STEVEN UNIVERSE 5X25 "Familiar" Full Length Reaction
Added 2024-09-09 22:51:57 +0000 UTCHere is my full length unedited reaction to Steven Universe 5X25!
Streamer: Max
Comments
Yess I very much agree with the analysis here
Novantinuum
2024-09-10 21:27:13 +0000 UTCThese last few episodes of the season have so many details, and subtextual information.... it's really hard not doing long comments about them xdd. First of all.... Pebbles, they are Pink's little helpers and it seems they come to life with Pink/Steven's tears. Similar to the Watermelon Stevens but with his saliva instead of tears. The "Arquitecture" of Homeworld is very fascinating, but also very disturbing.... they are using actual alive gems to decorate the buildings and halls, and another gem's whole existence is to be just a singing hair brush, like.... imagine how miserable of an existence that must be. These "extraction" chambers that the Diamonds use to extract their.............. fluids?? are very interesting. It seems that some of Homeworld's society and infrastructure is supported by these "liquids" that the Diamonds provide (things like the destabilizes are most likely made with this stuff). It is really refreshing to see both Yellow and Blue talking to Steven so casually, it helps a lot in humanizing their characters, Patti Lupone (Yellow) and Lisa Hannigan (Blue) are doing amazing with their voices. I love the "Familiar" song, it's so calm and soothing, and contextually it's very useful too since it helps Steven make a connection between Pink Diamond's past relationship with the other diamonds... and the relationship that he used to have with the Crystal Gems when he was younger.
Julio Castillo
2024-09-10 01:17:05 +0000 UTCIt's almost over :'(
vivian xavier
2024-09-09 23:42:21 +0000 UTCThe way they describe Pink and her “purpose” amongst the diamonds always struck me as if she was some sort of court jester, and also based on her costume design I’m pretty sure that’s what the creators were trying to convey. Pearl even said she was a juggler… It’s like her purpose was solely to entertain them. After gaining this perspective, it’s much easier to see why they didn’t take it well when she asked for a colony, and why they always doubted her abilities and decisions. They treated her like she was inferior to them even though she was a diamond just like them. This characterization seems to me like it was the writer’s way of positioning Pink as a child, since Gems don’t have a concept of age. So when Steven sings “why is this so familiar?” it’s because the Crystal Gems also treated him similarly at the start (albeit with good intentions and for different reasons). I honestly don’t see any other way out for Pink than faking her death; it was inevitable that it was gonna end up like that. Imagine not ever being taken seriously by your family (who are incredibly powerful beings btw) because no matter how much time passes or how much you learn, they will never cease to treat you like a child. Meeting Earth and learning that things CAN CHANGE was definitely the most incredible thing that has ever happened to her, and I completely understand why she did what she did. It took me literal years and several rewatches to understand Pink Diamond’s/Rose Quartz’s character fully, but now that I do, I find it more fascinating than ever.
Blue Eons
2024-09-09 23:32:10 +0000 UTC"The Diamonds' lives don't seem very rewarding." Yeah, I definitely got that sense as well, when I first saw this. Just moving from one meeting or scheduled "extraction" to the next. Blue especially speaks with such fondness for the way things used to be, and seems so saddened and disappointed when she realizes she has to stop socializing with "Pink" and go to her next role-mandated thing. It's quite a bleak seeming existence, really. The song in this episode is my favorite Steven song from the original show. If you want nostalgia tinted whiplash, then listen to this right after season one's "Giant Woman." It really is WILD just how much Steven's VA's singing ability has matured and blossomed- even despite Zach Callison having to throw his voice up into the rafters to maintain consistency with how this character speaks and sings, he manages to imbue this song with such meaning, and it sounds really great, too?? Big kudos to him. I am very emo about some of the lines of this song, though- particularly this bit: Familiar, why is this so familiar? Familiar, like something I used to do Familiar, like she used to throw a tantrum Insisting that, "Hey, I'm a Diamond too" Steven is definitely thinking back to the dream he and Connie experienced on the jungle moon, here. That dream where Stevonnie was living out a memory from Pink where she stomped her feet and threw a whole fit and later broke a window in her rage because Yellow wasn't taking her seriously as a Diamond. And there is a very clear parallel in my brain here... what this throws my mind back to is a few moments in the season 1 finale. When Steven punches his fist against the van's glovebox because he's upset his Dad isn't agreeing to turn the van around and let him help the Gems (none of them are super taking him Seriously as part of the team yet), and accidentally breaks it... and then only minutes later leaps in front of them to summon his shield, crying out "I'm a Crystal Gem too"- This whole song is so jam packed with emotion for me because to me it's overtly just about... after years of looking up to her on this pedestal he felt he could never ascend to reach... Steven finally finding common ground with his late mother, finally unraveling all the messy, relatable little bits of her past that had previously been hidden. It feels very similar to how I felt when I first started to realize that "oh... my parents were children and awkward teens and then lost young adults too, once. They've BEEN in my position." Now, in Pink/Rose's case it's a bit different, as Gems don't exactly have childhoods, but on a metaphoric scale the underlying messaging still rings true. Even amidst all the uncertainty of what's going on around him, I'm glad Steven gets to have this important moment of (perhaps healing, a bit) reflection. I also am of the opinion that Steven wears his mother's outfit better than she ever did, ahahah. He's absolutely rocking that pink frilly tutu look. Lovely reactions today, thank you so much!
Novantinuum
2024-09-09 23:29:36 +0000 UTC
