'Toon Reviews 6: Steven Universe Season 1 Episode 22

Steven and the Stevens

Some of the most common plots for fantasy-driven shows are time travel and cloning.  This cartoon tackles both subjects and it’s one that really delivers on fun as well as music.  What do I mean by music?  It relates to Steven preparing for a music event called Beach-a-palooza, but his dad is hung up on an issue at the carwash and can’t join him in the act as planned.  However, with the help of a small orb called the Glass of Time, he goes back in time before he found out about the car wash incident which places him with the Steven from that very moment.  Then they go back to the same moment in time resulting in four Stevens together, and that makes up their new Beach-a-palooza act.  About their act, it comes with another great song for the series.  It has a sunny feel to it from the upbeat guitar music and the apparent vocal talents from Steven, especially when he harmonizes with the clones.  The story then goes a more simpler route through focusing on the Stevens fighting over who should be the leader of the band, and who should be the handsome one, the smart one, the funny one, etc.  That may not feel like much and some could argue that this goes against Steven’s good nature.  What prevents it from being a huge issue though is that the plot point mines itself for a lot of comedy mostly when you factor in that it’s all because Steven is arguing with himself all throughout.  Plus, the Stevens’ conflict keeps on escalating when they reveal that they all have the Glass of Time and use them to try and stop them from becoming a band, placing them in various moments in history, including the events of previous cartoons in a clever move, creating more Stevens in the process.  It’s a crazy climax loaded with plenty of energy to keep the audience invested.  The end of all this leaves a mix of emotions when all the Stevens arrive at the beginning of this whole mess continuing to fight each other.  After a passionate speech about how Steven has been led to fight Steven, the original Steven destroys the Glass of Time causing the Stevens to disintegrate, leaving only the Steven at the moment who would’ve gone on to start the band alone.  It’s morbid knowing that all the Stevens had to settle the conflict by killing themselves, but it’s not too bad since there’s still one Steven left.  It’s this Steven that continues the rest of the show as well as close the cartoon with a reprise of the earlier song with the Crystal Gems which is just as awesome.  This may not be the grandest or most important cartoon, but with a great sense of fun, great songs, and the shock of the conflict resolution, it’s highly entertaining. 9/10

The Ranking

1. Coach Steven
2. So Many Birthdays
3. Steven the Sword Fighter
4. Lion 2: The Movie
5. Bubble Buddies
6. Laser Light Cannon
7. Giant Woman
8. Lars and the Cool Kids
9. Steven’s Lion
10. Gem Glow
11. Steven and the Stevens
12. Rose’s Room
13. Cheeseburger Backpack
14. Serious Steven
15. Joking Victim
16. Beach Party
17. Cat Fingers
18. Tiger Millionaire
19. Together Breakfast
20. Frybo
21. Onion Trade
22. Arcade Mania

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Centipeetle returns and through Steven's guidance, they become "Monster Buddies."

If you would like to check out other reviews on this blog, click here for the guide to all the reviews posted so far.