the steven; SU spoilers
Just saw the Steven Universe movie and my feelings about it are... very mixed.
At this point in the series, I can't exactly expect Steven to just pummel an enemy into submission, so converting YET ANOTHER villain is fine, I guess.
And I did like Spinel and how they set up and dealt with her trauma.
But man, it felt like they couldn't put her on a bus fast enough at the end. And Steven just kept LEAVING this poor traumatized thing at the margins. Rang so hollow. :(
the steven; SU spoilers
It was hard not to identify with Spinel. She brought back a whole lot of bad feelings about Transliminal: feeling like I was expected to wait forever for anyone to notice or care about me, because people were too "polite" to just tell me outright they were done with me, then treated like a monster when I finally had enough of it. And... well... suspecting deep down that I was probably really annoying and everyone had good reason to be sick of me and my needs.
the steven; SU spoilers
Ultimately, I enjoyed it and look forward to season six—but it all just reinforced my suspicion about "magic of friendship" shows, where every conflict can just be resolved by sitting down and opening your heart. I did. I bared myself and bled for that place, and so did they, and we all still ended up hating and mistrusting each other despite our best efforts. It just doesn't work, and I feel less and less good about teaching kids that it does.
the steven; SU spoilers
(She-Ra, on the other hand, has been handing similar subjects SO WELL with the ongoing Catra/She-Ra hatelove. It's messy and frustrating and out of both characters' control--and feels so much more honest for it.)
My resolve is getting stronger and stronger to make Parallax a reply to shows like SU and FiM. You can still have a happy ending—but sometimes you're just going to have to accept you'll be having it with different people than you started out with.
