‘Steven Universe’ Recap: ‘So Many Birthdays’ and ‘Lars and the Cool Kids’
âSo Many Birthdaysâ
âšWritten and Storyboarded by Raven M. Molisee and Paul Villeco.
âLars and the Cool Kidsâ
Storyboarded by Lamar Abrams and Matt Braly.
Usually I walk away from Steven Universe having laughed a little, often forgetting what had happened as soon as itâs over but if things continue to be like âGiant Womanâ and âSo Many Birthdaysâ this show could end up meaning something special to me. This episodeâs theme was heavy on the idea of growing up and the end result was a great realization that everyone should take into consideration.
Once again we start with Pearl and Amethyst arguing about something irrelevant. A smell lingers in the air, and the Gems and Steven stumble upon a five-year-old burrito (likely the cause of the stench) and an âold timeyâ picture of the Gems and Stevenâs mother. This brings us all to wonder how old the Gems really are. Thankfully, the always-inquisitive boy asks. The Gems live a long time, but they donât show signs of aging like humans although they can get hurt. Steven then has to badger on about their birthdays â Garnet admits thatâs not something Gems do or care about. Much like Steven, I was appalled by that. He then pledges to throw them each a birthday party.Â
Each Gem got her own special day that ended as a failure, even though theyâre all wearing Stevenâs lucky birthday suitâa cape and crown. Amethyst doesnât understand the concept behind piñatas and asks the question I think weâve all wondered: âYou had candy and you just didnât give it to us?â Steven tries to step it up by performing as a clown for Pearlâs party and telling jokes. They go over her head and she cringes at the pie-in-the-face bit. When Steven proclaims Garnetâs will be the âultimate birthday,â you think, yeah â this is where itâll all turn around. Nope. Kazoo racers werenât a hit because riding in miniature cars and playing kazoos doesnât sound appealing to the Gems.
Their hesitance towards celebrating their birthdays leaves Steven questioning if heâs too old to blow out the candles on his special day anymore. This mental breakdown was probably my third favorite moment in this series so far; the first one came in a previous episode (weâll touch on that later) and the second was in this weekâs again, later on. Anyways, his breakdown led to a very interesting resultâŠÂ
Walking through a fog both in reality and in his mind, Steven continued to question birthdays and growing up. As he did this, his gem glowed and he started to age. At first it was just simple puberty; four hairs on his upper lip, noticeable vocal changes and acne. As he came to a store and decided a job was what he had to get, he became a five-oâclock-shadowed man standing tall. By the time he got to Larsâ shop, he looked like George Costanza from Seinfeld. After being run out of the store due to a misunderstanding about his âbirthday suitââŠhis aging process escalates from looking like his dad to grandpa status; Gandalf beard and all. He is returned to the Gems thanks to his lion. Yup, that lion from âStevenâs Lionâ was back this week, but didnât play an essential part other than party attendee before this point.
The Gems always show concern for Steven when he gets himself into a pickle but this was the first time they showed an emotional concern rather than an instinct to save. This was probably because they had to face death. With Steven being half-human, his death was a possibility and actual fear swept over his three gal pals as they tried to reverse his aging by over-celebrating the birthday rituals theyâd learned: piñatas, tiny cars, clowns, and pies. Pearl, in tears, while trying to complete the clown bit was a hilarious moment in a tense situation.Â
Stevenâs age starts to fluctuate with his state of mind, going back and forth between a boy and a man. Turns out, youâre as old as you feel. This lesson was my second favorite moment and goes hand in hand with my first, which so happens to be from âFrybo,â the episode that played wonderfully after this weekâs new one â both of those dealt with the essence of adulthood and the way it feels like itâs strangling you even when youâre years from it.
One can only hope that this theme continues because as much as Pearl and Amethyst butting heads is entertaining, these episodes that capture Stevenâs journey to manhood are way more interesting.
Since âSo Many Birthdaysâ was the best Iâve seen from Steven Universe, I didnât expect much from what Steven and Lars had to offer when they encountered the so-called cool kids in âLars and the Cool Kids.â It was just okay, and the best part was a tossup between Steven defending his mother and Lars bombing at being cool.
The Gems and Steven come across a huge quarry of nasty moss growing out of control that Stevenâs mother planted once upon a time. Pearl points out that Stevenâs mom, Rose Quartz, always saw âbeauty in everything, no matter how gross,â which also might explain why she was with Stevenâs dad in the first place. You can refer to the opening credits to check out what he looks like if youâve forgotten since we havenât seen him for a long while. After Pearl produces some police tape to keep the humans out of the moss, we lose the Gems for the rest of the episode as Steven heads out on his own for lunch at Fish Stew Pizza.
There he comes across a reluctant Lars and fails to engage him with a high five. Lars is trying to play it cool as he lurks in the parlorâs window staring in at the cool entourage heâd die to become a part of. Thereâs Jenny, an in-charge black girl whoâs dad owns the pizza place. Sheâs surrounded herself with Sour Cream, a raver who could be related to little Onion based on his paste-like appearance and his name, and Buck Dewey, whoâs forever decked out in sunglasses â possibly hiding his relation to his political father.
For some reason Steven wins over the cool trio in an instant and gets him and Lars invited on their cruise session. Itâs like an animated scene from 21 Jump Street on their drive. You had Steven being considered awesome for being safe, and Lars not-so-much due to his acting too pretentious to impress. Steven continued to be the safety patrol when they decided to go to Dead Manâs Mouth.
Turns out thatâs what the humans called the moss pit we saw earlier. Ignoring Stevenâs warnings, the cool kids end up being covered by the moss. As Steven and Lars argue about what to do, Lars crosses a line. He badmouths the moss and Stevenâs mom, setting the little guy off. It was really weird and surprising to see Steven react in such a manner. Usually heâs happy-go-lucky, so the angry face was a new one on him.
Lars and Steven have to get the moss-covered cool kids to the hill, per Stevenâs idea, and that wouldnât have been a problem if Jennyâs car wasnât a stick shift. Lars and Steven use teamwork to get them to the hill, and as they too are being engorged in the moss, the sun breaks thus permitting the mossy gunk to blossom into beautiful flowers. When the cool ones come to after their moss is off, Steven gives Lars all the credit.
This wasnât anything high-concept like last week, but it did showcase something thatâs really important to see from Steveâhuman interaction. Usually itâs a quick run-in, or one-on-one. This week we saw him with a group of peers instead of the Gems, and he even went on to prove he doesnât always need his gal pals to save the day.