*THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS THROUGHOUT*

Well, it looks like I was out by a factor of 9 as to when Steven Universe would get more new episodes, as about 2 months after the Stevenbomb in November, we’ve got 2 more new episodes that effectively form a 2-parter, although the link between them is a little tangential, as people familiar with SU’s format might have guessed.

And not to jump the gun, but... I liked them. A lot. And despite how positive I tend to be about the show, I often go into SU episodes a little apprehensive, always kinda worried the show will pump out something middling and fillery that I’ll probably enjoy but won’t get anything that substantial from. Fortunately, these two episodes can’t have that criticism levelled at them at all.

Lars Of The Stars

This episode has had a lot of hype. The trailers from San Diego Comic-Con 2017 showed us the opening minutes, featuring the Off-Colors and Lars as charismatic space pirates in the middle of a pitched battle with the hitherto unseen senior Homeworld Gem Emerald (and inadvertedly confirmed Steven and Connie would patch things up after Dewey Wins. Oops.). It was cheesy, it was fun and it was everything most fans wanted out of Lars and the Off-Colors.

After the part featured in the trailer, Steven inadvertedly hits Lars with a stumbling block by letting him in on all the fun Sadie’s been having since he was left on Homeworld. While short- it has to be, given the way it has to be slotted in with the sci-fi shtick of the episode- it has a nice, neatly communicated message: just because you don’t make the same achievements as your peers doesn’t mean you have to feel like what you have managed to do is inferior. It’s also great how it demonstrates that Steven and Connie really have resolved their differences from the last arc and learned something.

Furthermore, the sci-fi trappings of this episode are exactly the right kind of kitsch, with Lars’s adoption of the phrase ‘bingo-bongo’ as a catchphrase of sorts, the cheesy intro cards in a similar vein to the ending of Last One Out Of Beach City, the kind of absurdist logic Emerald follows that Lars knows to take advantage of, and a nice little incorporation of each of the Off-Colors. I feel like I also ought to mention Lars himself gives me a massive Galaxy Quest vibe- when he declared they could use ‘that’, I could almost imagine him declaring ‘Activate the Omega 13’.

The one criticism I can think of is probably that it’s a bit less funny than you might hope an episode like this would be, but for me, SU having characters it’s easy to relate to and like makes up for it being lightweight on comedy, especially given the episode is more a loving pastiche of stuff like Star Trek, Star Wars and Flash Gordon than a parody.

Jungle Moon

Before I watched this episode, I liked Stevonnie a lot. Afterwards, I’m not sure I can really put into words how great a character I think they are. I’ve always thought they’re by far the most interesting fusion to see integrated into an episode (discounting Garnet, who functions a lot more often as a single character and whose fusion nuances are subtler).

Jungle Moon is not only the first time we see Steven and Connie fused for a greatly extended period of time, but also the first episode of the show to have them fused for an entire episode. Stuck on an unknown planet after crash landing from the shuttle on board Lars’s ship, they find themselves foraging and living in the wild, before realizing the planet has connections to the Gems.

Weirdly enough, a Stevonnie episode where they stay fused the whole time isn’t a concept I’d thought about before, but I’m really glad they did it; not only does it give us several clever moments where we get to see their nature as a fusion in real detail (like when they can’t decide whether to kill an animal to eat it, wishing themselves goodnight, and of course the dream sequence, which I’ll get to), but also made me realize how great a voice actress AJ Michalka is. The points at which she varies her inflections to emphasise a line is coming more from Steven’s or from Connie’s perspective are subtle and purposeful, and she’s excellent at hammering home the kind of visceral emotions which come from their nature as a fusion.

Even more than that, though, it’s important to talk about the dream sequence, a surreal but fantastic sequence in which Stevonnie finds themself shrunken down in Connie’s house, trying to get their mother’s attention before her outfit changes to that of Yellow Diamond and their surroundings gradually become those of the jungle moon. As the sequence wears on, Stevonnie’s behaviour becomes more immature and aggressive, before they finally see their reflection as Pink Diamond’s.

It’s a fantastically executed sequence, incorporating a tantalising glimpse of one of the most enigmatic characters in the show’s mythos, reflecting Steven’s ambivalence to the Diamonds and desire to protect the Earth (with their demand for ‘an army’ and ‘a planet’ reflecting the Crystal Gems’ status as guardians of Earth in a eerie manner, perhaps even implying Rose Quartz came from such a state of immaturity), and even serving as a fitting metaphor for the conflict of needing to grow up and become an adult while being talked down to by the authority figures in life, neatly combining Connie’s human problems with Steven’s gem ones.

Admittedly, the ending was a little rushed, with the show demonstrating a need to get Steven and company back to Beach City in time for the next set of episodes which it tends to do at the end of mini-arcs such as this, but I don’t think that’s really a big problem with the episode given it does what it set out to do so well: give the audience a better look into Stevonnie’s personality and unveil a little more of the backstory of the Gems. 

One last subtle touch I liked was the unambiguousness of Stevonnie’s nonbinary identity, like them starting to grow facial hair and shave and Lars referring to them with they/them pronouns. Nonbinary characters in TV are few and far between, and it’s nice and affirming that the show asserts that just because Steven defies traditional expectations of male characters doesn’t make Stevonnie female.

Conclusion

Stranded genuinely impressed me because it managed to do in just 2 11 minute episodes more than some series can’t do in 45 minutes to an hour: give us more insight into the characters and world of the show in a way that’s both satisfying and leaves us wondering what’s next. I really liked the undertones of both episodes, too, and they had a lot of cute moments that felt nice rather than schmaltzy.

If anything, that’s a big part of what appeals to me about SU as a whole: I like seeing most of its characters and how the stories they’re involved with play out, and it’s good at working in good messages and character development in a way that feels meaningful.

It’s funny to think I was worried Stranded wouldn’t work, in hindsight, given how well it does. Without its clever writing and all the nuanced elements in it, it probably would’ve been mediocre. Instead, these are two very, very good episodes, fun and thought-provoking to watch, and are exactly the kind of episodes that remind me why I love Steven Universe in the first place.