{"id":6943,"date":"2018-07-31T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2018-07-31T15:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=6943"},"modified":"2018-07-26T08:47:40","modified_gmt":"2018-07-26T15:47:40","slug":"mark-watches-steven-universe-s05e20-whats-your-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2018\/07\/mark-watches-steven-universe-s05e20-whats-your-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Steven Universe’: S05E20 – What’s Your Problem?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the twentieth episode of the fifth season of Steven Universe<\/i>, Steven and Amethyst seek out Ruby, but run into a problem of their own. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Steven Universe<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, I LOVED THIS. I LOVED IT SO MUCH. While I feel like the show is faltering a bit on dealing with some of the ramifications of the Pink Diamond reveal, the emotional<\/i> fallout has been so satisfying to watch. This is a dense episode once the script gets into the complicated feelings that Amethyst and Steven have, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m thankful for it. There is no single, accepted reaction to this news, and instead, Steven Universe<\/i> has given us a varied slate. Garnet broke into her two parts, one of which fled in anger, the other who fled in sadness. (And lord, I am so<\/i> interested in what Ruby has to say about all of this.) Pearl breaks down at the idea that Garnet can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be around if Ruby and Sapphire separate.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But how does Amethyst<\/i> feel? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the question of the episode, so much so that Steven has to ask her MULTIPLE TIMES before she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s totally honest about it. Well, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also a humorous dynamic here, since both of them more or less can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stop asking the other about how they feel? They don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to be selfish!!! They want to be supportive! FRIENDS COMPETING TO BE BEST FRIENDS WITH ONE ANOTHER, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL. Of course, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to ignore that I foolishly commented ON VIDEO that I had noticed that Amethyst didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem all that upset. WOW. WELL. I TRIED. I thought maybe her distance from the initial start of the war was the main reason why. (And I should note that the other Amethysts were referring to her in the previous episode, right?) She did not have the same attachment to Rose Quartz or the same experience.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, that is precisely<\/i> why Amethyst eventually reveals that she is<\/i> angry. I appreciate that the show is acknowledging that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a divide here, that Garnet and Pearl have a different stake in things because they were there, while Steven and Amethyst were simply dealt a complicated deck. The problem they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re dealing with now (and over the course of this show) was started by someone else. It was forced into their lives, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s now a problem they have to cope with. So I get that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s this underlying sense of unfairness here. Why? Why should they have to deal with these problems that they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t start? (THIS IS THE MOST DEEPLY MILLENNIAL THEME IMAGINABLE, HOLY SHIT, THIS IS OUR ENTIRE LIVES.) Even then, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re both still<\/i> conflicted! They want to do good, and they want to help each other, and yet I get why they are worried that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re being too selfish or self-centered. Particularly in Amethyst\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case, though: she is fully aware that another adult thrust this whole conflict into Steven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life without thinking about how it would affect him. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the last<\/i> thing that she wants to do, you know? She doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to repeat the same mistake, and I deeply, deeply respect that Amethyst makes this clear. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so considerate and… shit, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t avoid using this word. MATURE. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a mature take on this, and she manages to promise this while<\/i> explaining her complicated feelings on Rose Quartz.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I also wanted to just take some time to talk about Steven, because I sympathize with him so strongly in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Your Problem?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That moment in Fish Stew Pizza broke my heart because… well, Steven outright said that he knew his mother was a liar. That<\/i> is the place where I was destroyed because this is where he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s at now in his journey. He is just as confused as a lot of us, so I definitely relate to it. But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so meaningful that Amethyst promises to support Steven. She has her own issues, but she recognizes that Steven can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore this. He has<\/i> to deal with it because he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got Pink Diamond\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gem in his BODY, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. And while he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s coping with this upsetting news, Amethyst is gonna be the best friend that she can be. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. Because I now wonder if we will ever<\/i> get closure on this. What if Steven has to cope with this without any further information? His mother is deeply complicated, and she did both horrible things and good things. He can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t talk to her. So how do you find an ending without the other person? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m hoping that Amethyst\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s promise is one way he can deal with these thoughts. He might just need someone to listen<\/i> to him.<\/p>\n

I am also not ready for Sapphire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s episode. I assume it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s next, and I AM FRIGHTENED.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Your Problem?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now out in the world!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"