Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Adventures in Light Distortion (Steven Universe Season 4 Episode 11) - 'Toon Reviews 29

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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.
If you would like to check out other Steven Universe reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

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