“You’re a civilified part-gem too, after all.” – Garnet, inadvertently inviting Steven onto a path of psychological trauma!
Airdate: June 17th, 2015
Written By: Raven Molisee and Paul Villeco
Plot: Still on the hunt for Peridot, Garnet invites Steven on a trip to the Kindergarten to try and track her down. They do manage to come across her as she rises up from an inspection period. As Pearl and Amethyst try and track her down, Garnet and Steven choose to investigate further. The results are… less than pleasant. Particularly when fused parts of Gems come tumbling down on the two.
Review:
On occasion, there pops up internet comments that talk about Steven Universe being dark and gritty television. Even as a fan of the show, I have to wonder who, in particular, thinks this. I mean, it’s a damn good show, but I don’t think it’s that particularly dark. If anything, it’s the most optimistic thing on television right now. There are days when it honestly makes The West Wing look gritty in comparison. You want dark and gritty television? Breaking Bad would like to speak to you.
If anything’s dark about this show, it’s via subtextual and psychological elements – the analysis of autocracy, the negative side-effects of social castes, and the hell of war. Yet even then, Steven Universe manages to take a relatively optimistic analysis of these things, largely showing the antagonists in a sympathetic/tragic light or ending with a major burst of optimism that they shall overcome. Even the show’s more sobering episodes, such as “Rose’s Scabbard”, contain that hint of hope at the end, that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s only really “dark” if you sit and think about it for too long. (Which, given that I penned 3000+ words about two episodes so far, includes me. I have no life.)
Still, if these posts praising SU‘s “darkness” were coming off of “Keeping It Together”, then they are coming from an understandable place. I am not going to mince words here – even with a relatively bright last scene, “Keeping It Together” is the single darkest episode in the canon. Yes, darker than the one where Pearl trained a child soldier, Pearl almost let Steven fall into the eternal unknown, and darker than the one with the soldier who has militant attitudes.
Two words – forced fusion.
Both fans and critics of the show seem to simplify the concept of fusion to merely being an analogy for sex. Fans praise the show for being “daring” and proof that Steven Universe is truly mature TV. (Again, I’m a fan of the show, but methinks Breaking Bad or Mad Men fill that department better. Then again, I’ve held similar sentiments myself in the past, so make of that what you will.) Critics, meanwhile, are unnerved, citing the presence of Stevonnie as proof that the Crewniverse are really stretching what should be introduced to the show’s target demographic. In their defense, various fusions have been introduced with dances that are relatively suggestive (granted, all characters are adults, but still.)
They are both somewhat off the mark. The Crewniverse have noted on a few occasions that Fusion is meant to be a broad representation of various types of relationships – platonic, romantic, sexual, teamwork-based, toxic, euphoric, addictive, you name it. Some are meant to be representative of a societal taboo (ergo Garnet), others, a mutually destructive paring (Malachite).
What we have here, though, is what happens when fusion is not only launched by force but is done with mere shards of Gems – in effect, combining the body parts of the dead and disabled, all while attempting to create a Frankenstinian being. Bringing that up alone sounds unnerving enough. By alone, I mean stripping any semblance of symbolism and leaving the forced fusion as is.
Unfortunately, the writers mixed in SYMBOLISM with fusion, and as a result, we can now all look on in horror as Garnet, the leader of the Crystal Gems, faces her worst ever nightmare.
Consider the climax of “Jailbreak” and the scenario that surrounded it. As soon as Jasper discovered that Garnet had regenerated, she reacted with a sense of absolute disgust.
You’re both out? And you’re fused again? Why? Fusion is just a cheap tactic to make weak Gems stronger. Quit embarrassing yourselves! I’ve seen what you really are!
I think that’s all she wrote for the notion of fusion. To Homeworld, it is a military maneuver, one done to achieve a goal, meant to be temporary. To at least a segment of the Homeworld populace (such as Jasper herself), it is meant as a mode of last result – for it could indicate personal weakness. Which, in an autocratic society, is grounds for harsh punishment, if not death.
That’s why Garnet and Stevonnie are so groundbreaking in-universe. They defy traditional conventions of what fusions are. They are formed not as a temporary means to an end, but as a romantic (or, in Stevonnie’s case, close friend-esque) connection, an expression of the bonds that unite us.
Hell, if you take Fusion as indicative of all relationships, it makes Homeworld’s attitude to society that much more damning. There, love is discarded, friendship is rare, the military is first and foremost, and any step out of line is a damning indictment of the self. Steven and Connie are the closest of friends. Ruby and Sapphire are lovers. Their partnerships are anathema to the Homeworld political atmosphere.
Now, imagine that Fusion was done, against one’s will, and done to create what is, in effect, a war machine. And that the Gems were shards.
If any of Homeworld’s actions served as a symbolic middle finger, this is it. Moreso than the actual finger they used to point towards Earth. Considering that Garnet is rather well-known on Homeworld (Jasper even called her a “shameless display”), this goes beyond a mere strategy meant to wreck up Earth. This is doing so while trying to get revenge in the most depraved, vile way possible.
They knew damn well what they were doing.
What elevates this from “Saturday Morning Cartoon” antagonism to “horror” is what various manners of fusion can entail. While I personally look at Ruby and Sapphire’s relationship as indicative a cross-class partnership in a strict caste system, the specter of homosexuality lingers over them no matter who you ask. The closest analogy to what Homeworld did would be, I guess, killing a bunch of gay people and disposing of their bodies.
Oh, how I hesitate to invoke a particular specter in this analogy, given that it is cited as proof that one has lost a debate… but that actually happened. Hell, it’s still happening. Just because Americans increasingly (if slowly) don’t give a flip about what two consenting adults do in bed or at the altar doesn’t mean that everything is hunky dory through the world and we can all party. (Even then, we still have nutters in this country who wouldn’t really mind locking up gay people. A bit ironic in that case, eh?)
Had enough left-leaning social commentary? Well, you’re watching Steven Universe: We Make The West Wing Look Like A Tom Clancy Novel. I mean, the show does it well enough to not make it feel like I’m watching MSNBC or reading The Guardian, but the allegories are definitely present.
Garnet contains – hell, is – a source of remarkable stability within the Crystal Gems, if not in the show itself. The specter of Rose lingers over Pearl, Amethyst is a self-loathing tragic clown, and Steven has no idea what the hell is going on. Garnet’s issues are relatively few and far between – she is a relatively happy medium between the personification of an unbridled id and a hardline superego. Her main pressures come as the de facto leader of the Crystal Gems, as well as the awesome responsibility that entails, as we saw in “Future Vision”.
Now, cue this.
If Pearl’s tragedy is rooted in having her escape from hell closed despite her delusions of grandeur, and Amethyst’s is that of thinking she was meant to be the war machine that Homeworld intended her as, Garnet’s is a bit more external. It is here that she realizes the sheer contempt, if not visceral hatred, that Homeworld has of her genesis – in effect, her raison d’etre. And she gets a first-hand look at the most horrifying way to execute that feeling of disgust.
All while Steven is standing by in his own horror.
And that’s what it is. Pure, unadulterated terror. Molisee and Villeco don’t mince words here – this is as vile as the show’s antagonists are presented.
It almost splits Garnet. Sure, right-as-rain, stoic, confident Garnet is so unnerved, so disturbed by this exposure that she almost breaks in two. And it’s not seen as sudden, the visuals take their time and portray it as gutwrenchingly horrifying. Consider that, if the FrankenGems had managed to split the two apart and reduced her to the bare gems…
…well, that’s a thought.
And when Garnet’s glasses are knocked off… I mean, my god. It dawned on me in that moment the symbolic power of those shades. They represent the element of stoicism, or at least the visage thereof. When they’re off, we see a Garnet that’s more vulnerable, more emotionally driven. In some cases, it’s rage. In others, it’s a relative openness. In this case, it’s unadulterated terror. “These were Crystal Gems! Shattered into pieces! They were buried together! They were forced together – they were forced to fuse… this is wrong…”
The thing is, neither part of Garnet is really dominant over the other. It is facing this horror that she goes from unnerved and upset to enraged. In short, it’s personal. She beats the hell out of the monster… and as it’s bubbled, she looks at it, arguing with herself.
…so, this is what Homeworld thinks of fusion!
We couldn’t have known they would do this...
This is where they’ve been; all the ones we couldn’t find. They’ve been here the whole time.
Rose couldn’t have known.
This is punishment for the rebellion!
It’s not our fault!
I kid you not when I say that this might be one of my three favorite scenes in the season, and one of the top ten scenes in the entire show. I mean, the staging, rotating between two angles of Garnet’s face, one mortified, the other ready to grab a cricket bat and beat the everlasting stuffing out of Homeworld leadership, the minimalist yet sobering soundtrack, looking at this defilement of Gem culture… it’s a relatively rare moment of introspection from Garnet as a whole, and it says so much about what’s on her mind. Or, rather, minds. Or is it mind?
Completing all of this is Estelle, who manages to convey the disbelief and the apoplectic aura of it all. At the same time. If anybody had doubts about whether she was perfectly cast for the role beforehand, I respectfully refer them to this episode.
Want to compound this even further? Steven is with Garnet the whole time. On one of his first post-“Jailbreak” missions. He’s gotten a ton of hell thrown at him in recent times, but this is on a whole new level. Remember back when he was arrested by Homeworld authorities? He called them “mean”, which is like calling the 2017 New York Giants “subpar”. With this, he gets a first-hand look at the fact that Homeworld’s contempt for the Crystal Gems isn’t just superficial antagonism – that they have their biases that fuel their disgust, that could very well fuel their actions. His era of being but a naive kid facing everyday scenarios is sunsetting rapidly. Zach Callison manages to convey his own sense of horror at the events, further making the scenario even more realistic… and thus, staggering.
This from a kid whose biggest issue at the start of the episode was folding his laundry. Indeed, the end of the episode brings us back to the laundry, although the tone has turned much terser, much more sobering. Steven tries to assuage Garnet’s concerns about what he saw by downplaying any potential trauma, that it wasn’t her fault (that idea again), but she tells him that no, what he witnessed was a perversion of the art.
What we have here is a kid who is slowly coming to grips with being a gem, and now being simultaneously fascinated and horrified at the same time. “What’s it like being a fusion… like, all the time? Do you forget who you used to be?” It’s a simple question, but one that demonstrates remarkable maturity and introspection.
That maturity also manifests itself in a peculiar way in front of Peridot, who’s on maintenance at the Kindergarten. A lesser man would’ve lied and told her that the others were nowhere near the region. He tries… but without a word, downright admits it. It’s a dual-edged sword – he gave up their location, but did so with a bit of reluctance. And that scene, without Steven speaking a word, is so effective, so brilliant.
On the subject of Peridot, her status as a cog in the government’s machine now has a darker overture to it. That she was the manager of a project so vile demonstrates that, while she might not have thought the idea up, that an apathy exists. While some would argue that she was just following orders, by the standards of our liberal democratic society in America, there’s an understandable distaste for complacency with actions that are, at the very least, unethical.
Thus, in the quest to humanize Peridot, the writers take an intriguing strategy – make her complicit in the development of war crimes, a direct rebuttal to the values of at least one of our heroes. A tall order is created – any attempts to make her sympathetic have to come off as sincere. Will the writers do so? Well, that will be the arc for most of season 2, as Peridot will return and become an integral aspect of the show.
“Keeping It Together” also has Pearl and Amethyst sent off to the side mission of capturing Peridot – which, obviously, doesn’t work too well. Still, to see them coordinate as a cohesive unit compared to “Giant Woman”, you’ve got to give the writers chops – these two are no longer strange bedfellows.
Honestly, I think I’ve spent enough time talking about the characters, so might as well dive into the technical aspects of the episode. The entire episode carries with it a more sober tone. The opening line, where Garnet lays out the mission de jeur, lays down the gauntlet. The rest of the episode carries with it an overall darker tone – one where even the comedy is more muted. The soundtrack is more industrial, more gritty, and the visuals of the episode are also darker overall. Even the brightness of the last scene is balanced out by an overall terse atmosphere, both of the past events and what might come in the future.
The more I think about it, in fact, the more I realize that Molisee and Villeco have had a hand in some of the show’s darkest episodes. I mean, there was “Frybo”, “An Indirect Kiss”, “Mirror Gem”, “Warp Tour”, and “Rose’s Scabbard”. Now we have another mark of darkness for them. And believe me, they won’t let up anytime soon.
But my word, is this episode a knockout! Sustained horror, a consistent tone, a brilliant climax, fantastic character development, a stunning score? Do I need to go any further? Season 2 of Steven Universe is so far pretty damn good, and this episode could very well make it into my top 6 for the season.
Tidbits:
- There’s a cute little bit of detail here where Pearl takes up all of the chores on the chore wheel in the kitchen.
- A bit of foreshadowing here as Peridot runs up the side of a wall at the Kindergarten. “Ah, I can’t do that.” “Neither can she!” Now, combine that with Peridot’s aura of stoicism collapsing, as per her laughing manically as she escapes the region…
- Actually, Steven does have a point… how do you get a washer and dryer to work on the hand? I’m assuming “Gem Tech” here, but still.
- On that note, I may have mentioned this before, but this show takes a rather unique twist on the “magical girl” genre by being so technical. Given that Rebecca Sugar seems to be a neo-hippie and that the show has some socialistic undertones*… make of that what you will.
Wrap-Up:
Favorite Scene: Garnet facing the object of her nightmares, conflicted with herself, mentally torn between an enraged id and a staggered superego. Stab me in the gut, why don’t ya?
Best Character: Um…
Memorable Quote: I’ll just have Garnet herself play us out…
“You know, when you fuse, you don’t feel like two people, you feel like one being. And your old names might as well be names for your left arm, and your right… I embody my, I mean, Ruby and Sapphire’s love. I’ll always exist in them, even if I split apart. But the strength of that love keeps me together… so I can stay Garnet for a very long time.”
Breathtaking.
Score: Platinum. Probably the darkest sustained period in the history of the series, “Keeping It Together” is also fantastically directed and written. It stays with you in your mind, and it damn well should. It does toe the line of being somewhat heavy handed, but I’m giving it a pass there because of how well-executed it actually is.
As far as the episodic power rankings, I’m going to put this in at… #10! While not quite as vital as episodes such as “Ocean Gem” and “The Return”, it does cross a threshold of uber-brilliance that “Space Race” just missed.
*Granted, socialist propaganda in the Warsaw Bloc was focused very much on technological advancement. Anybody that proclaims Communism to be a hippie paradise only need to research the Trabant, the pinnacle of technological mediocrity. And the gulags, of course, but that goes without saying.
The Review Nebula 