History Recap / StevenUniverseS2E17HistoricalFriction

Steven joins a theater group with Jamie to produce a play about Mayor Dewey's ancestor and how he founded Beach City.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfRoles: In-universe, since Steven was the only person to show up to audition for the play, Jamie decides that Steven will be William Dewey and he'll be ''every other character''. He makes it work.

* AnAesop: Nobody's unconditionally perfect, and everybody makes mistakes, but the important thing is to keep trying. And on a meta level, characters who have deep flaws and struggles can also be interesting alongside characters who always succeed or are less prone to mistakes. Possible LeaningOnTheFourthWall, regarding recent arguments about Pearl's actions, though if that was the intention, AnimationLeadTime means it was preemptive.

* AffectionateGestureToTheHead: After the play, Steven gives his credit to Pearl for the historical accuracy. This causes Mayor Dewey to thank her for restoring his ancestor’s legacy. She replies by calling him a friend and patting his head, much his to his joy.

* DotingParent: Pearl behaves as any mom would at her child's first school play, calling up Steven's name from the audience and screaming he's "so talented". Surprisingly, it [[SubvertedTrope subverts]] [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents the usual reaction a kid has to this,]] as Steven looks noticeably more at ease for the rest of the play.

* AbsenteeActor: Garnet and Amethyst don't appear (in person).

* AnAesop: Nobody's unconditionally perfect, and everybody makes mistakes, but the important thing is to keep trying. And on a meta level, characters who have deep flaws and struggles are far more interesting than characters who always succeed at absolutely everything they do. Possible LeaningOnTheFourthWall, regarding recent arguments about Pearl's actions, though if that was the intention, AnimationLeadTime means it was preemptive.

* FlatCharacter: Jamie lampshades how William Dewey as Mayor Dewey didn't have any deeper characterization other than "guy who was great at everything".

* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Steven briefly speaks with some sort of accent while demonstrating to Jamie he can act. Jamie questions what kind of accent it's supposed to be, but Steven doesn't know either.
** Subtitles identify it as a (very bad) Italian one.

--> '''Buck:''' [[LampshadeHanging Nice to know great-grandpa was a real person with flaws. Gutsy move, dad.]]

* HerCodenameWasMarySue: William Dewey as Mayor Dewey wrote him as perfect and flawless (to a ridiculous degree), and at one point he actually ''grows fifty feet and carries his ship to safety''.

* RealityEnsues: Just because a historical figure had flaws doesn't diminish thier accomplishments. Captain Dewey may have struggled with insecurities and incompetency to sail his own ship, yet Beach City still celebrates him for his determination to find land, as well as his accomplishment of founding thier city.

* MarySue: Discussed InUniverse, regarding Mayor Dewey's draft, with Jamie noting how unbelievable William's character is

* AnAesop: Nobody's unconditionally perfect, and everybody makes mistakes, but the important thing is to keep trying. And on a meta level, characters who have deep flaws and struggles are far more interesting than [[MarySue characters who always succeed at absolutely everything they do]]. Possible LeaningOnTheFourthWall, regarding recent arguments about Pearl's actions, though if that was the intention, AnimationLeadTime means it was preemptive.

* AnAesop: Nobody's perfect, and everybody makes mistakes, but the important thing is to keep trying. And on a meta level, characters who have deep flaws and struggles are far more interesting than [[MarySue characters who always succeed at everything they do]]. Possible LeaningOnTheFourthWall, regarding recent arguments about Pearl's actions, though if that was the intention, AnimationLeadTime means it was preemptive.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfRoles: In universe, since Steven was the only person to show up to audition for the play, Jamie decides that Steven will be William Dewey and he'll be ''every other character''. He makes it work.

* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Steven briefly speaks with some sort of accent while demonstrating to Jamie he can act. Jamie questions what kind of accent it's suppose to be, but Steven doesn't know either.