It helps to have a preview, doesn’t it? Who’s ready to see the drill that will pierce the mantle?
Immediate reaction to Back to the Barn
Well we’re just getting all of our Christmases at once, aren’t we? We thought we’d learn a little bit, but Peridot sure went into detail about her expectations about Pearl. That means we got it all this week: plenty of solid lore to talk about, and some more speculative material too. (Alright, we didn’t get as much plot progression as we thought we would, but we got the setup for it.)
Plus did you see how quickly they were both able to build? Space Race definitely wasn’t an outlier.
What to expect from Back to the Barn
The Peridot train just keeps on rolling! Not only will she be getting plenty more time with Steven, it looks like Pearl is going to be getting involved too. Given what we’ve seen (and how quickly we learned about the Cluster) this will probably be more of a character episode than a lore episode—though with a healthy dose of plot advancement.
Of course judging from the preview clip, there’s a solid chance that we’ll get a retort from Pearl that reveals more about the homeworld, and if Pearl and Peridot compete with one another to show who’s better with technology then there will be ample opportunities to slip some lore into the dialogue.
More Steven Universe merchandise on the way
If you were worried about the paucity of merchandise available for Steven Universe, then worry no more! According to Animation Magazine, Cartoon Network has made deals with several manufacturers that will be bringing out new Steven Universe stuff for a while.
Some will be coming out quite early, in time for the holidays this year. Funko will be making Pop! vinyl figures of Steven Universe, which will be available at Hot Topic; Just Toys will be making a bunch of stuff, with the article listing dog tags, minis, backpack hangers, and “fun packs”. You can check out their Bravest Warriors stuff to get a feel for what they make.
Spring 2016 will see PhatMojo step into the ring with plushes and foam weapons, and Zag Toys launching collectible mini figures.
Then, in 2017, we get a line of plushes and more from Toy Factory (see their Adventure Time stuff if you’re curious what to expect).
The Guide to the Crystal Gems officially released today
We’ve been waiting for this one: the Guide to the Crystal Gems has finally come, and there’s good news and bad news.
The good news is that the book looks gorgeous, and there are some nifty factoids about the Crystal Gems in it. The bad news is that it is basically stuff we already knew or could easily have figured out. The second dose of good news is that the stuff we want to see will now definitely be revealed to us in an episode, not in a peripheral.
The guide is liberally illustrated with screenshots from the show, framed as photos, and has profiles for every Gem we’ve seen on the show (including fusions, except for Sardonyx).
It starts off with a brief mention of the rebellion, then full-page writeups for Amethyst, Garnet, and Pearl. The idea of gem monsters on Earth and the arrival of the homeworld Gems each get a paragraph, then it’s on to the character bios.
Steven, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl each get full writeups with a profile, a long paragraph describing them, some more paragraphs related to things specific to them, and sections named “Fearsome Foes” and “Memorable Moments” that showcase their fighting prowess and… well, memorable moments respectively.
Rose Quartz gets a very similar treatment with a profile and many pages talking about her, but since she’s in the show’s history and so has no photos to showcase she doesn’t get Fearsome Foes or Memorable Moments sections.
Lapis Lazuli, Peridot, and Jasper each get a profile; Opal, Sugilite, Alexandrite, Malachite, and Stevonnie each get a profile and a paragraph writeup. Most of the book is written from Steven’s voice, but Garnet is responsible for telling us about the fusions, as well as the idea of fusion.
It’s heavy on pictures and light on text, but at $10 MSRP it looks like a good buy, especially for a younger fan.
New episode: Too Far will air on October 15, 2015
This might be our last premier on a regular schedule for the year (the schedule starts to get really weird around this time each year), so let’s make sure we enjoy it! Watch Too Far on October 15 at 7:30 PM EDT (please note the time change, as it was not originally scheduled to air at 7:30).
Too Far
Amethyst and Steven get in on some gem gossip.
Lunar Sea Spire podcast episode 50: When it Rains
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:31 — 25.8MB)
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Ken, GC13, Sophia, and Dakota, back from his break for an episode, get very excited to talk about When it Rains. The Peridemption train is rolling!
At this point everyone will have their heart broken should something happen to keep Peridot from permanently joining the team, since that scene of her stepping into the rain seemed pretty conclusive. She’ll be a great asset for lore-loving fans, with her homeworld mindset and awareness of recent events (though of course we need Jasper to join as well).
The Cluster continues to loom over the series, and the destruction it can cause has finally been revealed. Let’s just hope that we never see its physical form, so that destruction never becomes a reality—on Earth, anyway.
Steven Universe air times for October 5-11, 2015
Thursday:
5:30 PM EDT: Back to the Barn
No, this is not an error. As of now there are no re-runs at all scheduled for Steven Universe this week, not even a repeat of When it Rains.
What could When it Rains mean?
With what we’ve learned about the Cluster, it’s kind of all we want to talk about. (Well, the only lore-related thing, anyway. We still love Peridot.) It’s been a lot of information hitting us in these past couple of episodes, so we have some wondering to do.
What we learned from When it Rains
The lore train does not stop! When it Rains was everything we wanted: a good lore drop combined with some wonderful bonding between Steven and Peridot. So, who wants to know about the Cluster? We do! So we’re going to take stock of what we learned this week.
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