Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Made of Honor (Steven Universe Season 5 Episode 22) - 'Toon Reviews 29

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Made of Honor

A lot has definitely come up for the Crystal Gems upon learning the truth about their leader.  Now that many of them have come to grips with the hard truth, they’re all set up to face a new beginning starting with Ruby and Sapphire officially being married as Garnet.  However, this cartoon shows an even bigger way for the team to get a fresher start by allowing a member bubbled away for going against the beliefs of ‘Rose’ to come back. 
While the wedding is being planned, the hard fact that most of the team’s old friends won’t be able to attend since they’ve been shattered or corrupted comes up.  That’s where Steven comes in when he knows of one former Crystal Gem who’s been bubbled away, but still in perfect condition, Bismuth.  It may seem anti-climactic that she’s called in for something as simple as attending a wedding and not something bigger like a battle, but the direction really works.  As of late, the Crystal Gems seem to function more as a family living together than a team of warriors defending the Earth.  Bringing Bismuth back for a happy event like a wedding is a good way of accepting her as someone they can have around for all time like a family member would be. 
Of course, there is the matter of Steven’s last confrontation with her which involved a rampage fueled by Bismuth’s strategy against the Diamonds being turned down.  That does make for some dangers with Steven just going ahead and freeing her that seem to be ignored, and some of them do appear.  When Bismuth reforms when let out of her bubble, she notices something she never noticed before, and that’s the collection of Gems in bubbles.  She lets one out, enraged that ‘Rose’ would do this to anyone who disagreed with her, only to  find out the hard way that they’ve been corrupted into monsters.  After stopping a monster, Steven tells her all about how Rose was actually Pink Diamond, and despite needing to scream into lava, Bismuth actually takes this well.  She also maturely realizes that her idea of shattering a Diamond had its flaws since it led to all the corruption, even if the shattering was staged. 
With this, all of Bismuth’s concerns are settled and she seems ready to be introduced to the team.  However, while Steven is keen on revealing her as a surprise and expects her to say one of her catchphrases, Bismuth has legit doubts that the others will want her back.  After an admittedly awkward attempt to reintroduce her, Steven confronts her to find out why she didn’t come. 
A lot of interesting things come from their conversation.  Since Garnet fell apart after finding out the Crystal Gems’ leader is a fraud, it seems that Steven is the reason everyone else is staying together.  In other words, it’s like he’s the true leader of the team now, and Bismuth being bubbled away was their reaction for what she tried to do to him.  That’s a good point given how Steven’s been shown to help everyone move forward with the shocking reveal along with other problems throughout this season.  Now, he does the same with Bismuth, pointing out a way her reappearance can work.  If everyone is acting according to how he feels, they’ll accept Bismuth back if they arrive together in peace.  Sure enough, the sight of Steven and Bismuth holding hands and everyone happy to see their old comrade back gets her accepted, and gives the cartoon an endearing end. 
While what goes on here may seem reckless and ignorant of legit drawbacks, the execution brings a fine tribute to the Crystal Gems’ family unit and apparent character growth.
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.      A Single Pale Rose

2.      The Trial

3.      Jungle Moon

4.      Off Colors

5.      Stuck Together

6.      The Question

7.      Pool Hopping

8.      Can’t Go Back

9.      Now We’re Only Falling Apart

10.  Lars’ Head

11.  Made of Honor

12.  What’s Your Problem?

13.  Letters to Lars

14.  Lars of the Stars

15.  Your Mother and Mine

16.  Raising the Barn

17.  Sadie Killer

18.  Back to the Kindergarten

19.  The Big Show

20.  Gemcation

21.  Kevin Party

22.  Dewey Wins

 
The next Steven Universe review is on a very special event for the series featuring groundbreaking LGBT weddings on a family show, non-stop action from a Homeworld invasion, the return of long lost Gems, and the start of another grand new direction.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is "Fool on the Ed" and "A Boy and His Ed" from Ed Edd n Eddy.
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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