Review: Steven Universe “Change Your Mind”

The final battle.

Overview:

Steven tries one last time to convince the Diamonds.

Our Take:

This was… an episode. It really was, this was the culmination of so many plot threads and story-lines that finally were concluded in a spectacular finale.

As it turns out, Pink has been imprisoned before, and the rules and regulations of Homeworld is what really brought her down. She wanted her family of the Diamonds to be happy, and could never get that with everyone treating her like she was doing something foolish, like a child. She had to break free and be her own self, because her own home was making her miserable. Blue comes to understand that- and in fighting with Blue, Yellow understands too- that White oppression over everything is causing them pain, and they have to say something.

Steven fights back- with all his friends. He doesn’t just fuse with Amethyst, but with Pearl and Garnet too- then all of them together into one colossal being. People have long wondered what the different fusions would look like, and now we know.

The scene in White Diamond’s head was downright creepy. If Pink’s power is empathy, Blue’s is sadness, and Yellow’s is anger, then White’s is oppression of will. Her unique power allows her to fully take control of any gem that she hits, which dulls their color and gives her the ability to take control of them. It’s more insidious than brainwashing, because they don’t even use their own voices to speak, but White speaks through them. They’re her puppets, and even move as such.

White is stuck in her head, yes, but it is because of a sense of responsibility she feels. She sees herself as the ultimate being, and so she doesn’t really believe in the abilities of anyone other than herself. It’s the ‘if you want to do it right, do it yourself’ taken to extremes, because she believes that she has no flaws, and by contrast, is very aware of everyone else’s. This includes independent thought, personality traits, and really anything that makes someone beyond a function, but an actual person. White fundamentally doesn’t trust other people, and so she can’t imagine ideas that don’t match her own.

More horrifying imagery comes when White removes Steven’s gem from his body. This doesn’t kill him, or revert back to Rose/Pink, but remains Steven. Steven has always been Steven- he is half human and half gem. Removing the gem part of him doesn’t change who he is. This shocks White enough that she shows her own flaws, her bafflement of people acting differently than her predictions. When she is called out on her selfishness, she starts to show emotion and turns– pink.

The episode ends with all the corrupted gems being healed in a giant bath, including some familiar faces. Lars reunites with Sadie, and harmony is restored- although Beach City is definitely in for a lot of alien inhabitants now. The Diamonds all enjoy themselves, and then leave Earth to return to Homeworld. Steven sings one last song in a scene very reminiscent of the opening credits, and resolves that above all things, he will love himself.

With that, it’s hard to tell what exactly is in the future for the show. We know that a sixth season is confirmed, but what could that entail? A lot of the major plot points have been wrapped up, and this seemed like as good of an ending as we’d get. More problems could occur, of course, but the big issues that had been set up since the start have now been resolved. What else is there left to do? I guess there’s only one way to find out- to wait and see.