Also when I made this review, Cartoon Network had yet to label the Stevenbomb event as "Out of This World". So I gave it a different name. In any case, it is here. It's ready. And I hope you guys enjoy my review of the Steven Universe event "Out of This World".
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If you are a constant viewer of Cartoon Network in the USA, you will notice that more recently, whenever there is an ad for the latest episode of a particular show, not only did it provide an airdate of when that episode will be on, but also viewers can watch it in advance either by visiting the Cartoon Network website, or the CN App. I do not know what's the marketing strategy behind this, but I would think the goal is to get more kids to get the app or check the website, though I have no idea how will this mean in profits for the network.
In any case, this is Cartoon Network's latest gimmick now, and among the shows you can now watch in advance before the broadcast release, is the latest set of episodes for Steven Universe, also known as "Stevenbomb". These episodes are scheduled to air from January 30th until February 2nd. But for those who simply cannot wait, just visit the website or get the app and you can watch them right away.
Something tells me Cartoon Network decided to do this because they either somehow knew it's going to get leaked eventually so they might as well put it up. Or more diabolically, CN wants to "burn off" these episodes and be done with it for good. Evidence of this points to their promo showing the upcoming episodes of their lineup for 2017. What's missing in the promo are clips for Adventure Time, Steven Universe, even Justice League Action. So again, we have the conspiracy that the top brass of Cartoon Network just doesn't like shows such as Adventure Time and Steven Universe, and wants to get rid of them as soon as possible so they can bring in more shows, like Teen Titans GO, and Mighty Magiswords.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves and just focus mainly on Steven Universe. Instead of reviewing each episode individually, I'm going to review all 5 episodes as a whole. This is mainly because these 5 episodes a built around a single story arc, similar to the mini-series "Stakes" and the upcoming "Islands" from Adventure Time. I would personally call this arc more of a mini-series than as a bomb. While no official title has been given for this arc, for the sake of this review, I will call it "Greg in Space". The title pretty much explains the general plot of this arc.
The mini-series begins with Steven defying Garnet's orders to not investigate more about Pink Diamond, after learning she was killed by Rose at the end of the Gem War. Steven, along with Greg, begin their investigation by finding what is called the "Palanquin", basically a transport shuttle for Diamonds. After landing in Korea (and learning they're fictional characters in a cartoon after getting inside an animation studio), Steven and Greg found the Palanquin, only to discover that there were two with one belonging to Blue Diamond, who was also on the scene mourning her fellow Diamond's death. Greg then ends up being captured by Blue Diamond, so Steven and the Crystal Gems begin their journey in space to find and rescue Greg.
Before I continue, I'd like to point out that the first episode, "Steven's Dream", shows a side of Garnet that's out of her character like we're used to. In this case, she was totally freaking out over her knowledge of Blue Diamond coming to Earth, which explains her adamant order to Steven to not investigate about Pink Diamond, and the heated drama that ensued. As any fan of Steven Universe can tell you, Blue Diamond is both Ruby and Sapphire's superior. Naturally if you find out your boss with the attitude of the Trumpster is going to your house to check things out, of course you're going to freak out.
You know given that this story arc is set in space, it would've been pretty cool if Steven and the Crystal Gems somehow ran into Mordecai and Rigby from Regular Show, as the latter's final season is also set in space. Even if it were just a cameo, I would still be excited about it. But alas, that never came to be.
Anyhow, Steven and the Crystal Gems arrived at a facility known as "The Zoo", where many of the humans from the Gem War were imprisoned, and is most likely where Greg ended up. Despite the awkward and hilarious attempt to sneak into the facility, Steven was able to get inside the Zoo and reunite with his father. We also learn that the Zoo remains active with humans living there who are the descendants of the original captives, and are living well within the Zoo. Obviously these humans have no idea of the world beyond their confined space, let alone know anything of Earth life. While it would seem that Steven should be obligated to free them from their captivity, it's probably best to leave that to those who write the Star Trek episodes.
The Zoo is run by a group of Amethyst and Jasper-class gems acting as guards for the facility. Turns out they all come from the same Kindergarten as Crystal Gem Amethyst, which makes it easy for the latter to quickly make buddies with them. Thanks to their help, Steven and Greg make their escape. As they proceed to rendezvous with the Crystal Gems, they encounter Blue and Yellow Diamond and we get to learn a bit more about them.
After Pink Diamond's death, all the Rose Quartzes were poofed and bubbled to prevent another Rose Quartz from going rogue. Yellow Diamond insists the Quartzes be destroyed, while Blue Diamond objects because the Quartzes are all of Pink Diamond's creation, and thus the only remaining part of her existence. While both mourn the loss of Pink Diamond in their own way, Yellow Diamond wishes to move forward and settle the score with Earth.
Now I honestly cannot remember the last time I wasn't so thrilled with a song number in Steven Universe, but this one, performed by Patti Lupone as Yellow Diamond, is definitely one of them. Her song just doesn't connect at all and I find it quite cringe-y and forgettable. It's only saving grace is that the song is also part of the narrative as it shows how Yellow Diamond deals with Pink Diamond's death.
Anyhow, Steven and Greg did manage to avoid being detected by the Diamonds, but were found out by Agate, the warden-of-sorts of the Zoo. She was however easily subdued and is forced to not speak of the incident to avoid receiving the wrath of the Diamonds, as Steven, Greg, and the Crystal Gems made their escape, ending this mini-series.
The good parts of this arc are that despite being a rescue mission to save Greg, it's mostly a very light-hearted one and there were plenty of funny moments. We also learn a bit more of the Gem Lore as we are slowly inching closer to the show's eventual finale. Given the state of the Amethyst, Jaspers, and Rose Quartzes, I would predict that if a second Gem War were to occur, those three types of Gems would end up being Steven's allies against the Diamonds.
The question of course is would there be a 2nd Gem War at all? In spite of what Steven has gone through, from fighting Jasper as Stevonnie and Smoky Quartz, and poofing out Bismuth in self-defense, Steven remains quite the pacifist. I doubt he'll go and say "Ok, let's go to war against the Diamonds and battle the other Gems", as that would mean a drastic change of his character. And I certainly doubt Rebecca Sugar, or the Steven Universe fanbase, would allow such a drastic change. In my opinion, for that to happen, Steven needs to be shoved to the edge in a sense. And for that to happen, he needs to experience some pretty terrible things, like the Diamonds somehow killing Greg right in front of him.
The bad part of this mini-series. Aside from the disappointing song number, the entire arc doesn't give us anything significant besides more Gem lore. If the Diamonds were to discover Steven and Greg escaping, then they probably would respond by ordering a full invasion of Earth. That would've been big and something I would've looked forward to. Instead, the arc ended pretending nothing really happened and everyone is back doing about their business. So in a way, this latest Stevenbomb is almost skippable.
It's best to say that "Greg in Space" is a good mini-adventure for Steven and the gang, but other than that, not much. On the one hand, it sucks because there's very little to do with regards to the show's continuity. On the other hand, it makes it easy for someone to watch the arc but hasn't seen the previous episodes of Steven Universe. So for those people, they don't have to worry much about continuity and enjoy the Stevenbomb as is. The result is 50/50, and for that I give Steven Universe - Greg in Space, a 3 out of 5.
This arc proofed to be much harmful in the grand scheme of things. This arc ended up straight up murdering the threat of the diamonds. Instead of focusing on the diamonds the tyrants. They focused on diamonds the characters. Which ends up hurting any tension that might come from them? This part of the story required that the diamonds and the homeworld gems to a certain extend straight up beat the crap out of the crystal gems and barely getting out alive. Setting up the seeds for the final half of the show. As much I like Character development. I love it when it's placed in the appropriate time. I have a lot of problems with this arc, but those I mentioned are the main ones. Good work, Ryoga.
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