In the twenty-second episode of the fourth season of Steven Universe, Connie’s dad struggles with his relevance. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Steven Universe.Â
This episode is SO ADORABLE, but I also found it to be a fitting pairing with “Lion 4: Alternate Ending.” Both episodes deal with expectations and parents, though here, the perspective is switched. How does Mr. Masheswaran feel about his role in the world when it’s his daughter who seems so much more important than he is?
It’s a great focus for an episode, and I was pleased that this character got a chance to be in the spotlight, especially since we’ve seen comparatively little of them. I actually can’t remember the last time we saw Connie’s dad! The snowstorm episode… maybe? In that time, Connie has come clean about her involvement in Steven’s adventures. That allows this script to have an easy-going feel to it in terms of the characters speaking openly about themselves and what they do.
Well, not completely. That’s the conflict for Mr. Maheswaran, who feels like he must compete with Connie in order to feel cool enough. Of course, he never needed to. Connie and Steven were genuinely impressed with him and his job right front the start, so he truly didn’t have anything to worry about. But that isn’t how insecurities work. (IF ONLY OUR BRAINS DIDN’T ACTIVELY WORK AGAINST US.) The insidious thing about them is that they always seem to actively work against conscious thought. At least for me, I can tell myself outright that someone likes me or that people care about me, but my insecurities are this tiny voice at the back of my mind that quietly reminds me that everything I feel is wrong.
Given what Connie does in relation to her father, I understood why he was so worried that he would live up to their expectations. She fights monsters and saves Beach City from creatures from outer space. He’s a security guard. His worst nights are virtually nothing compared to what Connie has seen. The same goes for his wife, who works in a high-stress, vitally important job in the city. So, he devalues himself, and he worries that Connie and Steven will, too. It’s why he goes out of his way to be dramatic and make his job seem so much more serious and action-packed than it is on most nights.
But there’s nothing wrong or shameful about his job! Ironically, if he’d put aside these concerns in the first place, he never would have had the problem he did. EASIER SAID THAN DONE, OF COURSE. Mr. Maheswaran’s job is still important, just in a different way. Plus, he offers Connie something she can’t get with her mother or with her adventures alongside Steven: peace, calm, and silliness. Those are the things that make her feel love and protected with her father, not his ability to fight everyday monsters and creatures. I really did love this message, especially since it helped validate the sort of everyday jobs that get looked down upon. Also, I really shouldn’t have been surprised that Onion was behind this.
EXCEPT… well, that last image changes things, right? What was that shadow? And what if Onion was running from those creatures, not Doug, Connie, or Steven??? WHO WAS THAT?
The video for “Doug Out” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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