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Bubbled
So far with season finales, one was one of the show’s best works with nonstop excitement and reveals, and the other was a standard cartoon with fun character development. For Season 3,
this finale doesn’t seem like there’s much to it, but that tells how
impressive it is. With the story
direction and characterization, it’s impactful on several levels.
It’s a direct result of the end of the previous cartoon where Steven and the Rubies got sucked out of the moon base. All we mostly see is Steven floating in space
within his bubble while one of the Rubies, Eyeball, latches onto it. There’s plenty of emotion to add to simple setup. Much of it comes from Steven and Eyeball’s
moments while they’re lost with nothing to do.
They start off bitter over their last encounter, but eventually, Steven is
moved to try and befriend Eyeball while they’re stuck together. After all, being friendly with enemies has
worked out for Steven in the past…most of the time.
Eyeball laments about how she only agreed to come back
to Earth to see Rose Quartz for closure, all with effective drama from her line
delivery. Plus, it’s a good continuation
of a mention of her being the only known Ruby in the Gem War. Of course Steven would want to make
Eyeball’s desire happen. Convincing
Eyeball that he’s Rose Quartz reincarnated is very difficult though. His best
attempts like summoning his shield and even striking a pose to match up with a
Rose picture on his phone don't do a thing. It’s only
during a chance encounter with an asteroid field that gets Eyeball to see
sense. Her gemstone gets cracked, but
Steven brings her into his bubble and heals her with his healing spit.
So now that the truth that Steven is Rose
Quartz reborn is known and he and Eyeball laugh together, you’d think Eyeball
would be on good terms with him. As has
been the case with other opposing Gems lately, they’re still bitter
enemies. Now that she’s with Rose,
Eyeball goes to chisel out Steven’s gem to avenge Pink Diamond. With a few little laughs but still plenty of
suspense while trying to outrun Eyeball, Steven still tries to reason with
her. When the situation gets really bad
however, Steven is forced to accept that reasoning is impossible. He opens the bubble and sends Eyeball
floating in the void again with only the unanswered thought of what will happen
if he loses his gem. Well, that question was unanswered until the show's most recent big event as of this review, but that's to be discussed at a later date.
It’s
amazing that so much character and drama comes from just two characters in a
mostly barren setting. There’s harsh
realities, unforgettable strife, and much more to think about. This is reflected in the last scene when
Steven is saved by the main Crystal Gems now operating the Rubies’ ship, the
Roaming Eye. While taking everything in,
Steven brings up the root of Eyeball’s rage, Pink Diamond. From that, he learns that it is apparently
true that Rose shattered her for Earth’s sake.
Even though shattering Pink Diamond had to be done, it’s clear that
Steven is affected by all the turmoil it caused for Homeworld which leads them to attack Earth to this day. It effectively brings something for him to
explore in the upcoming seasons, right down to discovering bigger details on
the matter. However, those details are
best left for looks into those upcoming seasons. For now,
building off the atmosphere from basic setups, this ending is
a great way to start an emotional arc of Steven finally learning about the real
Rose Quartz.
All of these qualities make this
finale great for this show and animation in general. Through bringing the perfect direction, it
brings so much drama, stakes, character depth, and history shaking reveals from
what seems like so little.
A+
The Ranking
- Mr. Greg
- Earthlings
- Bismuth
- Monster Reunion
- Crack the Whip
- Gem Hunt
- Bubbled
- Greg the Babysitter
- Alone at Sea
- Gem Drill
- Super Watermelon Island
- Too Short to Ride
- Beach City Drift
- Steven vs Amethyst
- Barn Mates
- Back to the Moon
- Beta
- Hit the Diamond
- Same Old World
- Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service
- Steven Floats
- Restaurant Wars
- The New Lars
- Drop Beat Dad
Final Thoughts
When I started these reviews by saying that Season 3 would be
one of Steven Universe’s biggest yet,
I meant it. I’ve often said before that
with this show, every cartoon is good to some extent, even the weaker
ones. Not only is this still the case,
but here, the streak of amazing cartoons is one of the best. They come almost one after another, and offer
something very impressive be it creatives story ideas or further
details on the already engaging lore.
The first season established the basic workings and characterization
while Season 2 started testing how much could be done with it. With Season 3, Steven Universe is able to really go all out with cartoon subject
matter and even get creative with how many are executed. These various storytelling approaches make groundbreaking
moments stand out better than usual.
Examples of this include making a cartoon a mini-musical to bring big
changes in characters, or bringing a lot of character and drama out of two
characters just floating in space. One
particularly unique approach is allowing at least one of the cartons
to run for double the usual runtime. Being
a continuity-heavy series, Steven
Universe has always used several short cartoons to tell arcs or show the
time taken to resolve conflicts. Having
a longer one allows for much more story and character at a nice even pace. It’s the very thing that makes the story of
the bubbled Gem inside Lion’s mane, Bismuth, stand as such a grand experience
and impressive work of art and emotion.
On another note, the fact that double-length cartoons start appearing in
Season 3 makes this particular season somewhat of a milestone.
Most of the other cartoons don’t have the
same creative setups, but many have noteworthy elements. They can feature interesting settings, bring back
earlier side characters, and even bring creative staging and elements to the
usually mundane Beach City cartoons. There
are at least two fairly weak cartoons from this season, even weaker than
anything from the previous one. This is
because they suffer from legit problems, mostly with characterization and going against the positive message the show continuously pushes. However, they work for how they tie into great
future events of the series whether they immediately follow or gradually build
in seasons to come. Presentation is one
of the biggest factors in animation’s appeal.
Having found its footing at this point, Steven Universe provides many immersive presentations in Season 3.
Aiding in the great presentations of this season’s cartoons
is how it transitions to various topics.
Other seasons, before and after this, honestly have the problem of
dedicating many cartoons to one topic and then tack on another thing to explore
for a time without warning. That’s not
even mentioning cartoons completely unrelated to the topic at hand while an arc
is going on. Season 3 features the
show’s smoothest transitions from topic to topic. That way, the entire season feels like a
cohesive story with a variety of feels and truths to take in. It appropriately starts off by resolving plot
points that Season 2 started regarding stopping Malachite and the Cluster. Admittedly, they share the aforementioned event
placement problem. Stopping Malachite
throws off the flow of the Cluster plot with the former showing up right when
the most focus is on the latter element.
This leaves little time to flesh out the resolution to the Cluster
problem. While bubbling it makes sense, coming to the conclusion so quickly
doesn’t match the magnitude the majority of Season 2 built up for it. Fortunately, the fact that the Cluster is left
alone for a long time after this is thankfully relieved of being a problem
considering what’s done with it at the time of this posting.
Also from stopping the Cluster comes deciding what to do with
Peridot and Lapis now that their current arcs are done. Deciding to drop them off in the barn doesn’t
take away from each character’s appeal and it later makes for a charming
pairing. However, it’s not easy to
accept that they don’t become part of the main cast at first. I mean, they’re both very
likable and interesting especially since Peridot is an official Crystal Gem now. However, they do appear in respectable
amounts of screen time in which they’re still enjoyable and at times get some
good development. For this reason, while
shunting off Peridot and Lapis to the barn isn’t the most preferred thing to do
with them, the decision turns out fine after a while.
After this, there’s a short stretch of Beach City fun time
open for a variety of stories. However, following this stretch comes a big example of Season 3’s smooth transitions to
topics. A cartoon starting with Steven
doing something fun represents the slice of life tone the audience can easily get used to. When he inadvertently works his
healing powers during this activity, slice-of-life turns to lore-heavy from there. Many interesting topics to explore such as
the depths of corruption, the return of Jasper, and Rose Quartz’s revealed
questionable morality cover all the remaining cartoons. They’re all different, but mesh together well
making for many seasonal standout moments and character development.
The thing that makes these varying bits of lore work is the
game changing reveal they build up to in the end. For all that was said about how great and
loving Rose Quartz was, it’s legitimately shocking that she resorted to
shattering, i.e. killing, someone to settle the Gem War. In addition to leaving something huge for
Steven to deal with, it also brings depth to why Homeworld keeps invading Earth
and wants it destroyed. The pain of
Rose’s murderous actions from the likes of Jasper and Eyeball of the Rubies
especially reflects its negative effects.
In time, this reveal would turn out to be the start of an even bigger
game changer to be discussed in Steven
Universe reviews to come. As it
stands, how the vastly different topics flow well together is a testament to
how great Season 3 really is.
As has been the usual case with this show, it’s the strength
and likability of the characters that make this season as great as it is. That said, it’s actually surprising that not
all the three main Crystal Gems have a lot to do here. Garnet isn’t given anything substantial. She has no big arcs and is mostly used to elaborate on given Gem
subjects. Pearl fares a little better as
we see more of her role as a trainer. Plus, this season’s best cartoon features
her take the first step in moving on from Rose through finally fully warming up
to Greg. Aside from those things, this
season isn’t exactly Pearl’s time to shine either. It is, however, Amethyst’s time to
shine. Many cartoons bring a significant
shift in Amethyst’s laid-back attitude.
She starts off preaching for being proud of who she is and being
nonchalant in a number of supporting roles.
That all changes when Jasper becomes relevant to the season. Representing Homeworld’s established prejudiced
views on Gems, Jasper’s claims of how wrong Amethyst looks leave a
noticeable sting. Amethyst getting beaten
badly with a fight with Jasper supports the claims and puts her through a funk
of trying too hard to get stronger. She
only lightens up a bit when Steven confides in her, revealing to have similar
anxieties of not living up to other Gems.
Then a few cartoons later, Amethyst learns to accept her strengths and
shortcomings which among other things, brings on Steven’s first Gem fusion,
Smoky Quartz. Along with the following
cartoon all about her embracing who she is by using her shapeshifting to trick
the Rubies, Amethyst is no doubt at her most relatable this season. Her sense of self, being put through real
world challenges, and overcoming them do their part in showing that there’s
truly more to her than one may think.
Apart from the main Crystal Gems, the supporting characters
have a lot of strong moments to show for themselves too. On the Gem side, Peridot and Lapis, despite
not being seen as much as preferred, have their own special ways of further
adjusting to and learning about Earth.
They really stand out for their own issues to work through like Peridot
making the most of her own shortcomings and Lapis fighting through her painful memories of the planet. Jasper’s
aggressiveness and will to fight is fleshed out, being results of prejudice,
Pink Diamond’s shattering, and even being fused for a very long time. By the time she’s corrupted, it’s hard not to
sympathize with her for how badly she was effected by her own experiences. The Homeworld Rubies bring a more comedic
edge from the supporting Gems with their unintelligence, but astound for still
being a legit threat. Even the humans in
Steven’s life are a joy to watch as they face new chapters in life and the
things certain characters go through are revealed. Apart from occasional one-dimensional jerks
like Kevin (until a later season) and Marty, these characters’ development is
of special mention. Greg gets some much
needed affluence and ends up spending a lot of his $10,000,000 in various
cartoons, but is still the lovable dad we know.
There’s a particularly creative edge to a rivalry between two of Beach
City’s biggest restaurants. Kiki has a
relatable problem of finding it hard to say no to cover for her sister. Even Lars takes a major step in improving for
good after realizing everyone liking him better when he’s possessed by Steven
which upcoming seasons greatly follow up on.
These moments make the characters feel more fleshed out than ever are
and is a testament for the show’s strength of characterization.
Finally there’s Steven himself. This season does its part to show how much
he’s developed while also fleshing him out through what he experiences, i.e.
everything the audience sees. In fact,
the end of the first cartoon where the Crystal Gems entrust him with stopping
the Cluster without them reflects how much he’s grown as a Gem by now. It’s no longer a surprise that he can control
his powers so well, and his established sense of empathy brings them to further
levels. He’s able to feel the pain
others feel and literally get inside other people’s minds to alleviate
everything from common humans to beings as big as the Cluster. It can get disturbing when this also means he
can possess people though. He also shows
a lot of charm as his own character as he frequently gives teachings and
guidance to Gems and humans alike. It’s
because of Steven Peridot and Lapis adjust to new Earth customs well, Pearl and Greg warm up to each other, Amethyst overcomes her anxieties, and more. In addition, factors also make Steven less
than perfect so to still be relatable to the audience. For all his helpfulness, he still sometimes
doesn’t think things all the way through, sometimes to the point of ruining
relationships. An even bigger factor is
realizing that some people are impossible to reason with. Heck, some of the last cartoons of the season
feature three characters in a row Steven is unable to reason with. To add to all this, he’s forced to respond
with the drastic moves of poofing Bismuth, leaving Jasper to be corrupted, and
throwing Eyeball the Ruby into space. It’s
shocking yet bold for a wholesome kid like Steven to be moved to pull off these
actions. You can kind of look at it as
Steven learning an earlier lesson that some people aren’t worth being patient
with the hard way. As for eventually
learning the story that his mom shattered Pink Diamond, Steven feeling
disturbed about it only adds to the stress of what he was forced to do. It’s the biggest thing to show that Steven is
no longer just about having fun and going on adventures for the thrill
factor. He’s embracing that life
sometimes involves making tough choices no matter how bad they may feel. This is especially good considering that the
Pink Diamond story later goes on to bring even more game changing details to
take in. In short, through this season,
Steven continues to excel in maturity and ability while still finding more ways
to develop. That makes for a great lead
character, especially one who always needs to be present for there to be a
show.
There’s no denying that Steven
Universe reaches a whole new pique with Season 3. With great stories, creative ways of telling
them, and a plethora of standout character moments, the show further proves to
be one of the most impressive and endearing.
It’s a big reason to get viewers to look into the series if they haven’t
already, not to mention, given the time it premiered, a grand way to spend the
summer.
Highly Recommended
As we wrap up another review set, here's a change to the review schedule:
- Saturdays and Sundays - Star vs the Forces of Evil Season 3 (Starting Saturday Feb 2)
- Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays - Hilda Season 1
- Tuesdays and Thursdays - DuckTales Vol 3
I'll see you around for more cartoon review excitement, but until then:
Stay Animated Folks!
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