Steven Universe (TV Series, Season 2)
Aug. 7th, 2017 01:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chuckroSteven and the gems recover from the fallout of the homeworld gem attack at the end of the first season and go on with their lives. Some new supporting cast members appear and old ones get fleshed out more. There's an absurd and inexplicable crossover with Uncle Grandpa. Good times are had by all?
The continuity becomes much more important, and the individual 11-minute shorts have less excuse of individual plots and are more snippets of continuations of ongoing events and relationships. These generally assume that no only have you seen all of season one, but you haven't missed any of the earlier season two, either.
There’s a bunch of character development / change, particularly among the gems. Garnet becomes much less taciturn and aloof and much more the “Mama Bear,” while Pearl gets less of a mom vibe and more of an anxiety-ridden one. I'm not sure how much of that is “characterization marches on” and how much was preparing for the revelation that there are zillions of Pearls, Amethysts, Rubies, Sapphires, etc.; and this creates better contrast between our heroes and their “races”.
And the introduction of Peridot to shake up the status quote with a “fish out of water” theme works. Her antics are funny, she's the mouthpiece for the fantastic racism and a bunch of backstory exposition (Amethyst being “defective”, among other things), and she gives us a nice parallel between Rose's ability to gather allies and Steven's.
They finally establish Steven's age in 2x26 (which had been one of my issues back in season 1), when he turns 14 but, because he's a gem-human hybrid, he ages oddly. Connie is 12.75 at the same time, which is...reasonable, I guess? Steven is a childish tween/teenager, which fits with a bunch of his capabilities and the fact that he's at home interacting with older teens.
The fact that the season ends with the plan for dealing with the Cluster in place but not implemented is kinda frustrating. Peridot is established as an ally; Yellow Diamond as a clear powerful antagonist...but given that the drill is finished, why don't they just wrap up the Cluster problem rather than dragging it out?
Overall: I think this show has improved as the continuity has gotten stronger, but it also creates a lockout for new viewers who wouldn't want to start from the beginning. I suppose I'll see what season 3 is like.
The continuity becomes much more important, and the individual 11-minute shorts have less excuse of individual plots and are more snippets of continuations of ongoing events and relationships. These generally assume that no only have you seen all of season one, but you haven't missed any of the earlier season two, either.
There’s a bunch of character development / change, particularly among the gems. Garnet becomes much less taciturn and aloof and much more the “Mama Bear,” while Pearl gets less of a mom vibe and more of an anxiety-ridden one. I'm not sure how much of that is “characterization marches on” and how much was preparing for the revelation that there are zillions of Pearls, Amethysts, Rubies, Sapphires, etc.; and this creates better contrast between our heroes and their “races”.
And the introduction of Peridot to shake up the status quote with a “fish out of water” theme works. Her antics are funny, she's the mouthpiece for the fantastic racism and a bunch of backstory exposition (Amethyst being “defective”, among other things), and she gives us a nice parallel between Rose's ability to gather allies and Steven's.
They finally establish Steven's age in 2x26 (which had been one of my issues back in season 1), when he turns 14 but, because he's a gem-human hybrid, he ages oddly. Connie is 12.75 at the same time, which is...reasonable, I guess? Steven is a childish tween/teenager, which fits with a bunch of his capabilities and the fact that he's at home interacting with older teens.
The fact that the season ends with the plan for dealing with the Cluster in place but not implemented is kinda frustrating. Peridot is established as an ally; Yellow Diamond as a clear powerful antagonist...but given that the drill is finished, why don't they just wrap up the Cluster problem rather than dragging it out?
Overall: I think this show has improved as the continuity has gotten stronger, but it also creates a lockout for new viewers who wouldn't want to start from the beginning. I suppose I'll see what season 3 is like.
