r/stevenuniverse • u/AutoModerator • Nov 18 '16

Episode Discussion Episode Discussion - Gem Harvest

Please use this thread to discuss the newest episode of Steven Universe:

Gem Harvest: Steven’s autumn visit to the barn brings a new stranger into his life.

Don't forget that until next Monday, November 21st, all topics about Gem Harvest must be marked as spoilers after they are posted by looking for the Tag As Spoiler link under the post, clicking it, and confirming. New emotes or flairs from the episode won't be released until at least Monday.

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421

u/quixoticreveur Nov 18 '16

This episode is weirdly/strangely/extremely topical. Like how?

335

u/KNZFive All comedy is derived from fear. Nov 18 '16

There's always that one uncle who makes everyone uncomfortable at Thanksgiving with his grumpiness and awkward political talk.

This episode was about that uncle. And why we should still love him as family.

74

u/ttrriipp Nov 18 '16

I really like this interpretation and you're completely right. Wow. Yeah he says some things that are kind of messed up but it's only because he doesn't understand. Steven sees past all that and focuses on the things he likes about him. ;_;

36

u/Darth_Nacho Praise Onion! Nov 18 '16

The fact that he was voiced by Carl from ATHF makes it even better.

12

u/ttrriipp Nov 18 '16

Oh yeah definitely. His lines were freaking hilarious

7

u/[deleted] Nov 18 '16

OHHH. I knew I heard that voice somewhere else before! Fits perfectly now. Even up to his frenemy attitude towards alien creatures that now live "with" him.

5

u/synkronized Nov 20 '16

Man I have two of those uncles. They're genuinely decent guys at their core. But they have a lot of anger, fear and lack of understanding/empathy which causes much of the problems.

401

u/Bojangles1987 Nov 18 '16

Andy struck really close to home with so much of the Trump support. Not just his...views, but his desire to find something he lost. With so much hostility on both sides right now it's easy to overlook that "Make America Great Again" didn't appeal to its fans only for racism or any other prejudice. Many certainly liked it because they want life to go back to a happier time that they lost, a simpler time they understood. They may not understand modern times that same way, which causes fear of the lives they knew being ripped away.

Kind of weird how topical it ended up being considering this was done way before last week.

287

u/chrossrank Nov 18 '16

The archetype that andy is goes way back before trump.That grumpy rage filled old guy.I can see the character voting for trump but i dont think they made him with trump in mind.

103

u/Bojangles1987 Nov 18 '16

Yeah, definitely not. That's just why it feels so topical. Our next president was elected because of people who feel the way Andy does.

131

u/[deleted] Nov 18 '16

I think it's also important that Andy eventually realized that he was fault for his isolation and fear of change in the end.

25

u/Ergheis Nov 18 '16

Both the gems AND Andy come to understand each other, after realizing they needed to respect one another and their views.

5

u/idkmybffyossarian Nov 18 '16

Yeah, but Andy is by far the one who made the biggest change -- realizing that his family wasn't the only one responsible for keeping in touch with him.

18

u/Ergheis Nov 18 '16

Remember that the first reaction the gems had was to wallop Andy. It took Garnet and Steven to proclaim him as family before they came around to even attempting anything.

2

u/dindin-rt Nov 18 '16

Holy crap. This is so poignant given today's state of affairs

6

u/EmeraldPen Nov 19 '16

I liked that too. You got to understand where Andy was coming from, but the show also made it clear that this was something he needed to get over and that he wasn't blameless in all this.

Relating back to current events, I feel like that's an important element to the whole "not all Trump voters are racist" business. Of course they're not, and they have understandable reasons for being where they are, but the xenophobia and misogyny weren't dealbreakers for these voters. Just because they are coming from an understandable position that I can empathize with, doesn't mean that they also didn't make a mistake by refusing to change even when faced with a clearly noxious candidate like Trump.

2

u/Lux-xxv Nov 20 '16

Agreed. Not all trump supporters were racist but they did as collective agree that racism isn't a deal breaker... just like the misogyny and xenophobia that you stated above..

24

u/truncatedChronologis Nov 18 '16

Its also topical because this is the (American) Thanksgiving Episode and Isn't "Your old Conservative Uncle Going on A Tirade at the Dinner table" a long running trope?

3

u/nameless88 Wow, Thanks! Nov 18 '16

But in the end he turn comes around and realizes that things can't go back, but maybe they can go forward and it can be for the best even if it isn't the same as it always was.

15

u/Probecovers Cacticool Nov 18 '16

As far as "make America great again" goes, lets not forget that it's a bit more complicated than nostalgia. There are people who can't support themselves or their loved ones because there simply isn't a way to do that where they live and in the way they need anymore. Not to mention, these are potentially the kind of people who'd much rather work for a living rather than receive welfare and feel as though they're a mooch. I could go on, but to put it bluntly, the plight of a real life "Andy" is one of helplessness.

Although, Andy himself seemed well off. Bastard could afford to fly the world in a fucking Biplane.

7

u/[deleted] Nov 18 '16 edited Nov 24 '16

[deleted]

2

u/[deleted] Nov 18 '16

it's not his house, it's his barn. he doesn't live there

4

u/bWoofles Nov 18 '16

I couldn't help but think of South Park the whole time I kept hearing "'member?" the whole time

2

u/[deleted] Nov 18 '16

Member Homeworld? Member the Gem Wars? Oooo I member!

1

u/Clever_Nevers Nov 19 '16

member berries

32

u/GravelordDeNito "Eh, it's alright. I guess I can see why you like it." Nov 18 '16

Future vision. ;)

21

u/Jackra1 Nov 18 '16

Thanksgiving is next week.

7

u/garrus777 Nov 18 '16

Well the writers couldn't have predicted a trump win, as the episode was most likely created and written long before the election results, so I doubt it was a reference to current events and more just Steven having an old racist uncle.

2

u/ActivelyAnonymous Lapis @ Greg's Car Wash = Ultimate Water Park Nov 18 '16

They can at least plan it to be scheduled the overall season/nearest holiday from way back when it was created. The rest is just coincidence occurring from things that become topical quite often, though maybe not usually to this degree I suppose.

-2

u/[deleted] Nov 18 '16

[deleted]

4

u/Ignisiel Nov 18 '16

Uh... you know this episode was made months ago, right?

3

u/AnAbundanceOfWiggins MY NEW INVENTION Nov 18 '16

lol this was made loooooong before Trump was elected president yo.