Thursday, June 18, 2020

Bluebird - (Steven Universe Future Episode 5) - 'Toon Reviews 41

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Bluebird

A notable element of the previous series most people bring up is how easily antagonists have turned around and changed their ways to Steven’s benefit.  Whether or not some of them were truly redeemed is kind of complicated, but it does say a lot about the depths of certain conflicts which don’t seem to be that huge.  Ultimately, working in this epilogue series’ favor is how it balances these events out by looking into antagonists who never changed their ways, such as in this cartoon.  
It begins with Steven discovering a few harmless pranks from an unknown Gem.  He later returns home to find that a new Gem has arrived on Earth to presumably learn about life on a new planet.  Upon further investigation, Steven is quick to discover that the new Gem, Bluebird Azurite, is a fusion of enemies who never changed, Aquamarine and Eyeball the Ruby.  Personally, I call it a good choice for these Gems to fuse.  Of the few Gems who never changed, they’re the ones to leave the most memorable impression through inciting major story arcs or revealing the first parts of major secrets.  
Steven remembers the dangers they brought in the past which is why he’s quick to tell the main Crystal Gems and his dad about the secret of the fusion.  The thing is they always knew the true identity, but are welcoming Bluebird anyway to follow Steven’s example of believing anyone can change.  Out of this it’s interesting to see a show that takes time revealing things quickly get to the point, but even more interesting is how Steven himself can’t hold his own beliefs.  He constantly sees Bluebird do things with sharp knives, fight moves, and foreboding drawings, but as he assumes the worst, she turns out to not be malicious after all.  


After apparently overreacting to what he’s seen of Bluebird, Steven seems to lighten up and stop immediately assuming the worst.  However, just as he does, he soon discovers he was right about her all along.  When his dad’s van shows up in the temple and he hears a scream from the outside, Steven suggests this is just another harmless stunt and the screams are of joy.  Actually, the van was part of an act of true vandalism and Greg’s screams are of terror.  Bluebird holds him hostage and later unfuses to reveal who they really were despite it not being a surprise to Steven or anyone else.  
Either way, everything in this cartoon ends up leading to a very enjoyable climax with several standout moments.  Steven is told to do things like destroy his house, bubble his friends, and burn Little Homeworld to the ground, and variations of those things do happen later on.  Greg gets him out of the ransom by cutting off his trademark long hair, and it’s surprising how emotional that is.  


When Aquamarine and Eyeball try fusing again and find it difficult, Steven tries to get them to change with a passionate speech about the nature of fusions.  The catch is that the thing that gets them to fuse is their shared hatred of Steven.  
At that, there’s a catch to these Gems’ portrayal.  Their disdain of Steven shows some serious threat they had before, but it’s mostly seen as an overactive joke which isn’t the best way to go.  In fact, when they’re defeated, they go up into space claiming to keep on ‘hating’ Steven.  Considering we never see what becomes of them, it’s unfortunate that they’re reduced to being this light on threats despite past performances.  
Still this cartoon is impactful for showing that everyone can change but not everyone wants to, and I say that’s remarkable coming from this show.
A-
The Ranking
1.      Volleyball
2.      Little Homeschool
3.      Bluebird
4.      Rose Buds
5.      Guidance

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where we get to know more of the nature of the fusions, Rainbow Quartz 2.0 and Sunstone, or do we?

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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