Lore, speculation, the endless cycle. Back to the Barn was a big episode for telling us what homeworld society is like, but there are always unanswered questions. Let’s see what we can wonder about today.
Good signs on a return of re-runs
You know how we had such poor re-runs the past couple of weeks? Well it looks like it was a brief interlude, just like last time. Currently Cartoon Network is showing a schedule that has Steven Universe with half an hour on week nights at 7:30 PM EDT. It’s a recent change, so it hasn’t hit TV Guide or any of the other schedule sites yet, but cross your fingers and hope it sticks.
If the change goes through, we’ll be revisiting some plot-heavy Peridot episodes as well as the season one finale before we get to see Too Far to see us off into the year-end break.
What we learned from Back to the Barn
We didn’t get as much plot advancement as we expected from Back to the Barn (though we did get confirmation on one form the Cluster won’t take :-P), but in trade we got even more lore than we had hoped for. Rather than one brief remark, the episode was centered around the issue and its retort. That means more to talk about for us.
Aivi and Surasshu post: Pearlbot vs Peribot
Yeah, sorry, this one’s all spoiler all the time. Aivi and Surasshu have given us another great track though! If you haven’t seen Back to the Barn yet, listening to Pearlbot vs Peribot (1:15) should definitely amp you up to hear the song in context!
https://soundcloud.com/aivisura/151009-mixdown-165bpm-pearlbot-vs-peribot
Preview for Too Far
It helps to have a preview, doesn’t it? Who’s ready to see the drill that will pierce the mantle?
Immediate reaction to Back to the Barn
Well we’re just getting all of our Christmases at once, aren’t we? We thought we’d learn a little bit, but Peridot sure went into detail about her expectations about Pearl. That means we got it all this week: plenty of solid lore to talk about, and some more speculative material too. (Alright, we didn’t get as much plot progression as we thought we would, but we got the setup for it.)
Plus did you see how quickly they were both able to build? Space Race definitely wasn’t an outlier.
What to expect from Back to the Barn
The Peridot train just keeps on rolling! Not only will she be getting plenty more time with Steven, it looks like Pearl is going to be getting involved too. Given what we’ve seen (and how quickly we learned about the Cluster) this will probably be more of a character episode than a lore episode—though with a healthy dose of plot advancement.
Of course judging from the preview clip, there’s a solid chance that we’ll get a retort from Pearl that reveals more about the homeworld, and if Pearl and Peridot compete with one another to show who’s better with technology then there will be ample opportunities to slip some lore into the dialogue.
More Steven Universe merchandise on the way
If you were worried about the paucity of merchandise available for Steven Universe, then worry no more! According to Animation Magazine, Cartoon Network has made deals with several manufacturers that will be bringing out new Steven Universe stuff for a while.
Some will be coming out quite early, in time for the holidays this year. Funko will be making Pop! vinyl figures of Steven Universe, which will be available at Hot Topic; Just Toys will be making a bunch of stuff, with the article listing dog tags, minis, backpack hangers, and “fun packs”. You can check out their Bravest Warriors stuff to get a feel for what they make.
Spring 2016 will see PhatMojo step into the ring with plushes and foam weapons, and Zag Toys launching collectible mini figures.
Then, in 2017, we get a line of plushes and more from Toy Factory (see their Adventure Time stuff if you’re curious what to expect).
The Guide to the Crystal Gems officially released today
We’ve been waiting for this one: the Guide to the Crystal Gems has finally come, and there’s good news and bad news.
The good news is that the book looks gorgeous, and there are some nifty factoids about the Crystal Gems in it. The bad news is that it is basically stuff we already knew or could easily have figured out. The second dose of good news is that the stuff we want to see will now definitely be revealed to us in an episode, not in a peripheral.
The guide is liberally illustrated with screenshots from the show, framed as photos, and has profiles for every Gem we’ve seen on the show (including fusions, except for Sardonyx).
It starts off with a brief mention of the rebellion, then full-page writeups for Amethyst, Garnet, and Pearl. The idea of gem monsters on Earth and the arrival of the homeworld Gems each get a paragraph, then it’s on to the character bios.
Steven, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl each get full writeups with a profile, a long paragraph describing them, some more paragraphs related to things specific to them, and sections named “Fearsome Foes” and “Memorable Moments” that showcase their fighting prowess and… well, memorable moments respectively.
Rose Quartz gets a very similar treatment with a profile and many pages talking about her, but since she’s in the show’s history and so has no photos to showcase she doesn’t get Fearsome Foes or Memorable Moments sections.
Lapis Lazuli, Peridot, and Jasper each get a profile; Opal, Sugilite, Alexandrite, Malachite, and Stevonnie each get a profile and a paragraph writeup. Most of the book is written from Steven’s voice, but Garnet is responsible for telling us about the fusions, as well as the idea of fusion.
It’s heavy on pictures and light on text, but at $10 MSRP it looks like a good buy, especially for a younger fan.
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