Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Familiar (Steven Universe Season 5 Episode 25) - 'Toon Reviews 29


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Familiar
The story has taken a huge direction of Steven and his closest comrades going to the enemy Gem planet Homeworld to finally resolve their long ongoing issues.  With that, a smart move would be to introduce the nature of this planet since we really haven’t seen much of it in its previous appearances.  That’s precisely how this cartoon works as grand world building as well as an insightful parallel to Steven and the Diamond he’s meant to be representing. 
There are so many fascinating things to Homeworld from start to finish.  While all alone in Pink’s room, Steven discovers a group of really small Gems called Pebbles who delight in crafting anything Steven says he could use.  Pearl, who’s considered an object only meant to serve him, is the only Crystal Gem allowed to be near him, and she’s also beneficial in teaching him about Diamond customs.  They’re brought up as Steven’s called to join Yellow and Blue Diamond in their own extraction chambers, which basically function as spas and saunas.  By the way, the extraction chambers turn out to be the most creative additions to Homeworld as the sweat the Diamonds emit there work some serious Gem magic.  A drop of sweat from Steven later on gives a strong suggestion that they do things like bring structures and statues to life. 
Anyway both Yellow and Blue have different ways of showing affection to ‘Pink’. Yellow is strict and authoritative while still finding a reason to laugh at Pink’s passes for humor; it’s actually kind of surreal for Steven to have a nice moment with her.  Blue, as her many past appearances have shown, outwardly shows how much she deeply loves Pink and even calls ‘her’ by the preferred name Steven.  In the process, Blue brings up all the times all the Diamonds used to happily get together to enjoy the extraction chambers with Pink acting all happy and silly.  In both conversations though, Yellow and Blue do bring up how unsurprising it is that White barely let Steven get a word in since she never allows anyone to talk with her.  The last thousand years when it was believed Pink was shattered certainly haven’t helped and have badly affected the Diamonds’ family dynamic. 

By the end of the day, it feels like Steven’s gotten nowhere, yet gets a very interesting insight.  Adding to its power is that it’s all put to song and a very moving one at that.  Based on everything he’s learned about Pink from dreams and his conversations with Blue and Yellow, Steven finds a lot to take interest in.  The Diamonds love Pink and find appeal in her funny ways, but they’re often too busy to always be there for her and don’t take her seriously.  As Steven uses each verse to evaluate things and the Pebbles help him with musical accompaniment, the connection becomes clear.  All of these things are just like how Steven used to act among the Crystal Gems, only now he’s grown up a lot and knows how to understand the feelings of others. 
Through bringing the song to a grand finish, he looks the part of who the Diamonds want to see and plans to fix their family dynamic and get them to stop terrorizing space.  Utilizing what he’s learned about Pink and her relationship to Homeworld, he sets out to sway everyone’s opinions with a big party.  That’s a path that’s sure to bring a lot of promise though you can’t help but question how well it will all go given the Diamonds’ nature. 
All of these elements unfold in a cartoon where not much happens, but you still feel like so much was gained through exploring a creative world and fascinating characters and background.
A+


Season 4 Ranking
  1. I Am My Mom
  2. Storm in the Room
  3. Mindful Education
  4. That Will Be All
  5. Steven’s Dream
  6. Last One Out of Beach City
  7. Are You My Dad?
  8. The Zoo
  9. The Good Lars
  10. Gem Heist
  11. Gem Harvest
  12. Three Gems and a Baby
  13. Adventures in Light Distortion
  14. Buddy’s Book
  15. Know Your Fusion
  16. The New Crystal Gems
  17. Lion 4: Alternate Ending
  18. Doug Out
  19. Kindergarten Kid
  20. Room for Ruby
  21. Future Boy Zoltron
  22. Tiger Philanthropist
  23. Rocknaldo
  24. Onion Gang


Season 5 Ranking
  1. Reunited
  2. A Single Pale Rose
  3. The Trial
  4. Jungle Moon
  5. Off Colors
  6. Familiar
  7. Stuck Together
  8. The Question
  9. Pool Hopping
  10. Can’t Go Back
  11. Now We’re Only Falling Apart
  12. Legs From Here to Homeworld
  13. Lars’ Head
  14. Made of Honor
  15. What’s Your Problem?
  16. Letters to Lars
  17. Lars of the Stars
  18. Your Mother and Mine
  19. Raising the Barn
  20. Sadie Killer
  21. Back to the Kindergarten
  22. The Big Show
  23. Gemcation
  24. Kevin Party
  25. Dewey Wins





The next Steven Universe review puts Steven's Homeworld party into action with unexpected results, well mostly unexpected.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews are some of the most ingeniously creative Ed Edd n Eddy cartoons "A Glass of Warm Ed" and "Flea Bitten Ed."
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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