Onion
Friend
The thing that brings this on though is Beach City’s creepy enigma,
Onion. This is a kid who’s willing to
commit crimes like stealing, property damage, and assault on the town for
completely unknown reasons. The lack of
clear reasons for his actions that go beyond relatable deviation give a
disturbing feel whenever he’s onscreen.
This trend of his continues when he initiates the plot by stealing
Steven’s favorite chips.
Steven chases him all the way to a house with lots of
paintings of Amethyst. When Steven
brings Amethyst to this weird discovery, things get interesting when the
artist, Vidalia, appears and she and Amethyst instantly recognize each
other. Right from their first
interaction, the power of their bond is very clear. Their joking around, remarks of what they have
going on, and their recounts of the past have a charm to them, and are so
wholesome, you can’t help but get invested.
It’s also fitting to learn more about Vidalia’s background, especially
since we see how important she was to Steven’s dad in later seasons, and not just because she was once intimate with his old band manager.
Along with having an old friendship with Amethyst, she’s
also Onion’s mother. Under the shock of
how such a friendly woman could be the mother of such a destructive tyke,
Steven sees Onion’s home life firsthand when Onion suggests that he and
Amethyst stay for dinner, which Amethyst is quick to accept. From Steven’s perspective, the time with Onion
is a huge collection of unsettlement. He
puts some of his dinner in his mouth but then drools it out because he
apparently hates food and introduces Steven to his pet mouse and then prepares
to feed it to a pet snake.
The most
disturbing thing of all comes when he puts on a movie for Steven. Nothing from the movie is shown onscreen, but
Steven gets noticeably uneasy by what happens amidst groans from Vidalia. As it turns out, it’s a video of Onion being
born, and the content being openly stated makes the moment unsettling for
the audience as it is for Steven.
Steven
then has the right mind to escape this madness, but then hears Amethyst let out
her frustrations on the aftermath of the Sardonyx scandal to Vidalia who gives
her the comforting words she needs. From
how honest Amethyst’s turmoil is, especially since she revealed the truth that
started the tensions, it’s pleasing that Steven realizes that
she needs to spend time with her old friend in this matter. Even more pleasing is that this is what gets
him to put up with Onion’s creepy ways, and this rewards him when Onion
presents a secret room used for storing his favorite toys, GUYS. Onion even lets Steven have one of them and
the moment is staged as the most heartwarming moment between these
characters, even if it’s not saying much given Onion’s track record. It gives a believable reason for his
strange actions which is that he’s lonely and wants a friend. It doesn’t justify his behavior, but it still adds
some endearment to him, so you can get invested in him genuinely finding one in
Steven.
While Onion’s moments can really
test how much of him you can tolerate, there’s plenty of heart in the reveal of
Amethyst and Vidalia rekindling their old friendship, and even Onion himself
starting to get something to like about him.
His flaws stick out, sure, but all the good in this cartoon brings is thoroughly engaging. 8/10
The Ranking
- Sworn to the Sword
- Keystone Motel
- Chille Tid
- Cry for Help
- Keeping it Together
- Full Disclosure
- We Need to Talk
- Reformed
- Joy Ride
- Say Uncle
- Onion Friend
- Rising Tides, Crashing Skies
- Love Letters
The next Steven Universe review follows up on Jamie's theatrical pursuits as he gives some meaningful advice on characterization in plays while putting on one about the founding of Beach City.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is another Hey Arnold review on "Best Man" and "Cool Party."
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