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Steve and Connie fuse into one, but is this a good thing or a bad thing? Check out this Steven Universe Vlog on episode 37: Alone Together
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I love how Kevin (the vain guy who hits on and dances with Stevonnie) takes one look at the unfused pair, realizes he was hitting on a couple of kids, and is just like, “Nope, not going to prison for this,” and peaces out.
Classic!
was going to say the same thing lol.
Stevonnie is canonically referred to as “they/them” if that helps. They’re really important as a representation for genderqueer people who may go by “they/them” pronouns in real life (I don’t mean to come off as anal and get all social on you, but it’s definitely better than referring to them as “it”…).
I agree though, that this is one of my favorite episodes because the tone and music and everything is a really mellowing but still emotional experience…
Sugar stated that Stevonnie is supposed to be a representation of the first experiences within a relationship. That said, I do agree.
Also, keep in mind, this is only their first/second time watching and they don’t really read the information until after they watch the episode. In short, they didn’t know. Plus, you have to admit, “s/h/it” was pretty funny.
That’s true, but given that there are so few characters that are supposed to be called “they” I think it’s fair to say that Stevonnie still represents something important to that community.
Of course I don’t expect them to know every bit of information about the show, that’d be silly! I don’t blame them for not knowing these things and it doesn’t make them horrible people or anything (not that they need the approval of one viewer haha). It’s fun to see their interpretations in these vlogs anyway. I just felt this is one of those few times I needed to speak up about it. Even if they don’t necessarily read it, it’s worth a shot. That said, I hope I didn’t come off as too much of a killjoy or anything… And yes, I did giggle at “s/h/it.”
Their guess about the nature of the crystal gems is definitely in the right direction, but just not in the way they think.
I’m also glad they didn’t pick up on a clue here that allowed some fans to guess at a big future reveal. I didn’t either, and I was glad for it, because it made the reveal all the more awesome when it happened.
You guy’s need to pay more attention to Garnets hands.
Shhhh…
your reply made me laugh out loud
Shut up you piece of human feces. We want them to figure things out themselves.
“I wish you were here. If we were together, it would be okay. But we are together, and it’s not. I’m alone. ”
This was supposedly supposed to air before Warp Tour. Even so, the Gems trying to help Steven with fusion could be interpreted as them accelerating his training. The part with Pearl and Garnet really seemed to set off the Pearlnet shippers.
Anyway, this is a really interesting episode that leaves a fair amount open to interpretation. I really like it when family shows manage to tackle such challenging topics.
Even though it was set to air before Warp Tour, I think canonically it works so much better right after it.
Think about it, they see Peridot and realise the possibility of a new threat, so they immediately start teaching Steven about fusion in anticipation of his need to be able to defend himself from the Homeworld.
If set before warp tour, they just sort of decide to teach him fusion one day.
Watching them in the broadcast order gives more of a sense of narrative drive and continuity.
This was definitely one of the feel good episodes. You’ll see soon enough why Garnet was so happy about it!
Glad to hear they loved this episode, it was really hyped by the crew back when it aired. I think they were really proud of it and I can see why. It’s difficult to comprehend and slightly unsettling but it draw you in and get you into that emotion.
I hope they like The Test as much, that one actually is my favourite.
This is something that becomes clearer in later episode, but stable fusions really are a new person, apart from the component individuals. Unstable fusions (like Alexandrite) don’t achieve this and just argue. We see some hints of this; I don’t think either Steven or Connie would have talked to Kevin like that.
Garnet’s goofy grin is a wonderful thing. “Stevonnie: You are not two people, and you are not one person. You are an experience. Be sure that you’re a good experience! Now GO! HAVE! FUN!”
This is another episode with some great music cues. The “Midnight Run” cue for Stevonnie is one of my favorites.
Can’t forget the beach dance song or the music at the rave. Fantastic score from two staggeringly talented composers.
Please come dance with me.
You are an experience,
Make it a good one.
This is the first episode where we see the concept of fusion really start to come into its own as a metaphor for relationships. The use of Stevonnie is incredibly dense to start with, and since then fusion has developed to the point where you could write a college level thesis on this aspect of the show alone.
You covered a lot of points good points, but there’s so much to the episode. Far more than can reasonably be covered in an off-the-cuff vlog. Maybe it’s the increase in sexually suggestive content in this episode (perhaps a bit too much), but Stevonnie seemed like a metaphor for exploring physical intimacy. Not necessarily sex, but along those lines. It can be exhilarating and empowering, but also alienating and terrifying. It’s a very mature take on the subject, and a great metaphor to convey the message without being too explicit. I believe Rebecca Sugar has stated that it also relates the idea of physical maturity and how society’s views change. Specifically in that one day you could wake up to find yourself the target of objectification and desire, but you still feel like the same person you were before. Two kids “piloting” the body of a late teen/grown adult who attracts so much romantic attention is a great way to convey that as well.
There is a reason why Fusion is so sexual but that won’t be talked about until you learn a little bit more about Gem culture.
fusions is not always sexual. Its sometimes just a close friendship. Pearl doesint love garnet or amythist in that way,but they still fuse. Thats because they are very close comrades and friends and can meld together. The emotion doesint need to be romantic or sexual at all.
Thanks Rob, for referring to people that are not in a binary gender norm as “shit” 😉 (I’m not mad, since I know it was a joke, but I am a transwoman and just wanted to point out that it might not be that funny to some people, especially people who are (like stevonnie is I guess) intersex). As commenters before pointed out, the creators refer to the as “they”, which is also AFAIK the proper pronoun in English to refer to a person whose pronoun is currently unknown (I’m not a native speaker an in german the most common pronoun I see for non-binary people is in fact a contraction from the male pronoun “sie” (she) and “er” (he) == “sier”; German does however has anything nearly as nice as the singular they English has :D)
In English “they” can be used as a singular pronoun, but when it is it becomes indefinite which means you’re talking about a hypothetical person who doesn’t actually exist. This makes it is incorrect to refer to a specific person as a “they”. The pronoun problem is laughed at, but it really does pose a grammatical, and in a way philosophical, problem which needs a solution. For my money “sier” would be a badass pronoun to migrate to English.
There’s no such thing as incorrect in language, it’s a medium of communication, not a set of objective, unchanging rules that float out there in the ether. If we can agree that “they” is a singular gender neutral pronoun then it is.
Therein lays the problem, though. The rules of language exist as a reflection of what we have agreed upon. There is such a thing as incorrect in language, because without a set of rules to act as a general guideline then communication would be impossible with random dialects popping up everywhere. Now the rules are dynamic and change based on the current evolution of English, but unfortunately the majority of people agree that “they” works the way it does currently. Until most people can casually use “they” as a definite singular pronoun then it is, in fact, incorrect.
“the majority of people agree that “they” works the way [I think it does]”
What do you base this on? Singular “they” referring to a specific individual is at least uncontentious enough to be used by BT, a major UK telephone company.
“Presumably the antis (if they live in Britain) are also irritated every time they hear the automated voice on the 1471 phone service (BT caller ID) informing them that ‘the caller [singular] has withheld their [plural] number’.”
http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2012/06/he-or-she-versus-they/
The caller is a specific individual of (from the perspective of 1471) indeterminate gender, so singular “their” is used rather than the clunky and awkward alternatives like “his or her”. This is not a new or particularly unusual usage.
Stevonnie uses They/Them pronouns 😉
Yeah, this episode is one of the best of the season, with Steven discovering that can fuse with Humans and, maybe, Gems 🙂
Garnet’s reaction will be explained later ^_^
Just had to watch this episode on a streaming webste since I believed I hadn’t seen it before and it was pretty good(I especially like how they don’t use words to describe it). I would like to learn more about this series but on the other hand I’m glad you guys pointed them getting up against the wall together since I found it odd too and they did that weird dancing and I believe they probably kiss cause of the whole gems must connect thing. I also love it when the man dancing with stevonnie noticed that there were kids and at the bottom I’ll post what he said but know I gotta go watch more episodes so bye!!!!
*those were two kids I’m out*!!’
A fusion isn’t just a mix between two people. A fusion is an embodiment of everything that the people have together. It’s as if every moment the two of them spent together was given a living form. At least that’s my perspective.
I like that definition. Fusion and its results are different things depending on the people involved, so this idea fits that perfectly.
To be honest I dont see what some people see from this episode. I just saw a nice relationship episode for steven and connie with some funny moments with info that steven can fuse with other humans.
Well, for one thing, it really appeals to the Tumblr crowd and, yeah, no more needs to be said about that. Furthermore, it has multiple facets to it: it has character development, like you mentioned, which is really important to Steven Universe; it expands the ever growing lore by elaborating on fusion and creating a new one; it has an excellent commentary on intimacy, relationships, consent, and social anxiety; it posses interesting philosophical questions; it has great foreshadowing for repeat viewing; outstanding art, music, and direction, even by SU’s standards; and best of all it does so in a simple, open-ended way that can appeal to all ages, while still being interpretable from person to person. All around, Alone Together is outstanding storytelling by any standards, let alone a medium with as low expectations as a children’s cartoon.
I can see the relationship commentary,but idk I just dont see the other commentary stuff you mentioned. Guess it just varies.
I can kinda see the consent thing from the dude who kept asking stevonne out. Wish this site had an edit function.
This whole episode is like a lesson in consent. When Stevonnie’s talking to themself they say, “We can stop if you want… No, it’s okay.” like Connie and Steven are checking with each other to make sure they’re both comfortable continuing. And later, when the creepy guy is hitting on them he clearly needs to learn that no means no. It shows how creepy and unsettling it is when someone denies the other person’s refusal.
I wonder if that dude will always think from now on “should I hit on this person it might end up being two kids again”.
Follow up comment to come when I’ve seen this episode. LOL. But I don’t know. I don’t like looking at any deep meanings that may or may not be in kid’s media. It just takes the fun away for me personally. Kinda like when people analyze Disney Princess for morals and feminist ideals. It just takes the fun away for me. Or maybe it’s because I’m not the deep-thinker type. 🙂
I heavily agree with you on that.
However in Steven Universe all these subtle meanings are intentional (doesn’t stop people from too much into them though).
Gems don’t really have sexes, but it’s implied they are all female-ish.
Yes, quite a lot of sexual undertones in this show, which is why it’s loved. Especially with fusion.
Which should hint at why Garnet is so happy about Steven and Connie fusing together.
According to the staff this episode is about “scary firsts in a relationship”. To Steven and Connie this whole thing is very exciting but at the same time it becomes quite frightening as it goes on. Especially when they’re hit on by Kevin (fun fact: everyone with the name Kevin is a douche… at least in Germany).
The interesting thing about how Stevonnie behaves is that when Gems fuse they usually combine their personalities and become one being. Steven and Connie however stay clearly seperated as people during the whole process. This has to do with a theme about these two that they’re individuals aswell as equals in their relationship.
And Garnets awesome reaction is a massive hint for something down the line. And by massive hint I mean it’s even less subtle than all the hints in Hot Fuzz.
I didn’t see it at first but Stevonie’s personality came out at several points in the episode. Stevonie seemed to have an older mentality and made different decisions than either Steven or Connie would.
I want to hear your honest thought about Book of Life, it would really mean a lot to me since Halloween and Day of the Dead is almost here! ^^
I thought you’d like this one guys, I think it’s a favorite of everyone’s here. According to the creator of the show herself, Stevonnie is meant to be non-binary (meaning no particular gender), and the idea of the episode was meant to feel as a metaphor for both starting a new relationship and all the highs and lows of that, but also for puberty, where you’re suddenly in a different body and people look at you differently, treat you differently. You go through this change out of nowhere and then suddenly you’re supposed to be something that’s supposed to be sexualized, when on the inside you’re still just you. It’s a really deep episode that I feel could connect to so many kids going through a tough transition period, hell, even a lot of adults that are going through transition periods or their own, or just anybody in general. It really is one of those episodes where you FEEL what the character(s) is going through, and how exciting and scary growing up and becoming comfortable with yourself and each other can really be.
Well, time for more plot! X3
It’s not one of my favorite episodes, but I do agree its definitely very interesting and fascinating to watch, it also basically doubled the amount of sexual jokes in the Su fandom, fusion=sex jokes were common enough before, but after this episode they simply exploded, even nowadays you can still find the wreckage everywhere.
This episode also basically cemented Steven and Connie as this fandoms otp, since I prefer Steven single I disapprove of that, although obviously I’m not going to hold it against the episode.
If there is one thing I do hold against the episode is that it resolves none of the hanging threads of last episode, although that’s really more of a problem with the show rather than this episode.
Next up: Steven complains that the crystal gems don’t kill him.
Lol Doug: “Who am I?”
Me: “Can I condemn this man, to slavery? Pretend I do not see his agony? This innocent who bears my face who goes to judgement in my place who am I?”
This episode was a surprise
Its unclear witch gender it is but it seems like they fuse and are a female and that what people make her out to be
The dances are a bit romanced because the fusion is a unity of two Gems witch is a close aspect
Stevonnie does look more like a girl though. I was confused when the DJ had Game Boys hooked up to his spinner. I don’t remember Game Boys playing music. LOL.