Steven Universe: here we are in the Future

[RudeCyrus]

The fact that a revolution was started by a member of the upper class is a betrayal to Marxist principles and it's clear Pink Diamond was only looking to start a dictatorship of the bourgeois.

But seriously, I really want to watch Steven Universe more often but the awful scheduling makes that hard.

[Aria Genisi]

I just finished catching up since Season 4's Rocknaldo, all the way to the latest episodes and holy fuck.

I'm glad I had a huge chunk of episodes to watch after not keeping up with it for a year or so, but I hate that now I'm stuck waiting an unspecified amount of time waiting for CN to start showing more episodes, especially after that fuckin' bombshell

[Sailor Yue]

Given the exasperated tone Blue had with Pink, and Pinks posture during that scolding in Stevens dream, Pink seems to have tried to abandon the colony more than once before stirring the rebellion. Blue probably helped her start up the zoo to conserve the natives, something that probably never has happened in the past. But eventually Pink decided to just give it up, but when her sisters refused to listen, she may have thought that the faked murder route would chase them off. She told no one aside from pearl of the plan, so obviously she wouldn't see the ramifications of her decision, of Blue continuing the colony and yellow planting the cluster, or the trio casting that song that destroyed any gems on the surface.

I've seen so much critique and renowned hatred towards Rose/pink on this, but imo she probably blamed her self every day, every battle, of what she caused on her friends, soldiers and allies on her decision to fake her death.

[The Doctor]

I see it as a tragedy. Pink screwed up big time. Her actions led to the imprisonment of an entire race, and nearly all of her allies being killed/corrupted.

I don't believe this was her intention, and I'm sure she felt guilty about it, but she couldn't do anything about it (and in the case of the other Rose Quartzs, probably had no clue what happened to them). So she moved in, and lived her life as best she could.

I don't hate her for it.

[The Ghost of Ember]

Regarding the Yellow Diamond turning out to be a grief stricken delusional space feudal lord instead of cackling villain guilty of fratricide:

[Strangething]

I assume the Earth rebelion didn't turn into a full-blown war until after Pink was "shattered" and the other Diamonds took over.

[Swift]

While my mind is still reeling from the Pink/Rose reveal and all its implications, I'd like to give some appreciation to the Lapis song. It's really nice to hear her sing after so long:



It's a really lovely song. Sad but hopeful. I'm sure she'll get there one day.

[The Doctor]

[Highbrow Dash]

Check out this video. It's actually from before last episode:

[Void Chicken]

Rose trusted Pearl with the Pink Diamond thing, but not Lion's existence? Holy moly that must have felt like a hell of a betrayal.

[West Filly]

Rose trusted Pearl with the Pink Diamond thing, but not Lion's existence? Holy moly that must have felt like a hell of a betrayal.

[Highbrow Dash]

[West Filly]

A lot of people in the fandom are also pointing this back to pearl singing "if you could only know what we really are" in the short where Steven makes a long version of the theme tune. After the promotional ad where they echoed "what we really are" in a spooky way, it's good to finally have an answer to that.

It's the next verse that raises a double meaning. "And we will protect your Earth." I'm hoping it's the obvious meaning where Pearl is recognising that the Earth belongs to humans. It did make me think of the possibility that Pearl might have some belief that Pink still owns the Earth or its colonized regions in some way.

[Daikatuna]

These episodes were so good they got me back into the show.

[Madeline]

I wish Cartoon Netwrok wouldn’t keep doing their level best to kill the show with their horrible scheduling, but it would be just one of the many terrible decisions they’ve made over the years.

[West Filly]

Once it's out there that Rose is Pink Diamond, I wonder how a conversation between Bismuth and Jasper might go.

What was this war?

[The Ghost of Ember]

Dictatorship of the proletariat - class strata unable to form because the proletariat prevents it through policies as punitive as the upper class has subjected the proletariat to since class societies' inception - has been replaced in left leaning thought with a dream of the establishment of a society without class via mutual abandonment of class by both upper class and the lower class. The promise that is supposed to entice the upper class into abandoning their class is freedom from class obligation, represented by Pink Diamond, so burdened by the hardships of being a lord of space feudalism that she decides to play prole. This is why Bismuth is presented as a (tragic) villainess, as she sought to create a dictatorship of the proletariat rather than 'true class freedom.'

The problem with this modern line of leftist thinking is that it ignores the difference between the haut bourgeois and the petit bourgeois, or the upper class and the upper middle class. The elites like Pink Diamond might be convinced to abandon their station and their feudal obligations for the freedom it permits, after all, they have no idea of what hardships a truly free classless society might impose on their pampered selves. The upper middle class however are far less likely to allow a downgrade in station. The middle managers of society are perfectly aware of the poverty and desperation that plagues the lower classes, and are such more desperate to maintain the status quo that keeps them and theirs from feeling the sting of equality.

tldr: Bismuth and Jasper would keep fighting regardless of Pink Diamond because Pink Diamond is irrelevant, and could be replaced by a rock. the important part to Jasper is that she is one step above Bismuth, and the important part to Bismuth is that she (perhaps justifiably) wants to kill the fuck out of Jasper and Pink Diamond.

[West Filly]

So Jasper was approaching the truth when she berated Rose for recruiting people who were at their low point. In fact I think she accused Rose of deliberately bringing people down.

Yeah, Rose's shtick only appeals to the downtrodden in society.

[Sailor Yue]

The next bomb is July 2-6th.....

[Sailor Yue]

New promo released and I am

[Wayoshi]

can't wait for it all to be out at once at the start.

but seriously, looking forward to the fallout after a series-changing bombshell

[West Filly]

There's a lot of questions I've had since the reveal, and the weirdest one yet is how Peridot will take this?

[Sailor Yue]

Welp

[The Doctor]

Cartoon Network also did a giant video with various clues throughout the series about Pink Diamond.

[The Doctor]

EXPOSITION: THE EPISODE!

[West Filly]

I'm glad that Pearl's backstory got gayer but not sadder this time.

[The Ghost of Ember]

What the Doctor said.

Really this and the reveal should have been shown one after the other, the wind down of the twist is almost as important as the twist itself. As it was everyone was left to speculate and marinate in their own juices over what Pink Diamonds deal was, until we came to acceptance due to the weight of time. Sapphire was supposed to represent the audience outrage, but it being months later its kind of hard to feel that invested.

I do have one quibble that isn't determined by Cartoon Networks Scheduling Department. The whole 'these two haven't emerged yet' felt like a big set up for Pink Diamond learning about or having to confront the reality of gem eugenics. As it was the whole thing seems like set up with no pay off. I'm guessing that was the pitch in scripting and maybe even early story-boarding but got nixed when they realized its a kid show. Would've helped bridge the gap between affable fascist to ignorant overlord.

[West Filly]

The "these two haven't emerged yet" is purely for two things:

The famethyst met rose quartz, if only briefly, and for one of them rose was her first ever interaction with another gem.

The other amethyst is Amethyst.

[Void Chicken]

And she was due to come out before the Crystal Gem thing even started. "Late" is a bit of an overstatement there.

E: Just thought of something. Peridot's plea to Yellow Diamond to preserve the life on Earth must have sounded an awful lot like Pink's. There was a bit of a missed opportunity on the part of the show runners to not show Yellow reacting to that memory, even if for an instant.

EE: Stumbled across Peridot saying that Amethyst's hole looked like she came out 500 years late. So the rebellion didn't last all that long relative to the rest of the timeline.

[West Filly]

That is a point. Peridot's plea could have struck a nerve. Not the "I hate Earth and want to see it destroyed" nerve, but more like serious trauma about Pink being shattered. Her reaction to Peridot might not have been anger, but pain.

I know that the homeworld gems tend to see Yellow as having it together while Blue is falling apart, but IMO Blue's response to Pink being gone is much more healthy. Yellow has flipped and she won't allow herself to know that. Blue, on the other hand, knows she's hurt and crying a lot is actually a healthy response to the idea that your sister is dead.

[Sailor Yue]

Bangs amethyst was adorable, also... One of the amethyst had Jasper's va which was neat

[Highbrow Dash]

I'm glad that Pearl's backstory got gayer but not sadder this time.

Well I still tore up.

[Sailor Yue]

This episode was the epitome of gay sad gems

[The Doctor]

"WHY WOULD SHE BE A COWBOY?!?!?"

[Void Chicken]

"WHY WOULD SHE BE A COWBOY?!?!?"

My vote for next thread title.

[West Filly]

I want the cowboy timeline to become real.

[The Ghost of Ember]

Amethyst has always been Steven's older sister rather than his cool mom, and this episode really solidifies what a mature older sibling should be to their younger sibling, in an idealized world. Amethyst is going through the same thing Steven is going through to a lesser degree, and while some of it bothers her more (perhaps because she understands it and how fucked up it is a bit better than Steven does), she forges ahead understanding that while it bothers her more, it is Steven who is more vulnerable to its devastating effects.

Amethyst's coolness, maturity, and willingness to cheer her younger sibling up in the face of traumatic circumstances that she is affected by but refuses to make about her makes me somewhat ashamed of how I handled my own traumatic household and my younger brother.

[West Filly]

Have Pearl and Sapphire been bonding? Is it possible that as soon as Steven sorts Ruby out they come home to a three-eyed pointy-nosed mess of a woman?

I think that'd be a good time to let Steven say "For fuck's sake"

[Sailor Yue]

Tonight's episode will have a song. It is adorably catchy

[The Doctor]

Because of course the Cowboy line wasn't just a throwaway joke.