Steven Universe: Steven Bomb 4

I just got into Steven Universe this summer. It is amazing. The story is kid friendly, but also has a lot of depth and explores moral gray areas better than several shows aimed at older audiences. The plot is engaging, the world building is interesting, and the cast is large, well-developed, and diverse. It’s wonderful. Watch it if you haven’t.

This makes January’s upcoming Steven Bomb my first Steven Bomb. One week of new episodes. According to longtime fans, the first Steven Bomb was what really helped the fandom expand. Usually the episodes in Steven Bombs are linked together. The first one included the build up to and confrontation with the Homeworld Gems. Another was the week of Sardonyx which revealed Pearl and Garnet’s fusion and included the aftermath of Pearl’s desperation to fuse with Garnet as much as possible. I’m going to celebrate by reopening my blog with predictions for Steven Bomb 4.

According to iO9, the episodes are “The Answer,” where Garnet tells Steven the story of how she became a Crystal Gem; “Steven’s Birthday,” where during his birthday he decides to mature; “It Could’ve Been Great,” where the Gems take a trip to the moon; “Message Received,” where Steven begins to doubt believing everyone; and “Log Date 7 15 2,” where Steven listens to an audio diary, presumably Peridot’s. Personally, I’m the most excited for “The Answer” and “Message Received.” “The Answer” will probably include a ton of great backstory, world building, and maybe some information about Ruby and Sapphire, the Crystal Gems we know the least about. “Message Received” will probably force Steven to negotiate one of his greatest traits, his willingness to trust and give second chances to people, with the moral ambiguity of the world around him.

My first prediction is the focus of the Steven Bomb. This will be about Steven’s future, Garnet’s past, and how the past affects the future. With Steven choosing to experiment with growing up and losing some of his faith in others, Steven will be redefining Steven, and I think Garnet’s past choices and/or Peridots current choices may affect that.

I love Garnet, but sometimes her reaction to other gems is aggressive. She is willing to intimidate Steven to get the mirror back when Steven communicates with Lapis Lazuli, who is terrified of Garnet when trapped in the mirror. In “Monster Buddies,” she’s hostile towards the Centipeedle gem, who in turn is terrified of Garnet and panics when seeing Garnet’s gauntlets. There’s a few possible reasons for this aggression that comes to mind: these Gems were very anti-fusion and tormented Garnet, it was part of a secret request that Rose gave to Garnet, or Garnet/Sapphire’s future sight associates them with some disaster. I think there is a darker part of Garnet that will come to the forefront.

The battle between Peridot in her mech and the Crystal Gems means that something happens that makes Peridot decide to abandon the truce. The only thing I can think of is that Yellow Diamond responds to Peridot’s distress call with news of a rescue ship. Peridot may be attacking the Crystal Gems to redeem herself to Homeworld. Peridot is Steven’s newest friend, and the relationship exists because Steven was willing to ignore her allegiance to Homeworld and abrasive personality. This definitely means that the changes in Steven will be long lasting and drastic.

The promo also includes a trio of Rubys. One with a gem on her shoulder, one with a gem on the back of her hand, and a third whose gem isn’t shown, so she is most likely the Ruby that forms Garnet. The trio form a pyramid, which could be part of a fusion to form a bigger Ruby. It doesn’t have as much character as the fusions used in the rest of the series. Perhaps, the personalized dance moves that Amethyst, Garnet, and Pearl use when fusing are a form of self-expression that is key to the Crystal Gem fusions.

The preview for “The Answer” features Garnet telling Steven about how Ruby and Sapphire met. The story begins by talking about a rebellion that diplomats are sent to. Sapphire as a diplomat makes sense. She’s very calm and is able to focus on the bigger picture, partially because of her future vision. Also, her clothes are pretty formal, and the ability to create cold could help her stay comfortable in harsher environments. Real world rubies and sapphires are both types of the mineral Corundum. Since all kinds of quartzes are part of a warrior class in Homeworld society, Rubys are probably linked to Sapphires. Perhaps the Rubys are guards. The question is, is the rebellion that they’re looking at Rose Quartz’s, something related to fusions, or something else entirely. I really like the second. Ruby, Sapphire, and Garnet view fusion primarily as a way of showing romantic feelings and fusion is important to them, so to have their first meeting be tied to a change in fusion (perhaps fusing gems that aren’t the same type).

Those are my thoughts. I plan on being back with an update schedule later this month. I'll probably have after episode reactions to this, RWBY, and maybe other shows.