Dog sled dog sled dog sled dog sled
(This review contains
spoilers!)
I’ve always been a fan of the episodes
that flashback to Greg’s life with Rose. It’s interesting to see how the love
between those characters bloomed, as well as the reactions from the other
Crystal Gems. Three Gems and a Baby did things a little differently, taking
place a few months after Rose’s passing as Greg and Steven experience their
first winter together.
The episode itself is a good one,
albeit one that feels a bit rushed in both the animation and storytelling
departments. For some reason, the characters all seem a bit off model in this
one in their animations, and nothing seems quite as refined as we’ve come to
expect from Steven Universe. Likewise, the story in this episode seems to jump
from problem to resolution awfully fast, making me feel like this would’ve
worked better as the half-hour special instead of Gem Harvest, which could’ve
only lasted 11 minutes.
Aside from those issues, Three Gems
and a Baby is a very cute episode that gives light to what Greg and the Gems
were like in the first few months after Rose’s death. As expected, Garnet is
warm and welcoming to Steven, Amethyst hasn’t really accepted Rose is gone yet,
and Pearl has completely lost her marbles. Greg also plays a major role in this
episode, feeling completely unprepared to take care of a baby by himself. The
episode starts off with a short yet delightful song by Greg about how he’s not
ready for any of this, and while I think it could’ve been a tiny bit longer, it’s
a very sweet song that fits the episode.
Then things get thrown into high gear
as the Gems literally kidnap Steven and steal Greg’s van in an attempt to bring
Rose back. The three each try their own tactics, but they ultimately come to
the realization that Rose is gone and Steven is here now, and they must take
care of him.
One of the more startling moments of
the episode comes courtesy of Pearl, who momentarily considers tearing Steven’s
gem out to bring Rose back once and for all. She obviously doesn’t, deciding
that since this was what Rose wanted she should try and accept it, but that
just begs the question that Steven Universe has posed several times before: what
would happen to Steven if something happened to his gem? We know that the other
gems poof if something happens to their physical form, but since the only gem
part of Steven is his literal gem, it’s unclear what would happen to him.
Considering Steven is the main character of this children’s cartoon show, it’s
likely we’ll never find out, but it’s fun to speculate.
While Three Gems and a Baby has some
significant problems, the episode is ultimately sweet enough to forgive them. I
like that we finally got insight as to what the characters were like just after
Rose’s death, as well as their half-hearted attempts to bring her back after
they don’t understand what Steven is. I also liked the winter setting, making
this feel like as much of a Christmas episode as we’ll ever get from Steven
Universe. As this is likely our last episode of the year for Steven Universe,
it’s a nice way to wrap up and put a bow on what’s been a fantastic year for
the show.
FINAL SCORE
7/10
Good
No comments:
Post a Comment