JOY OH JOY! I've been super excited to read how you feel about these episodes, and this is a nice breather since some things have become a little tense in the community lately.
“What’s summer vacation?” Oh yeah. I never thought about it too much, but does Steven not go to school? He just lives in a perpetual summer vacation?
I believe the crew said that he is homeschooled by the Gems. According to one of the comics, he's actually pretty smart, ignorance of water molecules notwithstanding.
with all of the magic that gems seem to have access to, why would you want to use another (I assume) sentient gem to power an object? That seems...well, it’s just cruel, yeah? Dark.
You know, this is a really good question and not one I've thought about that often. I guess if you have beings that basically create their own energy and can carry out very complex tasks without any extra technology, it becomes rather handy to use them as tools. I think the Pyramid Temple is the only other time we've seen a Gem-powered device.
“Doesn’t seem broken to me!” Steven always sees the positive in everything. To him, it’s doing its job as a mirror, and that’s all he needs.
Absolutely an important part of Steven's character, and a trait that shows up in a lot of very critical episodes. There's more to say on this but not until later.
To humanity
Raven and Beast Boy Paul are definitely two of my favorite boarders, they have some of the best darn expressions in the show.
“Just - for - you! - Steven.” Well, it’s taken enough of a liking to Steven to disregard its feelings about the gems and make fart jokes again.
That's kinda what gets me the most about this scene. Lapis really presented herself in the most non-threatening way possible and the CGs still wanted to bubble her. No wonder she had her reservations about seeing them.
Side note, the music is really, REALLY setting the mood here. The chord that hit just as Garnet death stared us down put the fear of god into me momentarily.
The soundtrack at this point has always seemed rather horror-movie ish to me, reminding me of Sinister in particular. It really completes that super ominous feel that has been been building in this episode, and boy does it complete that terrifying moment where Steven has an actual conflict with one of the CGs.
Oh haha, that’s only mildly creepy.
I've always wondered what showing the election vehicle was supposed to mean. Travel? Danger? Authority? I still can't quite figure it out.
Also, her gem is cracked - badly, too. When Amethyst’s was cracked, she was falling apart. Lapis Lazuli is doing alright though - she’s pretty powerful, even. She’s totally intact, at least. What’s up with that?
Lapis is scary powerful, it really makes me wonder what she was doing before she got trapped in a mirror.
But seriously, why shouldn’t we trust them? Because the seeds have now been planted. Stuff is shady, but I don’t know who to trust. Are the gems not quite so innocent as I would have assumed? What have they done?
I love this episode because it really throws a lot of what we know of the CGs into question. Are they bad people? Probably not, but they've certainly been keeping some secrets.
“Hey! It’s those magical ladies!” The way the townspeople react to and interact with the gems is really interesting to me. I guess in this universe they just accept that there’s magic and whatnot?
Another thing that is not explicitly explained in the show, but yeah that kind of seems to be how it goes. I suppose the Gems have just been a part of their world for so long that, at least in this area, they're kind of used to it.
It’s really interesting to see how divided the gems are from the rest of the city. Also, is that a sword on the upper right? Or is it one of the temple’s hands that fell off creating a shadow? Because damn that would be a big ass sword.
I believe it's a sword? We get a closer look at the blade and the hilt in Bubble Buddies, and the wiki has some production art that shows it more clearly.
This short scene as Greg, Connie, Lion, and the gems decide to accompany Steven seems a bit...out of place.
I agree, that moment has always felt a bit odd. I think the 11 minute format, while great for keeping episodes from feeling stretched out, can also rush the pacing at times. It's usually not an issue, though.
I dunno guys. I have so many questions.
