{"id":7181,"date":"2019-01-25T09:00:39","date_gmt":"2019-01-25T17:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7181"},"modified":"2019-01-24T12:45:19","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T20:45:19","slug":"mark-watches-steven-universe-s05e28-change-your-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2019\/01\/mark-watches-steven-universe-s05e28-change-your-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches &#8216;Steven Universe&#8217;: S05E28 &#8211; Change Your Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the twenty-eighth and final episode of the fifth season of <i>Steven Universe<\/i>, Steven tries to change White Diamond\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mind. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch <i>Steven Universe<\/i>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><b>Trigger Warning: For extensive talk of imperialism, homophobia, and transphobia<\/b><\/p>\n<p>They did it. They fucking did it. Not just the Crystal Gems\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwho have finally dismantled the harmful, ancient war over the colony of Earth\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbut the people behind this show. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll recall, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Single Pale Rose\u00e2\u20ac\u009d completely confused and befuddled me when it aired, and I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sure how the show was going to deal with the reveal of Rose Quartz\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s true identity. This ending sticks the landing, and it does so while addressing the core themes of the show, and I cried for a solid thirty minutes after it was over.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I have so many thoughts, and there are so many things I need to react to. LET\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S DO THIS.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I love a story where the opening scene is the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153answer\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to what comes after it. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s now clear why Steven flashed between images of himself, Pink Diamond, and Rose Quartz. <i>Steven Universe<\/i> has long been a show about identity. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part of each of the Crystal Gems\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 respective character arcs, but it is even more the case for Steven. Who is he in the wake of his birth? In the context of the war his mother started and left behind? When he fuses? When he develops his powers? And that struggle manifests itself in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Change Your Mind.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Is Steven himself, or will he always be haunted by Pink Diamond and her gem?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>I am so happy that Connie got to be a part of this story and that she matters to the plot. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important to this five-season arc! But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m also thinking specifically of how clear it is that Connie has grown as a character. While Steven is in prison, Connie is a dependable, courageous force for him, despite that Steven easily has way more experience with Homeworld and the Diamonds. So it feels really significant to me that throughout this episode, Connie does not balk at the task before her. I LOVE CHARACTER GROWTH, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>One of the more pervasive and satisfying motifs of this show has been the willingness of the characters to talk rather than fight. And yes, there are some spectacular fight scenes in this episode (I WILL NEVER RECOVER FROM OBSIDIAN), \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Change Your Mind\u00e2\u20ac\u009d also has multiple moments where Steven communicates to solve problems. You can see it in the first act of this story! He talks to Blue Diamond about how he feels and how he believes Pink Diamond felt every time she did not live up to the repressive and stressful standards that were expected of her. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because of this conversation that the first epiphany occurs, that the first mind is changed. Blue comes to realize that her own actions pushed Pink further and further away, so much so that she <i>literally<\/i> left to a planet far across the galaxy just to feel happy.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in this epiphany that I find such an incredibly meaningful story. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll reference this multiple times throughout, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s felt so clear to me that this was all a painstaking, detailed metaphor for identity. We live in a world that requires many of us to be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153perfect,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to love and present like the majority, even if that very act makes us so deeply unhappy that we, too, try as hard as we can to escape. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s even a specific example here: How many times do the Diamonds refuse to call Steven by his name? How many times do they keep referring to him as Pink when that is not who he is? (Oh god, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m tearing up again thinking about the dance.) There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no way that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not an intentional reference to misgendering, and that makes it so much more meaningful when Blue later corrects Yellow and says his name is Steven.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such a fascinating way to deal with this conflict, too! While I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not expecting a political treatise on imperialism from <i>Steven Universe<\/i>, there <i>is<\/i> an aspect of imperialism and the way it flattens and steals and destroys cultures that is tied to perfectionism. What is the framework of perfection that is used to measure a society? In the case of the Diamonds, there was a complex hierarchy of gems, and their roles were assigned based on what kind they were. Any and all gems who did not fit into a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153perfectly\u00e2\u20ac\u009d organized system were either corrupted, destroyed, or fled into hiding.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>But the bulk of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Change Your Mind\u00e2\u20ac\u009d focuses on how this system impacted the four Diamonds, and I get why that is. I am hoping season 6 deals with the fallout and the ramifications of all this, because if there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s anything here to nitpick, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that the redemption arc for the Diamonds is a little <i>too<\/i> clean.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>More on that in a second. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M JUMPING AROUND, I KNOW, THERE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S JUST SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT.<\/li>\n<li>Oh god, the confrontation between Yellow and Blue. Look, Diamonds fighting is just <i>terrifying<\/i>, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? And the show manages to convey the sheer horrible size of the fight, and I mean that both literally and metaphorically. And it <i>is<\/i> hard to imagine a time when all four of them get along and were ever happy! That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the point! So when Blue refuses to give up Steven, it was a pivotal moment in this arc. Blue was finally starting to rebel against this system, and Yellow was not ready to.<\/li>\n<li>Yellow realizing that Blue wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t making her cry\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 just. Why are you doing this to me.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Because once their minds are changed, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like a goddamn avalanche. One decision leads to another, and then Yellow <i>and<\/i> Blue are both trying to help the Crystal Gems escape, and even in hindsight, this is still surreal. Which is why I hope further stories dig in deeper to this stuff, if only because all this happened so FAST.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Another reason I enjoyed this as much as I did: the writers found a way to have pretty much every important character play a part in this final battle. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad that Bismuth, Peridot, and Lapis Lazuli were here, that they mattered, and that they participated in the fight to free Earth <i>and<\/i> save the corrupted gems. REMEMBER WHEN THEY DIDN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T EVER WANT TO SEE THE DIAMONDS AGAIN.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>I am also certain that the people behind this show know that approximately EVERY ONE OF US loves to see fusions, because this was like the most incredible gift to the fans. We got to see Steven fuse with all of the Crystal Gems. It had been a while since Smoky Quartz had made an appearance, and their fusion was a burst of joy in a scene that was so goddamn tense as it was. Then we were given another gift: PEARL AND STEVEN BECOME RAINBOW QUARTZ. They were giving us some serious Mary Poppins vibes!!! And it makes total sense that Rainbow Quartz would be both dignified and wacky. I LOVE IT.<\/li>\n<li>But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just gonna say that fuckin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 SUNSTONE was my favorite. Oh my god, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re like a beach party ball of fire??? This was everything I could ever ask for?<\/li>\n<li>Actually, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if I can ever deal with Obsidian. I mentioned something like this on video, but I love that all the Crystal Gems fusing turns them into this horrifying thing??? WHAT A POWER MOVE. But it makes sense, doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? Wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t these characters turn into the largest, most awe-inspiring fusion ever?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>I just can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get enough of this. Honestly, if my emotions can handle it, I really want to re-watch this episode so I can pay attention to new things. OBSIDIAN FORGED A SWORD OUT OF THEIR MOUTH, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL. What else did I miss?<\/li>\n<li>I also love that the secondary characters all contributed to the battle as well. LOOK HOW GREAT CONNIE WAS WITH THE SWORD THAT BISMUTH MADE HER.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>And then they all get inside White Diamond\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ship, and this episode takes a TURN, and it is a LOT, and I am STILL UPSET.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>As I mentioned before, the concept of perfection is something we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen addressed multiple times over the course of <i>Steven Universe<\/i>, and it felt necessary that so much of this finale was dedicated to dismantling it. White Diamond\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s behavior is finally explained in this episode, and it gives the audience context for this struggle we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve not had before. White Diamond isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just obsessed with perfection; she believed she <i>was<\/i> perfect, that since she is a combination of all colors in the spectrum, everyone else <i>must<\/i> be lesser than her. But the truth is much more damning and insidious. White Diamond\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life is a performance. She <i>performs<\/i> perfection, but she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certainly not perfect herself. She hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ever considered that, though, and that makes changing her mind so difficult and upsetting. Instead of actually listening to everyone, she views them as imperfect threats, and she drains them all of color in order to get them to act as she wants them to.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Yeah, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really, really disturbing, especially as we watch Steven become more frantic because his words <i>aren&#8217;t<\/i> working.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Instead, White Diamond\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s start working. Steven isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t himself; he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always just been a form of Pink. Pink only wanted to be the best of the worst, to be in control of and have power over others. That doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sound anything like the Steven I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve come to know, but it starts getting to him!<\/li>\n<li>So the story loops right back around to identity: Who <i>is<\/i> Steven Universe? Is he Rose Quartz\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s son, or is he a lie? Is he nothing more than the manifestation of a childish rebellion?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>I admit that not in a million years did I ever think that Steven could be separated from his gem. Didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t cross my mind at <i>all<\/i>. So when White began to separate the two, I WAS DISTRAUGHT. Wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that <i>kill<\/i> him? Because as much as I believed that Steven was his own person, that gem was still a part of him!<\/li>\n<li>I am so in love with the animation for the entire gem separation sequence. It manages to start from a place of horror, then drops us into something surreal as we see things from the perspective of Steven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gem. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really what it is: THE GEM IS STEVEN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S. It may have come from his mother, but, as Steven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gem states unequivocally, <i>she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gone<\/i>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the definitive answer to this show\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entire narrative. Steven is his own person. He is not his mother.<\/li>\n<li>I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M CRYING AGAIN.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Because not a single power in the world, not even <i>every<\/i> gem in that room turning on Steven, could stop him from returning to his own gem. NOTHING.<\/li>\n<li>I was mesmerized and will remain mesmerized with the sequence of Steven hugging his gem, laughing and crying, spinning around as he affirms himself and who he is. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s technically beautiful, and it is one of the most beautiful things this show has ever done.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>SHE IS GONE.<\/li>\n<li>STEVEN IS HIS OWN PERSON.<\/li>\n<li>HELP ME.<\/li>\n<li>There is nothing wrong with being flawed. Difficult. Sad. Rebellious. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nothing wrong with wanting to be happy. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nothing wrong with being <i>different<\/i>. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the message this show sent out. White Diamond is flawed, and perfection is impossible.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>You just have to step outside of your own head once in a while.<\/li>\n<li>And thus, White Diamond does just that: she leaves Homeworld to go to Earth, where, with a perpetually shocked look on her face, she experiences the new home that Pink sought out all those years ago.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>It is beautifully chaotic. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no easy introduction here, and this experience is going to be immensely uncomfortable, but White Diamond\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand all the Diamonds, for that matter\u00e2\u20ac\u201d<i>must<\/i> do this. She must be brutally uncomfortable over and over again if she is ever going to change. Truly change, that is! So I love that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s basically plopped in the middle of a rock show. (And bravo on that ska version of the song that Sadie Killer and The Suspects sing; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wild to see ska on a fairly mainstream show. IN 2019. Like, that shit happened a lot over twenty years ago.<\/li>\n<li>LARS AND LION FINALLY MEET.<\/li>\n<li><b>LARS AND SADIE FINALLY REUNITE<\/b> They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve both changed so much in the interim, and I cannot wait to see them together again.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Look, the video is proof that I was already very emotional, and this episode had destroyed me about ten times, but the scene in Rose\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Fountain was the culmination of YEARS of story building. Steven had done it. He had changed the minds of the Diamonds, and together with the Crystal Gems, all the corrupted gems were unbubbled and healed. ALL OF THEM. It was like a greatest hits of the show, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, and I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even remember every single episode that those gems first appeared in.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>I admit it was a little weird to see White Diamond in this scene, but I also understood why it happened. She needed to see this and participate, but I kinda wondered why the corrupted gems weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t messed up by seeing the Diamonds with them? The only one who has a really negative reaction is Jasper, and she goes after Steven, not the Diamonds.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Still, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t deny the power of the scene, and I want to see what else the show does with Homeworld and the Diamonds. (Seriously, how is there another season???)<\/li>\n<li>THE FINAL SONG.<\/li>\n<li>THAT MESSAGE.<\/li>\n<li>If this was the series finale, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d still be happy. I love that the theme repeats again, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Change Your Mind\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that has ruined me the most.<\/li>\n<li>Because at the end of the day, I respect myself. I love myself. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m queer, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s who I am. And Steven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s invitation to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153change your mind\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is so pure, much like his character. It strikes at the heart of why this episode is so meaningful to me, and I imagine it was meaningful to a lot of you, too. The world is so much more complicated than some people would like to admit, but that complication doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make me feel terrible. It makes me feel <i>alive<\/i>. It makes me marvel at the joy of being human. I want to make deep, meaningful connections with other people, and that <i>does<\/i> require love and respect.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>If only we offered that more to others, maybe we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153know\u00e2\u20ac\u009d one another better.<\/li>\n<li>My god, what an episode.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Change Your Mind\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded <a href=\"https:\/\/markdoesstuff.com\/products\/mark-watches-steven-universe-season-5\">here for $1.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><b>Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markoshiro.com\/blog\/2018\/12\/19\/the-anger-is-a-gift-paperback-edition-is-out-may-7-2019\">The paperback edition of my debut, ANGER IS A GIFT, is now up for pre-order!<\/a> It comes out on May 7, 2019.\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><strong>If you&#8217;d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, <a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/ey636\">sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the twenty-eighth and final episode of the fifth season of Steven Universe, Steven tries to change White Diamond\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mind. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Steven Universe.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[665],"tags":[696,666,565],"class_list":["post-7181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-steven-universe","tag-bury-me-here-because-i-have-perished","tag-mark-watches-steven-universe","tag-pain-hurt-tears"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7181\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<!-- WP Super Cache is installed but broken. 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