Steven Universe: The Second Bomb, Thoughts and Review Part 1 · 11:01pm Jun 22nd, 2015
It's about to get real up in here~
What, did you think I forgot about the review I promised you guys? Hell no! I really wanted contribute and discuss here, since I don't have a lot of IRL friends who watch the show. Now, let's get onto it!
First things first... THE NEW INTRO~!
I SCREAMED SO LOUD WHEN I SAW THIS, IT WAS THAT GOOD.
OK, so not only did the intro gain more anime attributes, it also increased in quality and showed some awesome new progress for the characters. Not only did it show Steven using his gem and being a bigger part of the team, it also showed Connie and gave some awesome foreshadowing!
At first just a love interest...
...NOW WE ON THE TEAM, BABY.
Seriously, I started flailing my arms around because I was so excited! Connie has Rose's sword, meaning that A) Steven or Pearl gave it to her to show her as a part of the team or B) She's proven herself worthy of using the sword and is probably gonna go on more missions. My god, I love Connie so much.
OK, so onto the episode itself.
The episode starts with Steven tuning his ukulele while Connie is tuning her violin. They then proceed to sing "Jam Buddies". Having finished, Steven spreads some jam on a biscuit. Seagulls then charge at Steven but Connie shoos them away with her violin bow. Steven eats his biscuit and praises Connie for being such a good sword fighter. Connie explains that she isn’t, but wants to learn how to use a sword so that way she can help defend Steven.
Steven brings her to Pearl, but she is having second thoughts about teaching someone as young as Connie. Connie then explains she wants to fight alongside Steven and protect the Earth. This convinces Pearl and she takes them to the Ancient Sky Arena to train.
Connie is such a dork and it's great.
Pearl explains that the Arena was where Gem Battles used to take place. She hands Connie a sword whilst explaining to her the concept of being a Knight - compared to Steven, Connie is nothing more than a protector. Pearl tells Connie to bow to both her and Steven, causing the both of them to giggle. She then proceeds to summon Holo-Pearl, which spooks Steven and causes him to summon his bubble by reflex.
Poor Steven... It's upsetting that Pearl didn't take note of this.
Steven deactivates it and steps to the side for Connie to start. Pearl explains the stance and starts to sing "Do It For Her" while a montage of Connie’s training plays.
"You do it for her-- That is to say, you'll do it for him."
The scene continues with Pearl demonstrating more sword tactics, and when Connie messes up, shouts, "Concentrate! Don't you want him to live?!" Steven is perturbed by this, but Connie takes it in stride and does as Pearl says. Pearl continues training Connie over a span of time and she shows Steven and Connie a holographic image of Pearl on the battlefield, defending Rose from what appears to be a Jasper lookalike.
"On the battlefield, everything is chaos, and you have nothing but the way you feel, your strategy, and a sword. You just think about the life you'll have together after the war."
Connie begins to join in on the song montage and full-heartedly accepts her role as Steven's protector, but her behavior and idolization of him makes him extremely uncomfortable. The montage ends and Steven tries to talk to Connie about his discomfort. Pearl states they have training to do and warps away with Connie. Amethyst and Garnet come out of Amethyst’s room, and Amethyst asks why Steven is looking so sad. Steven explains he is worried for Connie; Pearl is asking her to do all this dangerous stuff for him. Garnet expresses understanding, and explains to Steven how Pearl risked her life many times for Rose, and that it makes sense that Pearl is training Connie to do the same for Steven. Steven then warps himself to the Arena to try to stop Connie. Before he can get there, Pearl summons fog over the Arena and they start training.
Steven enters the fog to try and find Connie, but stumbles upon a Holo-Pearl, Connie appears and stabs it to save Steven. Steven then saves her from another Holo-Pearl, convincing her that she doesn't need her to be his knight; they can be a team. Four more Holo-Pearls show up and Steven summons both his shield and bubble, which deflects their attacks and defeats them.
Pearl clears the fog and scolds Steven for interfering and insists that Connie needs to fight her on her own. Steven and Connie refuse, and attack Pearl together. Pearl is surprised at first, and they seem to be winning.
Go ahead and try to hit me if you're able
Can't you see that my relationship is stable?
I can see you hate the way we intermingle...
Pearl soon overcomes her surprise, and knocks Connie and Steven back. Steven and Pearl argue, and Pearl claims Steven shouldn't be anywhere near a battle since he is too important. Then, it all breaks down here:
BUT I THINK YOU'RE JUST MAD CAUSE YA SINGLE
...Too soon?
She drops her sword and sits on the edge of the Sky Arena. Steven and Connie apologize and comfort Pearl, then tell her that the way she idolized Rose and how she tried to push it onto Connie was extremely unhealthy.
Pardon my breaking heart.
After a brief conversation, she calms down and comes around to their viewpoint. Shaking tears from her eyes, she exclaims that they will both make great knights. Pearl hugs both of them and the star-shaped iris closes on a sword laying on the arena floor.
OK, so this episode, needless to say, made me cry. A lot. It was the first episode of the week and I was already down on the floor from sobbing. From the way Connie and Steven were fighting together to the way Pearl confused Steven for Rose, I was definitely not OK by the end of the night. But, the reason this episode is so important is because the message itself is so wonderful. It teaches it's viewers that idolizing and putting others on pedestals isn't healthy, and that by putting them above you that your putting yourself below them. Pearl has shown herself to be emotionally broken over what happened with Rose, and while she's made progress in her grief, she still has a ways to go before she's all the way fine.
Episode Thoughts: Sad, but powerful. I cried a lot afterwards.
This is what introducing a fan to the show is like. You give glow bracelets when they're sad.
Beautiful episode. Steven Bomb 2.0 was indeed as awesome as it was full of feels.
I liked the idea of Connie training to fight alongside Steven, and I hope that comes up at some point.
Hnnnng, I loved this bomb, AND A NEW ONE IN JULY. PREPARE YOURSELF
How about that Ocean Town?
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There's a second Steven Bomb in July. My body isn't ready. It's especially not ready because Gravity Falls comes back on the 15th of July, too.
Some could say this was actually a Pearl Bomb and on a bit of a degree, I kinda agree.
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She was a big focus in some of the episodes. Then again, the writers have been leaning towards Pearl because Rebecca Sugar stated in an interview that (possible spoilers ahead?): "Pearl is the gem that Steven knows the least about at this point." It'd make sense that they focus on her so that way her character could have the big reveal.
By far my favorite episode of the second Bomb. Without getting into a complex review I just want to say: seeing Steven and Connie fight was badass!