History DethroningMoment / StevenUniverse

Even though WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse is often considered one of the best, if not ''the'' best animated show of TheNewTens, it's no surprise that the Gems and the entirety of Beach City’s population has gone though so much pain, suffering, and PTSD that they most likely need a vacation. There are [[DarthWiki/DethroningMomentofSuck moments]] that we really need to shatter forever.

* Tvtropesfan234: After watching the entire series and watching [=MisAnthro=] Pony's video on ''The Fall Of Steven Universe: How It Fell From Grace'', I realized that the entire series was flawed. I began to have a multitude of problems with the series and how seasons 4,5, and Future are bad seasons I found so many moments that could count as my DMOS from the whole ''Rose was Pink Diamond'' twist revealing Rose as a spoiled petty tyrant who never owned up to her mistakes and manipulated and lied to every one about the situation and causing many of the show's events to take place and for leaving some UnfortunateImplications, or how Steven's PTSD was portrayed in a horrible way like being hypocritical, freaking out over Connie saying no to him about his proposal, and he almost killed his own dad Greg, all because of an argument about leaving his parents and trying to start a new life for himself. But nothing compares to the Future episode: Fragments. Now, I could think of so many problems with the episode but, because I could only put one example in, I have to go with the shattering fo Jasper, and how she's revived. After fighting and training with Jasper, Jasper convinces him to unleash his pink side and when it goes too far, Steven tells her that he has been holding back and completely shatters her offscreen. After shattering her, Steven breaks down in tears and decides to use the Diamonds' essence to revive her. What? So, you're telling me that shattered gems can be revived by the Diamonds' essence and tears? Well, it not only makes Bismuth and her ''Breaking Point'' meaningless, it not only makes the conflict with the Diamonds pointless, it completely changes the concept of shattering gems into something that's completely reversible immediately after killing them. Why was Pink's shattering treated as a serious thing when they just could easily be revived with just anything. There's no stakes left anymore. They just literally broke the internal consistency by introducing the ability to revive shattered gems out of nowhere. They also broke the show's integrity by destroying the threat of any character dying! This is my DMOS as it completely changes the show entirely and make almost the entire show meaningless. Way to go Steven Universe, this episode is the worst episode of not only Future, but the entire show overall because of how it completely deflates one of the few arguments that the show still had.

* ApertureOS I had some pretty mixed feelings on Steven Universe Future, but I was holding hope for the finale. It was alright, Stevenzilla being defeated just by a big hug was pretty disappointing but honestly par-for-the-course for Steven Universe. But I HATED the epilogue, the whole theme of this damn sequel series was Steven's worsening [[SanitySlippage Sanity Slippage]] due to not opening up to his problems, so when he's finally uncorrupted, they SKIP OVER him explaining everything. We only get their immediate reactions to some of what Steven said out of context, and the closest we got to a resolution to Jasper was that she probably lives in Little Homeworld and is a Tsundere, like she wasn't straight up shattered just a few episodes ago. I still like the series, but I hated Future, and I think it could have or even should have ended with the movie.

* ApertureOS I had some pretty mixed feelings on Steven Universe Future, but I was holding hope for the finale. It was alright, Stevenzilla being defeated just by a big hug was pretty disappointing but honestly par-for-the-course for Steven Universe. But I HATED the epilogue, the whole theme of this damn sequel series was Steven's worsening [[SanitySlippage Sanity Slippage]] due to not opening up to his problems, so when he's finally uncorrupted, they SKIP OVER him explaining everything. We only get their immediate reactions to some of what Steven said out of context, and the closest we got to a resolution to Jasper was that she probably lives in Little Homeworld and is a Tsundere, like she wasn't straight up shattered just a few episodes ago. I still like the series, but I hated Future, and I think it could have or even should have ended with the movie.

* Tropers/{{PPPSSC}}: I'm a ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' latecomer, watching the entire series for the first time (aside from a few episodes I saw out of context earlier) between late 2020 and early 2021, and I loved it. And I love exploring familial relationships in fiction, in particular exceptionally good despite hardship and exceptionally bad despite privilege, which is why ''WesternAnimation/GoofTroop'' and ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' are some of my favorite shows. And Steven Universe had Greg and Steven, who felt 100% like an example of the former in the original show. Then, in ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'', we get "Mr. Universe", which I actually thought was a cute and sweet episode... Until the fight in the car. Like "Inspector Goofy", another dethroning moment for me, it manages to make two of the most moral characters in the cast unlikable and out of character. Steven is dismissive and apologetic towards Greg's (mundanely) controlling family and blames him for things he couldn't have predicted, had nothing to do with, or Steven never mentioned needing or wanting, or even outright dismissed when offered, in the original series. Greg, meanwhile, is oblivious to Steven's feelings, makes excuses, and is proud of his destructive outburst that caused the van to crash. The ending of this episode left a foul taste in my mouth for days after I saw it.

** [=SorPepita=]: The real problem is not that she was redeemed too quickly, it's that she was redeemed at all. There's no redeeming a genocidal GodEmperor like that. For the sake of comparison, ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' is also pretty fond of the HeelFaceTurn trope, but it knew it needed to draw the line at its own White Diamond-esque character Hordak Prime. But the thing is, Steven Universe (both the character ''and'' the series itself) is positively enamored of the "You should make amends with family members" idea, even if your aunt turns out to be Space Hitler, to the point that two other Dethroning Moment contenders can be traced back to said enamoredness (there's the whole uncle Andy thing, although at least he's your ordinary racist jerk instead of a mass murdering tyrant, and the car crash in WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture, which essentially happens because learning the story of how Greg cut ties with his own parents pushes hard Steven's BerserkButton). It's weird and problematic at best, outright disturbing at worst.

** [=SorPepita=]: The real problem is not that she was redeemed too quickly, it's that she was redeemed at all. There's no redeeming a genocidal GodEmperor like that. For the sake of comparison, ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' is also pretty fond of the HeelFaceTurn trope, but it knew it needed to draw the line at its own White Diamond-esque character Hordak Prime. But the thing is, Steven Universe (both the character ''and'' the series itself) is pathologically obsessed with the "You should make amends with family members" idea, even if your aunt turns out to be Space Hitler, to the point that two other Dethroning Moment contenders can be traced back to said obsession (there's the whole uncle Andy thing, although at least he's your ordinary racist jerk instead of a mass murdering tyrant, and the car crash in WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture, which essentially happens because learning the story of how Greg cut ties with his own parents pushes hard Steven's BerserkButton). It's weird and problematic at best, outright disturbing at worst.

** Zombie_Jack: I completely agree with all of this. Additionally, I felt like "Gem Harvest" [[RecycledPremise is really similar to the episode "Beach Party"]], only worse in just about every aspect. At least in "Beach Party" they didn't write some nonsense reason for Amethyst to not eat and didn't have the humans spout some weird anti-immigrant rhetoric.

%%** Zombie_Jack: I completely agree with all of this. Additionally, I felt like "Gem Harvest" is really similar to the episode "Beach Party", only worse in just about every aspect. At least in "Beach Party" they didn't write some nonsense reason for Amethyst to not eat and didn't have the humans spout some weird anti-immigrant rhetoric.

** [=SorPepita=]: The real problem is not that she was redeemed too quickly, it's that she was redeemed at all. There's no redeeming a genocidal GodEmperor like that. For the sake of comparison, ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' is also pretty fond of the HeelFaceTurn trope, but it knew it needed to draw the line at its own White Diamond-esque character Hordak Prime. But the thing is, Steven Universe (both the character ''and'' the series itself) is pathologically obsessed with the "You should make amends with family members" idea, even if your aunt turns out to be Space Hitler, to the point that two other Dethroning Moment contenders can be traced back to said obsession (there's the whole uncle Andy thing, although at least he's your ordinary racist jerk instead of a mass murderer, and the car crash in WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture, which essentially happens because learning the story of how Greg cut ties with his own parents pushes hard Steven's BerserkButton). It's weird and problematic at best, outright disturbing at worst.

* Tropers/MightyMewtron: I considered putting "Bismuth" up here for its controversial message. But "Gem Harvest" is a ''double length episode'' that managed to introduce a more pointless and uncomfortable character to the show. We meet Greg's cousin Andy, who accuses Lapis and Peridot of being "hippies" who overtook his barn, calls the gems entitled, scorns at Greg for moving away and not marrying an American, and calls the Gems "illegal aliens". He's not even a [[FantasticRacism fantastic racist,]] as his lingo mirrors anti-immigrant ideology and he doesn't seem to know that the Gems are literally from outer space. Steven doesn't care that Andy is saying this to his family and believes, as usual, that he can change him by holding a feast. Most of the episode is filler (though at least all the Gems interact with one another) with Gems trying to act "more human", in the process ruining Andy's family heirloom (which he fumes over at first, then suddenly forgives them for?). Later Andy flies off, upset that nobody thanked him (even though he didn't help with the feast, and it was ''for him'') and because he doesn't like how everything is changing. Steven decides he's family anyway, and Andy never has to apologize for his insults towards the Gems. If the episode was about teaching Andy that the Gems are on Earth to save it and he shouldn't hate them on the basis of them being "un-American", or just educating him about not holding racist ideals, it wouldn't have been as bad, but it tried to act like having one feast with aliens would stop him from being racist- which, as far as we know, may not even be true. Not to mention the very awkward timing considering this was the first episode to air after the U.S. election. Also, the first part of the episode, [[TrailersAlwaysLie which was the only part in the advertising,]] had nothing to do with the rest of the plot, and the pumpkin pup was only there to look cute and fit the Thanksgiving theme.

** [=SorPepita=]: The real problem is not that she was redeemed too quickly, it's that she was redeemed at all. There's no redeeming a genocidal GodEmperor like that. For the sake of comparison, ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' is also pretty fond of the HeelFaceTurn trope, but it knew it needed to draw the line at its own White Diamond-esque character Hordak Prime. But the thing is, Steven Universe (both the character ''and'' the series itself) is pathologically obsessed with the "You should make amends with family members" idea, even if your aunt turns out to be Space Hitler, to the point that another Dethroning Moment contender (the car crash in Steven Universe Future) happens because learning the story of how Greg cut ties with his own parents pushes hard Steven's BerserkButton. It's weird and problematic at best, outright disturbing at worst.

** [=SorPepita=]: The real problem is not that she was redeemed too quickly, it's that she was redeemed at all. There's no redeeming a genocidal GodEmperor like that. For the sake of comparison, ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' is also pretty fond of the HeelFaceTurn trope, but it knew it needed to draw the line at its own White Diamond-esque character Hordak Prime. But the thing is, Steven Universe (both the character ''and'' the series itself) is pathologically obsessed with the "You MUST make amends with family members" idea, even if your aunt turns out to be Space Hitler, to the point that another Dethroning Moment contender (the car crash in Steven Universe Future) happens because learning the story of how Greg cut ties with his own parents pushes hard Steven's BerserkButton. It's weird and problematic at best, outright disturbing at worst.

** [=SorPepita=]: The real problem is not that she was redeemed too quickly, it's that she was redeemed at all. There's no redeeming a genocidal GodEmperor like that. For the sake of comparison, ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' is also pretty fond of the HeelFaceTurn trope, but it knew it needed to draw the line at its own White Diamond-esque character Hordak Prime. But the thing is, Steven Universe (both the character ''and'' the series itself) is pathologically obsessed with the "You MUST make amends with family members" idea, even if your aunt turns out to be Space Hitler, to the point that another Dethroning Moment contender (the car crash in Steven Universe Future) happens because learning the story of how Greg cut ties with his own parents pushes hard his BerserkButton.

** [=SorPepita=]: The real problem is not that she was redeemed too quickly, it's that she was redeemed at all. There's no redeeming a genocidal GodEmperor like that. For the sake of comparison, ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' is also pretty fond of the HeelFaceTurn trope, but it knew it needed to draw the line at its own White Diamond-esque character Hordak Prime. But the thing is, Steven Universe (both the character ''and'' the series itself) is pathologically obsessed with making amends with family members, even if your aunt turns out to be Space Hitler, to the point that another Dethroning Moment contender (the car crash in Steven Universe Future) happens because learning the story of how Greg cut ties with his own parents pushes his BerserkButton.

** [=SorPepita=]: The real problem is not that she was redeemed too quickly, it's that she was redeemed at all. There's no redeeming a genocidal GodEmperor like that. ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' is also pretty fond of the HeelFaceTurn trope, but it knew it needed to draw the line at its own White Diamond-esque character Hordak Prime.

* Tropers/MightyMewtron: I considered putting "Bismuth" up here for its controversial message. But "Gem Harvest" is a ''double length episode'' that managed to introduce a more pointless and uncomfortable character to the show. We meet Greg's cousin Andy, who accuses Lapis and Peridot of being "hippies" who overtook his barn, calls the gems entitled, scorns at Greg for moving away and not marrying an American, and calls the Gems "illegal aliens". He's not even a [[FantasticRacism fantastic racist,]] as his lingo mirrors anti-immigrant ideology and he doesn't seem to know that the Gems are literally from outer space. Steven doesn't care that Andy is saying this to his family and believes, as usual, that he can change him by holding a feast. Most of the episode is filler (though at least all the Gems interact with one another) with Gems trying to act "more human", in the process ruining Andy's family heirloom (which he fumes over at first, then suddenly forgives them for?). Later Andy flies off, upset that nobody thanked him (even though he didn't help with the feast, and it was ''for him'') and because he doesn't like how everything is changing. Steven decides he's family anyway, and Andy never has to apologize for his insults towards the Gems. If the episode was about teaching Andy that the Gems are on Earth to save it and he shouldn't hate them on the basis of them being "un-American", or just educating him about not holding racist ideals, it wouldn't have been as bad, but it tried to act like having one feast with aliens would stop him from being racist- which, as far as we know, may not even be true. Not to mention the... [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement very awkward timing]] considering this was the first episode to air after the U.S. election. Also, the first part of the episode, [[TrailersAlwaysLie which was the only part in the advertising,]] had nothing to do with the rest of the plot, and the pumpkin pup was only there to look cute and fit the Thanksgiving theme.

%%*** Zombie_Jack: Yeah that part really bothered me, especially since even if you wanted to go with a pacifist route, you could have just... Imprisoned the Diamonds or at least remove them from power, kinda like how [=AtLA=] ended.

* Rivermint: I had previously given up on Steven Universe after "Gem Harvest" aired, but I returned after I had heard all the good things about "Now We're Only Falling Apart" and the episodes that followed. I watched, and was incredibly surprised at the increase in quality storytelling, heartwarming moments, bringing back some of the best characters in the show, and an overall solid plot. I was so hyped for Ruby and Sapphire's wedding, and enjoyed the entire first half of "Reunited". It was everything I wanted- positive LGBT representation, characters who were complex but sympathetic, heartwarming moments, and beautiful music. And then they redeemed the diamonds. Now, I have no inherent problem with redemption arcs, but in order to be a real redemption three things have to happen: One, the person being redeemed has to realize that what they've done is wrong: Two, they have to have consequences for their previous actions: and Three, they have to make reparations to those they've hurt. The diamonds do none of this. There is no way around it- the diamonds are totalitarians who own slaves, regularly destroy planets, create bioweapons consisting of destroying a person's soul and forcibly gluing them to another shard of soul, multiplied to such a magnitude that Garnet, the embodiment of love, viewed them as an atrocity, uphold a rigid caste system to the point where acting outside your station can be met with death, and who were willing to kill an entire planet of gems simply because it had bad memories for them. Any one of their actions would be grounds for shattering, but instead their actions are treated as minor scruples. These aren't things that can just be forgiven, and they certainly can't just be shrugged off. The diamonds aren't sympathetic, they're monsters with a coat of FreudianExcuse haphazardly slapped on at the last second because the writers want to think they're clever. Think of how many people have suffered because of the diamonds' actions, and then think of how the show still wants you to sympathize with them. Yeah, I don't buy it. When you've caused so much pain and death in the galaxy, you don't deserve my sympathy.
** skullsnsouls91:These were my thoughts on this moment too. Like can we just have villains who aren’t redeemed or forgiven for once? And it was such a lazily done moment too. You can’t always try to have a villain be sympathized with. Especially ones like the Diamonds. They’re horrible beings who don’t deserve a single bit of sympathy or forgiveness. No matter what happens with them after this I still won’t see them as redeemed, they aren’t characters deserving of a redemption arc because of their crimes being far worse than any other character who’s been redeemed. This is pretty much one of the worst things this show has done.

%%*** Zombie_Jack: Yeah that part really bothered me, especially since even if you wanted to go with a pacifist route, you could have just... Imprisoned the diamonds or at least remove them from power, kinda like how AtLA ended.

%%*** Zombie_Jack: Yeah that part really bothered me, especially since even if you wanted to go with a pacifist route, you could have just....Imprisoned the diamonds or at least remove them from power, kinda like how AtLA ended.
* TheLuckyCat: I thought Steven Universe had an interesting premise of a kid going on adventures with gemstone-themed aliens, but I agree with a lot of the complaints about the bad pacing, inconsistent animation and awkward characterisation. However my DMOS would be "Change Your Mind". Specifically, the handling of Steven and White Diamond. Now, I loved White Diamond when she was first revealed, because she was the only villain who seemed like a legitimate threat and I honestly considered her the most interesting character in the whole show, way more than Steven, the Crystal Gems or any of his friends. Then "Change Your Mind" ruined all of that. She gets the laziest HeelFaceTurn I've ever seen - Steven basically tells her "Hey, you should let people be who they wanna be!", White Diamond accepts she isn't perfect in about five seconds (by the way, she's the most powerful Diamond and millions of years old and it takes a little boy standing up to her to reverse all that?) and...that's it? She's a good guy now? "Going to be the ultimate challenge to the show's "problems can be solved by communicating your feelings" mentality," my ass. Not to mention I was really hoping she'd be as intimidating as her debut, and she does have some cool powers and genuinely scary moments, but she still gets insultingly easily defeated by Mary S- I mean, Steven. Such a cool villain was totally ruined by the terrible writing of this show.

* Tvtropesfan234: After watching the entire series and watching MisAnthro Pony's video on ''The Fall Of Steven Universe: How It Fell From Grace'', I realized that the entire series was flawed. I began to have a multitude of problems with the series and how seasons 4,5, and Future are bad seasons I founded so many moments that could count as my DMOS from the whole ''Rose was Pink Diamond'' twist revealing Rose as a spoiled petty tyrant who never owned up to her mistakes and manipulated and lied to every one about the situation and causing many of the show's events to take place and for leaving some UnfortunateImplications, How Steven's PTSD was portrayed in a horrible way like being hypocritical, freaking out over Connie saying no to him about his proposal, he almost killed his own dad Greg, all because of an argument about leaving his parents and trying to start a new life for himself, But nothing compares to the Future episode: Fragments. Now, I could think of so many problems with the episode but, because I could only put one example in, I have to go with the shattering fo Jasper, and how she's revived. After fighting and training with Jasper, Jasper convinces him to unleash his pink side and when it goes too far, Steven tells her that he has been holding back and completely shatters her offscreen. After shattering her, Steven breaks down in tears and decides to use the Diamond's essence to revive her. What? So, you're telling me that shattered gems can be revived by the Diamond's essence and tears? Well, It not only makes Bismuth and her ''Breaking Point'' meaningless, it not only makes the conflict with the diamonds pointless, It completely changes the concept of shattering gems into something that's completely reversible immediately after killing them. Why was Pink's shattering treated as a serious thing when they just could easily be revived with just anything. There's no stakes left anymore. They just literally broke the internal consistency by introducing the ability to revive shattered gems out of nowhere, They also broke the show's integrity by destroying the threat of any character dying! This is my DMOS as it completely changes the show entirely and make almost the entire show meaningless. Way to go Steven Universe, this episode is the worst episode of not only Future, but the entire show overall because of how it completely deflates one of the few arguments that the show sill had.
* Tropers/{{PPPSSC}}: I'm a ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' latecomer, watching the entire series for the first time (aside from a few episodes I saw out of context earlier) between late 2020 and early 2021, and I loved it. And I love exploring familial relationships in fiction, in particular exceptionally good despite hardship and exceptionally bad despite privelege, which is why ''WesternAnimation/GoofTroop'' and ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' are some of my favorite shows. And Steven Universe had Greg and Steven, who felt 100% like an example of the former in the original show. Then, in ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'', we get "Mr. Universe", which I actually thought was a cute and sweet episode... Until the fight in the car. Like "Inspector Goofy", another dethroning moment for me, it manages to make two of the most moral characters in the cast unlikable and out of character. Steven is dismissive and apologetic towards Greg's (mundanely) controlling family and blames him for things he couldn't have predicted, had nothing to do with, or Steven never mentioned needing or wanting, or even outright dismissed when offered, in the original series. Greg, meanwhile, is oblivious to Steven's feelings, makes excuses, and is proud of his destructive outburst that caused the van to crash. The ending of this episode left a foul taste in my mouth for days after I saw it.

* djx1100: "Rose's Scabbard", I believe, was a very moving and well written episode. However I believe Pearl acted completely selfish in the episode and showed no regard for anybody else's feelings. Especially when she tells Steven "You never even knew her!" Of course it's supposed to show how important Rose meant to Pearl but she comes off as incredibly selfish and rude. Worst part is that she never even apologizes for the line.

* CapriciousSalmon: I've changed my DMOS for this show multiple times (Catch and Release/The Answer/Dewey Wins) but now I think I might have a DMOS episode: Alone at Sea. First off, I appreciate what the crew did with showing an abusive LGBTQ relationship. I'm bisexual and I think you need to show more toxic queer relationships, since if straight relationships can be abusive, why can't a lesbian one? Anyway, I simply dislike HOW they went about doing it, especially since it feels like it came out of left field with Lapis and was [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment never mentioned again]]. The first time I watched it, I thought Lapis was supposed to be the victim, then Jasper in an UnfortunateImplication sense, and it took me a while to realize the episode was trying to say they were both in the wrong, especially since it felt like Jasper and Lapis being mutually abusive only really became a plot point in the last two minutes. And the whole "Lapis and Jasper were abusive" plot should've been a few episodes, not one episode. I think what did it for me was Steven. I do dislike the Steven perspective rule, because in any other show, this storyline probably would've been a storyline and not a one and done episode. Yeah, I get he cares about his friends, but he was acting like a whiny little toddler in the last act, especially in a situation he doesn't fully understand. Having your main character say who he thinks is in the right like "leave her alone, you bad guy!" when you're trying to make a complex moral, doesn't really help the moral you were going for, especially since beyond realizing it was unhealthy, we never see or hear anything about Lapis's thoughts until the sequel show. I think if the crew found a way to somehow silence Steven, like Jasper gags him and threatens to kill him if Lapis doesn't fuse, or throws him into a closet while she and Lapis talk (not toss him to the other side of the ship), the episode could've been a lot better.