Although Steven himself is very goofy, naïve, and lacking of urgency when it comes to Gem stuff at this point in the season, what makes it all work is how he can still prove to be useful to the team. This cartoon is a pretty good example of this. He purchases something as wacky as a backpack shaped like a cheeseburger appropriately from a company called Wacky Sacks, yet believes that it can really help the Crystal Gems with missions. The thing is that the Gems, Pearl especially, are hesitant to let Steven come on missions since not only does he still need to better control the powers of his gem, but he doesn’t seem to take the missions seriously. Thankfully, even with his overly laid-back mindset and tendency to get into trouble, when the Gems set off on a mission to restore an ancient Gem oasis called the Lunar Sea Spire, Steven does play a major role in helping them a lot. With the random junk he has packed into his cheeseburger backpack, he sets up a way for everyone to get inside, and offers bait to a pack of Gem shrimp blocking the way. It’s a clever way of showing off Steven’s resourcefulness this early in the show’s run, and it’s great that it just keeps growing from here in cartoons that follow. However in other parts of this cartoon, Steven also does some pretty boneheaded things during the mission. He has a great idea of using a raft to get across a raging river, but then idiotically throws it away for some unknown reason. Plus, when they finally get to the top of the spire, Steven comes off as careless when it’s revealed that he left an important statue needed to restore everything back home. He tries to use a stuffed animal in its place, but honestly predictably, it doesn’t work and the Lunar Sea Spire is destroyed. I admire that these failed ideas show that Steven is flawed despite his resourcefulness which leaves room for growth that occurs from here on, but I’m also bothered that Steven would be dumb enough to cause these mistakes in the first place. Despite the conflict, it’s great that the Gems see value in what Steven did get right especially when it leads to Steven becoming a more valuable asset to the Gems with every coming cartoon. In all, it’s a solid adventure with additions to Gem culture and character development. 9/10
The Ranking
- Laser Light Cannon
- Gem Glow
- Cheeseburger Backpack
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