Steven Universe

[cephalopod9]

Weren't there four episodes?

I was trying to figure that out, because my DVR didn't seem to record it correctly, and my On Demand menu only lists things alphabetically. I left out Stuck Together because I'd seen it already and IMDB lists its air date as May 11th, but it does make sense as one of four parts.

[TimelordSimone]

Here's a gif, that caused my death.
(Lars and the Cool Kids / Lars' Head)

Spoiler:

[cephalopod9]

I was thinking recently about how the show would have been differently received if it had a whole season released at once streaming schedule. Then they put out six* episodes on the app/ on demand while I haven't seen any broadcast schedule, and it feels like the worst of both worlds.

The show has been going through kind of an awkward transition, a number of the original creators have left to do their own thing, and the content of the show has shifted focus quite a bit, and the release schedule just feels like it's really stretching it out.

I wonder if anyone is at liberty to just be transparent about the things Cartoon Network is trying to do. Like if someone could just up and say (i'm making a guess here) "yeah, Warner Bro.s really wants to sell DC licensed merch to 5 year olds, that's why there's 15 hour blocks of TTG".

Also, I like the Steven Universe podcast a lot.
I love seeing the process in cartoons. All these things that seem obvious, and fit together into a cohesive whole took a lot of work to get to. There's also a couple of themes and symbols explained.

*I think six? Cox on demand puts episodes in alphabetical order,

[Zohar]

I hate this schedule. The only advantage I can see is it feels like time passes more slowly. For example

(raising the barn spoilers)

Spoiler:

Because it's been so long since we've seen a new episode,
it feels like Lapis and Peridot have been living together forever, and their separation/breakup feels that much more impactful.

[cephalopod9]

I don't remember how many episodes it has been but in show

Spoiler:

they were living in the barn for at least half a year.
It was late Summer when Malachite was defeat and now we're back around to early spring to mid spring.
I wonder if they'll keep things consistent and Steven's 15th birthday is soon.

On the other hand, it compresses the time Steven and Connie are apart, explicitly stated to be a few weeks.
Which is also time Lars and his family are left hanging.
It's weird verging on unfortunate how the show divides up it's attention. I can infer that there was a difficult conversation where Steven had to explain about Lars still being in space, and the only connection being dependent on the whims of a magic, giant, pink cat.
That's still a really long time to go without even sending a post card, or trying some kind of tin can on a string set up...

[eSOANEM]

This wait was frussssstrating because it was looooooong.

This arc was really sad although it was kinda bittersweet at the end. Idk, this season so far's all been dark and I think I'd like a little bit of a break from the darkness and plot and have some steven shenanigans. Like an onion episode

[Zohar]

I get what you mean but I'm reallllly not a fan of Onion.

[Angua]

Oh me yarm Onions Onions was enough onion for one season.

I hope people go to see Lars soon.

[somitomi]

Oh me yarm Onions Onions was enough onion for one season.

Oniooooonn!!!
For some reason I find Onion just as annoying as Steven usually seems to.

I hope people go to see Lars soon.

Yeah, I thought they are going to pick that thread up after Dewey wins,

Spoiler:

but even the "talking to Lars' parents thing wasn't mentioned again after that.

[heuristically_alone]

So I was just introduced to this a couple months ago, and it just may be one of my favorites shows ever now. I listen to the soundtrack on spotify way too often now at work. It's a bitter sweet relationship with onion. Yes, he is annoying, but I would miss him if he didn't exist. Looks like Season 5 starts in April.

[Angua]

Looks like Season 5 starts in April.

Bwahahahahahahahaha.

Spoiler:

Trying to figure out when the next episode of Steven Universe actually is:

[heuristically_alone]

Imdb says april 2018, but I've never used imdb before to predict when a show starts so not sure how accurate it is.

[Angua]

When it comes to SU, not very. Or any cartoon network show, tbh.

[Zohar]

For an unclear reason, cartoon network likes release Steven Universe in bursts - an episode a day for a week, or a bunch of episodes in the one day as a special, then months in between them without any knowledge of when the next episode will arrive. I think they say it's better for marketing, and the yearly number of episodes stays roughly the same at 22 or so, but it sure is frustrating.

[cephalopod9]

Promo! for new episodes (tons of spoilers )https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRzcciuZus0
I think april 9th was what they said, or they might have just put it on the app when ever?
edit- they want people to use their app.

Have people around here seen the Gemanimate Projects?

[Zohar]

I saw the episodes yesterday (they were already available online through... means...). They're great! Most of them are pretty "mundane" - talking about day-to-day stuff happening around town, but honestly I missed that a lot. Not a ton of actual plot advancement.

[cephalopod9]

I mean, Cartoon Network made them available, through means like the app and CartoonNetwork.com .
I've seen a bunch of clips and images called "leaks" that was put out there on purpose, but they don't do much to announce it or treat it like a real release.

I watched three of them because I lack impulse control, and I keep going on tumblr where people have up gifsets, and detailed fanart up within 5 minutes of episodes being released.

[Angua]

Imdb says april 2018, but I've never used imdb before to predict when a show starts so not sure how accurate it is.

FYI, they ended up getting released in March, with no new eps (according to imdb ) until May.

[cephalopod9]

There's a half hour "event" on the 7th. Cartoon Network almost let it get to air without posting it online or spoiling it

Drawfee youtube channel did another Steven Universe episode (they're a bit crude, and swear, but it's mostly nice and positive)

[Zohar]

Cartoon Network is being unbelievably shitty about the scheduling and promotion of the show. The latest controversy on the Steven Universe subreddit is they had a clip of "behind the scenes" and revealed huge future spoilers for the show with zero warning or cooperation from the crewniverse.

[Angua]

So, umm, yeah....

next episodes 'in the summer'.

Can't we just have a consistent storyline!!!!!

[Zohar]

GAHHHHHH

[heuristically_alone]

Im not even sure this is keeping me on my toes. I'm just falling flat on my butt.

[Isaac Hill]

Spoilers through "Can't Go Back"/"A Single Pale Rose"

Eyeball was right all along...

Spoiler:

...that wasn't a real Rose Quartz reddish pink.

I remember the "Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond" theory being discussed early in the show's run, until the show said Rose shattered Pink. It didn't dawn on me until this episode that this means Steven is Pink Diamond.

I was surprised to learn that Crystal Gem Pearl was originally Pink's. Yellow and Blue Pearl have the hue and gem location to match their Diamonds, so I assumed CG Pearl was White's. She did have a pinkish hue in the flashback, but everything in the pallanquin did.

"Can't Go Back" actually made good use of Ronaldo.

I think what'll (eventually) bring Lapis back on the team is the realization that overcoming danger with the help of friends is more feasible than avoiding danger all together. Lapis was put in the mirror because of the war. Lapis stayed in the mirror for thousands of years because she was alone.

Summer starts in a month and a half. If more episodes star airing then, it won't be too bad.

[Angua]

The official start of summer and when CN decide to air the episodes isn't definitely related.

Spoiler:

This does make sense given that Rose was so ridiculously OP compared with all the other gems. However, my SO brought up a good point - if Rose was Pink Diamond, then who were they fighting against? Was she leading a senseless war against herself? How did that work?

[somitomi]

Yeah, something resembling an actual release schedule wouldn't hurt.
(actual spoilers up to A single pale rose)

Spoiler:

So the way I understand it, Steven's able to experience the memories of Pink Diamond, because he sort of is Pink Diamond. But then why does the shadow of Pearl look so vindictive in Can't go back? It's a pretty small detail, but I find it odd, because otherwise the dreams show things the way Pink Diamon knew they were (like Pearl not being Rose).

It's not really connected to the new episodes, but I keep wondering where White Diamond is.

[Zohar]

More spoilers for A Single Pale Rose.

Spoiler:

This does make sense given that Rose was so ridiculously OP compared with all the other gems. However, my SO brought up a good point - if Rose was Pink Diamond, then who were they fighting against? Was she leading a senseless war against herself? How did that work?

Spoiler:

I think she was. Really, no gems were actually killed until the diamonds attacked, just poofed. I think Pink Diamond weighed the value of the humans' lives and culture on earth against the temporary harm to an immortal gem and figured war is better.

Spoiler:

But then why does the shadow of Pearl look so vindictive in Can't go back? It's a pretty small detail, but I find it odd, because otherwise the dreams show things the way Pink Diamond knew they were (like Pearl not being Rose).

Spoiler:

Weren't Steven's dreams of Blue Diamond fairly stylized? As were his dream talks with the Jasper-Lapis fusion? I thought we're used to having Steven's feelings and thoughts paint his dreams.

[Angua]

Spoiler:

Also, the relationship between Pearl and Rose now seems a lot more suspect knowing that she was a diamond. Also, how did the others not know if they fused with Rose??

So many questions.

[Zohar]

Spoiler:

Also, the relationship between Pearl and Rose now seems a lot more suspect knowing that she was a diamond. Also, how did the others not know if they fused with Rose??

So many questions.

Spoiler:

You mean because it was a very unbalanced power dynamic? Yeah that's not great. I'm not sure how much of an impact it has after literally thousands of years of living without status and her just being the "leader".

As for fusion, we know some information can be kept hidden during fusion (Garnet not knowing Pearl's deception), so I'm not too surprised.

[Angua]

Spoiler:

If Pearl always new that Rose was Pink Diamond then not sure it really counts as being without status? Worshipping the Diamonds as basically gods seems to be highly engrained into Gem culture. The Diamonds create the colonies and choose who is made and what their purpose is. Loving/fearing their gods is pretty engrained and going to be hard to break if know about it. Pearl is still sticking to the last 'command' that Rose made as Pink Diamond (even though she finds a loophole). Doesn't seem that 'statusless' to me.

You'd think that gems fusing would mean they would know what the actual Gem was though? Like, in just seems weird they wouldn't notice such a power difference, or get a feel for what they're fusing into.

[Zohar]

Spoiler:

Hopefully we'll get some answers to that. I can see Pearl and Rose's relationship going either way in terms of what you describe. Maybe Pink Diamond owes her enlightenment and openness to Pearl, for example (though that would seem a bit out of character)

[cephalopod9]

Spoiler:

Also, the relationship between Pearl and Rose now seems a lot more suspect knowing that she was a diamond. Also, how did the others not know if they fused with Rose??

So many questions.

Spoiler:

the imbalance between Rose and Pearl has been a theme since pretty early. Sworn to the Sword gets into Pear's feelings of inadequacy and insecurity, pretty blatantly in season 2.
this makes it darker / more severe, but it's not a huge shift in their dynamic

It's also not news to say Bismuth is owed, like, a million apologies.

Spoiler:

she should say sorry for actively trying to murder Steven,
it's even more messed up that The Breaking Point was still there.
...I'm also still annoyed the Crystal Gems didn't keep their power ups from that episode. it fits kind of weirdly into the timeline of the show.

The podcast is up to a mini episode recap of Letters to Lars.

this hiatus is going to be painful.
there's so much good stuff in the podcast. (I don't remember which episode anything happens in)

Spoiler:

Rebecca Sugar talks about how Ruby and Sapphire have been avatars for her and Ian Jones Quartey, and it's so adorable I could cry. -> weirdest spoiler ever

[Isaac Hill]

The official start of summer and when CN decide to air the episodes isn't definitely related.

I know, but in the spirit of SU, I'm being optimistic. At least it's still on TV, unlike Legend of Korra's last season and a half. CU doesn't seem too commited to regular schedules in general. The new "OK KO"s are coming out 4 at a time every weekend now. I think "Adventure Time" had some new episodes come out over a week, Stevenbomb style.

Spoiler:

This does make sense given that Rose was so ridiculously OP compared with all the other gems. However, my SO brought up a good point - if Rose was Pink Diamond, then who were they fighting against? Was she leading a senseless war against herself? How did that work?

The flashback shows Pink trying to talk Blue and Yellow out of having the Earth colony, and B&Y weren't having it. It sounds like Pink needed the war to convince B&Y to give up.

But then why does the shadow of Pearl look so vindictive in Can't go back? It's a pretty small detail, but I find it odd, because otherwise the dreams show things the way Pink Diamon knew they were (like Pearl not being Rose).

In another flahsback epsiode, I think "The Answer", Garnet describes Pearl as "terrifying". Maybe that's just how Pearl was back then.

[cephalopod9]

New episodes announced for the 2nd through the 6th, I think. There's some promotional clips, and some "leaked?" episode titles.

Is there a word for it when an apparent spoiler is or might actually out of context and misleading? It's a weird time to try and keep up with cartoon shows for children.

[Sizik]

New episodes dropping this week.

Spoiler:

Glad to finally see some concrete Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz backstory.

[Zohar]

Having seen Now We're Only Falling Apart...

Spoiler:

Well. I never imagined Rose Quartz would be the one who needs a redemption arc. I feel a bit better about her and Pearl's relationship though.
Not 100%, but since Pearl was almost a guide for Rose to walk around the world, it doesn't feel as unbalanced as I thought their relationship was before. And it seems like even if she still loves her and adores her, she has a realistic view of her.

[Sprocket]

Having seen Now We're Only Falling Apart...

Spoiler:

Well. I never imagined Rose Quartz would be the one who needs a redemption arc. I feel a bit better about her and Pearl's relationship though.
Not 100%, but since Pearl was almost a guide for Rose to walk around the world, it doesn't feel as unbalanced as I thought their relationship was before. And it seems like even if she still loves her and adores her, she has a realistic view of her.

I'm catching up, I am watching Novembers bomb now.

[cephalopod9]

I'm catching up, I am watching Novembers bomb now.

How far apart are you watching episodes? I'm curious how the pacing works without Cartoon Network doing whatever it does with the scheduling. The gap between Lars' Head and Dewey Wins was especially bad. May to November, holy cow.

The week's bomb is

Spoiler:

moving through things pretty quickly. Kinda anti-climactic, but I like it.
People talking about their feelings, no need to draw out conflict just to have it

[Zohar]

The week's bomb is

Spoiler:

moving through things pretty quickly. Kinda anti-climactic, but I like it.
People talking about their feelings, no need to draw out conflict just to have it

I'm pretty sure tonight's half-hour episode will be quit bombastic and action-y.

[Angua]

Made of Honour

Spoiler:

I'm glad that they brought back Bismuth - she was my first thought when we found out that Rose pretended to shatter Pink.