Channel Awesome
Steven hangs out with his new friends, but are they a good influence or a bad influence? Check out today’s Vlog on Episode 54 of Steven Universe – Joy Ride.
Tagged with: channel awesome doug walker joy ride rob walker steven universe steven universe vlogs television
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I think the point of the episode was that scene in the car. Think about it, who does Steven talk to about all his pressures? Normally it’s Connie, but with the rift between them, who is left? No one. Steven spends his life in a stressful environment where the people who love him also might regret him because of his mother, plus any tensions there might be between the Gems and his father. Steven is a generally cheerful and well balanced person considering his situation. He never complains except about wanting to go on missions with the Gems more. He’s always being there for other people. But, despite his young age and cheerful disposition, he has some serious issues to cope with.
Is the Uncle Grandpa episode next? I skipped that one both times I watched, should I bother re-watching (or I guess just watching) like I usually do when the next vlog comes out? I just never thought it would be worth the time since I dislike Uncle Grandpa?
No. You’re not missing anything. Seriously. I’ve only watched that episode because 1) I didn’t know what Uncle Grandpa was and 2) I was watching stuff on a loop while I was cleaning. Sometimes I stop and watch the episodes. Most of the time I watch the episodes. I found myself trying really really hard to ignore it.
People may hate Lars and Rinaldo. But they can’t hold a candle to Uncle Grandpa in awfulness.
How can you ignore it yet claim to hate it? If you pay attention, you notice some clever observations and jokes about the fandom, and rules of the show in general.
Say Uncle is best episode
if you enjoy meta humor i’d say it’s a pretty good non-canon episode to watch. i hate the uncle granpa series and still found the episode really enjoyable with some of the jokes like the over exaggeration of pearl’s character and how the gems reactions are similar to the fans reactions at the time, the poking fun at the relation ship of lars & sadie, and a few other nods and winks to Steven Universe and Cartoon Network in general
I had barely any idea about UG going in and I loved it for these very reasons.
Wait… that’s an actual show? o_o I thought it was just a really bizarre april fool’s day joke LOL someone actually paid money to produce an entire series for that character? >.>; Now I remember why I don’t have cable lol
There is a single funny joke and it comes from Pearl’s reaction to an impossible thing Uncle Grandpa does.
Otherwise pass.
I actually really liked this episode, it offered a bit more insight to the human characters.
And yes, Sour Cream is related to Onion!
Umm… On Amazon for me Full Disclosure & Political Power is after The Return & Jailbreak. Granted, Amazon is still terrible with the order, but not THAT terrible.
JUST LET HIM BE A DJ!
This episode was very important, especially the car ride scene. It also shows how good friends the Gems “clones” are by defending Steven and showing the Gems that they weren’t doing right the parenting thing.
Also, I don’t get why so many people dislike the following episode. I mean, yeah, I dislike Uncle Granpa, but the episode is still funny and shouldn’t be skipped at all, even when it’s not canon.
I think I’m my mom,
Just let him be a DJ!
More Under the Knife!
I agree with Rob that them ungrounding Steven made sense, in light of all the terrible things he’d seen and experienced in the last few episodes. And to contradict what I just said, I can’t help but feel a twinge of sadness that he is ungrounded from TV. While it’s nice for him to get some stress relief, his ban on television gave us Unfamiliar Familiar and sparked “Open Book”. Those kind of literary references are a lot rarer in children’s cartoons than television parodies. Besides, Gravity Falls and Regular Show have a stranglehold on the TV parody scene.
This episode suffered just a little from its original airing order, which placed it before “Shirt Club”. In its intended order, it’s easier to see the Cool Kid’s progression from more aloof to more supportive of Steven, making their willingness to spend their time with a 12 year old seem more realistic. That conversation they had in the car is simultaneously one of the funniest instances of black humor in the show and one of the most heart-tugging. I’ve a feeling Steven’s issues of identity and learning to differentiate himself from his mother’s influence will be a major theme of the season, so they’re starting it off early.
Without TV, we wouldn’t get the gold that is Crying Breakfast Friends, which becomes especially relevant in Cry For Help. I also get the sense that this episodes theme is Communication, whether it be between the Gems, parents and their kids, or Steven with his loved ones.
I forgot to add that I meant the theme of the entire season is Communication. If only I could edit comments.
Yeah! Go Rob! Mars can suck it!
Follow-up comment to come. I’m trying to catch up! I really am! *cries* D:
Doug often complains when messages are hammered in and says he wants more subtlety. Yet, in some of these recent episodes there is so much subtle character development that he seems to be missing, and then he complains that nothing much happened.
Steven has clearly been operating under a massive strain, possibly bordering on PTSD, since he returned to Earth. He’s aware of the possibility of death and destruction, he’s fearful of the Homeworld Gems, he’s worried about Lapis, he has conflicted feelings about his mother and his role as a Crystal Gem, he’s aware that the Gems (his family) may harbor bad feelings toward him because of his mother, and he’s burdened by a responsibility too big for someone so young. Worst of all, he has no outlet for his feelings. He’s the type of person who always worries about not worrying other people. He doesn’t want to pass on any of his burden to the people he cares about because he wants everyone else to be happy. Jenny, Sour Cream, and Buck were the first people he was able to share any of that with, and they actually gave him the outlet he needed by encouraging him to let go. The fact that it ended by him doing something stupid and reckless makes complete sense.
Also, look at Garnet when she thinks she’s attacking Peridot. She lost her cool, which is very unusual. It shows how deeply she was affected by what happened and how threatened she feels.
This episode wasn’t pointless at all but showed that Steven still struggles with the events. And I’m surprised that Rob of all people actually seemed to have understand the episode. And wow, Amazon fucked this up big time.
It’s also a good episode on how Stevens relationship to the people of the town and normal humans in general is important in order to keep his spirits up. Connie helped him to calm down and the teens helped him to unwind. Soon he’ll be somewhat back to his normal self but slightly matured.
The teens share design and character elements with the Gems as a joke. There’s no hidden connection there other than that they like Steven as much as the Gems do. They even had an side by side shot at the end of this very episode to drive said joke home.
And Steven saying that the Gems might not like him as much as they say is actually arc wielding from the episodes Maximum Capacity and Roses Scabbard where he witnessed Amethyst and Pearl respecitvely expressing their emotional suffering from Rose not being around anymore making Steven believe that they might hate him since he pretty much killed her during birth (that’s what the whole deal is a metaphor for) and he doesn’t talk with them about it because he fears the answer. And that’s why you watch the episodes in order and pay attention kids.
And I do agree with Dacilriel. Doug always wants sublety but he seems incapable of actually noticing it even when it’s right in front of him.
Something I noticed was that when Garnet cracked open the pod Steven plops out looking kinda greenish/zombie like and not healthy at all. I wonder if this was just an animator goofing around or if it was part of an cut scene where they had to revive Steven who accidently poisened himself with the pods goop or something like that.
eh episode was ok. The part where the kids talk about themselves was intersting.
Yeah, you’re right on the money! Sour Cream and Onion are brothers!
Also, I like this episode for the “I’m my own mom” line alone. That just made me laugh out loud, then the fact that Steven even comprehends the implications of that made me sad, but then I laughed again because of how the cool kids used the fact to convince him-
Also, the thought of Peridot checking earth’s social media amuses me so much.
Yes. Sourcream is related to Onion.
Steven is not his mom he is himself
It was a great episode
It is hard to see how Steven is holding together and always happy with so much on his heart
There is more Adventure Time episodes
After my first post, I thought it might make sense to bring up this point: It seems that often when the show uses the most typical and overdone plot, the plot itself isn’t the point of the episode, the point will be some emotional issue that’s part of the larger scheme of things and is highlighted by one or two important scenes. The plot is just thrown on top of it to give structure to a story so that the episode can be self contained while progressing the characters.
I like how the “Cool Kids” were ACTUALLY cool with him! In the beginning, when he said he was busy, they just let it go, instead of pressuring him to slack off, like you find with most cliche “cool kids.” They weren’t douche-y to him when he couldn’t go out.
Welp, next vlog is the Uncle Grandpa crossover. That’ll be an interesting video. XD
BTW, really looking forward to when they talk about Sworn to the Sword.
“I wish I could talk to Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl about it, but I think they kinda blame me for my mom not being around.”
Way late on this one. That quote from Steven was definitely one of the episode’s standout moments. Hopefully it’s addressed again at some point.
To the person above: Not as late as me.
I’m pretty sure that Sour Cream is also Axel from Minecraft: Story Mode. Also, I laughed at the “You’re your own mom” line.