Does Steven Universe REALLY have filler?

Steven Universe is RIDDLED with filler, right? Since lot of commenters on previous video seem to think so, I took the time to respond.
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0:00 Intro
1:53 Defining Filler
3:44 Worldbuilding
7:54 Character
9:42 Townies
15:16 Theme
17:09 Defending Filler
18:49 Credits
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Music by
Bohkeh
Forever - / forever
Eerily Calm
Scary, Dark & Eerie Ambience - / scary-dark-eerie-ambie...
Ghostrifter
Merry Bay - / merry-bay
Waiting - / waiting
Hardcore scm
Bit Storm [Chiptune] - / bit-storm-chiptune
Multipolyphony
At The End Of The Tunnel - / at-the-end-of-the-tunnel
Chemical Reaction - / chemical-reaction
Joyride - / joyride
PuzzleJukebox
Lo-fi Blues Guitar and Organ - / lo-fi-blues-guitar-and...
Ukulele Chords
/ ukulele_chords
#videoessay #stevenuniverse

[@butterfreedom5357]

Without the townies episodes you wouldn't feel anything when someone threats Beach City. You wouldn't have been shocked when you thought Lars died, you would have thought "ah, that awkward donut boy, I don't care". Without the episodes of Steven having fun adventures or exploring the world you wouldn't be holding your breath when White Diamond rips his gem out of him, he would be just a kid you barely know.

[@starkid910]

Where this ^ shines through and pays off best is in Future when he goes to the hospital and starts talking about his trauma from S1 w/ Dr. Maheswaren. You lived it with Steven, you accepted it as funny cartoon hijinks, and now you’re reality checked with what growing up like that does to a person. Future is so over hated for not being about the things people wanted it to be about, ignoring the amazing story about mental health, processing trauma, healthy boundaries, etc. that it tells in such a raw, “ugly”, real way

[@randomthoughts0829]

alright but hundreds of pieces of media have had stories where cities get threatened and you still feel something for them. Even though you can't explore the thousands of lives within them, the town will still hold some significance to the side characters. We don't need to know every little detail about the side characters to make us give a shit about the town. We give a shit because it's clear steven loves the town and we can get that from a FEW townie episodes, not half the damn show!

[@snovaspectre2]

@@randomthoughts0829 if you think half the show is townie episodes you clearly are being intentionally obtuse

[@randomthoughts0829]

@@snovaspectre2 no i just actually watched the show as it aired. Half the content could be either condensed into other episodes or removed entirely. Rebecca sugar isn't gonns fuck you buddy

[@cajunking5987]

Still filler.

[@dickwaffle468]

Personally I find it quite interesting how most if not all townie side character have at least 1 episode that focuses on them. It makes the town feel like a realized place

[@HellfireComms]

Weirdly, Jenny never got one. Would've been nice to have had a episode with a metal song or two lol.

[@csillafleischman1880]

And it makes the stakes real when the town is attacked. Most sci-fi/fantasy doesn't have that kind of stakes.

[@chaosbeam4654]

@@csillafleischman1880right? “Hey, you know that character you’ve found really relatable and/or have grown really attached to? Well guess what? Their home and their life are in danger! Have fun (:”

[@alx_swae5743]

@@HellfireComms Jenny technically did get one, it was focused on kiki and her in a way.

[@csillafleischman1880]

@@chaosbeam4654 That is how it feels sometimes. But at least they put effort into that feeling (unlike the MCU which tried to do the work afterward to make us care about the collateral damage)

[@buttoneyes007]

i personally think that kindergarten kid isn’t REALLY filler because it helps peridots character arc. her bubbling, understanding corrupted gems and showing how the barn is her home

[@stitchgor3]

Yes:)

[@LextraYT]

I feel it's worth noting that the biggest problem with how Steven Universe ends is that, all of a sudden, they didn't have time to do all the "filler" they wanted. People complain about the finale rushing character arcs but ultimately that's what skipping everything but the bare essentials gets you.

[@SPofSaturnProduction]

This, completely this.

[@theperidot5xg]

Ppl when su has filler: TOO MUCH FILLER!! GET TO THE PLOT!!! Ppl when su doesn't have filler: RUSHED!! RUSHED!!!!

[@nekukurora197]

@@theperidot5xg I don't think the issue is that black and white, I think it's more we had a ton of "filler" and then all of a sudden we have what feels like a whole season of plot progression in about 3 episodes

[@thesupreme7815]

@@nekukurora197 ikr. Like what was that? The ending sucked because we didn't have enough "filler" more like we spent too much time away from the plot

[@stormcloudsabound]

@@theperidot5xg right? i liked how the last season got to the plot, but apparently we had to do more “filler” (not really filler) episodes to satisfy The Fans.

[@lauramcastro4897]

Man, you know what you get when you never take the time to engage with the background characters? You get a boring, unrealistic, unlived world! SU's colorful, sprawling cast is one of its best features! And James is right too, it would make no sense for a show that is essentially a love letter to humanity to shove all its human characters aside in favor of All Gems All of the Time.

[@christopherbennett5858]

@PUFB Yeah. There could have definitely been some time allocated to the bigger characters or include them in said plot. But that also goes into an argument of “does Steven need to be in every scene?” Because I can imagine some people would have liked to have seen stories that play off screen like Lars becoming a competent leader.

[@mrdollyman5675]

I think more townie episodes should have been used to flush out the other parts of the plot better as well as build on the world.

[@BubbyBoy]

I do think the Owl House and Amphibia understand that concept, but do it much more efficiently and organically

[@mohabalserafe3795]

I really Don't understand why people did want the show to move on to the main plot right away I myself wasn't even bothered with these episodes it sometimes makes me forget about the main plot because I always wanted spend more time with the people in the world of Steven universe because for me personally I liked all the characters in show not every episode was good thought but at least it was a great attempt to make the world fell real and full of life unlike what a lot of cartoons does nowadays

[@tam1876_]

This.

[@Nellipusen]

I would just like to add that season 1 episode 46 "Open Book" is really important in that it sets up that Steven loves weddings, something the crewniverse did on purpose in order to be able to argue that it isn't out of character for Steven to like weddings when the executives tried to make up reasons to cut Ruby and Saphire's wedding

[@JamesWoodall]

By the way Sugar describes the process in End of an Era, it's not clear whether Open Book was a deliberate ploy to justify Steven's love of weddings in anticipation of executive pushback or just a fortunate coincidence. Either way, the audience didn't need that justification in order to *believe* the wedding episode. So while I agree that episode turned out to be instrumental in getting Reunited to air, that doesn't mean it's instrumental in the narrative.

[@JHamron]

I've almost finished a rewatch of the entire show showing it to my girlfriend and we accidentally skipped Open Book so I guess I can confirm this personally lol. With Steven being as enchanted by love and celebrations and his friends as constantly as he is shown to be throughout the entire show I don't think it's particularly out of character to imply maybe he likes weddings haha.

[@RoseQuartz692]

​@@JHamron I saw all 160 episodes in 2 days

[@RoseQuartz692]

​@@JHamron on rewatch

[@koolooc726]

I can't believe that Space Race is filler when it shows a really crucial detail of Pearl's story and motivation

[@Izzy-xz3lr]

Steven Universe is a show that I think is always fighting against a sea of cynicism. It set an important precedent for animation as far as representation goes, and I think it's extremely valuable for what it is, but a lot of people resent it for not being what they wanted it to be. I really appreciate your videos about Steven Universe because instead of hearing people complain about how Steven Universe wasn't the show they wanted it to be (grittier, neater, less restrained by the network), I think I enjoy hearing about what it actually was and is. After all, if every pork chop was perfect... We wouldn't have a world that benefits from the legacy Steven Universe made

[@starkid910]

Well said 👏

[@nabilahalshari7880]

As someone who fell off of Steven Universe somewhere during season 3, I don't understand some of the negativity. Those early seasons are some of the most unique things to come out of American animation. One of the criticisms I see so often other than the "filler" eps was "the animation in the early seasons was so off-model" and I have to assume that this iss an American thing, because anime contains "off-model" animation all the time. I feel American animation fans and Japanese sakuga fans are two different subcultures. American animation fans want polished, consistent character models, no episode looking or directed any differently from each other. Anime on the other hand is highly decentralised in its production, so what you often find are differences in style. Sakuga fans can even pinpoint who is animating a certain scene from the way it looks, and that's what's fun about anime to them. You can go to any sakuga compilation sites like sakugabooru. And yes part of that is due to production constraints, but the subculture has grown to the point where it's not only accepted but sometimes whole shows are made to showcase different animators and directors' styles (see Space Dandy).

[@mackielunkey2205]

“Grittier, neater, less restrained” I think that this is the reason why SU made so many people pissy later, because SU gave them a bit of that, which is something you rarely get from cartoons, especially adult cartoons. We’re just at the point where people are starting to realize how animation can be used as a medium. Once we’re robbed of that taste, it can feel disappointing. And I get that. But that doesn’t mean SU has no good things going for it. You could create fan-spin-offs with the tone that you want, and the influences aside from SU that you choose.

[@emminet]

@@nabilahalshari7880 honestly, I'm personally the type who loves to see some variation (within reason) of the art style so I can see all the differences in the boarders, colorists, and the rest of the artistic crew. nothing can be completely uniform!

[@brianlucero7656]

Truly. Because Steven Universe had the wedding, Adventure Time was able to make official PB and Marcie's rekationship. Since then, the amount of queer representation is GIGANTIC compared to how it was before Steven Universe started airing.

[@PiCollector]

I think that “Fusion Cuisine” shouldn’t be a filler episode because firstly it describes how Connie’s family feels about the gems and it also demonstrates how fusions are very unstable, especially when more than 2 gems are involved.

[@woodfur00]

Yeah, if Connie's relationship with her parents isn't relevant to her arc, what is?

[@k1j1j1j]

it also introduces alexandrite, and i am generally of the opinion that new fusion = not filler

[@pippastrelle]

I think The Owl House will be a great example of what happens without "filler". It's been stripped down to only it's bare essentials had necessity and in doing so we crave so much feeling of the world and characters. It's a tragedy that we lost them!

[@natix4525]

Yeah! I would love more ''filler'' episodes of TOH - to learn more about the characters, the boiling isles, the hexide school that I found very interesting and all the covens (and their leaders) etc.

[@someonewhocantmakeuptheirm2671]

yeah, while i understand that it suffered the same issue as su in its later season with what being cut (which i sympathize with), i just wasnt able to connect with it as much bc everything felt like it was going too fast. s1 was probably my fave season in that it explores the world through luz's eyes and has her going on adventures

[@40watt53]

@@natix4525 Remember what they took from us. We deserved that beach day episode.

[@frostnovaomega1152]

The thing for me about those "filler" episodes, especially when factoring in steven bombs, isn't that they don't provide value or arent worthwhile, its that the show gets you hooked on the homeworld storyline by stuffing it with tension, mystery and drama, and then gives you townie episodes. A slice of life episode is hard to swallow when you've been wondering what the next main plot advancement is gonna be for 6 months.

[@bluestar2059]

This is one of the biggest reasons I'd say "Filler" for me, despite some of those episodes having important information or character moments: because they FEEL like they're just filling in the space between the major story beats. I happened to have binged the series well after Future was done, so I saw the entire thing without the bombs, but even I got annoyed when I realized "Oh, we're doing an episode about the Pizza family rather than continuing with the impending apocalypse" or whatever was happening at the time. They may not be filler, but I can't deny that they feel like it, at least to me. So you could argue it's a question of episode PLACEMENT, rather than episode CONTENT, I suppose?

[@asocksual4910]

There's so much I love about this video but I gotta say that representing the commentors with Peridot (my favorite character in the show and just one of my favorite characters generally!) and then pulling that bit at the end with the scene before Peace and Love on the Planet Earth was my favorite part.

[@angelix_8]

I agree! Honestly, I thought that detail with the pfps was just a gag, but it was really cool to see how it paid off

[@esprero]

hm

[@kauske]

People calling episodes that develop tertiary characters 'filler' are why we can only have shallow shows that never build on the characters and only blindly follow a plot without defining motivations.

[@randomthoughts0829]

No one is saying that. We're saying that we don't need a dozen + tertiary characters that are seemingly shown to be just as important, if not more than the intergalactic dictatorship.

[@kauske]

@@randomthoughts0829 You literally just contradicted yourself...

[@randomthoughts0829]

@@kauske nope. Developing tertiary characters isn't the problem. It's A. The amount of characters you develop and B. How much time us spent on them rather than the plot. Steven universe set up more time developing the townies rather than giving concrete lore on the diamond empire and how those citizens go about their daily life

[@kauske]

@@randomthoughts0829 If you think developing a mere 12 tertiary characters over the span of a 5 season show is too much... You're dumb. Also, you do realize that SU got canned before they could give the diamond lore, right? Garnet's wedding got it pulled in all countries besides the USA. Rebecca had to fight just to get 5 episodes to wrap it up, or she'd have to let them delete Garnet's wedding. Blame CN, not developing tertiary characters. Also, SU doesn't even have 12 tertiary characters who get episodes dedicated to them... That's what a dozen means, by the way.

[@princedonovaughn1182]

@randomthoughts0829 But the Townies are just as important because that's Steven's home. He knows and has lived in this small town. We need to see why he loves Beach city so much and what's at stake. Especially when the story is about Steven not just being a gem but also a human and the show balanced that really well and the only reason the finale didn't is because cartoon network not the writing

[@oddheart940]

LOVE seeing nuanced takes on Steven Universe that isnt just a wide swath dunk on the series.

[@MsYakYak94]

I've always thought the complaint about Steven Universe having "too much filler" was frustrating as hell, mostly because honestly, in animation fan spaces, "filler" has almost become like "Mary Sue" as a term: stripped of its original meaning to only be used as a way to say "I don't like this episode/character!" But I especially hate it now in the streaming era of shows having 6 episode seasons or whatever because I genuinely *miss* getting to see more low-stakes, slice of life-ish episodes! It's very interesting that you mention Dead End: Paranormal Park in this video because, while I love that show, I do wish it had more time and more episodes to get to have more episodic one-off adventures in the park and to explore the world a little more. I wish The Owl House season 3 was getting its full order and not reduced to three big specials because I'd love to see more of the supporting cast! Not everything has to advance the plot. Sometimes it's nice just to watch the characters have a fun, maybe character-developing adventure for an episode.

[@charlesbennett7484]

I absolutely agree!

[@hypotheticaltapeworm]

Yeah but when the entire show is irrelevant to the plot and you have rushed arcs with terrible writing it's an issue. This show isn't good, and you're free to tell yourself otherwise. The fucking watermelons got more emphasis than White Diamond, let that resonate.

[@Joyscp999]

@@hypotheticaltapeworm It still makes me laugh, how people say that Steven Universe doesn't use violence because it's pacific, when literally the reason why violence isn't used is because the gems would rip them off. It's like saying that Vegeta is a coward for not wanting to fight Frieza in the Namek saga, when Frieza literally took out almost 20 times his power. like,seriosly,no one think about it

[@princedonovaughn1182]

@@hypotheticaltapeworm That's because the series was cut mid run not because it was poorly written. And there would have been no white diamond at all if Rebecca hadn't fought for six additional episodes to complete the story. This argument is tired and annoying.

[@hypotheticaltapeworm]

@@princedonovaughn1182 Or they could've just cut the shit and not made 3,000 episodes where they just sit around. It took like 2 years for the plot to start going anywhere with the introduction of Jasper and Peridot. Also the writing is bad. The show's narrative has a strict rule of nothing can happen outside of Steven's perspective, which makes him an artificial presence with needless amounts of unbelievable charisma. He's the savior of humanity, and we are not allowed for a second to forget it. The diamond arcs were rushed and paced worse than the Frybo episode or the one with square pizzas. Cringe show with cringe fans. It's okay to be a fan of cringe shit, it's just defending it makes it impossible to take you seriously. Hell, I like Fire Emblem. You'll never see me cry and piss my pants when someone says the stories suck, because sometimes they do. So just accept you like an aimless slice of life show that decided at the tail end of its first season to have a story, which it failed to touch on in a meaningful or even sensible way throughout its 7 year runtime.

[@HellfireComms]

Garnet's Universe is the closest it gets to filler IMO. Even then it still has some nutty foreshadowing (if it was intentional of course). A fox, voiced by Lars' VA, who "dies" and is brought back to life by a magical gem? Sounds familiar lol. But I think most people think there's a lot of "filler" because the hiatuses made those points we got townie episodes feel like an eternity. It's easy to forget how few of those types of episodes there are per season (less than one fifth on average) because of these big stretches of time. That's not to say every episode is IMPORTANT to the overarching narrative, that'd be insane, but hyper-fixating on plot at the expense of everything else would be just as detrimental.

[@jjohnson6321]

So here's my weird story about Garnet's Universe. It actually is the episode that got me into the show. I watched it SU in 2021 and I was pretty apathetic at first, even with Mirror Gem, but with Garnet's Universe I actually paid attention. I don't know why. I think the reason may be that the show had been hinting that Steven really looked up to Garnet and I was concerned that they would never make it extremely clear, but then that episode was just this whole trip showing us just that. I'm not gonna pretend that that's a great analysis of the series but as James says, sometimes its about what a show makes you feel

[@chimp4225]

Rocknaldo bruh

[@princedonovaughn1182]

The crazy thing is even then the show still foreshadows ruby and sapphire as well as Rose being pink

[@leonishikino6873]

I hate to break it to you but original shows can't have filler. You do realize filler was a term used whenever an anime got too close to where the current manga chap was so they had to fill in space to give time for the manga to progress further. Just call it what it really is; slow episodes. It's not filler and will never be filler.

[@yulee3266]

@@leonishikino6873 maybe the word includes non anime now as well

[@LadyTink]

I love all the references to how Pearl can't speak about what happened with Rose/Pink It makes so much more sense out of many things early in the show that pearl could not help with, since by telling steven she would be breaking the promise

[@hexamex]

for the list of 13 "filler episodes" you cite, i think you can justify them all being relevant. Garnet's universe forshadows lars' death and garnets ability to enlarge her gauntlets which we see later in warp tour. space race shows that the gem species is not just magically developed but technologically as well. this episode also develops pearl and stevens relationship, and sets a boundary for them "its never too late to bail" being the main takeaway for the characters. secret team helps to amplify and strengthen the bonds between the crystal gems and explains why they are still a team, despite rose their leader being gone and the war being over. Fusion cuisine further develops the bonds between connie and steven, and both their families and reveals that more than two gems can fuse, while sugilite who we see before this is made of three gems too, this is still prior to the reveal that garnet is a fusion so it is still necessary. in the finale two composite fusions are needed to advance the plot to reach the WD. Steven and the stevens shows the magical progression of the gem species and sets out the development seen in the pilot which wasnt canonised yet as this episode is a rewritten version of that one. This epsiode is perhaps the most skippable since time travel never comes back again abd is not mentioned ever. it shows that steven is a kid! Winter forecast shows garnets power to transfer future vision, which is needed in jailbreak and develops the relationship between connie and stevens parents again. Open book shows a side to steven we dont see much, his childish side and his initimate relationship with connie. say uncle is funny lol Then theres steve's birthday this shows how steven is grappling with his heritage and is struggling to fit in the two worlds he inhabits. He develops his emotional intelligence which also advances his age, passing the plateau of maturity shown in the episode, laying out the groundwork for steven to be a more prominent member of the team and take on burdens he doesnt need to. kindergarten kid is the breather that the audience needs after the cluster arc, showing that peridot feels at home with the crystal gems as we see her bubble ( a new skill for her) go to the barn. Buddy's book hows the history of the crustal gems pre-greg which only had a hint of before and fleshing out their characters and the history of the settings. the NCG is the rest episode for the gem heist arc, needed for release of dramatic tension. room for ruby sets the ground for the trial arc, as it removes the red eye from the plot making it so the off colours plot can occur, also showing that despite being comfortable, lapis' trauma remains which plays a role for the season 5 wedding arc and the raising the barn plotline. phew!

[@JamesWoodall]

I tried to be as critical as possible when deciding if an episode fulfilled a necessary function, because I knew I was up against the show's least charitable critics. So while I appreciate your attempt to defend these episodes, I'm afraid I don't think your justifications will hold up. As I say in the video, I discounted episodes with crucial details when those details weren't prominent features. Things like foreshadowing don't drive the narrative, and when it comes to character beats, I only chose developments that caused a significant change in characters. And while I would agree with you that breather episodes are necessary, I knew the show's detractors wouldn't. Space Race, Fusion Cuisine and Room for Ruby were all borderline cases; Space Race seems to have significant development for Pearl, but she's established as an engineer in earlier episodes and her desire to return to space never comes up again. It also introduces the Galaxy Warp, but it's not the focus of the story. Fusion Cuisine introduces Alexandrite, but while I had counted most other fusion reveals as character development, she's not the focus of the episode and, unlike other fusion stories, it doesn't rely on character development between the fusing gems. It also introduces Connie's parents, but I don't think they are significant enough characters to justify a introduction episode. Room For Ruby crucially loses the spaceship, but, again, it's not the focus of the episode. It's more of a logistical problem than a plot beat. The episode is really a Lapis story, but not a significant change for her character. You do make an interesting point about Winter Forecast, as transferring Future Vision does come up again in Jailbreak. But again, it's a logistical problem rather than a narrative beat. In Jailbreak, Garnet could have just told Steven where to go to free Pearl and Amethyst. And even if Winter Forecast hadn't set up her ability to transfer future vision, I don't think it would have been confusing if she had done it for the first time in that episode. But fortunately for both of us, I don't think these episodes need these sorts of justifications in order to be worthwhile.

[@hexamex]

@@JamesWoodall i appreciate the response, i feel like everyone has a different definition for necessary so it can be hard to draw the line.

[@JamesWoodall]

@@hexamex I agree. What's most irritating is when people use the word filler to describe episodes they just don't like.

[@EnthuseConfuse]

@James Woodall I think Steven's birthday has one of the best payoffs in the show. It's sister episodes, "Too Many Birthdays" sets up the delivery of this episode in a big way. In too many birthdays Steven has a crisis regarding outgrowing his childhood. The gems tell him they are "too big" to celebrate birthdays and we learn Steven ages based on his mental state. If he's feeling too old, he becomes too old. This turns Steven's birthday into a huge insight as to how our lead is feeling about himself and about others. Steven is 14, he doesn't look it. We as the audience know for a fact that Steven has matured since episodes like Cheese Burger Backpack. Still, as he bids for his maturity and to look more like a teenager through shape-shifting, this episode tells us that Steven doesn't feel ready to tackled the "too big" things in his life. He's more uncertain than ever, uncertain he can handle the gem stuff, homeworld, and the mysteries and atrocities that are coming to light. If Too Many Birthdays didn't exist, this episode would be straight filler, but because Too Many Birthdays sets up this payoff, we learn that Steven's confidence in himself and ability to feel like he's "growing up" is hindered. Like a good brick joke, "Too Many Birthdays" walked so "Steven's Birthday" could run. It's part of what made the set up for Steven's mental health in "future" make so much sense to me.

[@mackielunkey2205]

Don't forget how Say Uncle foreshadows Steven being a Diamond, with Uncle Grandpa saying that he must polish his gem twice a year.

[@MxPokirby]

I've been waiting for this without even knowing it. 👏 I don't think I've ever believed any SU episode was unnecessary. The show wouldn't be the same without the "townies". I think it's much wiser in the long run to write your story in one consistent flow, than compromising your art to make artificial waits easier to swallow. It's about the final product. New watchers aren't gonna know about the hiatuses and such, and the show is stronger for the team sticking to their guns.

[@handsoaphandsoap]

The townies are so important, there's no point to the entire plot of the show if the gems have nothing to fight for

[@randomthoughts0829]

it would have been. I watched almost all the episodes and I can safely say i never gave a shit about the townies

[@Gamebuilder2000]

​@@randomthoughts0829guess it sucks to suck Anyway the Season 4 finale would be meaningless without the townies

[@residentkane]

Good for you?​@@randomthoughts0829

[@ashtonvolkmann]

I personally thought “rocknaldo” wasn’t that bad, it was interesting to see how Steven handled gaslighting, even seeing him go out on a walk to think about how he was negatively reacting to Ronaldo antics and how he was wrong to feel that way, when he realized he wasn’t, in fact, wrong to feel that way.

[@cadenisforeverbored1612]

i love this kind of take on steven U. giving it back the enjoyment of itself it deserves. it’s a good show that worked and fought hard. and for it to be known so bitterly online is so depressing. i’d love to see you make more

[@Ella]

what a classic, i think the cultural shift around SU has started and i’m glad to see it. i was part of the fandom since day one and i will be honest when saying the scheduling fatigue got to me. by the time the finale turned around i was bitter about the show. just recently rewatched it and wow i feel like due to the wait everything felt so much longer like bruh they are 10 minute episodes it’s not that serious haha. (also weird to watch it without commercial breaks 😂)

[@turtswing]

I am a huge Amphibia fan, and I am aware that people have said that Season 1 is boring compared to Season 2 since there's "too much filler". And personally, I believe that all those "filler" episodes gave me many reasons to love the characters: watching all the characters interacting with each other made me care for them as the plot going to Season 2 started to get more plot driven. And that's the same for Steven Universe too: while I do like me the plot heavy episodes, any show needs lighthearted episodes to just focus on how the characters feel about each other, the world around them or the events they are going through. These episodes help cement the bond between Steven and the gems, or Steven and all his beloved ones who live in Beach City. Especially about this last point, like them or not, the townie episodes are important to properly give the fans a reason to care about the possible consequences that could happen if Gem Homeworld conquers Earth. When writing a story, a very important thing to consider is indeed providing a reason to care if good or bad things happen to a character. And yes, the gem focused episodes may be more engaging than the human citizens ones, but that doesn't mean that Beach City lacks charm or endearing characters, like Greg, Connie, Sadie and Lars, Vidalia, Jenny, Buck or Sour Cream.

[@pippastrelle]

I love how Amphibia spent so much time in Wartwood. You, like Anne, really got to know everyone and honestly it's those relationships that got me into the site and kept me there. The main plot was interesting but it wouldn't mean anything otherwise. It can be disappointing when a show isn't quite what you want but you can't blame a show for being what it is regardless of your own taste. Amphibia and SU were always about the town.

[@mysticonranger9598]

Till this very day I struggle to understand how people found season 1 to be "boring" because of its lack of plot relevant episodes compared to season 2 and 3 because for me that is what made me fall so deeply in love with the show. It's constant and consistent comedy that never felt dry or felt like the show only had a few HILARIOUS one-liners in certain episodes while leaving the comedy in most of the other episodes in comparison to be just flat out boring. The very crucial and important character development that carried on through the season especially for Anne who had pretty much lost her way in the world (literally), and most importantly, the world building. Just by exploring a lot of wartwood, we were able to picture and understand just what the world of Amphibia was like. So I truly, honestly cannot accept how people could find that "boring" and "irrelevant". But as they, lots of forms of art is subjective

[@torb-no]

I watched your previous video on SU before rewatching it. And I remember thinking ‘doesn’t it kinda have fillers?’, but when rewatching it I noticed there literal wasn’t a single episode I feel like I could have skipped without it affecting the entire experience negatively. They *all* have something they add.

[@randomthoughts0829]

i literally skipped the vast majority of the first season and I still understood the show. Y'all are just straight up lying at this point.

[@princedonovaughn1182]

@randomthoughts0829 Or you just don't appreciate a slow build. You can feel one way and other people can feel differently. There no right way to enjoy a story. You having a different experience doesn't make theirs less true.

[@torb-no]

@@randomthoughts0829 Obviously you can still understand it without it. You could probably even still understand it without many of the big storage plot episodes as well, the human brain is good at infering lost information. But I’d argue you’d very much loose a lot of the richness, texture, nuance and emotion of the story. Stories is not about communication information as efficiently as possible!

[@cajunking5987]

It’s still filler

[@cajunking5987]

You don’t miss out on anything by skipping Rocknaldo, simple as that.

[@ShyFly221]

In the begining there was no/not alot of filler, because it intertwined with the main story. But then later on the townie plots and the main plots got a big separation, and while characters are always nice to see, we really could have done without certain episodes.

[@christopherbennett5858]

Yeah. Whilst I do think some episodes on the town are good to remind people what’s at stake, you do need to show the stakes of what if the characters lost. Like, we could’ve had episodes where Sunstone, Rainbow 2.0 and maybe even Obsidian were made or referenced so that their fusions weren’t so rushed.

[@sdtwirix1126]

@@christopherbennett5858 Actually, they were probably planning that, but when the show got cancelled two seasons early they had to drop those plotlines

[@christopherbennett5858]

@@sdtwirix1126 Perhaps. But, here’s the thing; the show got several years notice. In interviews, Sugar said that, in 2016, Cartoon Network approached her and told her that Steven universe would not be renewed after season 5. This was in the middle of season 2. And, keep in mind, that the artists were also the writers. They had ample time.

[@dylankvavnagh5604]

@@christopherbennett5858 actually with the way season 4 and 5 came to be, it might not have been as much time as we think, as seasons 2 and 3 are a split apart 52 episode season 2, and 4 and 5 being a split apart season 3, were not sure what episodes were finished/not finished when they got that news

[@christopherbennett5858]

@@dylankvavnagh5604 Good point. I mean, the Summer of Steven event from around season 2 and 3 dropped over 20 episodes, over 5 months of content for a regular show, in a month. The problem is that the hiatuses took so long that you wonder what they were doing during that time if they’d already finished episodes.

[@arabellabelmonte821]

I recently rewatched the show, and was surprised to find it held up incredibly well! Its not always important that a show has a constant stream of plot, but that the episodes themselves are enjoyable. This is first and foremost, a kid show! You're supposed to have fun. Also, i never really felt dissappointed by episodes while it was airing (tho I must admit the steven flying episode did drive me up the wall a tiny bit)

[@Mollymauking]

yess exactly. people get so hyperfocused on plot they forget to just have fun watching the show

[@multimoon]

this video was written so well!!! ending on that scene from the episode where steven sings peace and love on the planet earth was frankly a genius move, because i feel like that could easily sum up everything you were getting at for the entire duration of the video. “well, if it isn’t anything, then why does it sound so good?” AGH this line is so important. i feel like people who complain about su’s “filler” episodes are missing the point of the show ENTIRELY. su is not a show that’s meant to have a fast-paced plot and the writers have made that abundantly clear. for me personally, the slower pace gives time for breathing room in between the really plot-heavy and just regular heavy episodes/arcs. this show really knows how to breathe and just let things /be/ once in awhile, and i think that’s a really big part of its charm that these critiques are completely overlooking. i can imagine that the pacing must’ve been leagues more frustrating for viewers who were watching as the show was airing, but blaming an issue that was almost entirely out of the hands of the crewniverse on something related to the story’s plot (filler) sounds more like a straw man to me than anything. anyways, super good video!

[@HarperNell]

I do appreciate the nuanced take on the townie episodes. My personal problem with them is how a lot of them showed up later in the show too. As Steven matures so does the viewer's understanding of the world, and it's pretty frustrating to be thrust back into the childlike perspective when you're ready for more plot. I think the two worlds just feel too disparate at that point so it's a tad tonally jarring. Essentially I don't think I take issue with the episodes themselves, rather the way they're paced out in terms of the whole show. The release schedule is really the most detrimental aspect there, the pacing is only worsened by the implication that this block of episodes is highly anticipated and important.

[@christopherauzenne5023]

Yeah I think this is probably a really accurate take on the situation, like I’m completely fine with “filler” or less overarching plot focused episodes in season 1 because that makes sense, we’re establishing the normal in this world so that when things do change it feels it has more weight but doing stuff like that in later on in a story when stakes are set feels more off, and while there may not be the traditional form of filler in the show it can feel like these episodes drag things along when you can easily accomplish them in a more affective way. My biggest example of what I mean is the 5 episodes after the trial because the show introduced the idea that pink diamond was killed by a member of the diamonds (this being before the true reveal of what happened) but instead of dealing with or discussing that aspect the five episodes were mainly focused on Connie being upset with steven and him trying to apologize, a plot I honestly feel could have been handled in 2 episodes rather then the whole steven bomb (which you mentioned that set up can also negatively affect things but the point still stands that plot felt longer then needed to be). again what you said is very true, as the story progresses and the stakes get higher you no longer have as much luxury for filler/less story focused episodes or it means you need to have that main plot present in some way, the audience still feels that stakes.

[@flux.aeterna]

I can understand the frustration with these. I still think they serve character development, especially in bringing Steven back in touch with his community and human side, realizing that he is still a child learning how to interact with the world. And how hard that can be on its own, even without existential space battles impending. It shows examples of him trying to subvert and mediate conflict with his charisma (food wars), doing too much & finding his own limitations by trying to help dream Kiki every night. Rocknaldo showing Steven that while we can make a good faith effort to try and teach/welcome someone into our culture, it doesn’t mean they’ll actually be able to engage with it with respect and good faith themselves. You can do the right thing and it doesn’t guarantee someone else will do the right thing back. Some people are beyond any willingness to listen to perspectives besides their own. And changing their mind in that way isn’t always possible. That episode directly informs how Steven deals with White, yes in change your mind, but even more so in the film and “future” where it becomes about building boundaries with the people who may want to understand you or connect with you, but aren’t necessarily equipped to in a healthy way.

[@alexhirsch5738]

Alright, here's the rub that most fans don't want to admit about "Say Uncle": it technically does advance Steven's powers. Steven's little misadventure with Uncle Grandpa (sandwiched between the end of the Jail Break arc and season 2 propper) is the moment that Steven definitively masters control of his shield. He has used his shield a few times to this point (Notable against Lapis and Jasper) but the show continues to play this off as "Steven is having a moment of emotional triumph, otherwise he wouldn't be able to do this". And yet, in "Say Uncle", Steven masters the ability to retrieve his shield for any manner of tasks, no matter how small or goofy. After this moment at the start of season 2, Steven never struggles with his shield power again, unless there's an in-story reason (like during the movie when his powers are drained). If you skipped "Say Uncle", you could potentially read Steven using his shield against Jasper as the moment he masters using it, but I really don't read it that way given there's no acknowledgement of it and Say Uncle takes place in the timeline afterwards while explicitly resolving the same problem. So is "Say Uncle" canon? The only real, scholarly answer is "Uhhh, I dunno man, I guess it's just not that serious"

[@hypotheticaltapeworm]

Does your arm hurt after that reach?

[@iunnoo]

I'm sorry sir but they spell it out clearly in the episode that it is not canon. Nothing that occured in that episode actually happened

[@princedonovaughn1182]

@iunno o And yet Steven never struggles to summon his shield again. Not canon yes but it still has plot importance.

[@alexhirsch5738]

@@princedonovaughn1182 In the same way that the crossover with O.K. K.O. is technically not canon, but does build canon details into the story.

[@waffles7z]

@@iunnoo No you see what happened is that the adventure with UG isn't canon but him helping out is /j

[@SamRegan610]

I couldn't agree more. When I rewatch Steven Universe, I never skip a single episode. Even episodes I don't like as much like Steven and the Stevens and Onion Gang, even though I've seen them countless times, I watch them anyway. Because they keep the world alive. And even the 13 episodes you listed, I can think of important reasons to keep all of them Steven and the Stevens - a fun reference to the pilot with the time thing Space Race - introduces the barn, as well as Pearl's mechanical prowess and nostalgia for space Secret Team - first time we see Gem shards form into individual limbs, which we'll later see fused together in Keeping it Together Fusion Cuisine - introduces Alexandrite and Connie's family (both super important) Garnet's Universe - shows that Garnet's gauntlets can be enlarged Winter Forecast - first time we see Garnet pass on her Future Vision to Steven Open Book - further explores the limits of what Rose's room can do Say Uncle - Steven is able to summon his shield at will after this episode Steven's Birthday - Steven turns 14, that's kinda super important. Also foreshadows what he'll look and sound like as a teenager Kindergarten Kid - Peridot can bubble Gems! Also good to show the aftermath of Beta and Earthlings Buddy's Book - bits of the Crystal Gems' history, as well as Lion's origins? The New Crystal Gems - Connie officially meets Lapis, first encounter since Ocean Gem Room for Ruby - Aftermath of the Ruby squad getting stranded, and offers a hypothetical explanation for how Eyeball was rescued from drifting through space between Bubbled and The Trial

[@iunnoo]

agree with all of this but say uncle isn't canon

[@LiiiiiiMa]

My god, this is exactly the take I needed. I am so sick of mindless hate bandwagons, and SU is one of the shows least deserving of it. How can people take such a wholesome, deeply empathetic show and just dump all over it?? Also endless complaints about pacing truly amuse me bc pacing is something the creators of the show probably have the LEAST control over. Whether they have time to explore certain plots or arcs is not even up to them most of the time (unfortunately), so why give the hard-working artists shit for it?? TLDR: Highly appreciate ur take, and also kudos on ur editing/motion design, it looks really sleek and makes it easy to follow!!

[@wariosgf2481]

THANK YOU! when the heaviness of the show starts to feel too much I love falling back on episodes like Steven and the Steven's or Tiger Millionaire, I especially cherish these more now when we have SUF which is Steven (for the most part) being lost, mentally struggling and just different. love every episode but I adore when he was a simple happy kid even more.

[@NICKtendoReviews]

You used a really weird image of Steven Universe in the thumbnail

[@jossanistired]

I'm so happy right now, I literally just watched your last analysis on SU (which is one of my favourite analysis videos ever) and now this!? Thank you! Also I agree with everything here, watching the show again now really shows that it just isn't the same viewing experience if you skip all the "filler" episodes! It feels much more rewarding to reach the ending when you've gotten to know all the characters and taken part of the worldbuilding proper

[@AndyTheInconsistent]

All these episodes that don't seem important are so fun to rewatch because you realize the little things that are important.

[@jamesonthehigh6021]

I love that point of 'its more of a feeling'. Watching a story is interesting, but if that story can make you feel something (like pearls grief over rose) it makes you connect with the show on a different, more personal, level! That's the whole point why I find Steven Universe such a loveable show. Relating with the characters, and being emotionally destroyed by some of the episodes, is something that I rarely find in a TV Show. (Not counting Disney Movies, I cry everytime on all of them lmao) ~A fellow James

[@DizzyHex]

As someone who watched SU as new episodes dropped with such a weirdly spread out schedule and has rewatched it multiple times binging back to back, I honestly think SU is one of the very few shows that exist that make every character a character and not some throw away character that doesn’t really serve a purpose, for the townies we get a sense of what the gems are fighting for, earth and the people who live on it, and for the gems we get an understanding of what there powers are and what they have dealt with and are dealing with and with Steven we get a mix of both of who he is and what he’s dealing with, every episode has some importance whether it be on the first watch or not, you may not pick it up on the first watch but rewatching makes it feel like it wasn’t really a filler and more of a subtle hint as what was to come such as Garnet being a fusion, a lot of quick subtle hints and lots of theories came out of it and eventually it was revealed as Garnet to be a fusion, same for the diamonds being hinted at and honestly if you wanna take it into consideration the episode with uncle grandpa yet not canon they could’ve just thrown in a subtle hint into Steven / Rose being a diamond, obviously the episode wasn’t canon but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen non canon episodes of shows actually throw in things that are actually to come whether it be extremely on the dot or relatively the same idea, I think every episode genuinely serves some form of importance especially the 13 episodes that would be considered the filler episodes still show world building and character building to some extent

[@rocketfallen]

I love all this nifty graphics and animation work on that big ol chart of episodes, great job on that. Touching on a thing that I've always felt strongly about in SU, too, so thank you!

[@sirplayalot6477]

Always happy to see more people defending this show 😉

[@animatingangel7946]

As someone who didn’t have to sit through the pain of waiting MONTHS in order to see everything, I still feel like the townie episodes are unnecessary, we can have a cast of characters that are the reason for protecting the earth, BUT we don’t need arcs and stuff for them, THEY ARE BACKGROUND CHARACTERS, the don’t need the same treatment that the main cast gets.

[@kylemorello4787]

The way I see it, in any serialized cartoon, there's only a few filler episodes. Most of the episodes matter, even the mundane, comical ones. Either they're building the world or the characters. I even feel this way about shorts. The Owl House shorts in-between seasons 1 and 2 seem like filler, but they still build the brother sister relationship between Luz and King. Luz showing him a show she likes and introducing him to fanfiction and showing him how to draw are cute ways of making us believe they're chemistry more, so when King calls her his sister, shows Amity how she communicates with Tamagotchis, learns Spanish, shows a hesitation to be ready to say goodbye when it's time for Luz to leave, and willingly sacrifices himself for her, it's all the more touching. When the Gravity Falls shorts aren't showing off the various bizarre monsters that live there and introducing things that will come into play later, like Stan's "tattoo", they're showing the characters bond and and having learn more about them. The way I see it, as long as you have good characters that feel like themselves, you can watch them do their groceries and it would be seen as engaging. That's why episodes like Rocknaldo, The Great Divide, and Roadside Attraction don't work in my book. They both feel pointless and the characters flaws feel a little too much.

[@kateb6699]

I think we also all need to embrace that sometimes, filler is fun. Steven and the Stevens may be filler, but everyone seems to remember it. Also the arcade episode gave us meat beat mania. I don't want to live without meat beat mania.

[@Nokyyyyy]

I love this show so much for the cool story, the morals, how it's done and for each episode making (almost) every character even more lovable.

[@stanleydude3340]

One of the biggest defenses of finale is that "Yeah its not perfect, but they didn't have enough time to wrap things up!" I think that might be one of the reasons why people call a lot of the episodes filler- because at least 2 or 3 of the townie episodes could of been dropped and added as time for the finale

[@sarbe6625]

Yes, thank you. You've perfectly summarized how I feel about a lot of supposed 'filler episodes' in shows. Just because something isn't driving the material plot forward, doesn't mean it's useless.

[@mimipeahes5848]

I met someone that thought Cowboy Bebop had filler. Awful vibes.

[@Hamantha]

I don’t know anything about CB but even I can tell that’s a massive red flag

[@System_Anomaly]

ಠ_ಠ

[@morang9202]

What an amazing video! Completely agree with everything you mentioned. Episodes definitely don't need to advance the larger plot for it to be good and worth watching. A good episode is just an episode that you enjoyed, and that enjoyment can be derived from little things like some silly jokes, wholesome character interactions, etc. or can be derived from development of the main characters and major plot reveals. Both are extremely valuable to the viewing experience and serve to make the show what it is.

[@whapadoodle]

the crisp, clean editing is impeccable. i love your videos

[@capn_toad]

since steven universe got a lot of teenage and adult fans, i think a lot of people forgot that this show was meant for young kids. it's okay for it to just have episodes with silly antics.

[@HellfireComms]

That is true, but as another comment stated I think they would've been served better by adding in more action to balance out the talky bits. Granted, most kids these days would rather play games than watch TV (maybe they're streaming things now, I wouldn't know) so I guess it didn't matter either way.

[@aarOuOn]

A lot of the people making those complaints *were* young kids

[@capn_toad]

@@aarOuOn I mean I'm sure that's true but also have you seen how many KZbin videos trashing Steven universe there are? made by adults getting irrationally angry about a show for people half their age?

[@aarOuOn]

@@capn_toad Sure but the whole filler complaint isn't really limited to weirdos getting mad at SU because it's too "woke" or whatever, a lot of my friends growing up who watched the show were frustrated with the pacing as well

[@capn_toad]

@@aarOuOn I never said Steven universe doesn't have noticable flaws, but a lot of the older audience got pretty high expectations for what was ultimately a show for 8 year olds. yeah the show was dumb and weird at times but of course it was. it was for little kids.

[@seanthebean99]

another thing about the townie episodes: I'd argue that those episodes are about him being human, gaining empathy and emotional intelligence that turn out to be his most powerful ability. "This time I have some practice at helping a struggling family", that's the point, him learning how to deal with relationships is just as important as him learning new gem powers.

[@syndere6755]

Many of the 13 remaining episodes go to deepen relationships between characters, or show us more into their minds, like, for example, Space Race. It shows us how Pearl romanticizes the infinity of the cosmos, something explored in more depth in other episodes.

[@otaku1abe9]

"Secret team" & "Space race" really shows how irresponsible pearl can be considering how perfect and responsible she always seems in the other episodes

[@beenisweenisiii3825]

I'm honestly surprised that space race was left over at the end. I feel like it does so much for Pearl's character. I kinda wish they expanded upon how much she wanted to go back to homeworld instead of just wanting to be with Rose.

[@geekygecko1849]

Bro, I can't believe people hate the "townie" episodes. I feel like they are such a key part of showing A) Steven's human side vs just his gem side, and B) showing why the gems care about defending Earth, why they gave up everything. Plus I really love the towns people all their episodes definitely made me grow to care about all of them, even the ones I initially didn't like. I will say, I did only recently watch it after all of SU came out, so I could binge it all at my own pace (embarrassingly quickly LOL) so I'm sure that colors my experience of the show as I never had to deal with scheduling and stuff. But I felt like learning about the towns people was so so important.

[@Sammy_The_Umbreon]

I really dont like that people associate Townie episodes with filler episodes. Because people seem to forget we weren't involved with Homeworld for a long while. Steven was living his life in Beach City with the occasional Gem related adventure. With Steven, we need focus on both human and gem stuff. He's half of both, yet neither fully. And it would be pointless for him to be a hybrid if we only focus on one half and not the other.

[@TheKayzor]

I agree with pretty much all the points here, (I had no problem with the townie episodes on my first watch, but I don't watch all of them again on rewatches) but man you'd get my thumbs up just for those slick graphics on the episode spreadsheet

[@bunnyzerg5675]

I love the fact that all of the comments in the beginning had the profile picture of peridot (best character tied with garnet fight me)

[@elitettelbach4247]

Yes! Thank you for making this! As someone who loves slice of life content and worldbuilding and needing to care about the characters before I care about the plot, I definitely agree. The townie episodes get maligned so often but they’re usually fun breathers or have neat parallels to the main story. And while I understand how frustrating the airing schedule was, that doesn’t automatically make an episode filler. I also really appreciate the episodes that were just there to be fun and play around with either the characters or the world.

[@dRac_XII]

i literally rewatched this show for the first time just a week ago since it’s initial airing and came to the conclusion that the main enemy here was the way cartoon network released episodes and the show as a whole has an incredibly tight plot

[@NickHulvey]

This video is so unbelievably good. The amount of thought put into the script is fascinating and the clear time and effort put into the editing makes me feel overwhelmed. Astounding.

[@ttvp]

Great video! I love that you examined this because I've also found myself debating with people on what qualifies as "filler". The entire thing is great, but I mainly want to compliment the series collage you made around 3:56, beautifully put together! I can't imagine how long this video took to construct in totality, keep up the good work!

[@glpg35]

I really love your videos. You are 1 in a million of people who talks really good about the show, but not because of fanatism or anything, but because you understand the show, you analyze it, you enjoy it and you can fully explain all of it because of that. I really get frustrated when people talk really bad about the show without any arguments, that's why I love all your videos, you can easily explain everything, and reveal the true nature of the show with just facts, real arguments. I hope for more people like you, I really appreciate it

[@some_fomo_face8457]

this is actually massive the absolute attention to detail for the reasons why the episode falls under the category is insane, i LOVE it

[@freazeezy]

Who thinks lion 4 is filler? It's the culmination of Steven's quest to find his magical destiny and uncovers what his mom secretly really had planned for him. He learns that he is himself and always was and his mom wanted just that for him. If you think the point of the episode was "but what if there was a secret?' then you missed the point. Guess any episode that involves character conflict is just filler. Mr Greg resolves Purl and Greg's long standing feud but there's no "plot" stuff, so it's filler. On the Run - shows a new location like Lion 4 but it's just a pointless amethyst ep - filler. Roses scabbard - We already saw the armory - filler. Keystone Motel - just fusion stuff again, filler. Cry for help - cry for filler. You get the point

[@clawcakes2]

i haven't even watched steven universe and am not really interested in doing so, but this video kept me interested all the way through. the editing and visuals are wonderful, i greatly enjoy the more relaxed and polite tone, and generally this whole video is filled with a sweet kind of charm

[@boobaboo6197]

I think the problem was mostly the awful hiatuses, and some of the episodes taking their entire runtime to make a single point

[@boobaboo6197]

I do love some of the episodes the fandom condemn, like Kiki's Pizza Delivery Service. But others like Garnet's Universe and The New Crystal Gems i do not like 🤷 it's just personal opinion

[@kikiretzorg1467]

Steven Universe would have been like twice as good if Cartoon Network actually _aired it_ instead of airing like thirty episodes of Teen Titans Go every day …Hell Teen Titans Go would probably be twice as good too because we wouldn’t all just be sick of it

[@pancakepete]

bro you should have more subscribers bc your vids are so well put together and visually appealing,,,I’m hoping you get recognized by more ppl very soon!!

[@Jaqueue]

I just came from your Devil Wears Prada video and HOLY SWIZZLE, you have great editing and presentation, I’m astonished!! You really do a superb job!

[@yorunosei2835]

i love your videos ❤️ the last quote was so accurate "well if it isn't anything then why does it sound so good?"

[@SonHeittor]

I don't quite understand why "room for ruby" is in the unnecessary episodes, is in this episode the spaceship got stolen(or rescued).

[@JamesWoodall]

Losing the spaceship is a necessary development, but as I say, I discounted episodes where the development was a minor detail. The episode as a whole focuses on Lapis, without developing her much, and Navy, who never turns up again. And the loss of the spaceship is less of a narrative beat and more of a solution to a logistical problem.

[@JamBudds]

What's crazy is I came on here to argue that every single episode is important, but in the end, the 13 we end up with, are still quite important. They're either insight on how Steven thinks, or they do one of the other things you brought up on the spreadsheet. I even have one for Say Uncle, the whole plot is Steven trying to summon his shield, and though it isn't canon, it shows he is still trying to do this thing they show him do in the previous arc

[@SW-rd6bg]

Even room for Ruby has some significance. It shows Lapis and Peridot’s current growth, and ends with Navy stealing the Ruby ship. The Ruby ship would’ve given the CG access to space - and homeworld - after Steven sacrificed himself at the end of S4. But the CG had no way to get him back seeing as they can’t use Lion and the ship was gone. If the Ruby’s ship had still been a usable vehicle, I’d have questioned why the CG weren’t up in space with it looking for Steven by the time he got home.

[@kaisakuvaja575]

The editing in this video is insanely good. Incredible attention to detail with all the lists and stuff, keep it up man!

[@akaony]

What a pleasant surprise! Always nice to see new content from you. You know, After having reveled in all sorts of negative retrospectives of SU, my conclusion is that a good majority of them are angry at the show... because it ended. The creators told what they could, with their artistic knowledge and life experience. People are seething mad this show they pictured as the perfect pork chop (I'd say cause it did take its chances on LGBT rep on CN, thus setting very high expectations) ended up being more of a hot dog. But you know, a hot dog is arguably a more nuanced meal than a straight up slab of meat, it has buns, and condiments, and can be customized to a high extent... Where am I getting with this? Well, folks who want 100% plot advancement feel to me like folks who only want one pork chop, barely cooked. Straight and efficient nutrition, if possibly unpleasant. What we got with SU was a whole, imperfect, artistic package. Let's not forget the plethora of research that went into the overall design, from characters to backgrounds. The staff did their best to show, not tell. To conclude this long winded metaphor, I'd argue that those who say the show is perfect representation and are too defensive of its criticism are like folks who believe hot dogs to be the only valid form of nutrition.

[@Bend818]

I think the problem with the townie “filler” episodes are that the townies are just not well written or developed for the most part. And the plot ideas for these episodes stray from the tone far too drastically and get a little too childish for a series with a lot of general appeal. The episodes probably would’ve been more tolerable if the townies were actually enjoyable to spend time with and the stories themselves were better.

[@froxy_ef-em]

the video isn't even done and i am MESMERIZED by how good your editing on the list of episodes is (and the "arcs" thing looked so good too!!)

[@ocisxo]

dude! the amount of time this mustve taken to either edit and gather arguments! amazing work

[@Peridot5xg]

*[if i were to say which "Townies" have the best episodes, it'd probably be the Lars/Sadie or that mysterious Onion. They have some pretty interesting and fun stories in the show. Especially Lars.]*

[@jonahkluger6136]

Issue is not the characters, it's the lack of payoff. Besides Lars and Sadie, (more Lars). We never really see the townsfolk ever do anything significant when it comes to the overarching story. Sometimes they interact with the gem stuff, but we never get a scene of Mayor Dewey talking down a gem to not hurt someone or the Cool Kids aid on a mission in a constructive way. World building is important, but it can be done passively rather than dedicating time to characters that aren't important in the grand scheme of things. I really like Steven Universe despite its flaws. But this is for sure one of its flaws. Because those episodes are boring and develop characters that I could care less about seeing them. Even the ones where Steven unlocks a power tend to be lame, since there are no real interesting stakes. I can't remember any Mr. Smiley episodes and yet I perfectly understand him and like his presence in the world. He still builds the world, but he isn't written some tale we need 3 episodes to grasp. When it comes to the Lars in space stuff. Lars in space has way more urgency and intrigue than Sadie joining a band to follow her passion. Sadie joining a band is important for her character and Lars, but it isn't THAT interesting, and it is frustrating to watch when you know something way more interesting is happening everywhere else. Sadie joining a band should have been a B plot to another story, instead of its own thing. This is actually something I have learned about A plot B plot movies/shows, whenever one plot is about to LOSE STEAM, you switch. Not when you are at the most important moment. You can chock this up to it being my personal opinion, but I am obviously not alone here. A lot of people were groaning whenever a townie got an episode instead of a gem. In the end, my biggest complaint is that we never got large 1 v 1 fights with Sugilite, Opal and Sardonyx. That would have went so hard. Also, Steven, while someone who grows, doesn't really fundamentally change from start to end. He matures and becomes stronger. But he is static in most ways and doesn't really have a lowest point due to his own failures. It makes it hard to care for his triumphs. Even Rex, a very similar character, has a very defined lowest point that eventually leads to a new understanding of the people in his life and a triumph to his success. Also, White Diamond bad in a bunch of different ways. But I don't think many people argue about that. On a side note, I know the endgoal was for Lars and Sadie to go separate ways and to enforce the idea that things aren't always meant to be. (Among other things). But I wish the end result was Lars becoming a better person/learning the consequences of his actions and Sadie better understanding what he needs. And then their relationship working out. I was really rooting for them. SU is the one show that I wish I could have overseen. It has such beautiful characters, a fun setting, a really interesting narrative and one of the best concepts I've seen from a character driven show. But it tried to portray a message the show simply wasn't made to fulfill with what it set up.

[@milanesadearsenico]

Having episodes expanding on each human on beach city makes you connect and care to what Steven wants to protect, and also what Steven wants to share to the gems in outer space that can't have separate identities, can't have struggles or anything personal

[@TheJavert113]

0:57 I am a little in love with the fact that every comment is just Peridot. 😁💚

[@golgarisoul]

Gimme those weeds!... wait.

[@Hinatachan360]

Rebecca Sugar's husband said himself that there are no filler episodes. Every episode is canon.

[@Hinatachan360]

Except Uncle Grandpa. I forgot about that one. Not canon but fun. 😆

[@kauske]

@@Hinatachan360 Canon or not, I can't hate on a crossover ep in a decade where the CN crossover was nearly dead. CN used to do some of the most wacky and amazing crossovers, like grim adventures of the kids next door. I miss those.

[@Hinatachan360]

@@kauske I enjoyed that episode. It was hilarious.

[@mannyoftheeast3318]

Uh, filler doesn't mean non-canon.

[@ramsey6864]

You hit the nail on the head with your comments on Gemcation. That was the episode that when it was finally released, made me somewhat more apathetic to the whole thing as if I was being strung along. I’d like to hear your tales on Future!

[@cybermoonboy]

can we just appreciate how much time and effort this editing must’ve taken, it’s amazing and so visually helpful! thank you sm💙

[@cmgvillager]

Agree with pretty much everything. I do wish we got to see more of homeworld. Specifically what the diamonds do and how other gems live on homeworld. We got throw away lines and some examples of what they do but, could’ve gotten more…

[@austindreemurr922]

how about you sit someone down who's never seen steven universe and have them ONLY watch episodes you deem "important' because of plot, what like 45 episodes huh? and see how much they actually enjoy the show

[@FilipeMafagafo]

I just loved watching Steven Universe, from back to back. Sure, I got to it later than most, probably around season 4 so I had a lot of material to binge-watch. I never minded any deviation from the main plot, just a bit when I caught up to the actual running of the season and had to endure a long waiting period to find out about pressing matters. Still, by then, I was absolutely in love with everything the team was doing. It felt very refreshing to follow a show with different expectations of pacing, worldbuilding, and confrontation than most media on television. It all comes together with Steven's personality and character. Your video made me think a lot about the show's relation to another story I'm absolutely sitting with, "Everything, All the time, All at once". I mean, Steven and Waimond ? I would love to see you making a video on that topic, actually, I'm hoping you are already producing one :D

[@Atwistedandbrokentale]

I want to make an animated show with continuity and a possible story to build up to but with a slice of life/monster of the week structure. I want to have “no filter episodes” as well, even if there’s no plot twists or big mystery to solve. Hopefully this will be more obvious than Steven universe but you know how media literacy is :,)

[@theohowie791]

great video, i completely agree! altho i have to say on my many rewatches i have always skipped the uncle grandpa one 😟😭 ik its not canon or anything but i genuinely think its the biggest piece of shit ever made ever in the universe ever. (not to be dramatic 🙄🤭)

[@Rosemont104]

I find that almost nobody talks about the target demographic when discussing the filler and "townie" episodes. Even if the creators intended for these episodes to have a point, even if some older viewers might tolerate them, the kids (who will have shorter attention spans) probably won't care and tune out, thus lowering its ratings. I recall at least on Twitter user asking their young cousin or kid that they were babysitting about the show, and the kid in question said he wasn't interested because the show used to be about the gems fighting aliens and now it was all "singing and crying."

[@HellfireComms]

I agree that the show should've had more action, but it's not like it was non-existent outside of the first season. Ultimately, the show was successful via other demographics so the point is moot.

[@StarGazer0352]

Even looking at that final list of episodes that are "filler", I can find one reason or another why they matter. Whether that be something minor related to the story, like the introduction of Alexandrite in Fusion Cuisine or how Navy stealing the ship in Room for Ruby is why the Crystal Gems can't go into space to rescue Steven when he surrenders himself to Homeworld, but even episodes like Space Race and Steven's Birthday help support you statement. They give more reasons to care about the characters we're watching and build the relationships between them

[@madiness]

this is such an entertaining, well made video!! thanks for sharing :)

[@fionaroni]

anything w Ronaldo i skip so i consider that filler but really it’s just i hate ronaldo

[@Thedawg2604]

People are just mad not all episodes about saving the world💀

[@berserkagain7976]

Nah it's more like they completly discourse off the main plot to talk about onion lmao

[@Thedawg2604]

@@berserkagain7976 but without those episodes beach city would feel empty like if steven was the only human there

[@user-wn3gk5yb4o]

filler is great but when the show was airing certain episodes would end on a cliff hanger followed by an hiatus and when the hiatus was finished they would run filler episodes instead of the story driven ones what they should’ve done is air all the episodic episodes TOGETHER instead of stretching it out

[@The_Canuck]

As someone who's been exhausted with the "Townie episode" discourse for years now, I very much appreciate this video. This past Monday was the third anniversary to the finale of Steven Universe Future so I've been slowly been re-watching the whole series since then. I haven't gotten to any of the episodes that you would say are skippable yet, but from what I vaguely recall of them I would consider a few episodes that still had some important bits that would come back later in the series: Space Race shows the Galaxy Warp for the first time and has Pearl in an outfit with a pink diamond on it; Fusion Cuisine, while being the debut of Alexandrite, displayed the latter's personality clash between the gem trio, as well as their relationship with both Steven and Greg; Winter Forecast first showed that Garnet can transfer her future vision to Steven with a kiss; finally, while Steven's Birthday may feel like a retread of Too Many Birthdays, it also prominently displays the feelings that Steven and Connie had for each other at the time. Edit: Of course as soon as I posted that, I find that you already refuted most of those points in an earlier comment. Regardless, I do want to say thanks again for another positive analysis on this amazing children's cartoon.

[@MilkySuit]

I think you made a great video. This pacing, the story, the writing and editing was all carful thought of and it shows. SU is my show and watching this video was really inspiring on a creative level in a creators perspective

[@10Bendog]

Respectfully, I disagree about some of the video and I need to vent. (Also, this might be a long one, because I love to talk ad nauseam. Good luck, if you try to read it.) Firstly, I'll admit that the Steven Bomb format and then months of tumbleweeds definitely was a big benefactor as to why the "filler" episodes were received so poorly. Also, I will admit that there is some negative bias on my side because I really didn't enjoy where the story went in the final season, what with the Rose Diamond reveal and the redemption of the Diamonds, and all that. However, I'll try to put that aside when presenting my counter-point. Okay, so, Season 1 is spared from this entire conversation. It's more episodic than the other seasons and its main job is to introduce us to the characters and to the world of Steven Universe. That's all fine, that's what Season 1s are usually for. Although, if I'm honest, the way they were building up the gems as a civilization back then felt a lot more different than what they turned out to be later on, but that might just be me. Then Season 2, imo, balances the story, character, and filler episodes perfectly. It has time to show Steven's emotional state after Jailbreak and help him lighten up, then it has a little bit of a return to form of casual Season 1-esque episodes + some major developments like Connie learning to fight or the discovery of the fused shattered gems. But then Peridot starts showing up, then Garnet and Pearl have a falling out over the Sardonyx situation, and after that is resolved, Peridot is captured and that begins a slew of episodes that focus on her redemption arc, along with the plans to stop the Cluster from forming. This to me was the peak of the show and is by far my favorite season. Then Season 3 opens with the conclusion to the Cluster arc and after that there's a few episodes to help Lapis readjust to her new life on Earth. But the moment the crew leave the barn is when the interest starts to dip just a bit. It's still good, but just, imo, not as well handled as how they did it last season. The two big things that get focus after the Gems leave the barn is Jasper's occasional reappearances and Amethyst's insecurities as a "runt". These are fun to watch and all, but unlike Peridot's redemption arc, which turns her into a secondary character, Jasper kinda just fades into obscurity after she gets corrupted and only shows up after the conflict is resolved. Oh, and Bismuth is introduced, but they kinda bubble her up immediately after and barely mention her until Season 5, so idk if they should've had her debut a bit later instead. Then Season 4 just... Nothing really happens in Season 4 in comparison to before. There's no overarching threat like the Cluster from 2 and Jasper from 3 and there isn't many new things introduced like in 1. Halfway Blue Diamond shows up, finally giving us something, and then there's a few episodes about the Gems going to the zoo, getting back Greg and leaving. These are great, and some "filler" is warranted after them before the finale where Steven is taken to Homeworld. And then... Season 5. It starts great with the follow-up of the last season until they escape the trial, Lars becomes a zombie and Steven goes back home. Then we are given the most pointless character arc that is Steven and Connie's fallout and we go focus on the townies again. This is where the show lost me, and I believe this is where all the complaints stand from. We got to know the Beach City ppl well enough already. We had enough episodes of them! The bunch of episodes that followed after Lars' Head feel like going over the speed limit and suddenly hitting the brakes. Yes, there needed to be a filler episode or two after everything that happened to ease the tension, but a better use of everyone's time would've been Steven just reflecting on everything that had happened to him, like he did post "Jaibreak", and talking with the Gems about the Diamonds and Homeworld, instead of the forced melodrama with Connie. Then they should've either given us the missing Lars episodes (because they focused on him so much before, and then finally when something interesting and plot relevant happened to him, and he changed as a character, the narrative shoved him to the side), or, even better, since they were so insistent on keeping the Steven POV, they should've just straight up skipped to the Rose Diamond reveal and then played everything out normally. And then expand on what we got in "Change Your Mind" to encompass all the extra episodes they would've gotten, to idk, let us explore Homeworld better, give us more of a reason for why Blue and Yellow should be redeemed (White should've never been redeemed, I will stand by that), give the Steven fusions and Obsidian more time to shine, make the confrontation with White Diamond more than just a "no u" joke; Anything really. Kill two birds with one 'gem' - get rid of the filler ppl complain about and patch up the rushed ending, that people also complain about. TL;DR: Filler episodes are good when used properly, but Steven Universe overused them immensely and in Season 5 they were straight up getting in the way of the actual plot, taking time away that could've better been spent elsewhere. Also, imo, why would you spend so much time on comparatively much less interesting characters and settings when you have such a unique and fun premise to begin with, with a complicated overarching story that didn't get as much attention as it needed to?

[@10Bendog]

"This might be a long one." *clicks 'Read more' VINE BOOM

[@dannyphantom3090]

I agree that showing the background characters lives does enhance the world building and I do like some townie episodes I just feel there were way to many of them like season 1 and 2 were great with mixing Towne and Gem episodes but once you get to the 3rd season they really out stay their welcome because the Diamonds had finally been revealed and instead of learning more about them let's see what Kiki dreams about or a restaurant war between 2 people who aren't important.

[@icelingbolt]

Very good timing! I saw that best scene video a week ago

[@VirtualMarmalade]

everyone's talking about winter forecast showing off garnet's ability to pass on future vision and not enough people talking about the final scene of the episode where connie sneaks down after bedtime to sit next to steven and watch the snow fall that scene is everything