In the forty-fourth episode of the first season of Steven Universe, Peridot’s weird bubble robots return. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Steven Universe.Â
I LOVE THIS SHOW SO MUCH. We can go from something like “Maximum Capacity†to “Marble Madness†in a SINGLE EPISODE, and it just works. In the process of giving us a huge update on the show’s greater story arc, we’re also shown that Steven’s sense of curiosity and good will can actually help out!
Well, not perfectly, of course. In order for good will to work, the other side has to be invested in it, too, but NOW I’M JUMPING WAY AHEAD. Let me back things up to Connie and her perfection, namely in that at one time or another, I have been Connie, fiercely recommending some awesome series to another person, desperate to make sure that they read or watch it in the right order. However, let’s all be real: I AM UTTERLY STEVEN, TOO, PROBABLY 95% OF THE TIME. Thankfully, y’all have helped me to avoid the whole reading a series in the wrong order thing, but I absolutely have had very basic questions about super obvious things while in the midst of something. LOOK, I’M TRYING OKAY.
Anyway, now that I’ve addressed this hilarious incident, let’s talk about Steven and robonoids. (I have no idea if that’s spelled correctly, OH WELL.) Peridot’s robo droid things are back and they are literally bigger than ever, and for what purpose? Since they don’t speak – are they even living creatures, or are they machines??? – there’s not much that the Crystal Gems can do but destroy. I understood this reaction because what else could they do? Those things were mostly likely sent for nefarious purposes, so destroying them was the only reasonable solution I saw.
And that’s where Steven came in. Steven, who wonders so much about the world, who knows that he knows nothing, who revels in the experience of learning about every single thing ever. He is the one to make an important point: why don’t they just see where the robonoid is going? Why not let it tell them, in its own way, what its purpose is? It’s so simple, yet so obvious! I love that about Steven and how the show allows him to question the world he lives in this way. While there is an unfortunate implication to his technique, I don’t believe the show punishes him for being curious at all.
Indeed, if Garnet hadn’t supported Steven, would they have ever found out why Peridot was sending those bubbles to Earth? AND NOW I’M EVEN MORE CREEPED OUT BY KINDERGARTEN AND PERIDOT THAN I WAS BEFORE. There’s a brilliant thing here in showing us the remains of Kindergarten before revealing Peridot’s plan to restart it. We are given a glimpse of the past, a ghost of history, and our mind fills in the blanks. What if this place was active again? How long would it be before all life on Earth would be wiped out? It’s a disturbing thought, made all the worse when you realize that Peridot doesn’t care. After meeting Steven and realizing humans still inhabit Earth, Peridot is still willing to start up Kindergarten and wipe them all out. There’s no reluctance on their part to eradicate everyone, and that’s chilling. I don’t even mean that in the whole “Oh, wow, this is a kids show!†sense either. IN ANY SHOW THAT IS A DISTURBING THING.
The Crystal Gems stop Peridot, but y’all… Peridot could shoot things across space to Earth. I highly doubt that this actually going to stop Peridot permanently. It’s only a matter of time, isn’t it?
The video for “Marble Madness†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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