Lunar Sea Spire

GC13, Ken, and Sophia discuss the episode that ended the post-#StevenBomb3 break:  Nightmare Hospital . Ms. Molisee and Mr. Villeco definitely flexed their spooky-writing muscles when making this episode! We can’t be sure that the cause for Earth’s impending expiration was revealed with this episode, but the fusion clusters certainly seem like they could do the job in sufficient number...

GC13, Hunter, and new member Sophia discuss our last retro episode for a while:  Onion Trade . Onion Trade was great; it has some more wonderful and fatherly Greg, an excellent romp through Beach City, and the Scooter Saga ends in fire. Also, as always, wonderful music. We’ll be happy to get on to new episodes again this week, but we’re also looking forward to the next break when we ge...

GC13, Ken, and Hunter continue to go through the old episodes by discussing  Lars and the Cool Kids . The cool kids we see are nearly perfect opposites of the traditional “cool kid” that cartoons like to portray, but rather than be one-note characters they’ve continued to see episodes in the series. Lars didn’t come off so well, but at least he tried to learn something from...

GC13 and Hunter discuss the secret origin of Pearl the Sad Crying Clown:  So Many Birthdays . You’re gonna get whacked! It’s plain to see that Greg put a lot of effort into Steven’s birthdays as he grew up, but what about Aqua Mexico? So many tantalizing things, even without discussing the appearances of the Crystal Gems in the Watson and the Shark painting from the start of the...

GC13 and Ken discuss one of the giants of Steven Universe:  Giant Woman . This one sits near the top of a lot of “best of” lists, and with good reason. It’s the episode that introduced us to fusion, and that ultra-powerful, stone-cold Betty: Opal. There’s a lot to consider about this episode now that we’ve seen more of the series. Did Garnet bring the rock for Steven...

Ken and GC13 talk about  Arcade Mania , the growth evident in Steven and Amethyst since the early days of the series, and Beach City’s uncanny skill for naming their amusements—Joe Murray would be proud. Really, episodes like this serve to show us how much Steven and Amethyst have really grown. New Steven and New Amethyst would have interacted far differently at the beginning of the episode,...

GC13, Ken, and Hunter discuss  Steven’s Lion , the source of a two great enigmas: Lion and the Desert Glass. At least with the Desert Glass it’s okay to not know much about it, but since he’s been an important character in so many episodes Lion must put some serious effort into being enigmatic. There are a few theories out there about Lion, but no real way to be sure what his dea...

Ken, GC13, and Hunter see the ropes and discuss  Tiger Millionaire (the character as well as the episode, though of course it’s the Good-Looking Gang everyone wants to see). Everyone came back to an old favorite and felt a bit differently about it, but the group is still able to unearth the truth about Lars (wake up, sheeple!) and tell the tragic story of Dashing Dave and Handsome Hank. We&#...

GC13 and Dakota blast off at the speed of light to recap #StevenBomb3. It wasn’t the heavy face-punch of plot that was the first #StevenBomb, but it was still a good run, wouldn’t you say? The way the episodes fit together is discussed (this is definitely a five-episode story arc), as is Peridot’s propensity for escape (though there’s no consensus on which of her two escape...

GC13, Ken, and Hunter discuss the fifth episode of #StevenBomb3, the end of the #WeekOfSardonyx:  Friend Ship . Finally, Pearl should be back to normal after being quite frustrating to watch during this episode. The resolution of her stress, from  Cry For Help came quickly but believably. To compensate for Pearl’s normalcy Peridot has made it official that she is now a Saturday morning carto...

GC13, Ken, and Hunter discuss the fourth episode of #StevenBomb3 and your much-needed Dose of Dewey:  Historical Friction . The merits of both versions of the scripts are discussed, as are the implications for the history of Steven’s Earth that a few details in the episode give. How inhabited were the Americas before settlers from the east arrived? Were settlements really started so much lat...

Ken, GC13, and Dakota discuss  Onion Friend , the third episode of #StevenBomb3 and probably the most mundane, all about the characters, episode of Steven Universe yet (because no mayors get shirted). Everyone is happy to see Vidalia back, and to see Amethyst get a chance to talk out some of the issues she’s been having lately. Then there’s Onion, who has some very… Unorthodox ta...

GC13, Ken, Dakota, and Hunter discuss the second episode of #StevenBomb3:  Keystone Motel . We get to talk a lot about Garnet’s fury and patience, and learn about mer-men (they can’t resist good deals). Greg is definitely living the high life: he’s wearing shirts with sleeves and he’s sleeping in motels now, and can afford to buy car wash brushes from non-axe murderers on t...

GC13, Ken, and (if you listen until the end) Hunter discuss the start of #StevenBomb3, the beginning of #WeekOfSardonyx:  Cry For Help . There’s a lot to talk about. Who would have expected Sardonyx to turn out looking the way she did? What is the deal with the Crying Breakfast Friends? Should Garnet forgive Pear(l)? Amethyst was willing to come to Pearl’s defense, so that’s a si...

GC13, Ken, and Dakota discuss the mural from the pyramid temple in  Serious Steven . (Okay, they discuss the rest of the episode too, but who would talk about  Serious Steven  and not focus on the mural?) It’s pretty much a given that the mural portrays Rose Quartz and the rest of the Diamonds, but we still haven’t learned everything that the mural has to tell us. Steven was a much les...

Ken, GC13, Dakota, and special guest Nina from the Toon Goons podcast discuss  Bubble Buddies . Still early in the series, how could we have known the kind of continuity we were in for? Except for, of course, watching the opening and seeing this new character appears in it. We talk a lot about how much Steven had grown as a character, but Connie has probably grown at least as much. From a rough st...

GC13, special guest Max from The Ringo Zone podcast , Ken, and Dakota discuss Cat Fingers (the first appearance of Mayor Dewey, the Internet’s mayor!). Amethyst’s penchant for shapeshifting is discussed, as is how Steven could possibly need a lecture about shapeshifting. Pearl’s hesitance to shapeshift is also brought up, as is the perfect first shape change for her to use (spoil...

GC13 and Ken discuss #StevenBomb2.0, which just finished, and #StevenBomb3, which was just announced for July 13-17. The ratings of #StevenBomb2.0, which were much better than the ratings for the first #StevenBomb, are discussed, as is the huge spike in fan activity online. Even though GC13 and Ken would both prefer a return to getting one episode each week, so long as the fans are responding well...

#StevenBomb2.0 is over, and GC13 and Ken are here to talk about its final episode:  Chille Tid . [Applause] If you can’t tell, we’re excited that the long-awaited laugh track episode has finally arrived. Of course there’s plenty more to discuss. It seems we finally know that Malachite will be dealt with before Peridot. Alas, however, poor Lapis. Ken may not feel much sympathy for...

Ken, GC13, and Dakota convene to talk about  We Need To Talk and talk about how cool  What Can I Do For You  was (well, GC13 and Dakota liked it, but Ken is doing the contrarian thing). The design on Rainbow Quartz, the character of Rose Quartz, and Pearl’s actions are all discussed (with GC13, as always, taking Pearl’s side). Not that Pearl was anything worse than catty in this episod...

Phew. Sometimes these episodes just get heavy, you know? GC13, Ken, and Dakota are here, though, to discuss  Keeping It Together and all it means. So the good news/bad news first: while chances look grim for Peridot eventually joining the Crystal Gems, it’s not impossible yet. And the experiments mean that, in the future, we’re going to learn a whole lot more about the project. Coming...

GC13, Ken, and Dakota assemble once more to discuss  Rising Tides, Crashing Skies . Despite the relatively low-key nature of the episode, the lore discussion gets kind of heavy. Is Mayor Dewey involved in some conspiracy to cover up the activities of the Crystal Gems? Or is he just a very nervous politician keen to change the subject whenever the walking disasters only he recognizes as such are br...

GC13, Ken, and Dakota think that #StevenBomb2.0 is starting off on the right foot: if  Sworn to the Sword is any indication of what we’re in store for, it’s going to be a great week (with a podcast episode every day!). So of course the new opening (with its apparent anime influences) come up, as do the songs in the episode. Pearl’s claiming of being inspired by knighthood, a conc...

GC13, Ken, and Dakota discuss the fifth episode of Steven Universe: Frybo . Ken and GC13 get right back to disagreeing—at least their first impressions of the episode disagreed, and that’s what we’re counting. We get another mystery in  Frybo : the origin of the gem shards. It’s certainly possible to make some educated guesses about how the gems came to be shattered, but so early...

Ken, GC13, Dakota, and Hunter discuss the fourth episode of Steven Universe:  Together Breakfast . While GC13 holds the episode in a special place in his heart since it was his first episode, Ken predictably disagrees. The episode was our first (and only for a while) look into the temple, and gave us a big mystery right away with the scroll (a mystery we still have yet to solve). No matter what an...