Comics Review: Steven Universe 24

No longer the place of your memories.

Overview:

Steven wants to find a place to take Connie for a celebration.

Our Take:

The moonflower brush is a place with a lot of memories for the Crystal Gems. Pearl found it and brought Rose to see it, and they had a wonderful time together. It’s the first place that Garnet saw when she was first fused and fell to Earth. It’s a place of good memories, but also one with a lot of affection tied to it. Even though it’s a simple place and it doesn’t belong to anyone, the Crystal Gems treasure it a lot.

Naturally, when Steven and Pearl arrive to find out that the place has so greatly changed, Pearl is heartbroken. It’s not as if anyone is denying her memories or that they happened, but it’s wanting reality to be exactly the way you remember it. When the image in your memories doesn’t match the one, in reality, that’s not only sobering but disheartening. The present can always outmatch the past, and it’s very hard to change that. Except, this time, Steven and the other gems make an effort to make sure that isn’t true.

While there is no changing the shock of a first impression, that doesn’t mean that things have to stay that way. Not everything is set in stone, and with effort, things can change. The brush has become overrun by vines, but the moonflowers are still there. As long as something remains, it is possible to rebuild and rebuild they do. It takes a lot more than a bit of weeding to get rid of an invasive species, but it’s implied that the Crystal Gems will keep working at it until the weeds are totally gone, and they can continue enjoying the brush in the future. For now, they uproot all the vines that are visible and clear away the dense trees so that light can filter in.

In the end, it pays off. Pearl is moved by the sight of the moonflowers, and Connie is impressed with the scene. The comic ends with them all sitting and relaxing, enjoying the sight that they managed to bring back with hard work.

It’s a very simple premise, but a good one. Stories don’t have to be complex to say what they need to say, and they don’t need to have an extremely low point to bring up something good either. Sometimes, simplicity works best.