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OK, so full disclosure (heh) on why my review of these new episodes is a little late by my standards: I incorrectly assumed the half-hour special intended to close out the new bomb (allegedly featuring Lapis) was airing on the 9^th April. In actuality it doesn’t come out till the 7^th May. I actually wrote these reviews after watching the four episodes that have come out thus far without publishing them assuming it’d only be another two weeks until the next batch of episodes came out, but since I was way off the mark, I figured I’d put my reviews of the first four out now. When I’ve seen the special, I’ll be sure to give my thoughts on that.

Anyway, back on topic. Prior to the new episodes Cartoon Network put out a ‘story so far’ sort of video talking about the series’ mythos and overarching plot up to now. (For anyone who’s never seen SU and is curious, I can recommend it, it sums things up pretty neatly.) I assumed this was just because of the huge intermittence of episode releases and the fact the last episode showed us Pink Diamond for the first time, but having seen the new episodes, there was a reason they did this.

So, let’s get into them.

*

Your Mother And Mine

This episode has kinda overshadowed the other three, and for good reason. For fans who care a lot about the show’s mythos, this is a treat to behold. But surprisingly, even as someone who’s not that invested in fan theories and cares more about the character drama, I adored this episode.

Steven brings Garnet to meet the Off-Colors aboard Lars’s ship, and after greeting them, she learns none of them know who Rose Quartz really was. She explains it to them, in a gorgeously realized sequence reminiscent of the rightly beloved episode The Answer, to try to make them understand what the Crystal Gems fight for.

The aforementioned sequence of Rose Quartz’s backstory is not only wonderfully animated and told in a storybook-like fashion, but also gives us the biggest insight so far in the series into what Rose did as a rebel against Homeworld and why she rebelled. It also has some great moments for all the Off-Colors and Garnet, and comes with a wonderfully sweet message about oppression and perseverance which seems resonant to the horrible time in world politics we live in. 

On top of that, it’s a little ambiguous whether Garnet is wholly truthful, but either way, it solves some big questions: if she is, it explains why the conflict between Bismuth and Rose Quartz arose; if she’s not, it implies the kind of benevolence Rose was committed to and goes some way to explain the vision from Jungle Moon.

It’s memorable, smartly-written (the overtones of Homeworld’s propagandistic nature are a great touch), and pretty much all the nice aspects of the show blended together beautifully. I can’t recommend it enough, even- hell, especially- to people who’ve drifted in and out of watching the show because of the awful scheduling.

*

The Big Show

Another quirky little story, this time delving back into the show’s side characters, The Big Show is almost as good as Your Mother And Mine, at least in my opinion, albeit in a completely different way and for very different reasons. If Your Mother And Mine was reminiscent of The Answer, The Big Show reminds me a fair bit of Last One Out Of Beach City, another personal favourite episode.

Having formed during the last bomb in the episode Sadie Killer, Sadie Killer And The Suspects (the band comprising Sadie and the Cool Kids) try to get a high-profile gig and break out of their basement comfort zone. They take on Greg as their manager and Steven films the episode as their cameraman for an early days-style documentary (hence the low-quality camcorder filter over the screenshot- I didn’t just watch the episode in 240p, it’s meant to be like this!), tracking the band on the path to their first big show.

I can definitely understand if people don’t enjoy this episode as much as some of the others since it’s a lot more focused on characters who are less integral to the overarching plot, but in my view, giving these characters more depth and showing their development is still pretty interesting even if it isn’t that related to the overall storyline of the series. In addition, I like how we get to see Sadie’s conflict between her friends and family, and the conflicting desire for independence and to impress those close to you which comes with growing up and doing new things.

As well as incorporating a few nice little jokes about the band and some funny moments from Buck (who’s a character I hadn’t really thought much about before now), the song from towards the end of the episode, ‘Ghost’, is also great, in my opinion even better than ‘The Working Dead’, playing neatly into the conflict built up between Sadie’s wishes and her mother’s as well as just sounding great.

*

Pool Hopping

I never thought I’d say this about a Steven Universe episode in my life, but… to be honest, Pool Hopping reminds me more than anything of Rick & Morty. Not that I’m complaining, it’s massively to the episode’s advantage, but I’ll get to that.

Garnet decides to incorporate Steven into an idea she wants to try: seeking out the most improbable events she can to try and gleam more useful information from her future vision. The two partake in an assortment of crazy stunts around town, before realizing the fundamental problem with their way of thinking.

I make the comparison to Rick & Morty because of the reckless abandon of the first half of the episode. The absurdity of Garnet’s actions and Steven gradually catching on is a pretty fun dynamic to watch play out, although by the end of the episode, the dynamic is reversed and Garnet is the one left wondering what to do.

It’s pretty funny in places, and in my view gains momentum as it goes; I really wasn’t sold on it at first, but the premise grew on me and the ending is very strong. Not to give too much away (especially since it hasn’t aired on TV yet), but it’s also a fairly clever inversion of the season 1 episode Future Vision, which originally featured Steven being paralyzed by the abundance of possibility and choice. 

What’s interesting is, now he’s older and more developed as a character, the show has become more about him and the Gems working on equal terms than the Gems mothering him, even though he clearly still respects them a lot. In addition, seeing Garnet in such a state of confusion is well-handled and communicates the kind of responsibility she’s always had expected of her and the stress that comes with it. It’s a neat little episode, especially for people who like seeing Garnet get screentime.

*

Letters To Lars

The fourth episode of the new bomb is probably the weakest, although I personally don’t have a problem with it. It’s a sort of skit-like episode about the human characters and recent happenings in Beach City, so if that’s not your thing, fair enough.

Steven sends Lars a letter through his head detailing a whole bunch of recent goings-on in town, taking in almost all the recurring human characters and Crystal Gems in some way (except Connie and Lapis, which sucks since they’re two of my favourite characters- not that working in Lapis would really work, admittedly). The main uniting theme, really, is what Mayor Dewey can do since losing the mayoralty, and the solution is actually fairly common-sense in a weird sort of way.

It has some decent gags that I won’t spoil, particularly with Amethyst and Pearl (the latter having had little screentime for quite a while), the recurring gag of Mayor Dewey is alright, and although some of the things the townsfolk are up to are a bit silly, it’s nice to see them get some screentime after a lot of worldbuilding and main character focused episodes, and I’d certainly prefer one episode like this to a whole bunch about each set of characters like we’ve tended to have in previous seasons.

The ending is also pretty good, and I’m really starting to enjoy seeing Steven and Lars’s changing relationship since the end of season 4- their dynamic feels more good-natured, compared to earlier seasons when Lars seemed rather bitter and resentful in places. On the whole, if you hate the show’s filler you probably won’t find much to enjoy, but otherwise it has a decent amount to recommend about it, and the ending is one of the funnier moments in the show lately.

*

Conclusion

While not exactly the best bomb the show’s ever put out, these four episodes were still very fun to watch, at least for me. Even if you don’t watch the show consistently, I can thoroughly recommend Your Mother And Mine- it’s like a distillation of everything great about the show, and pretty much an 11-minute demonstration that the claims it’s jumped the shark are hard to defend. 

The other three aren’t quite up to that standard, but I really enjoyed The Big Show, came to love Pool Hopping by the end, and thought Letters To Lars was decent with some quite funny moments sprinkled in. They’re not exactly gonna change your mind if you aren’t sold on the show, but you’ll probably enjoy them a fair bit.

Having said that, I’m thoroughly hyped for the half-hour special. I feel like in general, season 5 has been quite a strong one, and if the special is up to the standards of recent episodes, I think we could be in for a treat. 

(I’m just hoping I haven’t jinxed it by saying that…)