'Toon Reviews 6: Steven Universe Season 1 Episode 44

Marble Madness

We got our first glimpse of Peridot back in “Warp Tour,” yet we didn’t really get a sense of what she was up to.  All she did was investigate the Galaxy Warp, take out defective robonoids and then leave.  All we got was a mystery of not only why she was coming to Earth, but also what exactly was she like.  Now, we have this cartoon that attempts to answer some questions about Peridot.  Much of the first part of the cartoon follows a beat-for-beat routine.  Steven tries to understand a book series that Connie gets him into, but then one of Peridot’s robonoids shoots down to Earth, prompting him and the Crystal Gems to go to where it landed and destroy it.  The fact that these same instances happen a couple times in a row make the early part of the cartoon somewhat monotonous.  They’re mildly entertaining on their own, but the show has had more enticing moments than this.  However, there is one truly enticing part of the cartoon in the second half when Steven comes up with a smart idea of following one of the robonoids to where it wants to go and why they’re all being shot to Earth.  This plan brings the Crystal Gems to the Kindergarten from “On the Run,” where they come across Peridot who has accessed the Kindergarten via a screen.  As the Crystal Gems wonder what Peridot is trying to do, Steven decides to find out by going up to talk to her which is both smart, and boneheaded since no one knows what Peridot is like.  One thing about his first conversation with Peridot that’s worth pointing out is that him mentioning a list of humans to her goes on to play a role in one of the most recent cartoons.  The fact that this one little line from the conversation starts something huge much later on demonstrates the cleverness of the storytelling and gives this cartoon more value than it already has.  Anyway, when Peridot goes on to attack Steven with hand robonoids the screen provides, the Crystal Gems come to his aid, and reveal that they’re protecting the planet at all costs.  Through it all, we see more of what Peridot is actually like.  Although she’s meticulous and technical when it comes to going about her work, instead of serious and menacing, she’s quickly agitated by others interfering.  Even though you don’t want her to succeed and fear for the Crystal Gems when she leaves to report her finding, it’s still somewhat easy to feel for her as she complains about her destroyed robonoids among other things.  This trait of Peridot among others would become more prominent for the rest of the show.  As you can see, this big reveal on Peridot adds to the appeal of this cartoon which, while not being the most exciting story, does its job in preparing for what’s to come. 9/10

The Ranking

1. Ocean Gem
2. Lion 3: Straight to Video
3. Alone Together
4. Coach Steven
5. On the Run
6. Maximum Capacity
7. Mirror Gem
8. An Indirect Kiss
9. Space Race
10. So Many Birthdays
11. Steven the Sword Fighter
12. Lion 2: The Movie
13. Bubble Buddies
14. Monster Buddies
15. Laser Light Cannon
16. Winter Forecast
17. Giant Woman
18. Lars and the Cool Kids
19. The Test
20. Steven’s Lion
21. Horror Club
22. Watermelon Steven
23. Gem Glow
24. Steven and the Stevens
25. Marble Madness
26. Warp Tour
27. Island Adventure
28. Rose’s Room
29. Cheeseburger Backpack
30. Future Vision
31. Secret Team
32. House Guest
33. Serious Steven
34. Joking Victim
35. Beach Party
36. Cat Fingers
37. Tiger Millionaire
38. Together Breakfast
39. Fusion Cuisine
40. Frybo
41. Onion Trade
42. Arcade Mania
43. Garnet’s Universe
44. Keep Beach City Weird

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where this season and the whole show hits its emotional high point with "Rose's Scabbard."

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