Adventures
in Light Distortion
The stakes of this arc start raising to new heights. We have one of the principal human
characters, Steven’s dad Greg, captured by the dictators of all Gem-kind
without a clear idea of what’s being done with him. However, through investigation with the Crystal
Gems, Steven and audience get a good idea.
There’s a human zoo created in Pink Diamond’s name where handfuls of
humans were taken and placed there as trophies of her colony. While it doesn’t really turn out that way
later on, there’s a strong suggestion that the situation Greg is in really
isn’t good. It’s an instance where
playing solely to Steven’s perspective has its benefits as we’re kept
anticipating what could be happen. This is
a smart way to keep things intense without seeing the truth beforehand.
For now, with the heavy thought of Greg in
the human zoo in mind, the Crystal Gems have to use the only spaceship they
have, the Roaming Eye they got from the Ruby squad. The drive to their mission is Steven’s
desperate attempts to get the ship flying and save Greg which is justified
given potential danger. That’s not
mentioning that it was his personal search for answers that led to Blue Diamond
capturing him. However, out of his
desperation, Steven ends up not listening to the ship’s instructions which are
too complex, even for him and the main Crystal Gems.
As a result, there are a lot of crazy yet
memorable hassles in getting the ship to the human zoo. First, Steven is frustrated because the
ship’s normal settings set to get them to the zoo in 70 human years which,
according to Steven, Greg isn’t healthy enough to live for. Then, he starts flipping through the
innumerable controls to make the ship go faster which is where the cartoon
really starts having fun.
Steven makes
his way to the gravity engine which makes the ship go faster but has humorous
effects on the Crystal Gems’ bodies.
Since their bodies are made of light, they respond naturally to
different types of gravities fitting for certain types of Gems. One setting makes them all the same size as
Rubies, and others make them as big or small as other types of Gems. It’s always a fun utilization of animation to
have characters go from size to size, and this is no exception while also
playing to the Gems’ fascinating nature.
However, the fun soon ends when Steven unleashes a setting where the
Crystal Gems’ bodies disappear altogether and the ship starts hurtling towards
the zoo. The speed has an interesting
color direction to emphasize how the ship is now going faster than light. The
impression is honestly really realized, and would probably pop if I were to
watch it wearing 3D glasses. As for
Steven, it gets him to realize the dangers of rushing the mission. Yes, saving his dad is important, but his
actions may have destroyed the rest of his family which
is really not cool. The same could be
said for his desire for answers that led to them to this dangerous flight to
begin with.
It all works out though when
by chance, Steven turns off the gravity engine, the Crystal Gems were never
harmed, and they get to the zoo. All
things considered, this is a very fun, creative, and emotional step in this
space adventure. At the same time, it’s
the least important and the flight to the zoo probably could have been shorter. Plus, it brings up plot points that aren’t
resolved like when the group runs into the Rubies floating in space, say
they’ll pick them up, but never do.
Regardless, this cartoon is still quite an experience leaving an overall
positive impression.
A
Season 4 Ranking
1. Mindful Education
2. Steven’s Dream
3. Last One Out of Beach City
4. Gem Harvest
5. Three Gems and a Baby
6. Adventures in Light Distortion
7. Buddy’s Book
8. Know Your Fusion
9. Kindergarten Kid
10. Future Boy Zoltron
11. Onion Gang
The next Steven Universe review covers Steven and the Crystal Gems trying to fit the societal norms of Homeworld while also reach Greg in the human zoo.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is "Teachers Union" and "Head Poets Anxiety of The Loud House one of them being one of the absolute best of that series.
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