'Toon Reviews 6: Steven Universe Season 1 Episode 29

Secret Team

It’s an established part of the Crystal Gems’ dynamic that Pearl, the elegant and tidy Gem, and Amethyst, the reckless and slobby Gem, are constantly at odds with each other as any two characters with very different world views would be.  This cartoon makes an attempt to do something about their tensions.  It happens when Steven and Amethyst dive through puddles in Amethyst’s room, they end up in Pearl’s room, and find that she’s taken a bubble full of Gem shards when she’s not supposed to.  When the bubble pops, setting the shards loose, we see another addition of Gem lore of what happens when shards regenerate when released from their bubble.  Because they aren’t the whole Gem, they come back as single body parts like arms, and with these shards out, there’s a lot of them to deal with.  Anyway, Steven, Pearl, and Amethyst take immediate action to catch the shards and re-bubble them without Garnet finding out about what they did so not to get in trouble, and as they do that, they actually show some great teamwork, even Pearl and Amethyst.  Steven, however, takes the team-up a little too seriously, insisting on it having a name, cards, and always staying a team never really realizing that their stunt was just to fix the Gem shard problem.  As the cartoon goes on though, it becomes apparent that he doesn’t want the team to be a thing for the sake of it.  It all relates to the animosity that Pearl and Amethyst give each other, and them being part of this team actually gives them a chance to get along.  In a harsh turn of events however, Pearl and Amethyst declare that they don’t want to be on a team with each other ever again.  This moment isn’t very pleasing or welcome especially since they are both already on the same team, the Crystal Gems.  They may have their differences, but this is going too far.  It is fortunate though that this point is made clear when Steven finally tells Garnet about why their team was formed, and it appears that one of the shards was forgotten and starts attacking.  Pearl and Amethyst work together again, and then there’s a clever twist where Garnet staged the attack and tells them off for only getting along in dangerous situations and that they need to work together as the Crystal Gems they are and not as part of a secret team.  Judging by how things go in the rest of the series, it appears this final message from Garnet is effective as even though they still get on each other’s nerves in some instances, Pearl and Amethyst do start getting along better.  In the end though, despite some overly harsh moments and a the plot being less interesting that usual, there are enough benefits to some character relationships here to make this cartoon fine as it is. 8/10

The Ranking

1. Ocean Gem
2. Coach Steven
3. Mirror Gem
4. An Indirect Kiss
5. Space Race
6. So Many Birthdays
7. Steven the Sword Fighter
8. Lion 2: The Movie
9. Bubble Buddies
10. Monster Buddies
11. Laser Light Cannon
12. Giant Woman
13. Lars and the Cool Kids
14. Steven’s Lion
15. Gem Glow
16. Steven and the Stevens
17. Rose’s Room
18. Cheeseburger Backpack
19. Secret Team
20. House Guest
21. Serious Steven
22. Joking Victim
23. Beach Party
24. Cat Fingers
25. Tiger Millionaire
26. Together Breakfast
27. Frybo
28. Onion Trade
29. Arcade Mania

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Lars and Sadie's relationship gets some more focus in "Island Adventure."

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 5

Frybo

In addition to Steven’s daily life and the creative elements of Gem culture, this show also has a lot of stories involving the inhabitants of Beach City.  There’s a lot of appealing characters with unique personalities to watch Steven hang out with, but most of them work better when we get them in small doses since they’re not really as interesting as Steven and the Gems.  This is kind of the case with this cartoon.  The Beach City resident this cartoon focuses on is Peedee, a kid who works at his dad’s fry shop by dressing up as the mascot, Frybo, to get people to eat there.  This is conflicting since Peedee doesn’t like wearing the costume and understandably so given how creepy it is with its big soul-crushing eyes and demented smile, yet at the same time, he wants to have a real job so to be treated like an adult and make his dad proud.  This conflict is relatable and well thought out for sure, but it’s not all that engaging given how much Peedee laments about his problem like it’s the worst thing that could possibly happen.  It gets tiresome after a while.  Now, Steven, being the good-hearted friend he is, helps Peedee through his dilemma by having the Frybo costume come to life through putting a Gem shard in it to get Peedee out of that job.  As nice of a gesture as this is, it does further showcase how overly clueless Steven is with something serious.  In the bit of Gem lore we do get here, Pearl explains to Steven of how dangerous Gem shards can be since they have a conscious part of fallen Gems and could turn anything it’s put inside into a monster.  It’s fascinating and creative information, but the problem is that Steven doesn’t pay attention despite how important it is, and what we learn here goes on to become one of the darkest aspects of the series which makes Steven’s reaction to it all the more frustrating.  Now, since he put a shard into the Frybo costume, there are major negative drawbacks to this decision when the costume attacks Beach City by forcing fries into people’s mouths.  Also, it looks creepier than ever as it carries out these monstrous deeds.  Even his takedown as unsettling when Steven defeats it by having his clothes, which come to life via Gem shards, attack Frybo, including his underwear.  This proves that Steven’s brave, yet his childish mannerisms sure can get disturbing.  As for Peedee, it is at least nice that his dad accepts that he never liked the costume in the end, and it gets even better when he’s seen with a better job of working at the counter for the rest of the show, in smaller appearances I might add.  The story’s good overall, but Steven’s overly clueless attitude, and the creepiness of Frybo himself make this one of the weaker cartoons. 7/10

The Ranking

1. Laser Light Cannon
2. Gem Glow
3. Cheeseburger Backpack
4. Together Breakfast
5. Frybo

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where things remain creepy when Steven's first shapeshifting attempt gives him "Cat Fingers."

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