So the latest round of episodes of Steven Universe is airing this week on Cartoon Network in the US. I did post some previews of the episodes on my Toon Inferno blog, and personally I wasn't that much impressed, and even dare I say it made me lose interest even more in the show than it already had. I made a video giving my thoughts on my current standing with Steven Universe back in April, with the link in the video description so you can see for yourself.
In any event, I did watched the latest Stevenbomb episodes anyway, which is now available on the Cartoon Network app, with my expectation bar set virtually to the bottom. Hopefully these episodes are good enough that it restored my confidence in the show. As I said earlier, my review of these episodes will contain spoilers, so last chance to back out right now.
We begin with the episode "Lion 4: Alternate Ending", which was actually uploaded to the Cartoon Network's On-Demand service weeks ago, but was quickly pulled out - Not until the fans already saw the whole thing. Now it's back up.
To recap, Steven is obsessed in finding his true purpose for being around, and searches for clues in the video message Rose left him. This led him to a wild goose chase until he stumbles across another tape titled "For Nora". As the title of the episode suggests, "For Nora" is an alternate version of Rose's video to Steven in the event that Steven was born instead as a girl. Basically, everything Steven has done in this episode is indeed just one wild goose chase that's all for nothing, and this has some fans upset on the show's progress in the narrative. At the very least, Steven learns that rather than being born as some sort of grand scheme Rose cooked up, he was born simply as Rose's son and to live and grow like any other human being, nothing more.
Given that Steven is actually in his teens, I expected that he would've been smart enough to figure out about the Nora tape, rather than let Greg explain it to him. Then again, since his shape-shifting powers allow him to control his age, and he changed himself to be as old as Connie, I'm guessing this may have affected his noggin as well.
Now that I mentioned it, I do remember a conversation on how Steven's height varies episode by episode, mainly due to the way he is designed by each storyboarder. So the birthday episode was likely a way to explain it by saying Steven intentionally or unintentionally changes his height (it unfortunately doesn't explain the other characters, though).
In "Doug Out", Steven, Connie, and Doug Maheswaran investigate some strange happenings going on in Beach City Funland. After a series of rather painful situations for Mr. Maheswaran, they eventually found Onion and deduced him as the intruder, despite the latter showing gestures implying it wasn't him. Doug would let Onion off the hook and the trio returned home before Onion is taken by the real intruders.
Until this episode, Doug Maheswaran wasn't given much focus as a character. So this is a good way to know more about him. Despite being a security guard, Doug is almost like the show's version of Disney's Goofy, who wants to experience the same kind of adventures as Steven has. It does make me wonder how he and Priyanka, Connie's mother, hooked up given their distinct personalities.
I had three issues with the episode. The first, which a very minor one, is that I had a hard time listening to Crispin Freeman as Doug Maheswaran. American anime fans will remember Freeman as the voice of Itachi in Naruto, Alucard in Hellsing, and Zelgadis in Slayers. He also provided the voice of Roy Harper in Young Justice, and recently, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract. I guess I find Freeman's voice somehow doesn't quite fit with Doug.
The second, which was my biggest issue, is that throughout the second half of the episode, Steven does his Mario impersonation. Comedy isn't Steven Universe's strongest trait, and this is one of them. The fact that Steven continued his impersonation throughout the 2nd half has made it less funny, and more irritating.
The third is the plot hole at the end. How could Steven, Connie, and Doug leave Onion by himself in Funland when they left? Sure, Onion can be quite scary at times, but he's still around kindergarten or younger and it's baffling for the trio to just left him there instead of giving him the ride home. I'm aware the writing staff wanted Onion to be captured, but surely they could've done a much better job writing a scenario that would make Onion reach that point.
Next up is "The Good Lars". In this episode, Lars is showing off his baking skills when he, Sadie, and Steven are invited to a potluck by Buck Dewey. Lars, being who he is, doesn't show that he can bake. But he is encouraged by Sadie and Steven to show it off at the potluck. In what is perhaps the most unexpected thing I would see in a Steven Universe cartoon, Lars has settled for an Ube Cake Roll. As Lars explains it, Ube is another name for Purple Yams, which are much sweeter than other yams and is known for its distinct purple color. Purple Yam is often used for preparing desserts like cakes and ice cream, and is quite well-known in the Philippines.
I know so, because I have tried the Purple Yam or Ube desserts and let me tell you - It is indeed amazing. Once you dig into it, there is no turning back and you would want more of it. Even Beerus of Dragon Ball Super would be blown away if he tried Purple Yam cake or ice cream, and he and Whis would probably have a fight over it!
Despite all this, Lars has a moment of revealing how insecure he is in showing his baking skills, as he feels that his love of baking doesn't quite mix well with his personality. In other words, Lars doesn't feel "manly" in a sense if he reveals he can do desserts. We get a moment of Steven showing some maturity as he provides words of encouragement for Lars.
At the potluck, everyone but Lars showed up so Steven went out to look for him, only to find he is nowhere to be found and his Ube Cake Roll is in the trash. Steven thinks Lars's insecurity got the better of him, leaving Sadie by herself with Buck and the others, to which she does well. After the party, Steven and Sadie went their separate ways, with Sadie being followed by Onion's kidnappers.
In "Are You My Dad?", the disappearances of Lars, Sadie, and Onion, and Jamie being the latest, has caught Steven's attention. While searching for them, Steven runs into a gem who asks "Are You My Dad?" before flying away. When Steven tells the Crystal Gems and Connie about it, it lead to the only part of this Stevenbomb where I really had a good laugh when the four showed off their drawings based on Steven's description.
The group decides to split up for their search, with Steven and Connie together as a team. During their search they have indeed found the gem, named Aquamarine, who then orders another gem, Topaz, to take Connie while Steven gets stuck in a tree stump for some reason. Topaz is revealed to have Lars and the others trapped in her body. Steven tries to rescue Connie as she is taken, but is quickly taken down by Aquamarine.
The story concludes in "I Am My Mom", when Steven rendezvous with the Crystal Gems and heads back to Beach City Funland. There they encounter Topaz and Aquamarine, who reveal they were sent by Yellow Diamond to capture a number of people known by Steven, with the last one being "my dad". Turns out they were part of a list Steven told Peridot when the two first met and Peridot was still working under Yellow Diamond.
Unable to engage Topaz without harming the others, Steven claims he is the "my dad" on the list to be intentionally captured, so he can use his Bubble powers to escape with everyone. Turns out that was a very bad idea. Nevertheless, Steven did eventually Bubble himself out and a battle ensues. Because they're fighting inside Aquamarine's ship and is already airborne, Steven notes that fusing with Connie will further complicate things. Add to the fact that Steven blames himself for being the catalyst of this incident. Meanwhile, Lars has shown how much an Old Yeller he is by not helping Sadie when she is in trouble, and instead has gone into hiding.
Aquamarine has shown how powerful she is by paralyzing even Alexandrite very easily. Things looking grim, Steven offered himself to be taken again by revealing that he is Rose Quartz, making Aquamarine let everyone go and taking Steven instead as they left for Homeworld. It's worth noting that while Aquamarine has released everyone to take Steven, Lars remains hidden, making him pretty much Steven's only ally and likely play a huge role in the episodes to come.
Not only does this mark the end of the latest Stevenbomb, it also marks the end of the 4th Season. For a long time, we've known that Steven will play a huge role in the current conflict between the Homeworld and Earth, and we have pretty much reached that point. The good news is we won't have to wait that long, as the 5th Season will start May 31st (in the US, of course). The bad news is that there are only 26 episodes left in the series, and as I said in my previous video on Steven Universe, there is no confirmation of a 6th Season. So we can very much see the end of the road for this series.
Quite frankly, I'm satisfied with this Stevenbomb. Other than my issues with the first 2 episodes, Rebecca Sugar and the Steven Universe staff are taking the narrative of the show into full gear. I can expect the 5th Season to be heavily story-based to wrap things up. So yes, this Stevenbomb has indeed restored my confidence in the show.
My favorite episode? Obviously "The Good Lars" because of course, the Purple Yam or Ube Cake Roll. It's both nostalgia, and it's one of my most favorite sweets in the world, and I'd be floating in heaven to be able to have some of it again. Lion 4 is my least favorite, for the obvious reasons.
Looking back, it's hard to believe Season 4 is over and it felt like it passed by so quickly, despite the fact Season 4 started in August of last year and ended just this month. So that's 26 episodes in the span of 10 months. I'll be honest, Season 4 did have some lackluster episodes, while others are forgettable. However, it is balanced out by the good ones like we see in the last two Stevenbombs, and with how this Season ended, it makes it all quite worthwhile.
If you feel bummed with Steven Universe recently, this latest Stevenbomb will restore your confidence, just as much as I did. It's a great Season 4 finale and you don't have to wait long for the next one. I will close this video by giving two ratings - one for the latest Stevenbomb, and one for the 4th Season overall. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give the latest Stevenbomb a 4 out of 5. And for the 4th Season overall, I give it a 3 out of 5.
And seriously, you MUST try the Ube Cake Roll or Ice Cream if you ever managed to get the chance to.
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