Steven Universe “Steven Bomb” Recap #1 — “Lion 4: Alternate Ending” and “Doug Out”
Steven Universe is one of my favorite television shows. It’s adorable, the animation is beautifully crafted, and the story has thus far taken some turns for the surprising. We’re nearing the end of season four and entering season five this week, and in doing so we’re wrapping up quite a few loose ends — including Steven’s growing resentment for the life his mother, Rose Quartz, has left him.
Lots of cartoons have done things with growing pains and the difficulties of becoming someone with responsibilities. Usually, these problems are depicted in simplistic ways, with the protagonist generally accepting whatever morals are thrown at them in service of the overall story. In Steven Universe, that is not the case.
This Recap is Filled With Spoilers.
If you haven’t watched the first and second episodes of this week’s Steven Bomb, turn away now!
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We open on the smiling visage of long-deceased Rose Quartz, Steven’s mother, telling her son that he is going to be extraordinary. The tape she recorded with this message to Steven is being rewound over and over. Steven is sitting there, notepad in hand and Lion on bed, intently taking notes. He’s trying to decode a message hidden underneath Rose’s words in hopes that he’ll be able to figure out what he’s meant to do. Lion, on the other hand, is catting, as you do.
So right off the bat we notice a couple things. First, Steven is obsessed with this. He’s been at it for a while, if the strewn-about papers from his prior attempts at breaking Rose’s code are any indication. In prior episodes, Steven has shown frustration at not being strong enough, not living up to his mom’s legacy, and not knowing or having a purpose for his life. He’s even visited his room in the Crystal Gem Temple, where he confronted Rose for not being there for him and leaving him to deal with her messes. There’s a lot going on in Steven’s head, and a not-small portion of that has to do with the fact that he’s been put into life-or-death situations, seen the diamonds simultaneously express grief and anger over what Rose apparently did to Pink Diamond, and faced down horrors that would scar anybody — and he’s had to do it more or less on his own, without an explanation as to why.
Listen, I could probably spend way more time talking about all the surrounding grief and shenanigans that Steven Universe has dealt with than I would about these first two episodes.
Anyway, as Steven is ruminating on his magical gem destiny, Lion is about to cough up a hairball. Gotta love cats — always keeping you centered in the here and now. This hairball happens to contain a giant key, and with any giant key, there must be a giant lock to open it. MAGICAL HAIRBALL DESTINY TIME!
Steven tries the treasure chest in Lion’s mane-world. No dice. He goes to the Gem Armory. Nope. Rose’s fountain where they healed Amethyst that one time. Still no. He even tries his room, which of course gives him a heart-shaped padlock that poofs out of existence the moment he unlocks it. What a useful room y’all.
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Big Mood.
He even tries to unlock… himself? Which, I’m gonna be up front, that’s not the worst idea in the world, considering. But of course, it doesn’t work.
Desperate, Steven begs Lion to take him somewhere new. After more begging than Lion could deal with, he takes Steven to the desert he came from. And they walk. And walk. And w a l k. And we see Steven’s all-too-human responses to extreme heat and dehydration. And a little bit of anxiety, too.
Garnet… Amethyst… Pearl… they won’t say it, but I know they expect something big from me. But how can I fulfill my destiny if I don’t even know what it is?
They finally arrive at a monument. At its foot, a door. Behind that door…
Garbage. Just garbage.
Normally, this would be a funny moment. But man, Steven just oozes disappointment and desperation. I can’t laugh at a kid who’s trying to figure his life out because no one will tell him and he hits this wall. I’ve hit that wall before, hell, most of the people I know have hit this wall.
Steven gets so mad he kicks a helmet into space. Underneath the helmet is another videotape.
Addressed to Nora.
This immediately sends shots of panic into him. “Am I not the only one? Do I have a sister??” he asks the desert. He asks Lion to take him somewhere he can figure out what the tape means, so… Lion takes him to Greg, who’s sitting on a hill overlooking Beach City, playing guitar, as Greg is wont to do. Steven shows him the tape, which he seems familiar with, and they play it.
To Steven’s shock and disappointment, it’s the same video Rose filmed for him. His anger at the tape holding no special clues or any hints to his destiny is palpable. For a second, everyone — including Greg — forgets that this show is made for kids and immediately we all recognize this feeling. Greg says some wise — and ultimately true — stuff about getting to be yourself, and how that’s the best reward. But even with those words, the look on Steven’s face is…
Well.
“Doug Out” opens with Steven and Connie getting fry bits at Fryman’s and then recapping all the crazy things Steven has done over the past few months. Steven remarks that he’s glad he still sometimes gets to have lazy days with her. And theeeeeen… a cop pulls up. Well, not a cop, just Mr. Maheswaran. Steven faints, which causes Doug to ask if he’s been drinking enough water and staying away from garbage food before dinner — you know, the kind of thing a very overprotective parent would say to literally every child.
Doug’s not a cop, but he does work for a private security contractor that Mr. Smiley — the arcade owner — has hired to find an intruder lurking around after dark. Which means that he’s gonna do a stakeout! And he wants Steven and Connie to help him!! A+ already very down for this episode.
Onion has broken the no loitering law. This is the tamest law he’s broken in this show to date.
Connie: “Hey Steven. Wanna help ruin some teen’s night?”
Steven: “Always.”
I need to take a minute to say that Connie’s dad is adorable. Yes, adorable. He’s fully supportive of both Connie and Steven’s saving-the-world activities, and he’s trying super hard to impress both of them. Personally, I don’t think he needs to try that hard, but that’s just me.
Steven and Connie find a box of shoplifted costumes, and immediately begin cosplaying. Connie becomes “Veronica Cucamonga,” and Steven becomes… Peter Pizzapopoulos. It’s a Mario joke.
And then someone breaks through the arcade gate. And it’s clear that whoever did it was stronger than your average teen. Connie immediately finds some torn cloth, and they begin the search for whoever it is that broke in.
Hello? This is security! You are trespassing on private property! Do not attempt to make yourself a corn dog!
The mysterious intruder leads them to the Hyper Space, one of those carnival rides that you get in and then centripetal force pins you to the wall. Connie wonders whether they should get their weapons, and Connie’s dad — who is basically the best — says they shouldn’t escalate the situation. And then, because of course it does, the ride turns on and they’re trapped. Doug tries to use his handy-dandy flashlight to turn the ride off, and almost does it until the laws of physics kick in for literally the first time on this show and it rebounds right into Doug’s face.
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You Tried.
Steven wrests himself free of the forces of gravity in motion (something he’s become very good at) and makes it to the center platform. It’s not moving at all, so he has no issues. He turns the ride off and busts open the door. They all file out, very dizzy and ready to yartz. Connie wonders if they’re dealing with a Homeworld Gem, and Doug, forever adorable, changes out his flashlight batteries like he’s priming a shotgun.
The arcade’s lights blaze to life, and Doug gives a very noble speech about the sanctity of the boardwalk before the hidden intruder knocks him down with a chainlink fence and bolts. Steven and Connie chase after them, and Steven literally pulls a Mario and floats over a bunch of gumballs that have spilled onto the walkway in the pursuit.
They box the intruder in an alleyway, and in the grand reveal… it turns out to be Onion. Doug laments the boring nature of his job and immediately trips on another gumball. When they get back to the car, Doug tells Onion he’s in major trouble for busting the fence in, which Onion immediately denies having anything to do with. Doug lets him off with a warning and they drive off. And then, two imposing silhouettes appear behind Onion. Was Onion trying to warn them? We’ll never know, because that’s where the episode ends!
…okay, we’ll probably literally know tomorrow.
These two episodes are about as tonally different as we can get them, but textually, we’re dealing with a lot of the same motifs. Doug and Steven both have issues living up to their family’s expectations. They have to deal with the disappointment of not having some grand purpose. And even though their family loves them and lets them know that they’re good enough as they are, for different reasons it’s not enough for either of them.
Having weathered a few Steven Bombs, what I’m really enjoying about this week so far is that these episodes seem to be pulling out the stops. We’re not shying away from anything. And maybe it has something to do with this week being the season finale, but I’m enjoying the candor from a show that already gets praise for being super honest with its audience. Can’t wait for tomorrow!