Monday, October 2, 2017

'Toon Reviews 6: Steven Universe Season 1 Episode 30


Island Adventure










Once again, we have a cartoon about Lars and Sadie’s troubled relationship.  Like in “Joking Victim,” we’re shown that they’re both constantly at odds with each other, yet still feel the need to be with each other which is especially problematic for Sadie.  Yes, Lars can do good things, but they hardly mean anything because he’s bad to her most of the time though this story does show a possible reason for Lars’ behavior.  Steven notices Lars and Sadie’s tension and decides to take them on a vacation to a magical island called Mask Island by working the warp pad all by himself for the first time.  Then the warp pad, their only way off the island, goes missing, and the three of them have to live with each other until help arrives.  Lars and Sadie actually seem to work well together while stuck on the island which includes them unlocking certain talents within them, mainly Sadie’s hunting strengths and Lars’ talent for cooking, which is especially relevant in the most recent seasons.  We even get more moments of bonding during a montage of their time on an island set to a song Steven plays that matches the beauty of the serene island, “Be Wherever You Are” which I could hum in any natural spot like an island.  Even so, Lars is constantly worrying about getting off the island and is frantic that he can’t get a phone signal for help making him vulnerable and sympathetic.  His fears lead to Sadie comforting him and he admits that he feels alone, even around people, which presents a reason for his jerkiness and it makes sense regarding his judgmental attitude around others in his previous roles.  The power of this moment is especially clear when it leads to him and Sadie making out.  It honestly feels that this relationship is worth getting behind after all.  Sadly, it becomes problematic again when an invisible Gem monster attacks the trio causing Sadie to reveal that she stranded them all on the island by hiding the warp pad.  She explains that she did it to help Lars get what he needed from the vacation, but there’s a lot of messed up implications with this reveal.  She kept innocent bystanders trapped on an island against their will and ignored Lars real desire to go home for her own selfishness and their kiss only made her bad moves work.  That’s a bad sign if a couple feels they need to change the other person involved instead of letting the good inside him/her grow in time.  At least the reveal leads to Sadie saving everyone by defeating the Gem monster with her new hunting skills, so I guess that makes her actions less bad than they could’ve been.  Still, even with the support of Lars and Sadie’s majorly unhealthy relationship, this is a nice little cartoon with good atmosphere, a moving song, and character-building moments. 9/10
The Ranking

  1. Ocean Gem
  2. Coach Steven
  3. Mirror Gem
  4. An Indirect Kiss
  5. Space Race
  6. So Many Birthdays
  7. Steven the Sword Fighter
  8. Lion 2: The Movie
  9. Bubble Buddies
  10. Monster Buddies
  11. Laser Light Cannon
  12. Giant Woman
  13. Lars and the Cool Kids
  14. Steven’s Lion
  15. Gem Glow
  16. Steven and the Stevens
  17. Island Adventure
  18. Rose’s Room
  19. Cheeseburger Backpack
  20. Secret Team
  21. House Guest
  22. Serious Steven
  23. Joking Victim
  24. Beach Party
  25. Cat Fingers
  26. Tiger Millionaire
  27. Together Breakfast
  28. Frybo
  29. Onion Trade
  30. Arcade Mania

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where we finally get a starring role for what many call their least-liked member in the cast.  If you want to guess who the character is, here's a hint: he's got a blog called "Keep Beach City Weird."

If you would like to check out other reviews on this blog, click here for the guide to all the reviews posted so far.

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