I'm going to dispute the Cluster arc being anticlimactic. I mean, what more did it need? More episodes? It already had quite a few to begin with. Some sort of fight scene? You can't really fight something like that, and in any case, actually destroying it would be rather antithetical to the show's values.
edited 12th Sep '17 2:01:35 PM by KarkatTheDalek
Oh God! Natural light!I feel like the Cluster arc was only anti-climactic if you just ignored that they made it repeatedly clear that the Cluster forming at all, would destroy the Earth and kill everyone. There was never going to be some big fight, or whatever people were expecting from that.
edited 12th Sep '17 2:01:47 PM by LSBK
It's more the impact of it that I felt was anti-climactic. I could see where they were going with it, but it didn't have enough oomph or however you'd call it to feel satisfying. I'd certainly not want the Cluster to form or for Steven to go full on Rambo on it, but I would've liked something with a bit more of an impact.
Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?I get what you're saying, but I still honestly can't see what they could have done.
Oh God! Natural light!The cluster is like a ticking time bomb,it's not even been disarmed,they've just turned off the ticking,by all accounts they should be on pins and needles knowing that at a moments notice it could prime it's detention charge ,but the cluster has been forgotten about,that's how I see it anyway
edited 12th Sep '17 2:20:58 PM by Ultimatum
have a listen and have a link to my discord serverMaybe, but at the same time, it'd be annoying if they were constantly worrying about the Cluster when the writers wanted to focus on other stuff, especially because all that worrying wouldn't amount to anything for awhile.
Oh God! Natural light!>I men, all its fragments are bubbled. It's not really a time bomb anymore.
Right,and the bubble can't be popped from the inside so the cluster can't really rearm itself anymore,unless it's like the wailing stone and generates a noise so loud the bubble pops,and I recall reading somewhere that Ronaldo heard it singing...
At this point I think it's a safe bet they'll focus on the cluster again in the final,especially if diamonds launch another invasion of Earth,
edited 12th Sep '17 2:56:23 PM by Ultimatum
have a listen and have a link to my discord serverIt's technically possible people on the surface could hear its pained wailing, but even then, he was only talking about stuff before they were bubbled.
While I don't completely agree with her points, I do partially agree with all of them, though the inconsistent heights and features don't really bother me as much as they seem to bother her. On how nothing happens, you might remember that I did a little rant myself about that very thing a few months ago, about how the Beach Citizens don't really have any interactions with the Gem plotline (this was before Lars became a pink zombie).
I think I'll just paste what I commented on her video as a further analysis on that specific part:
I think Steven Universe is supposed to be a slice-of-life comedy show with action mini-arcs and an overarching background story. The problem is that the Crewniverse doesn't want to sacrifice any of those elements in favor of any other when the action and story is 10 times more interesting and engaging than the slice-of-life or the comedy.
There's no transition...just a divide.
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.Like, Lars just got stranded on a dangerous alien planet lightyears away. In a normal show, literally every episode from this point on would focus exclusively on getting him home, wringing out the drama as much as possible.
But this is Steven Universe. I'm sure we'll get like three or four episodes in a row of Steven helping out some Beach City folks without Lars even being mentioned whatsoever. Lars? Nah, he's fine and can wait, Steven needs to help Peedee with his science project and Sour Cream needs someone to help him bond with Yellowtail on a day out fishing and Steven needs to go into Mr Smiley's dreams to cure his sleepwalking.
edited 12th Sep '17 7:08:44 PM by PushoverMediaCritic
I was actually conversing with one of my roommates just now and I realized something about that, actually. One of the other shows I watch is Star vs. the Forces of Evil, which is somewhat similar in some regards to Steven Universe (magical girl and anime influences, starts goofy but gets dark, deep myth arc people are really invested in, etc.) but there's some things that arguably make it a bit stronger. For one, the show decreases a lot of its episodic content as it proceeds, whereas Steven Universe usually follows the formula of arc, then slice of life, then arc, then slice of life. For another, it actually does move on from the protagonist's POV. The most limiting thing about Steven Universe is how it sticks to Steven's POV a good portion of the time and doesn't really move from there beyond a couple of moments, while Star doesn't stick to that. It hops between POV's constantly.
I dunno, I get the feeling that we're reaching a similar point in Steven Universe that we were with Adventure time by its fifth season, where everything started getting kinda same-y and repetitive. If this winds up being the last season than I hope to god they at least end it on a high note and don't let it drag for ages but out of the big boom of story arc cartoons that have arisen in this decade after Adventure Time, Steven Universe has a lot more problems to it than Gravity Falls or Star vs. the Forces of Evil have. Mind you this is still one of the best shows of this current era but it's at the point where the flaws have become more evident.
Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?I thought the Star vs. thing was that "near consistently" every other episode didn't really matter.
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.I thought that show's thing was that every other episode didn't matter story-wise.
Which was a near consistent thing.
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.I think they're referring to the fact that every other segment is plot relevant, while they tend not to do plot relevant eps in a row.
The Crystal Caverns A bird's gotta sing.They're not using episodes to fill time, so technically that is true...
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.

Aren't some of the pacing issues because of the hiatuses?
Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢