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Last One
Out of Beach City
Although this is yet another light-hearted cartoon, it’s one
that provides very strong benefits.
Rather than solely focusing on Steven, some of the major Crystal Gems
are involved in the adventure as well.
Given their deep backstories and relatable personalities, any story to
develop them is sure to look into. This
particular cartoon is especially something worth checking out with Pearl
standing out the most from the featured characters.
Pearl has always been the Gem with the most
interesting layers. She’s caring and
motherly, hilariously obsessive, but also quite emotional when it comes to her
past which her love for Steven’s mother, Rose Quartz, was a huge part of. Not only has Pearl always been highly
enjoyable, she’s also had a relatable underlying arc of learning to move on
from her unrequited love as well as her grief.
Through taking it easy and just doing something fun with her closest
companions, she surprisingly makes a big memorable step towards that with this
cartoon.
We start with Amethyst excited
about going to a concert, but when Greg is unable to take her, Pearl and Steven
offer to go in his place. Being someone
who’s typically prided herself on elegance and dignity, going to an edgy cool
environment like a concert is a major step out of Pearl’s comfort zone. Impressively, she’s willing to change things
up for the night and her attempts at blending in with the concert crowd leave
undeniable effort. She’s dressing in
rebellious clothes over her regular appearance modifiers and giving a slight
edge to her voice not to mention trying drinking despite having harmless apple
juice. It’s an awkward way of fitting
the cool crowd, but there’s enough of Pearl’s trademark charm to prove that
she’s very true to herself. She leaves
her own individual mark on the common archetype while becoming much more of a rebel than she already is.
Fitting this mold also allows her to move on
from her prominent trauma with her love life when she notices a teenage girl
with big pink hair. From there, the rest
of the cartoon is Pearl and the others following the girl so she can get to
know her better. The girl never talks,
but that adds to the mystery surrounding her and is reflective of Pearl longing
to learn more about her and bond with her.
Frequently taking interest in Pearl does lean a lot towards the two
working well together though. Some could
argue that Pearl’s not really getting over Rose since the girl looks a lot like
her.
However, everyone wanting to get to
know her true character shows they know there’s more to a love interest than
appearance which shows there's more to Pearl's desire to talk with this girl. Out of this we get a fun
fast-paced drive after that girl with a disregard for stop signs and speed
limits amidst beautifully constructed night scenes. There’s also a great
variety of personas with Pearl experiencing true rebellion, Amethyst coaching
her socially being made on Earth herself, and Steven worried for everyone’s
safety.
While they end up chased by the
cops and run out of gas, this act proves to be quite beneficial, especially for
Pearl. After so much humbleness and need
for order and conformity for much of the series, she’s experienced the benefits
of taking things easy and rebelling for her own good. After all, she’s already rebelled against
Homeworld for 6,000 years. Following all
that’s happened though, there’s a great payoff when she and the others find
that mystery girl at the concert. With
soothing rock music to set the mood, Pearl actually goes up and talks to her
and gets her phone number. In the end,
breaking from her comfort zone gets Pearl major progress in her arc. If only we see her relationship with the girl
more in action after this cartoon.
For
now, light-hearted as this cartoon may be, its atmosphere and use of characters
make for one of the show’s most memorable watches.
A+
Season 4 Ranking
1. Mindful Education
2. Last One Out of Beach City
3. Buddy’s Book
4. Know Your Fusion
5. Kindergarten Kid
6. Future Boy Zoltron
The next Steven Universe review is one of the lesser light-hearted cartoons featuring slight discomfort from Onion and his newly revealed friends.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is "The Hunted" from Voltron: Legendary Defender.
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