TALKBACK - Steven Universe - "Change Your Mind" [1/21] *BATTLE OF HEART AND MIND* *DIAMOND DAYS* *ONE HOUR SPECIAL*

[CNFan1995]

Episodes 157-160

Monday at 7:00p/6:00c!

Change Your Mind
Premieres
MONDAY 1/21 at 7:00 PM

This week...
Steven faces his biggest challenge yet.

 

[Dudley]

I don’t know what to expect. This Show has a way of being both surprising and disappointing.
I hope we at least get a new fusion.

Also, IIRC, this is the show’s intended series finale.

 

[Nexonius]

I don’t know what to expect. This Show has a way of being both surprising and disappointing.
I hope we at least get a new fusion.

Also, IIRC, this is the show’s intended series finale.

I thought there was a Season 6 plus the upcoming movie.

Speaking of which, I'm hoping there is another sneak peak of the movie.

 

[Eldorado]

I thought there was a Season 6 plus the upcoming movie.

Speaking of which, I'm hoping there is another sneak peak of the movie.

He said INTENDED Series Finale. Which means it was supposed to be but didn't.

 

[Dr.Pepper]

Since this was conceived as the ending to the series, I have high hopes. I really want to see Steven fuse with everyone to form the Temple Gem. I also hope we get another trailer for the movie.

 

[ToonJay723]

"Blue, Yellow! Did you have a hand in this?"

 

[zoombie]

So is this the finale, it has a very series finale vibe to me, I mean what is there left to do?

So we get all the Diamonds on our side, un corrupt all the gems, get all new fusions, what now? That being said it was great, for a moment thought White was not going to convinced, but once she was proven wrong with Pink being gone, she broke down.

So we found out what happened to Pink Pearl, is she going to leave with us now, we got Bizmuth, Lapis, and Peridot with us, room for one more.

I wonder what happens, I wonder if all the Diamonds going to travel through out the universe and free every planet they conquer and say sorry our bad.

Anyway interesting to see what happens in the movie, is there a Black Diamond we got to face?

 

[RainbowCupcake]

Okay if anyone says that this episode wasn't absolutely fantastic I'm going to trap them in White Diamond's prison.

All kidding aside, wow. I mean, wow. Can we all take a moment to bask in that? I'm at a loss for words. I'd be as bold as to say that this was the best Steven Universe episode to date. Period. Of course, it was supposed to be the last episode, which I'm still a little upset about because this would have made the PERFECT series finale! I kept getting series finale vibes throughout this entire thing (return of many old characters, "We Are The Crystal Gems" playing at the end, references to old episodes ("We wouldn't have hot dogs"), etc.) I have no idea what they're going to do for season 6. I hope it's something good; I wouldn't want the series to become too drawn out just because it's popular.

A few random thoughts:
-Did anyone else think it was hilarious how after White Diamond extracted Steven's gem, they cut immediately to the commercial break where the female announcer went, "Is Steven okay???" in the most nonchalant voice possible? I was laughing so hard. It was great comedic timing.
-I loved all of the new fusions in this episode. Pearl and Steven's reminded me of Mary Poppins, and I was getting Dippy Fresh vibes from Garnet and Steven's fusion for some reason. The big fusion (all four of the gems) was unique and awesome. I liked her ability to smelt (is that the right word?) a sword. I chuckled when Connie said, "I'll let you take this one."
-I liked Peridot's line about "ruling the skies," or whatever she said.
-White Diamond did not disappoint. She was an AMAZING villain, and her voice was just perfect. She really played a big role in the episode, which was nice to see. I thought that her reform happened a little too quickly, but considering that the episode was jampacked with other important things, I didn't mind.
-Lars and the Off-Colors came back! Yes!
-I loved seeing Sadie and Lars finally reuniting. It was a reunion a long time in the making.
-Pink Hologram Steven's line, "She's GOOOONNEEE," startled me a little. Maybe that's because I had my TV too loud.
-The song at the end was nice, but nothing incredible. I liked the other two this week better.
-We now know that the movie is coming this fall, which is nice. We'll probably get loads of info at SDCC 2019.

Well, that's all I got. What a ride! Can't wait for season 6 and the movie, although I am slightly wary since I thought this wrapped things up nicely.

 

[Dudley]

Well we finally got to see Steven’s fusion with Garnet and Pearl, The Crystal Gem’s big fusion, Peridot and Lapis’s new outfits, and what happens when Steven’s Gem is removed. That holo Steven was awesome. Very anime-ish. Almost got Akira vibes from it
I guess I shouldn’t be upset that White Diamond got talked down, but at least we got a cool fight out of it, not to mention a really cool animation bump.
Man I can’t stand how oblivious the folks of Beach City are. A giant mech, with large aliens land at their doorstep, and they rather focus on the concert.
And look who finally shows up! Lars and the Off-Colors made it home. And Lars has a nice reunion with Sadie, I guess.
And the Gems got healed, but they’re still a little off. Jasper well, I guess she was talked down too. Sad she didn’t get a little more focus.

All in all, a pretty nice finale to the series. It’ll be interesting to see what they do for the 6th season and the movie, which no doubt will be a self-contained story.

 

[ToonJay723]

What a great special. This serves as a great series finale if it is one. Blue and Yellow's minds being changed was quick but didn't feel rushed. Steven finally fused with Pearl and Garnet. And we even got a fusion with all four of them.

White Diamond finally realizes that putting too much pressure on the gems will make them crack.

So all the corrupted gems have been fixed thanks to the help of the Diamonds and Steven. I also love the new fusions. Sunstone is my favorite.

Looking forward to the movie. I wonder if it will be about all the former corrupted gems or a stand alone movie?

 

[Rhaynebow]

Good buttery Goodness I wish this was the series finale. I'm not sure how much further they could go next season.

So many fusions (which we probably won't see again), so many questions, so many freaky images (I won't get "She's GOOOONE" out of MY mind for a while) and that moment where Steven and Pink reunite is up there with "The Ballard of Duke Baloney" from Ducktales 2017 as those rare moments of brilliant tv animation. You can tell someone else besides the Crewniverse boarded that bit.

My few gripes would be that Lars and the Off-Colors didn't do anything this whole arc. It feels like they were forgotten which is really disappointing because I was waiting for Lars to discover his interdimensional "roar" like Lion. To have him suddenly show up at the end and at the SAME TIME as Steven and the Diamonds just made me ask "and where have YOU guys been?"

My other peeve was how Connie kept using her Mom's punishments to relate to the Diamonds. I'm pretty darn sure your Mom grounding you is literally puny in comparison to alien dictators depriving you of food and threatening to destroy your friends and planet.

Now, we do know that another season is in the works, but I'm worried that they'll be a plunge in ratings unless the movie can give us a good hook. After a bunch of hiatuses, fanbase arguments, theories and rant videos, I'm kind of tired and to plenty of people, this would be a decent place to drop off. But we'll see. At least we have a specific timeframe of when the show will return!

 

[ShadowBlinky]

Rebecca Sugar and the crew, I salute each and everyone of you.

 

[Peter Paltridge]

Where is the official confirmation that a Season 6 will exist? Because CN is sure acting like the movie is all there will ever be. Putting a trailer after the special that confirms the movie for this fall -- in the middle of January -- suggests there will be no new episodes until then, and I would think they'd want to run them if they had them.

 

[Action!]

HOLY CRAP! That was amazing. New fusions, the animation was amazing, and it was really emotional. 10/10

 

[Dr.Pepper]

That was an amazing episode. Some really quick thoughts:

• Nice to see Steven fuse with everybody. I was not expecting Rainbow Quartz 2.0 to be a guy.
• I don’t really like Peridot’s new visor. Also Lapis looks like Aladdin.
• “She’s GOOOOONE!!!!” scared me.
• I was hoping for Yellow and Blue to fuse but you can’t have everything.
• So are gems who have been corrupted permentally scarred?
• They never did explain where Pearl came from. Did she originally belong to White or was she made later and given to Pink.

 

[Daikun]

Where is the official confirmation that a Season 6 will exist?

The Steven Universe Podcast

 

[Light Lucario]

I thought that this special was really good. I thought that Blue and Yellow changing their minds was a bit quick, but it felt natural. Despite grieving for Pink for thousands of years, Blue was still harsh on Steven and realized that she helped push Pink away. Yellow was more confrontational about it by comparison, but her change of heart worked too. There were clear indication that she missed Pink just as much as Blue did, but just bottled her feelings up. Even when Yellow finally broke down, she assumed that Blue was using her powers to make her cry instead of realizing that her emotional barrier had finally been broken. I thought it was sweet how they both started to call Steven by name after they realized how unhappy Pink was all this time.

Steven fusing with the Crystal Gems was pretty cool and I liked their new outfits too. The Steven and Pearl fusion in particular caught my attention since it was basically a male version of Pearl and Rose's fusion. I just thought that was a neat way of showing that Steven is similar, but different from his mother. I was not expecting the fusion between the four of them being fire based though. I always imagined that she would have plant based powers for some reason.

White was definitely an intimidating villain with her ability to brainwash other gems into her collective consciousness. She was a perfectionist and her only solution to their problems/imperfections was to make them a part of herself. It was creepy how every gem she infected basically became part of a hive mind.

Steven's gem being removed was quite intense and of course, they had to go to a commercial break right after it happened. I always thought that Steven would die without his gem and it did look like it considering how weak he was after it happened. That scene was so intense and I love how they handled it. It would have been so easy to have Steven meet his mother properly once he didn't have his gem. For a moment, it looked like that was going to happen with how both Pink and Rose's forms were shown briefly before becoming Steven. It showed that Pink was gone for good. She is a part of Steven, but she can't come back. Things just couldn't go back to the way they were like White or any of the Diamonds wanted. Their relationships had to change without Pink, much like how the Crystal Gems had to change without Rose as their leader. I wasn't expecting the loud "She's gone!" though. That was kind of creepy.

I just loved seeing Steven happily merge back with his gem. It almost looked like fusion. Despite all of the conflict Steven inherited from his mother and all of the memories/feelings of the past he has experienced, he isn't his mother. He isn't Rose Quartz or Pink Diamond. Steven is Steven and I thought that was a beautiful way to illustrate that realization, especially with such terrific animation. Since I normally watch the new episodes On Demand instead of watching them live, it isn't uncommon for some images or details to be spoiled for me ahead of time, especially with how often episodes are leaked. I was able to watch this special live, so I got to experience this special and this scene without any real spoilers. I'm so glad for that because that made this scene even better for me. It was easily one of the most powerful moments in the series and it reminded me just why I love this series so much.

I also liked how White became much more emotional as Steven continued to fight back. She was calm and collected when she was unopposed, but once she became flustered over Steven's actions, her own emotions flared up and that made her think that she was flawed too. It made the change feel natural for her. Although, I wish we could have gotten some more insight into the Pink Pearl, especially when Steven's dream from a couple of episodes ago indicated that she and Pink Diamond were seemingly friends before she was altered by White Diamond.

Steven and the Diamonds crashing Sadie's concert was kind of funny, but the timing for Lars and the Off Color Gems made it funnier. I felt like their arrival on Earth could have been saved for another episode. I understand why that happened for the funny timing and to tie up the major conflicts of the season, but since they weren't mentioned during the special and we've only had a couple of episodes featuring the group after the Wanted special, it felt a bit too sudden.

Showcasing Steven and the Diamonds healing all of the corrupted Gems while Steven was singing the theme song was pretty nice. I liked how some of the Gems even had scars from being corrupted. In Jasper's case, it also might have been due to fusing with a corrupted Gem, which would be a nice touch. I liked how Amethyst stopped her from charging after Steven. Steven singing with the Crystal Gems after the Diamonds left was a nice way to end the special.

I can see why people would like this as a series finale and the idea that it was written that way before getting the movie and another season does make sense. Steven was able to connect with the Diamonds, all of the corrupted Gems are healed and Lars returned to Earth with the Off Color Gems. Seemingly all of the major conflicts have been resolved. However, it felt more like a really good season finale rather than a way to end the entire series for me. Like I mentioned in the series news and discussion thread, I feel like there needs to be some focus on the aftermath of these events. Lars trying to adjust to life back on Earth, what at least some of these newly healed Gems would do and what changes the Diamonds could do for Gems in Homeworld/their colonies are concepts that could work nicely for at least a season. Lars and Sadie's reunion would have felt a bit too lackluster if that was their last interaction in the series and not seeing at least some of the healed Gems would also be a bit disappointing. Not to mention giving the Crystal Gems new outfits and especially showcasing new fusions would come off as a big tease if this was the grand finale. This wouldn't have been a bad series finale by any means if this was how they chose to end the series. It might have felt a bit rushed near the end, but it have been an overall good and satisfying note to end the series with. I just think that there could be some room within the storyline to showcase the aftermath of this season and possibly use that to expand into new conflicts.

Overall, this was a really great special with so many wonderful emotional moments. I just hope that we won't have to wait until the fall to get more new content for this series.

 

[Peter Paltridge]

Guess what? Jaaaaaaaames Baxter is credited with an animation sequence in this episode. It had to be the amazing shot of the two Stevens embracing. That was the best application of talent I've seen on any show in a long time.

EDIT: Confirmed as Baxter's work

 

[Eldorado]

Guess what? Jaaaaaaaames Baxter is credited with an animation sequence in this episode. It had to be the amazing shot of the two Stevens embracing. That was the best application of talent I've seen on any show in a long time.

EDIT: Confirmed as Baxter's work

I knew it had to have been James Baxter. Who else could make animation so fluid?

 

[ShadowBeast]

This definitely felt like a far better series finale than what Adventure Time got. A lot of stuff was answered. I hated Peridot's new design though. It's like every time they change her, it's for the worst. Lapis's new design was good. Could've used some light blue on her pants, but still good. I get the feeling that White Diamond cared more for Pink than what she lead on with trying to get her back, to the point of ripping her gem out of Steven. I'm guessing Pink Steven saying that Pink Diamond is gone is Rebecca's way of saying that she's never coming back, which is sad, and I hope there will be a way for her to come back. White Diamond changing color should've been obvious to her since she said it herself that she reflects all colors. I'm disappointed that the corrupted Gems didn't become fully healed.