Journals250
Newest
Still not dead
4 min read
Hello, fellow Deviants. Obviously there's been a big change in DeviantArt as a website with the whole Eclipse thing. Just wanna say to anyone who relies on seeing me here over other sites (poor you if so) that I'm not going anywhere, I still have uses for DA with following certain artists and it's handy to post stuff on sometimes, but if you want to know where I've been if you're not in the loop, I'm most active on twitter and tumblr if you seek to reach out to me. I made sure my bio had them updated but honestly I can't blame people if they can't find them and are too busy trying to manage everything. It's gonna take some time for me to get used to, that's for sure. Also they show your pronouns in your new bios and you can choose them in settings, nice.
Anyway, as for where I've been since the last time I posted one of these? Honestly, it's both boring and surreal. Of course you have the usual stuff affecting everyone like a global pandemic and the world in general going off the rails, but here I've moved to my third place almost a year ago and am still studying but in a Bachelor of Arts to try and get enough writing qualifications for people to take me seriously.
Also... I maaaaay have developed an obsession with Danganronpa. That's a thing. And both the Star Wars Skywalker Saga and The Clone Wars ended. And yet more new Star Wars like The Mandalorian comes out. Steven Universe also ended, while Phineas and Ferb gets a movie coming soon. Also Crash and Spyro are getting remake hype with Crash Team Racing remade? But yeah, after... certain things happened with Phineas and Ferb and my odd relationship with the fandom, Danganronpa offered a nice new things to focus on. IDK what's happening in the 10th anniversary but I'm not ready, lol. Also, Night in the Woods is a cool game, check it out. One of the most intriguing social commentaries I've seen in a game yet, great looks at existentialism and mental health, and also my favourite male/male couple ever in Gregg and Angus.
Most importantly, am I going to post anything in the near future? I wouldn't count on it. Most stuff I've written is either stuff I don't feel proud enough of, academic drivel only a few people would be interested in or stuff that I don't feel able to share for various reasons (yes I still have ambitious ideas, I just have a boatload more depression, anxiety and executive dysfunction now). I do hope that can change (I actually miss drawing even though OCD and awkward conditions have discouraged it), but I wouldn't count on anything. And yes, unfortunately Palae-oh-no is still forever in limbo, and looking back I'd write much of it VERY differently (I especially cringe thinking about some of the weird aphobia with Sampson and Lora even as my little teen brain was oddly woke enough to attempt critiquing heteronormativity, lol). It's still an idea I think has value, but if I were to ever come back to it I'd probably just write some conclusion episode and then think about what ways I could do something else with the idea (and uh, think things through way better).
That being said... I DID write a Danganronpa fanfic on an AO3 for the like five people that even care about me being into DR, so that's a thing. I might use it in the future if I get more fanfic ideas, whether they be Phineas and Ferb (don't count on it, I know that's what most people clamour from me these days but like I said, executive dysfunction is a nightmare :v), Danganronpa or something else.
Anyway, that's enough rambling from me. Hopefully it won't be almost two years later the next time I post a journal, lol.
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I now have a Ko-fi!
1 min read
If you enjoy seeing me post stuff and anyone wants to help this person here survive on a little more than just welfare payments under capitalism, it would be greatly appreciated. If you can’t donate, sharing would be appreciated. 
Also I'm finally gonna post some new stuff, there's some work from University I've written I've really wanted to get out here and share.
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So yeah, I saw Solo. First of all, just want to mention I didn't do one of these for The Last Jedi mainly because one: it was quite a bit to process at the time, and two: lots of people said things way better than I ever could have. To summarise: I liked it a lot! Don't know if it's my favourite Star Wars film, but I liked it a lot more than The Force Awakens (even as it has since grown on me, even if I still have issues with things like not enough context on the state of the Galaxy and maybe playing it a little too safe). Most of the criticisms I've seen of it seemed either subjective or just nitpicky to me, the only serious problem I actually had was that while Snoke being killed off is a nice twist in the context of the Sequel Trilogy itself, it's kind of annoying because it's not long after Return of the Jedi and suddenly some new guy shows up with ridiculous Force powers. Like, where the hell was Snoke this whole time if he had this level of power? The novel does kinda suggest how he came to power, but it's nothing direct and just talked about. But yeah, that aside, pretty great and I don't get why it ticked so many people off.
Anyway, now for the main topic, a film I DO have some thoughts that are probably unique compared to others. I will put a warning for SPOILERS since they will be discussed, but to summarise: it's decent. Nothing outstanding, and it wasn't meant to be. I'm just happy it doesn't totally suck given the issues with the directors. I'm also surprised at how little negativity there is towards the film, I've only come across one or two people who actually didn't like it and most people are overall quite positive. Anyway, SPOILERS below, you have been warned.
- The actors were good. I'm amazed at how many people have accepted Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, because he does play the part really well. All the other actors were good too, though Donald Glover while good didn't really stand out as much as I expected him to. Phoebe Waller-Bridge does sometimes slightly overdo it as L3-37 (though maybe it's just the droid audio lol), but she's my favourite character in the film (I'll get to her in a bit). Paul Bettany was a late casting choice but he did a good job as Dryden Vos, even if he was quite a bit of a creep (which I guess is intentional).
- Han himself: his story is good, but nothing remarkable. I guess part of it is that it didn't really give us anything that new to chew on? I guess being motivated by Qi'ra is of course a new thing but I'm thinking in terms of all the big things everyone knows about Han's backstory. Like seeing it all happen was good and all, it just didn't really offer much of substance. Not to say there aren't themes and stuff you can dig into, but it's not like Rogue One or The Last Jedi where there's a lot going on. The film also reminded me why I don't think I was as into Han Solo as a lot of people: he's really cocky and arrogant here, even more so because he's younger and more reckless. He can only do so many stupid things before I sigh (and The Last Jedi deconstructing the whole "let's do random shit and hope it works out" thing makes it even weirder). XD
- Chewbacca I kinda feel faded into the background overtime. In the earlier parts of the film he's in the story quite prominently, but he slowly fades into the background, like after Kessel I'm not even sure if he contributed to the story in any major way. It also didn't go as in-depth into Han and Chewie's relationship as I was expecting, like after the first act and definitely after Kessel there's not much besides "we're buds now"? I mean, the Life Debt surprisingly doesn't even come up, I mean some have said maybe you can infer it but maybe that is something for a different story. I actually missed the whole thing where Han acts selfless ends up being the thing that makes Chewbacca stay with Han instead of the wookies on Kessel funnily enough, silly me. They way they met and escaped was cool, though.
- Yeah we all know Donald Glover is good as Lando, but I feel like this was a real case of style over substance. Besides the plot contributions like having the Falcon, meeting Han and losing the Falcon to him, he didn't have much of a presence to me. There's the stuff with L3, but I'm saving that for later because I have a lot of feelings about her. Also no, I didn't get the vibe he was pansexual in the film, the most I got out of it was him being into L3 and she's a female droid so uh yeah.
- Beckett is fine and does what he needs to do. Woody Harrelson plays the part well, and he serves the part of being a mentor and foil to Han well. I actually wasn't too surprised when he decided to betray Han at the end, because when I saw the teasers with him going "assume everyone will betray you" and "don't trust anyone" I really got the feeling it was foreshadowing him doing just that to Han.
- Val REALLY got screwed over. She was cool from what we saw, but there's not much that. And then we have like one of the only black women in Star Wars ever get fridged just to give Beckett manpain that doesn't come up later but one time where it's never discussed. It's just sad. Rio I guess is in a similar category, he's fun when he's around but nothing that remarkable exists about him and of course he dies before we get more of him.
- L3-37 is my favourite character in the movie, but I am NOT a fan of how she was handled. I really like her, she's emotional, passionate and doesn't take shit from anyone. She fills a similar role to K-2SO from Rogue One but while K2 is more just really blunt, L3 is really emotional and kind of annoyed by the people around her. It's also good to see a droid who actually cares about her rights and autonomy, honestly the thing with the droids breaking free was probably one of my favourite scenes in the film. Like, it's cool to see that addressed. However, this is kind of where I start to roll my eyes at how the film treats her. First of all, I can't help but feel Lando is kind of a dick to her? Like, he's attracted to her but also doesn't like her actually giving a shit about droid rights, and there are a couple of moments where L3 voicing her opinions seem to be played as punchlines. And then there's when she dies. Yeah, so she starts her rebellion among the droids and they also free all the slaves there, but she pays the price for being shot down. It's pretty brutal and actually kind of hard to watch. Lando panics and brings her head to the Falcon with Han's help, and she has this "what's happening to me?" moment before she shuts down. Okay seriously, it's pretty disturbing, but it then gets even more uncomfortable for me. So they're in the Kessel Run and need help plotting a way out, and since L3 is really good at navigating, they upload her brain into the Falcon. Like okay, you're trying to survive and have to use all you have, but in a meta sense it really disturbs me. Like, you have this droid who cares about her kind and wants freedom for herself and other droids, but not only is she shot into pieces after freeing some of her kind on Kessel, but basically her brain is ripped out from her body and merged with the computer of another ship, meaning that she will never have the autonomy she fought for and will be stuck serving organics for as long as she lives. It's horrifying, and people actually think it's a cool touch that L3 is part of the Falcon because of the ship's computer talking back to C-3PO in a weird way or something. Like okay, maybe it explains that, but I never cared and knowing the Millennium Falcon is basically a ship with a zombie brain forced to serve its masters is just really wrong to me. No wonder Qi'ra apologised when she took her CPU out.
- Qi'ra, she's... interesting. She's not flat by any means and works fine into the story, but there are still issues with how she's written. It really comes down to how they've tried to make her all mysterious and such, which doesn't pay off as well as it should have. Everyone talks to Han about how she's done all of these awful things and how we can't trust her, but I feel it would have more impact if we actually saw the consequences of something she was responsible for or at least compliant in. Also for someone meant to have her own agenda and be so ambitious and such, she seemed to be awfully nice in some parts, like sincerely? I guess maybe it ties into how she does still love Han but her own desire for power in Crimson Dawn ends up being stronger, and she tricks Han into leaving her, breaking his heart as he sees the Crimson Dawn yacht fly off.
- Dryden worked as a villain. He was played well as mentioned before, and he is pretty different to other Star Wars villains. He was also quite a bit of a creep, I'm sure he's supposed to come off that way but still, eww.
- Okay let's talk about the elephant in the room: Maul's surprise cameo. I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, it was a genuine shock and quite exciting to see him again, and it makes me wonder what plans they have for him (they BETTER have such plans). On the other, it felt so out of nowhere that it ended up taking me out of the movie completely, and I couldn't focus on the end on my first watch because of what a surprise this scene was. To be fair, it's not exactly out of nowhere, there are some vague clues and allusions that point in Maul's direction, and of course as mentioned Dryden does have to answer to someone but thing is: only hardcore fans like me will notice these things, and even less would think that they all lead to Maul running Crimson Dawn. And if this is how I, a huge Maul fan who loves his canon story reacted, then I feel bad for all the casual viewers who watch this scene and think anything from "wait he's alive?" to "what the hell?" to even "this is the stupidest thing I've seen ever".
People have accused the film of sequel baiting as well, but this is the only scene I feel really calls attention to itself to the point where it's demanding a follow up. I'd rather it not be in a direct sequel since Han directly facing Maul would not only be unevenly matched but also it would REALLY risk breaking the whole "Han doesn't believe in the force" thing since I doubt Maul would feel the need to restrain himself in combat with some new smuggler. I feel like if they want to follow up on Maul tracking down Han and Chewie, maybe have it be a different film about different characters hired by Maul to track down Solo, maybe even the Boba Fett film that's supposedly happening (as in, Maul hires bounty hunters to track down Han and Chewie and keeps lurking in the shadows doing whatever he's doing running Crimson Dawn).
It's also a massive surprise because between The Clone Wars and Rebels, I really thought they were done telling Maul's story, but since they felt like going as far as giving him a massive tease, it clearly isn't. To be fair, the sixteen years between his appearances in The Clone Wars and Rebels leave a lot of room for imagination, so I guess him building his own crime syndicate is one of those things. It still raises many questions though. If Crimson Dawn like the other crime syndicates does corrupt deals with the Empire, are they eventually going to discover that Maul is the secret leader of the organisation? It also makes me want to see the Siege of Mandalore even more, they've only teased it but it really sounds like a pivotal moment in Maul's story, and maybe it could even give us ideas on how he goes from losing Mandalore to going back to the criminal underworld. Heck, it could tie in with Ahsoka and maybe this is how they bring her into live action (think something like she's doing her Fulcrum stuff, but then she discovers Maul is in charge of Crimson Dawn and decides to try and make up for him escaping Mandalore), since Maul would need someone to fight given Ray Park is gonna want to have a lightsabre fight (though it would have to be interrupted again I guess because of the whole "RUNNING AWAY AGAIN, LADY TANO?" thing).
I mean, it would have to be her, some unlicky Jedi fugitive (Quinlan Vos, maybe?) or some Inquisitors (maybe even with Vader) being sent after him if the Empire discovers his operation (maybe him losing to Crimson Dawn is even what gets him running again and gets him stuck on Malachor). There's so many ways Maul in Crimson Dawn could go, and it's really exciting. It's just... I'm not sure if this was the place to tease it, because now people will be expecting Maul in future movies and we don't even know what Lucasfilm is planning. - The world building is pretty cool, actually. Finally seeing Corellia was nice, and the stuff with Lady Proxima had a very Dickensian feel. The presence of the Empire was really felt across the film even if they were only minor antagonists. More of the criminal underworld was cool, of course there's lots of Easter Eggs everywhere for fans to pick up. Personally I liked how the Pykes showed up, though I guess only a few know how to speak basic. I kinda wish they more closely resembled their design from The Clone Wars, but it's cool to see everything connecting.
- Production values were good as always. The Kessel Run was also pretty cool, especially in that one moment where the Falcon's engines fail as it's sucked into the Maw before boosting out. The Falcon got pretty beat up though lol.
Don't really have much else to say. If you want something lighter and more adventurous, you'll probably dig it. If you're looking for something more substantial, you probably don't have much to work with. But yeah the film is decent and worth seeing, even if it's weaker than all the other Disney/Kennedy era films we've gotten so far.
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Steven Universe: Season 5 (part 2)
48 min read
- Your Mother and Mine: We begin with a space log from Lars before Steven shows up on his ship again. They try to get the ship started but to no avail, so Steven brings aboard Garnet, who is thrilled at seeing the Off Colours. She goes around complimenting them, but Padparadscha "predicts" that her comments to them make them all uncomfortable, which makes Garnet realise he has done such a thing (even if it was already clear from their reactions). To make it even more of a downer, Rhodonite and the Rutile Twins explain they don't even know what compliments are and find the idea of people saying nice things to them absurd, which is why the former assumed Garnet's intended compliments were jabs at them. Garnet mentions this is how she felt before meeting Rose Quartz, to which the Off Colours react with shock. Flourite believes she isn't even real, while the others talk about her like she's some kind of monster (probably started from stories by Homeworld gems that got exaggerated overtime). This then prompts Garnet to tell the real story of Rose Quartz. She begins explaining that the Diamonds wanted to spread their "perfection" across the stars, and that Earth was Pink Diamond's first colony. All gems from Earth were made to serve her and did so until Rose came into being. The next stuff happens as you'd expect, Rose starts out as an ordinary soldier, but then she starts paying attention to Earth's life and comes to fall in love with it (we even get a shot of her romancing a human). Eventually word spreads across her fellow gems until Pink hears about it, to which she basically tells Rose to quit her concerns (and supposedly gave a "wicked laugh" lol). This of course gets Rose to start rebelling (and changes her outfit from a Quartz suit to her iconic dress), and thus her rebellion begins to take shape. Pink "like a coward" in response got Yellow and Blue over to deal with this insurgency as the Crystal Gems begin to take shape. Garnet then mentions Rose was joined by many other gems who were cast out for who they were like Pearl, Bismuth and herself. The war happened, but as Pink's forces were ultimately stronger, Rose eventually resorted to shattering Pink Diamond (with the sword specifically designed to not harm the gems of who fall to it, HMMMMM). The Off Colours are impressed, but Garnet explains that the Diamonds were furious and retaliated (we also get our first glimpse of White Diamond even if it's just her arm in the flashback lol), implying that the corruption attack is the result of their combined powers. The Off Colours are depressed from this, but Garnet insists that the Crystal Gems still live on, and Steven suggests that there's probably lots more Off Colours on Homeworld. As the Off Colours try to start the ship again, Steven tells Garnet about his Pink Diamond vision, and worries that maybe she's still out there. Garnet is certain she's gone, but Steven insists that he felt such a strong connection to her. The Off Colours then get the ship started and fly off to get resources to power it so it can get to Earth (though Padparadscha reminds Lars to press the right button).
This was a good episode, even if it was mostly recapping stuff we already knew, though I think that's kind of the point since we're probably getting a big reveal soon. The Off Colours learning about Rose and meeting Garnet was interesting, and even seeing Lars' reaction was cool given he once called Rose "[Steven's] weird mum". It is kind of sad how they're so used to doom and gloom though that even a shred of positivity is confronting to them. The most interesting thing about this episode though is that I think it's likely that the story Garnet knows might also be just another myth like the Off Colours have heard. Like, the Off Colours talking about the myths they've heard about Rose even sets the idea up kinda. But I mean, think about it. The story is really neat and tidy (see how Rose is talked about like she's some freaking chosen one while Pink Diamond is all WICKED AND COWARDLY), and as discussed before there's many holes in it that contradict what we've seen as fact (like the fact that Rose is NOT from Earth, and the sword thing I mentioned). Someone also pointed out that the animation style the myth of Rose is told with resembles a technique from an anime called Revolutionary Girl Utena, and IIRC said technique was used when showing past events as told by other characters. Specifically, when their recollections are false or inaccurate, and how the real story is replaced with fictional accounts. IDK if I'm explaining properly but yeah. The only flashback we see in fully detailed animation is the Diamonds' corruption attack, which is noticeably different to everything being simplistic and in silhouettes as seen previously. I also like it when Padparadscha's supposedly useless power is actually used to give her more insight instead of just humour, like when she actually has her visions and notices things the others overlook I find her character much more likeable, especially since it kind of tells you not to underestimate those who seem to lag behind, because even if they may it doesn't mean that's all there is to them, they might have their own unique insights BECAUSE of their disability (or whatever the gem equivalent is given it's a power). But yeah, interesting episode with some nice, and definitely one to look back on as we discover more details about what really happened with Pink Diamond. - The Big Show: We begin with Sadie Killer and the Suspects practicing, and Steven is filming them on an old camcorder for the aesthetic. Sadie's mother Barbara shows up and Sadie is embarrassed, though she does mention she's cool with her doing everything. Greg listens to them and is impressed, and he then goes to see them perform in person. Greg is still into them, and Steven suggests that because he knows about doing stuff outside the musical part, he could be their manager, to which he accepts. He gets them a gig, and stuff builds up from there. When they're getting some stuff together, Barbara delivers some things and is surprised to see Greg as their manager. She finds out they're playing in Empire City though, and she's thrilled for her. Sadie however kinda lashes out and insists is her thing, and Barbara figures she probably needs the space. Sadie then has a chat with Greg, and explains her mother always was so into everything in her life, and being Sadie Killer is kind of freeing because it's her own thing, and she worries Barbara will end up getting into her life there again. Greg finds it interesting she says that because his parents were the total opposite, thinking he was throwing his life away with his music and didn't want anything to do with it. Greg finds it nice she has a mother who supports her, to which Sadie begins to wonder about. They then go to Empire City (and there's a moment where Sadie blushes after Jenny hugs her :3c), and there's a gag with them putting on ties for their outfits where Buck says he doesn't know how to tie ties despite his dad because they were always clip ons. Steven talks to Sadie and they notice someone in the crowd who appears to be Barbara, which frustrates Sadie. We then see them perform a song, and it's Sadie singing about how she wants to be seen (which I wonder if it ties to the whole mother plot in any way). It's not exactly a banger, but IDK if it's supposed to be, it does carry a certain kind of emotional resonance with it though and it's pretty cool as a result. Greg congratulates their performance, and then we see who Sadie assumed was her mother... but it's just Greg's old friend from earlier he called to get the gig. She's impressed and says they can play anytime, but Sadie is still stunned by her not actually being Barbara. As they drive home, Sadie admits that she ended up realising she actually wanted her mother to watch her, to which Steven says there will still be more shows. Sadie then suggests the next concert to be in Beach City, to which Greg agrees to. This was a pretty light episode, and it's also pretty slow, which did kinda make it harder to sit through on my first viewing. I think it's still nice though, especially revisiting it. The conversation between Sadie and Greg was probably the best part of the episode, as well as the other bits involving Sadie's relationship with her mother since they carried much more conflict than the stuff about getting to perform.
- Pool Hopping: Steven begins by reminiscing about how things have changed so much recently in Beach City, and talks about how he can't even go to the Big Donut because Lars and Sadie are now elsewhere. Steven sees it open and it serving customers however, and the person serving customers is... Garnet. Not gonna lie, it's pretty funny to see her in that position and introduce herself like it's all normal. Garnet explains she's being random and doing things she wouldn't because she's interested in unlikely futures that could come into being, so she's doing things like working here just to see what happens. Oh yeah, she also spilled coffee to explain her experiment to Steven. :v She then decides to quit (while boosting the size of her muscles to get rid of her Big Donut clothes, which is pretty funny to see), and her and Steven go to explore more possibilities. Garnet and Steven then order 20 pizzas and Steven asks Kiki to deliver them to the pizza place itself, which she points out is just pick up. I also love how when Steven suggests the Moon as a possible delivery location Kiki merely goes "I don't think that's within our delivery radius" instead of "WTF are you doing?" XD Steven and Garnet then give everybody random pizzas, with the last going to Vidalia. Garnet confuses Onion with Lars and assumes he's the one who ended up on Homeworld with Steven, but Steven points to him right nearby (stealing stuff probably lol) and Garnet realises she must be getting timelines mixed up. Garnet then calls for "Mother Onion" (yep lol) and Vidalia then calls them into the garage. She's surprised to see them enter so suddenly, but she accepts their offer while explaining she doesn't feel inspired with her latest painting. Garnet then goes over to the stool and says "paint me like one of your Amethysts", and Steven joins and Vidalia paints them. However they then spot a one eyed kitten and run after it, even if Vidalia is still sketching them. This leads them to discover more kittens, ones that don't have anyone looking after them, and Steven decides they have to do something to help them. However Garnet is holding all but the one eyed one, and is struggling to see their futures. Steven offers the one eyed one but Garnet then downright admits she doesn't know anything, and has been struggling with not knowing anything anymore. She explains that since Steven did so many unexpected things as of late because of the Homeworld ordeal, she found the whole thing so unexpected that she's been struggling to predict where the future will go now, especially as everyone looks to her for answers. She wants to enjoy existing, but the uncertainty is making it hard for her. Steven says instead of worrying about what could happen, they should just focus on what the want to happen, so they then take the cats to Vidalia's and call a shelter to pick them up. Garnet tells Steven she thinks she's struggling with her future vision is because she had to realise Steven is growing up, and he's now not acting like a child anymore, he's taking more initiative and doing stuff himself. Garnet then decides to adopt the one eyed one because there's "something about her" (psst the eye is blue like Sapphire too), and thinks it will be an outlet for her nurturing side now that Steven is older. They name it "Cat Steven", yeah really. Vidalia also improvised and finished the portrait, and the episode ends with Cat Steven sleeping on Lion's mane. This episode was good, though nothing too special. It was another episode where without hindsight and seeing where it was going it felt kind of slow and random, but actually seeing what was troubling Garnet instead of it just being "lol random" antics the whole time really brought it all together. It does make sense that the gems are struggling with Steven growing up, no less Garnet, so seeing how she deals with that was interesting. It was also great to continue seeing the more vulnerable side to her, as well as the ramifications of the Season 4 finale still being felt even right into the middle of the season. I don't know if the emotions hit as hard as they were meant to, but the insight into how Garnet is dealing with everything still makes this episode worth it.
- Letters to Lars: The Off Colours are scanning for the stuff they need from one of Yellow Diamond's mines, and through Lars' hair he receives a letter from Steven. He basically has decided to fill Lars in on everything going on in Beach City, and he begins by saying that everyone misses him and nobody is opening the Big Donut. We see Steven there and Ronaldo getting frustrated at it not opening. He knows Sadie quit but he doesn't know Lars is in space, to which Steven then fills him in on. When Ronaldo realises Steven isn't joking, he's reminded of when Aquamarine and Topaz were around, and Ronaldo is just all "DO YOU BELIEVE EVERYTHING THE GOVERNMENT TELLS YOU?" Steven then says HE'S the one who told Dewey about it, which then makes Ronaldo realise Lars really IS is space and in constant danger... and get gets upset because it's not him who's the one in space. It's pretty hilarious to be honest, though yes, it's very ironic this happened. Dewey then shows up and sees it's not open, so Steven then explains how Nanefua is now mayor. We then see a meeting with people from the town deciding to do what happens if a Gem related crisis happens again, where everyone pitches in ideas (including Pearl sending out warning texts, who is really excited about having a mobile phone even if she's obviously new to it all). Ronaldo also gets to lookout through a telescope, and everyone ends up with roles except Dewey. Yeah, he's at the meeting too and it's awkward. We then see what Sadie Killer and the Suspects are up to, which gives Lars a visible smile. We see them practicing but they're interrupted... by Dewey, trying to act like a scary ghost but being hilariously bad at it. He's desperate to want to help out in some way, though Sadie points out it seems he cut holes in her bedsheets. :v We then see Jamie, who is now doing theatre shows. On tonight's performance, we see the improvisational "laugh guard", consisting of Barbara, Mr Smiley, Amethyst and Peridot (nice to see Peridot doing fine ). They get a one word prompt, and the audience consists of Steven and Pearl, where Pearl shouts out "Steven". Peridot remarks they do scenes around Steven every week, to which Pearl says she thinks those scenes are good (Pearl you're such a mum lol). Steven eventually suggests "plummer", which they do the scene around. Pearl still wants them to do Steven, and Steven changes his mind to "cats", but they already decided. Barbara acts out having a clogged sink while Amethyst is the plummer, except she turns into a plunger which Jamie says is unnecessary. Jamie acts out an imaginary plunger, which leaves Pearl confused, Steven amazed and Peridot saying that they could hold anything and it would be less confusing. Pearl then gets cranky and says she thought Jamie was holding a sub sandwich which Steven tries to restrain her with. Peridot insists that it's obviously much better if you can see an actual plunger, to which Amethyst agrees with (Peri then claims to have improved improvisation lol, and Amethyst smiles at the comment). Dewey shows up yet again, and acts out some weird waiter act about serving worms before Jamie ends the show. According to Pearl, it was still "better than last week". We then see Greg and Garnet playing tennis (Steven says even after buying the telescope for Ronaldo he's still rich so he's trying "rich people sports"), which I guess is now in-show canon. Greg is struggling, and Garnet insists she is going light, saying "being rich has made you weak". Dewey shows up AGAIN, only to have a ball fly into his face. We then get underground wrestling updates and what the fries are now like - Peedee has his own food truck (which he doesn't drive lol) devoted to tater tots, "the fry of the future". Steven still asks for "the bits", which Peedee goes and prepares. Peedee also explains his truck is the old mayor-mobile, and he talks about how easy it was to paint over Dewey's head because it's so big and lumpy. Dewey is listening, and awkwardly walks off, and Steven runs after him (while forgetting the bits lol). Dewey then reminisces about how everyone's changing in Beach City, and how he misses being mayor because it gave him a place in Beach City. He connects it back to how the Big Donut is now empty, which then gives Steven an idea: Dewey now runs the Big Donut. Everything now is running in order, even as Dewey now names the donuts after himself (and calls Barbara cute :v). However he also names a pink one after Lars (which is also nice given he didn't remember who he was earlier in Dewey Wins), and gives a box of them to his parents. Lars finishes reading the letter, though it also turns out Steven was there reading it aloud the whole time. Lars wonders why he even wrote it if he was just going to read it to him, and mentions he doesn't even know who half the people mentioned are, like Peridot. Steven says she's someone who misses him every day... he thinks (yeah I doubt she even knows him either lol). Steven then decides he should introduce him to her when he gets back to Earth, and Lars thanks him for the letter.
This one was probably my favourite out of the most recent bomb. It was just a nice slice of life episode where we get to see where everyone is at, and it was also pretty funny and had lots of great lines. It also is indeed true things are changing a lot, and it's nice to see Dewey accept that. The improvisational theatre scene was probably my favourite of the episode, probably because not only was it hilarious but I'm actually kinda siding with Peridot there. XD - Can't Go Back: We begin the episode with Steven saying goodnight to Peridot, who is asleep with Pumpkin. Poor thing still looks like she's not in the best shape. As Steven goes to sleep, Ronaldo hilariously knocks on his door and Steven comes out. We already get this has been a frequent occurrence, as Ronaldo has been using Greg's telescope and reporting pretty much anything he deems weird. Steven is frustrated since it's night, but he decides to give it a look. Steven looks and only sees the Moon Base, which Ronaldo assumes belongs to Steven and demands to know more. However, when he mentions it looks like a Barn, Steven looks again and sees the Barn Lapis took. Next shot is him using Lion to get to the Moon. He forms a bubble and checks out the Barn (the water Lapis used to transport it now being frozen), and sees she's not there, so he returns to the base. Steven soon however hears Lapis singing, and goes up the steps to meet her. She's shocked as he hops over and hugs her, and similarly is surprised when he says it's good to see her (as in, she still finds it amazing to believe people actually care about her). When Steven asks her why she's so close to Earth, she mentions she got distracted by the observation orb (same one as It Could've Been Great). Specifically, she's spying on Steven and Peridot with it (though she hates it being called spying, "because it would make me feel bad"). You even get a sense she kind of envies how Peridot is at least finding her place on Earth as we see her with the other Crystal Gems while Lapis feels alone. She got outside the Milky Way Galaxy but she couldn't stand not knowing what was going on back on Earth. She refuses to go back to Earth though because she feels like she left Peridot in such a bad way, and is still worried about something bad happening. Steven replies with optimism, but Lapis then breaks into song. That Distant Shore is great purely worth because it's Lapis singing. However, as heartfelt as emotional as the song is, I get the feeling there's even more going on. As we'll see with the next episode, the crewniverse LOVES foreshadowing and subtext. And thing is, Lapis' past is still very mysterious, we still don't have a clear idea of who she was or her thoughts on Rose Quartz (it's definitely odd when Yellow Diamond described Lapises as terraformers when our Lapis seems ridiculously powerful and she's never actually shown us anything to demonstrate she IS one). I have the feeling when we get a better understanding of Lapis' larger backstory, we're going to look back on this song and it will take on a whole new meaning. Like, one of the lyrics is literally "have I seen this all before?" She also sings as if she's talking to someone else, and a lot of the lines have a romantic vibe to them. Some have taken this to mean it's about Peridot, but I don't feel like everything lines up, plus even if Lapis does care about Peridot many people underestimate how flawed and imbalanced that relationship was. Basically, I'm saying maybe she was in love in the past and something tragic happened there, and then she ended up in the mirror and well, you know the rest. But yeah, I'm really getting the feeling something deeper is happening. Anyway, Lapis laments how she doesn't even know what she's doing anymore or if the Diamonds will come because she's acted out of fear so much. She outright says she was so afraid of the Diamonds destroying her new home she did it herself, and outright says it feels like she's putting herself in the mirror again. Lapis begins to think she might indeed prefer being back on Earth, but she knows things can't be the same now, especially with the other gems. Steven reassures her it would be fine, and that difference isn't necessarily bad. As Lapis warms up to the idea, Steven falls asleep. We then get a vision of the past showing the Diamonds in silhouette form, with Blue being frustrated with Pink. She mentions all of the times about Pink finding the colony too difficult, the latest of which being the Crystal Gems. Blue tells Pink to act unfazed, and when Blue and Yellow leave, we see a creepy silhouette of Pearl appear with Rose's sword. Steven wakes up and Lapis is concerned. When Steven mentions he saw the Diamonds in his dream, Lapis assumes he must've seen them because they're close, to which she panic and decides to leave. Steven tries to stop her, but Lapis mentions she didn't know what she was thinking and that she's not like Steven's friends (note she doesn't call them hers either), and she must avoid danger at all costs. Steven asks if she'd prefer this even if she's lonely, to which Lapis simply gives a sorry and leaves. After she leaves, Steven then tells Lion he needs to be taken to Pearl.
Yeah, this was a pretty good episode even if of course it was slower and more character focused (FILLER!!!!! WORST SHOW EVER!!!!). It was nice to see how Lapis was going and really did end up affirming how she's a completely different beast to someone like Peridot, and of course we got the great song and a tragic ending. I do wonder if Lapis being before the next episode will be relevant one day too. - A Single Pale Rose: We begin with Steven remembering the previous scenes discussing Pink Diamond, complete with flashbacks. Pearl and Amethyst walk in, and Amethyst is showing Pearl how to use her phone. When Amethyst goes to get a phone case, Steven asks Pearl if she she shattered Pink Diamond. We then get a pretty unsettling moment where Pearl yet again covers her mouth to stop herself from speaking, the music composition adds a lot to it. Amethyst walks in to see things got dramatic, and Pearl awkwardly redirects the conversation to her phone case again. Later, Steven gets a message from Pearl saying she wants to tell him the truth but can't. Steven goes back to Pearl only for her to say she didn't send it, she put it in her gem. We then get a pink flower from Pearl's phone, which makes Pearl realise she needs Steven to go inside her gem and find her phone. Steven then is sent in and sees a Pearl compartmentalising things. She looks for the phone (and one of the things we see Pearl has is a list of numbers from potential dates, she seems to already be popular with the ladies lol), but it's not there. This means basically a Pearl from inside this Pearl took it, so Steven goes even deeper into what is pretty much Pearl's mind. The next Pearl is one that is in tears after learning about Rose deciding to have Steven, and how she will of course die from it. Yeah, these Pearls give us glimpses into past states of mind. Next Pearl is after the war ended, realising that her, Garnet and Rose are the only Crystal Gems left. Next we see the scene of Pink's shattering, with cries of grief from other gems in the background. This is pretty heavy stuff. Steven sees Rose, but it's actually Pearl in her form. Steven thinks his suspicions are confirmed, but then she shows she has Pink's gem in her hands. That is when Steven is sent to his ultimate destination. We're inside the palanquin, with Pearl in formal Pink Diamond wear and Rose Quartz. Pearl is really hesitant about the plan being formed, while Rose is excited. Pearl realises nothing will matter anymore, and Rose thinks Blue and Yellow don't care about Pink. Then she mentions it's her world and she wants to give it to the Crystal Gems and be with humanity - yep, Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond. Pearl ultimately agrees to the plan even with her hesitation, and Rose mentions she can't "shatter herself". She then changes the angle of her gem to go into Pink's form. Steven is frightened when he sees Pink, who we then see give Pearl her last order as Diamond. Basically, Pearl can't talk about the truth about Pink's "death" because the way Pearls are programmed means she has to obey her order at all costs, thus now nobody knew the truth until now. The Pearl here is revealed to have her phone - basically, the side of her that wanted to tell Steven manifested itself here so she went and made Steven come here to see the truth for himself. Steven is then brought out of Pearl and we flash through the other times we saw, including a show with Garnet and Amethyst with her mourning Rose. Steven tells Pearl he knows the truth, and Pearl admits she wanted to tell him for a while. When Steven mentions Rose being Pink, Garnet and Amethyst are in the room and are shocked to the core.
This is definitely an iconic episode for sure. Like, we get more Gem features, we get to see more of Pearl's past, and of course the twist that changed everything. This is legitimately one of my favourite twists I've ever seen, it's something that not only has foreshadowing pretty much everywhere (even in the most ridiculous of places, like the Cookie Cat song and freaking Say Uncle), it something that literally recontextualises the entire show. Many people were shocked and even upset about this twist (some because hey Rose is a lie and she's much darker than we know, others because wah my theory's wrong so the show sucks), but I always thought this was the best possible story they could do. Nothing is ever simple in Steven Universe, and now we will never look at anything the same again. - Now We're Only Falling Apart: Pearl and Steven recap the last episode, and Amethyst is stunned at the revelation. Garnet splits, with Sapphire being the emotional one this time because she felt she could've looked into Rose but blindly trusted her. Steven and Pearl find her escaping to Rose's fountain, which is now frozen over. Sapphire laments on how it suddenly feels obvious Rose was Pink, making her believe in a future that didn't exist and having all of her friends shattered through war. Pearl meanwhile begins to tell backstory, saying that she was given to Pink to make her happy but never could. We then see Pearl and Pink in the past, with Pearl being obviously more subservient and Pink being bored running her own colony. Pink sees new Amethysts born in the Kindergarten, but wants to be with them directly. Pearl then imagines Pink becoming a Quartz... which then leads to Pink shifting into Rose. We then get some interaction with the Amethysts down on Earth (and Pearl calls them rude lol), however since Pink is a massive idiot Pearl has to keep her quiet and suggests exploring the rest of Earth. In the present, Steven wonders if Rose did this just to get out and have fun, but Pearl mentions it's merely the start. We see Rose exploring Earth, but coming to then realise that because of their colony, all of this life will be destroyed. Pearl feels guilty for bringing Rose to the surface now, but she insists she needed to see this. Sapphire still wonders why Pink couldn't have just done everything herself, to which Pearl explains that she tried. The Diamonds insisted she finish what she started, and only settled on minor compromises like the Zoo. Rose then chose to start the Rebellion, but things changed when she saw Garnet. Rose is amazed at the possibility of two different gems fusing, and wonders about how it works. Pearl attempts a fusion with her herself, but after it fails she feels guilty and says she needs to be replaced, which she protests against. Pearl admits she's been imagining things that she shouldn't be, but Rose insists to keep doing it, and they even briefly fuse after that exchange. We then see the Garnet meeting, but now from the other side's perspective. Pearl explains that through Garnet, she was inspired to fight for gems as well as Earth. Pearl still thinks she was probably foolish and selfish with a lot of her decisions, but Sapphire now believes that Rose was trying to follow them instead of them following her. Pearl is surprised to hear this, but Sapphire and Steven mention how Pearl was basically the one inspiring and encouraging Rose to do these things. Sapphire even feels reminded of how Pearl and Rose acted by herself and Ruby, which reminds her to return home... only to find Ruby has left and has placed a note down.
This was a pretty interesting episode, showing just how complicated all this stuff is. Rose was inspired by Pearl to come face to face with the truth of her operation, and eventually Garnet. I've seen people claim that this episode washes Rose of everything wrong she did and... I really don't see that. Rose/Pink is complicated as fuck, but last episode with the reveal some people felt the need to see everything in a negative light, while now they're forced to do a 180. This isn't how I think people should approach her: she's really complex in her motives, and I mean even in the episode they acknowledge that even if Rose had good intentions at heart... she was a massive idiot who didn't know what she was doing, and made tonnes of terrible decisions, many of which cost lives. Sapphire is still right to feel upset over being deceived the way she was, even if Rose's actions are explained to her. This is just one episode: look at the whole show and we see that the ramifications of Rose are pretty dark, even if she was genuine in trying to fix problems. Yeah, this is pretty complicated, and I obviously have a lot of feelings on this, lol. - What's Your Problem?: Ruby's note explains that she needs some time to think so she's decided to run away. Sapphire is devastated and regrets the things she said to her, but Pearl suggests asking Amethyst if she saw her go anywhere. Amethyst is notably trying to not really focus on the issue, even if Sapphire breaks into tears, and even Pearl does too. When Amethyst suggests moving the emotional stuff elsewhere, Steven declares he's gonna look for Ruby. Amethyst decides to go with Steven, the crying being too much for her. They try to think about where she could've gone, and Amethyst shifts into her to literally be in her shoes. Steven is not amused, wanting to focus on the task at hand. They search underwater but find nothing (Amethyst amusingly calls for her even as she's in water lol), they go back on land to look but Amethyst's disinterest shows again, and she randomly suggests she shapeshifted really small. Again, Steven wants her to stop messing around. We get a montage of Steven sharing Ruby being missing posters, and it becomes quite apparent that Amethyst is worrying that Steven is struggling himself, in that he's putting others to the detriment of himself. Steven mentions he'd get pizza when he feels down, so Amethyst insists they get some. Steven insists he has to find Ruby, but he ends up finding he's hungry anyway so they have a break. As they eat, Amethyst talks about Pink Diamond and tries to see how Steven is feeling, and he admits he's quite confused and really doesn't know how to take everything. Steven insists he's more worried about Garnet though, but Amethyst slips and discusses how they shouldn't be responsible for cleaning up Rose's mess and hates how she was put up on this pedestal. Steven wonders if she's okay - she slips a no but covers it up with a yes, insisting she wants to know how Steven feels. We then hear Jenny talking to Kiki about delivering to Greg, and mention he was comforting someone: Ruby. Steven and Amethyst then go to find her, but Amethyst insists she should do it herself so Steven doesn't need this much baggage to deal with, but Steven can tell Amethyst is hurting too. Amethyst flies away in her helicopter form, but Steven chases after her, trying to get her to open up. They crash, and Amethyst lets her feelings out, hating that everyone is left to deal with what Rose did but it shouldn't be anyone's responsibility. Steven realises she's trying to cheer him up the whole time, and Steven then calls her the most mature Crystal Gem for making this step. They then choose to find Ruby together after calming down.
I really liked this episode. At first the conflict becomes apparent with Amethyst seeming to not take this seriously, while Steven is. However we then see Amethyst is concerned for Steven and how he's dealing with all of this. Once you think that's all, we then see AMETHYST has her own troubles and Steven becomes worried about her in turn. It's really great how ironically Amethyst kind of ends up doing exactly what Steven is doing. The conversation at Fish Stu Pizza and on the beach were great, I really love seeing this stuff. - The Question: Steven and Amethyst see Ruby and Greg, and Ruby is notably... not that down. Greg mentions she told him about Rose being Pink, but he says that Rose fell in love with Mr Universe, not Gregory DeMayo and he fell for her, not Pink Diamond, so it's like they both fell for each others' alter egos. Steven makes sure Ruby is okay, but she mentions her and Greg just talked it out. Ruby has now decided to be her own gem after thinking about what Sapphire said, feeling she's always been tied to someone else, and has decided to take on her own life now. Steven panics because Garnet could never form again, but Greg reminds him that Ruby has to want that herself if that's to happen. She picks up a dolphin comic to show what her new life could be, but when Steven shows her a cowboy comic, she's into that even more. Next thing you know, Ruby's in a cowboy getup out in the wild, and Amethyst is her horse. They run into a bush, and Ruby is eager to look behind it without Sapphire's future vision predicting it. Ruby falls down a cliff but ends up on a piece of rock instead of falling down too far, but she's excited anyway because it's her doing this without Sapphire. We then get the Ruby Rider song, and while I'm not exactly crazy about it (Charlene Yi's singing voice just never was my thing lol), it's still interesting character-wise. Steven seems to note that she's happy like this, but we see that being alone is emphasised a lot in the song, which naturally could conjure up feelings of loneliness. During the night, Steven apologises to Ruby for worrying about Garnet before... only for Ruby to admit that none of what she was singing was meant to be true. She admits how she's been thinking all day about how much more fun it would be if Sapphire was with her experiencing this with her, and even motions to her right palm and rubs it like she misses Sapphire being there as they'd be Garnet. Ruby feels like this is wrong, but Steven then uses the cowboy comic to show that even the cowboy has someone he misses even as he's alone. Ruby decides she wants to be with her, but doesn't want it to feel like they're doing it because Rose said to. We then go back home, and Ruby goes all dramatic as Sapphire apologises. Ruby feels what she said was actually right in the end, but then goes to PROPOSE to Sapphire, saying that being Garnet will now be their choice. Sapphire agrees, and honestly the whole scene is just really sweet. Amethyst shocks Pearl since she's still in horse form too, but when Pearl knows it's her she's chill. I'd say this was probably the weakest of the Heart of the Crystal Gems arc, it was just slower and had less going on, plus I'm not really into the whole cowboy thing. I still thought it was good though, seeing Ruby's arc was really nice. One thing I find interesting was that we see next ep that Sapphire seems to be fond of dolphins, and the comic Ruby picks when choosing to be alone is the dolphin one before the cowboy one. It's like it's basically saying that even then, she still misses Sapphire despite the way she's acting, and it's just nice to think about.
- Made of Honour: Steven begins planning the wedding with Ruby and Sapphire, and Steven even has a scrapbook of ideas. Ruby also says some weird saying and Sapphire is like "sweetums, who says that?" XD Also, he's asked to have dolphins from Sapphire and flames from Ruby. We then get to making cards and envelopes, we see Pearl having fun folding things, Steven making the cards, Ruby and Sapphire signing, Peridot (rather bemusedly, mood) stuffing envelopes, and Amethyst licking them shut (Peri also seems to find that weird too). We then get some more wedding prep with Steven explaining how the ceremony will go, but Sapphire feels sad because of how many are no longer with them because of the Gem War. As Steven is arranging seating, Sapphire's words inspire him to add another guest: Bismuth. The way the reverse guitar comes in as we see him coming to the decision only to finally see the name written out is great. Steven finds out and she reforms, and things are tense between them. Bismuth even calls Steven Rose at first (to which Steven says "there's a third option now"), and when Steven mentions how Rose's war strategy didn't make sense, Bismuth sees the corrupted gems in bubbles and tries to free one of them, assuming Rose was bubbling anyone who disagreed with her (LOLZ PROOF ROZE QWARTS IZ FASCIST!!!!). Bismuth is saddened to see Biggs corrupted, and is forced to poof her. She's angry at the Diamonds again, and wonders why Rose didn't stop Pink, and that's when Steven gets to explain all the shit that's happened. Yeah, Bismuth is in quite some disbelief when Steven mentions Rose and Pink are the same. She freaks out by screaming into the lava, and now feels like how the things that never made sense now do. Bismuth then jokes about telling Rose about the breaking point to use on her, but then laments on how she used to think things would be so simple if they were solved by purely shattering the Diamonds. Steven mentions that she took it better than Garnet, and Bismuth is saddened to hear about their unfusing. Steven explains they're back together and plan to fuse in the wedding, and asks her to come. Bismuth seems hesitant but acts enthusiastic, only to ask what a wedding is. XD Bismuth is shown the wedding preparations from the inside, and we see some amusing stuff like Peridot trying to act smooth to Amethyst only to fall over and knock chairs over, which in turn causes Pearl to panic. It's small, but I love Peridot and Amethyst interactions like this. Steven suggests having her as a surprise but Bismuth wonders how she'd even do this, wondering what things they'd talk about. Steven manages to miss the point of her concern, and goes outside to gather everyone. Steven sets up a thing to introduce Bismuth, and expects her to come out... but she doesn't. Steven tracks her to her forge, and sees her feeling miserable. She feels like they wouldn't forgive her for attacking "their leader", to which Steven mentions that wouldn't happen especially after Pink, but Bismuth actually meant Steven. Bismuth mentions he's what's inspiring them to go on, and even wonders why the Crystal Gems still exist after everyone ended up being a lie. Steven insists that things are different now, and that he wants her back personally, and they will understand that if they show up together instead of as a surprise they will know things are fine with them. They return, and Bismuth drops the "did you bis-muth me" line Steven suggested. Everyone drops their drinks (except Peridot, who of course doesn't know Bismuth, even asking who she is), and they have a big gushy reunion. Peridot asks to be filled in, and Bismuth shows Ruby and Sapphire wedding rings.
I really liked this episode. Bismuth returned in the best possible way, and seeing her and Steven deal with everything was great. But we didn't even just get that, we got some other nice moments during the wedding planning, especially with Peridot. It's just a really sweet and fun episode all around. - Reunited: Wedding time! We open with a big song, and Steven begins it by singing about Rose and Pink Diamond. Despite the wedding, this part of his life is still on his mind a lot. He starts to then sing about the wedding and all it will have, and we have Ruby and Sapphire mentioning they're preparing to dress for it (with Ruby even saying no future vision to peek at her XD). We then get a part with Pearl wishing she got it out sooner, but Steven insists on looking forward. We then see Bismuth with fancy wedding armour, and Amethyst thinking they maybe shouldn't have picked roses for the wedding. Steven agrees, and after their moment Steven visits Peridot, who has a yellow dress. She wonders if Lapis is right in how the Diamonds will come back, but Steven insists on focusing on now. We also cut to Lapis on the moon - she didn't actually leave after all, she's quite indecisive about what she wants to do right now - and the Cluster. Steven and Peridot return with more flowers, and we're joined by Greg and Connie at the end, and people are already seated for the wedding. Greg is on guitar as Steven asks if Sapphire is nervous, to which she says she isn't... while getting rid of ice showing that she is. We also get an amusing moment where Peridot throws the new flowers at people. Sapphire is in a tux, and when Ruby appears, she's the one in a dress (if this was a deliberate move to fuck with censors, then bravo Crewniverse). Ruby is so excited she heats up and even fireballs to Sapphire. It's actually kind of funny while still being a sweet moment. Ruby and Sapphire then discuss what they mean to each other, with Ruby mentioning how she felt she could be individual, while Sapphire now feels more than just following the single future vision she had. Bismuth gets them their rings (while crying), and Steven pronounced them Garnet. They kiss (on the lips, yay!) and form Garnet to applause. We then get the after party, with stuff like Garnet dancing, Dewey and Jamie awkwardly deciding to dance because they don't have anyone, Peridot eyeing Onion (though he seems to smile back at her) and Ronaldo mansplaining armour to Bismuth (I forget who described it that way, but that's how the Crewniverse put it lol). Garnet and Steven have a nice moment back together, and Steven starts crying... except he isn't meant to be. It's Blue Diamond, and Yellow is with her. The town begins evacuating, but the Diamond ships fly OVER them, going for the Cluster. Yeah, I figured they'd get tired of waiting. Steven tries to sleep to connect with it, but well, that's hard with giant hand ships trying to break open the Earth's crust. :v Greg plays a lullaby tune, which Connie doesn't believe... but it works. The Cluster pops as Steven tries to communicate with it, and they then look outside... only to see it form a giant arm like the Diamond ships. Nanefua calls for everyone to get to their shelters, and Ronaldo foolishly tries to fight the Cluster but Peedee stops him. The Cluster then arm wrestles with Yellow Diamond's ship. Yes, it's weird, but it's also awesome. Blue Diamond however arrives at Steven's home, and Greg awkwardly suggests using the ol' Universe charm on her. Nobody is amused. Steven tries to reason with Blue himself and explain the truth, but Blue blasts him back and Alexandrite catches him. Blue however uses her emotion abilities to inflict sadness on everyone. However, since organics aren't affected, Connie calls Lion to make an attack herself. Well, it was a reckless move (which Steven tries to call out to her even as he's in tears from Blue's sadness), since she catches her and shatters Rose's sword, the sword she believes shattered Pink. Points for trying, I guess. Also I guess Rose's sword being shattered is kind of symbolic, since Rose is now no longer who we thought she was. Nobody knows what to do, but Garnet appears in front of Blue. She's pissed (yeah, guess that's the downside of sadness powers, sometimes they end up sad over the right things lol), and stands up to her. Blue doesn't recognise her at first, but then realises she's Ruby and Sapphire. Garnet then lets her know it's a distraction, and as Blue looks up... Lapis is back and throws the fucking barn on her, stopping her powers. Peridot is in disbelief, and Steven is too. Lapis mentioned she couldn't stay alone, and mentions that she may as well be a Crystal Gem if the Diamonds punish her like one. I'm... not really into this. I expect in the future things may make more sense given SU is that kind of show, but it's just kinda not really what I felt she'd do. After seeing her that scared and stopped pretending to be okay with her really awkward situation, it just feels too out of the blue, I don't really know what is motivating her here. Someone did describe that there is an indecisiveness to her though, so it might be that rearing its head here, and we see her act more conflicted about things later. There's still a lot we don't know about her. Anyway, Blue comes out of the wreckage and addresses Lapis directly, and isn't happy. Not like Garnet with "the Ruby and Sapphire", but straight up "Lapis Lazuli", implying they know each other directly. Rebecca Sugar also mentioned on a podcast that Lapis is in Blue's court, which definitely suggest there's history there. Anyway... Blue wonders why every gem that comes to Earth betrays them, and unleashes her powers again. In a rather odd moment, Connie seems to be affected. It's most likely an animation error, but one has to wonder how one could explain it in-universe. Hyperempathy, genuine hopelessness? But anyway, Lapis isn't incapacitated, stating she's felt worse. I'm not too into her inclusion here, but I'm not gonna pretend that wasn't a badass as heck moment. We then get an action scene where they mount an attack on Blue. The highlight here was probably Peridot being thrown at her by Bismuth (who seems to like her). Soon Yellow's ship is defeated by the Cluster though, revealing her after the Cluster bubbles itself again. Peridot tries to get her attention by calling her clod again, but Yellow either doesn't recognise her or acts like she doesn't. Pretty coldly, she just poofs her. Steven tries to reason with them again, but Yellow is enraged. Steven is knocked out by her, and finds himself in a mindscape again, being out of his body kinda. He sees himself on a statue of Connie, and then sees the same for everyone else still there, including the Diamonds, who poof Lapis. Steven then makes contact with Connie, and tells her he will try to reach the Diamonds here as she protects his body. Steven then travels through everyone to keep up morale before facing the Diamonds. He sees Yellow feels responsible for Pink's death after giving in to letting her have a colony, but her thoughts are too strong to let him reach her. Blue thinks about how making others suffer only makes her want to see Pink more. Steven struggles but he eventually reaches Blue, who feels his presence. He eventually reaches Yellow too, and they both end up alarmed at what's happening. Steven is able to reach through to them however, letting them know he's actually Pink Diamond. Steven awakens, and he sees everyone around him and the Diamonds are convinced.
I liked this episode a lot, but as mentioned I do have issues with Lapis' inclusion. It also does have a lot to juggle and might seem a bit fast for SU at times, but upon rewatching I felt better with it. That being said, lots of great stuff was here. The wedding, new character interactions, the Diamonds, it's all pretty epic. - Legs From Here to Homeworld: Blue is crying of happiness and holding Steven, while Garnet feels like Steven might be in danger. Bismuth reassures her though, saying that they really think he's one of them. Yellow is still in disbelief, and demands Blue to stop crying since her powers are causing all of the other Gems to do so. Steven explains that he's different from Rose and Pink, and that he doesn't have their memories. Yellow still thinks her memories might be in Steven somewhere. Blue wonders how Steven survived the Diamonds' final attack that ended the way, assuming they were all obliterated. Steven then explains they weren't, and takes the Diamonds to Centipeetle. They're confused at what they're seeing since they should all be gone, but Steven convinces them to try and heal her. Yellow heals but only gets her physical form back, prompting Blue to heal too. She's stuck in the moment of when the Diamonds' blast hit Earth, which means Steven has to heal too. Nephrite as we now know her seems to be normal, however she soon reverts to Centpeetle. Steven begs them to hold her together, but Yellow wonders that they might need all four Diamonds to actually heal them. The mention of White causes everyone to freak out, and Pearl explains that she's not even like the other Diamonds. Steven insists they go back to Homeworld, but since the Diamond's ships are destroyed, they need to find Pink's. In a rather amusing moment, Steven explains how they will find the ship when he's in the desert it's in... not realising the Pink structure are said ship (the Diamonds aren't amused, but Bismuth is). They then bring the ship home and get ready to leave. Connie says bye to her parents, who are thankfully letting her go on this journey (though they're weirded out by the ship design), just hoping she'll make it home safe. Greg wonders if he should be worried, to which she says "Steven" will be fine... given she has future vision, that's kind of ominous. She said Steven, but it implies the others might not be so fine. Garnet mentions to water Cat Steven though. Bismuth has chosen not to go to Homeworld, but explains to Steven that he need to speak to the Diamonds in their language to reason with them, plus she wants to look after Peridot and Lapis. Steven awkwardly takes off, and Yellow is rather bemused by it all. Steven wonders if Pink was graceful as she took off, to which Pearl mentions she really wasn't. Steven wonders about making a good first impression, but Yellow is pessimistic, saying she'd be surprised if she speaks to them again after this and that this would be the biggest galactic embarrassment ever. White also hasn't left Homeworld in eons. They arrive, and we see Homeworld's fractured look. Yellow suggests her and Blue take care of things first, but they then see a crowd of gems cheering at Pink's return. White Pearl then appears asking for Pink and only Pink's presence. Steven then meets White, who acts oddly unfazed by it all like she's in complete control of the situation. She then sends Steven to Pink's room. This was quite something, things are quite tense with the Diamonds involved now. I thought the end of Season 4 was dire, but now Steven is stuck in White Diamond's grasp, which is even scarier. White herself is quite creepy and intimidating too, especially with how she seems to be puppeteering her Pearl or has basically gem lobotomised her (she speaks with White's voice instead of Deedee doing another Pearl voice). Definitely eager to see where this all goes now.
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Star Wars Rebels: The Finale
14 min read
- A Fool's Hope: Hera, Rex and Kallus go to pick up some allies at Wolffe and Gregor's new home - an AT-AT. There, we also see Ketsu Onyo, Melch the ugnaut and... Hondo. They discuss how they plan to go back to Lothal to liberate it, and Hondo already is the star, not liking being called a smuggler by Ketsu and also having a sweet moment where he says there's nothing he wouldn't do for Ezra. Back on Lothal, Ezra seems to have a strange plan (trusting in the Force I see), and to make it more muddled he gets a vision of Thrawn returning, and urges the others to act now, even if Ryder is pessimistic. At Pryce's office, she's really pissed off at the Empire not finding the rebels, and is pretty much desperate given Thrawn will likely execute her if she fails him after last time. She then gets a message from Ryder, who betrays the rebels believing they can't win, and sends her their coordinates. They soon arrive, and as the battle begins, we hear Pryce wants Ezra alive - the Emperor still wants him. Rukh also arrives, and Sabine is being a badass as she even takes down gunships with her rockets. Chopper tells Rex they're under attack, and the Ghost arrives at Lothal. They power down, and Hondo advises them to wait for a cargo ship right at a hyperspace lane. The others are bewildered at his idea, but he assures he's done it many times (even if he hilariously admits they always crashed into his ship). His advice works, which is good since the Empire is growing more intense. They shoot down the crawler they're using and force the rebels into a surrender. Ryder betrays them to Pryce... and then reveals it was all an act. Hera then arrives and the Ghost provides support to the rebels on ground, and Kallus and the clones also join the fight. They fall back into a cave, making Pryce think they're cornered... except not really. Ezra gets the help of the loth-wolves, and they end up wrecking the Imperials, and it's awesome (the music helps too). Gregor even jokes to Wolffe that he has the Wolfpack back, and he says they sure fight like them. Eventually the Empire has to surrender. Pryce is terrified of the wolves and is cuffed, and when everyone thinks they're done, Ezra says they still have more to do. Obviously this is just building up and setting up the main finale, but it's still a great action packed episode. Seeing everyone get back together was awesome, and it was a cool battle against the Empire. Highlights were probably Hondo's quips and the loth-wolves murdering stormtroopers, and also Sabine taking out gunships with her explosives. Now for the end...
- Family Reunion - and Farewell: We begin with Ezra talking to the image of his parents, saying he knows what he has to do but he's worried about how his friends will handle it. He even calls the Ghost crew his new family. Ryder and Kallus bring up Pryce, who berates Kallus for his defection, only for him to say when he betrayed the Empire was when he stopped betraying himself. Ezra says she's getting her to help them, and when she objects, the white loth-wolf returns and makes her agree. Pretty dark, using the wolf as a threat there. The crew are in stolen gunships, and heading to Lothal's capital. Rex mentions that the worse the plan from a Jedi, the better the outcome. Sabine is concerned for Ezra (which she also was at the beginning of the last episode), and he mysteriously says he can always count on Sabine, which makes her what he's up to, but Hera cuts her off before she can ask more. I love seeing how much the relationship between the two has grown to this special bond they have, they went from Ezra annoyingly crushing on her and her not really liking him much to this. Kallus gets authorisation codes from Pryce and she ends up letting them in. They pretend to be captured, but then spring into action and make it inside, though Zeb, Hondo and Melch stay back for another plan. That is, to throw Melch at the command centre to distract the Imperials there while the others try to break in. They capture the dome, and plan to use Protocol 13 to bring in all Imperial personnel while Wolffe, Mart and Vizago use the Ghost for another plan. Rukh shows up and gives them trouble, however. He's scared off by the white loth-wolf and contacts Thrawn, who orders him to get inside the dome and deactivate the shield generator. They initiate Protocol 13, but to convince the Imperials Ryder assists Kallus and does a Yularen impression to make it seem more serious. They then get ready to launch the dome (which is a ship, yeah), and expect the Ghost to come and pick them up. However, Thrawn appears, and Ezra speaks to him. As this happens, the shields go down, and Thrawn tells Ezra he simply moved the Imperials to a safe place so he can bombard the city below. Ezra tells him to stop, and Thrawn demands his complete and unconditional surrender. Ezra is going to go through with him, but Hera insists there's another way. He plays along, and gets them all to plan something, but in what is actually a pretty heartbreaking scene, Chopper knows what he's doing (and actually knows Ezra's plan) and gets him out. Sabine catches him, but they simply look at each other one last time, and Sabine puts her trust in Ezra and distracts the others from his exit. They realise what he does as he flies up to Thrawn, but Sabine tells them to trust him and they have to get the shield back up. Thrawn and Ezra chat, and Thrawn berates Ezra because he thinks the Jedi are weak and don't know how to use their power, choosing to follow moral codes instead of strategy. He does admit he never intended to destroy Lothal, but it's inevitable now. He says he saved what he could, and he compliments Sabine, saying she is, or rather was, quite talented. Ezra tells him he has no right to own these, and he doesn't understand what he's even stealing. Thrawn just tells him what matters is who has power. Thrawn takes Ezra to someone who knows what power is - Palpatine, but in a more friendly appearance both in looks and personality, akin to when he was Chancellor. Meanwhile Mart, Wolffe and Vizago wake back up, and Wolffe realises Rukh has gone and told Thrawn about everything (though we get more racism as he calls him a creature and thing, and "Thrawn's pet", sigh). Mart mentions that's exactly what Ezra told him, meaning he foresaw all of this, and now they get in the Ghost to go save the others. There's more though: Mart is going to put out a certain frequency to call for help, and he said if he said what is coming they wouldn't believe it. Meanwhile, in the dome the rebels split up to go fix the shield, and Sabine assures Hera Ezra knows what he's doing. Back with Palpatine, Thrawn leaves and he tells Ezra that he saved a piece of the Lothal Jedi temple for him. Ezra is pissed off at what he did to the temple and taking over Lothal, but Palpatine says he destroyed the temple, and dealing with the rebels is all in the name of order. Palpatine then shows a way into what seems to be a gateway, one to the past. Namely, when Ezra's parents were still alive. Palpatine overheard him wanting his parents back in the World Between Worlds, and is using this to lure Ezra into another gateway to make his plans with it work. Ezra is reluctant, but finally starts to give into temptation and walks to the gateway. Back in the dome, there's lots of shooting going on, Ketsu among it all says she wishes Sabine were with her. I bet the shippers rejoiced at that one (and Hera's "special relationship" line about Hondo and Melch earlier). They all get down there though, even among the heavy fire. Back with Palpatine, he goads Ezra more, telling him that he can change fate even as he insists they're dead. Melch shows up, but he ends up being shot while Hondo comes for him. He even says he's not a hero, but a pirate like him. Zeb decides they need to do something drastic as per Gregor's suggestion, leaping for Rukh and taking him down below. Kallus and Gregor reach some shield controls, but Gregor is shot. Palpatine gets Ezra free from his cuffs with the Force (yep, he's still super powerful even with small stuff like that), and tells him to open the gateway. He comes face to face with his parents, who also see what is happening. Ezra tells them they will always be a part of him, but that he must let them go. Pretty moving stuff, I gotta say. He uses the Force to destroy the gateway and temple fragment, and his mother says she loves him. Ezra gets out, and we see Palpatine flicker back into the guise we all know him as, Darth Sidious. He comes out and is pissed, and orders some royal guards to kill him (without their robes because lol animation budget, but I guess it's also more practical for fighting). We actually see them in action, using their force pikes to lift him in the air. Stormtroopers show up to shoot him, but he uses temple debris to get rid of them. Zeb traps Rukh and escapes just in time as the shields go back online (not gonna lie, I was worried he wouldn't make it), and Thrawn orders another bombardment of the city as they turn on. Also, the shields going up kill Rukh, we even hear his screaming, yikes. Melch survives the battle, and even though he goes back to pretending to not care around him, we do see Hondo was pretty sad at the possibility he was gone, damn. Gregor dies though, but not before telling Rex it was an honour to fight with him for something they actually chose and believed in. Ezra then corners Thrawn, and then we get the friggin Purrgil from Season 2 showing up. Mart's frequency brought them here, and they're decimating the Imperial blockade as they arrive at the capital. They arrive at Thrawn's ship and ensnare him as they cause destruction, and Sabine calls in to confirm this was Ezra's plan. He didn't tell them because he wanted it to be a surprise for them. Thrawn gets back up though and shoots Ezra, though he's pushed back into the tentacles. They get the ship and get ready to jump into hyperspace, the others tell him to get out but he insists he needs to see this through, and he's pulled into hyperspace with Thrawn and the Purrgil. The rebels then send the dome in the air and get it ready to blow, and Wolffe informs them there's no more Imperial ships as the Ghost goes to pick them up. Pryce decides to stay behind, saying she serves the Empire until the end. Interesting because she was worried about Thrawn executing her and the loth-wolves, but she decides to suck it up here. I wonder if it's meant to echo the Inquisitor's death in Season 1, with how he chooses to die because he's more afraid of what will happen if the Empire gets a hold of him? I think Pryce might be similar here. Sabine gets Ezra's lightsabre he gave to Chopper to get them to the Ghost, and they're saved. Sabine then blows up the dome (saying "for Kanan and Ezra"), and then we see blue sky above Lothal. Chopper then shows up with a message of Ezra, who felt he owed them an explanation of what he did. He says he didn't want to do this, but this was the necessary outcome and he had to do this. He then tells the crew some final things, but specifically he says he's counting on Sabine, though she still doesn't know what. Rex mentions the Empire will likely come back and take over again, but they decide the Rebels might finally send support, though Zeb believes they can keep Lothal free given what they just did. Down below, the Lothal citizens are cheering and even feel empowered, rounding up the last Imperials left on the planet, suggesting Zeb is right. Also don't worry Original Trilogy nerds, the "first major victory" refers to the Rebel Alliance, this is just a band of peeps on Lothal who liberated it. We then cut to an Epilogue that takes places years later, in fact right after the ending of Return of the Jedi it seems. Sabine is watching, anticipating the Empire returning, but they never did (apparently too focused on Luke Skywalker and going into full scale war against the Rebellion, though initially I assumed the Empire would just be weirded out by how the heck they were beaten by fucking space whales and a few people). Lothal is looking much better, as X-wings show up with another ship after the end of the Galactic Civil War (or rather just after the Battle of Endor, the Battle of Jakku was technically the full end of the conflict). Sabine follows the new arrivals, followed by loth-wolves. Meanwhile, Zeb takes Kallus to Lira San, and they're now comfortable with each other (honestly I dare say you could even ship them here, they're pretty cosy). Kallus sees the Lasat did survive, and that the genocide he was complicit in didn't kill them all. Hera was in the Battle of Endor (which Forces of Destiny confirmed), as was Rex (who is now a commander, also I guess people can theorise if Nik Saint is Rex now, even if I'm not really into the idea TBH). Hera also has a son, Jacen Syndulla, whose father is none other than Kanan Jarrus (which means Hera was pregnant when Pryce was torturing her, fuck). Also, as a hybrid he has organic green hair, Ferb is canon! Sabine says she thought Ezra was just counting on her to protect Lothal, but she realises there's more to it. She has to go out to find him, and helping her is the pilot of this new ship, Ahsoka Tano. Who knows where she was for all these years, but she's finally off Malachor and is now going to find Ezra. Yes, like many I already want this to be a new show, with Ezra and Thrawn presumably in the Unknown Regions (and we can have characters like Eli Vanto and see who the Chiss are up against, we can payoff these teases from the Thrawn novel).
So yeah, that's the finale. It was pretty great. There were a few small things I wasn't sure about, but as a whole it was an extremely satisfying end to Rebels. There were so many great moments, but my favourites had to be the scenes with Palpatine and the epilogue, as well as the scene where Ezra leaves. So much moving and emotional stuff, and it's nice we managed to get a happy ending even if it's just one story in a larger universe. Now I can't wait to see what Dave Filoni is gonna work on next, dammit Lucasfilm announce the next animated show already! :V
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