Steven Universe: Lion 3: Straight to Video
December 5, 2014 11:30 AM - Season 1, Episode 35 - Subscribe
Lion won't stop lying on Steven's face.
This is the first episode with a speaking role for Rose Quartz, who is voiced by Susan Egan - Megara in Disney's Hercules.
This is the first episode with a speaking role for Rose Quartz, who is voiced by Susan Egan - Megara in Disney's Hercules.
I loved hearing from Rose, but it should be noted:
Also the first speaking role for Dogcopter. Was that Will Arnett, or someone kind-of sounding like him?
posted by isthmus at 10:21 PM on December 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
Also the first speaking role for Dogcopter. Was that Will Arnett, or someone kind-of sounding like him?
posted by isthmus at 10:21 PM on December 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
Okay, I'm now caught up on Steven Universe, at last.
1: Rose turns the camera to her face while Greg's looking away playing the guitar: "Stephen... we can't both exist... I'm going to become half of you...."
She didn't tell Greg. She didn't tell him she was going to disappear.
2: The the writing for the Gems continue to impress with their weirdness. Every episode makes them seem a little more alien. Not unsympathetic, usually, but odd. I persist in thinking the best of them even after the stuff with Lapis Lazuli, there's something about the story there we don't know yet.
3: But even with that, Sadie and Lars are also very enjoyable characters I think. Sadie's so vulnerable to that big ear-loopied jerk. The human characters seem well done to me here interesting because in most cartoons with things like ageless gem warriors, the humans kind of get washed out by comparison. But they're all fleshed out here, and a cartoon that focused on them alone would probably work, although it'd be a much different show.
posted by JHarris at 4:16 AM on December 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
1: Rose turns the camera to her face while Greg's looking away playing the guitar: "Stephen... we can't both exist... I'm going to become half of you...."
She didn't tell Greg. She didn't tell him she was going to disappear.
2: The the writing for the Gems continue to impress with their weirdness. Every episode makes them seem a little more alien. Not unsympathetic, usually, but odd. I persist in thinking the best of them even after the stuff with Lapis Lazuli, there's something about the story there we don't know yet.
3: But even with that, Sadie and Lars are also very enjoyable characters I think. Sadie's so vulnerable to that big ear-loopied jerk. The human characters seem well done to me here interesting because in most cartoons with things like ageless gem warriors, the humans kind of get washed out by comparison. But they're all fleshed out here, and a cartoon that focused on them alone would probably work, although it'd be a much different show.
posted by JHarris at 4:16 AM on December 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
Another thing:
Finding out that Pearl often watches Steven while he sleeps is one of those odd creepy touches that reminds us that the Gems are different. They don't need to sleep after all.
Are there any plans to write up the earlier episodes? Watching them in context with the later ones casts a new light on many incidents.
posted by JHarris at 12:48 PM on December 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
Finding out that Pearl often watches Steven while he sleeps is one of those odd creepy touches that reminds us that the Gems are different. They don't need to sleep after all.
Are there any plans to write up the earlier episodes? Watching them in context with the later ones casts a new light on many incidents.
posted by JHarris at 12:48 PM on December 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
More observations:
- In the video, Greg doesn't appear to have his "tan pattern." That seems to be something that happened after it was made. I think it matches the clothes he was wearing in it?
- There are a lot of interesting things in Lion's made besides that tape. Steven Universe never lacks for new plot threads to follow.
- In the last shot, where Sadie calls her mother, there are cans with "Sadie" written on them in the cooler behind her. Apparently, her mother supplies drinks too.
- No Star Iris at the end of this episode either.
posted by JHarris at 3:32 AM on December 25, 2014
- In the video, Greg doesn't appear to have his "tan pattern." That seems to be something that happened after it was made. I think it matches the clothes he was wearing in it?
- There are a lot of interesting things in Lion's made besides that tape. Steven Universe never lacks for new plot threads to follow.
- In the last shot, where Sadie calls her mother, there are cans with "Sadie" written on them in the cooler behind her. Apparently, her mother supplies drinks too.
- No Star Iris at the end of this episode either.
posted by JHarris at 3:32 AM on December 25, 2014
I persist in thinking the best of them even after the stuff with Lapis Lazuli, there's something about the story there we don't know yet.
The Crystal Gems see any other gem, be it corrupted, enslaved, or free, as a threat, presumably to humanity. It's unfortunate what they did to Lapis, but seemingly warranted. I doubt Steven's decision to heal her and set her free will be beneficial for Humanity in the long term.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 8:52 AM on January 13, 2015
The Crystal Gems see any other gem, be it corrupted, enslaved, or free, as a threat, presumably to humanity. It's unfortunate what they did to Lapis, but seemingly warranted. I doubt Steven's decision to heal her and set her free will be beneficial for Humanity in the long term.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 8:52 AM on January 13, 2015
I think we'll see Lapis again, her character design is too well-developed to just throw away. If she's trying to get through interstellar space under her own power, well....
1. I've noticed what seems a bit of naivete on the part of Gems regarding interstellar distances. Remember Pearl staring in her homemade spaceship saying we're almost there, we're almost there? It blows up still definitely near Earth. Of course there could be something about the spaceship/Lapis we don't know about for getting across the great void. It could also be the kind of thing we're not supposed to think much about, although Steven Universe seems to have more respect for realism (of its sort) than, say, Dexter's Laboratory.
2. There's also the thing where Gems have a different sense of time than humans. Swimming through the interstellar void for thousands of years may not actually mean much to her. That would mean she's pretty much out of the picture in terms of continuity, though.
3. On the other hand... Peridot managed to make it to Earth, apparently without the use of warp pads. If you were a long-lived race that didn't require external sustenance or environment, then the void between stars wouldn't seem like such a tremendous obstacle. I imagine that early Gem explorers went around finding planets and setting up warp pads to enable development on more reasonable time scales. But now, maybe the Gems have discovered faster-than-light travel? Or maybe Peridot spent a few thousand years traveling through space herself, meaning, with Garnet destroying the primary Galaxy Warp, it's going to be a while before they can make it back?
posted by JHarris at 1:23 PM on January 13, 2015
1. I've noticed what seems a bit of naivete on the part of Gems regarding interstellar distances. Remember Pearl staring in her homemade spaceship saying we're almost there, we're almost there? It blows up still definitely near Earth. Of course there could be something about the spaceship/Lapis we don't know about for getting across the great void. It could also be the kind of thing we're not supposed to think much about, although Steven Universe seems to have more respect for realism (of its sort) than, say, Dexter's Laboratory.
2. There's also the thing where Gems have a different sense of time than humans. Swimming through the interstellar void for thousands of years may not actually mean much to her. That would mean she's pretty much out of the picture in terms of continuity, though.
3. On the other hand... Peridot managed to make it to Earth, apparently without the use of warp pads. If you were a long-lived race that didn't require external sustenance or environment, then the void between stars wouldn't seem like such a tremendous obstacle. I imagine that early Gem explorers went around finding planets and setting up warp pads to enable development on more reasonable time scales. But now, maybe the Gems have discovered faster-than-light travel? Or maybe Peridot spent a few thousand years traveling through space herself, meaning, with Garnet destroying the primary Galaxy Warp, it's going to be a while before they can make it back?
posted by JHarris at 1:23 PM on January 13, 2015
Didn't Peridot use the just-fixed Warp Pad when she appeared at the Galaxy Warp?
I'm so curious about all of the things in Lion's Mane. Here are some production shots with a tiny amount of more detail. I suspect Greg is wearing the shirt (seen hanging in the mane) in Rose's video. Maybe he doesn't wear it anymore (and has the corresponding farmer's tan) because it's stuck in the mane now?
posted by sleeping bear at 1:21 PM on January 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm so curious about all of the things in Lion's Mane. Here are some production shots with a tiny amount of more detail. I suspect Greg is wearing the shirt (seen hanging in the mane) in Rose's video. Maybe he doesn't wear it anymore (and has the corresponding farmer's tan) because it's stuck in the mane now?
posted by sleeping bear at 1:21 PM on January 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
The promo title card for this episode is nice. It's like the Gems can't figure it out.
posted by JHarris at 2:36 AM on January 27, 2015
posted by JHarris at 2:36 AM on January 27, 2015
I love how happy Steven is after he watches the video. He's often happy (he's a happy little kid) but this is deep happiness.
posted by ocherdraco at 9:43 AM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ocherdraco at 9:43 AM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Huzzah!
posted by ocherdraco at 6:12 AM on July 17, 2015
posted by ocherdraco at 6:12 AM on July 17, 2015
Finding out that Pearl often watches Steven while he sleeps is one of those odd creepy touches that reminds us that the Gems are different.
I figured that's also part of Pearl's obsession with Rose.
posted by Foosnark at 1:58 PM on August 27, 2015
I figured that's also part of Pearl's obsession with Rose.
posted by Foosnark at 1:58 PM on August 27, 2015
Whoa, Rose Quartz is Surma and Steven is Antimony.
I'll take Greg over Anthony any day of the week.
posted by whuppy at 12:40 PM on September 8, 2015
I'll take Greg over Anthony any day of the week.
posted by whuppy at 12:40 PM on September 8, 2015
The point about Greg's tan pattern coming from the Mr Universe t-shirt inside Lion made me think. He's effectively physically marked by losing Rose Quartz. We've seen him quite happy to wear a jumper or whatever in previous episodes, but I wonder if sometimes he looks in the bathroom mirror at his tan lines and thinks about the t-shirt and how much Rose loved him in it (regardless of whether she really did, because Greg).
Great touch when Steven shooed Pearl and Lion away so that he could sleep and they both slunk away on all fours. Pearl spends so much time in loco parentis or worrying about the others that rare moments when she's playful really make me smile. Similar to how Marge Simpson joins in with the "You Don't Win Friends With Salad" song/conga line.
posted by comealongpole at 12:15 PM on August 24, 2016
Great touch when Steven shooed Pearl and Lion away so that he could sleep and they both slunk away on all fours. Pearl spends so much time in loco parentis or worrying about the others that rare moments when she's playful really make me smile. Similar to how Marge Simpson joins in with the "You Don't Win Friends With Salad" song/conga line.
posted by comealongpole at 12:15 PM on August 24, 2016
Oh, I forgot to mention the awesome Seventh Seal scene with Dogcopter. That wasn't portentous at all, oh no! (portending what, goodness only knows!)
Interesting that he spoke too, especially when the show seems to lean a lot on supporting characters having non-speaking roles.
posted by comealongpole at 12:51 PM on August 24, 2016
Interesting that he spoke too, especially when the show seems to lean a lot on supporting characters having non-speaking roles.
posted by comealongpole at 12:51 PM on August 24, 2016
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P.S. I miss my Mom so much, y'all. She's the only one who ever really got me.
posted by ob1quixote at 6:47 PM on December 5, 2014 [3 favorites]