Well, Steven Universe really saved the best for last, didn't they? While rushed at times, Season 5 has everything I want from a final season of the series. It's emotional, satisfying, and filled with strong episodes. Oh, and the movie's great too.
Being the end of the series, Season 5 of Steven Universe covers a lot of ground, starting with a fantastic four-episode-long arc about Steven and Lars escaping from Homeworld. Not only did it finally gives Lars some much-needed character development, it changes the status quo in some big ways and lays the groundwork for the season's main theme: The fact that the story of Rose shattering Pink Diamond has some pretty glaring holes in it. After that opening arc, the show calms down a bit, with much of the first half being composed of Beach City episodes. However, between the Rose Quartz mystery, Lars being in space, the conflict between Steven and Connie, Lapis leaving, this half of the season is still really emotional and surprising. I actually really liked a lot of the Beach City episodes in this season, as a lot of the characters really start to go through big changes like Sadie leaving her job and Nanefua becoming mayor. As a whole, I think the quality of episodes in Season 5 was just really strong. Even the light-hearted and less plot relevant episodes had a great emotional hook that made them worth watching.
After a lot of foreshadowing, the second half of the season is kicked off when Steven discovers that Pink Diamond and Rose Quartz are in fact the same person, a massive and shocking twist that simultaneously makes the season better and worse at the same time. On one hand, this reveal makes Rose a super interesting character, as she went from a slightly shady big good to a Diamond who tried to switch sides and protect Earth, only to seriously mess up. Seeing the cast deal with this reveal is compelling, and it does a great job of setting the stage for the final confrontation with the Diamonds. And much of these later episodes are really emotionally impactful, tense, and filled to the brim with action, twists, and satisfying payoffs. However, the Diamonds aren't exactly great villains, as their major conflict kind of boils down to being a dysfunctional family. As a whole, I'd call them the weakest part of the show, and that leads to the elephant of the room: The main antagonist, White Diamond.
Steven Universe ends with White Diamond being brought down pretty quickly and pacifistically, which I'm kinda split on. In its defense, I think people are generally misinterpreting how White Diamond is taken down. There's this sentiment that White Diamond had a super quick "redemption arc" when that is not at all the case. Redemption involves making up for the sins of your past (Zuko), forgiveness involves someone else determining whether or not said person did so (Catra), White Diamond just changed her mind, corrected her course. If she's headed towards a redemption, this is just the start of it. And I do think a pacifistic solution fits the show's themes the best. You can resolve a conflict nonviolently and do it in a satisfying way, and I actually really like the confrontation between Steven and White. However, considering she's a genocidal tyrant, I do feel like White Diamond came around a bit too easily and quickly. I'd believe Steven can prompt a turnaround without throwing a single punch. I don't believe he'd be able to do it in five minutes. I'm not going to hold this too much against the crew or the show as a whole, Cartoon Network canceled Steven Universe pretty abruptly and forced them to rush an ending out of necessity. Most subsequent Steven Universe media makes it clear the Diamonds still have a lot of work to do before they make up for what they've done, so I believe the crew did the best they could with the time they were given.
Speaking of which, Steven Universe didn't quite end with Season 5. There's also the movie and Steven Universe Future. Now, I'm not going to review Future because I'm really not a fan of the direction it took, once again sidelining much of the cast so we can watch depressed Steven for twenty episodes. However, I did want to talk about the movie because it was ridiculously fun, quite possibly one of my favorite "episodes" in the series. I criticized Mr Greg for being too short to be a musical episode, but now we got a whole movie's worth of musical numbers, and they're all fantastic. Happily Ever After, Other Friends, Independent Together, Drift Away, Who We Are, they really saved the best for the feature film. The Movie was also a lot funnier than I expected, like the jokes landed for me so much more than they usually do in Steven Universe. But easily the best thing about this film was the main antagonist Spinel. For starters, her rubberhose animation style looks absolutely phenomenal, Sarah Stiles's performance was fantastic, and she ended up getting the two best songs in the movie (Other Friends & Drift Away). But even more, Spinel is just a genuinely complex and fascinating villain. On one hand, you feel for her getting abandoned by Pink and want her to find happiness. But on the other hand, she's a pretty toxic and clingy friend and a terrifying villain. Spinel feels like the type of villain that you actually want redeemed, and the feature length really lets the writers explore her character in depth. Steven Universe: The Movie does have its problems, like the sheer amount of time spent recapping the cast's development and the fact that it feels oddly small-scale for a movie, but otherwise, it was pretty much 90 nonstop minutes of pure unbridled joy.
There is, however, one issue I have the film, though that's more an issue with the series (but especially these last few seasons) in its entirety. So anyone else find it weird that in a series about looking for the best in people, Pink Diamond ends up the only character considered "irredeemable". Like yeah, she was awful to Spinel and Pearl, not saying she's perfect, but she's also the first Diamond to realize Homeworld is shit by a huge margin. She took on the role of protecting Earth entirely on her own, and grew to genuinely care about the people she met there. The show would not have happened if not for her, Earth probably would've been taken over years ago. I think this is the point where that Steven's perspective issue I've been rambling about is at its worst. I get being angry at discovering your parents aren't perfect, or even that they've done some awful things. That's a compelling, relatable issue that everyone has to deal with when coming of age. But you also eventually have to accept that your parents aren't perfect and reconcile the things they've done, both right and wrong, and Steven never does that. Pink, or should I say Rose, did redeem herself. She grew up in a position of dictatorial power, willing broke out of it, and fought back against it. I'm more fine with how the movie touches upon this issue since Pink ditching Spinel is objectively a shitty thing and I get being mad at her for it, but as a whole, it really doesn't sit well with me how Pink is ultimately treated by the end of the show.
But okay, going back to Season 5, there were a lot of memorable episodes, way more than is usual for Steven Universe:
The Trial: This episode was probably where the Diamonds were at their most intense. Given that this was the first time Steven really spoke to them, I was at the edge of my seat the entire time, wondering how he could get out alive. Thankfully, Steven manages to escape, but not without learning the reveal that the story of Pink Diamond's death has so many holes that there's no way Rose could have killed her.
Off Colors/Lars' Head: Lars's character arcs in these episodes was just fantastic, as he turns from a wimp to an utter badass that sacrifices himself to save people he barely even met. The titular Off Colors are really charming and likable side characters, and I'm glad they got a lot of focus this season. Lars's death and subsequent resurrection was shocking, and ending the season's opening arc on a fittingly surprising note.
The Big Show/Letters For Lars: Easily two of my favorite Beach City episodes, The Big Show focuses on one of my favorite human characters, Sadie, as she holds her first big performance in her new band. It was really heartwarming to see Steven and Greg help her prepare, and the documentary format was very charming. Meanwhile, Letters For Lars does a good job of exploring how the residents of Beach City have changed throughout the first half of the season, and is filled with charming interactions and great comedic moments.
Can't Go Back: Lapis got a song, and it's really good too! That Distant Shore really hit me hard, and definitely ranks up as one of my favorite Steven Universe songs to date. But even outside of that Can't Go Back does a great job of exploring Lapis's struggle over whether or not to stay on Earth, and the ending serves as a great hook for the next episode.
A Single Pale Rose: Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond, one of the greatest twists in television history. Sure it's a bit predictable and a lot of people saw it coming (though I doubt anyone expected Pearl's role in the whole thing), but it works really well and fits her character perfectly despite turning the entire series on its head. The reveal itself was executed perfectly through little hints, slowly getting more obvious until we see Steven's gem turn and reveal it's actually a diamond. The show only doesn't shy away from the ramifications of such a reveal, and from here on, Season 5 goes from great to fantastic. Easily my favorite episode of the show.
Reunited: Ruby and Sapphire got married! I don't think I need to say that Reunited's big wedding was a pretty huge moment for children's animation, as not only did it show two female characters get married, they also managed to get in a kiss. But that wasn't all, we even got a bombastic fight scene with Yellow and Blue Diamond, filled with big twists like Rose's sword being destroyed, Lapis returning only to get poofed with Peridot, and the Cluster fighting on the side of the Crystal Gems.
Change Your Mind: Look, I won't lie, this episode was pretty rushed and crammed with stuff, and that doesn't drag it down a bit. But I generally still thought Change Your Mind was a really action-packed and satisfying ending. Between all the returning characters, the new Fusions, and the big reveals about Steven and White's Pearl, I'm fine with the sacrifice to pacing as long as it means that everything gets a fairly satisfying resolution. And that final confrontation between Steven and White Diamond boasts some of the best animation in the whole show. Yeah, you know which scene I'm talking about.
Overall, Season 5 isn't perfect, it is definitely rushed at points and White Diamond being brought down so easily probably wasn't the best call. But that doesn't mean you can't tell the crew really brought their A-game to this one. This season was packed with tons of phenomenal episodes, stunning twists, great character developments, and ended the series on a truly satisfying note. And the movie was a fun, light-hearted coda filled with fantastic musical numbers and great character moments.
Season 5: 5/5 Stars
Movie: 4/5 Stars
My ranking of the seasons of Steven Universe (including the movie) is:
5 > Movie > 3 > 2 > 1B > 4 > 1A > Future
My ranking of the finales of Steven Universe is:
1B > 4 > 5 > 1A > 3 > Future > 2
Favorite Episode: A Single Pale Rose
Favorite Songs: It's Over Isn't It?, Other Friends, That Distant Shore, Stronger Than You, Here Comes A Thought
I also wanted to just give my general conclusion on Steven Universe because my opinions on this series are pretty mixed. For starters, I don't think this is a bad show. I actually think it's pretty good, and at its best, it's amazing. The characters are all likable and complex, the plot is compelling and full of strong twists, the musical numbers slap, and the show's ambition and willingness to take risks, deal with serious themes, and break new ground for children's animation should always be respected. I feel like everyone has an episode, character, and/or song that really speaks to them (for me, it's Mindful Education and Lapis). However, I think the whole show taking place from Steven's perspective really hurt it for me. With its short episode lengths, many of the characters didn't get as much screentime and development as they should have, and I already ranted about the Pink Diamond stuff. Overall, I'll still think of Steven Universe fondly for what it did right, but I will also remember it as a fairly flawed show. With how divisive it is online, I feel comfortable leaving it at: pretty good.
