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
- Ocean Gem
- Coach Steven
- Mirror Gem
- An Indirect Kiss
- Space Race
- So Many Birthdays
- Steven the Sword Fighter
- Lion 2: The Movie
- Bubble Buddies
- Monster Buddies
- Laser Light Cannon
- Giant Woman
- Lars and the Cool Kids
- Steven’s Lion
- Gem Glow
- Steven and the Stevens
- Island Adventure
- Rose’s Room
- Cheeseburger Backpack
- Secret Team
- House Guest
- Serious Steven
- Joking Victim
- Beach Party
- Cat Fingers
- Tiger Millionaire
- Together Breakfast
- Frybo
- Onion Trade
- 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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