Steven — The boy who saved the Universe

A critique paper by Harald Pujida

Photo: Cartoon Network

Steven Universe, created by Rebecca Sugar, is an American animated television series that explores the life of a young boy named Steven Universe, with a mission to protect the planet Earth along with the Crystal Gems — a team of magical guardians. Its pilot was first launched in 2013, and the series ended on its fifth season in January 2019. In the same year, the TV film “Steven Universe: The Movie” was released, alongside “Steven Universe Future”, an epilogue series, that ran until March 2020.

The series revolves around the themes: Love, family, and the importance of interpersonal relationships. It has been critically acclaimed for its design, music, voice acting, characterization, sci-fi worldbuilding, and the wide range of representation that it offers. The most well-known representations are Garnet, a racially black-coded fusion of the queer couple, Ruby and Sapphire; and Stevonnie, the intersex and biracial fusion of Steven and Connie Maheswaran.

Set in a fictional Beach City, The Crystal gems reside in a beachside temple, with a mission to protect the planet Earth and clear out the corrupted remnants of an ancient intergalactic war. The Crystal Gems are Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, and a young half-human, half-gem boy named Steven Universe who inherited his gemstone from his mother, the former leader of the Crystal Gems, Rose Quartz. Steven tries to explore his gradually expanding range of abilities all throughout the series. He spends his days accompanying the Gems on their missions, as well as spending time with his dad, his best friend Connie, his magical Lion, and the residents of Beach City.

The first season gradually uncovers the origin of the Crystal Gems. It was revealed later on that they are remnants of a great interstellar empire, led by a matriarch called the “Diamond Authority”. On their missions, they explore abandoned ruins that hold memories of ancient gem culture. Steven discovers that the gems and artifacts they recover from their expeditions are actually corrupted gems that can no longer maintain humanoid forms, as a result of a great explosion caused by a powerful Gem weapon. By the end of the first season Steven finds out that the Gem Empire wanted to strip off Earth’s organic life to incubate new gems but his mother, Rose Quartz led a revolt along with her allies, the Crystal Gems, to save the Earth from the genocidal scheme. The discovery and release of Lapis Lazuli, a Gem confined on Earth for millennia, put the crystal gems at risk once more, prompting the arrival of hostile envoys Peridot and Jasper.

Photo: Cartoon Network

In the second season it was revealed that prior to Lapis Lazuli’s release, the gem empire had already been incubating a Gem “geo-weapon” known as “The Cluster” at the very core of the Earth. Peridot eventually joins the crystal gems to save the planet. In the third season, Peridot and Lapis Lazuli decided to reside together on Earth. Jasper was defeated and has revealed that Rose Quartz apparently assassinated one of the Matriarchs of the Diamond Authority — Pink Diamond. In the fourth season, Steven is caught up and deals with his conflicted feelings about his mother’s actions. The remaining Diamonds turn their full attention to the planet Earth. In the fifth and final season, Steven discovers his mother’s true identity. Rose Quartz was revealed to be Pink Diamond, the youngest of the Diamond Authority, who revolted against the destruction of the Earth, after gaining first-hand experience and coexisting with human beings. With this revelation, he then tries to persuade the other Diamonds to try and take responsibility and fix the damage that they have caused.

I enjoyed following the individual stories of each character, and I must say my favorite character development would be Peridot’s decision to revolt alongside the Crystal Gems after experiencing their struggles first-hand. It was a great test of courage and empathy that she had to face, considering the fact that she had some sort of power among the rest of the gem hierarchy, and that the Diamonds literally have her neck and could have her shattered anytime. Peridot’s change of heart in Season 2 greatly influenced the seasons that followed.

I have followed this series for as long as I can remember and until now the morals and values that I learned from the show greatly influence my own, although there are things that I do not agree with. You can’t deny that politics exists in Steven Universe, it’s not just an ordinary kid show. The Crystal Gems were literally rebels, but for a great reason — they fought against fascists and colonizers. The Earth isn’t the only victim of the colonizing Gem Empire. The Diamonds had already colonized about 43 planetary bodies and 2 star systems around the time they started settling on Earth. They have committed disgusting atrocities that have mutilated, enslaved, and killed millions of people from different planets, yet the show suggests that we sympathize with them because pInk DiaMoND diEd… They even put Bismuth under a bad light for wanting to fight back against the Diamonds because apparently fighting a fascist is the same as being one. I get that it was their last-ditch to save the Earth but my conscience would never allow me to just forgive a tyrant. It sends off a bad message to little kids, as it disregards the severity of fascism.

Overall, I love the story and the characters, but the ending is a major red flag for it does not give justice to the thousands of years of terror and suffering.

References:

Steven — The boy who saved the Universe

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