Steven Universe: Lars' Head

May 29, 2017 6:24 PM - Season 5, Episode 4

Lars gains new powers.
posted by Small Dollar (65 comments total)

Lars is the real Cookie Cat all along.
posted by divabat at 7:33 PM on May 29, 2017 [7 favorites]

Also I really want "us off colors gotta stick together" on some kinda of merchandise and parade it around forever
posted by divabat at 7:34 PM on May 29, 2017 [8 favorites]

So, then, we know what's up with Lion. We've seen gems that create "child" creatures that operate independently, Centipeedle did it in the very first episode and many other corrupted gems have done similarly. Rose had a long time to experiment with her powers, and apparently experimented on a pride of lions in the desert (as we saw in Buddy's Book) and left one Lion in particular for Steven. No "Lion is Pink Diamond" or any such nonsense. Lion is just an ordinary... magical gem zombie.

Also hey, Lars fucking died. He is fucking dead, and is now straight up a reanimated gem zombie with no pulse and no human needs. I... I don't think there's any coming back from that, so, good luck Lars/Sadie shippers.

I swear to god if the show doesn't continue and utilize this new secret homeworld/earth bridge and just abandons Lars to his new gem buddies episode after episode I will flip. We need some "Lars discovers his new magical powers" scenes at least, and I'd really like the odd-colors to get more screen time, especially "Crystal Gems meet them and help them find their hidden fighting potential". Also it's cool and all seeing the dark underbelly of Homeworld, and "beautiful palaces built on decaying ruins" is about all you can expect from a civilization many millennia old, but will we ever see more of crazy abstract surface homeworld?
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 8:42 PM on May 29, 2017 [8 favorites]

Wow, that was a nuke of a stevenbomb. Colour me impressed. Long live happy eternal undeath to pink portal zombie Lars. I wonder how are going to get him back earthside, or if they'll just make spinoff series on homeworld (I'd watch it).
posted by mrjohnmuller at 8:42 PM on May 29, 2017 [2 favorites]

This show has a way of building allies & associates, then putting them slightly off-stage where they can still be a part of episodes that involve them, but not get in the way of the core group otherwise. Like Lapis & Peridot, or Connie, or the Famethyst maybe. So I bet Pink Zombie Lars and the Off-Colors will be out of the picture most of the time, but very in it when they are. After all, they came back to Centipeedle and "Eyeball" Ruby.
posted by traveler_ at 9:12 PM on May 29, 2017

I still don't understand why Steven just use Lion to teleport everywhere. Lion Ex Machina ending for every episode.
posted by eustatic at 10:06 PM on May 29, 2017

Lion has a limit on their teleportation abilities. They got tired getting to the Moon.
posted by divabat at 1:00 AM on May 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

OK so apparently I have some kind of emotional thing for characters & scenes where they're willing to give up on everything they've ever known about themselves for what they feel is right

because now I'm bawling over Lars the same way I was over Peridot in Message Received

so brave, so so brave
posted by divabat at 1:27 AM on May 30, 2017 [7 favorites]

I am uncomfortable with Gem Zombie Lars. Lars always seems to get a really short end of the stick in this show. (I use to hate Lars and now I can't believe I feel pity for him. Gah this show y'all)

I am sad there is no Steven+Lars fusion and thus no Stars.

I'm not sure I'm ok with more gems. I bucked at Bismuth too. I think I'm just worried they'll distract from Peridot Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst.
posted by INFJ at 8:39 AM on May 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

I'm impressed, that was such a simple but brutal way to kill Lars. In any other cartoon (or if it had been Steven) the victim would have been a bit hurt but fine but Lars? Nope, dead.

I doubt we'll see Lars complaining or having problems with his transformation if he goes back to Earth, his arc is basically complete. I mean, there are definitely going to be a zillion fanfics about Lars-angst but I think it would be a re-tread of the same themes if they deal with it in the series.
posted by Memo at 9:07 AM on May 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

So I don't get what's up with Greg then. He's got the same pink hue, but only on exposed skin. (To be fair, we didn't see if Lars is pink all over, but given his hair I expect the answer is yes).
posted by nat at 9:17 AM on May 30, 2017

Greg's just perma-sunburned.
posted by nonasuch at 9:22 AM on May 30, 2017 [10 favorites]

With a burn that matches the clothes he was wearing in the video?

We don't actually know what would happen with another human nearby, there was a pretty big flash for Lars but no one else around. Maybe Greg was around when Lion got made? I don't actually recall when he first meets Lion so I can't remember if he was appropriately surprised.

Oh, and I'm also assuming since there are no more hills, that Lion and Lars are the only two pink zombies around. A bit surprising, if the fountain that flows with Rose's tears has been running for any length of time...
posted by nat at 9:27 AM on May 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

It's one thing to heal people and Gems from injuries..(I don't think humans know about Rose's fountain because otherwise there'd always be people there.. and probably also selling bottles of healing tears)

it's another thing to magically bring them back from the dead. Something on a very fundamental level has changed in Lars. He's no longer human.

Greg is still human.
posted by INFJ at 11:03 AM on May 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

I've always assumed Greg's perma-sunburn is from witnessing Steven's birth, but him witnessing Lion's birth is an interesting alternative. I'd have to go back and see how he reacts to Lion the first time they meet. He's inoculated from gem weirdness but a big pink lion that likes his son is still a pretty weird thing. I do know the other gems were surprised by Lion but seemed to understand he was a Rose thing.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 12:43 PM on May 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

The timing is wrong; Bismuth was bubbled in Lion, but Amethyst didn't know about her. So Lion must have been pink since before Amethyst was around, which predates Greg, possibly by several thousand years.

Greg also isn't really the same pink as Lars, is he?
posted by nat at 12:51 PM on May 30, 2017

On you're right. Lion is easily over 100 years old. Beach city was founded over 200 years ago, after that Buddy Buddwick wandered around the dessert and ran into Rose with her pride of Lions. She wasn't hanging with the Gems at that point, so I'm going to infer that's around the time she made Lion. Lion stuck with the pride/in the desert afterwards. Rose visited him occasionally and dropped stuff off at her dump.
posted by INFJ at 1:33 PM on May 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

But if Lion wasn't around 6000 years ago, then where did Rose put Bismuth's bubble in the meantime?
posted by nat at 2:32 PM on May 30, 2017

Bismuth's bubble was, at some point, put into Rose's pocket dimension. I don't see any reason to assume that Rose stashed it there immediately. And even if she did, I don't see any reason to assume that Lion's mane was the only portal to that dimension until now. We've just gotten proof that there can be multiple such portals.
posted by Shmuel510 at 4:43 PM on May 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

Rose has lots of hidden places around the world where she could have hidden away Bismuth's bubble. It seems like everything in Lion is things that Rose wanted Steven to find. I rewatched Buddy's Book and the lions in it are non-pink and seemingly natural. I suspect Lion was made sometime after Rose resolved to make Steven. I don't know why she would make a creature like Lion and then hide him from the other gems for thousands of years.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:53 PM on May 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

There used to be only one hill, now there are two (in the pocket dimension). So I think Lars and Lion are it.

But I am convinced that Bismuth's bubble could have been anywhere -- it just seems like bubbles aren't that stable, and it could have gotten disturbed anywhere outside of Lion.

Speaking of things inside Lion- is the chest the only item in there we don't understand now? Hmm, the lack of air too, I suppose.
posted by nat at 5:07 PM on May 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

so when Lars overcomes his fear for the first time in his life and tries to protect others . . . he dies?

Grim, Steven Universe. Grim.
posted by Anonymous at 5:49 PM on May 30, 2017

There's no reason she couldn't have kept Bismuth's bubble in her room in the temple. I know it's not the most secure place (since all the rooms seem to be connected) but I can't imagine any of the Gems breaching her space for any reason.

I agree the things in Lion are there for Steven to find. And yes, the chest is the only thing we don't know about anymore.

I suspect Lion was made sometime after Rose resolved to make Steven.
The lion that roused-by-licking Buddy up from near death had a heart nose. The only one of the pride that did..

I think she decided to use Lion as a helpful companion for Steven as a side-note. I don't see how she would know, otherwise having experienced long before she met Greg, that she could resurrect a living creature. We know she went back to the desert to drop off Nora's tape in her dump. That could also be when she put everything in Lion.
posted by INFJ at 7:34 PM on May 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

Oh wow... Now that was a bomb! I'm so excited to see where this goes. I totally agree with all the sentiments and predictions here. Can't wait!
posted by numaner at 1:18 AM on May 31, 2017 [1 favorite]

My 5 year old watched the episodes rapt and at the end, turned over to me with tears in her eyes and a huge smile and said "I am so happy and I want to scream and cry at the same time. Is there more?" She's still talking about Lars and Steven today, and we agreed that the Topazes are very brave and sad at the same time.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 7:29 AM on May 31, 2017 [8 favorites]

I love the pocket dimension so much. Also: Lion has an acacia tree, Lars an oak or something similar. Your tree is related to who you are. Though I worry a bit about Steven having broken one of Lion's branches off when he met Bismuth.

I keep thinking about how the Crystal Gems could use Lars to invade Homeworld, contact the Famethyst to come help, and along with the Off Colors (surely the ones we see aren't the only ones) bring down the Gempire or at least make it a democracy.

Probably not exactly what's going to happen, of course. Still want to know if that pink thing at the junk pile is a ship in better condition than the drop ships and thus a way to get back to Homeworld/rescue Lars.

Also can Lars ever grow more hair, or is he stuck with his curly mohawk forever?

And how can he and Sadie make it work if he will never age and have to go on without her? I can't take that sadness :( :(
posted by emjaybee at 1:51 PM on May 31, 2017 [3 favorites]

Being turned into an immortal doesn't lend itself to happy endings.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:31 PM on May 31, 2017 [2 favorites]

Also, I remember reading a long time ago that Lars and Sadie are Rebecca Sugar's characters that entirely predate Steven Universe. Note how they're the only human characters to appear in the pilot, and unlike basically everything else their designs are almost identical to how they look in the series. What happened to Lars was especially surprising in this light, since it's giving Lars over entirely to the work he was adapted into. Makes me wonder if Sadie will undergo a metamorphosis of her own (not necessarily into a pink zombie obviously).
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 7:37 PM on May 31, 2017 [6 favorites]

My son is working on the premise that since blue, yellow and red (pink) are primary colors, then white diamond is a fusion of the 3, so there can be no white diamond now that pink has been shattered. explains some of the anger/sadness from the remaining 2 diamonds.
posted by OHenryPacey at 8:45 AM on June 1, 2017 [19 favorites]

Your son is blowing my mind over here OHenryPacey.
posted by INFJ at 12:59 PM on June 1, 2017 [3 favorites]

I'm in agreement with your son, OHenryPacey. I've been thinking the Diamonds are some kind of fusions themselves, but whether they are or not, White could definitely have been a fusion of the other three.
posted by tomboko at 4:10 PM on June 1, 2017

What happens if Lars climbs into Lion's mane? :O
posted by Foosnark at 11:55 AM on June 4, 2017 [4 favorites]

I don't think the Diamonds are fusions. When the Diamond weapon was unleashed, you could see three colors: blue, white and yellow. If they needed Pink to make White, that could not have happened; she was already shattered. White is the Big Bad and so they're not going to reveal her for a while. Also the Era 2 Diamond logo on Peridot's green hand ship had all three colors.
posted by emjaybee at 2:03 PM on June 4, 2017 [1 favorite]

What happens if Lars climbs into Lion's mane? :O

And then wade across the field over to his own section and climb out???
posted by numaner at 9:00 AM on June 5, 2017 [3 favorites]

And then wade across the field over to his own section and climb out???


and then something, something Malkovich?
posted by OHenryPacey at 4:52 PM on June 5, 2017 [8 favorites]

They probably won't try to explore/explain the rules too much, but I imagine if Lars goes inside Lion, the Lars-Island won't be present inside the field, just as it wasn't before Lars was zombified.
posted by explosion at 10:04 AM on June 8, 2017

So I noticed that Steven Universe is on Hulu now so I caught up on the end of season 4 and all of season 5 so far the other day. I hadn't watched much since season 2 or 3.

Holy cow Lars Head was a pretty rough episode. I mean, it was nice that they didn't outright kill Lars, but the implications of what happened are pretty huge. The show is getting pretty heavy.
posted by GuyZero at 4:24 PM on June 8, 2017 [1 favorite]

Sights from Portugal illustrated in the style of Steven Universe.
posted by JHarris at 7:21 AM on June 15, 2017 [2 favorites]

Greg the Babysitter @ 4:50 "you better pray your space goddess' magic can bring people back from the dead"
posted by eustatic at 4:05 PM on June 18, 2017 [2 favorites]

I keep thinking about how the Crystal Gems could use Lars to invade Homeworld

can gems get inside Lion's pocket savannah? Pearl was rebuffed some time ago, but i suppose Bismuth was in there alright

so, there's the temple rooms, the ruby ship, and the lion / lars pocket savannah. are there any other spaces that are bigger on the inside?
posted by eustatic at 6:07 PM on June 18, 2017

The recently-released art book has a labeled map of the world.
posted by JHarris at 7:42 PM on July 9, 2017 [1 favorite]

There are some amazing spoilers that came out of SDCC. The next episodes should be very entertaining, but you should be careful if you don't want to be spoiled.
posted by JHarris at 5:33 AM on July 27, 2017

As someone who doesn't want to be spoiled, is there an easy way to find out when the next episodes will be released? The existence of spoilers makes it seem like it can't be too long.
posted by nat at 8:39 AM on July 28, 2017

We still don't know. We had thought end of July, but look here we are.

Meanwhile the whole rest of the channel is TEEN TITANS GO.
posted by JHarris at 8:54 PM on July 28, 2017

When everyone goes to the moon the first time, Peridot is excited that "all" the Diamonds are represented. We get a good look at murals of Pink and White in Back to the Moon. The mural shows each with the number of planets they own; White has more planets than the others, while Pink has only one.

Besides that, it's been fairly strongly implied that there's just four. White has never been named on-screen, but is probably a separate Diamond due to parity; the White symbol in the insignia is the same size as the others, and the new insignia has three triangles. If White is a fusion of Yellow, Blue and Pink, then she would now be defunct, and the insignia would presumably only have two triangles. Also, in Monster Reunion, the energy of the weapon that caused the corruption has three colors to it: Blue, Yellow and White, implying all are taking equal parts in producing it.
posted by JHarris at 4:10 PM on August 5, 2017

I don't know where to put this, but possibly of general interest:

There is now an official Steven Universe podcast, featuring interviews with the cast and Crewniverse. Available on iTunes and Podbay.
posted by Shmuel510 at 2:28 PM on August 14, 2017 [1 favorite]

Today, CNN accidentally tweeted just the text: "BREAKING: We". Guess what happened next.
posted by JHarris at 5:34 PM on August 18, 2017

Update: the account seem to have been a fake. Still though.
posted by JHarris at 5:35 PM on August 18, 2017

Someone on imgur found these pages in a children's book. Notice the characters standing behind the skeleton on the left page....
posted by JHarris at 7:53 AM on September 1, 2017 [2 favorites]

Nice!

It appears that the book is Ladybug Girl’s Day Out with Grandpa.
posted by Shmuel510 at 6:55 AM on September 3, 2017 [1 favorite]

LAzaRuS
posted by rustcrumb at 3:34 PM on September 4, 2017

Oh my god wait. Did I make it to the end?! Holy shit WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?!?!?!?!?!!!!

Sorry.
posted by tapir-whorf at 9:15 AM on September 7, 2017 [2 favorites]

What happens next was spoiled, a bit, during SDCC. If you want to see it (not a full episode), here it is. It is a major spoiler, but an official one, and really fun too! Be prepared for quite a bit of awesome!
posted by JHarris at 1:20 PM on September 7, 2017 [2 favorites]

Aww!

But yeah, the only solid lead we have on when new episodes will be coming is "winter."

Ah well. Any other cool cartoons right now? I saw the first episode of Unikitty, it looked pretty nice.
posted by JHarris at 9:33 AM on October 30, 2017

But yeah, the only solid lead we have on when new episodes will be coming is "winter."

Nope. November 10. (in the app. Dec on TV)
posted by GuyZero at 3:06 PM on October 30, 2017

It was true, I believe, when I said it, heh.
posted by JHarris at 3:09 PM on October 30, 2017

I know, it is mildly funny that they released the trailer mere hours after you beefed about it.
posted by GuyZero at 3:16 PM on October 30, 2017

About time. I had a dream last week that they had released new episodes and that I hadn’t watched them yet; waking up was sad.

In other questions, what does “on the app” mean for those of us who get episodes through google play?
posted by nat at 12:23 AM on October 31, 2017

They have a literal mobile app for Cartoon Network where you have to connect to a cable provider's account that includes the channel, then you can watch things through the app.

IT SUUUUUUUUUUUCKS. I tried it a few months ago when I wanted to rewatch season 4 (which isn't up on Hulu). Not only can you not find the episodes, you have to just watch through random videos from all the other shows before you get to Steven Universe stuff and then they're not even in order! And the app was laggy as hell!

From what I read it's the same deal with TBS and Comedy Central. Viacom is just super shitty when it comes to mobile apps for its non-basic channels.
posted by numaner at 5:19 PM on November 1, 2017 [1 favorite]

ah I had my facts wrong. Cartoon Network and TBS are part of Turner Broadcasting System.

I guess all these companies just suck at mobile apps because they care more about tv
posted by numaner at 11:11 AM on November 2, 2017

And yet they're aggressively pushing that app, with the episodes premiering a month in advance on it.
posted by JHarris at 11:38 AM on November 2, 2017

I have heard that for a short time you don't need to log into the app to watch the Steven Universe episodes. Give it a shot?
posted by JHarris at 3:35 PM on November 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

FWIW two new episodes, "Dewey Wins" and "Gemcation" are available for purchase in iTunes now. Not sure what the rest of the iTunes release schedule is going to be.
posted by rustcrumb at 8:02 PM on November 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

duffell, messaged you!
posted by Anonymous at 10:03 PM on November 10, 2017

I have news! I figured out the dumb app. So first you need a valid TV cable account with access to the Cartoon Network channel. After you download the app, when you first open it, it'll ask you what shows you like, but you can select whatever. After that, they seemed to have fixed up the user interface from what I remembered, but all their shows are in a box on the right. Select Steven Universe, then wait for it to load the list of videos. Then scroll aaall the way down until you see Season 5 stuff and select the one you want. The new episodes requires you to log into your TV cable account. After you enter your account info it might throw some weird page-not-loaded error like it did for me, but you can just go back to the episode you selected and it should start playing. Ta-da!
posted by numaner at 2:08 AM on November 13, 2017 [1 favorite]