because I find the positives of the season to be so enjoyable but I also recognise they exist (I’ll go into them when he releases the season 5 video since I don’t like using a Season 3 retrospective to talk about a different season extensively). Season 3 is just so concise, everything comes in some way full circle and everything receives a satisfying resolution whilst substantially building up what’s to come
I have a headcanon that the reason why Jasper is so perfect is that she stole all the nutrients from around her to beef herself up, whilst leaving the other incubating gems in the dirt (Skinny Jasper)
@@KOTEBANAROT it happens in real life too, in some twin pregnancies the developing fetus may consume the other fetus. it’s not acting upon consciousness, so who’s to say gems can’t do the same
Its nice to see someone actually genuinely appreciating this show and dissecting the messages, the show is basically became the main target for bad faith criticism, so its good to see someone doing justice with this show
I don't think Jasper is a missed opportunity so much as a message that you can only really help people who WANT to be helped. Never once does Jasper reflect that SHE might be the problem. Not even in Future. So she isn't helpable.
I think I struggle between your perspective and Hidden's one. A part of me would love a redemption arc for Jasper but another one really likes that it ended like it did. It's a good message and a good contrast to Steven always accomplishing to help people. We probably needed the reminder that's not always possible.
@@noctap0d Jasper is pretty hard-headed too, i mean its LITERALLY her weapon, so giving her a redemption arc would be pretty out of place. I mean I'd love to see it but it'd be weird for her, yaknow?
She literally always thinks shes the problem. Everything she does is her trying to prove that she isnt. Its spelled out by Rebecca and hinted greatly by her saying "nobody ever wants to stay". Either way, this look is way too deterministic for a show that emphasizes change and growth. Everything didnt END in Future. We are simply shown that there will always be change, both for worse and for the best but the Future will always be there. For everyone. And really its strange to say that Jasper never changed or had any redemption. Because Jasper is AT little homeworld. AFTER Steven told her to find something better to do. Its her barn moment. From here we can freely assume that after saying farewell to her diamond, she can finally begin to let go of her duty. And I say that because RS said that. So yeah. "Not helpable"? I really dont see how. It took the word of a diamond for her to go get help, but its not as though the only people who try to improve do so because theyre already at the place where they can do it themselves. There are plenty IRL stories from "problem" people who needed a strong authority figure for them to help improve.
@@KOTEBANAROT Yeah the issue in Future as I remember it is that Stephen struggled to understand Jasper more than any other gem. He tried to force her into another mold that was never her, trying to find something outside of battle she secretly enjoyed more. When he accepted who Jasper was and sparred/trained with her, that's when they finally started to get along and see eye-to-eye in some way. At least that's how I remember it. I did only watch Future the one time.
I dunno, she was definitely a lot of missed potential and her ending really wasnt that good, you notice it when you realize how many times she was just kicked out of the plot, first with Malachite, then with her falling into the earth's crust, and then finally being corrupted. Show wouldve been a lot better if they had Jasper around for longer, people really loved her.
1:05:25 Greggs song that got turned into a commercial is Just a Comet which is just before he met rose. So it is not a love song he wrote for rose. It was the song that caught Roses attention, which is why pearl responds "This is what did it? Burgers???"
I recently went through an experience that left me with a lot of post-traumatic stress that I had to work through. I remember feeling like I would never be happy again - like I'd always just be hurt and scared and angry and damaged for the rest of my life. But then I, honestly, started thinking a lot about Lapis. Her being hurt and angry and scared, lashing out and panicking at the first sign of stress, just like I was. Garnet saying that she'd need a lot of time to rest and recover. Her eventually finding her smile again, making friend and having fun. Eventually making it to how she is in Future, singing a song about how life feels worth living again and the world around her feels vibrant and good to exist in again. It gave me hope that, if she could recover from feeling as awful as I was, I'd find my way back to being happy again someday too. And I did! So, even though some people have gripes with how Lapis having PTSD was written... I'm always gonna be grateful to the crew for writing her the way they did. It made me feel seen and understood and gave me hope when I was completely out of it. ❤
Steven universe really connects to me as an autistic person. Interestingly enough, while peridot is the pretty clear allegory for autism, I find that Pearl resonates with me more.
1:23:45 as a person on the spectrum, i really felt this, I wasn't diagnosed when i watched the show at first, but i did identified myself with a lot of traits that Peridot presented (especially the hyperfixation and the overly logic mindset), and it made be happy to see that Peridot quirks were accepted by others, and even helpful in some situations , this really meant a lot to mr growing up especially after getting my diagnosis. I also really connected with her arc of understanding that emotions and emphaty are necessary, and sometimes being lead to logic only can lead on to develop tunnel vision and overlook the bad things in your world view. Sorry for the more personal comment, but i just really wanted to highlight the positive impact that media can have on us
Hey, so you'll probably never see this, but thank you so much for making these. Steven universe was my favorite show growing up, and I have happy memories of watching it with my sisters. This is the first season I watched activity air and not just saw on streaming, so I'm sure all those memories will bubble up and make me cry. I loved this show so much as a little mentally ill queer kid and I can't thank it enough for all the little things it taught me that I wouldn't have learned elsewhere (how to deal with anxiety, how to use they/Them pronouns, how to form you're emotions into words, ect). Your videos just really validate the little kid in me who felt bad for liking the weird show. I was very aware that most adults hated.
Something I think that was missed within the New Lars analysis that I think is worth bringing up is it also being a paired messaging on Steven's tendencies to help others as well. Season 3 in general starts to emphasize a lot more that Steven's capacity to help people (and the capacity of you, as a child, to be kind and understanding to others) isn't always just a source of good- that there can be consequences to interfering for yourself and/or for others. The pair of Kiki's Pizza Delivery Service (helping can take a toll on yourself) and The New Lars (attempting to 'help' someone can be harmful) acts as introductory episodes to this concept before the season takes a turn into the more 'serious, plot related' conflicts. Within the New Lars, Steven's attempts to help double in helping them understand each other better, but also strains the relationship between them. Like you said, the episode is mainly a story in which Lars, being closed-off and insecure about being himself, realizes that if he was a bit more open and kind that his relationships might be better. But on Steven's end, his actions are framed as incredibly invasive and end up hurting Lars and Sadie's feelings by getting involved. This doesn't mean Steven shouldn't help people ***, but it does reaffirm that sometimes your desire to help can have consequences, even when it ultimately does some good. Steven's attempts to push Lars out of his shell before he's ready (seen in previous episodes like Island Adventure) causes problems for the people around him, especially Sadie. Steven gives Sadie this false idea of a Lars that doesn't treat her disposably (shown when she's happy he even bothered to come see her), then rips it away when the reality of who Lars is at this point comes back. It feels intentional that the episode Lars outwardly discusses wanting to change, is the one in which Steven and Sadie connect with him somewhat accidentally (via the potluck baking!) a whole season later. ***(the nature of it being fiction means it needs conflict, I appreciate SU's direction in making Steven's character create conflict in a way that is in line with his character. Also Lars's development in season 4 in part happens due to his realizations here, so this is no way is saying that attempting to help someone change is a bad thing, I feel like arguing this would very obviously go against what the overall themes of this show are)*** I say all this because the gem conflicts later in season 3 are also very much about this! Steven's attempts to reason with bismuth, jasper, and eyeball force Steven into higher conflict scenarios in which his attempts to help and reason with them fail. Steven accidentally accelerates Bismuth's frustration in his attempts to understand and reason with her, and he's forced to throw eyeball into space after he brings her into the bubble. Jasper as a character refuses to accept help due to her pre-dispositions and insecurities, and thus reacts more negatively when he tries to help her. His attempts to help come from a place of good, but they don't end up helping the situation. (The Kiki's part of this is pretty understandable I think, as Steven very directly is put in harms way more than if he had prioritized his own safety) . I hope this makes sense lol I'd love to discuss this more because it's something I think goes pretty underlooked within season 3 and Steven's character arc as a whole. Obviously future directly states that Steven feels like he needs to fix other people's problems for him to feel like he has a purpose, but I think it's so smart that the original series has this acceleration of this idea throughout its 5 season run.
oh I love your point, and I also found that the video's review on this particularly episode was a bit lacking, even though it's not even a particularly 'important' episode lol. This def highlights the downsides of steven's insistency in helping (something that also comes up more proeminantly during season 5 when he's trying to help ruby and sapphire so desperatedly, but at least then he has amethyst and greg to put him in check). It's just interesting how this subject, while being portrayed every now and then during the original show, never had too severe consequences, or at least in ways that clearly shows his good intentions legitimately causing bigger harm (at least ever since the first half of season 1). Usually things just worked out in the end, and he got used to it, he got used to being right and not having to deal with harsh consequences to actions directly caused by him...and then SUF just completely flipped that, and now his mistakes feel real. ahem, but back to that episode, another thing I missed being mentioned is how not everyone prefered steven's version of lars, how sadie was clearly upset. This serves to show how steven indeed messed up and doesn't actually know better, which is what shows him the above (how his attempt to help backfired). But I also specially find that bit reassuring because it shows that steven isn't just straight up better than Lars, he can't replace him, and even Lars has qualities and he should just work through his own issues to better himself, instead of feeling bad and insecure over being a complete failure as a person. that. that would be awful.
@@AnaBacanazp Yes I totally agree! I think SU unpacks the idea of 'being a good person' related to what you said very well also. As you said, Steven has good intentions when trying to help Lars and others, but this also is a thing that has to be balanced with the autonomy of said person. White Diamond herself's rule is about bringing everyone in line based on her own intentions, because she believes that that is the best way to run her family and society as a whole. Steven asserting himself as who he is is the solution to this, which goes in line with this idea of being true to who you are. The New Lars is warning Steven that him trying to make people change based on what he views as 'negative' is not a net positive result, that it hurts some of the people around him (Sadie). Steven has a good heart and so these changes often come for the betterment of others, but what he does here is not much different than what White Diamond does at the end. (this also pairs well with the whole good person vs. bad person idea, as SUF's final conflict also ties into the ideas of 'being too bad/monstrous to be saved', which ultimately hurts the people who most need help. If every person is given the materials and space they need to grow, as Steven did for those around him, then Steven is also allowed to have space to be better, to change, even at his rock bottom. It no longer is a 'wow we need to save the main character because he's the main character and we like him', but a natural conclusion to the philosophy the show follows for every other character. Forcing a change on Lars overnight would not help him recover, neither would abandoning him as a 'bad person', and neither would it have helped Steven in his moment of loss of self and meltdown.)
@@peachie5000 yes! very well put. just wanna say that i love the parallels between steven and white, they are very interesting and not always noticed. but it also demonstrates the philosophy, as you put, that anyone can make mistakes and everyone is deserving of a second chance and to be better
The people who complain about the show "forgetting about the cluster" are missing the point. The REAL focus of the arc is Peridot's development, the cluster is mostly just a plot device to facilitate it. If every episode was about building a drill and talking about the cluster, then Peridot's story would suffer for it.
While there's nothing wrong with watching a video in the background like this, I feel like calling it "noise" makes it sound like there's nothing of worth in the video, when that is very much not the case.
As I watch this as well as your other videos on SU, it's so refreshing to hear someone handle the show with the same tenderness and genuine love for one of the only shows to let children know their queerness, their disabilities, their identities are ok. I genuinely cannot thank you enough for how you have continued to handle the show that gave me a push into feeling secure in my transmasculinity and my autism, and helped me as an adult rewatching realize the abusive situation I'd been in. These are some of my favorite videos on the platform, hands down, no exaggeration.
Ye, I'm autistic and struggle with trauma and SU has been a massive comfort. I'm old (28) and I wish I had a show this tender and understanding to grow up with. I'm so happy I'm experiencing this show for the first time 💙
I'm happy for you and I absolutely get it. Also, I think that the show's central message addressing the LGBT community, people with disabilities and people in groups who are marginalized for being different being "you did nothing wrong, it's their problem not yours, they're not even strong enough to stop you from being who you are" is kind of beautiful if you think about it.
I replied to some commenters with similar thoughts re: Jasper in Future, and I guess ill also explain here why i dont think her arc was wasted. Sure it would be great if we got her thoughts on the whole Pink diamond thing, but i think her episodes already establish it pretty well. 1) her main series agenda was about her spiraling "after meeting her demons" (ian/rs words). Her insecurities are all in nature tied to Pink - shes made on earth (bad) in a lame kindergarten (bad) her diamond died in the war (bad) but she made out of all this a perfect quartz (good). Despite her coming out perfect being just a 1 in a million chance, Homeworld, which reacts to defect gems with contempt as though they did something wrong personally, also rewarded her for something she obviously couldnt influence. Its not that, like Amethyst, she was "one good thing out of this mess", she was "the quartz that pulled herself by her bootstraps". Quartzes hung out together normally, but her exceptionality also seemingly isolated her from the rest of her peers, seeing as Yellow ONLY took her and dumped the rest of the earth quartzes to guard zoo - which is basically assigning someone to peel potatoes forever. I think its a really neat detail honestly, a "gifted child" type beat and how it can induce isolation and fear of slipping back to the loser pile. 2) So with all this, now all of her self worth is staked on proving that since she somehow "fixed" being born on Earth, she can ALSO fix Pink's death by avenging her and live happily ever after. 3) her loss confirms to her that she did indeed came out wrong in some way - shes attempting to fix the unfixable. So, Future! People keep saying that she didnt change or is unhelpable, but i really dont think so. I just think (and RS confirms) her problem stems from a completely different place to other gems, as they believe they deserve better and she doesnt. Diamonds and Rose DID hurt her but in a much more subtle and non direct way. So about diamonds in particular - Steven expressly states that they hurt her, and someone might think hes wrong and just assuming something we havent seen, but I believe this is about them holding Jasper up to a higher standard than other quarzes because of her being "the ultimate one". But, like, how do you come to terms that people you look up to have hurt you by praising you and giving you special treatment ("highly decorated gem from humble origins")? Especially since you already feel like you didnt really deserve it? In Future, shes now essentially an off color, a defect not only internally but externally too. She also normally wears a shroud to hide her disfigurement, meaning that although she makes no reference to it verbally, she also hates how she looks. With that in mind, with her diamond, status, dignity, mission, goal, all gone, she really does only have her anger and power. Power that we are supposed to see akin to Steven's Pink state, power that she claims she needs to control by letting it out "safely". We also need to remember that she doesnt just see power as "cool thing i can do", its her reason for existence, big part of identity. HOW do you let go of the FINAL piece of yourself? Now heres something cool. We are meant to see Steven's rant as also directed at HIMSELF. Everything he says about her applies to him in this season. "Staying in a middle of nowhere, waiting for a fight that has been over for years, waiting for someone to give you a purpose". Jasper is even savvy enough to recognize it! And heres the rub - now that she understands shes a defect with no purpose, she sees other defects with no purpose trying to lecture her on what she should to do next and it makes her pissed off because she doesnt believe THEY know better. And she NEEDS an approval of someone she recognizes as superior to her. Which Steven becomes by being the worst version of himself. And THEN he effectively orders Jasper to "find something better". Now. A lesser series would end it right there. "Ho-hum, what a tragedy, oh well, sucks for her". But SU always pushed those boundaries. It keeps stating that change is constant and inevitable (in fact thats RS whole thing, consider her experience of finding her old toy in a garden - untouched but CHANGED). We see the series through the eyes of Steven and for the main series, we assume all he sees is all that exists. But like, Pink's change and Future expressly states its not like that. Moreover, both series state that mistakes and flaws are not end of the world, and could lead to good things. With all that, how do we see Jasper appearing AT Little homeworld as anything other than a beginning of something better out of a bad situation? Sure it would be ideal if she DIDNT need an authority to tell her what to do, but we also make hot dogs out of mangled pork chops. Jasper's confirmation that she knows her diamond doesnt need her alresdy speaks volumes. She says it with some sadness but, like... normal sadness, which is completely unlike when she lost Pink. She even tells him "farewell" - she has stability enough to finally let go, even for a little while. I dont see her needing an authority as something super bad and inherently unfixable - to her, freedom means purposelessness. She craves structure because she doesnt have stability inside... yet. But her taking Steven's wish seriously and integrating into LH, even mentioning that she heard hes leaving - meaning, shes interacting with the other gems or at least being around them willingly, she didnt seek him out by herself - already says enough. She found structure first in Steven and then in LH. Even her punching the ground and also walking through walls though can be seen as a cute joke, we do need to remember that she feels like she needs to control her power and emotions by releasing them. So this farewell affected her emotionally to the point where she has to express it somehow, but its also, like, not the end of the world either. She DOES walk BACK into the house she was apparently staying at! Jasper's arc isnt about her being proven wrong and that defects can beat her at her own game, as she already believed this in the back of her mind - in fact she believed Rose already ruined her. Its not about freedom either - her diamond was already dead. It is about finding something else entirely but it couldnt be done without first putting it into a familiar structure. She craves someone she respects giving her guidance, and then she'll start finding other ways to make that someone proud. Like i said, its not ideal, but thats the first step, you cant start building roofs before you laid a fundament. My take away from her arc is this: healing isnt a path from A to B, and it wont be ideal, but the change IS inevitable, and surrounding yourself with structure and safety net is a path to recovery. We SAW that with Steven, and I believe we are meant to see their journeys similar to each other, as theyre both about inserting yourself into a new, unfamiliar, strange place, but knowing that you have someone out there rooting for you, knowing that you DO have a family/Diamond. One final thing - sure it would be nice to see Jasper and Amethyst reconciling, but like, considering theyre both at LH, i feel like its also inevitable, and most importantly - we are MEANT to assume that events Steven/us arent present for still happen. Sadie: me and Lars talked but we just dont click anymore. Steven: why dont i know about it?! Sadie: because it was PRIVATE! So, yeah. Just because we dont see J and A talk, or J reconnecting to other betas, doesnt mean it will never happen. It will probably be, you know... private.
This is actually a goated series about a goated show. I am constantly finding myself getting distracted watching this instead of playing my game as its just so well made. I use videos like these to just keep in the background as tedious tasks are being done by yours truly, but i just got even less done as i straight turned off the game i was playing to rewatch this lol
I actually like how Jasper's "redemption" is handled. It shows kids that you can't change someone, it's them who has to make the decision to improve. And for some people, it takes a while for them to take that first step. Future gives us a stubborn Jasper who actively refused to change to the point that not even Steven got tired of trying. And at the end she makes the smallest steps towards her new life.
And something that needs to be said is that Jasper, despite coming out of the ground perfect, has a lot of self hatred because she was made on Earth. And she didn't allow Steven to help her because she didn't think that she deserved to be helped.
Regarding the New Lars: We get a little bit of insight into what Lars/Sadie's relationship is like without Steven around, who is really just a "tag-along" kid to them (at least at that point). Steven sees it as a relationship that needs to progress, like a TV show, but its much more complicated than that. Lars flips between wanting to spend time with Sadie and not even wanting to be seen with her since she's "lame"; this conflict is actually made worse due to Steven's interference. I also felt like Steven was meant to take a lesson from this: while the first lesson is that Lars' life would be better if he was more genuine, Steven also took it a step too far by interefering in a relationship that he really knew little about. That's something only Lars and Sadie can work out. Not only that, but his overly simplistic view of their relationship comes up again much later in SU Future. (Although I hate that some of this happened off-screen, that was kinda the point, and also an entirely different convo...) Also, I still constantly say "Buck is pleased"
Thank you for making this series, I was beginning to grow so tired of the constantly repeated, poorly construction, bad faith criticism that has aimed at Steven Universe, so it’s unbelievably refreshing to see someone who truly appreciates the depth, thematic messaging & attention to detail that was so meticulously put on display Don’t get me wrong, the series is far from perfect, but even the greatest shows have numerous faults, and if we could acknowledge that, while also appreciating the positives of these different series, I think people would realize that there’s a lot more good media out there the most believe Overall, I guess what I’m trying to say is thanks for appreciating something which has been such a huge part of me and my sister‘s childhood, it feels impossible to convey just have vindicated I am at this moment However, I truly do appreciate the effort you’re putting into this, and while I can’t support you financially(at least not at the moment), I will try my best to support your channels, and hopefully one day be able to make a donation That being said keep up the good work ❤️
small note about the Pepe's burgers part. Comet was just one of the songs Greg performed, not the song that Greg wrote for Rose. Destiny is the song Greg wrote for Rose.
i think also perdiots mindset in the early episodes of season 3 could be compared to a childs perspective in a household with bigoted parents. if you are raised in a household where you parents are very prejudiced, your fundamental understandings of the world are based in that bigotry. when you meet people outside of your family who contradict those ideas, it can be hard to reconcile. you can recognize that they are good people, but in your mind they cant be right, because that would contradict everything you know about the world. like how peridot says hurtful things and then doesnt understand the gems reactions to them, a child in that situation could easily do the same thing. i think its a great thing to teach in a kids show for both kids in those situations and for kids who meet people in those situations. sometimes children raised with prejudice are going to say hurtful things. you arent obligated to change their mind or forgive them for the things theyve done, but if they are willing to learn they can become a better person, even if it takes work and time.
9:52 re: potential thematic meaning of the final planned form of the earth colony resembling an atom, it could be related to how the gempire treats and sees these planets as solely consisting of their exploitable resources, and considers them important building blocks of the empire only in those terms - that their way of perceiving and interacting with those planets is based off that interpretation as the most possible complex truth, like how for a long time, and still in most general knowledge, atoms being made up of protons neutrons and electrons just orbiting around them is seen as the smallest possible way to break down our material reality, even though we have discovered both the arrangement of the electrons is very specific in electron shells, how them emit/take in photons to jump down to a inner shell or up to an outer shell, and how those subatomic particles themselves are made up of *even smaller* particles (quarks and gluons). The knowledge they have, how they understand it and the way they put it to use is directly formed from the bias of the perspective they have from the 'size' they are as a species, and each colony is considered a minute, simple component. I don't think it was likely intended in that way, but it kind of matches the way I perceive their form of imperialism - like somebody playing a total war style strategy game purely focused on min-maxing their resources efficiently, not having ethical concerns about the action because the people they conquer are literally just a virtual number to them, just like how organic lifeforms don't seem to even be on the radar of anything the homeworld gems even vaguely considered as having a life and complex sentience like them. I forgot to say when I was in the zone of writing out that brainworm but I have been loving watching this series!! your analysis is so compelling and interesting for real.
I personally think that they didn't need to "redeem" jasper. There seems to be this message the fandom has projected onto the show where all villains needed to have been redeemed when it was never about that. The show frames the antagonists to be the way they are initially because they are incapable of accepting change, and redemption is never once a word used in the text. By the end of future, she has at least accepted that Pink Diamond is gone and Steven doesn't want her to serve him. While that may not be as satisfying to some people, it at the very least ties up that loose end in a way that makes sense for Jasper's character.
1:07:12 I love the parallels between Greg and Rose in Mr. Greg. Rose chose to relinquish her status and wealth because it made her happy. Greg was, and was able to, retain his happiness in being poor in the face of new found wealth
My girlfriend did me the pleasure of showing me Steven universe this year, so like you i have no history with the show and child me is seething and coping. The show is so good and i love how genuinely Steven is affected by all of the people he interacts with. He's a sweet kid and i appreciate how much the show values his kindness. Season3 is easily my favorite so far.
I hate when people always misunderstand Jasper and her character, especially when Malachite is taken down. People will only see her as the sole abuser because she is physically bigger and stronger than Lapis. But Lapis herself acknowledged that they BOTH were horrible to EACH OTHER. Things are much more nuanced and Jasper is just as much a victim as Lapis is, her trauma simply affects her differently. Her plea to become Malachite again shows that she is a victim of some kind of stolkhome syndrome type trauma, she knows that it was a bad situation, but her lust for power and her addiction to that power they both had before was enough to override that for her. And people do need to understand her better.
People seem to have a hard time understanding mutually abusive relationships, or even that a relationship can be mutually abusive. Neither of them were solely in the wrong. Jasper forced Lapis to fuse, then Lapis used that power to torment Jasper(which, as they were fused, prevents Jasper from even being her own person, something Lapis at least had in her cell) and keep her locked into the fusion and the makesift prison at the bottom of the ocean. Both of them weirded their power over the other to subjugate them. Lapis understood that this was wrong and unhealthy, and refused to reenter it but... she still did it the first time. She changed and grew after it, but her crimes towards Jasper were of the same kind Jasper did to her, the only difference was that Jasper couldn't understand just how bad of a situation it was. But the black and white viewing of abuse in relationships, where one person is the abuser and the other person is the victim with no more complex dynamics possible is what people go for, so either they insist Lapis was the abuser and Jasper was the victim, or Jasper as the abuser and Lapis as the victim. But they were both.
Yeah, it's a complicated situation because Lapis had a very good reason for keeping Jasper captured (she was going to kill everyone), but that doesn't change that there was a captor/prisioner thing going on.
I agree that its nuanced but Jasper is the abuser in this situation, she coerces Lapis (while being her captor and an extremely powerful gem that threatens her friend) which is how they end up in this relationship, that Lapis ends up being toxic doesnt mean it was mutually abusive
@@eeeertoo2597 duh, this is why I said they BOTH were victims. But Jasper absolutely is NOT the only abuser, she even tried to get away and unfuse with Lapis after they did so. No. Lapis acknowledged this. And Lapis absolutely could've just used the ocean to launch Jasper away with a water hand just like she did in Alone at Sea, and she wouldn't have needed to AGREE to fuse. What I'm saying is, people completely misunderstand Jasper as a character all the time and say that she's irredeemable, yet everyone else in the show who's done shitty things isn't. Jasper is an antagonist, of course she's not completely a helpless victim. But she was just as traumatized and just as much of a victim in the Malachite situation as Lapis. This is a fact.
@@matti.8465 yet Lapis wouldn't have needed to AGREE to fuse and could've absolutely used a water hand to launch Japser away like she did at Alone at Sea. And Jasper once they were being dragged underwater tried to unfuse and get away but was literally being held there. So..
When amethyst reforms on the beach, the shapes her form takes before settling on the white shirt, she's cycling through her previous forms. I believe every gem we see does this and if not, we see it with the main 4
Fantastic video! Made me realize a lot of my favorite episodes were from this season. And omg, Alone at Sea is up there. The atmosphere in that episode is excellent. And the fact they made it clear they were both using each other in their own way...and when Lapis' touches her nose... Chef kiss ❤ Edit: I just wanted to say I did make it to the end. This was really entertaining and you can see the effort you put into these videos. As a fan of video essays and SU as a whole, I really appreciate it.
As someone who watched this show when it came out, and only started to re-evaluate it quite recently, I know this season was marred somewhat by cartoon network's airing schedule. As a season, it was aired primarily in the "Summer of Steven" event, which aired an episode of the season every weekday for almost an entire month, which was, admittedly, very fun to be a part of at the time, but I know, personally that when I heard we were getting a whole month of new Steven Universe, I was very disappointed by the 4 episode stretch of The New Lars - Kiki's Pizza Delivery Service. I feel like Restaurant Wars and Kiki's in particular felt bad in that context because it was 2 episodes in a row about essentially the same townies. I wonder how much we can chalk up a lot of the "filler" complaints the show got specifically to the show's sporadic airing: I can speak from experience that episodes I today find charming and well written, I disliked, because they felt like they did take the space of episodes that interested me far more, which led me (and i believe many others) to call them filler, in the sense that they took a slot that we were never guaranteed to get back any time soon. That being said, it has nothing to do with the actual show itself, and should only be mentioned as a footnote, I think. Spot-on and genuinely fantastic analysis as always.
As someone who both watched some episodes on release and binge watched others I can somewhat confirm this perspective. For the episodes I watched in release there was always kind of disappointing to get a Beach City episode while I really liked a lot of those I watched while binging. And since my son's a huge fan of the show we re-watched when it was finally complete and I realize how little to no filler this show actually has.
I personally really do like that Jasper never has a moment where she is directly helped. I think it *is* an important lesson to know that not everyone can be helped or brought onto your side, and that failing to do so isn't your fault. And especially find that in Steven Universe Future it's incredibly important to Steven's arc in that season. He does significantly try to get through to her, multiple times through multiple means, but simply can't because Jasper is unfortunately too stubborn and caught up in her own ideology to really view things differently. There are always going to be people that are hurting that you cannot help, because if they are unwilling to help themselves or change their ways of thinking, unfortunately it's something that cannot be forced onto them. From my understanding, trying to force someone to get help or trying to force a change of mind onto them for their own benefit can do more harm than good in a lot of cases. (Course there's *extreme* cases, like there is a point where stepping in is necessary, just to br clear. I am aware)
...Last time we see her shes at little homeworld. If she heard hes leaving, that means shes communicating with someone/is around other people. RS confirms that she stays at little homeschool and will find "something better". Things changing without Steven around is the theme of the season. Thematically, her change is basically inevitable. And it probably started because Steven literally told her to do so. Outright telling someone who looks up to you to get help isnt, like, ideal, but the show is also all about how flaws are also inevitable and can lead to good things too.
@@KOTEBANAROT Some people are really stubborn and it takes a lot to get them to take the first steps towards improvement. Jasper ends the series deciding to at least give Little Homeworld a try, even if it's for a reason that only makes sense to her. Steven had to communicate to Jasper in her language
Jasper also has a lot of self hatred because she was made on Earth, which is also why she rejected help from Steven. She didn't think she deserved to be helped.
This coming up in my feed as im trying to find something to listen to pass the time for the rest of my shift 😭 I love u hiding in private, this video series is one of my favs!!
I don’t know how much trouble it would be, but I’m also a viewer of another Steven fan named Sai who also is getting copyrights from one of the bad faith reviewers Lily Orchard. Maybe you two could team up! Also, fantastic video as always, I actually never noticed the cherry man reference in Mr Greg! Maybe I should rewatch the entire series lmao
I genuinely believe Jasper’s arc was something that had to be cut due to CN making the show finish faster than originally planned. It really feels like they wanted to set it up in this season but couldn’t follow through due to time restraints
Gotta say, this is really the best season of Steven Universe to me. So many elements handled masterfully and outside of maybe one or two of the beach city episodes it all flows masterfully. As someone who thinks Rose maybe the most fascinating character in the show (I know sue me) I think Greg the babysitter really shows her in her most true and honest self imaginable. It’s so tragic when she discusses the difference between humanity and gems and how it reflects, at least to me, her own lingering doubts and guilt over everything she’s done and that she doesn’t feel like she’s grown as a person from when she was the screaming brat that broke her pearl and ditched Spinel. And she never got a chance to explain her thought process or her side of the story because she’s gone… such an amazing cautionary tale of hiding your actions and guilt. Eventually it will come out, and while you yourself may not be hurt you end up hurting the people you love…
there aren't enough words to describe how much i've needed this video ever since I was like 11 😭thank you sosososo much for your empathy, your thorough and educated analysis, and the love you pour into your work! i hope that this video reaches enough people to set the record straight 💖
I think it's worth pointing out that seasons 2 and 3 were originally planned to one season. There are so many remnants of this peppered throughout season 3, but I think my favourite is when Sardonyx shows up right at the end as a throwback to that arc. It's a nice and subtle nod to how far they've come in a short time, though it is a little sad that they decided to go ahead with splitting it. I can't help but wonder what it would be like if seasons 4 and 5 went ahead as one season, and what they had to cut. I have a feeling that they had more planned for Rainbow Quartz and Sun Stone, something more like Smoky Quartz.
peridot researching what other people find funny is... kinda relatable 😭😭 it's been interesting over the years hearing different people's (often extreme) opinions on steven universe, and it's helpful to hear someone break it down episode by episode. keep it up!!
Season 3 was weird to watch live, because it was released with 5 new episodes a week for like a month, as we speedran the entire season in one sprint. Then it was followed by nearly a year without new episodes. Crazy time. It was very fun to binge the episodes like that though.
I relate so much to Lapis as someone who was abused time and time again by people who were supposed to care for me. The habits I've developed to protect myself in those situations have become shameful to me now that I am in a place where I don't need them anymore. People act like "saving" the victim from the abuse is the solution and hardest part, but it's not. The recovery after is the hardest, and no one sees that, no one talks about it. Steven Universe is one of the few shows that has framed an abuse victim like this and it is the most realistic view on abusive relationships I've seen. You either give in to the abuse and take it, or you become abusive yourself to survive it. There's no "good" abuse victim, there's just hurt people.
In it could've been great, the atom representation could be how earth was meant to be a single part of the whole gem empire, as an atoms combine and such to create something bigger.
1:26:08 NO YOU DONT UNDERSTAND WATCHING THIS WAS MEANT TO BREAK MY CONSERVATIVE ANIMATED COMEDY HYPERFIXATION AAAAAAAH- IM THE OLD NORM, I WANT NORMAL BEER!!!!!!!!!
me and my partner JUST (like, 30 mins ago) finished rewatching s3 to show my mom, and we keep talking about how excited we are to show her your videos after we finish the series. it's so fun getting to see your analysis of episodes we've just watched and get to appreciate it all again
your analysis and perspective are so well articulated. I have been loving these videos. I hope this one can avoid a strike. If it somehow does I think you need to cut the visuals altogether because while visuals are important to the aesthetic and vibe, this is too much work and care to not get anything. The crazy thing I'm surprised you didn't mention was Sadie and Lars interaction in the new lars. Maybe I read way too deep into it, but it feels like a more direct example of a bad relationship when so far we mostly had metaphor's with gems. You could also say this episode is another big example of there being a lot of things steven doesn't get to see with people he knows that Future tackles. I'm not necessarily thinking this is "too mature" but I felt Sadie's scenario was very "real". Lar's insecurities hold him back and make him unlikable, but it also hurt's people. We have one off instances like when he pushes steven too far, cutting out people like Renaldo, not being true to himself to be "cool", and now we know Sadie has been dragged on by him only letting her in when no one can see him be himself. It's also a nice change of pace to have the obvious show couple developed to the point where the flaws aren't just ignored to have a nice couple by the end. Despite the show being locked to steven, stuff like this makes the world feel way more lived in than some people give it credit for.
1 hour and 27 minutes in, currently. Going to finish the rest tomorrow, but I wanted to say that I am thoroughly enjoying it so far. I love your analyses. Everything is so wonderfully explained and examined. This series as a whole has given me a newfound appreciation of a show I already loved before. Ty ❤❤❤
the format and pattern of this series is so strong it's very engaging, it scratches the audio book part of my brain in a weird way, love this series I'm excited to finish the vid and wait for the next
56:44 I don’t know how accurate this is. I find it weird to omit that the episode ends that sequence with Lapis asking Peridot if she’s ok, and blushing when met with a smile. Clearly Peridot’s safety was a priority for Lapis on *some* level, and this rescue is the beginnings of a foundation for a workable relationship between the two. For such admirably comprehensive videos it’s an odd character moment to not acknowledge, if not outright contradict.
Love you saying Lapis and Peridot are wives, its so true haha. As always, this was a great watch. Thanks so much for putting Steven Universe positivity out into the world. I'm re-watching the show right now with my teenage cousin, and she's been really enjoying it, and thankfully she hasn't been aware of the kind of negativity that gets spread about it online. It's also reminded me first hand of how smart the show's writing really is. There are misses here and there because nothing is perfect, but there's so much here that genuinely works, and quite often in surprising and nuanced ways.
Hard agree on the summarizing note that fans ought not feel like they have to fall back on the milquetoast argument that "people should be allowed to like stuff," conceding to the myriad bad-faith criticisms this story has had heaved at it for years. It's okay if you can't fully articulate why you like something or don't have the time/energy, but that's not the same as having no good reason for having an interest. The old "I just like what I like, okay?" the common refrain of people who know in their hearts that something is cool and good, but are not prepared to go through a formal debate about it, which is a major part of why this series by Hiding in Private is so fantastic!
thank you SO MUCH for these videos!! I've been a fan of this show for nearly a decade now and your videos truly make me so glad I got to enjoy such a special series while it was still airing, you're amazing at explaining how attentive the writers were for each character and their arcs, I'm really happy that there are still fans of this show out there making amazing content like this, please keep uploading 🙏🙏
amethyst's reformations in crack the whip are showing her past reforms in the other amethyst eccentric episode (the one with the monster in her room), and it isnt as fast as she could clearly but its a combination of being thoughtful with her form and also being fast enough to come back and help
It is so awfully ironic how the people who most sunk into the bad-faith criticisms of SU made them against a show with THREE separate episodes that had the message against this kind of thinking - against being brash with your decisions and not waiting to hear the whole story before acting out. This video is fantastic and as someone who is- and has always been -pretty bad at analyzing even the simplest of subtexts I'm really glad that you truly go into each and every episode in a nigh scene to scene basis to discuss the underlying themes, lessons, and intentions of the show. It makes me understand the entire series better and find out things that I hadn't even realized before
“TAKE THIS GUN, WE’RE GOING TO KILL PEOPLE!” absolutely destroyed me and it is so, so so indicative of the criticisms of this show. Steven is *fourteen,* and most people who hate the show are advocating for him- or, at least, the people always with him- to KILL. It’s almost… slightly normalized, in adventure shows with a child protagonist, to have them fight and even sometimes kill without any real psychological consequences because “well he was bad, so it’s ok!” But murder is a SERIOUS act, and it can be traumatizing even if it’s done in self defense. Our brains are just hardwired against it!
What I love about your content is the depth of your analysis and the fact that I can tell your words come from your own well-considered thoughts. It’s never simple regurgitation of plot points or surface-level sentiments. You rock!
i think it's worth mentioning that while peridot is going on her rant about how perfect Yellow Diamond is, she specifically calls her 'the most reasonable rational efficient decider ever to exist' Peridot had faith in her to actually be rational and consider her carefully thought out argument about how organic life creates unique resources and it would be beneficial to leave the ecosystem undisturbed, but Yellow wouldn’t hear it. The tipping point during her conversation with Yellow is realizing that she is actually being completely *un*reasonable and *ir*rational.
This is possibly a tiny little nitpick of a thought, but as someone who has always related heavily to Peridot- it feels kind of alienating for so many people to seem so focused on shipping Peridot and Lapis, specifically in a romantic way (like, for example, referring to them as wives here). As an asexual aromantic person, the way that Peridot seems to struggle with fusion (and never fuses with anyone from what we see) really resonated with me and a lot of other aro/ace people. Peridot doesn't just dislike fusing or choose not to- she tries and in trying finds out she simply cannot, at least not in the same way that others seem to. While fusion is not solely representative of romantic relationships (like, for example, Smoky Quartz) it does seem clear that most fusions require mutual understanding or a particular kind of emotional bond (even if in an abusive way, like Malachite) that Peridot simply does not have the ability to make. That could in part be the autistic representation- not really understanding how a relationship is supposed to work and not knowing the rules or why they're there. But the fact that Peridot seems to struggle so much with one particular type of relationship while still being able to form others (platonic or familial in nature) seems very much like aroace representation. And like, I can't tell you who to ship or that you're not allowed to like a certain pairing. But it very much contributes to aspec erasure in fandom and online spaces- we aren't even allowed to have a single character to represent ourselves, even when characters are stated to canonically be that way (Peridot was confirmed to be representative of aroace people by one of the people who worked on the show). It's something that's frustrated me about even the most accepting parts of this fandom- that aspec identities are simply not seen as important enough or "oppressed enough" to need rep, when that's simply and plainly untrue. And the way aspec characters are treated by fans- forced into relationships they never said they wanted- reflects way too strongly on the real damage done to aspec people in their real relationships, being forced into uncomfortable or traumatic situations simply to "fix" them.
So dope!! I found your chanel about a week ago and watched your Steven universe saga over a few days. Was almost scared that I had to wait months for the next part but no, here it is perfectly timed for my first day off! Feels like a personal gift to me :3
I also wished we got more Jasper development, but I feel like it's very internalized for her RN and also saved for future projects (not Steven Universe Future, but she does get some development and a lot of screen time). I like that considering gems live for thousands of years and have a lot of memories to reinforce their characters. Also I would take putting her development on pause for more Peridot, Lapis, Bismuth or fusions - but that's just me
regarding same old world- pearl's outfit does match that in story for steven, but it doesnt match that in 3 gems and a baby in season 4 (pearl is pictured with her season 1 outfit there). steven has only been alive for a couple months at that point, and we know greg and rose were together for 15-20 years before steven was born, so its much more likely that pearl's form changed in that span. all that is to say, they absolutely would have had the means of healing lapis, had they bothered to remove her from the mirror. keeping her trapped was 100% an intentional choice by the crystal gems.
truly a phenomenal video and a great look into lapis's character thatis refreshingly understanding of her past. season 3 is easily my favorite season of the show
Season 3 (or what it really is, the back half of season 2 ahem) is absolutely my favorite part of the show. A lot of the reasons are laid out quite well in this video, all the ground it covers to both expand the world and characters (yes, even the townies), but I do think that Jasper is the crowning achievement in this season. She could easily be a 2-dimensional Might Makes Right facist, like Vegeta for example, but I truly feel she comes into her own and maybe even surpasses someone like Vegeta in terms of pathos She is someone who we learn is literal perfection. The absolute apex of what is possible for a Quartz Soldier to be, but in Gem Society and her mind, she is still second rate and a failure. Despite her prodigious power, she still failed to protect Pink Diamond and her colony, and despite how much more powerful and imposing she is than Amethyst, it's AMETHYST who is from the Prime Kindergarten and made under ideal circumstances. She may be a "failure" in her own right, but simply by being an Amethyst and not a Jasper, she is superior to Jasper in her mind. Jasper is from the Beta Kindergarten, her existence is proof that something went wrong on Earth and she can never escape that shadow so long as she accepts and embodies the false narrative of hierarchy that the Diamonds have created. So her trying to strongarm Amethyst into a power dynamic where she comes out on top is just an expression of that toxic hierarchy programmed into her for thousands of years. She can feel there is something wrong, but takes it out on her peers instead of the system that makes no sense under scrutiny And just on a raw emotional level, having Amethyst say "C'mere, sis" before bubbling her is such a good moment for her growth and understanding all of this pain is shared. That they both want to be each other, but will be freed when they accept themselves as who they are
![Chlöe - Shake (Feat. Jeremih) [Official Visualizer]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/aDs_1ufpfv8/mqdefault.jpg)
Hope you all enjoy. To hurry along the production of the Season 4 video, I will be releasing one episode chunks weekly on Patreon until the whole video is completed. As a general rule, the less financially desperate I am, the quicker it can come out. Dozens of exclusive videos on Patreon now, and a handful of exclusive videos for channel members here. Thank you all again for your support, even if that shows itself through comments, shares and likes. I appreciate it greatly. Hope you enjoy.
Patreon:
www.patreon.com/HidinginPublic
Kofi:
ko-fi.com/hiding
Wow this guy seems cool. I think I will help him pay for food and medication by supporting him through those links! Interesting!
Wish I could help but honestly I don’t have the money 😮💨
Sounds like I need to up my Patreon contributions rate some.
@@Buzz.co1you gotta care for yourself before you can care for others
CARE FOR YOURSELF!!!!
@@Buzz.co1you gotta care for yourself before you can care for others
CARE FOR YOURSELF!!!!
Lapis slander makes me sad as a person with ptsd. Her worry that the coping mechanisms she developed to survive make her a bad person at her core is very relatable. She truly is just misunderstood.
It took me a while to understand lapis. I used to be a hater, not of her trauma or even how it's shown in the show, but just cuz she seemed moody and mean which is kinda annoying as a personally type for me. But then I realized a lot of how she was, was because of what she's been through, and I can't really be mad at that. Now that I'm older and have watched the show so many times at this point, I actually really like her a lot
I loved Lapis and Peridot as roommates that would hang out to watch a show together.
Lapis is complex and grows in her own way. I’m glad she found friends with peridot and bismuth
People not understanding that Jasper was in the wrong in Alone At Sea is so frustrating. She shows up, knocks Steven aside (literally), tries to emotionally manipulate Lapis into believing that she’s too dangerous to be around anyone else, and then tries to kill Steven when she doesn’t get her way. There is nuance to the situation of Malachite as a relationship, but Jasper is trying to drag her and Lapis down. To read it as Lapis being the sole abuser is so messed up.
On a lighter note I love that Log Date is the first ep where we get Peridot’s running gag of saying “Wow thanks”. It starts off as a sarcastic saying, and then she genuinely means it when thanking others. It’s cute.
ITS CRAZY i felt so dumb for falling for it, like its so obvious that jasper is in the wrong
Jasper can be in the wrong without being an abuser. Was she wrong in seeking out malachite again? Yes. Was it because she just wants to use lapis in an abusive way? I don't think so. The amount of people who read malachite as one-sided abuse instead of a toxic relationship when literally all spoken diologe about her including from garnet stands in sharp contrast is just as sad as the read that lapis is an abuser and jasper was innocent and in the right
@@ivaniawren5014 idk why you write this as if the two are mutually exclusive. lapis and jasper was a toxic relationship, however jaspers abuse is the reason for lapis' toxicity in the relationship. They're both toxic towards each other, but jasper is abusive in the relationship.
@@ChespinCraft jasper, by reaching out for mutual strength, being betrayed, then going back to who hurt her because she wants that feeling again, is an abuser. Why. Tell me why, besides she is big, that *she* abuses lapis by being betrayed and trapped by her
@@ivaniawren5014 because context. Jasper *imprisoned* lapis, then after the ship crashed she grabbed lapis to stop her from getting away, forcing her to fuse as her only option. Then as the video mentions and original comment mention, in alone at sea she comes back and begs/manipulates lapis to come back into the toxic relationship, getting violent to anyone standing in her way. Jasper is over and over the one who traps lapis, and lapis trapping Jasper is only in retaliation (and by fusing with Jasper she traps her in order to save others, very different from jaspers motivation to trap lapis).
I remember people HATING "Hit the Diamond", because they believed we'd get more info on the Diamonds and not a baseball game.
It's not the best episode out there, but it's a good episode thanks to a lot of cute and memorable moments in it.
Is Hit the Diamond a known baseball phrase?
i think seeing a clip of hit the diamond on youtube was some of the first exposure i got to steven universe
@@user-sz6te4wt6p A "baseball diamond" is a known phrase, as is "hit the [ _ ]"(hit the court, hit the road, ect) for commencing something.
lol didn’t steven universe do that with misleading titles all the time? I wasn’t watching the show as it was airing but I remember people theorizing about Gem Harvest and then it turned out to be a silly thanksgiving episode.
There's this one scene in episode three I always loved.
Before the big confrontation with Yellow Diamond, while locked inside the car, Peridot is explaining her plan to Steven, which he misunderstands as her going back to her old ways and wanting to sell both the earth and crystal gems out to homeworld. In reality, bless her little neurodivergent heart, Peridot had attempted to explain to Steven how she was going to reason with Yellow Diamond to save the earth and preserve it, effectively only taking the least amount of resources necessary without hurting it and its life.
This is why later on, Peridot is so confused when her seemingly perfect, intelligent and logical diamond ignores her ideas and appears unreasonable. Yellow responds emotionally, with rage and denial, ignoring all rhyme and reason, which is anything but the image Peridot had painted of her. This would also be consistent with her characterization later on. Yellow Diamond copes by being both dismissive and aggressive, avoiding any emotional distress and baggage. (and failing miserably in her attempts)
Steven Universe has always had (mis)communication as one of its big themes after all.
no joke, I just finished re-watching all the previous installments of this series YESTERDAY. I'm so so so excited to add this to my comfort videos playlist 🫶🏻
NO WAY SAME. TIMING RIGHT?!
😅ss3😅😅😅😅⁵
Same (but it’s been 3 days) crazy…
We live in an AI generated worl-
Me too
SAME!!
"This sensitivity Peridot has for her *WIFE*" took me out
Babe wake up new hiding in private vid dropped
Finally
@HidinginPrivate finished the vid. Mainly listened to it but I hope you know that despite the compromises to avoid copyright, this was an amazing video that held up perfectly without any visual! You put a lot of effort into your script and analysis, I’m excited for the next one >:3
This is the first Steven Universe analysis I've seen that actually considers the fact that it's a kid's show. You take the time to think about what each episode is trying to communicate to its target audience.
Many people like Lily analyze it at surface level ignoring the target audience. For many "it's for kids" is just an excuse for bad writing. Being for kids doesn't mean talking down to your audience but it DOES affect the way you communicate things to them.
With how I always see people say that the Season 1 finale ''Jailbreak'' is the peak of SU. I get the feeling people just wanted to see queer people beating up a totalitarian regime with style and saw the other elements of the show as secoundary or pointless...
this series really deserves to blow-the-frick-up, to clear up all that bad faith aimed at a show that doesnt deserve it
Any help sharing it about is heavily appreciated 🫡
@@HidinginPrivateGood luck making amazing videos discrediting the terrible bad faith takes 🫡
56:37 tiniest correction (more a nitpick really) - Yellow DID try to wipe Peri out via the exploding communicator after being called a clod. But you're right that she didn't even care enough to confirm the kill, and probably assumed the Cluster would taker her out if not
I thought they were implying that the communicators explode automatically whenever used
@@thevarietychannelofyoutube4769
Peridot says “because it can be remotely detonated.” When she hands the communicator to Pearl, so I think it’s safe to assume Yellow diamond or someone set the communicator off on purpose.
I think we pretty much all agree season 3 is the best Steven Universe season. Hell it might not even be my favourite, but it’s very clearly the best season. It’s one of the best seasons of animation period really, it’s incredible just how much they were able to pack into a 26ish episode season.
I know it’s not a perfect comparison but I’ve always thought the first 4 seasons are built around a different crystal gem. Season 1 is Pearls season, Season 2 is Garnets season, Season 3 is Amethysts season and season 4 is Steven’s season. And of the four, Amethysts season arch is by far the most satisfying, it took a lot of seeds that were planted earlier in the show but not really expanded on (Amethyst wasn’t born “right”, her lack of self-esteem, her still being relatively new to the group, her reluctance to rely on others) and contextualised all of it around Jasper, who ends up becoming the physical manifestation of Amethysts insecurities. And then her defeating that by accepting the help of others, accepting she is loved for who she is and embracing that her strength has nothing to do with her physical attributes or power but instead her emotional maturity, her self image and the relationships she has with others. All things Jasper doesn’t comprehend or refused to engage with, leading to her eventual defeat and corruption
Plus you have some fantastic towny episodes, Lapis + Peridot stuff which is fantastic and episodes like Bismuth and Mr Greg that are rightly consistently considered among the shows best. If you are going to be nit-picky, I’ve always thought having 4 or 5 Town episodes in a row can hurt the shows pacing but that only becomes an issue when you are getting consistently dud town episodes. And this season set up the foundation for seasons 4 and 5; Pink Diamond’s shattering, exploration of corruption, the Cluster, Lapis and Paradot joining the gems, substantial doubts on Rose’s character, morality and honesty, way more homeworld Gems coming to Earth. A significant amount of which isn’t even focused on but is instead explored thematically or just mentioned in conversation. It’s such a good season, pretty much all hits no misses
i actually prefer season 2 for how tightly packed and focused the Cluster Arc is. might also be my Peridot bias speaking but who knows?
@@imonly1man_ unfortunately because of how the episodes are organised the cluster arch only gets resolved in season 3. If season 2 had Super Watermelon Island and Gem Drill, then I’d call it right about even
Great season but season 5 is my favorite honestly, sure the lil Connie arc at the start after the great homeworld tease we got was a slow "filler" arc but after that, some of my favorites episodes are in that season
@@dustinmartin6524 fair but most of the Cluster Arc is season 2 so it's still my fav
@@yonsetv5223I probably prefer season 5. However from a purely critical perspective, season 3 is definitely better. I happily overlook 5’s flaws because I find the positives of the season to be so enjoyable but I also recognise they exist (I’ll go into them when he releases the season 5 video since I don’t like using a Season 3 retrospective to talk about a different season extensively). Season 3 is just so concise, everything comes in some way full circle and everything receives a satisfying resolution whilst substantially building up what’s to come
I have a headcanon that the reason why Jasper is so perfect is that she stole all the nutrients from around her to beef herself up, whilst leaving the other incubating gems in the dirt (Skinny Jasper)
Omg I'll take it 😂
Sounds strange to imply someone is acting out their agency before they were even born.
@@KOTEBANAROT it happens in real life too, in some twin pregnancies the developing fetus may consume the other fetus. it’s not acting upon consciousness, so who’s to say gems can’t do the same
@@pokepoke1889 Jasper is *_Sukuna?!?!_*
That does honestly seem like a very jasper reason
Its nice to see someone actually genuinely appreciating this show and dissecting the messages, the show is basically became the main target for bad faith criticism, so its good to see someone doing justice with this show
This man is doing God's work defending Steven Universe season by season, episode by episode. Bless his work❤
Yeah lilly video definitely messed up steven universe reputation
2:18:10 “this sensitivity that peridot has for her WIFE” lapidot nation rise
Where was the lie, they are sooooo couple coded at the end of s3
@@HidinginPrivate queer platonic vibes perhaps 🤔
I don't think Jasper is a missed opportunity so much as a message that you can only really help people who WANT to be helped. Never once does Jasper reflect that SHE might be the problem. Not even in Future. So she isn't helpable.
I think I struggle between your perspective and Hidden's one. A part of me would love a redemption arc for Jasper but another one really likes that it ended like it did. It's a good message and a good contrast to Steven always accomplishing to help people. We probably needed the reminder that's not always possible.
@@noctap0d Jasper is pretty hard-headed too, i mean its LITERALLY her weapon, so giving her a redemption arc would be pretty out of place. I mean I'd love to see it but it'd be weird for her, yaknow?
She literally always thinks shes the problem. Everything she does is her trying to prove that she isnt. Its spelled out by Rebecca and hinted greatly by her saying "nobody ever wants to stay".
Either way, this look is way too deterministic for a show that emphasizes change and growth. Everything didnt END in Future. We are simply shown that there will always be change, both for worse and for the best but the Future will always be there. For everyone.
And really its strange to say that Jasper never changed or had any redemption.
Because Jasper is AT little homeworld. AFTER Steven told her to find something better to do. Its her barn moment. From here we can freely assume that after saying farewell to her diamond, she can finally begin to let go of her duty. And I say that because RS said that.
So yeah. "Not helpable"? I really dont see how. It took the word of a diamond for her to go get help, but its not as though the only people who try to improve do so because theyre already at the place where they can do it themselves. There are plenty IRL stories from "problem" people who needed a strong authority figure for them to help improve.
@@KOTEBANAROT Yeah the issue in Future as I remember it is that Stephen struggled to understand Jasper more than any other gem. He tried to force her into another mold that was never her, trying to find something outside of battle she secretly enjoyed more. When he accepted who Jasper was and sparred/trained with her, that's when they finally started to get along and see eye-to-eye in some way.
At least that's how I remember it. I did only watch Future the one time.
I dunno, she was definitely a lot of missed potential and her ending really wasnt that good, you notice it when you realize how many times she was just kicked out of the plot, first with Malachite, then with her falling into the earth's crust, and then finally being corrupted. Show wouldve been a lot better if they had Jasper around for longer, people really loved her.
1:05:25 Greggs song that got turned into a commercial is Just a Comet which is just before he met rose. So it is not a love song he wrote for rose. It was the song that caught Roses attention, which is why pearl responds "This is what did it? Burgers???"
I recently went through an experience that left me with a lot of post-traumatic stress that I had to work through. I remember feeling like I would never be happy again - like I'd always just be hurt and scared and angry and damaged for the rest of my life. But then I, honestly, started thinking a lot about Lapis.
Her being hurt and angry and scared, lashing out and panicking at the first sign of stress, just like I was. Garnet saying that she'd need a lot of time to rest and recover. Her eventually finding her smile again, making friend and having fun. Eventually making it to how she is in Future, singing a song about how life feels worth living again and the world around her feels vibrant and good to exist in again.
It gave me hope that, if she could recover from feeling as awful as I was, I'd find my way back to being happy again someday too. And I did!
So, even though some people have gripes with how Lapis having PTSD was written... I'm always gonna be grateful to the crew for writing her the way they did. It made me feel seen and understood and gave me hope when I was completely out of it. ❤
Steven universe really connects to me as an autistic person. Interestingly enough, while peridot is the pretty clear allegory for autism, I find that Pearl resonates with me more.
Peridot is my spirit gem
1:23:45 as a person on the spectrum, i really felt this, I wasn't diagnosed when i watched the show at first, but i did identified myself with a lot of traits that Peridot presented (especially the hyperfixation and the overly logic mindset), and it made be happy to see that Peridot quirks were accepted by others, and even helpful in some situations , this really meant a lot to mr growing up especially after getting my diagnosis.
I also really connected with her arc of understanding that emotions and emphaty are necessary, and sometimes being lead to logic only can lead on to develop tunnel vision and overlook the bad things in your world view.
Sorry for the more personal comment, but i just really wanted to highlight the positive impact that media can have on us
Hey, so you'll probably never see this, but thank you so much for making these. Steven universe was my favorite show growing up, and I have happy memories of watching it with my sisters. This is the first season I watched activity air and not just saw on streaming, so I'm sure all those memories will bubble up and make me cry. I loved this show so much as a little mentally ill queer kid and I can't thank it enough for all the little things it taught me that I wouldn't have learned elsewhere (how to deal with anxiety, how to use they/Them pronouns, how to form you're emotions into words, ect). Your videos just really validate the little kid in me who felt bad for liking the weird show. I was very aware that most adults hated.
i love that the general hate for steven universe is slowly being taken over by people who genuinely like the show
Something I think that was missed within the New Lars analysis that I think is worth bringing up is it also being a paired messaging on Steven's tendencies to help others as well.
Season 3 in general starts to emphasize a lot more that Steven's capacity to help people (and the capacity of you, as a child, to be kind and understanding to others) isn't always just a source of good- that there can be consequences to interfering for yourself and/or for others. The pair of Kiki's Pizza Delivery Service (helping can take a toll on yourself) and The New Lars (attempting to 'help' someone can be harmful) acts as introductory episodes to this concept before the season takes a turn into the more 'serious, plot related' conflicts. Within the New Lars, Steven's attempts to help double in helping them understand each other better, but also strains the relationship between them. Like you said, the episode is mainly a story in which Lars, being closed-off and insecure about being himself, realizes that if he was a bit more open and kind that his relationships might be better. But on Steven's end, his actions are framed as incredibly invasive and end up hurting Lars and Sadie's feelings by getting involved. This doesn't mean Steven shouldn't help people ***, but it does reaffirm that sometimes your desire to help can have consequences, even when it ultimately does some good. Steven's attempts to push Lars out of his shell before he's ready (seen in previous episodes like Island Adventure) causes problems for the people around him, especially Sadie. Steven gives Sadie this false idea of a Lars that doesn't treat her disposably (shown when she's happy he even bothered to come see her), then rips it away when the reality of who Lars is at this point comes back. It feels intentional that the episode Lars outwardly discusses wanting to change, is the one in which Steven and Sadie connect with him somewhat accidentally (via the potluck baking!) a whole season later.
***(the nature of it being fiction means it needs conflict, I appreciate SU's direction in making Steven's character create conflict in a way that is in line with his character. Also Lars's development in season 4 in part happens due to his realizations here, so this is no way is saying that attempting to help someone change is a bad thing, I feel like arguing this would very obviously go against what the overall themes of this show are)***
I say all this because the gem conflicts later in season 3 are also very much about this! Steven's attempts to reason with bismuth, jasper, and eyeball force Steven into higher conflict scenarios in which his attempts to help and reason with them fail. Steven accidentally accelerates Bismuth's frustration in his attempts to understand and reason with her, and he's forced to throw eyeball into space after he brings her into the bubble. Jasper as a character refuses to accept help due to her pre-dispositions and insecurities, and thus reacts more negatively when he tries to help her. His attempts to help come from a place of good, but they don't end up helping the situation. (The Kiki's part of this is pretty understandable I think, as Steven very directly is put in harms way more than if he had prioritized his own safety) . I hope this makes sense lol I'd love to discuss this more because it's something I think goes pretty underlooked within season 3 and Steven's character arc as a whole. Obviously future directly states that Steven feels like he needs to fix other people's problems for him to feel like he has a purpose, but I think it's so smart that the original series has this acceleration of this idea throughout its 5 season run.
oh I love your point, and I also found that the video's review on this particularly episode was a bit lacking, even though it's not even a particularly 'important' episode lol. This def highlights the downsides of steven's insistency in helping (something that also comes up more proeminantly during season 5 when he's trying to help ruby and sapphire so desperatedly, but at least then he has amethyst and greg to put him in check). It's just interesting how this subject, while being portrayed every now and then during the original show, never had too severe consequences, or at least in ways that clearly shows his good intentions legitimately causing bigger harm (at least ever since the first half of season 1). Usually things just worked out in the end, and he got used to it, he got used to being right and not having to deal with harsh consequences to actions directly caused by him...and then SUF just completely flipped that, and now his mistakes feel real.
ahem, but back to that episode, another thing I missed being mentioned is how not everyone prefered steven's version of lars, how sadie was clearly upset. This serves to show how steven indeed messed up and doesn't actually know better, which is what shows him the above (how his attempt to help backfired). But I also specially find that bit reassuring because it shows that steven isn't just straight up better than Lars, he can't replace him, and even Lars has qualities and he should just work through his own issues to better himself, instead of feeling bad and insecure over being a complete failure as a person. that. that would be awful.
@@AnaBacanazp Yes I totally agree! I think SU unpacks the idea of 'being a good person' related to what you said very well also. As you said, Steven has good intentions when trying to help Lars and others, but this also is a thing that has to be balanced with the autonomy of said person. White Diamond herself's rule is about bringing everyone in line based on her own intentions, because she believes that that is the best way to run her family and society as a whole. Steven asserting himself as who he is is the solution to this, which goes in line with this idea of being true to who you are. The New Lars is warning Steven that him trying to make people change based on what he views as 'negative' is not a net positive result, that it hurts some of the people around him (Sadie). Steven has a good heart and so these changes often come for the betterment of others, but what he does here is not much different than what White Diamond does at the end.
(this also pairs well with the whole good person vs. bad person idea, as SUF's final conflict also ties into the ideas of 'being too bad/monstrous to be saved', which ultimately hurts the people who most need help. If every person is given the materials and space they need to grow, as Steven did for those around him, then Steven is also allowed to have space to be better, to change, even at his rock bottom. It no longer is a 'wow we need to save the main character because he's the main character and we like him', but a natural conclusion to the philosophy the show follows for every other character. Forcing a change on Lars overnight would not help him recover, neither would abandoning him as a 'bad person', and neither would it have helped Steven in his moment of loss of self and meltdown.)
@@peachie5000 yes! very well put. just wanna say that i love the parallels between steven and white, they are very interesting and not always noticed. but it also demonstrates the philosophy, as you put, that anyone can make mistakes and everyone is deserving of a second chance and to be better
The people who complain about the show "forgetting about the cluster" are missing the point. The REAL focus of the arc is Peridot's development, the cluster is mostly just a plot device to facilitate it.
If every episode was about building a drill and talking about the cluster, then Peridot's story would suffer for it.
NEW BACKGROUND NOISE WHILE I WORK JUST DROP LET'S FRICKING GO! MY GOAT PROMISE AND DELIVER!
Hell yeah, I'm drawing listening to this, love a long vid from a creator I love
Naah imagine making a two and a half hour video and people call it ''background noise'' I would be MAD
@@lu011 That's why I watch it attentively at least once, then it becomes the background noise I crave.
@@lu011 he said in the beginning that this isn't much visually and is more of a background noise lol
While there's nothing wrong with watching a video in the background like this, I feel like calling it "noise" makes it sound like there's nothing of worth in the video, when that is very much not the case.
As I watch this as well as your other videos on SU, it's so refreshing to hear someone handle the show with the same tenderness and genuine love for one of the only shows to let children know their queerness, their disabilities, their identities are ok. I genuinely cannot thank you enough for how you have continued to handle the show that gave me a push into feeling secure in my transmasculinity and my autism, and helped me as an adult rewatching realize the abusive situation I'd been in. These are some of my favorite videos on the platform, hands down, no exaggeration.
Ye, I'm autistic and struggle with trauma and SU has been a massive comfort. I'm old (28) and I wish I had a show this tender and understanding to grow up with. I'm so happy I'm experiencing this show for the first time 💙
I'm happy for you and I absolutely get it. Also, I think that the show's central message addressing the LGBT community, people with disabilities and people in groups who are marginalized for being different being "you did nothing wrong, it's their problem not yours, they're not even strong enough to stop you from being who you are" is kind of beautiful if you think about it.
I replied to some commenters with similar thoughts re: Jasper in Future, and I guess ill also explain here why i dont think her arc was wasted.
Sure it would be great if we got her thoughts on the whole Pink diamond thing, but i think her episodes already establish it pretty well.
1) her main series agenda was about her spiraling "after meeting her demons" (ian/rs words).
Her insecurities are all in nature tied to Pink - shes made on earth (bad) in a lame kindergarten (bad) her diamond died in the war (bad) but she made out of all this a perfect quartz (good).
Despite her coming out perfect being just a 1 in a million chance, Homeworld, which reacts to defect gems with contempt as though they did something wrong personally, also rewarded her for something she obviously couldnt influence.
Its not that, like Amethyst, she was "one good thing out of this mess", she was "the quartz that pulled herself by her bootstraps".
Quartzes hung out together normally, but her exceptionality also seemingly isolated her from the rest of her peers, seeing as Yellow ONLY took her and dumped the rest of the earth quartzes to guard zoo - which is basically assigning someone to peel potatoes forever.
I think its a really neat detail honestly, a "gifted child" type beat and how it can induce isolation and fear of slipping back to the loser pile.
2) So with all this, now all of her self worth is staked on proving that since she somehow "fixed" being born on Earth, she can ALSO fix Pink's death by avenging her and live happily ever after.
3) her loss confirms to her that she did indeed came out wrong in some way - shes attempting to fix the unfixable.
So, Future! People keep saying that she didnt change or is unhelpable, but i really dont think so. I just think (and RS confirms) her problem stems from a completely different place to other gems, as they believe they deserve better and she doesnt.
Diamonds and Rose DID hurt her but in a much more subtle and non direct way. So about diamonds in particular - Steven expressly states that they hurt her, and someone might think hes wrong and just assuming something we havent seen, but I believe this is about them holding Jasper up to a higher standard than other quarzes because of her being "the ultimate one".
But, like, how do you come to terms that people you look up to have hurt you by praising you and giving you special treatment ("highly decorated gem from humble origins")? Especially since you already feel like you didnt really deserve it?
In Future, shes now essentially an off color, a defect not only internally but externally too. She also normally wears a shroud to hide her disfigurement, meaning that although she makes no reference to it verbally, she also hates how she looks.
With that in mind, with her diamond, status, dignity, mission, goal, all gone, she really does only have her anger and power. Power that we are supposed to see akin to Steven's Pink state, power that she claims she needs to control by letting it out "safely". We also need to remember that she doesnt just see power as "cool thing i can do", its her reason for existence, big part of identity. HOW do you let go of the FINAL piece of yourself?
Now heres something cool. We are meant to see Steven's rant as also directed at HIMSELF. Everything he says about her applies to him in this season. "Staying in a middle of nowhere, waiting for a fight that has been over for years, waiting for someone to give you a purpose". Jasper is even savvy enough to recognize it!
And heres the rub - now that she understands shes a defect with no purpose, she sees other defects with no purpose trying to lecture her on what she should to do next and it makes her pissed off because she doesnt believe THEY know better. And she NEEDS an approval of someone she recognizes as superior to her. Which Steven becomes by being the worst version of himself. And THEN he effectively orders Jasper to "find something better".
Now. A lesser series would end it right there. "Ho-hum, what a tragedy, oh well, sucks for her".
But SU always pushed those boundaries. It keeps stating that change is constant and inevitable (in fact thats RS whole thing, consider her experience of finding her old toy in a garden - untouched but CHANGED). We see the series through the eyes of Steven and for the main series, we assume all he sees is all that exists. But like, Pink's change and Future expressly states its not like that. Moreover, both series state that mistakes and flaws are not end of the world, and could lead to good things.
With all that, how do we see Jasper appearing AT Little homeworld as anything other than a beginning of something better out of a bad situation? Sure it would be ideal if she DIDNT need an authority to tell her what to do, but we also make hot dogs out of mangled pork chops.
Jasper's confirmation that she knows her diamond doesnt need her alresdy speaks volumes. She says it with some sadness but, like... normal sadness, which is completely unlike when she lost Pink. She even tells him "farewell" - she has stability enough to finally let go, even for a little while.
I dont see her needing an authority as something super bad and inherently unfixable - to her, freedom means purposelessness. She craves structure because she doesnt have stability inside... yet. But her taking Steven's wish seriously and integrating into LH, even mentioning that she heard hes leaving - meaning, shes interacting with the other gems or at least being around them willingly, she didnt seek him out by herself - already says enough. She found structure first in Steven and then in LH.
Even her punching the ground and also walking through walls though can be seen as a cute joke, we do need to remember that she feels like she needs to control her power and emotions by releasing them. So this farewell affected her emotionally to the point where she has to express it somehow, but its also, like, not the end of the world either. She DOES walk BACK into the house she was apparently staying at!
Jasper's arc isnt about her being proven wrong and that defects can beat her at her own game, as she already believed this in the back of her mind - in fact she believed Rose already ruined her. Its not about freedom either - her diamond was already dead. It is about finding something else entirely but it couldnt be done without first putting it into a familiar structure. She craves someone she respects giving her guidance, and then she'll start finding other ways to make that someone proud. Like i said, its not ideal, but thats the first step, you cant start building roofs before you laid a fundament.
My take away from her arc is this: healing isnt a path from A to B, and it wont be ideal, but the change IS inevitable, and surrounding yourself with structure and safety net is a path to recovery. We SAW that with Steven, and I believe we are meant to see their journeys similar to each other, as theyre both about inserting yourself into a new, unfamiliar, strange place, but knowing that you have someone out there rooting for you, knowing that you DO have a family/Diamond.
One final thing - sure it would be nice to see Jasper and Amethyst reconciling, but like, considering theyre both at LH, i feel like its also inevitable, and most importantly - we are MEANT to assume that events Steven/us arent present for still happen.
Sadie: me and Lars talked but we just dont click anymore.
Steven: why dont i know about it?!
Sadie: because it was PRIVATE!
So, yeah. Just because we dont see J and A talk, or J reconnecting to other betas, doesnt mean it will never happen. It will probably be, you know... private.
This is actually a goated series about a goated show. I am constantly finding myself getting distracted watching this instead of playing my game as its just so well made. I use videos like these to just keep in the background as tedious tasks are being done by yours truly, but i just got even less done as i straight turned off the game i was playing to rewatch this lol
I actually like how Jasper's "redemption" is handled. It shows kids that you can't change someone, it's them who has to make the decision to improve. And for some people, it takes a while for them to take that first step.
Future gives us a stubborn Jasper who actively refused to change to the point that not even Steven got tired of trying. And at the end she makes the smallest steps towards her new life.
And something that needs to be said is that Jasper, despite coming out of the ground perfect, has a lot of self hatred because she was made on Earth. And she didn't allow Steven to help her because she didn't think that she deserved to be helped.
Regarding the New Lars: We get a little bit of insight into what Lars/Sadie's relationship is like without Steven around, who is really just a "tag-along" kid to them (at least at that point). Steven sees it as a relationship that needs to progress, like a TV show, but its much more complicated than that. Lars flips between wanting to spend time with Sadie and not even wanting to be seen with her since she's "lame"; this conflict is actually made worse due to Steven's interference.
I also felt like Steven was meant to take a lesson from this: while the first lesson is that Lars' life would be better if he was more genuine, Steven also took it a step too far by interefering in a relationship that he really knew little about. That's something only Lars and Sadie can work out. Not only that, but his overly simplistic view of their relationship comes up again much later in SU Future. (Although I hate that some of this happened off-screen, that was kinda the point, and also an entirely different convo...)
Also, I still constantly say "Buck is pleased"
“The new Lars” said in the tune of the new norm theme made me actually laugh out loud
Thank you for making this series, I was beginning to grow so tired of the constantly repeated, poorly construction, bad faith criticism that has aimed at Steven Universe, so it’s unbelievably refreshing to see someone who truly appreciates the depth, thematic messaging & attention to detail that was so meticulously put on display
Don’t get me wrong, the series is far from perfect, but even the greatest shows have numerous faults, and if we could acknowledge that, while also appreciating the positives of these different series, I think people would realize that there’s a lot more good media out there the most believe
Overall, I guess what I’m trying to say is thanks for appreciating something which has been such a huge part of me and my sister‘s childhood, it feels impossible to convey just have vindicated I am at this moment
However, I truly do appreciate the effort you’re putting into this, and while I can’t support you financially(at least not at the moment), I will try my best to support your channels, and hopefully one day be able to make a donation
That being said keep up the good work ❤️
Love all the new 3D backgrounds and landscapes in your videos, they always seem to improve and they’re such a nice touch
Thank you! These are some of the parts I have the most fun with
What annoys me with you getting copyright striked is you are literally doing their damage control for them...
small note about the Pepe's burgers part. Comet was just one of the songs Greg performed, not the song that Greg wrote for Rose. Destiny is the song Greg wrote for Rose.
Was also about to comment this :>
i think also perdiots mindset in the early episodes of season 3 could be compared to a childs perspective in a household with bigoted parents. if you are raised in a household where you parents are very prejudiced, your fundamental understandings of the world are based in that bigotry. when you meet people outside of your family who contradict those ideas, it can be hard to reconcile. you can recognize that they are good people, but in your mind they cant be right, because that would contradict everything you know about the world. like how peridot says hurtful things and then doesnt understand the gems reactions to them, a child in that situation could easily do the same thing. i think its a great thing to teach in a kids show for both kids in those situations and for kids who meet people in those situations. sometimes children raised with prejudice are going to say hurtful things. you arent obligated to change their mind or forgive them for the things theyve done, but if they are willing to learn they can become a better person, even if it takes work and time.
9:52 re: potential thematic meaning of the final planned form of the earth colony resembling an atom, it could be related to how the gempire treats and sees these planets as solely consisting of their exploitable resources, and considers them important building blocks of the empire only in those terms - that their way of perceiving and interacting with those planets is based off that interpretation as the most possible complex truth, like how for a long time, and still in most general knowledge, atoms being made up of protons neutrons and electrons just orbiting around them is seen as the smallest possible way to break down our material reality, even though we have discovered both the arrangement of the electrons is very specific in electron shells, how them emit/take in photons to jump down to a inner shell or up to an outer shell, and how those subatomic particles themselves are made up of *even smaller* particles (quarks and gluons). The knowledge they have, how they understand it and the way they put it to use is directly formed from the bias of the perspective they have from the 'size' they are as a species, and each colony is considered a minute, simple component.
I don't think it was likely intended in that way, but it kind of matches the way I perceive their form of imperialism - like somebody playing a total war style strategy game purely focused on min-maxing their resources efficiently, not having ethical concerns about the action because the people they conquer are literally just a virtual number to them, just like how organic lifeforms don't seem to even be on the radar of anything the homeworld gems even vaguely considered as having a life and complex sentience like them.
I forgot to say when I was in the zone of writing out that brainworm but I have been loving watching this series!! your analysis is so compelling and interesting for real.
I personally think that they didn't need to "redeem" jasper. There seems to be this message the fandom has projected onto the show where all villains needed to have been redeemed when it was never about that. The show frames the antagonists to be the way they are initially because they are incapable of accepting change, and redemption is never once a word used in the text.
By the end of future, she has at least accepted that Pink Diamond is gone and Steven doesn't want her to serve him. While that may not be as satisfying to some people, it at the very least ties up that loose end in a way that makes sense for Jasper's character.
1:07:12 I love the parallels between Greg and Rose in Mr. Greg. Rose chose to relinquish her status and wealth because it made her happy. Greg was, and was able to, retain his happiness in being poor in the face of new found wealth
My girlfriend did me the pleasure of showing me Steven universe this year, so like you i have no history with the show and child me is seething and coping. The show is so good and i love how genuinely Steven is affected by all of the people he interacts with. He's a sweet kid and i appreciate how much the show values his kindness. Season3 is easily my favorite so far.
That shot of Kiki running on the beach is one of my favorites. Cool video bro, delivering as always.
autistic person here ive officially adopted Peri as one of us, thank you for coming to my ted talk
Undisputed goat of Steven Universe video essays, I will probably binge this in like 3 years and reminisce, absolutely stunning work.
I hate when people always misunderstand Jasper and her character, especially when Malachite is taken down. People will only see her as the sole abuser because she is physically bigger and stronger than Lapis. But Lapis herself acknowledged that they BOTH were horrible to EACH OTHER. Things are much more nuanced and Jasper is just as much a victim as Lapis is, her trauma simply affects her differently. Her plea to become Malachite again shows that she is a victim of some kind of stolkhome syndrome type trauma, she knows that it was a bad situation, but her lust for power and her addiction to that power they both had before was enough to override that for her. And people do need to understand her better.
People seem to have a hard time understanding mutually abusive relationships, or even that a relationship can be mutually abusive.
Neither of them were solely in the wrong. Jasper forced Lapis to fuse, then Lapis used that power to torment Jasper(which, as they were fused, prevents Jasper from even being her own person, something Lapis at least had in her cell) and keep her locked into the fusion and the makesift prison at the bottom of the ocean. Both of them weirded their power over the other to subjugate them.
Lapis understood that this was wrong and unhealthy, and refused to reenter it but... she still did it the first time. She changed and grew after it, but her crimes towards Jasper were of the same kind Jasper did to her, the only difference was that Jasper couldn't understand just how bad of a situation it was.
But the black and white viewing of abuse in relationships, where one person is the abuser and the other person is the victim with no more complex dynamics possible is what people go for, so either they insist Lapis was the abuser and Jasper was the victim, or Jasper as the abuser and Lapis as the victim.
But they were both.
Yeah, it's a complicated situation because Lapis had a very good reason for keeping Jasper captured (she was going to kill everyone), but that doesn't change that there was a captor/prisioner thing going on.
I agree that its nuanced but Jasper is the abuser in this situation, she coerces Lapis (while being her captor and an extremely powerful gem that threatens her friend) which is how they end up in this relationship, that Lapis ends up being toxic doesnt mean it was mutually abusive
@@eeeertoo2597 duh, this is why I said they BOTH were victims. But Jasper absolutely is NOT the only abuser, she even tried to get away and unfuse with Lapis after they did so. No. Lapis acknowledged this. And Lapis absolutely could've just used the ocean to launch Jasper away with a water hand just like she did in Alone at Sea, and she wouldn't have needed to AGREE to fuse. What I'm saying is, people completely misunderstand Jasper as a character all the time and say that she's irredeemable, yet everyone else in the show who's done shitty things isn't. Jasper is an antagonist, of course she's not completely a helpless victim. But she was just as traumatized and just as much of a victim in the Malachite situation as Lapis. This is a fact.
@@matti.8465 yet Lapis wouldn't have needed to AGREE to fuse and could've absolutely used a water hand to launch Japser away like she did at Alone at Sea. And Jasper once they were being dragged underwater tried to unfuse and get away but was literally being held there. So..
When amethyst reforms on the beach, the shapes her form takes before settling on the white shirt, she's cycling through her previous forms. I believe every gem we see does this and if not, we see it with the main 4
Fantastic video! Made me realize a lot of my favorite episodes were from this season. And omg, Alone at Sea is up there. The atmosphere in that episode is excellent. And the fact they made it clear they were both using each other in their own way...and when Lapis' touches her nose... Chef kiss ❤
Edit: I just wanted to say I did make it to the end. This was really entertaining and you can see the effort you put into these videos. As a fan of video essays and SU as a whole, I really appreciate it.
2 more hours of your SU analysis? Oh Imma eat this up so hard
Your analysis of the Cluster had me pretty misty-eyed. Man.
As someone who watched this show when it came out, and only started to re-evaluate it quite recently, I know this season was marred somewhat by cartoon network's airing schedule. As a season, it was aired primarily in the "Summer of Steven" event, which aired an episode of the season every weekday for almost an entire month, which was, admittedly, very fun to be a part of at the time, but I know, personally that when I heard we were getting a whole month of new Steven Universe, I was very disappointed by the 4 episode stretch of The New Lars - Kiki's Pizza Delivery Service. I feel like Restaurant Wars and Kiki's in particular felt bad in that context because it was 2 episodes in a row about essentially the same townies. I wonder how much we can chalk up a lot of the "filler" complaints the show got specifically to the show's sporadic airing: I can speak from experience that episodes I today find charming and well written, I disliked, because they felt like they did take the space of episodes that interested me far more, which led me (and i believe many others) to call them filler, in the sense that they took a slot that we were never guaranteed to get back any time soon. That being said, it has nothing to do with the actual show itself, and should only be mentioned as a footnote, I think. Spot-on and genuinely fantastic analysis as always.
As someone who both watched some episodes on release and binge watched others I can somewhat confirm this perspective. For the episodes I watched in release there was always kind of disappointing to get a Beach City episode while I really liked a lot of those I watched while binging. And since my son's a huge fan of the show we re-watched when it was finally complete and I realize how little to no filler this show actually has.
I personally really do like that Jasper never has a moment where she is directly helped. I think it *is* an important lesson to know that not everyone can be helped or brought onto your side, and that failing to do so isn't your fault. And especially find that in Steven Universe Future it's incredibly important to Steven's arc in that season. He does significantly try to get through to her, multiple times through multiple means, but simply can't because Jasper is unfortunately too stubborn and caught up in her own ideology to really view things differently. There are always going to be people that are hurting that you cannot help, because if they are unwilling to help themselves or change their ways of thinking, unfortunately it's something that cannot be forced onto them. From my understanding, trying to force someone to get help or trying to force a change of mind onto them for their own benefit can do more harm than good in a lot of cases. (Course there's *extreme* cases, like there is a point where stepping in is necessary, just to br clear. I am aware)
...Last time we see her shes at little homeworld. If she heard hes leaving, that means shes communicating with someone/is around other people. RS confirms that she stays at little homeschool and will find "something better". Things changing without Steven around is the theme of the season. Thematically, her change is basically inevitable.
And it probably started because Steven literally told her to do so. Outright telling someone who looks up to you to get help isnt, like, ideal, but the show is also all about how flaws are also inevitable and can lead to good things too.
@@KOTEBANAROT Some people are really stubborn and it takes a lot to get them to take the first steps towards improvement. Jasper ends the series deciding to at least give Little Homeworld a try, even if it's for a reason that only makes sense to her.
Steven had to communicate to Jasper in her language
Jasper also has a lot of self hatred because she was made on Earth, which is also why she rejected help from Steven. She didn't think she deserved to be helped.
I literally just watched your other parts and I was bummed that there wasn’t another one! Thank you!!!! I can’t wait to watch this one
I really appreciate you doing this for the series, it's one of my favorite animated shows "I think your pretty great" Hiding in Private
This coming up in my feed as im trying to find something to listen to pass the time for the rest of my shift 😭 I love u hiding in private, this video series is one of my favs!!
I'm glad the timing lined up so nicely! Hope you enjoy!
I don’t know how much trouble it would be, but I’m also a viewer of another Steven fan named Sai who also is getting copyrights from one of the bad faith reviewers Lily Orchard. Maybe you two could team up! Also, fantastic video as always, I actually never noticed the cherry man reference in Mr Greg! Maybe I should rewatch the entire series lmao
I genuinely believe Jasper’s arc was something that had to be cut due to CN making the show finish faster than originally planned. It really feels like they wanted to set it up in this season but couldn’t follow through due to time restraints
Gotta say, this is really the best season of Steven Universe to me. So many elements handled masterfully and outside of maybe one or two of the beach city episodes it all flows masterfully.
As someone who thinks Rose maybe the most fascinating character in the show (I know sue me) I think Greg the babysitter really shows her in her most true and honest self imaginable. It’s so tragic when she discusses the difference between humanity and gems and how it reflects, at least to me, her own lingering doubts and guilt over everything she’s done and that she doesn’t feel like she’s grown as a person from when she was the screaming brat that broke her pearl and ditched Spinel. And she never got a chance to explain her thought process or her side of the story because she’s gone… such an amazing cautionary tale of hiding your actions and guilt. Eventually it will come out, and while you yourself may not be hurt you end up hurting the people you love…
there aren't enough words to describe how much i've needed this video ever since I was like 11 😭thank you sosososo much for your empathy, your thorough and educated analysis, and the love you pour into your work! i hope that this video reaches enough people to set the record straight 💖
I think it's worth pointing out that seasons 2 and 3 were originally planned to one season. There are so many remnants of this peppered throughout season 3, but I think my favourite is when Sardonyx shows up right at the end as a throwback to that arc. It's a nice and subtle nod to how far they've come in a short time, though it is a little sad that they decided to go ahead with splitting it. I can't help but wonder what it would be like if seasons 4 and 5 went ahead as one season, and what they had to cut. I have a feeling that they had more planned for Rainbow Quartz and Sun Stone, something more like Smoky Quartz.
I won’t lie, you’ve been in the back of my mind ever sense I watched the video of season 2- I was waiting for this video :0
peridot researching what other people find funny is... kinda relatable 😭😭 it's been interesting over the years hearing different people's (often extreme) opinions on steven universe, and it's helpful to hear someone break it down episode by episode. keep it up!!
Season 3 was weird to watch live, because it was released with 5 new episodes a week for like a month, as we speedran the entire season in one sprint. Then it was followed by nearly a year without new episodes. Crazy time. It was very fun to binge the episodes like that though.
I relate so much to Lapis as someone who was abused time and time again by people who were supposed to care for me. The habits I've developed to protect myself in those situations have become shameful to me now that I am in a place where I don't need them anymore. People act like "saving" the victim from the abuse is the solution and hardest part, but it's not. The recovery after is the hardest, and no one sees that, no one talks about it. Steven Universe is one of the few shows that has framed an abuse victim like this and it is the most realistic view on abusive relationships I've seen. You either give in to the abuse and take it, or you become abusive yourself to survive it. There's no "good" abuse victim, there's just hurt people.
In it could've been great, the atom representation could be how earth was meant to be a single part of the whole gem empire, as an atoms combine and such to create something bigger.
1:26:08 NO YOU DONT UNDERSTAND WATCHING THIS WAS MEANT TO BREAK MY CONSERVATIVE ANIMATED COMEDY HYPERFIXATION AAAAAAAH-
IM THE OLD NORM, I WANT NORMAL BEER!!!!!!!!!
Everytime you release a new installment to this series I want the next one IMMEDIATELY!!!!
I love you so much 😭😭😭 I literally just finished rewatching Steven universe and coincidentally this comes out🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 my goaaat
ur analysis is soooo good it makes me want to revisit SU myself thank u for making these videos
Healing the world one Steven Universe defense video at a time 🙏
me and my partner JUST (like, 30 mins ago) finished rewatching s3 to show my mom, and we keep talking about how excited we are to show her your videos after we finish the series. it's so fun getting to see your analysis of episodes we've just watched and get to appreciate it all again
I went to the beach today and while relaxing I listened to the whole video - this was such a good day, thank you for your hard work 🫡
Sounds like a vibe. Glad I could contribute to that positive experience
i just had surgery yesterday! this is the perfect video to watch in recovery thank you ❤❤❤
your analysis and perspective are so well articulated. I have been loving these videos. I hope this one can avoid a strike. If it somehow does I think you need to cut the visuals altogether because while visuals are important to the aesthetic and vibe, this is too much work and care to not get anything.
The crazy thing I'm surprised you didn't mention was Sadie and Lars interaction in the new lars. Maybe I read way too deep into it, but it feels like a more direct example of a bad relationship when so far we mostly had metaphor's with gems. You could also say this episode is another big example of there being a lot of things steven doesn't get to see with people he knows that Future tackles.
I'm not necessarily thinking this is "too mature" but I felt Sadie's scenario was very "real". Lar's insecurities hold him back and make him unlikable, but it also hurt's people. We have one off instances like when he pushes steven too far, cutting out people like Renaldo, not being true to himself to be "cool", and now we know Sadie has been dragged on by him only letting her in when no one can see him be himself. It's also a nice change of pace to have the obvious show couple developed to the point where the flaws aren't just ignored to have a nice couple by the end. Despite the show being locked to steven, stuff like this makes the world feel way more lived in than some people give it credit for.
1 hour and 27 minutes in, currently. Going to finish the rest tomorrow, but I wanted to say that I am thoroughly enjoying it so far. I love your analyses. Everything is so wonderfully explained and examined. This series as a whole has given me a newfound appreciation of a show I already loved before. Ty ❤❤❤
youtube decided NOT to notify me of this
what the hell
rewatched the first 2, lets go
Congratulations! You finally got this video out! Must have taken you a lot of effort. It’ll be a treat listening to it as I work on my own project.
the format and pattern of this series is so strong it's very engaging, it scratches the audio book part of my brain in a weird way, love this series I'm excited to finish the vid and wait for the next
56:44 I don’t know how accurate this is. I find it weird to omit that the episode ends that sequence with Lapis asking Peridot if she’s ok, and blushing when met with a smile.
Clearly Peridot’s safety was a priority for Lapis on *some* level, and this rescue is the beginnings of a foundation for a workable relationship between the two.
For such admirably comprehensive videos it’s an odd character moment to not acknowledge, if not outright contradict.
I somehow must have missed that.
@@HidinginPrivateI got to Beta. My lapidot statement is withdrawn.
Love you saying Lapis and Peridot are wives, its so true haha. As always, this was a great watch. Thanks so much for putting Steven Universe positivity out into the world. I'm re-watching the show right now with my teenage cousin, and she's been really enjoying it, and thankfully she hasn't been aware of the kind of negativity that gets spread about it online. It's also reminded me first hand of how smart the show's writing really is. There are misses here and there because nothing is perfect, but there's so much here that genuinely works, and quite often in surprising and nuanced ways.
Just reminding myself I'm gonna watch this after I rewatch Steven Universe
Hard agree on the summarizing note that fans ought not feel like they have to fall back on the milquetoast argument that "people should be allowed to like stuff," conceding to the myriad bad-faith criticisms this story has had heaved at it for years. It's okay if you can't fully articulate why you like something or don't have the time/energy, but that's not the same as having no good reason for having an interest. The old "I just like what I like, okay?" the common refrain of people who know in their hearts that something is cool and good, but are not prepared to go through a formal debate about it, which is a major part of why this series by Hiding in Private is so fantastic!
thank you SO MUCH for these videos!! I've been a fan of this show for nearly a decade now and your videos truly make me so glad I got to enjoy such a special series while it was still airing, you're amazing at explaining how attentive the writers were for each character and their arcs, I'm really happy that there are still fans of this show out there making amazing content like this, please keep uploading 🙏🙏
amethyst's reformations in crack the whip are showing her past reforms in the other amethyst eccentric episode (the one with the monster in her room), and it isnt as fast as she could clearly but its a combination of being thoughtful with her form and also being fast enough to come back and help
It is so awfully ironic how the people who most sunk into the bad-faith criticisms of SU made them against a show with THREE separate episodes that had the message against this kind of thinking - against being brash with your decisions and not waiting to hear the whole story before acting out.
This video is fantastic and as someone who is- and has always been -pretty bad at analyzing even the simplest of subtexts I'm really glad that you truly go into each and every episode in a nigh scene to scene basis to discuss the underlying themes, lessons, and intentions of the show. It makes me understand the entire series better and find out things that I hadn't even realized before
“TAKE THIS GUN, WE’RE GOING TO KILL PEOPLE!” absolutely destroyed me and it is so, so so indicative of the criticisms of this show.
Steven is *fourteen,* and most people who hate the show are advocating for him- or, at least, the people always with him- to KILL.
It’s almost… slightly normalized, in adventure shows with a child protagonist, to have them fight and even sometimes kill without any real psychological consequences because “well he was bad, so it’s ok!”
But murder is a SERIOUS act, and it can be traumatizing even if it’s done in self defense. Our brains are just hardwired against it!
What I love about your content is the depth of your analysis and the fact that I can tell your words come from your own well-considered thoughts. It’s never simple regurgitation of plot points or surface-level sentiments. You rock!
I can't wait for the season 4 video! Thank you for the content
2:18:11 "HER WIFE!!!" God i lov this XD
Seeing multiple comments today time-stamping this part makes me smile. I'm glad people liked it lol
i think it's worth mentioning that while peridot is going on her rant about how perfect Yellow Diamond is, she specifically calls her 'the most reasonable rational efficient decider ever to exist'
Peridot had faith in her to actually be rational and consider her carefully thought out argument about how organic life creates unique resources and it would be beneficial to leave the ecosystem undisturbed, but Yellow wouldn’t hear it. The tipping point during her conversation with Yellow is realizing that she is actually being completely *un*reasonable and *ir*rational.
only halfway through but this is a beautiful recap and defense and pure delight in su as always. also wow mr greg was s3 huh
This is possibly a tiny little nitpick of a thought, but as someone who has always related heavily to Peridot- it feels kind of alienating for so many people to seem so focused on shipping Peridot and Lapis, specifically in a romantic way (like, for example, referring to them as wives here). As an asexual aromantic person, the way that Peridot seems to struggle with fusion (and never fuses with anyone from what we see) really resonated with me and a lot of other aro/ace people. Peridot doesn't just dislike fusing or choose not to- she tries and in trying finds out she simply cannot, at least not in the same way that others seem to. While fusion is not solely representative of romantic relationships (like, for example, Smoky Quartz) it does seem clear that most fusions require mutual understanding or a particular kind of emotional bond (even if in an abusive way, like Malachite) that Peridot simply does not have the ability to make. That could in part be the autistic representation- not really understanding how a relationship is supposed to work and not knowing the rules or why they're there. But the fact that Peridot seems to struggle so much with one particular type of relationship while still being able to form others (platonic or familial in nature) seems very much like aroace representation. And like, I can't tell you who to ship or that you're not allowed to like a certain pairing. But it very much contributes to aspec erasure in fandom and online spaces- we aren't even allowed to have a single character to represent ourselves, even when characters are stated to canonically be that way (Peridot was confirmed to be representative of aroace people by one of the people who worked on the show). It's something that's frustrated me about even the most accepting parts of this fandom- that aspec identities are simply not seen as important enough or "oppressed enough" to need rep, when that's simply and plainly untrue. And the way aspec characters are treated by fans- forced into relationships they never said they wanted- reflects way too strongly on the real damage done to aspec people in their real relationships, being forced into uncomfortable or traumatic situations simply to "fix" them.
So dope!! I found your chanel about a week ago and watched your Steven universe saga over a few days. Was almost scared that I had to wait months for the next part but no, here it is perfectly timed for my first day off! Feels like a personal gift to me :3
1:55:45 Amethyst's odd reshaping is actually due to the forms she took in Reformed! When she was trying to look like Pearl and then look strong.
You’re probably my favorite video essayist on the platform I love how you’ve been bringing attention to the bad faith criticisms of Steven universe
I also wished we got more Jasper development, but I feel like it's very internalized for her RN and also saved for future projects (not Steven Universe Future, but she does get some development and a lot of screen time). I like that considering gems live for thousands of years and have a lot of memories to reinforce their characters. Also I would take putting her development on pause for more Peridot, Lapis, Bismuth or fusions - but that's just me
regarding same old world- pearl's outfit does match that in story for steven, but it doesnt match that in 3 gems and a baby in season 4 (pearl is pictured with her season 1 outfit there). steven has only been alive for a couple months at that point, and we know greg and rose were together for 15-20 years before steven was born, so its much more likely that pearl's form changed in that span. all that is to say, they absolutely would have had the means of healing lapis, had they bothered to remove her from the mirror. keeping her trapped was 100% an intentional choice by the crystal gems.
truly a phenomenal video and a great look into lapis's character thatis refreshingly understanding of her past. season 3 is easily my favorite season of the show
Season 3 (or what it really is, the back half of season 2 ahem) is absolutely my favorite part of the show. A lot of the reasons are laid out quite well in this video, all the ground it covers to both expand the world and characters (yes, even the townies), but I do think that Jasper is the crowning achievement in this season. She could easily be a 2-dimensional Might Makes Right facist, like Vegeta for example, but I truly feel she comes into her own and maybe even surpasses someone like Vegeta in terms of pathos
She is someone who we learn is literal perfection. The absolute apex of what is possible for a Quartz Soldier to be, but in Gem Society and her mind, she is still second rate and a failure. Despite her prodigious power, she still failed to protect Pink Diamond and her colony, and despite how much more powerful and imposing she is than Amethyst, it's AMETHYST who is from the Prime Kindergarten and made under ideal circumstances. She may be a "failure" in her own right, but simply by being an Amethyst and not a Jasper, she is superior to Jasper in her mind. Jasper is from the Beta Kindergarten, her existence is proof that something went wrong on Earth and she can never escape that shadow so long as she accepts and embodies the false narrative of hierarchy that the Diamonds have created. So her trying to strongarm Amethyst into a power dynamic where she comes out on top is just an expression of that toxic hierarchy programmed into her for thousands of years. She can feel there is something wrong, but takes it out on her peers instead of the system that makes no sense under scrutiny
And just on a raw emotional level, having Amethyst say "C'mere, sis" before bubbling her is such a good moment for her growth and understanding all of this pain is shared. That they both want to be each other, but will be freed when they accept themselves as who they are
I was literally foaming at the mouth for this video thank you
YESSSS, clicked as soon as I saw the notification! This is gonna be a good one :)
Thxs for the birthday present (turned 17 today :))