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Gem Heist
With our heroes finally reaching Pink Diamond’s human zoo,
the crux of their mission can finally take the center of attention. As Steven and the others try to go there to
save Greg without making themselves known, a big highlight to their actions is
how out of Homeworld’s standards they are.
Throughout the series, it’s been made clear that the Gem hierarchy has
lofty expectations and aren’t accepting of beings going against them. Because of this, all other Gems would not
take kindly to a short Amethyst, a Pearl who serves no one, and a cross-Gem
fusion. They have to put on a façade to
make it seem like they follow Homeworld’s rules. They include Garnet unfusing
into Ruby and Sapphire, Amethyst straining herself to be as tall as the other
Amethyst guards, and Pearl acting as a simple servant. Disguising their attempts to get into the
zoo, they request a tour of the facility from the member of Blue Diamond’s
court looking after it, called Holly Blue Agate.
Speaking of her, Holly Blue is quite an eccentric
character to follow all throughout. She
has an entertainingly dramatic flair to how she describes the zoo’s inner
workings as well as her honor to her Diamond and the fallen Diamond the zoo is
named for. However, she frequently snaps
from warm and welcoming, to strict, explosive, and intimidating whenever someone
doesn’t comply with the rules she sets.
It’s a very dynamic character for sure, and it’s also an interesting way
for how she utilizes the stereotypical mannerisms aimed at specific types of
Gems. She treats Sapphire who has a rare
aristocratic status greater than anyone else.
She leaves Amethyst outside to guard the door as if that’s all they’re
good for. Among her more condescending
actions is constantly questioning why Pearl walks so close to the Sapphire she
supposedly belongs to and is so chatty.
At least Pearl being assigned tasks such as opening doors is beneficial
to the protagonists, giving her the role of the team’s hacker.
At the same time, Holly Blue’s constant,
near-desperate praise to Blue Diamond causes anger and frustrations to the
tour, especially Ruby. The memories of
how Blue Diamond belittled and nearly destroyed her and Sapphire make for a
comic rage fit when they’re all alone.
If the prejudiced tour wasn’t enough to really sell how much the Crystal
Gems don’t fit into this biased society, I think that meltdown gets the point
across much clearer. Still, it's nice that these outsiders all have each other for support which makes the ending scene where Steven is
separated from his friends at Holly Blue’s command meaningful. Following an exciting sequence where he’s put
on an assembly line and placed in a loin cloth though, is a hopeful conclusion
to this part when he finds his dad in the zoo.
However, it’s far more luscious than what initial impressions may have
suggested.
At times, the cartoon drags
and makes this part of the arc go on a little longer than needed which doesn’t
live up to the excitement of what’s referred to as a heist. Nevertheless, you’ll get interesting clashes
of societal views and enjoyable character moments out of this cartoon,
especially the newly introduced ones. We
may not be given the most thrilling heists ever, but it’s still a pretty great
one all things considered.
A
Season 4 Ranking
1. Mindful Education
2. Steven’s Dream
3. Last One Out of Beach City
4. Gem Heist
5. Gem Harvest
6. Three Gems and a Baby
7. Adventures in Light Distortion
8. Buddy’s Book
9. Know Your Fusion
10. Kindergarten Kid
11. Future Boy Zoltron
12. Onion Gang
The next Steven Universe review shows exactly what the human zoo is like.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews we see how the legend begins in Voltron: Legendary Defender.
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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