'Toon Reviews 15: Steven Universe Season 2 Episode 20: Back to the Barn

Back to the Barn

Our heroes now have another big task to protect Earth.  They have an unlikely Gem joining them, Peridot, and even base much of the operation at a location that was only used once before. 

Stopping the Cluster means they need a machine to take them to the center of the Earth, so a decision is made to make something out of materials stored at the old barn.  Before, the barn was only used in “Space Race” in which Pearl headlined the building of a spaceship.  With the barn now being used for something major, it’s now more relevant since all cartoons for the rest of this season take place here, and it’s continually revisited afterwards.  For now, just as drill production begins, conflicts arise and get in the way.  Fortunately, it’s an insightful conflict with character development. 

After Pearl shows the materials in the barn for the drill, Peridot expects her to leave, bringing on welcome background on Pearl which includes information on what Pearls are like on Homeworld.  They’re created to do menial tasks for more powerful Gems as opposed to major ones like machine construction.  From this description, the Crystal Gem Pearl really stands out.  She’s smart, she’s been shown to build and fix things, and she's a skilled fighter.  However, what’s learned about common Pearls does give some relevance to certain traits we’ve seen from her such as her obsessive cleanliness and her lack of faith in her own strength revealed in “Friend Ship.”  As if we didn’t need more reasons to make her the most in-depth Crystal Gem, the ways this Pearl differs from the majority add on even more depth, which makes her more appealing and fascinating.  Now, as is common with anyone conditioned to believe certain customs, Peridot won’t see any value in a Pearl, and production on the drill is halted before it can even begin. 

Eventually, it’s decided that they should see who’s better at building robots, competing the right to headline the drill.  The competition mostly consists of comedic antics from Pearl’s tall, skinny wheeled robot and Peridot’s shorter, buffer robot.  They’re all in the name of fun, and they are enjoyable as they are, but they don’t hide that they’re spending too much time on something petty instead of something important to save the world.  However, there’s a significant character moment.  When the contest ends in a tie, Peridot picks a robot fight as a tiebreaker, refusing to accept that this Pearl is not like all the others.   Pearl willingly takes on Peridot alone, at one point coming full circle with her prior anxieties by showing pride in herself while punching Peridot.  Peridot wins the fight though, but Pearl gets the most praise for attempting to fight her which only proves that she really is much better than all the other Pearls. What’s even better about this is that Peridot grows to accept this and warm up to Pearl, while further realizing the truths behind Earth .  This isn’t even the last time Peridot ends up on good terms with a Crystal Gem as we’ll soon see, which makes this resolution even better. 

This cartoon may spend too much time on frivolous matters when something serious is occurring, but for what it does for the characters involved, it has merit. 9.5/10

The Ranking

1. Sworn to the Sword
2. Keystone Motel
3. When it Rains
4. Friend Ship
5. Nightmare Hospital
6. Chille Tid
7. Cry for Help
8. Keeping it Together
9. Full Disclosure
10. Catch and Release
11. Back to the Barn
12. We Need to Talk
13. Reformed
14. Historical Friction
15. Joy Ride
16. Say Uncle
17. Onion Friend
18. Rising Tides, Crashing Skies
19. Sadie’s Song
20. Love Letters

The next Steven Universe review features Peridot warming up to Amethyst which also gives an example of what happens when playful teasing goes too far.

Next time on MC 'Toon Reviews is another Rocko's Modern Life review covering "Jet Scream" and "Dirty Dog."


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