Chille Tid
Whenever a new power for Steven reveals itself, the resulting
cartoon can either be mildly humorous or significantly intense. This reveal fits the latter description. Like many strong cartoons of the series, it
builds off a simple life moment to lead to the intensity.
Things start off with a necessary yet near
impossible task of finding where Malachite, the fusion of Lapis Lazuli and
Jasper, is underwater. The task’s
equivalence to finding a needle in a haystack tires everyone out, especially
since according to Garnet, Malachite being a fusion built on anger and mistrust
as opposed to love is unstable and could get loose and cause destruction at any time.
The group, barring
Garnet, goes back to the temple for a slumber party. There’s a charm to the slumber party scenes
where Steven convinces Pearl and Amethyst to get some sleep along with him,
well mostly Pearl. It goes to show how
considerate Steven is for others through them through their exhaustion helping
even if he knows they don’t need what humans
need. In addition, there’s great
entertainment from the dreams Steven has which are very fun and
creative.
My personal favorite is one of
a common day in Steven’s life portrayed as an old black-and-white sitcom with
the Crystal Gems fitting certain archetypes.
However, through these
dreams, the tone builds in intensity when Lapis appears, and is in great agony throgh
leaking water from her eyes and mouth and freaking out when he finds her in a
dark abyss. It’s eventually concluded
that Steven has unlocked the power to connect with others in his dreams. Considering
how his powers have always been unlocked by genuine love for certain things and
people, and that he's been worried about Lapis, the way this
dream power is unlocked is a nice continuation of this idea. The power at work during such bizarre moments
as Steven’s dreams is a shocking yet interesting way to introduce it, occurring in places where literally anything can happen.
Steven attempts to intentionally track her down
through his dreams, resulting in the most intense moment of the cartoon. In a dark area with shallow water,
Steven finds Lapis looking beaten up and manning watery weights. When she gets distracted, Jasper rises up in shackles, menacingly crawling towards Steven right before she’s
dragged down by Lapis again. The sequence ends with a tragic
declaration of Lapis where she insists that she not be found and remain where
she is to keep Malachite under excruciating control. Her dramatic and anguished tone sells the force
of the moment and pains she takes for holding such a powerful beast down. In fact, the whole sequence is a nice analysis
of what a fusion’s psyche, and for destructive Malachite, it’s dark and
threatening. It’s also this moment that
justifies the Crystal Gems not doing anything about Malachite until she’s
loose at the start of the next season.
This is very relatable to instances where nothing can be done until a
certain time, and in the end, everyone learns to accept that.
That leaves us
with a dreamy, yet intense watch with shocking reveals, creative sequences, and
the continued trend of the endearing way Steven develops his powers.
10/10
The Ranking
- Sworn to the Sword
- Chille Tid
- Keeping it Together
- Full Disclosure
- We Need to Talk
- Reformed
- Joy Ride
- Say Uncle
- Rising Tides, Crashing Skies
- Love Letters
The next Steven Universe review will cover the start of a story arc that introduces the fusion Sardonyx and an incident that messes with the Crystal Gems' team dynamic.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is a Hey Arnold review on "Casa Paradiso" and "Gerald's Tonsils."
If you want to stay updated for more reviews, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter.
No comments:
Post a Comment