'Toon Reviews 6: Steven Universe Season 1 Episode 15

Onion Trade

The Beach City resident to get the focus in this cartoon this time around is a strange little boy called Onion.  It’s really hard to determine how to feel about him in his appearances.  He’s usually seen doing literally whatever he wants, even crimes.  He could be illegally operating things like harpoon guns, stealing things from the arcade, or riding vehicles at high speeds just to crash them, and we never really get why he does these things.  Plus, he can come off as creepy by just blankly staring at people as he goes about his life and only speaking in mumbles.  As creepy as Onion can be though with his weird mannerisms and tendency to commit crimes, he comes off as somewhat fascinating as you can’t help but wonder what goes on in his head.  Here, Steven gets a good idea of Onion’s creepiness factor as he spends the cartoon trying to track down his favorite toy, Ranger Guy.  When he first attempts to find a new Ranger Guy, the story is just nice and simple, but it gets a bit more interesting when Steven realizes that Onion has a Ranger Guy.  Through watching Onion go about some of his strange daily customs, Steven eventually attempts to trade Onion’s Ranger Guy for a sack of other toys called Dave Guys, but Onion stubbornly refuses Steven’s offer, and once again, we’re left wondering what his deal is.  This whole toy trade conflict also showcases Steven’s boneheaded side when his trade leads him use Pearl’s replicator wand at Amethyst’s request.  When using it to make more Dave Guys for Onion doesn’t work, Steven finally gets Ranger Guy by giving Onion the wand itself all set to Onion staring and smiling creepily in front of fire.  It’s just so idiotic that Steven would just give a powerful item away for a petty toy when he can just use it to copy Ranger Guy out of Onion’s hand, which they even bring up later on.  Plus, considering what he’s seen of Onion, Steven should have a good idea that Onion will do something bad with the wand, which he does by flooding Beach City with Dave Guys.  To be fair, the climax where he, the Crystal Gems, and Greg are caught in the toy flood is a really fun one with humorous lines from the characters, and Steven finding a loophole in his and Onion’s trade when he discovers Onion had Steven’s own Ranger Guy the whole time.  As fun as it is, it’s frustrating that we never really figure out why Onion would do this to begin with, and the conclusion Steven comes to that it’s because he’s just waiting for his dad, a fisherman named Yellowtail, to come home doesn’t seem too convincing.  As weirdly mysterious yet fascinating as Onion is and as stupid as Steven comes off as here, this is still a decent cartoon that encourages you to ponder about such an enigma that is a kid named Onion. 7/10

The Ranking

1. So Many Birthdays
2. Bubble Buddies
3. Laser Light Cannon
4. Giant Woman
5. Lars and the Cool Kids
6. Steven’s Lion
7. Gem Glow
8. Cheeseburger Backpack
9. Serious Steven
10. Cat Fingers
11. Tiger Millionaire
12. Together Breakfast
13. Frybo
14. Onion Trade
15. Arcade Mania

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where a newly revealed bit of information of how Gems work comes with graphic moments in "Steven the Sword Fighter."

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