In the twenty-seventh episode of the first season of Steven Universe, Greg comes to live with Steven after his leg is injured by Lapis. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Steven Universe.Â
Right before I started recording for this episode, my boyfriend told me that he wished Steven Universe was more serialized. Like myself, he was very pleased with the “Mirror Gem” / “Ocean Gem” arc, and you know what? I’m gonna say that this still counts as part of it. It’s the continuation of the story from the previous episode because it deals with the ramifications from the fight with Lapis. It’s still got the silliness I love from this show, and it’s also a story all on its own!
A pretty sad one, I should say. Y’all, Greg just wanted to live with his son again! I wonder how long it was since they did live together. Did Greg ever get to spend time with Steven after Rose went away, or did the Gems just immediately start taking care of him? I think it might be the latter, given that this episode shows us just how much he craves living with his son again. Right after he proposes the idea, Steven heals him, but he lies. Is it the worst lie ever? No, not really, but he also had no idea how this lie would come to affect Steven. And perhaps Steven might have even considered living with his father at some point if he had just asked him outright!
It’s complicated, though, and Steven’s in such a unique situation that I don’t know if there are any easy answers here. Greg pretends his leg is broken so he can be closer to his son, which is adorable in one sense and unfair in another. It certainly doesn’t help that Greg can’t seem to go a few minutes without beckoning Steven back once he goes on a mission. But look how great they are together in this episode! THEY SING BEAUTIFUL SONGS AND EVERYTHING. So I do understand why Greg felt such an intense need to be around his son. He was getting a glimpse of something he hadn’t really had.
That doesn’t excuse the fact that he’s… annoying. And he doesn’t mean to be, of course! He just wants Steven by his side, and he can’t really understand how important this training is for Steven. Even worse, by lying about his leg, he unknowingly creates a complex in his son. Steven is so deeply concerned about his own powers and how they manifest that being told they aren’t working contributes to his anxiety. And as far as I can tell, my working theory is still supported by canon: whenever Steven feels a burst of certain emotional energy, he can access his powers. He lacked the certainty in that gem realm because he truly believed he had not been able to heal his father.
It’s a good choice for this show that they’re spacing out Steven’s growth over many, many episodes. It gives me a real sense of time passing, that Steven is slowly learning how to access and use his powers. Even if there are “happy” endings to many of these episodes, they often involve Steven learning that things can be resolved in different ways. He can’t heal the crack in the gem in “House Guest.” Instead, Greg takes responsibility for what he’s done and uses some good ol’ duct tape to repair the gem. Which is pretty funny by itself! But even Pearl does the same thing, taking it upon herself to repair Greg’s van after it got trashed in “Ocean Gem.”
So, Steven has a lot to learn, he’s got a ton of growing to do, and mistakes are gonna be made along the way. And that’s perfectly fine.
The video for “House Guest” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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