In the forty-third episode of the first season of Steven Universe, Steven helps his father clean out an old storage unit. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Steven Universe.
Trigger Warning: For discussion of loss/grief.
It’s not an easy thing to let go of emotional baggage. I say that as someone who has the full set, plus the carry-on luggage and all the cute matching accessories. It becomes an even harder thing to move on when you’re constantly reminded of the thing that you’ve lost. In that sense, I see “Maximum Capacity†as a sequel of sorts to the last Amethyst-centric episode, where we learned more about who she is and where she came from. If we accept that she’s got a lot of trauma surrounding her origin and her identity, then it makes sense to me that she latched on to Rose because of how Rose viewed the world. Rose loved all living things, and even though we’ve never seen it, she was instrumental in Amethyst coming to see herself as more than just what she was created for. (At least that’s the sense I got from the show. I COULD BE WRONG ABOUT ALL THINGS.)
Now, this is a pretty heavy topic for a show that made an episode about binge-watching shows from long ago. But that’s the whole point here! While Lil’ Butler is a spot-on parody of the ridiculous sitcoms we’ve had in America, it’s a vehicle for Steven to discover the complicated relationship between Greg and Amethyst. Why is it complicated? Because Amethyst believes that Greg took Rose from her. And it’s such a sad and heartbreaking turn in the midst of an episode that I thought was going to be about Steven being disappointed that his dad didn’t watch fireworks with him. IT WAS NOT ABOUT THAT AT ALL. And in true Steven fashion, once he realizes what’s going on, he more or less abandons his own concerns to help his friend and his father.
Which I’ll get to in a second. I wanted to talk about that ridiculously uncomfortable confrontation scene. It’s super revealing on a number of levels! We find out Greg doesn’t like it when the gems shapeshift, and I’m guessing it’s because that was not the first time that Amethyst had teased Greg by appearing as Rose Quartz. How long had she been resenting him? My guess is THE ENTIRE TIME. She was only able to be in denial about it while watching Lil’ Butler because it reminded her of the time she spent with Greg before he fell in love with Rose. Of note is the fact that this is not the first time we’ve seen Amethyst lash out when she’s uncomfortable, either. She’s not a big fan of being emotional in front of anyone else, and GOOD LORD. Once Greg insists that they stop their marathon, she FLIPS OUT. It was so hard to watch because, frankly, her behavior felt so cruel. She knew it would upset Greg to see her in Rose’s form, and that was a sign of just how resentful she was.
And bless Steven, for the record. His angry outburst is just so beautifully mature, and I love that this show continually gives us scenes where a kid is able to teach adults lessons as much as the reverse. He understands difficult feelings! And sad histories! He may not always know how to deal with them, but he was able to recognize here that how Amethyst and his father dealt with them were not healthy.
Jesus, this episode was HEAVY, y’all.
The video for “Maximum Capacity†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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