One of the biggest and most popular Animated shows of the past decade is Steven Universe, the show that has had 5 seasons, A movie, and a prequel series has come to an end this past march.
Animated shows are something very special to me, they’re very close to my heart, they’re shows that I grew up with. And I know many people can agree with me, so when a show so beautiful comes to an end its very hard to realize that you spent half of your life watching, connecting, and enjoying so many shows that most have come to an end.
The show is very simple, a kid named Steven lives with a group of intergalactic beings named Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl, together they form The Crystal Gems, this group of heroes was founded by Steven’s mom Rose Quartz. Steven is a half human-half gem, and his main purpose is to become a true crystal gem, saving people in need and defending humanity against any danger.
But even though the story starts pretty simple, showing Steven’s adventures along with the Gems. Steven Universe has made a huge impact in a lot of people, taking the time to talk about very strong themes for a “kids show”, but at the same time putting it in a way everyone can understand and sometimes relate. The show takes an extreme turn season after season, getting new and old audiences engaged in the story. The creator and genius mastermind behind the show is Rebecca Sugar.
Rebecca previously worked on Adventure Time along-side Pendleton Ward. She was a producer and songwriter for the show. Later-on Cartoon Network gave an opportunity for some animators and producers to pitch an idea for a show, And Rebecca Sugar took the chance and pitch the pilot for the show, and she got the opportunity to start her project. The show debuted back in 2013 and the rest is history.
Now that the last season/prequel Steven Universe Future has put an end to the whole story, I wanted to talk about it and if you haven’t watched the show or the last season I suggest you go and watch it before reading this because I’ll be doing a spoiler review.
When Cartoon Network Announced that there was going to be a new Steven Universe series showing what happened after the events of the movie I was really excited, not only because it was something new, but also because I loved the movie so much that I wanted to see what was going to happen.
When the first episodes came out, I wasn’t happy, I thought this season was even darker and even more serious, I wasn’t seeing the Steven I knew and loved, I was seeing someone troubled who needed serious help. And this was exactly what Rebecca wanted for the season, after the first 10 episodes I realized what was the point of it.
Then the season/show finale aired and everything was worth it. The ending was so good, showing the importance of mental health, making the audience feel what Steven was feeling, that overwhelming thoughts he was having and ending with a heartwarming scene. Tons of theory’s and speculations about Steven’s corruption at some point, and this was because the intro for the season had a clip that showed a possible corrupted Steven, and then all of those comments about it were true. The finale was a 4-part episode, and in the last one Steven can’t handle his fears and emotions so he becomes the huge pink monster everyone was waiting for, what surprised me is that when he was in that form, the look on his face was always sad or infused but never angry, showing the vulnerability and help he really needed, the all of the gems, Connie and Greg, and even the Diamonds started helping him trying to stop him for destroying the city, but nothing works, until Connie talks to him, he starts crying and then he’s back to normal.
I loved it, it was time for Steven to be listened and for the gems to be there for him like he was there for them. Wow, so heartwarming and yet so scary, making everyone seeing understand what it’s like to be Steven. This ending was great in my opinion, every aspect of it and the final shot was everything. This was truly “The End of an Era”.
