Comics Review: Steven Universe #25

Homesick, again.

Overview:

The journey across space is long, and Lars finds himself missing home more than usual.

Our Take:

This is all about Lars, and his great homesickness. Even though he and the Off-Colors are heading towards Earth, they’re still a long way off, and Lars is getting impatient. Unfortunately, there’s nothing to do but wait.

He was thrust into his situation very abruptly and without warning, so he never really had time to say goodbye to his old life. He’s a leader now, with a ship and responsibilities,  and he doesn’t have the freedom to be carefree like he used to be. Lars dreams of his old life, possibly a new future where he and the Off-Colors run their own bakery, but that’s just a fantasy. He’s still in space, stuck on a ship, far from home. It’s grinding down on him, but he also doesn’t feel that he has the place to say how much he misses Earth. He’s Captain Lars now, and a captain doesn’t really have the time to be worrying about personal things.

In the meantime, Steven and Connie are preparing a care package that they will bring to Lars. As they go through his things, they find reminders of his old life, including some things that he’s always wanted to bake. The rolls that Lars always imagined himself shaping seems to be important, but at this point it’s not clear how so.

Surprisingly, this ends on a cliffhanger, with the Off-colors running off into deep space, where not even Emerald dares follow him. Considering this is the first issue that doesn’t conclude within a single volume, this came as quite a surprise. It’s a little hard to tell what will happen- obviously, this is a Steven Universe story, so there will be a happy ending, but how will they reach that happy ending? Lars and the Off-Colors will have to navigate treacherous space, all while Lars isn’t feeling his best. Steven and Connie will likely make it on board, but what they’re bringing via Lars’ care package is mostly sentimental items that will make him cheer up. This is important, of course, but it makes you wonder if anything they bring will be something that would help the situation at hand- not Lars’ mental state (which it will no doubt improve), but the very real danger. Guess we have to wait until next month to find out.

Score
8.0/10