'Toon Reviews 6: Steven Universe Season 1 Episode 42

Winter Forecast

It’s great to know that even in cartoons that don’t have a strong tie to the grand scheme, those that focus on Steven and Connie’s friendship usually turn out great, and that’s the case with this one.  The overall story here is very simple.  It’s just about Steven needing to get Connie home safely before she gets snowed in at his place, but they don’t want to stop hanging out yet.  Simple as this story setup might sound, certain things make its execution impactful and very charming.  It all comes from one short moment of Garnet kissing Steven’s forehead while telling him to make the right decision just before he and Connie head over to Greg.  This brief moment is what makes this simple story greater than ever.  As Steven and Connie leave to get Connie home they stall Greg in different ways so they can hang out longer and everything goes wrong, and it happens three different times.  To explain, every time Steven and Connie’s goofing off leads to something very bad, Steven finds himself back at a particular part of the trip home and they continue on in a different way from before.  Each version is well put together mostly with how they even grow in severity with each one.  The first version has the kids stall Greg so long that he crashes his van, and when they get to Connie’s house, her parents are mad that Connie’s so late and cold, threatening the end of her bond with Steven.  The second version starts with the van crash, Steven suggests they stay put, but it turns out to be a worse version when they all get struck by Connie’s dad who crashes his car into the van because he’s can’t drive in the snow.  The worst version of all is Steven insisting that Connie stay with him for the night despite all opposition, and that literally leads to everything blowing up.  Watching these versions from Steven’s perspective, you connect with him as he wonders what’s going on.  Then, after that version, we learn the meaning of Garnet’s kiss.  It symbolizes her giving Steven some of her future vision so he can see what could happen if he doesn’t get Connie home right away.  Not only is this interesting development for Garnet’s powers, but also for Steven’s maturity.  What he saw lets him realize he has to get Connie home right away to avoid anything bad happening.  He truly makes the right decision as he and Greg get Connie home long before the storm gets bad, and he even gets to watch the snow fall with Connie when her parents allow him and Greg to spend the night.  The last scene of the kids watching the snow really allows you to take in the beauty of the atmosphere and their friendship through its simplicity and silence, making for a perfect finish.  Although this cartoon isn’t too important, its character moments, charm, and creativity make it truly great anyhow. 9.5/10

The Ranking

1. Ocean Gem
2. Lion 3: Straight to Video
3. Alone Together
4. Coach Steven
5. On the Run
6. Mirror Gem
7. An Indirect Kiss
8. Space Race
9. So Many Birthdays
10. Steven the Sword Fighter
11. Lion 2: The Movie
12. Bubble Buddies
13. Monster Buddies
14. Laser Light Cannon
15. Winter Forecast
16. Giant Woman
17. Lars and the Cool Kids
18. The Test
19. Steven’s Lion
20. Horror Club
21. Watermelon Steven
22. Gem Glow
23. Steven and the Stevens
24. Warp Tour
25. Island Adventure
26. Rose’s Room
27. Cheeseburger Backpack
28. Future Vision
29. Secret Team
30. House Guest
31. Serious Steven
32. Joking Victim
33. Beach Party
34. Cat Fingers
35. Tiger Millionaire
36. Together Breakfast
37. Fusion Cuisine
38. Frybo
39. Onion Trade
40. Arcade Mania
41. Garnet’s Universe
42. Keep Beach City Weird

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Beach City starts a new year while Amethyst convinces Greg to go back to the past in "Maximum Capacity."

If you would like to check out other reviews on this blog, click here for the guide to all the reviews posted so far.

'Toon Reviews 6: Steven Universe Season 1 Episode 39

Future Vision

As most people who watch this show can tell, Garnet is a pretty unique Gem.  She’s taller than most, is the most calm of them all even in the heat of battle, and that’s not even mentioning her having three eyes.  This cartoon is where we first find out about another unique feature of hers.  Through a series of charming interactions with Steven which are equivalent to moments of a mother spending time with a curious, energetic child, Garnet reveals that she has the power to see any possible outcome for the future, i.e. she has future vision which also means that she, unlike other Gems, has two Gem powers instead of one, the other being to magically obtain her gauntlets.  Regarding her future vision, it’s explained in a creative and at times insightful manner by equating time to a river that flows in different directions, each one representing something that could happen as a result of an action and that’s a perfectly reasonable analogy.  Among the examples of possible actions, the ones this particular story focuses on are the ways Steven can get hurt from doing anything he normally does, even something as simple as eating fry bits.  As soon as Steven hears Garnet list off all the bad things that could happen when he does that, you can probably predict that the rest cartoon will be of him becoming paranoid about getting hurt while doing anything.  It’s presented in a fun way of looking into Steven’s psyche drawn in a simple style where all his actions lead to him getting hurt in some way which reduces him to a pile of bones, but I will admit that the whole idea of Steven’s paranoia goes on so long that it gets tiresome after a while.  Now, all of Steven’s fears lead to a big climax where he does something about them by awaiting his ultimate fate by going up to the roof during a storm, something Garnet specifically told him not to do.  Garnet arrives back fast, and with intensity added in by the storm, as she struggles to get Steven to come down, she reveals that she saw that he would do this if she taught him about future vision.  The reason she told him anyway was because she wanted them both to be closer, so that gives her actions some genuine heart along with how she regrets letting herself be one of the things that could hurt Steven.  The whole moment is really full on heart when you hear that all this happened because Garnet wanted to be closer to Steven and is a great way for Steven to learn that it’s up to him to decide how the future will turn out, something everyone can relate to.  While this cartoon is largely basic and falls short to stronger ones, what it adds to Garnet, whose future vision becomes a prominent asset after this, and her relationship with Steven give it genuine value. 8/10

The Ranking

1. Ocean Gem
2. Lion 3: Straight to Video
3. Alone Together
4. Coach Steven
5. Mirror Gem
6. An Indirect Kiss
7. Space Race
8. So Many Birthdays
9. Steven the Sword Fighter
10. Lion 2: The Movie
11. Bubble Buddies
12. Monster Buddies
13. Laser Light Cannon
14. Giant Woman
15. Lars and the Cool Kids
16. The Test
17. Steven’s Lion
18. Watermelon Steven
19. Gem Glow
20. Steven and the Stevens
21. Warp Tour
22. Island Adventure
23. Rose’s Room
24. Cheeseburger Backpack
25. Future Vision
26. Secret Team
27. House Guest
28. Serious Steven
29. Joking Victim
30. Beach Party
31. Cat Fingers
32. Tiger Millionaire
33. Together Breakfast
34. Fusion Cuisine
35. Frybo
36. Onion Trade
37. Arcade Mania
38. Garnet’s Universe
39. Keep Beach City Weird

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where we learn more about Amethyst's background as she and Steven go "On the Run."

If you would like to check out other reviews on this blog, click here for the guide to all the reviews posted so far.