If you like this review and want to stay updated for what else I have in store, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter. Now on with today's review:
Beta
When focusing on big reveals, a cartoon can go either
ways. It can expand lore and bring new
character paths, but also feel a little dull with not much happening. This cartoon kind of goes both ways.
Amethyst still obsessed with wanting to beat Jasper, so Steven decides to take her mind
off things by having her visit Peridot and Lapis. This is where the big reveals start. When we last saw Peridot and Lapis together,
the latter appeared to start warming up to the former. However, it seemed like anyone’s guess how
well they get along after all this time.
As it turns out, they’ve both warmed up to each other pretty well. In addition, much of the cartoon’s first half
is showing their days at the barn. They
mostly binge watch Camp Pining Hearts or
make random objects into artwork, or meep morps. These reveals are mostly fluff which, while
fun, limit potential character development . It
doesn’t become a big issue until the next season though.
For now, Peridot and Lapis’ customs have some
weight to them regarding their experience of Earth. They explore what the planet has to offer,
and do something unique with it, which is endearing. It’s also appealing through the personalities
of both characters working off each other. Peridot is much more
eager to explore Earth’s amenities while also being social and considerate of
others’ feelings. Lapis isn’t nearly as
social or enthusiastic to explore the planet since most of her suffering
occurred here. Still, we see some
progress is made to opening herself up, such as happily making music with
Peridot to entertain the guests.
Going
back to Amethyst, she isn’t impressed like she usually would be with Jasper on
her mind. With these concerns, the tone
of the reveals shifts dramatically.
Playing to their dynamic, Peridot steps in to help Amethyst while Lapis
stays at the barn to not have anything bad happen to her. Since Amethyst once did the same for her,
it’s interesting that Peridot is now trying to make Amethyst feel better about
herself. She does so by taking her to
where Jasper was made.
Jasper’s
Kindergarten, the Beta Kindergarten, is a lot different from Amethyst’s, the
Prime Kindergarten. Instead of black and
moody, the Beta Kindergarten is brightly colored. The holes the Gems came out of are the most
significant difference. The Prime’s
holes are perfectly aligned and carved making for many strong Quartz soldiers,
except Amethyst who stayed in her hole too long. As for the Beta, all the holes are sloppy and
rushed, and it’s impressive that Peridot can tell that all the Gems came out
weird from the holes alone. It’s a great
display of her talents.
They become especially
apparent when they find Jasper’s hole.
Peridot investigates it hoping to find something wrong with it to cheer
up Amethyst, but is begrudgingly honest when she finds nothing of the sort. Jasper is objectively the most perfect Gem in
the Beta Kindergarten, and Amethyst will always be weaker than her. All these reveals do their part to make the
concept of Kindergartens more interesting than ever and lead to interesting
mysteries. However, just having explanations
costs the cartoon a great deal of excitement.
It’s only at the end when Amethyst finds Jasper holding corrupted Gems
in cages, and decides to fight her anyway when something big looks to come from
the reveals. The ensuing action is saved
for the next cartoon, so it at least leaves something exciting to look forward
to.
In the end, this cartoon makes the
show’s world vaster, but isn’t one of the more noteworthy ones for mostly being
built on exposition.
A-
The Ranking
- Mr. Greg
- Bismuth
- Monster Reunion
- Crack the Whip
- Gem Hunt
- Greg the Babysitter
- Alone at Sea
- Gem Drill
- Super Watermelon Island
- Too Short to Ride
- Beach City Drift
- Steven vs Amethyst
- Barn Mates
- Beta
- Hit the Diamond
- Same Old World
- Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service
- Steven Floats
- Restaurant Wars
- The New Lars
- Drop Beat Dad
The next Steven Universe review brings an exciting boost in tone with Amethyst facing Jasper featuring a brand new fusion and a well-staged dark fate for Jasper.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is "Junk Junkies" and "Day of the Flecko" from Rocko's Modern Life.
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