Thursday, May 17, 2018

'Toon Reviews 15: Steven Universe Season 2 Episode 5: Reformed


Reformed







One of the most interesting thing about Gems is how they don’t apply to things that destroy humans and other mortals like aging and getting hurt, so long as the pain is on their bodies and never their gemstones.  On the subject of getting hurt, their response is to poof into the physical gem that projects their appearances and spend as much time as they need to fix their bodies sometimes with new features.  This is one of the most creative approaches towards life for Gems, so it’s completely welcome to see cartoons dedicated to this concept. 
So far, we’ve seen Pearl reform after getting her body damaged, and Garnet got a slightly new appearance when Ruby and Sapphire reformed.  In this cartoon, Amethyst, the most slobby and accident-prone Crystal Gem, goes through the reform motions.  It happens when a corrupted Gem simply known as a “Slinker” gets loose in the temple, and Steven and Amethyst join Garnet to try and catch it in Amethyst’s room.  Every time they come across the Slinker, it attacks Amethyst so hard, she poofs to her gem, forcing herself to reform.  However, since she’s not as patient as other Gems, she comes back from her reforms very quickly.  As a result, her appearances are very ridiculous and provide very little productivity. 
When you take the task out of consideration, there’s some mild enjoyment out of the many reforms Amethyst takes on.  One has all her limbs become feet, one has her look as much like Pearl as she can, and one is unsustainable with all limbs varying in size.  They’re visually appealing in their own way and fascinate with how Gems are able to go this far when altering their forms. 
The big thing to take from all these forms is how they have an effect on Amethyst’s general character.  She’s been a reckless, easygoing troublemaker from the beginning, and has the added baggage of her creation being part of Homeworld’s devastation on Earth which makes her easily agitated when others judge her.  For this cartoon, she feels especially agitated whenever Garnet criticizes how she reforms, and when Steven keeps pestering her to take an online quiz, some questions relating to her internal trauma.  At times, all these characters can get overbearing with their drawbacks, especially Amethyst’s tense responses to judgements and the fact that talking about the quiz and freaking out at Amethyst getting poofed being all Steven does here, but they do their part to move the conflict along. 
In the end, it becomes clear to everyone that Amethyst keeps changing her form because she wants everyone to think well of her, even if what she wants to be is something she has to figure out herself.  During another Slinker attack, she gets poofed just as Steven discovers she doesn’t WANT to think about herself.  This only makes the following scene where she finally reforms with a perfectly suitable design, which is basically a modified version of her old form, an appropriate and pleasing end to her conflict where she satisfies her peers, and herself. 
It is concerning that we never see what happens with the Slinker afterwards, but since there are so many strong points to the cartoon already, this factor doesn’t have a huge effect.  It’s still a solid watch with further looks into Amethyst’s character, and one of the most creative aspects of Gems. 9/10
The Ranking
  1. Full Disclosure
  2. Reformed
  3. Joy Ride
  4. Say Uncle
  5. Love Letters
The next Steven Universe review will be on one of the most beautifully crafted cartoons of the series with a new beginning for Steven's friend Connie, Pearl character development, a beautiful song, and an adorable friendship at the center.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is Hey Arnold Season 3 Episode 5 featuring "Helga Blabs it All" and "Harold the Butcher."
If you want to stay updated for more reviews, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter.
If you would like to check out other Steven Universe reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

No comments:

Post a Comment