In the fourth episode of the fifth season of Steven Universe, Lars and Steven begin to come to terms with what’s happened. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Steven Universe.
STEVEN. LARS. OH MY GOD, WHAT IS THIS GOING TO MEAN FOR THE SERIES AS A WHOLE?
Let me start by saying that prior to this episode, my major concern for season 5 was the truth behind Rose Quartz, and with this new arc – Steven and Lars discovering the Off Colors – I now have a new aspect of this show to get obsessed over. I so deeply want the Off Colors to make it to Earth, and I would love it if they joined the Crystal Gems and got a chance to live a life free of the constraints of Homeworld.
But “Lars’ Head” introduces a new twist to the show’s mythology after Steven brings Lars back to life with his tears. (That is the most incredible sentence, and I’m so excited that I get to type it for all of you.) Not only has Steven discovered a new power, but that power has created another new thing: a portal inside Lars’s hair that leads to the pink dimension. (I don’t know what else to call it!) From that, we can infer a lot. What if Steven discovered the way that Lion became the way he is? Does that mean that Lion died at some point, and Rose Quartz’s tears turned Lion into a portal? How did she discover what she’d done, or had she always known that she had this power?
I don’t expect to get answers to that for a while, but this establishes that there is now a way for Steven and the Gems to reach Homeworld in a matter of a minute. Of course, the reason for that is due to another transformation: Lars is not the same person he was before. We don’t know exactly how his resurrection has transformed his body aside from the pink hue, but it’s easy to guess that Steven did more than just heal Lars. He doesn’t seem to experience hunger or thirst. He doesn’t seem tired. Is he invincible? I only ask that because, aside from the physical evidence, I can’t recall Lion being anything other than tired from running, like that time he traveled super far in “Lion 4: Alternate Ending.” Does that mean Lars is now the same?
We’re treading new ground here, of course, so I don’t have any answers at this point. I do know that Lars has had an incredible journey thus far. Back in season one, I never would have thought that he’d be the one to willingly remain behind to help protect a bunch of rejected gems from shattering. He simply wasn’t that nice, and he certainly hadn’t found a way to address his cowardice and fear back then. It’s not that Lars is a different person (though he physically might be), though. He’s still very much the largely cynical character we met long ago. His outlook on life and himself have had to change. The Off Colors have provided him an opportunity to understand himself and the world of the gems, so that’s part of the reason he’s remaining behind. But he also has a chance to do something good for someone else, even if it is at great risk to himself. Of everything in “Lars’ Head,” that’s the metamorphosis that excites me the most. Lars is learning to appreciate the world. To appreciate his own life. To see things not as something else, not as a distortion of reality, but with a brilliance and a ferocity. There is a reason for living, and there is a reason for feeling afraid. And it is okay to feel afraid. Lars, more than anything else, has come to understand what to do with his fear.
And I cannot wait to see what Lars will do in the future.
The video for “Lars’ Head” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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