In the second episode of the first season of\u00c2\u00a0Steven Universe<\/i>, how is this show\u00c2\u00a0already<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0packed full of emotion? If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re intrigued, then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Steven Universe<\/i>.<\/p>\n
LOTS TO TALK ABOUT, BUCKLE IN.<\/p>\n
Beach City<\/b><\/p>\n
So, now I know the name of the town where this takes place! I imagine that once I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen the full series, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be a lot easier to pick up all the tiny details plugged into the show. Yet as it stands, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still able to recognize how much of Beach City is a visual reference to the kind of towns I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve grown up going to, from those on the north side of Oahu to many of the smaller cities up and down the coast of California. Beach Citywalk Fries might be a joke here, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also a familiar sight. Thus, the show achieves a contrast that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s both hilarious and unnerving by having a quiet and quaint beachside town ASSAULTED BY FRIGHTENING GEM MONSTERS FROM\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 SOMEWHERE. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t actually know where they come from. But think about it! There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s humor in the idea that this giant gem eyeball stares at everyone in Beach City, and yet people just go about their day because guess what? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just another day in Beach City and weird shit happens all the time. But in the final moments of this episode, as the eye casts an eerie red glow over the town, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not all that funny anymore, you know?<\/p>\n
The Laser Light Cannon<\/b><\/p>\n
Throughout this episode, the writers mix the silly with the touching, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m impressed. This is the second episode, and the story casually reveals that Steven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mom, Rose Quartz, is gone, and that his father, Greg, is not really trusted. I assume that Rose Quartz wanted Steven to be with the other gems, but\u00c2\u00a0not<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0his father? Initially, Amethyst blurts out that Greg is a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153mess,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and I wondered what she meant by that. Yet \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Laser Light Cannon\u00e2\u20ac\u009d doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t spell this out for us. We find out that he lives in a van outside his car wash, so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to assume that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s otherwise homeless. His business isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t doing well, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s go no place to store anything of his aside from a storage unit. (Ahem\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 a MAGIC storage unit.)<\/p>\n
So what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the story with Greg? He and Steven have a pretty cool relationship, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got to be a reason that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not Steven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s primary caregiver. I think the key to this is Rose, who is unfortunately absent. Why? BECAUSE SHE GAVE UP HER PHYSICAL FORM SO STEVEN COULD BE BORN. Oh my god, this answers so many of my questions! How Steven got his gem, why he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t look like the other Gems, where his parents are\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 wow, this is remarkably sad once you think about it, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? Oh god,\u00c2\u00a0Adventure Time<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0already destroyed me with this ploy, I AM NOT GOING TO FALL FOR THIS AGAIN. (Just kidding, I totally am.)<\/p>\n
I guess I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just impressed with how seamless this is. This episode manages to introduce a ridiculous conflict, but in attempting to solve it, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re given expository information\u00c2\u00a0AND<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0we can enjoy Steven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s relationship with his father. The whole bit with Greg\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s album \u00e2\u20ac\u201c both the discovery of it in the storage unit and Steven singing along to it in earnest \u00e2\u20ac\u201c are brilliant character building moments. Granted, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re getting character\u00c2\u00a0development<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0as much as we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re experiencing new elements of both of these characters. Plus, the potential here is so intriguing! How much more will we see Greg? What about Rose? WHAT DO THE GEMS THINK ABOUT ALL OF THIS?<\/p>\n
I definitely want to learn more about the Gems, too, but it was a smart choice to focus \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Laser Light Cannon\u00e2\u20ac\u009d on Steven. Plus, it allowed for the perfect gag of Garnet tossing Amethyst into the eye over and over again. What a trooper.<\/p>\n
SO WHERE DID THAT EYE COME FROM, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL? Where do\u00c2\u00a0any<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0of these Gem monsters come from? Why are they attacking Beach City???<\/p>\n
The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Laser Light Cannon\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99.<\/p>\n
Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n
– I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards. I POST A LOT OF CUTE PHOTOS, OKAY. Think of it like a private Tumblr blog that only SPECIAL PEOPLE get to read.<\/b> In the second episode of the first season of\u00c2\u00a0Steven Universe, how is this show\u00c2\u00a0already\u00c2\u00a0packed full of emotion? If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re intrigued, then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Steven Universe.<\/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":[666],"class_list":["post-5907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-steven-universe","tag-mark-watches-steven-universe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5907\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n– I have updated my list of conventions and events for the remainder of the year and much of next year.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"