In the twelfth episode of the second season of Steven Universe, I am so in love with this arc. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Steven Universe.
Maintaining relationships – platonic, romantic, or otherwise – are not easy things. And there’s so little fiction out there that I was exposed to growing up that ever helped me to understand that. Of course, that is further complicated by the fact that I saw practically no representation of gay or queer relationships at all. That certainly made things harder for me. Yet even in the vast majority of straight relationships I read about or saw in TV or movies, there wasn’t a willingness to depict how difficult it is to keep up a relationship. I never saw anything that addressed how much talking you have to do; how frequently you might get annoyed by the most banal actions or behaviors; how much work it is to keep a relationship feeling healthy.
That sort of honesty is hard, too, because it’s really, really scary to be vulnerable, even with someone you love and respect. And really, that’s what being in love feels like: constantly being vulnerable around someone who knows everything about you. Now, pile in chronic depression, extreme anxiety, self-esteem problems, and issues with privacy, and YOU NOW HAVE A DELICIOUS RECIPE FOR DISASTER. The work is ultimately worth it, though because of the rewards that come from companionship!
Which is why “Keystone Motel” is such a goddamn achievement. We see all of this in the span of eleven minutes, and it’s portrayed with sincerity and integrity. IN ELEVEN MINUTES. That is incredible all by itself, y’all!
So let’s start with the awkwardness, because holy gods, this was such an uncomfortable thing to watch. “Keystone Motel” opens with Pearl desperately trying to win Garnet’s approval and trust again, while Garnet just gives her the silent treatment. It’s brutal, but the show had done a fine job up to that point showing us why each of these characters were behaving as they were. I knew why Garnet felt betrayed by Pearl; I knew why Pearl wanted Garnet’s trust back. The Silent Treatment SUCKS (and I personally hate it), but even before Garnet said anything, I figured she was so angry that she didn’t want to say anything to Pearl.
Thus, her offer to accompany Greg and Steven on their road trip felt like a chance for her to get away from the awful tension of the house. And it was, but you know what? I forgot that Garnet was made up of two gems for a moment, and that provided a much better explanation for what she was going through. Y’all, I’m still blown away by this. STILL. This show gave us a fantastic example of how people who love each other can still hurt their partner. How their arguing can hurt other people. WHY IT MATTERS TO TALK TO THOSE YOU LOVE EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU’RE RIGHT AND THEY’RE WRONG. So much of Sapphire’s true feelings were locked up in her coldness, and it further enraged Ruby, who was already overcome with anger at what Pearl had done to them.
The show visually represents these two emotional archetypes with Ruby’s overheating body and Sapphire’s freezing iciness. It’s a brilliant thing because they’re things that couples and friends and partners have to deal with! I tend to be more on the super emotional, sensitive end of the spectrum (like Ruby) than Sapphire’s disinterested coldness, so I related a lot to the frustration born out of a partner telling you to calm down, to stop being emotional, to resist being sensitive. I mean, that’s a dislike of my own because of how often I heard that from my parents, and you better believe I’m done hiding my emotions or pretending that they’re not there. Yet what I found most rewarding about the experience in “Keystone Motel” was how the writers showed that harm can come from the strangest places.
See, Sapphire didn’t even consider that her being “right” could hurt someone, that it could make Ruby feel like they were “stupid” or incapable of dealing with conflict. Ruby doubled down on her stubbornness, unaware that her unwillingness to compromise or consider other options made Sapphire feel terrible. And both of them took all of this out during Steven’s road trip with his father, which was supposed to be their thing! But because they didn’t even consider how all of this would affect Greg or Steven, they ended up making Steven think that he was the common denominator in all the awfulness in his life.
AND THEN MY HEART BROKE AS SAPPHIRE STARTED CRYING AND THEN RUBY IS KISSING HER AND I CANNOT FUCKING BELIEVE THIS SHOW EXISTS AND IS ALLOWED TO BE THIS QUEER AND IT’S NOT SUBTEXT AT ALL. It’s right there! Oh my god, there’s so much more of this show to watch, and if this is what they’re doing already, what else do I have to experience?
I love Steven Universe.
The video for “Keystone Motel” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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