Monday, August 8, 2016

Summer of Steven - Beta Review

And so we begin the final week of the Summer of Steven event. I know some of you are disappointed, but hey, we got 4 weeks of episodes! That's a lot! Plus the show returns to its weekly format after this.

We begin this week with with the episode "Beta". Steven decides to take Amethyst back to the barn for some R&R and to help her keep her mind off Jasper, as she is itching for a rematch. They reach the barn to find a lot has changed to look more.....Canadian.

Peridot and Lapis give a tour of the new barn and showing off their sense of creativty - despite not even knowing what that means. While Steven enjoys the art presented by Peridot and Lapis, Amethyst remains pessimistic because of Jasper. Peridot reveals that Amethyst and Jasper are Quartz Soldiers made exclusively on Earth though both came from two different Kindergartens.

Peridot takes Steven and Amethyst to the Beta Kindergarten, where Jasper was created. She then explains that Beta was considered a failure because the soil and minerals resulted in deformities of the gems created there. They later stumbled unto Jasper's hole, which is the only one that is created perfectly, effectively making Jasper the ultimate soldier (that's despite losing a number of times to Steven and the gang). This further upsets Amethyst, but Steven tries his best to encourage her, resulting in Amethyst being more resolved than ever to defeat Jasper on her own. The trio stumbled upon a new series of holes that turns out to be prisons for the corrupted gems placed by Jasper. As soon as Jasper is spotted, a furious Amethyst pulls out her whip, ending the episode in a cliffhanger.

Obviously, this is not going to end up well for Amethyst, considering she was badly beaten by Jasper before. Worse, Connie's not around, so Stevonnie won't be joining this battle, or even Lapis.

I like the chemistry between Lapis and Peridot and how we see the two having vastly different personas - Peridot is obviously quite nerdy and acts a little childish, while Lapis is more blunt and, for a lack of a better word, 'nihilistic'. Yet the two are fine with each other's company and act a lot like roommates. Fans of Lapidot, or the shipping between Lapis and Peridot may be disappointed that the two aren't seeking any relationship together other than being roommates. But personally, it's a totally fine touch.

I somehow think this arc may have taken place before Bismuth's appearance, as Amethyst is very much pessimistic about Jasper when she was pretty much ok by the end of Steven vs Amethyst. In fact, her character in this episode changed in a near dramatic fashion, pretty much dissing everything she used to enjoy and focused entirely on beating Jasper. Further evidence of this is not seeing Amethyst's upgraded whip, though I could be wrong and she might use it in the next episode.

I could relate to Amethyst's situation - when there's a lot in your mind or something is bugging you, or even if you start to get depression and the like, the things you do on a regular basis, especially ones you enjoy doing, suddenly becomes not so great anymore. And it's going to stay that way unless whatever is bugging you is taken care of. So for Amethyst, she just cannot go back to her old self until her issue with Jasper is settled. And it's very, very hard to convince otherwise. In a way, it's just like how Stevonnie handled her obsession with Kevin in Beach City Drift. It took awhile for her to listen to Greg's advice that it's totally not worth it, and instead just finish the race on her own terms.

That makes 4 more episodes left for the Summer of Steven event. How will Steven, Amethyst, and Peridot deal with Jasper on their own? That will be for another time.....unless you live in Canada, then you already know what happened next.

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