Beach City Drift: Fusion Aftermath (Steven Universe)

[@stevenjulio8857]

It's crazy thinking how much hate this show got from bad faith reviews. It provided so much nuanced character development and was one of the only shows trying to teach kids how to deal with their emotions

[@simonsanchezkumrich8489]

yeah totally, this show's great and period

[@DBArtsCreators]

ya. A lot of people don't want kids to be able to deal with their emotions in healthy ways. A lot of people are Kevins, after all.

[@deep_and_profound_topics]

almost every one of them was among those “anti-sjw” youtubers and it always really came through in their reviews lol

[@simonholmes841]

Kevin is fascinating since he's not just an antagonist or foil for Stevonnie, he's sort of their alternate fusion. He's like the other stable relationship model Steven and Connie could have. Like, imagine if Steven's Funky Flow had worked as intended, and instead of embarrassing himself riding a bicycle through sand, he had rolled up suave as could be. Imagine if Connie had taken the attention of her magical destiny space friend to become not just confident, but arrogant. Both are emboldened to defy authority, flaunt their power and privilege, and revel in the praise and attention they get. Steven asked Connie to trust him by being herself with him, to dance like nobody's watching. Imagine if he had asked her to trust him to lead her in a dance instead, asked her to submit her body to him unconditionally. That's Kevin. The bold, powerful, exhilarating, arrogant, dismissive, insecure, sexy, cool, manipulative, domineering fusion that Stevonnie could be. And they have to deal with the way he treats them, because that's how Steven and Connie can treat each other in their relationship and inside their fusion. They could so easily violate each other's boundaries in that form, so easily become obsessed with their fusion, so easily let their insecurities lead them to seek each other's lust or admiration rather than trust or forgiveness.

[@Funhaus_Fr34k]

S tier comment. Never even realized this before. Definitely opened my mind and I have something to keep in mind next time I watch 😁

[@cosmicicle]

this made me realize something about Kevin's name but I may be stretching it a bit! The beginning of Connie's name is pronounced like the letter K, and -evin is one letter off from the -even in Steven haha

[@TheSoulArchitech]

I wouldn't really use "submit her body to him" or "lust" here... They're like 12-13 in this episode, and in Alone Together. I get your point, but the phrasing seemed a little... Icky, imo.

[@__________________________9190]

Another detail is at 9:20 which shows Stevonnie turning the rear view mirror from Kevin to themself, showing how Stevonnie has finally given up focus from Kevin and is focusing on themself from that point on, and *literally* leaving Kevin behind screaming at them

[@donovanchapman7589]

One of the only people still making Steven universe content, great quality as well

[@AmpleSamuel]

❤️

[@brianlucero7656]

indifference is worse than hate. Kevin is a jerk bc he wants people to react to his jerkiness, and Stevonnie not being bothered by him its ultimately gives them the win. They showed him that not matter how bad he is, it wont affect them anymore. He needs that attention, Stevonnie doesnt.

[@priusdrivetrainowner]

I think one of the most crucial things that wasn't pointed out was this whole episode is one big reference to a street racing anime named Initial D. From the "car wash" mimicking the Fujiwara Tofu Shop, to the cars being painted similarly towards their Initial D based ones (Kevins car = Keisuke Takahashis Mazda RX-7, Stevonnies Supremo = Takumi Fujiwaras Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-Apex), to the choice of music, the camera angles, everything. But they did an incredible job not making it too different from the normal Steven Universe storyline. Amazing episode and excellent insight by you, diving into the deep depths of this episodes meaning.

[@rbxgemini]

Stevonnie is a great character and I wish they appeared more than they did

[@alphygaytor1477]

I don't know why I never connected this episode and mr universe until now. the parallel of steven's anger leading to losing control while driving, both as a part of stevonnie in this episode and later again in future, seems really obvious in hindsight. interesting too, how connie is the one who talked sense into him here, and made the call on his behalf that he needed his dad's support in growing pains... but while she's absent in future, especially after she rejects his proposal and that sets off a new spiral, things become fully out of control for steven. obviously much of the point of together forever was to emphasize how unhealthy it is to try to put the weight of your sense of purpose into a relationship with a person and to set up for the consequences of that, but it's lovely and interesting to see the healthier examples of support through the lens of what comes much later. no wonder steven was so easy to convince that connie would be the one to make his problems stop! of everyone in the series, who else was able to actually help steven regain control over his anger as he was losing it, as opposed to teaching him to store it away for an inevitable later outburst- or worse, setting the example of snapping by arguing or physically fighting(and usually letting steven either watch it all happen or intervene to fix the problem)? as he literally crawls out of the hole he made, garnet gives him the high and mighty advice she knows steven said he was tired of, after the gems that make her up gave him the advice that lead him there. you don't need future vision to know that that would only make him angrier, regardless of whether you'd argue garnet herself had any responsibility in it or not. his dad tries to emphasize the joy of freedom to him not understanding that what steven wants and needs is structure, direction, and supportive guidance(and I wonder if he projected the initial overprotectiveness of the maheswarans and their willingness to change that onto the demayos but that might be a stretch). there's the more obvious diamonds too but this is already long-winded enough lol. still, and this is a smaller observation I'm running with, but it's a great attention to detail on the crew's part that after stevonnie unfuses, connie is not the one wearing the seatbelt. it might be that they simply didn't feel the need to call any more attention to it, but it stands out to me that steven is still too caught up in his anger(and likely desensitized) to immediately register just how severe of a danger that was. it's also another great instance of easily handwaved cartoon logic that comes back in a pretty shocking way when steven actually does crash with a human passenger who ultimately survived but... might not have. steven likely would have bubbled the car or floated him and connie out safely if their crash had been more severe, but if there's any evidence that steven bubbled or made other moves to stop the mr universe crash from hurting his dad or worse... I don't remember it off the top of my head? come to think of it, he probably didn't love that greg brushed off such a significant threat to his safety in order to protect steven from the emotional consequences of his actions, any more than the refusal to put his foot down about the loss of control or damage to the van. also, that dad on board sticker went from hilarious to both hilarious and mindblowing lol.

[@mudking2294]

i love your steven universe vids so muuuchh i always thought stevonnie was really interesting characterwise especially in beach city drift

[@garrettoneill3711]

No comments about how this episode was a big reference to Initial D? I loved to see it

[@tipsyGn0stalg1c]

honestly was always one of my favorite episodes, glad you talked about it

[@martynaredka883]

Thank you for these Steven Universe videos, they really bring me back to simpler times :)

[@fangsabre]

Ahh yes, that time Steven became a Speedy Speed Boi (Insert eurobeat here) But honestly i love that this whole epsiode is just an extended Initial D reference. Both cars are clearly based off of the Trueno 86' and RX 7 respectively. The setting. The whole race. Ronaldo as the itsuki stand in. The only thing its missing is some extra tire squeels and some eurobeat

[@destinygunn8935]

Beautiful review ❤

[@AmpleSamuel]

thank you !

[@destinygunn8935]

Yw!@@AmpleSamuel

[@Ember_Fox]

I wasn't expecting Hylics music, that's pretty cool

[@Allystargirl]

I thought the dondai supremo was real 😭

[@ri-ch-es]

10:09 inate drive ajajaja

[@rexevans5477]

have a nice day

[@alexmcdonald4707]

Great analysis!!

[@AmpleSamuel]

thanks !

[@cheesesticks0]

Kevin is the worst

[@CanonKathryn]

I love this episode, but the show in general is amazing at showing how healing isn't a linear act. The next time we see Kevin, Steven and Connie are still hurt by him and don't like what he did to them and Stevonnie. It's not as active as here, but that pain is still bothering them.

[@wilhelmhedin8845]

Nice.

[@lukeness4838]

I think Stevonnie goes by they/them pronouns

[@ChipDip0214]

🤓 ☝️ actually

[@chubbyanimalenthusiast70]

@@ChipDip0214please leave this isn’t a place for transphobia

[@RiveroftheWither]

They are canonically non-binary and go by they/them, you are right

[@pedrogabrielduarte4544]

Do can't go back

[@nazaren45]

🙂👍😊