Sunday, October 8, 2017

'Toon Reviews 6: Steven Universe Season 1 Episode 39


Future Vision








As most people who watch this show can tell, Garnet is a pretty unique Gem.  She’s taller than most, is the most calm of them all even in the heat of battle, and that’s not even mentioning her having three eyes.  This cartoon is where we first find out about another unique feature of hers.  Through a series of charming interactions with Steven which are equivalent to moments of a mother spending time with a curious, energetic child, Garnet reveals that she has the power to see any possible outcome for the future, i.e. she has future vision which also means that she, unlike other Gems, has two Gem powers instead of one, the other being to magically obtain her gauntlets.  Regarding her future vision, it’s explained in a creative and at times insightful manner by equating time to a river that flows in different directions, each one representing something that could happen as a result of an action and that’s a perfectly reasonable analogy.  Among the examples of possible actions, the ones this particular story focuses on are the ways Steven can get hurt from doing anything he normally does, even something as simple as eating fry bits.  As soon as Steven hears Garnet list off all the bad things that could happen when he does that, you can probably predict that the rest cartoon will be of him becoming paranoid about getting hurt while doing anything.  It’s presented in a fun way of looking into Steven’s psyche drawn in a simple style where all his actions lead to him getting hurt in some way which reduces him to a pile of bones, but I will admit that the whole idea of Steven’s paranoia goes on so long that it gets tiresome after a while.  Now, all of Steven’s fears lead to a big climax where he does something about them by awaiting his ultimate fate by going up to the roof during a storm, something Garnet specifically told him not to do.  Garnet arrives back fast, and with intensity added in by the storm, as she struggles to get Steven to come down, she reveals that she saw that he would do this if she taught him about future vision.  The reason she told him anyway was because she wanted them both to be closer, so that gives her actions some genuine heart along with how she regrets letting herself be one of the things that could hurt Steven.  The whole moment is really full on heart when you hear that all this happened because Garnet wanted to be closer to Steven and is a great way for Steven to learn that it’s up to him to decide how the future will turn out, something everyone can relate to.  While this cartoon is largely basic and falls short to stronger ones, what it adds to Garnet, whose future vision becomes a prominent asset after this, and her relationship with Steven give it genuine value. 8/10
The Ranking
  1. Ocean Gem
  2. Lion 3: Straight to Video
  3. Alone Together
  4. Coach Steven
  5. Mirror Gem
  6. An Indirect Kiss
  7. Space Race
  8. So Many Birthdays
  9. Steven the Sword Fighter
  10. Lion 2: The Movie
  11. Bubble Buddies
  12. Monster Buddies
  13. Laser Light Cannon
  14. Giant Woman
  15. Lars and the Cool Kids
  16. The Test
  17. Steven’s Lion
  18. Watermelon Steven
  19. Gem Glow
  20. Steven and the Stevens
  21. Warp Tour
  22. Island Adventure
  23. Rose’s Room
  24. Cheeseburger Backpack
  25. Future Vision
  26. Secret Team
  27. House Guest
  28. Serious Steven
  29. Joking Victim
  30. Beach Party
  31. Cat Fingers
  32. Tiger Millionaire
  33. Together Breakfast
  34. Fusion Cuisine
  35. Frybo
  36. Onion Trade
  37. Arcade Mania
  38. Garnet’s Universe
  39. Keep Beach City Weird
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where we learn more about Amethyst's background as she and Steven go "On the Run."
If you would like to check out other reviews on this blog, click here for the guide to all the reviews posted so far.

No comments:

Post a Comment