I assumed it was personal. If it's about trying to give some humanity to Andy, I'd say that's unfair. But whatever.
I'd say this was lower-mid-range quality for me, mostly because of the pull of ambiguity and then having it be about an Anvilicious metaphor for intolerant relatives. At least Bismuth gave a form of backstory for the Gems. This one was kinda...nothing.
"The cruelest thing you can do to an artist is tell them their work is flawless when it isn't." -Ben "Yahtzee" CroshawWell it only took like half an hour for the episode to show up on youtube after it aired. I knew we were going to meet a new character with a plane, so I assumed it was Greg's Uncle, since it was his barn to start with. I didn't expect to hear Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force though. And it was pretty obvious it was going to be a thanksgiving episode a long time ago.
![]()
![]()
Of course, that happened.
edited 17th Nov '16 5:52:03 PM by randomness4
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.Episode was on the dull side though I still enjoyed it more overall than Onion Gang. I'm surprised Andy didn't give a shit about the Gems' weird powers or the fact that they came from space. Thankfully the episode was a lot less A Very Special Episode than it was shaping up to be, though it was still a little Anvilicious even by this show's standards. Usually the show's tolerance themes are taught by example than proselytization.
I guess in general it reminds me of the episode where Marty came back, though it had the benefit of being less rushed and at least getting the gems involved.
edited 17th Nov '16 6:06:05 PM by AlleyOop
Honestly, upon further review, I really think Andy was in the right here.
His cousin ditches home, breaks all ties with the family, the rest of the family falls apart, he joins up with this weird... hippie alien coven... thing, and now his childhood getaway place is being rented out to a couple of aliens tearing up all his stuff.
He has the mannerisms of the stuffy conservative angry relative so we're not supposed to like him, but he really has a point here. And the gems really do ignore him. That dinner scene was really well written in that regard. You can pinpoint the moment that Andy just feels absolutely left out of the conversation when they go heavy into inside jokes and meta references, and it is super fucking (though obviously unintentional unless you think they created an entire 27 minute special in 10 days) topical to how in a lot of liberal circles we shut out a lot of... everyone else, and when those people come knocking on our doors we seem suprised and shocked that they don't already think and act like we do.
In that sense, I guess I didn't like how little effort the gems put into really getting to know Andy. They just don't care. Only Steven and Greg actually give a shit about how Andy feels towards all of this, and it really gives context to his outbursts.
Ah yes, Human + Gem interaction...that is suppose to be a thing, isn't it?
The gems rarely try to know outside of close relationship circles.
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.![]()
![]()
While I agree, I don't think the show did enough to show that the solution is to be more open and inviting. It put the fault almost entirely on him with him learning to include himself.
That's something else I noticed. His barn is wrecked, his cousin changed his name, and they dismantled his old plane without his permission, and they're acting like he's the one being unreasonable. This would be fine if both sides learned something about being more accepting, but only Andy did.
edited 17th Nov '16 6:08:29 PM by BlueBlaze64
"The cruelest thing you can do to an artist is tell them their work is flawless when it isn't." -Ben "Yahtzee" CroshawYeah, I don't think the Gems were deliberately ignoring or excluding Andy, but it was clear that they didn't put much thought into making him feel comfortable. It's been a consistent problem whenever they interact with humans. I do have to wonder why Greg went as far as changing his name when he left home. I feel like the episode would have been a bit more interesting if we got an answer to that.
On an unrelated note. Steven Tale strip 6 up on the Steven Tale blog.
edited 17th Nov '16 6:02:02 PM by RhymeBeat
The Crystal Caverns A bird's gotta sing.People are seriously overestimating any kind of political message here. Andy's conservatism wasn't really that big a part of the episode, the focus was on the gems having a holiday together while Greg and Steven (re)connect with a forgotten part of their family.
I remember Ian JQ joking that he imagined Greg and Carl hanging out, though I unfortunately can't find that, just this
. But it might have been so long ago as to actually be a coincidence.
People outside of Beach City are more surprised by this stuff, but they still don't treat it as a world-view shattering revelation.
![]()
That's so dorky that I'm taking it as my headcanon straight away.
edited 17th Nov '16 6:25:15 PM by RhymeBeat
The Crystal Caverns A bird's gotta sing.There's no space, alright then...that's all I was confused about.
This is the first time America was vocally said.
edited 17th Nov '16 6:35:24 PM by randomness4
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.I buy it.
This episode is another exhibit for me in the case of the C Gs not actually giving too much of a shit about humans and mostly caring about protecting the Earth because Rose liked it.
My various fanfics.

edited 17th Nov '16 5:41:04 PM by randomness4
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.