As late in the game as Steven Universe’s plot seems to be at this point, one would imagine that the show wouldn’t have all that many narrative twists and turns left to it, and would instead focus on answering questions.
But the show’s latest episode, “Familiars,” continues to build out Steven Universe’s mythos in significant ways—introducing just as many questions about Steven and the Diamonds as it answers.
%20on%20Homeworld,%20Steven%20sets%20his%20mind%20to%20getting%20to%20know%20the%20other%20Diamonds%20in%20hopes%20that%20he%20can%20convince%20them%20to%20come%20back%20to%20Earth%20and%20heal%20the%20planet%E2%80%99s%20corrupted%20Gems.%20As%20much%20as%20the%20%E2%80%9CDiamond%20Days%E2%80%9D%20event%20series%20was%20obviously%20going%20to%20be%20about%20the%20Diamond%20Authority%20not%20understanding%20Steven,%20%E2%80%9CFamiliars%E2%80%9D%20also%20does%20a%20solid%20job%20of%20making%20clear%20that%20Steven%20not%20understanding%20Gem%20culture%20is%20just%20as%20much%20of%20an%20issue%20in%20the%20grand%20scheme%20of%20things.</p>%0A<p>Being%20back%20on%20Homeworld%20forces%20Steven%20to%20one%20again%20reflect%20on%20the%20ramifications%20of%20Pink%20Diamond%E2%80%99s%20decision%20to%20fake%20her%20death%20and%20rebel%20against%20her%20family,%20but%20the%20episode%20contextualizes%20those%20events%20in%20a%20peculiar%20and%20interesting%20way.</p>%0A%5Bimage%20url='https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/27/gdo1ojaoyl6eirhw1d2z.gif'%20size='xlarge'%20align='center'%20clear='true'%20%5D%0A<p>While%20%E2%80%9CFamiliar%E2%80%9D%20primarily%20focuses%20on%20the%20faint%20echoes%20that%20Steven%20is%20able%20to%20pick%20up%20on%20from%20his%20former%20life%20as%20Pink%20Diamond,%20the%20most%20curious%20part%20of%20the%20episode%20actually%20takes%20place%20in%20a%20quick%20montage%20of%20drawings%20that%20we%E2%80%99re%20meant%20to%20understand%20Steven%20(or%20perhaps%20Pink%20Diamond)%20created%20from%20memory.</p>%0A<p>While%20Steven%20is%20sorting%20through%20drawings%20of%20the%20Diamond%20Authority,%20we%20see%20that,%20at%20one%20point,%20the%20organisation%20was%20merely%20a%20trio%20before%20the%20arrival%20of%20a%20comet%20that%20crash-landed%20into%20their%20planet.%20It%E2%80%99s%20not%20spelled%20out%20exactly,%20but%20the%20montage%20goes%20on%20to%20suggest%20that%20a%20new%20Gem%20%E2%80%94%20Pink%20Diamond%20%E2%80%94%20ended%20up%20being%20born%20from%20said%20meteorite%20and%20becoming%20a%20key%20part%20of%20Gem%20society.</p>%0A<p>As%20<em>Steven%20Universe</em>%20has%20gradually%20revealed%20the%20details%20of%20Rose%20Quartz%E2%80%99s%20history%20with%20the%20Crystal%20Gems%20and%20their%20rebellion,%20the%20show%20has%20always%20made%20her%20out%20to%20have%20been%20a%20free-thinking%20radical%20that%20the%20Homeworld%20Gems%20could%20never%20have%20hoped%20to%20understand.%20%E2%80%9CFamiliars,%E2%80%9D%20in%20a%20very%20subtle%20way,%20hints%20that%20there%20was%20never%20really%20any%20hope%20of%20Pink%20fitting%20in%20with%20the%20other%20Gems%20and%20their%20plans%20for%20domination,%20specifically%20because%20she%E2%80%99s%20not%20quite%20like%20or%20of%20them</p>%0A<p>It%E2%80%99s%20the%20kind%20of%20background%20and%20history%20that%20makes%20a%20lot%20more%20of%20<em>Steven%20Universe</em>%E2%80%99s%20previous%20episodes%20make%20sense%20%E2%80%94%20and%20promises%20some%20even%20more%20fascinating%20encounters%20when%20Steven%20inevitably%20ends%20up%20coming%20face%20to%20face%20with%20White%20Diamond%20again.</p>%0A){kind=link}