STEVEN UNIVERSE Season 1 Review | ME: ♥◡♥

Guess who just watched the first season of Steven Universe! I heard a lot of great things about this show and seeing as it was created by Rebecca Sugar and I am a huge Adventure Time fan, I decided to give it a shot. At first, I watched it to see what everyone was talking about. Then about 10 or 15-ish episodes in, obsession started. Hulu is a magical thing, by the way. Watched the whole first season in maybe three weeks.

I’ll be giving some spoiler-y opinions in this, so if you haven’t seen the whole first season of this show, stop reading! Come back and read when you have seen “Gem Glow” – “Joy Ride”. This is an awesome show and I am so glad I picked it up! Spoilers….now!

CHARACTERS (IN THEME SONG ORDER):

Probably my favorite of the three! Yet again, the mysterious character has won me over. I like how confident she is, her future vision (that I thought was a joke at first), and her bond with Steven. I know they all love him, but she seems to trust his decisions more often. She isn’t really the leader, but she’s definitely capable of that. She’s kind of the mediator between Pearl and Amethyst sometimes. And she’s more well rounded than the others in her own way. She just fascinates me. With her gloves, her three eyes, everything.

My favorite episode in the whole season is “Garnet’s Universe” because I couldn’t stop smiling the whole time! From the adorable mother-son moment with them in the beginning to the hilarious story of what Steven thinks she did that day. From that point in the season forward, I felt so connected to all of these characters. Maybe it was because I had been watching for a while and it started to grow on me, but I swear, after that episode, I felt all the feels and more! Plus, by that point, we were getting more info on the Gems.

Garnet seems like such a serious person, but she has a lot of sweet moments (like when she said Steven’s middle name was Cutie-Pie) and tells a lot of jokes. I had so many questions about Garnet when I started watching. Why does she have three eyes when all the other Gems have two? Why can she see possible futures? Why does she have two gems? Why is it that all the others seem to have one overpowering trait, while Garnet seems smart and strong? “Jail Break” answered all of those questions (except maybe the future thing. How is that ability possible?)! That’s another favorite episode of mine.

All my favorite episodes seem to revolve around her and/or the lore. Ruby and Sapphire just…I can’t! It’s so cute and it was so shocking and it all makes so much sense now and I could make an entire post just about Garnet! But I think I’m rambling now. You get it. I love Garnet. And when my mom watched the show with me she said she liked Garnet. And when my dad joined in he said he liked Garnet. Because she’s the best. She’s my favorite of the three and my favorite Fusion (aside from Opal. Too bad they’re not compatible enough to do that more often). Moving on!

I didn’t like her that much in the beginning. When I was watching this show I assumed they were all just going to be annoyingly one sided. Garnet would be the cool, quiet one. Pearl would be the know-it-all. And Amethyst would be the goofy, childish one. For some reason, I didn’t expect them to have as much depth as they do. Amethyst may be a bit gross and seemingly irresponsible, but there’s obviously a reason behind that. I didn’t think her rivalry with Pearl would be anything more than personalities clashing. The fact that Amethyst was a byproduct of a Gem plan to do evil on Earth was extremely unexpected.

I think the episode was called “On the run”. Amethyst saying how she thinks Pearl just wants her to remember everything she hates about herself and how she “never asked to be made” was just heartbreaking. After that episode, I had more respect for her. Their rivalry also made a ton more sense after that. Pearl was one of the good Gems who wanted to stop this evil plan that created Amethyst. (There had to be like, thousands of Amethyst clones! 0.o) But I will say this: Turning into Rose in front of Greg was low.

I thought she’d be my favorite, going into this. She turned out to be kinda on the annoying side, though likable. She’s blinded by her knowledge quite a bit and seems desperate to teach Steven everything she knows every chance she gets (while still somehow giving very little information. This show is another example of the main character being kept out of the loop because they’re “too young” and/or “not ready yet”. He’s a Gem! He lives in a crazy world! Just tell him already! I know it builds up suspense for the audience – in other words, tortures us – but still!)

She even built a rocket ship to travel to other worlds without realizing it may not have been the best idea. I can sympathize with her. I understand it’s hard for her to be away from home and all the other amazing places out there she used to frequent. But, girl, calm down. You don’t know everything. And the things you do know, people don’t want to hear you brag about. Just saying.

Steven is my favorite. “But, Izzie, you said Garnet was your favorite!” Of the three, yeah. I mean, she’s still the best, but who doesn’t like Steven? Overall, Steven is the star of the show (hehe) and worthy of that position. I love his caring nature, something he obviously got from Rose.

Oh, another thing that interests me! His mother seems like she was fantastic! The fact that she had to give up her form for Steven is heartbreaking, but I like that her personality is still a big part of him. Steven always gives the monsters they fight the benefit of the doubt. He even befriended one, tamed it. Many, many times while watching this first season I wanted to yell at the screen “Shut up, stop fighting them, and listen to Steven!!!!” They never seem to–well, TWO OF THEM never seem to listen to his ideas.

Remember how he helped Lapis get back to the Homeworld. A lot of the things they fight are acting out for a reason only Steven seems to pick up on. I understand why the Gems fight them so much; they have experience. They think they know the nature of these things. They’re dangerous…if you treat them badly. If you’re nice to them, like Steven, and don’t take your weapons out to scare it, they won’t attack you. Wow. Amazing, huh?Sorry. Little mini-rant, there. I’ll stop now. Bottom line: Steven’s great. He’s loving, adorable, funny, and all the other positive adjectives! I found it really touching how his gem is activated mostly by his happiness, and sometimes in battle when he really needs it. The shield is perfect for him, as well. He’s not a fighter.

SIDE CHARACTERS:
Also fantastic. Connie is absolutely adorable and I love her. She’s such a fangirl! I can relate. Sadie is so fun and tough! Lars can be sorta okay. Ronaldo is strange, but understandably so. He lives in a weird city. Steven’s dad, Greg, has such a good bond with his son and seems like a really fun dad. Sometimes he’s a tad bit on the slightly clueless or irresponsible side, but that’s cool. If every pork chop were perfect, and all. And Steven’s got other family to look out for him. This show has a great cast of characters and a great story!

STORY:
They did a good job making “filler episodes” for this season. Though some had hardly any lore in them, they were still fantastic. Each episode teaches us something cool and new about something in the show. They give you just enough information in the non-filler episodes to keep you intrigued. I watched a lot of these back to back which I am glad for. If I had to wait for these, it would’ve been awful.

I love the magical elements in the story, the relationships whether they’re romantic or not, and the overall character development is great so far. Learning about people in Beach City and their lives is great. There are just enough characters to have a lot to focus on, but not too much where it’s crazy and we don’t know anyone. Seeing Steven learn more about his powers, the Gems, and himself is so enjoyable. Even episodes where he’s just hanging out with Connie are fantastic.

Stevonnie (that was their fusion name, right?) was fantastic! And I was dying of curiosity throughout my watching experience. Where/what is the Homeworld? What was the evil plan Pearl, Rose, and Garnet wanted to stop? Why did Rose have to sacrifice herself to bring Steven into the world? Is Lion a guardian for Steven sent by his mother, is Lion what remains of his mother, or is he her familiar? I do sorta believe the theory that Lion is Rose watching over her son.

The musical numbers they bust out into sometimes felt a little out of place at first, but after a while, I started to love them. They’re beautiful songs.

FAVORITE SONGS:

I know it’s kind of silly, but “Giant Woman” is pretty catchy.

Every time I listen to “Let me drive my van into your heart” I end up humming along.

“Stronger than you”! Woo! I actually heard annapantsu’s cover before even watching the show, so I will always be reminded of it.

I wish “Lapis Lazuli” could have been longer!

“Strong in the real way” was good. Though I don’t agree with the message sent across by this song, and I don’t like how this episode ended with them being like, “Pearlis
rightweshouldalllistentoPearl!”, I still like it.

I just want “Love like you” and “We are the Crystal Gems” to be playing in the background of my life all the time always.

RANDOM THINGS I NOTICED:

They never flat out say “Steven’s gem activates when he’s happy” or “Greg was the thing Rose cared about most in Beach City so that’s why he was the most realistic thing made in her room”. They show more than they tell. And I love that.

Rose’s canons are activated by the “if every pork chop were perfect” thing <3

When Steven is learning how to shapeshift he says he wants to turn into a big lion……and then four episodes later this happens:

I always wondered why there were five gems on the door in their house when there were only four people. Garnet is a fusion. She needs two gems to open her door. Makes sense now. Speaking of which…doesn’t that mean her weapon is also a fusion of Ruby and Sapphire’s? What did they have to make weird, metal gloves? Armor and a hammer?

Do the Gems have genders?

Something as simple as the star not zooming in at the end of the episode, the end screen looking different, or how the music during the credits changed had an impact on me.

Is Lion Rose’s familiar? Like Connie’s favorite book?

Garnet was the one who encouraged Stevonnie to enjoy being a fusion. She knows what it feels like to be an “experience”.

Steven’s middle name is Quarts. Okay, good. I was wondering why the gem he has wasn’t his last name. (Yeah, I know, Greg’s last name is Universe! I just thought they left it out and it didn’t make sense.)

After watching the whole first season, listen to the “Cookie Cat” song again. Aside from the local grocery store part, it basically describes who the Gems are!

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So those are my thoughts. I had a lot of them so sorry if that was tl;dr! XP
What did you guys think of season 1? No spoilers for future episodes, please. I’d love to talk to you guys about this season!