'Toon Reviews 15: Steven Universe Season 2 Episode 16: Nightmare Hospital

Nightmare Hospital

With this cartoon, the decision of Connie training to swordfight becomes a very big and meaningful one as she gets very involved with it and tries to hide it from her rule-bearing mother, Dr. Maheswaran.  We get a heartfelt story that swiftly makes its way from light and happy to dark and threatening and expands on character bonds. 

It’s known that Connie’s parents are very strict with customs, so she keeps secrets from them, especially since what they find out could prevent her from being with Steven, her only friend, but the matter soon becomes too big to be kept secret.  Steven gives Connie his mother’s sword to practice with via the charm these friends are known for.  However, it gets confiscated when Dr. Maheswaran finds it, who then lectures on the dangers of swords.  Just from here, you get a believable reason why Connie would be hesitant to tell her parents things if you needed to be reminded.  Dr. Maheswaren’s controlling tone and dense mindset with little room for reason is overbearing which isn’t particularly entertaining.  This would be marked as a problem if not for what happens later. 

With a major artifact of Steven’s mother taken away, Steven and Connie sneak into the hospital Dr. Maheswaran works at to get it back, and from there, the nightmarish parts of the hospital build.  It's very dark with dim halls accompanied by an eerie music piece all throughout which suggests that something horrifying will occur.  This belief is intensified when the kids enter the hospital room of the patients Dr. Maheswaran was called in for.  It turns out the patients brought in were covered Gem mutants, and just as the ones from their first appearance did, they attack.  The scare factor intensifies when the mutants lead Steven and Connie out into the halls into a corner with Dr. Maheswaran and only Steven’s bubble can protect them. 

There’s a helpless tone with nothing anyone can do to stop these creatures.  The only chance they have, no matter how much Connie insists that she can handle the sword, is held back by her mom.  Things soon get so tense that Connie reveals that she doesn’t need actual glasses anymore since Steven healed her sight and she popped the lenses out.  This is huge since her healed eyesight was something we saw Connie cover up to preserve her friendship with Steven before we even met her parents, selling itself as her biggest secret as it tied into the possibility of their strictness.  For Connie to be led to reveal this marks this moment as a big example of a small moment working as a huge climax aided by her effortlessly poofing the forced fusion with the sword while Dr. Maheswaran stands speechless. 

The darkness over, out of this awesome moment, the cartoon reaches a heartwarming conclusion where Dr. Maheswaran actually realizes how controlling she had been while trying to be a good mother.  It would’ve been easy for her to stubbornly stick to her rule-bearing ways, but a more pleasing direction is taken to show that despite her flaws she does have a heart.  Likewise, as her mom agrees to keep an open mind about Steven and everything associated with him, Connie agrees to be truthful about her life.  I always believe that resolving a conflict with a compromise to satisfy both sides is the best way to go, especially when it brings on a genuinely heartfelt finish with a tender embrace between Connie and her mom which Steven watches while holding a close tie to his own mom. 

In all, the cartoon amounts to an amazing work with a wide range of moments, strong character development, and the best conclusion for the scenario. 10/10

The Ranking

1. Sworn to the Sword
2. Keystone Motel
3. Friend Ship
4. Nightmare Hospital
5. Chille Tid
6. Cry for Help
7. Keeping it Together
8. Full Disclosure
9. We Need to Talk
10. Reformed
11. Historical Friction
12. Joy Ride
13. Say Uncle
14. Onion Friend
15. Rising Tides, Crashing Skies
16. Love Letters

The next Steven Universe review covers the starting point of Sadie's singing career and where we first learn about her mother issues.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews we'll be covering a Hey Arnold review on "Grandpa's Birthday" and "Road Trip."

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