‘Steven Universe’ Recap ‘Change Your Mind’
I think we may have just been gifted the greatest episode of Steven Universe to grace the Earth. I’m quite speechless at the moment, and have spent a lot of the last hour with my mouth hanging open. Where to begin on this recap!
Blue helps Steven and Connie escape their prison and tries to get them to their ship along with the puffed gems, but is stopped by Yellow who confronts and battles her sister diamond. Blue and Steven manage to turn Yellow around and as the two diamonds help Steven and Connie to their legs, they are confronted by White’s body ship and white pearl. Just when all looks lost blue and yellows hand ships fly in to take White’s ship out. Powered by who you ask, not Yellow or Blue. That’s right folks, we have Bismuth, Lapis and Peridot on Homeworld ready to kick some butt. And oh my, oh my, oh my look at how fabulous Lapis and Peridot look. Peridot is ADORABLE.
Unfortunately, White is having none of this, and with her terrifying eyes she overpowers Blue and Yellow, draining the colour from them and turning them in to white zombies, just like White Pearl.
Knowing they need help and fast, Steven comes up with best idea ever to wake up the Crystal Gems – FUSION. In the best 3 minute sequence Rebecca Sugar has possibly ever gifted us with, we get Smokey Quartz, Rainbow Quartz 2.0 and Sunstone. 3 fusions, in 3 minutes, 2 brand new never seen before gems. Sunstone unfortunately isn’t enough to overpower white’s ship, and when unfused, the team make a plan. Giant fusion. That’s right, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and Steven, fusing together to make Obsidian. We have a giant mega, fire breathing fusion in our midst. Obsidian makes it to the top of the ship, and while they become unfused, the gang make it inside to confront White in person.
Inside the ship White is having none of Pink’s games and challenges Steven/Pink, confronting her about bringing out the worst in others and wanting to be the best of the worst. When the Crystal Gems challenge her, she zaps the three gems in to more White zombie gems, to show Steven/Pink how much better they are without her.
So at this point we’ve had – Blue and Yellow showdown, Lapidot return, new Steven fusions x 2 and then an ultimate Crystal Gem fusion, not to mention White taking over all the gems in her way. But fellow Universe fans, this is when things really turn. Nothing up until this point in the episode, season, show, could have prepared us for White’s next move. She removes Steven’s gem. “It’s time to come out now, Pink.”
After the longest commercial break in history, we return to find a gemless Steven. The pink diamond gem flickers, Pink Diamond, Rose Quartz, Steven, over and over. Steven meanwhile is in pain and anguish, held up by Connie. The diamond gem settles, into a pink Steven. Pink Diamond is gone. He is Steven. White tries to overpower him with her powers but he uses his shield, again and again, until he reunites with his other, human, half and they fuse back together, as one. Their radiant light and joy fills the room and White Diamond herself, giving her a pink glow, making her off colour. The shock makes her lose her control over all the white gems, who regain their colour, Pink Pearl included, and are able to reunite. Steven and the Diamonds convince White this is no way to live, and that it’s time to change.
And then we’re back, in Beach City, as Sadie and her band perform a delightful cover of Let Me Drive A Van Into Your Heart, (the first song ever on Steven Universe) to be upstaged at the very end by a full Diamond body shop. But that’s not all, Lars and the Off Colours are right behind them, meaning we not only get a Steven/Greg reunion, but a Lars/Sadie reunion too. Everyone is delighted, Steven joins the band on stage to give us a new Crystal Gem song and we get a gorgeous montage of White and the other Diamond’s helping all the corrupted Earth gems to heal, both physically and emotionally.
With just seconds to go, Steven then serenades us with the true sentiment of the show “I don’t need you to respect me, I respect me. I don’t need you to love me, I love me. But I want you to know, you could know me… If you change your mind.”
And there ends the perfect episode of Steven Universe. Rebecca Sugar and the Crewniverse truly delivered, gave us everything we wanted and more, with a full true ending. It’s unconfirmed if this is the end of the show, or just the season, but a Steven Universe movie is confirmed to air on Cartoon Network in the fall.
I’m off to cry and dream of all the wonderful things in this episode, peace out fellow Universers.
