Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26808654-20150516082728/@comment-26809505-20150803150358

I completely agree with the fact that there are situations where the show could do more logical things to solve a problem, but they end up doing something completely ridiculous instead. It's just the standard "Solve a simple problem with a crazy solution" trope which lots of television shows have used before. Yes, it was used in "Fusion Cuisine." It's used in lots of places. He could have just gotten away with taking Pearl to dinner, the most obvious choice, and Pearl could have said that she wasn't particularly hungry or that she ate a large lunch as a lie. I just ignore it. :B "Fusion Cuisine" showed how much Steven cared for the Gems, as he didn't want to have any of them left out. The fact that the Gems fused for something this minor shows how much the Gems care about Steven.

With "Cheeseburger Backpack", the show was in its early development where Steven was trying to prove himself to the Gems. I felt that Steven being able to successfully solve half of the problems showed that Steven was getting better at missions. It also taught a nice moral to the target audience of the show: kids. Steven's ideas only worked 50% (2/4), but he didn't give up or get overly upset about it. This teaches children that it's okay if not all your ideas work, but you shouldn't stop trying.

Next up: the filler. Steven Universe would be over INCREDIBLY fast without the use of filler. If everything were incredibly serious, I feel the series would run short on ideas in a short period of time. The filler is also necessary for the characters to grow/develop, in some cases, as said by many persons above me. At times, the filler is the only way for the human supporting cast to be incorporated into the show. This is just my personal preference, but I think the show would be rather boring if it were just Gem stuff all the time, and the human cast were just shoved aside. They're called a supporting cast because they provide SUPPORT for the main cast. I personally found "Beach Party" to be a nice episode, because it shows that Gems and humans do interact, and that humans can aid in defeating corrupted gems as well. It's good to have a supporting cast which fulfills that role. They don't get too much screentime, and they aren't pushed off to the side.

With "A Story for Steven," indeed it was rather rushed. I was upset that it was over so quickly. However, there is only so much you can do with an 11 minute format. I didn't even find the Gems being adorable to be the highlight of the episode. However, it helped me understand the impact of Rose's departure on the Gems. In the current time with Steven, the Gems all act so mature. In this episode, Garnet attempts to throw Greg over the fence, something that she would never do currently. Yes, the love story might have been a little cliched, but most are. As said by another person above, a fire starts with a spark. That concert scene was a spark, and it eventually turned into a fire after awhile. "A Story for Steven" was just the story about the spark. We get to see the real fire in "We Need to Talk," probably one of my favourite episodes of all time.

I can't speak for everyone, and everyone has their own preferences and tastes. This entire paragraph is going to mostly be me talking about how an episode's impact on me makes me like it. I personally love "Reformed," and I do not find the angst to be forced at all. I love it because I can relate incredibly well to Amethyst. Amethyst keeps rushing and changing her form to have someone she cares about respect her. She really wanted to be "perfect" so Garnet would respect her and see her as something great. I've been in that situation loads of times with my best friend. I've kept trying to be perfect because I felt they didn't see me that highly or respected me. I kept trying to give them everything I thought they would want, but it usually was misinterpreted by me or it wasn't really what they wanted. Amethyst also doesn't know what she wants out of a form, so she keeps doubting herself and trying to give Garnet what she wants, because she doesn't know what she wants for herself. My best friend would ask me what I would want for myself, and I would keep saying whatever she wanted. I personally like the episode because of how I can relate to Amethyst's angst. Being an insecure "teenager" who doesn't like much about themselves and may not know what they want about themselves is a very hard spot to be in.

"Open Book" was a lighter episode. I'll give it that. However, it did teach a relatable message to children about how hard it is to admit that you disagree with a friend. There are lots of us out there who are afraid to say we disagree with someone, because we're afraid they'll want to stop being our friend. I like it because of the message it gives.

"Shirt Club" wasn't a perfectly neccessary episode. However, it did bring some development of Steven's interactions with other humans. It also made good usage of a secondary/tertiary character for a lighter episode. The show could have gone without it, but it made for a nice, lighter plot which balances out the seriousness in the show.

The fillers help remind us that Steven is still somewhat human. He's an innocent kid, just like lots of the target audience. He likes hanging out with his friends and doing things that a kid would do. He enjoys playing video games and has lots of toys. We get to see that although Steven is tied to some magical, grand destiny, he still has some relatability to the target audience.

Lastly, the fandom. Steven Universe's fandom isn't really anything special. It's just another fandom full of people coming up with theories and discussing something that they like. There may be great people in the fandom. You might find great friends in people who are in the fandom. However, every fandom has bad people. It's just how things work. This fandom indeed does have some people who act awful in it. Fan and let fan. No one gets hurt that way. :)

Once again, I can't speak for everyone. Everyone has different tastes, and we all prefer different things. That's fine, and it's great if you don't like what I have to say. That just means you have your own taste. You're entitled to your own thoughts. I may come off as some hopeless fan guarding trashy episodes ,because I see the show as perfect. No, I don't. There are flaws. There are unneccesary episodes. However, I find that those flaws work, and as said before, the shows high points tend to overshadow those flaws. The show isn't perfect. The Crewniverse isn't perfect. Nobody is. However, it is great in the sense that despite its flaws, it carries on being great.

Feel free to disagree or agree with the idiot 13 year old. :)