Who’s your daddy?
(This review contains
spoilers!)
Continuing directly from last time,
it’s up to Steven and the Gems to rescue the captured townspeople from the
clutches of Aquamarine and Topaz.
This episode takes a much more sinister tone than the one
before, as seen with the reddish tint to the lighting throughout the whole
thing. I’ve always loved how Steven
Universe isn’t afraid to change the colour scheme they use depending on
where the characters are and when the scene takes place. It really adds an
extra bit of depth to the world you don’t see in many other cartoons.
Onto the episode itself, I Am My Mom wastes no time in gathering
up the Crystal Gems (sans Peridot and Lapis, but I feel that their respective
powers would’ve been able to stop the big reveal at the end, so it kind of
makes sense why they were absent this time) and locating the villains who are
still searching for “My Dad”. Pearl and Steven quickly put together that
they’re top agents sent by Blue and Yellow Diamond as new prisoners for the
zoo.
While Aquamarine was entertaining in
the last episode, here she makes the jump to one of Steven Universe’s best villains so far, up there with Yellow
Diamond, Jasper, and the Cartoon Network social media guy that lied about a new
gem being in Rocknaldo. She’s
delightfully sadistic, putting Steven’s friends in mortal danger without a care
in the world.
I also love how this episode brings
back plenty of old jokes and plot points from episodes not just in the series,
but dating as far back as Season 1. Connie’s ringtone is music from Alone Together, Jamie references the
events of Love Letters, and the
reason why Aquamarine captured those specific humans is because they’re the
ones Steven listed off to Peridot back in Marble
Madness. It’s very rewarding for fans who’ve stuck with the show for a long
time.
Of course, things get messy once
Steven tells them that he’s “My Dad”, allowing himself to be captured and taken
aboard their ship. His rescue mission doesn’t quite go as planned, leaving him
no choice but to reveal himself as Rose Quartz. His friends are freed, but at
the cost of him being sent to Homeworld with little to no chance of rescue.
This would make for an awesome
cliffhanger ending, but there’s one small detail that really sullied it for me.
Not all the humans managed to escape the ship. One was accidentally left
behind. And that human was…
…Lars.
I keep trying to convince myself that
this is a good thing and that it’ll finally give Lars the character development
the crew wants him to get, but I can’t help but be disappointed that we might
finally be seeing Homeworld for the first time, and we’re stuck with Lars! It
doesn’t feel like an exciting additional character being along for the ride.
Instead it feels more like you’re finally going to Disney World for the first
time ever but you need to bring your bratty nephew along for no real reason.
(NOTE: I wrote this review on Thursday
morning. Since then I’ve seen the leak of the next episode, Stuck Together, and I’m starting to
think that having Lars playing a major role in this arc might be just what his
character needs. I’m keeping this review the way it is though to preserve how I
felt after watching I Am My Mom the
first time.)
Despite this frustration, I Am My Mom is a very satisfying ending
to not only the arc, but the entire season. In a season full of boring town
episodes and underwhelming character development across the board, this episode
really felt like a return to form for the series that we haven’t seen since the
last StevenBomb. While I’m sure Steven will be returning to Earth before long,
the next few episode titles tell me that we’ll be spending plenty of time with
Lars in space, seeing more of what Homeworld has up their sleeves.
FINAL SCORE
8/10
Great
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