I think 99% of Future's problems can be attributed to the fact that it was only given 20 episodes. They had to fit so much in so little and had to drop interesting storylines like Rhodonite's origin story
I think it's more accurate to say it chose to focus on storylines which weren't necessary within those 20 episodes. Stevens mental health mainly, look, I have mental health issues i respect them trying to cover the topic but at the end of the day, it was a show to resolve the plotholes and issues left by the old one, and by making Stevens problems the focus it takes away from that aspect of what future was trying to be and makes it feel rushed.
@@threeguysandagirlinabeachhouse Agreed but i still feel everything we needed couldnt be captured in 20 episodes ngl- if they had a nice balance of stevens mental health and loose end resolution the series wouldve been nicer (and longer). devastated by how many characters were missed because of the short time it had :(
I wanna point out that the monster thing IS A MELTDOWN!!!! The hug only stopped him from destroying the entire east coast!! So yeah I agree with you. Meltdowns can be highly destructive in real life as well. I had uncontrollable meltdowns in the past. I’m autistic, so it happens sometimes. But the monster, hell, the entire thing with pink Steven just made me feel so seen because someone who had a very VERY similar personality to me also had the same struggles.
Agreed, I have some struggles with my emotions because I grew up in a house where we weren't really taught how to regulate them, specially negatives ones, and sometimes when it gets too much I have the tendency to "explode" generally any negative emotions I have manifest as anger and I end up saying stuff that hurt the people around me, I'm working on it now but back when future came out I still had difficulty admitting I had a problem, so seeing a character I grew up with show similar reactions to mine (although his anger manifested in a physical way while mine was vocal) was refreshing and at the same time it made me feel seen it was kinda of a wake up call, so as much as this show has flaws it still has a very special place in my heart
@@thatrandomredengine9430 they are trying to say that they are finally giving this show some actual honesty and valid critism compared to most..other channels
@@mrinsomniac2968 finally? You sure we’ve been watching the same videos? Cause I know a lot of critics on Steven Universe, or are you harping on this one because they don’t say the show is complete dog water? Cause if that were the case, then it sounds like somebody is a little bit bias.
@@thatrandomredengine9430 More often than not, people who are overly critical of the series get simple facts wrong, miss entire plot points or moments of character development, and otherwise just put on blinders to make a point. This video touches on it briefly, even. 90% of the criticism I see for this series comes from people that didn't even watch the damn thing.
I think a lot of people find season 5 and Future to feel a bit unsatisfying for a lot of reasons, but I think it’s important to remember that the original series was cut sooner than Rebecca and the writers intended for it to be (this was the sacrifice made by the wonderful episode of Ruby and Sapphires wedding). So there very much literally are missing pieces to the overall series. But I think the crewniverse not only did the best they could with what they were given, but I think they also made something very thoughtful and well done.
@@bfbfan12 to be fair the reason the filler was there was to give them time to create the main story based episodes. that's what I've come to realize anyway. a lot of shows use filler when working on larger episodes or to give fans a break between serious plots to give us a breather. but some of the filler in SU was a bit lacking. It was at least good for the world building on earth at times.
It’s funny and ironic that people are hating on Steven for not being that overly happy and positive kid, when it’s teen Steven that is trying to show the Gems and the audience that’s not who he is anymore. People need to take a hint. The people who got that were the ones who showed true understanding for Steven and the writers.
Yeah but that doesnt warrant how Steven grow up to be worse than he was before, if anything he should be better since he literally stopped the diamonds tyranny by seeing the best in people. Kid always been positive despite all the struggles he went through but suddenly he cant cope with that anymore because the show needed drama ? the original series already had dramas with Steven not having a fucking mental break down every 5 minutes, whats even more is that he always been this passive person even during the movie with his fight with Spinel, he wasnt fighting her back, instead he was just blocking and dodging her attacks. In SU Future he's the one who issued a fight with Jasper and even insulted her to her face. Thats not how progression works. Dude has no self awareness that he almost ruined someone's relationship becausee he cant bear to see his friends moving on and growing up as a person WHICH SOMETHING HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE DOING IN THE SHOW. And then we also have to harp on Pink diamonds death, Rebecca sure love to pull Pink diamons dead corpse just to create drama and tension
Yeah I agree in a way but It makes sense that hes feeling some of these feelings now instead of then. For one he has been going through so much trauma so fast he hasn't really had a break to even cope or think about how he really feels like in a year he had almost died felt like he almost killed his friends always gets compared to his mom either how great she was or how terrible then comes to find out oh wow my mom was pink diamond then he has to deal with all that shit too its way to much for any one person to deal with so fast. And now that the universe is safe and people are growing apart it would make sense for steven to feel not needed all he really did was help people help the town help the gems but with people doing things on their own now and no more bad guys to fight really he feels unwanted doesnt even know what to do anymore so in all honesty it makes sense he'd be having break downs every 5 minutes. But I feel like that all could've been changed if they did make the show a bit happier like we arent watching this magical show to feel something we're probably already feeling depressed no we watch things to escape from that and I think the show would've been much better if it was jsut a simple slice of life show about what steven is doing and him being his normal happy understanding self like its ok for him to be upset and go through things alone but in the show they did make it felt like they were making him go through even more rough stuff and making him be a bad person just to turn him into that monster just to help all the other people hes helped realize shit they never did anything for him and thats not a good reason to make a show. So should've just ended it after the movie.@@socriabbas454
so steven isn allowed to have his traumas manifest anymore??? cuz it happens irl. ofc it could happen to him cuz hes been through intergalactic war. @@socriabbas454
@@socriabbas454That's literally how repressing emotions work. A lot of kids repress emotions through their childhood because they're literally told to by adults (examples: "stop crying, just suck it up already", or "he never cries, he's so well behaved"), and when they start growing up those repressed emotions come back stronger. The more you push your emotions down, the more they'll push back, and Steven was pushing back his emotions for SIXTEEN YEARS. Fucking god, i'm so sick of seeing people who don't have even the basic understanding of childhood trauma or phsycology trying to bitch their opinion about it.
As someone with bad ptsd. Specifically C-PTSD I'll defend SUF with my life. The way Steven acts with his PTSD is so similar to me. Like that one video saying Steve was "having teenage angst" teenage angst?! Bro that's PTSD! And I love how flawed Steven is in SUF. When I was a kid I was so sweet and quiet and seen as like peaceful old soul but as I got older and my trauma started to affect me I got angry, I had violent and aggressive thoughts daily. Yes Steven the sweet, happy, pacifist child, can become a much more angry and violent person with age due to his PTSD. I love that SUF doesn't shy away from the more ugly sides of mental health. Lastly the way Steven still hates his mom so much is accurate too!!! My parents were also abused and I know that but that dosent erase my anger towards them for what they did to me. Pink was abused and that sucks its the family trauma cycle but Steven is not obligated to forgive his mom even if she too was a victim.
Thank you SO much for this comment!!! So much of the SUF criticism comes from people who don't seem to understand the true depth of disorders such as PTSD, and who seem to exclusively attribute Steven's [self] destructive behaviour to bad writing, which imo is a very unfair and ignorant basis to bash a show for. I'm not trying to say SUF is perfect, but it just feels like a lot of the criticism seems to be misunderstanding its point, or just plain trying to hate on it for the purpose of hating. As a fellow PTSD-haver (for lack of a better term) I'm really, really glad that there are more people who are able to empathize with Steven and his response to unhealed trauma (if that makes sense). Sending lots of love!!
Damn c-ptsd? What happened? Are you ok? What'd your parents do to you? Whatever they did I'm sorry that happened to you... And I've dealt with trauma before it sucks
My biggest gripe with Future is that not ONCE does Steven call any of the gems out on what they put him through during the original series, mainly the first couple of seasons. The main Crystal Gems, and even the CG B team, are responsible for a large portion of Steven’s trauma. You’re telling me Steven DIDN’T call out Pearl on nearly getting him killed by trying to take him into space, or by practically letting him fall to his death in “Rose’s Scabbard”? You’re telling me he DIDN’T call out Amethyst for literally shapeshifting into Rose to torment Greg and he happened to see it? You’re telling me he DIDN’T call out Garnet for dragging Steven into Ruby and Sapphire’s fight after the whole Sardonyx incident? Then there’s other stuff like Lapis nearly drowning him, Peridot kidnapping him and holding him at gunpoint to fix the Galaxy warp, and Bismuth nearly impaling him with the breaking point. He had every right to call them all out on their shit and he doesn’t. “Growing Pains” literally set him up to do so and I just think it’s a major missed opportunity.
I get that this is valid criticism, but I feel like there is more nuance to it. As someone who has felt responsible for their family's feelings for a long time, sometimes you feel like you don't deserve to call them out, because they're your family and they love you (no matter how much they hurt you). I'm at a point in my life where I'm learning to stablish boundaries and call out people when they hurt me, but at the time I felt represented by Steven. I guess being able to do that depends on personality? Who knows, if Carton Network hadn't cut short the show, we might had gotten to see that part of his journey were the gems got to apologize or have an honest conversation about all the pressure they put him through.
The Garnet thing is a hard disagree. They didn't drag Steven into it and it's not in his place to be angry over someone literally feeling as if they got used. That was one of the dumbest and most selfish lines I've ever seen from him. If he's allowed to have a whole temper tantrum and destroy shit because he hates hearing about abuse victims, then I think Garnet can just be mad about being borderline SAd for a day :^)
Fair points here from each of you guys. I just wish SOMETHING they had put him through had been brought up to them. I mean again, Pearl literally almost got him killed. Caretaker or not, I feel as though something like that definitely should’ve been brought up.
I remember being so mad when Pearl didn’t do anything to help steven in roses scabbard - he could have died and we just see her looking at him hanging from below doing nothing about it. She was unstable but no reason to leave him there.
*[Stars... If only Steven Universe Future had biiiiit more episodes... like 5 or maybe 10... it'd be just perfect. It'd give more space to explore and develop the characters, answer some unanswered questions and even wrap the show.]*
SUF is what made me realize it was okay to NOT be okay and helped me acknowledge my own trauma growing up. I'm grateful for this show, even when it's not perfect.
The fact that they have Connie's mom explaining PTSD to Steven, explaining the literal effects it has on the brain in a way a child can understand, is so fukken important! And the way Steven connects events from his life with the things she says is so relatable, it all reminds me of when my doctor explained ADHD to me better which convinced me to get diagnosed. I feel like alot of people don't understand mental illness as a tangible thing and that is a reason ppl with mental illness or disorders aren't taken as seriously as they should. Like you can't just "look on the bright side" and fix yourself with a snap of your fingers when there's a literal chemical imbalance in your brain, and I think it's important that children get to know that. The fact that so many ppl hated on Steven in this series shows that they didn't listen to the lesson the show was teaching nor were they ever taught enough from anywhere else when they were younger.
@cartooncatisthebest tldr they literally explained in the show the effects of trauma on mental health and people who don't understand that basically didn't pay attention to the message of the show
Plus, some of the people mad are mad that Steven is no longer that all positive kid he used to be back in previous seasons. I love Future though, because for once we're seeing a representation of depression and ptsd that isn't glamorized for the audience to "easily digest". The wrath, the outbursts, the mental breakdowns, the panic attacks, the feeling of dread, etc. I don't usually see people explore these kinds of things in their stories. So it felt so validating to see it represented here
A lot of critiques about the show on yt seem to boil down to: ppl proving they would not be good writers irl, being nitpicky, forgetting it's a show for children first, expecting things/fictional characters to be perfect or work exactly how they think they should, and not understanding change. Kinda funny with the themes of the show.
Lmao exactly, the critiquing of this show is never applied to other cartoons that are considered well liked all around. The point of proving that people wouldn’t be good writers irl is so real
This entire video is so fucking validating, thank you for putting these takes out into the world, being a fan of Future made me feel like I was losing my mind in online discussion for years lol I loved that the show had the balls to make us uncomfortable, and show us our “most stable” character in a more morally grey light. It humanized him, both narratively and literally. He’s a young human boy with immense Diamond power. Losing control was inevitable, but he’s still our boy inside. He still cared enough to ultimately learn restraint and accept love. He just needed to be seen and heard, finally.
It's so refreshing to see someone pointing out all the misconstrued things people have said to shit on SUfuture. I've always personally been happy with this finale to the series and seeing people showing interest in it again after all this time is cool! I must admit it was discouraging back then seeing all the unfounded hate, especially since at the time I related very deeply with SUF's themes on mental health. You took the words right of my mouth with this one! So nice to see someone's finally voicing these opinions again! Hope to see more from you soon dude!
Look people can say what they want about a show and just because they hate the show doesn’t mean that you have to get all defensive about it. My favorite movie is minions and my least favorite is Spider-man into the spiderverse yet I don’t get defensive when people tell me my opinion is wrong yet I still will voice my opinion. There is a difference from voicing an opinion like most people do when they say they hate Steven universe and being defensive which is what you and this guy are doing.
@@kirbystar7474 I'm not being defensive- if anything from my perspective your comment sounds a lot more defensive, getting mad at me for liking something you didn't. (Regardless if you intended that.) Because I never said people weren't allowed to have personal preferences, only that I found it refreshing to see it be shown in a positive light! Especially when the show is given more hate than deserved considering a lot of it comes from people who either haven't actually seen it, watched one episode and decided to stop,(I have a friend who did this, doesn't mean I think they're wrong to be put off from something and just decide not to continue and despite me enjoying it I didn't push them to) or cite misplaced nitpicks as the main reason they dislike it. Personally I think Spiderman Spiderverse is a pretty good movie (probably not my favorite though) and the minions movie (I've only seen the first) sucked ass, but if kids like it I'm not gonna rant at them about how their favorite movie sucks, even if it's objectively bad. Because there are people who can find enjoyment in it, even if I don't, and if you like it while I find it obnoxious I'm not going to get mad about it or anything lol. You seem to have misunderstood my comment because I 100% agree people can like or dislike whatever they want. I just don't agree that people who like a show like SUFuture deserve to shamed about it, because from a purely critical and objective standpoint, SUF isn't awful. Minions isn't complete garbage in a similar sense, but I can still dislike it and not shame you for enjoying it. (Regardless of if it's more founded than hate on SUF or not.) The guy making this video wasn't saying anyone had to like it if they didnt, he only wanted to voice and point out a lot of the unfounded vitriol surrounding it based on misconstrued nitpicks and not actual valid critiques. Because there is a lot of things people parrot about it that just isn't true from a purely factual standing. And those talking points, if anything, ARE worth defending and there's nothing wrong with that. I liked his video and think he made a lot of sense. You shouldn't get riled up just because someone has a different opinion on something of you, especially of it's something this harmless. You'll only upset yourself.
@@jaistraw But like I said he and you’re saying that most of the critiques are either from people who haven’t watched it, are misconstrued nitpicks, or aren’t valid yet that is from your opinion on whether they are valid which a lot of them like the diamonds not deserving no punishment and before you say they couldn’t bismuth got punished and so did bluebird, Steven’s mental health was really acknowledged when he started having his powers acting up instead of just when you listen to him, have had characters like Greg be inconsistent like how Greg went from a amazing father to a horrible one in one episode, Steven has been bad to his friends like how he didn’t tell the gems what happened with bismuth even though they said they would talk about what happened with bismuth instead bismuth got bubbled which is apparently horrible, and the show has been championed for subpar representation at best with having their main lgbtq characters be monogendered aliens but now with shows like owl house doing what Steven universe did millions of times better people have acknowledged Steven universe’s representation was bad representation. Look I agree no one should be ashamed for liking a show unless it’s saying slavery, murder, and being racist is ok but a lot of people have sent death threats to people who made videos about how Steven universe was a bad show and that isn’t excusable no matter how much you love a show.
@@kirbystar7474 Dude.. again, you're misunderstanding my comment completely and putting words in my mouth I never said. I didn't say "most" people have used the incorrect info/nitpicks to bash the show and folks for liking it, I said a lot. Not most. *A lot*. Which is true, not simply opinion. And again, I *never* said all critiques were invalid. In fact I specifically said that there WERE flaws, and I agree with a lot of the valid critiques! But that still doesn't stop me from loving the show. Literally all I said was it was nice to see someone making a video pointing out the flaws in certain arguments and looking at things from a more positive angle! You're projecting me as having certain opinions that not only do I not have, but I also never said anything to so much as suggest I did. Again; *misunderstanding and twisting my words.* Though maybe that's because you copypasted part of another comment I saw you made and that's why what you just said doesn't line up with what I was saying and my reply to you. While that would explain it, It's still not an excuse though. If you're going to try and pointlessly argue about something that we clearly both partially agree on at least don't be lazy. And as far as those critiques you just mentioned, some of those are opinion based yourself. I'll give examples: Greg and Steven's character and actions did not change out of nowhere. Greg was always a great dad, but he DID fail in some aspects and while it was never his intention, he did neglect Steven in ways due to his own abuse and upbringing. Steven was "only taken seriously" after his powers (Which may I remind you are emotion based and highly metaphorical, though perhaps not the best as being metaphorical/symbolic of them in a functional sense) started acting up because up until that point Steven had been bottling things up and displaying similar behaviors his whole life on a smaller scale and that's oftentimes how the loved ones of people going through similar emotional/mental turmoil behave as well. I know from PERSONAL experience the lengths people can go to to ignore or be in denial of a loved one's distress and issues. That, in my opinion, was good writing and representation of such topics. Not perfect, but the parts you cited specifically weren't bad writing. It's not bad writing if you have to look at the context, in fact that's good writing building on previously shown behaviors. (This in specific, of course. Not all of SU has good writing and I will be the first to admit such.) And.. as far as the whole lgbtqia+ representation goes.. I'm not even sure where to start. From your words I have to assume you either are purposely ignorant or have terrible memory. Lgbt representation like seen in The Owl House IS in fact better, but I'd argue it has Steven Universe in part to thank for that! The fact that you would compare the representation in these two shows is SO disrespectful to the crew of BOTH of said shows, as well as the community as a whole! Back when SU was airing, it was nearly unheard of to have ANY form of representation that wasn't meant to be pointed and laughed at. I was there, when SU made leaps and bounds in pushing the boundary of what could be shown for representation in cartoons and animation. ESPECIALLY in animation meant for younger audiences. Steven Universe was one of the first shows to do this to such extent, and they had to fight tooth and nail for the bare minimum, but were STILL censored. SU walked so shows like TOH could run. This is why they had to tone things down, were FORCED to tone things down so they could show even the bare minimum of their gay space rocks. The gems are on paper "genderless", sure, but at the time it's pretty obvious they're supposed to be coded/representative as a largely female or feminine displaying species. And the main crystal gems all go by she/her, display as feminine, etc. If they weren't "monogendered" or whatever you said there's next to no way any of the representation attempted would be possible. Disregarding everything Rebecca and her crew achieved and tried because of that comes across as SO ignorant it hurts. They did what at the time was thought to be the impossible, and to much greater extent than probably should have been. It's only thanks to them and shows similar to SU that TOH could pull off their almost equally great lengths in progress towards better representation in animation. Well, that, and the fact that TOH comes from a bigger company like Disney that could afford to make exceptions and experiment with that. Even so, invalidating SU's representation because it's not up to your standard based on constraints forced upon the creators is a huge insult considering what they went through to achieve what they did. That was my biggest gripe, however I agree, the handling if the diamonds wasn't good at all. But I still love SU. I've watched literally dozens of reviews and critique videos on SU over the years. And I agreed with a LOT of the points on it's flaws. But I always walked away with no less love for the show. You aren't changing how I feel about it, if that's what you're trying to do. Trying to pressure me into disliking something because YOU dislike it isn't going to get you anywhere. SU was always the show that meant the most to me, and I have yet to find another show since which compares to my fondness for it. I will always remember it as such, flaws and all. But just because something is flawed does bot make liking it or the work itself inherently bad. And finally.. really? Death threats? You are going to sit there and suggest I at ANY POINT stated I support ANYONE SENDING death threats to anyone else? How far must you reach to demonize someone for *harmlessly liking* something? I have never in my life sent anything RESEMBLING a death threat, and quite honestly I am shocked you would include something that has so little to do with the topics at hand. You think I would EVER in my life excuse sending someone death threats for disliking a show? This is by far the most ridiculous thing I've heard from you. Which, with everything else in mind, is saying a lot. And guess what? Despite this point of yours having nothing to do with anything else, I will counter it with this: you can say people have sent death threats for disliking the show, but the fact that people have ALSO sent death threats, bullied and shamed people for liking the show is equally if not moreso shocking, but I've seen it. Neither is excusable, and I never said it was. Nice try, pal. You seriously have no idea how disgusted I am that you would use *that* of all things to try and demonize a whole group of people for simply holding a different opinion to you.. I am at a loss of words. So, to reiterate: along with other words you're trying to put in my mouth I *never* said SUF was perfect. You can clearly see that in my very first comment. And to be honest, I think I'm done talking to you. You have consistently attempted to twist my words and assume my opinions that were never stated. Not only that, you are perpetuating long-debunked falsities and disregarding the history of representation in animation which I simply cannot excuse. If you insist on refusing to look at context, I'm afraid this conversation was doomed from the start. There is no point talking to you if you will continue to disrespect me, basic logic, and entire communities of people. I have no patience for that and I sincerely hope you take some time yourself to cool off and think about *why* exactly you feel the need to argue on points we already agree on. That will be all.
@@kirbystar7474 "you dont have to get defensive if someone doesnt like it" -proceeds to get defensive about someone saying they LIKE something and not being defensive while saying it. imagine getting mad not at someone saying they hate something but saying they LIKE something harmless. then complaining about THEM being defensive. even though you were the first to get defensive. how convoluted your logic must be.
watching the nitpick section and honestly complaining about bearded (whiskered?) steven is also funny bc...he's canonically 16. 16 year olds can grow beards sometimes. it's not some far fetched thing 💀
In middle school I knew a kid from his mom so he was prone to having a small French mustache of sorts. He’s shave it off but I just think he’s funny with it (man was a jerk, so it’s funnier)
I agree with you, and honestly even through the shows flaws I'll never stop loving this show, it's a massive source of comfort for me, it was entertainment as a kid, and as a teen helped me understand myself better and put my feelings into words, music, and animation. i adore this show, in my opinion the end was a little rushed, but it'll never take away the love i have for this show. I've watched Steven ever since it came out and it makes me so happy!
As someone who's dealt with ptsd from trauma as a child, I really appreciated how it was depicted in future. Since for my own reactions to triggers was suppression and anger, and uncontrolled outbursts. As well as always trying to just *fix* the current and act like nothing was wrong. Which can be really damaging to your mental health. Makes you especially feel like no one is there for you. And seeing steven get that recognition from his family. Even if they thenselves don't know how to truly help him, was very moving for me and still brings me to tears to this day. And this can be said about any mental health problem. But just having it recognized means so much to the person who's dealing with it. I also dont think the finale was only just a way to show Steven's progression of healing, but it was also a way to show people how to support those dealing with mental health and ptsd. Cuz damn. I wish my own family would do what they did in the show.
i think the way steven is represented in future is great and i really enjoy it, it draws parallels between him and pink diamond, showing he’s getting more aggressive and jaded as he gets older and honestly i really enjoy that. im glad they handled it the way they did personally
This show is haunting me. It has so much potential, and the fact people just want to see more of the show so we can STOP having mixed feelings on it and start loving it again would be great 😭
I think it def fulfilled that potential. I understand people not liking certain characters and their choices but I don’t understand not liking the show
@@ooiiooiiooii I mean it didn't solve them. For example, bluebird, curly lapis, jasper didn't even get a good character send off. We also never saw emerald, any worthy backstory to rhodonite, or a solid ending to holly blue agate. The show has such a tendency to have to always have the plot revolve around Steven and Steven only that we can't have anything with these other characters, and because future was the season where the spotlight should've been shifted to those characters who didn't get much development, they decided that Steven needed even more spotlight.
I never had a problem with Steven Universe Future, nor did I have a problem with how the series ended. In a sense, Steven actually caused most of the conflicts that happened in Steven Universe Future, rather than the conflicts being a direct consequence to what Pink Diamond did, even if Steven is going through post traumatic stress due to what happened to him throughout the original series. I am glad that Steven in the end of the series isn't entirely better, but is actually healing.
Eh... yeah this video of yours is fine. Not saying anything too awful. But dang you helped me realize to be careful with time skipping in story telling. People will not like what the characters have become and will always not understand why it wasn't brought up before the time skip. Especially if it would have lead to something interesting in the story. And to be careful with messaging in story. If it's about feeling and being open and talking things out do not have the character/s not talk things out for certain things. These two contradictory things will confuse viewers. "Because plot" will not stop them from pointing out how much they personally don't like it.
My only main issue with future was Steven's anger, mostly towards his dad. The moment I saw him frowning in that family picture at his old house, I knew right off that Greg had a pretty lousy home life. Meanwhile Steven acts like his dad tossed aside something he never had; a "normal" family. Why would Steven want to live with a family who's strict, tight-fisted and didn't support your talents/skills?
Steven has never interacted with Greg's parents himself, & has no frame of reference for how abusive & stifling Greg's upbringing may have been. For Steven, they represent a humanity he feels detached & isolated from, one he has never been allowed to fully connect with. Remember how excited Steven was to meet Uncle Andy, finding out he had human family this whole time?
I honestly really connected with that scene to a degree despite disagreeing with Greg being a bad dad - as someone who faced childhood neglect and isolation (including homeschooling instead of public and rarely leaving the house making that scene all the more personal to me) i understood why he was so mad and it just made me sad that greg was the one he lashed out on for that. Greg is by no means the best parent, but he’s done the most he can to be there for his son and be one of the most supportive and helpful people in his life which is something i never got as a child and something i think he was too angry to really see at the time.
I think it's valid to say Greg overcorrected a little in his parenting. He grew up in an overly restrictive household and didn't want the same for Steven, but ended up giving him the exact opposite. It's not wrong for Steven to have wanted a more "normal" life, even if he probably doesn't understand how bad it was for Greg
Steven doesn't know what a "normal childhood" is. His awkwardness around Connie's friends in the skating episode shows how out of touch he feels with humans, how he's unable to relate to Connie in a way that feels so fundamental and impossible to fix. His anger towards Greg is misplaced, but I can sympathize with him. There's never been anything or anyone like Steven. That must feel very alienating.
Also something I’d like to make note of is that (please correct me if I’m mistaken !!) Steven doesn’t even actually try to shatter WD, the scene was supposed to represent trauma induced intrusive thoughts, with seeing the gem that literally yanked out his life source being the trigger. Even in the show Steven during his breakdown says that he “maybe had a few not so nice thoughts about smashing WD’s head into a pillar” which people don’t really seem to pay attention to when they say the scene is out of character for him. The only person Steven smashes into a pillar in that scene was himself. Even besides that he is CLEARLY DISTURBED once he snaps out of it, it makes him horrified that he even contemplated that especially after the whole Jasper thing and it contributes to his “I am a monster” mindset… On a different note people also (from what I’ve seen) always shit on Steven for proposing to Connie/being that impacted by her rejection. The thing is, he was already in a downward spiral of mental health when he came to Ruby and Sapphire for advice, and OF COURSE being the lovebirds they are they gave the worst advice imaginable to a panicked teenager and both on separate occasions insisted that proposing was an amazing idea. Due to a combination of his mental state, attachment/abandonment issues, and the insistence of two different mentor figures in his life, Steven convinces himself that marrying Connie and pulling a permafusion like Garnet is a foolproof way to resolve his internal dilemma completely and so the disaster we watch unfolds. Was it the smartest choice to make? No not at all. Does it make sense knowing factors like these? In my opinion yes. By the way, Connie handled the rejection AMAZINGLY and I don’t understand people who hate on a child for wanting her own life/future and not wanting to rush into a marriage?? Anyway once again Steven’s reaction is both unhealthy and seems unreasonable from an outside perspective, but it does make sense seeing as it just piles on top of everything else he has been experiencing in terms of people in his life drifting away and “leaving him alone,” of course he’d overreact to something he was fully sure would succeed in fixing these growing feelings of solitude and being left behind. I totally get where people are coming from of course when they take the scene/episode at surface value, but you have to remember that his decisions are not only based off of what happened earlier in the ep, but also what has been happening to him in every episode before it.
As someone with horrible intrusive thoughts i think this makes a lot of sense. When you’re unstable or being hit with a lot of traumatic memories thoughts like that are so easy to have and its so easy to feel like a horrible person for having them even though you would never act on them. I do think Steven overreacted a _bit_ to being rejected but honestly considering how much of a trainwreck his mental health was when that happened i could see many people reacting similar to him, including myself. He thought marriage and fusion could fix everything and finally make him feel whole and not getting that dream outcome hurts a lot.
Little thing: I wish they showed Steven talk to Amethyst and apologizing because that hurt me as an artist 😭 she actually really tried and I wish Steven would've said how he just took it bad because of Bluebird rather than just letting her run off crying 😭😭😭😭
Thank you for this, Future was so fucking important. It's the main thing that really pushed me to get help for my own mental health issues. The final episode dropped the day I moved across the state to find myself, and it helped me really process a lot of my own trauma. Every time I try to explain that, I get an asshole just skipping it all and going "yeah but the show was bad tho". Like, cool. You took the time to shit on the thing that kept somebody from wanting to kill themselves to that person. I hope you feel really good about yourself. Because you shouldn't. Pathetic. Anyway, thanks to the crewniverse for making something that spoke to and helped to heal my broken inner child. This show will always mean so, so much to me and countless others.
omggg i 100% agree with everything that was said. i thoroughly enjoyed steven universe future it had its flaws of course but, doesn’t every show have a flaw? i think that the only thing i would’ve wanted was more depth into everyone else’s trauma and how it coexisted with steven. mainly i wanted to know what was in that damn box in lions head 😭…
Finally, someone that actually watched the series and paid attention to it giving a critique about the show. SU Future was waaaaaay over-hated for what it is.
My main problem with Future is that they put Steven through the ringer and we see soooo much trauma, but we barely ever get to see the healing process. The healing process is extremely necessary in showing arcs like these, cause otherwise you focus far too much on the negatives of something so mentally draining and the show loses it's charm.
It would have been nice if they just managed to fit in a little montage of how his life had been changing through those months, when he decided to leave, etc.
The thing i hate is when people say “mental illness isnt cured by a hug” and thats not the point the point is mental issues take time for yourself to heal and work on yourself and sometimes that involves going away… which someones dad on tiktok said to them when they watched the show together because he knew how it would end because he experienced it….
I agree with a lot of this, I really enjoyed SUF and it makes me sad that people hate on it so much. I related a lot to Steven, I was always the empathetic one and I tended to try and solve a lot of my family's issues, and as my mental health declined so did my ability to hide my anger and hurt. I thought they wrote Steven really well with all his trauma and whatnot. Anyway, thanks for defending the show! It has its issues, but at the end of the day I think it was a good ending :)
i agree with u, the ending is fine as it is rn but we needed more songs, more of steven accepting he is dealing with PTSD and trauma and slowly working on himself and going to therapy and etc and just how everyone is helping steven get better, maybe his problems will trigger other characters’ trauma, idk so many possibilities and it would’ve been interesting to explore all these topics with SU’s beautiful world and characters !
I think it was probably hard enough to even get the studio to agree to make a miniseries cartoon about Steven Universe that was all about growth and trauma, instead of having more “space monster fights.” I agree with you for myself, I would have loved more too, but I think it’s incredible that this story was made at all. And although not perfect it’s an open and honest look at trauma, PTSD and cPTSD and also retroactively shows how Steven’s coping mechanisms throughout his story were flawed and never really helped him deal with things properly.
i really loved future, but i wish they used some episodes differently like a very special episode or bluebird, it felt like there was *some* bits of those episodes that were like oh okay this makes sense in the later half of the season for steven's character, but it *felt* mostly like filler and that's what bothered me, i wish some episodes were just restructured and given more time in the oven to make the season feel more complete. otherwise, i did really love this season and i'm glad we were given proper closure:)
Yeah, but i guess that's what happens when you're given just a single episode to resolve and expand on plot points or characters. Half of the first half episodes would have been entire mini arcs in the main show.
12:48 BRO THAT GOES FOR CHARACTERS TOO, I get so mad when people defend their favorite characters in battles they would obviously lose. That character isn't perfect, they have flaws, but thats what makes them interesting, losing one fictional battle isn't gonna change how cool that character is. Ik thats pretty off topic but I've been looking for an excuse to say this for so long.
Something that people don't seem to get about rose is that just because she was abused does not make what she did okay. It explains it. It does not excuse it. She hurt people and the fact that she was also hurting does not invalidate that the people she hurt were left with scars. My parents are good people now. They didn't used to be. I have trauma from that, and just because they are good people now doesn't change that I have scars. The fact that I have scars doesn't invalidate that they've grown and they'd never do what they did to me again. It's a complex issue. Rose is a complex character. She was abused, she hurt people, badly, and those people are entitled to their scars just as much as she is entitled to hers. And she grew, she changed, but many of the people she hurt weren't around to see her change. They still feel like she's the same person. And they still have to heal.
Reminds me of when Future was originally airing, I got into an Instagram argument with a stranger over Steven’s character. The person keep acting like he was an irredeemable asshole and that he crashed the van to try to kill Greg. I had to argue that was an accident and non malicious, and as a mentally ill person myself that I appreciated that they choice to characterize him warts and all. Because my depression also made me a huge asshole too, and I saw myself in Steven. And then the person argued that it was unethical to depict people with PTSD like that.
Considering the amount of limitations the crewniverse had while writing the end of the show, I feel like they did pretty well. Sure, it seemed rushed at times and yeah, there's a few inconsistencies, but overall I think Future was fairly good. SU may not be perfect but neither are high-ranking shows like Breaking Bad and Bojack Horseman. Most of the show haters I know have barely scratched the surface of the show.
agree with everything in this video, but oh my god dude the voice acting for when steven is crying into lion fucking stabbed me,, the breaking in his voice shows that he needed to let all of that out :( still crying abt it that hurts
Thank you for making the video and describing the things that I am too lazy to do so myself!!! I find this epilogue series to be a really thoughtful ending to the story. And it’s disappointing to have seen so many other people not recognize what was actually happening in this epilogue. I highly implore everyone who didn’t like or didn’t “get” Future to rewatch the entire series and with the components of this video in mind as a guide
I like suf but I'll never get over all the wasted potential of bluebird like aquamarine and eyeball were such an interesting duo and we just never find out what happens to them? Lame asf
Tbh I 100% agree with you. Future DEFINITELY had its problems, and I'm not saying it was perfect, but to me it touched on some really important topics both for Steven as a character and to the viewers. Steven had been pushing his feelings down, putting others' needs before his own, and was forced to mature for YEARS, and future was finally the time he had a second to think about himself and what was happening around him. Yeah, Future was stupid in some parts, but it was also deep and meaningful in other parts.
Finally a youtuber who mirrors my feeling on future. I never understood the hate for future like- it had some issues- and a few stinker episodes... but full on hate? why?
Trauma and the subjection to what it is and what it isn't. Discussions like these that were brought up to denounce the nuance of Steven's trauma and how crewniverse decided to write it really put me off. A lot of collectives who watched SU:F pointed out that many of the neurodivergency community who have suffered from trauma and the effects after decided that his trauma wasn't written "well." and that trauma is signifcantly "supposed" to be written in a desirable relative way where they can also relate. I'm so thankful that you did this video because it really was written well considering there cutbacks of SU:F in the first place with CN. 😢❤
I 100% agree with everything here!! I grew up with Steven Universe, I love the shows and movie so much, but I know and acknowledge that they're flawed. Also, another thing that was brushed over at the beginning of the video, that I think should've been more highlighted was the fact that Rebecca Sugar and the crewniverse were being forced to finish the show, and that Future wasn't allowed to be more than 20 episodes. So.. while the original series was being rushed to finish, Rebecca trying her hardest to wrap up the loose ends from the main show that she wasn't able to, with Future.
I had never heard of the show until late 2021 didn't knew a single thing about it when I watched it for the first time in 2022 and I didn't even saw Steven Universe Future when I re watched the show I liked but I like the main show so much more
Steven Universe Future has always had a special place in my heart, as I grow older I relate more and more to Steven and being diagnosed with PTSD makes me appreciate the show even more.
Great video! I definitely think the hate for Future and even the original series is overblown, and I’m glad you bring up the flaws it had as well as the good aspects of it. I think this series would’ve been better if it simply had like 2 more episodes towards the later half so the season didn’t feel rushed at the end. Overall like where they took the series, but some poor writing decisions like reviving Jasper with little effort, the pity party where everyone blamed themselves, and the “Monster Steven” scenes feeling way too short made the season not as great as it could’ve been.
I am so grateful for your videos. I never understood all the hate the show got, specially when (from my perspective) it treats and depicts mental health problems with such nuance and care. It feels good to finally see someone addressing all the unfair criticism and showing that, while the show has its flaws (like everything in life) it's not nearly as bad as every other youtube video makes it seem like. Thank you so much!
I absolutely understand where the criticism comes from in regards to this show, but even with all its flaws, I think it holds a really special place in my heart, especially with its depiction and representation of mental illness. When I first watched SUF, I was going through a whole lotta stuff, and seeing someone in media who had a similar trauma response to me was really comforting. Steven's "need to be needed", his constant pretense of stability, and his eventual meltdown are all things that I could, at the time, relate to, and while I am sad that so many plotlines had to be rushed or cut because of the show's inadequate length, I'm still really grateful to the writers for the way they decided to bring light on situations like Steven's :)
Steven only feels valuable when he’s fixing things because he was left alone a lot as a child and was only allowed on missions AKA to be with his family when he was useful
11:38 perfectly said people keep saying it’s bad because they think that it all got fix with a hug but it didn’t that was just getting him out of his corrupted form like you said
Steven was _extremely_ traumatized and it was something that needed explored, it's just most of the other stuff that also happens in that season that I just don't care about. I remember with Amphibia people were somewhat disappointed that the show *didn't* have the characters come out with long term trauma despite the life threatening ordeals they went through.
13:00, "dont listen to me, dont listen to anybody, watch it for yourself and find out if you like the show" A line you don't see enough in these types of videos
Lets be real, the reason why Future was ended so quickly was because CN was done supporting the show. Can’t even blame Rebecca how it ended bc they had little to work with in just 20 EPISODES
I feel like a lot of the series was rushed and condensed which is why the story and writing can feel off at times. ESPECIALLY the monster Steven arch, that should have taken an entire 1-2 episodes to resolve. Though the hug scene was cute and sweet, it felt like a huge copout. But I still liked it overall. I liked seeing Steven's temporary downfall due to his unresolved childhood trauma and him learning to deal with it in a healthy manner. Mental health issues sometimes aren't obvious even to the person suffering from them until things boil over, and SUF portrayed that really well
Ive heard of people really hating SUF but i really love it. I see a lot of my own struggles with mental health being portrayed in such a real way and sometimes i go back and rewatch it when im really down
I enjoyed the show a lot. Both the original and future. My only wish was to see steven deal with a villain that wasn't redeemable. One that can't just be talked to and turned good.
She was a pretty minor character, but I think Bluebird Azurite can count as one of the villains Steven wasn't able to redeem! She kind of just leaves and is never seen again after proclaiming her undying hatred for Steven, lol 😅
Yessss agreed!!! I love Steven Universe so much; it’s such a special show to me, and I really enjoyed Future honestly!!! I really appreciate what they set out to do and I really appreciate the fact they tackled mental health. I love both of your Steven Universe videos, you really tackled a lot of the good and bad criticisms really well! It’s completely alright if people don’t like the show, but some of the takes I’ve seen from others are just,, what???
i cant watch future without spiraling so i’m not sure if it’s a testament to how raw and good and relatable stevens arc was or if it was deliberate psychological torture by rebecca and the crewniverse at the start of quarantine to signify the end times
The ending of SUF is the only time I've ever cried for a piece of media aside from the end of the Vampire Diaries. I loved Steven Universe since the start and still do.
1. Unconditional love is a important and a must in a child's development but it's NOT enough. Children also NEED stability and structure. 2. Steven spent a huge part of his childhood (one of the most influential part in a person's life) helping others with their trauma without truly processing his own so of course he'll become controlling towards others 3. PTSD is not just like how movies portray it to be, it has many complex effects depending on the nature of the trauma it comes from and on the person themselves 4. Triggers have many forms and people respond to them differently. Sometimes you become irrationally angry and lash out at people 5. Not all medications work on everyone. Everyone's needs are different. (I've seen too many people misinterpret Blue Diamond's method, it's NOT the harmful kind of drugs! It's actually more like serotonin) 6. Your mind and body are closely linked. If one side is not being taken care of correctly, the other WILL be affected whether you want it or not.
Most criticism is valid (given that you get your facts right and it's not based on bigotry) given that media is subjective and all, but we really don't see enough praise of this show, and I think it deserves better. I'm really glad you made this
Despite everything I'm glad Future existed, in some regards it was very much needed. The show had to adress Steven's own issues but never could because there's always someone else that needs helping. We needed to aknowledge his trauma and how, despite meaning well, all of Steven's parental figures failed him in some way. Like, seriously, at the start of the show the Crystal Gems were NOT well equiped to raise Steven, they either had way too many issues or were emotionally unavailable in some way. They got better but it was thanks to Steven, and you don't put that kind of pressure on a child
whoa this is so weird, yesterday i was rewatching some of the SUF episodes for the first time since they aired and now i've been recommended this (lovely) video
I really appreciated how objective your opinion was and how you really took the time to assess the show for what it was and its intent. You put everything perfectly
9:35 nah bc i’d definitely check out cartoonshi’s new content ESPECIALLY his latest steven universe video, he has a whole segment at the end of his owl house s3 review talking about how he regrets making his old content
He wasn't hating on toonshi. He was just giving valid criticism. And of course we know how much toonshi hates his old content, and I myself watch his videos all the time. This was just the one of few video missteps. ^^
Thank you Jord. You are voicing the us and I will never stop appreciating and admiring you for telling your truth and not care about what others may think. I feel understood
Honestly I accept the flaws you listed but the pros of future are just so strong for me it’s probably my favorite part of the whole series. The emotions felt here were stronger than ever. Me and my sister freaked the fuck out at the shattering. And when Steven just let everything out in that sob(btw most realistic crying I’ve ever heard) it even brought my dad to tears and I’ve never seen him cry at any show or movie before
something i’ve always wondered is can steven achieve immortality in the sense that aging won’t kill him? and i’m only saying this because steven was about to make himself older and younger so can’t he just constantly make himself younger?
I hate it one second, and then I like it the other, like you said about your feelings. That’s the best way to summarize how I feel about it. I also like some of the episodes individually as something on their own (Why So Blue and Volleyball are examples) instead of Future as a whole. One things for certain, I really dislike corrupted Steven’s design. Him turning into a monster is a cool idea but I don’t like the design for it.
11:47 I honestly think this is both a good praise and a good criticism. Yes, it’s not the hug that solves everything, it’s just what starts it. The main problem is that this isn’t conveyed the best due to the timeskip. I think if a timeskip was necessary, the show should’ve at least shown Steven going to one therapy session and having a realization within it that stops his mental collapse and begins his mental repair. Either that, or end the show without the timeskip at all, leaving the series on an uncertain but cautiously optimistic note.
thank goodness i found this video because for the life of me, the nitpicking, mean spirited videos of retrospective-type su videos have been driving me bonkers. it gets to a point where the aggression towards steven universe was so incessant it almost made me feel guilty for enjoying the series. i like steven universe, i know its not flawless, but NOTHING is flawless. and the entire point of the show is that things are ALLOWED to be flawed. when i look at steven universe reviews, i often see people attributing a message to the show that was not intended by the audience or even one that could easily be read. they're ideas that were projected by voices that were so loud, that people started echoing and repeating them. it feels nice to see a video where someone points out that the nitpicks and reasons the show are bashed upon so hard are a little bit mean spirited at best and flat-out incorrect at worst. the stubble issue is a new one, i've never heard someone get so heated at the fact that OF COURSE steven regressed to his 16 year old self and is not stubbled anymore??? SORRY????? anyway thanks for having good spirits about this video. whenever i look at mean spirited critiques i get so deflated that people hate something i love so dearly. so it means a lot to see a video doing the opposite!
They did the best they could. I still would have preferred if Cartoon Network hadn’t jumped the gun and canceled the show when Rebecca pitched the gay wedding a few months before the show blew up. They did their best, but I’d have still preferred the back 20 episodes of Season 6 to “Hey, Rebecca gurrrrllll! So we know you wanted a movie to wrap things up but instead we’re gonna go ahead and order the movie plus those 20 episodes you already scrapped! Yay money!” They did their best, but Steven Universe Future represents Cartoon Network’s complete lack of faith in the show and the ideals their channel reflects, as well as their tone-deaf approach to fandom. So I’m gonna be bitter about it.
I think 99% of Future's problems can be attributed to the fact that it was only given 20 episodes. They had to fit so much in so little and had to drop interesting storylines like Rhodonite's origin story
I think it's more accurate to say it chose to focus on storylines which weren't necessary within those 20 episodes.
Stevens mental health mainly, look, I have mental health issues i respect them trying to cover the topic but at the end of the day, it was a show to resolve the plotholes and issues left by the old one, and by making Stevens problems the focus it takes away from that aspect of what future was trying to be and makes it feel rushed.
If it was given at least 30 episodes mainly focusing on Steven's mental health problems the season could've been better.
@@threeguysandagirlinabeachhouse Agreed but i still feel everything we needed couldnt be captured in 20 episodes ngl- if they had a nice balance of stevens mental health and loose end resolution the series wouldve been nicer (and longer). devastated by how many characters were missed because of the short time it had :(
Probably could've done with less filler episodes.
Still their fault, even with so Little time they decided to make unimportant to the overall plot episodes
I wanna point out that the monster thing IS A MELTDOWN!!!! The hug only stopped him from destroying the entire east coast!! So yeah I agree with you. Meltdowns can be highly destructive in real life as well. I had uncontrollable meltdowns in the past. I’m autistic, so it happens sometimes. But the monster, hell, the entire thing with pink Steven just made me feel so seen because someone who had a very VERY similar personality to me also had the same struggles.
why you're easy to please
Agreed, I have some struggles with my emotions because I grew up in a house where we weren't really taught how to regulate them, specially negatives ones, and sometimes when it gets too much I have the tendency to "explode" generally any negative emotions I have manifest as anger and I end up saying stuff that hurt the people around me, I'm working on it now but back when future came out I still had difficulty admitting I had a problem, so seeing a character I grew up with show similar reactions to mine (although his anger manifested in a physical way while mine was vocal) was refreshing and at the same time it made me feel seen it was kinda of a wake up call, so as much as this show has flaws it still has a very special place in my heart
@@legojarjarbinks2564 ?
@@legojarjarbinks2564 why are you such a clown?
@@legojarjarbinks2564 Why can’t you let people enjoy things?
thank GOD someone is setting the record straight. Finally, someone who actually WATCHED the series is making a video on it. Thank you!
What are you trying to say 🤔
@@thatrandomredengine9430 they are trying to say that they are finally giving this show some actual honesty and valid critism compared to most..other channels
@@mrinsomniac2968 finally? You sure we’ve been watching the same videos?
Cause I know a lot of critics on Steven Universe, or are you harping on this one because they don’t say the show is complete dog water?
Cause if that were the case, then it sounds like somebody is a little bit bias.
@@thatrandomredengine9430 More often than not, people who are overly critical of the series get simple facts wrong, miss entire plot points or moments of character development, and otherwise just put on blinders to make a point. This video touches on it briefly, even. 90% of the criticism I see for this series comes from people that didn't even watch the damn thing.
@@Ferrochrome12 give me examples, and don’t say Lily Orchard cause we all know.
I think a lot of people find season 5 and Future to feel a bit unsatisfying for a lot of reasons, but I think it’s important to remember that the original series was cut sooner than Rebecca and the writers intended for it to be (this was the sacrifice made by the wonderful episode of Ruby and Sapphires wedding). So there very much literally are missing pieces to the overall series. But I think the crewniverse not only did the best they could with what they were given, but I think they also made something very thoughtful and well done.
maybe if they didnt rely on filler episodes they wouldve had time, the show is outright terrible there is no justification
@@bfbfan12what about adventure time or regular show? If you don’t like those either then Fine sure. But if you watch either of those 😳
@@anthealea1869 but their filler actually pays off, all that filler and I still don't like/don't care about most of the townies
@@bfbfan12 to be fair the reason the filler was there was to give them time to create the main story based episodes. that's what I've come to realize anyway.
a lot of shows use filler when working on larger episodes or to give fans a break between serious plots to give us a breather. but some of the filler in SU was a bit lacking. It was at least good for the world building on earth at times.
@@bfbfan12 I disagree. Yeah a few townie episodes were totally unnecessary, but most of them had a purpose.
It’s funny and ironic that people are hating on Steven for not being that overly happy and positive kid, when it’s teen Steven that is trying to show the Gems and the audience that’s not who he is anymore. People need to take a hint. The people who got that were the ones who showed true understanding for Steven and the writers.
Yeah but that doesnt warrant how Steven grow up to be worse than he was before, if anything he should be better since he literally stopped the diamonds tyranny by seeing the best in people. Kid always been positive despite all the struggles he went through but suddenly he cant cope with that anymore because the show needed drama ? the original series already had dramas with Steven not having a fucking mental break down every 5 minutes, whats even more is that he always been this passive person even during the movie with his fight with Spinel, he wasnt fighting her back, instead he was just blocking and dodging her attacks. In SU Future he's the one who issued a fight with Jasper and even insulted her to her face. Thats not how progression works. Dude has no self awareness that he almost ruined someone's relationship becausee he cant bear to see his friends moving on and growing up as a person WHICH SOMETHING HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE DOING IN THE SHOW. And then we also have to harp on Pink diamonds death, Rebecca sure love to pull Pink diamons dead corpse just to create drama and tension
Yeah I agree in a way but It makes sense that hes feeling some of these feelings now instead of then. For one he has been going through so much trauma so fast he hasn't really had a break to even cope or think about how he really feels like in a year he had almost died felt like he almost killed his friends always gets compared to his mom either how great she was or how terrible then comes to find out oh wow my mom was pink diamond then he has to deal with all that shit too its way to much for any one person to deal with so fast. And now that the universe is safe and people are growing apart it would make sense for steven to feel not needed all he really did was help people help the town help the gems but with people doing things on their own now and no more bad guys to fight really he feels unwanted doesnt even know what to do anymore so in all honesty it makes sense he'd be having break downs every 5 minutes. But I feel like that all could've been changed if they did make the show a bit happier like we arent watching this magical show to feel something we're probably already feeling depressed no we watch things to escape from that and I think the show would've been much better if it was jsut a simple slice of life show about what steven is doing and him being his normal happy understanding self like its ok for him to be upset and go through things alone but in the show they did make it felt like they were making him go through even more rough stuff and making him be a bad person just to turn him into that monster just to help all the other people hes helped realize shit they never did anything for him and thats not a good reason to make a show. So should've just ended it after the movie.@@socriabbas454
so steven isn allowed to have his traumas manifest anymore??? cuz it happens irl. ofc it could happen to him cuz hes been through intergalactic war. @@socriabbas454
@@socriabbas454That's literally how repressing emotions work. A lot of kids repress emotions through their childhood because they're literally told to by adults (examples: "stop crying, just suck it up already", or "he never cries, he's so well behaved"), and when they start growing up those repressed emotions come back stronger. The more you push your emotions down, the more they'll push back, and Steven was pushing back his emotions for SIXTEEN YEARS. Fucking god, i'm so sick of seeing people who don't have even the basic understanding of childhood trauma or phsycology trying to bitch their opinion about it.
As someone with bad ptsd. Specifically C-PTSD I'll defend SUF with my life. The way Steven acts with his PTSD is so similar to me. Like that one video saying Steve was "having teenage angst" teenage angst?! Bro that's PTSD! And I love how flawed Steven is in SUF. When I was a kid I was so sweet and quiet and seen as like peaceful old soul but as I got older and my trauma started to affect me I got angry, I had violent and aggressive thoughts daily. Yes Steven the sweet, happy, pacifist child, can become a much more angry and violent person with age due to his PTSD. I love that SUF doesn't shy away from the more ugly sides of mental health. Lastly the way Steven still hates his mom so much is accurate too!!! My parents were also abused and I know that but that dosent erase my anger towards them for what they did to me. Pink was abused and that sucks its the family trauma cycle but Steven is not obligated to forgive his mom even if she too was a victim.
Thank you SO much for this comment!!! So much of the SUF criticism comes from people who don't seem to understand the true depth of disorders such as PTSD, and who seem to exclusively attribute Steven's [self] destructive behaviour to bad writing, which imo is a very unfair and ignorant basis to bash a show for. I'm not trying to say SUF is perfect, but it just feels like a lot of the criticism seems to be misunderstanding its point, or just plain trying to hate on it for the purpose of hating. As a fellow PTSD-haver (for lack of a better term) I'm really, really glad that there are more people who are able to empathize with Steven and his response to unhealed trauma (if that makes sense). Sending lots of love!!
Thank you for sharing your experience. I 100% agree.
Damn c-ptsd? What happened? Are you ok? What'd your parents do to you? Whatever they did I'm sorry that happened to you...
And I've dealt with trauma before it sucks
thanks please be well can relate although no ptsd but still good luck dealing with it
As someone with minor PTSD, I completely agree
My biggest gripe with Future is that not ONCE does Steven call any of the gems out on what they put him through during the original series, mainly the first couple of seasons.
The main Crystal Gems, and even the CG B team, are responsible for a large portion of Steven’s trauma.
You’re telling me Steven DIDN’T call out Pearl on nearly getting him killed by trying to take him into space, or by practically letting him fall to his death in “Rose’s Scabbard”?
You’re telling me he DIDN’T call out Amethyst for literally shapeshifting into Rose to torment Greg and he happened to see it?
You’re telling me he DIDN’T call out Garnet for dragging Steven into Ruby and Sapphire’s fight after the whole Sardonyx incident?
Then there’s other stuff like Lapis nearly drowning him, Peridot kidnapping him and holding him at gunpoint to fix the Galaxy warp, and Bismuth nearly impaling him with the breaking point. He had every right to call them all out on their shit and he doesn’t. “Growing Pains” literally set him up to do so and I just think it’s a major missed opportunity.
I get that this is valid criticism, but I feel like there is more nuance to it. As someone who has felt responsible for their family's feelings for a long time, sometimes you feel like you don't deserve to call them out, because they're your family and they love you (no matter how much they hurt you). I'm at a point in my life where I'm learning to stablish boundaries and call out people when they hurt me, but at the time I felt represented by Steven. I guess being able to do that depends on personality? Who knows, if Carton Network hadn't cut short the show, we might had gotten to see that part of his journey were the gems got to apologize or have an honest conversation about all the pressure they put him through.
The Garnet thing is a hard disagree. They didn't drag Steven into it and it's not in his place to be angry over someone literally feeling as if they got used. That was one of the dumbest and most selfish lines I've ever seen from him. If he's allowed to have a whole temper tantrum and destroy shit because he hates hearing about abuse victims, then I think Garnet can just be mad about being borderline SAd for a day :^)
Fair points here from each of you guys. I just wish SOMETHING they had put him through had been brought up to them. I mean again, Pearl literally almost got him killed. Caretaker or not, I feel as though something like that definitely should’ve been brought up.
I remember being so mad when Pearl didn’t do anything to help steven in roses scabbard - he could have died and we just see her looking at him hanging from below doing nothing about it. She was unstable but no reason to leave him there.
yeah, valid
*[Stars... If only Steven Universe Future had biiiiit more episodes... like 5 or maybe 10... it'd be just perfect. It'd give more space to explore and develop the characters, answer some unanswered questions and even wrap the show.]*
*a wild dorito has appeared*
I didn't thought I'd see you here
Fax peridot
Oh my God they have more than enough fucking episodes
SUF is what made me realize it was okay to NOT be okay and helped me acknowledge my own trauma growing up.
I'm grateful for this show, even when it's not perfect.
The fact that they have Connie's mom explaining PTSD to Steven, explaining the literal effects it has on the brain in a way a child can understand, is so fukken important!
And the way Steven connects events from his life with the things she says is so relatable, it all reminds me of when my doctor explained ADHD to me better which convinced me to get diagnosed.
I feel like alot of people don't understand mental illness as a tangible thing and that is a reason ppl with mental illness or disorders aren't taken as seriously as they should.
Like you can't just "look on the bright side" and fix yourself with a snap of your fingers when there's a literal chemical imbalance in your brain, and I think it's important that children get to know that.
The fact that so many ppl hated on Steven in this series shows that they didn't listen to the lesson the show was teaching nor were they ever taught enough from anywhere else when they were younger.
@cartooncatisthebest tldr they literally explained in the show the effects of trauma on mental health and people who don't understand that basically didn't pay attention to the message of the show
Plus, some of the people mad are mad that Steven is no longer that all positive kid he used to be back in previous seasons. I love Future though, because for once we're seeing a representation of depression and ptsd that isn't glamorized for the audience to "easily digest". The wrath, the outbursts, the mental breakdowns, the panic attacks, the feeling of dread, etc. I don't usually see people explore these kinds of things in their stories. So it felt so validating to see it represented here
A lot of critiques about the show on yt seem to boil down to: ppl proving they would not be good writers irl, being nitpicky, forgetting it's a show for children first, expecting things/fictional characters to be perfect or work exactly how they think they should, and not understanding change. Kinda funny with the themes of the show.
It’s when they miss the entire point
Lmao exactly, the critiquing of this show is never applied to other cartoons that are considered well liked all around. The point of proving that people wouldn’t be good writers irl is so real
This entire video is so fucking validating, thank you for putting these takes out into the world, being a fan of Future made me feel like I was losing my mind in online discussion for years lol
I loved that the show had the balls to make us uncomfortable, and show us our “most stable” character in a more morally grey light. It humanized him, both narratively and literally. He’s a young human boy with immense Diamond power. Losing control was inevitable, but he’s still our boy inside. He still cared enough to ultimately learn restraint and accept love. He just needed to be seen and heard, finally.
It's so refreshing to see someone pointing out all the misconstrued things people have said to shit on SUfuture. I've always personally been happy with this finale to the series and seeing people showing interest in it again after all this time is cool!
I must admit it was discouraging back then seeing all the unfounded hate, especially since at the time I related very deeply with SUF's themes on mental health. You took the words right of my mouth with this one! So nice to see someone's finally voicing these opinions again! Hope to see more from you soon dude!
Look people can say what they want about a show and just because they hate the show doesn’t mean that you have to get all defensive about it. My favorite movie is minions and my least favorite is Spider-man into the spiderverse yet I don’t get defensive when people tell me my opinion is wrong yet I still will voice my opinion. There is a difference from voicing an opinion like most people do when they say they hate Steven universe and being defensive which is what you and this guy are doing.
@@kirbystar7474 I'm not being defensive- if anything from my perspective your comment sounds a lot more defensive, getting mad at me for liking something you didn't. (Regardless if you intended that.)
Because I never said people weren't allowed to have personal preferences, only that I found it refreshing to see it be shown in a positive light! Especially when the show is given more hate than deserved considering a lot of it comes from people who either haven't actually seen it, watched one episode and decided to stop,(I have a friend who did this, doesn't mean I think they're wrong to be put off from something and just decide not to continue and despite me enjoying it I didn't push them to) or cite misplaced nitpicks as the main reason they dislike it.
Personally I think Spiderman Spiderverse is a pretty good movie (probably not my favorite though) and the minions movie (I've only seen the first) sucked ass, but if kids like it I'm not gonna rant at them about how their favorite movie sucks, even if it's objectively bad. Because there are people who can find enjoyment in it, even if I don't, and if you like it while I find it obnoxious I'm not going to get mad about it or anything lol.
You seem to have misunderstood my comment because I 100% agree people can like or dislike whatever they want. I just don't agree that people who like a show like SUFuture deserve to shamed about it, because from a purely critical and objective standpoint, SUF isn't awful. Minions isn't complete garbage in a similar sense, but I can still dislike it and not shame you for enjoying it. (Regardless of if it's more founded than hate on SUF or not.)
The guy making this video wasn't saying anyone had to like it if they didnt, he only wanted to voice and point out a lot of the unfounded vitriol surrounding it based on misconstrued nitpicks and not actual valid critiques. Because there is a lot of things people parrot about it that just isn't true from a purely factual standing. And those talking points, if anything, ARE worth defending and there's nothing wrong with that. I liked his video and think he made a lot of sense. You shouldn't get riled up just because someone has a different opinion on something of you, especially of it's something this harmless. You'll only upset yourself.
@@jaistraw But like I said he and you’re saying that most of the critiques are either from people who haven’t watched it, are misconstrued nitpicks, or aren’t valid yet that is from your opinion on whether they are valid which a lot of them like the diamonds not deserving no punishment and before you say they couldn’t bismuth got punished and so did bluebird, Steven’s mental health was really acknowledged when he started having his powers acting up instead of just when you listen to him, have had characters like Greg be inconsistent like how Greg went from a amazing father to a horrible one in one episode, Steven has been bad to his friends like how he didn’t tell the gems what happened with bismuth even though they said they would talk about what happened with bismuth instead bismuth got bubbled which is apparently horrible, and the show has been championed for subpar representation at best with having their main lgbtq characters be monogendered aliens but now with shows like owl house doing what Steven universe did millions of times better people have acknowledged Steven universe’s representation was bad representation. Look I agree no one should be ashamed for liking a show unless it’s saying slavery, murder, and being racist is ok but a lot of people have sent death threats to people who made videos about how Steven universe was a bad show and that isn’t excusable no matter how much you love a show.
@@kirbystar7474 Dude.. again, you're misunderstanding my comment completely and putting words in my mouth I never said.
I didn't say "most" people have used the incorrect info/nitpicks to bash the show and folks for liking it, I said a lot. Not most. *A lot*. Which is true, not simply opinion.
And again, I *never* said all critiques were invalid. In fact I specifically said that there WERE flaws, and I agree with a lot of the valid critiques! But that still doesn't stop me from loving the show. Literally all I said was it was nice to see someone making a video pointing out the flaws in certain arguments and looking at things from a more positive angle! You're projecting me as having certain opinions that not only do I not have, but I also never said anything to so much as suggest I did. Again; *misunderstanding and twisting my words.*
Though maybe that's because you copypasted part of another comment I saw you made and that's why what you just said doesn't line up with what I was saying and my reply to you. While that would explain it, It's still not an excuse though. If you're going to try and pointlessly argue about something that we clearly both partially agree on at least don't be lazy.
And as far as those critiques you just mentioned, some of those are opinion based yourself. I'll give examples:
Greg and Steven's character and actions did not change out of nowhere. Greg was always a great dad, but he DID fail in some aspects and while it was never his intention, he did neglect Steven in ways due to his own abuse and upbringing.
Steven was "only taken seriously" after his powers (Which may I remind you are emotion based and highly metaphorical, though perhaps not the best as being metaphorical/symbolic of them in a functional sense) started acting up because up until that point Steven had been bottling things up and displaying similar behaviors his whole life on a smaller scale and that's oftentimes how the loved ones of people going through similar emotional/mental turmoil behave as well. I know from PERSONAL experience the lengths people can go to to ignore or be in denial of a loved one's distress and issues. That, in my opinion, was good writing and representation of such topics. Not perfect, but the parts you cited specifically weren't bad writing. It's not bad writing if you have to look at the context, in fact that's good writing building on previously shown behaviors. (This in specific, of course. Not all of SU has good writing and I will be the first to admit such.)
And.. as far as the whole lgbtqia+ representation goes.. I'm not even sure where to start. From your words I have to assume you either are purposely ignorant or have terrible memory. Lgbt representation like seen in The Owl House IS in fact better, but I'd argue it has Steven Universe in part to thank for that! The fact that you would compare the representation in these two shows is SO disrespectful to the crew of BOTH of said shows, as well as the community as a whole! Back when SU was airing, it was nearly unheard of to have ANY form of representation that wasn't meant to be pointed and laughed at. I was there, when SU made leaps and bounds in pushing the boundary of what could be shown for representation in cartoons and animation. ESPECIALLY in animation meant for younger audiences. Steven Universe was one of the first shows to do this to such extent, and they had to fight tooth and nail for the bare minimum, but were STILL censored. SU walked so shows like TOH could run. This is why they had to tone things down, were FORCED to tone things down so they could show even the bare minimum of their gay space rocks. The gems are on paper "genderless", sure, but at the time it's pretty obvious they're supposed to be coded/representative as a largely female or feminine displaying species. And the main crystal gems all go by she/her, display as feminine, etc. If they weren't "monogendered" or whatever you said there's next to no way any of the representation attempted would be possible. Disregarding everything Rebecca and her crew achieved and tried because of that comes across as SO ignorant it hurts. They did what at the time was thought to be the impossible, and to much greater extent than probably should have been. It's only thanks to them and shows similar to SU that TOH could pull off their almost equally great lengths in progress towards better representation in animation. Well, that, and the fact that TOH comes from a bigger company like Disney that could afford to make exceptions and experiment with that. Even so, invalidating SU's representation because it's not up to your standard based on constraints forced upon the creators is a huge insult considering what they went through to achieve what they did.
That was my biggest gripe, however I agree, the handling if the diamonds wasn't good at all. But I still love SU.
I've watched literally dozens of reviews and critique videos on SU over the years. And I agreed with a LOT of the points on it's flaws. But I always walked away with no less love for the show. You aren't changing how I feel about it, if that's what you're trying to do. Trying to pressure me into disliking something because YOU dislike it isn't going to get you anywhere. SU was always the show that meant the most to me, and I have yet to find another show since which compares to my fondness for it. I will always remember it as such, flaws and all. But just because something is flawed does bot make liking it or the work itself inherently bad.
And finally.. really? Death threats? You are going to sit there and suggest I at ANY POINT stated I support ANYONE SENDING death threats to anyone else? How far must you reach to demonize someone for *harmlessly liking* something? I have never in my life sent anything RESEMBLING a death threat, and quite honestly I am shocked you would include something that has so little to do with the topics at hand. You think I would EVER in my life excuse sending someone death threats for disliking a show? This is by far the most ridiculous thing I've heard from you. Which, with everything else in mind, is saying a lot. And guess what? Despite this point of yours having nothing to do with anything else, I will counter it with this: you can say people have sent death threats for disliking the show, but the fact that people have ALSO sent death threats, bullied and shamed people for liking the show is equally if not moreso shocking, but I've seen it. Neither is excusable, and I never said it was. Nice try, pal. You seriously have no idea how disgusted I am that you would use *that* of all things to try and demonize a whole group of people for simply holding a different opinion to you.. I am at a loss of words.
So, to reiterate: along with other words you're trying to put in my mouth I *never* said SUF was perfect. You can clearly see that in my very first comment. And to be honest, I think I'm done talking to you. You have consistently attempted to twist my words and assume my opinions that were never stated. Not only that, you are perpetuating long-debunked falsities and disregarding the history of representation in animation which I simply cannot excuse. If you insist on refusing to look at context, I'm afraid this conversation was doomed from the start. There is no point talking to you if you will continue to disrespect me, basic logic, and entire communities of people. I have no patience for that and I sincerely hope you take some time yourself to cool off and think about *why* exactly you feel the need to argue on points we already agree on. That will be all.
@@kirbystar7474 "you dont have to get defensive if someone doesnt like it" -proceeds to get defensive about someone saying they LIKE something and not being defensive while saying it.
imagine getting mad not at someone saying they hate something but saying they LIKE something harmless. then complaining about THEM being defensive. even though you were the first to get defensive. how convoluted your logic must be.
I genuinely loved future. To me it felt like the inevitable breakdown after a childhood FILLED with trauma
watching the nitpick section and honestly complaining about bearded (whiskered?) steven is also funny bc...he's canonically 16. 16 year olds can grow beards sometimes. it's not some far fetched thing 💀
i had a shitty patchy but full ish beard at 16
Bro this kid in my class grew a beard at only 13 years old, I’m not even kidding it was insane
I've met 15 year olds with beards so
In middle school I knew a kid from his mom so he was prone to having a small French mustache of sorts. He’s shave it off but I just think he’s funny with it (man was a jerk, so it’s funnier)
I agree with you, and honestly even through the shows flaws I'll never stop loving this show, it's a massive source of comfort for me, it was entertainment as a kid, and as a teen helped me understand myself better and put my feelings into words, music, and animation. i adore this show, in my opinion the end was a little rushed, but it'll never take away the love i have for this show. I've watched Steven ever since it came out and it makes me so happy!
As someone who's dealt with ptsd from trauma as a child, I really appreciated how it was depicted in future. Since for my own reactions to triggers was suppression and anger, and uncontrolled outbursts. As well as always trying to just *fix* the current and act like nothing was wrong. Which can be really damaging to your mental health. Makes you especially feel like no one is there for you.
And seeing steven get that recognition from his family. Even if they thenselves don't know how to truly help him, was very moving for me and still brings me to tears to this day.
And this can be said about any mental health problem. But just having it recognized means so much to the person who's dealing with it.
I also dont think the finale was only just a way to show Steven's progression of healing, but it was also a way to show people how to support those dealing with mental health and ptsd. Cuz damn. I wish my own family would do what they did in the show.
i think the way steven is represented in future is great and i really enjoy it, it draws parallels between him and pink diamond, showing he’s getting more aggressive and jaded as he gets older and honestly i really enjoy that. im glad they handled it the way they did personally
This show is haunting me. It has so much potential, and the fact people just want to see more of the show so we can STOP having mixed feelings on it and start loving it again would be great 😭
I think it def fulfilled that potential. I understand people not liking certain characters and their choices but I don’t understand not liking the show
@@ooiiooiiooii it's just the fact it introduced more unnecessary plot holes than solved them and rushed an ending which didn't need to happen
@@threeguysandagirlinabeachhouse i don't understand what you mean by unnecessary plot holes and then solving them
@@ooiiooiiooii I mean it didn't solve them. For example, bluebird, curly lapis, jasper didn't even get a good character send off. We also never saw emerald, any worthy backstory to rhodonite, or a solid ending to holly blue agate.
The show has such a tendency to have to always have the plot revolve around Steven and Steven only that we can't have anything with these other characters, and because future was the season where the spotlight should've been shifted to those characters who didn't get much development, they decided that Steven needed even more spotlight.
@@cats-nn2km nobody cares about your opinion
I never had a problem with Steven Universe Future, nor did I have a problem with how the series ended. In a sense, Steven actually caused most of the conflicts that happened in Steven Universe Future, rather than the conflicts being a direct consequence to what Pink Diamond did, even if Steven is going through post traumatic stress due to what happened to him throughout the original series. I am glad that Steven in the end of the series isn't entirely better, but is actually healing.
Let’s see how this goes…
Remember to keep track of the death threats you get from this video
I agree with you 🙂
Hopefully good
can't wait to see people who never watched steven universe at all coming here and "criticizing" why it's a bad show...
Eh... yeah this video of yours is fine. Not saying anything too awful.
But dang you helped me realize to be careful with time skipping in story telling.
People will not like what the characters have become and will always not understand why it wasn't brought up before the time skip. Especially if it would have lead to something interesting in the story.
And to be careful with messaging in story.
If it's about feeling and being open and talking things out do not have the character/s not talk things out for certain things.
These two contradictory things will confuse viewers. "Because plot" will not stop them from pointing out how much they personally don't like it.
My only main issue with future was Steven's anger, mostly towards his dad.
The moment I saw him frowning in that family picture at his old house, I knew right off that Greg had a pretty lousy home life. Meanwhile Steven acts like his dad tossed aside something he never had; a "normal" family.
Why would Steven want to live with a family who's strict, tight-fisted and didn't support your talents/skills?
Steven has never interacted with Greg's parents himself, & has no frame of reference for how abusive & stifling Greg's upbringing may have been. For Steven, they represent a humanity he feels detached & isolated from, one he has never been allowed to fully connect with. Remember how excited Steven was to meet Uncle Andy, finding out he had human family this whole time?
I honestly really connected with that scene to a degree despite disagreeing with Greg being a bad dad - as someone who faced childhood neglect and isolation (including homeschooling instead of public and rarely leaving the house making that scene all the more personal to me) i understood why he was so mad and it just made me sad that greg was the one he lashed out on for that. Greg is by no means the best parent, but he’s done the most he can to be there for his son and be one of the most supportive and helpful people in his life which is something i never got as a child and something i think he was too angry to really see at the time.
@@3starsburningbright Exactly, Greg did the best he could with Steven; especially since the Gems kept him away from the only real parent he had left
I think it's valid to say Greg overcorrected a little in his parenting. He grew up in an overly restrictive household and didn't want the same for Steven, but ended up giving him the exact opposite. It's not wrong for Steven to have wanted a more "normal" life, even if he probably doesn't understand how bad it was for Greg
Steven doesn't know what a "normal childhood" is. His awkwardness around Connie's friends in the skating episode shows how out of touch he feels with humans, how he's unable to relate to Connie in a way that feels so fundamental and impossible to fix. His anger towards Greg is misplaced, but I can sympathize with him. There's never been anything or anyone like Steven. That must feel very alienating.
Also something I’d like to make note of is that (please correct me if I’m mistaken !!) Steven doesn’t even actually try to shatter WD, the scene was supposed to represent trauma induced intrusive thoughts, with seeing the gem that literally yanked out his life source being the trigger. Even in the show Steven during his breakdown says that he “maybe had a few not so nice thoughts about smashing WD’s head into a pillar” which people don’t really seem to pay attention to when they say the scene is out of character for him. The only person Steven smashes into a pillar in that scene was himself. Even besides that he is CLEARLY DISTURBED once he snaps out of it, it makes him horrified that he even contemplated that especially after the whole Jasper thing and it contributes to his “I am a monster” mindset… On a different note people also (from what I’ve seen) always shit on Steven for proposing to Connie/being that impacted by her rejection. The thing is, he was already in a downward spiral of mental health when he came to Ruby and Sapphire for advice, and OF COURSE being the lovebirds they are they gave the worst advice imaginable to a panicked teenager and both on separate occasions insisted that proposing was an amazing idea. Due to a combination of his mental state, attachment/abandonment issues, and the insistence of two different mentor figures in his life, Steven convinces himself that marrying Connie and pulling a permafusion like Garnet is a foolproof way to resolve his internal dilemma completely and so the disaster we watch unfolds. Was it the smartest choice to make? No not at all. Does it make sense knowing factors like these? In my opinion yes. By the way, Connie handled the rejection AMAZINGLY and I don’t understand people who hate on a child for wanting her own life/future and not wanting to rush into a marriage?? Anyway once again Steven’s reaction is both unhealthy and seems unreasonable from an outside perspective, but it does make sense seeing as it just piles on top of everything else he has been experiencing in terms of people in his life drifting away and “leaving him alone,” of course he’d overreact to something he was fully sure would succeed in fixing these growing feelings of solitude and being left behind. I totally get where people are coming from of course when they take the scene/episode at surface value, but you have to remember that his decisions are not only based off of what happened earlier in the ep, but also what has been happening to him in every episode before it.
As someone with horrible intrusive thoughts i think this makes a lot of sense. When you’re unstable or being hit with a lot of traumatic memories thoughts like that are so easy to have and its so easy to feel like a horrible person for having them even though you would never act on them. I do think Steven overreacted a _bit_ to being rejected but honestly considering how much of a trainwreck his mental health was when that happened i could see many people reacting similar to him, including myself. He thought marriage and fusion could fix everything and finally make him feel whole and not getting that dream outcome hurts a lot.
Little thing: I wish they showed Steven talk to Amethyst and apologizing because that hurt me as an artist 😭 she actually really tried and I wish Steven would've said how he just took it bad because of Bluebird rather than just letting her run off crying 😭😭😭😭
Thank you for this, Future was so fucking important. It's the main thing that really pushed me to get help for my own mental health issues. The final episode dropped the day I moved across the state to find myself, and it helped me really process a lot of my own trauma. Every time I try to explain that, I get an asshole just skipping it all and going "yeah but the show was bad tho". Like, cool. You took the time to shit on the thing that kept somebody from wanting to kill themselves to that person. I hope you feel really good about yourself. Because you shouldn't. Pathetic.
Anyway, thanks to the crewniverse for making something that spoke to and helped to heal my broken inner child. This show will always mean so, so much to me and countless others.
Very happy you're still here dude, take care. ❤
omggg i 100% agree with everything that was said. i thoroughly enjoyed steven universe future it had its flaws of course but, doesn’t every show have a flaw? i think that the only thing i would’ve wanted was more depth into everyone else’s trauma and how it coexisted with steven. mainly i wanted to know what was in that damn box in lions head 😭…
People hating on things because negativity gets attention is one of the worst problems of modern society. I see those people as parasitic.
Finally, someone that actually watched the series and paid attention to it giving a critique about the show. SU Future was waaaaaay over-hated for what it is.
My main problem with Future is that they put Steven through the ringer and we see soooo much trauma, but we barely ever get to see the healing process. The healing process is extremely necessary in showing arcs like these, cause otherwise you focus far too much on the negatives of something so mentally draining and the show loses it's charm.
It would have been nice if they just managed to fit in a little montage of how his life had been changing through those months, when he decided to leave, etc.
The thing i hate is when people say “mental illness isnt cured by a hug” and thats not the point the point is mental issues take time for yourself to heal and work on yourself and sometimes that involves going away… which someones dad on tiktok said to them when they watched the show together because he knew how it would end because he experienced it….
I agree with a lot of this, I really enjoyed SUF and it makes me sad that people hate on it so much. I related a lot to Steven, I was always the empathetic one and I tended to try and solve a lot of my family's issues, and as my mental health declined so did my ability to hide my anger and hurt. I thought they wrote Steven really well with all his trauma and whatnot. Anyway, thanks for defending the show! It has its issues, but at the end of the day I think it was a good ending :)
I think jasper being healed is such a great scene, a massive reason being the gritty and shameful atmosphere, which is just so relatable
i agree with u, the ending is fine as it is rn but we needed more songs, more of steven accepting he is dealing with PTSD and trauma and slowly working on himself and going to therapy and etc and just how everyone is helping steven get better, maybe his problems will trigger other characters’ trauma, idk so many possibilities and it would’ve been interesting to explore all these topics with SU’s beautiful world and characters !
I think it was probably hard enough to even get the studio to agree to make a miniseries cartoon about Steven Universe that was all about growth and trauma, instead of having more “space monster fights.” I agree with you for myself, I would have loved more too, but I think it’s incredible that this story was made at all. And although not perfect it’s an open and honest look at trauma, PTSD and cPTSD and also retroactively shows how Steven’s coping mechanisms throughout his story were flawed and never really helped him deal with things properly.
idk I feel like songs would ruin the moment. sometimes you should let a scene go silent to be more powerful.
i really loved future, but i wish they used some episodes differently like a very special episode or bluebird, it felt like there was *some* bits of those episodes that were like oh okay this makes sense in the later half of the season for steven's character, but it *felt* mostly like filler and that's what bothered me, i wish some episodes were just restructured and given more time in the oven to make the season feel more complete.
otherwise, i did really love this season and i'm glad we were given proper closure:)
Yeah, but i guess that's what happens when you're given just a single episode to resolve and expand on plot points or characters. Half of the first half episodes would have been entire mini arcs in the main show.
"Blue Diamond sells drugs" LMAO
I love how Steven sang a whole song about how he has the power to make a change, yet he doesn't accept that Rose changed for the better
Just because she changed it doesn't mean Steven has to forgive her
12:48 BRO THAT GOES FOR CHARACTERS TOO, I get so mad when people defend their favorite characters in battles they would obviously lose. That character isn't perfect, they have flaws, but thats what makes them interesting, losing one fictional battle isn't gonna change how cool that character is. Ik thats pretty off topic but I've been looking for an excuse to say this for so long.
Something that people don't seem to get about rose is that just because she was abused does not make what she did okay. It explains it. It does not excuse it. She hurt people and the fact that she was also hurting does not invalidate that the people she hurt were left with scars. My parents are good people now. They didn't used to be. I have trauma from that, and just because they are good people now doesn't change that I have scars. The fact that I have scars doesn't invalidate that they've grown and they'd never do what they did to me again. It's a complex issue. Rose is a complex character. She was abused, she hurt people, badly, and those people are entitled to their scars just as much as she is entitled to hers. And she grew, she changed, but many of the people she hurt weren't around to see her change. They still feel like she's the same person. And they still have to heal.
Reminds me of when Future was originally airing, I got into an Instagram argument with a stranger over Steven’s character.
The person keep acting like he was an irredeemable asshole and that he crashed the van to try to kill Greg. I had to argue that was an accident and non malicious, and as a mentally ill person myself that I appreciated that they choice to characterize him warts and all. Because my depression also made me a huge asshole too, and I saw myself in Steven. And then the person argued that it was unethical to depict people with PTSD like that.
thats wild
Here's the thing!
You can hate Future all you want, but its ending is a thousand times more satisfying than the original series finale.
FINALLY somebody else talks about it not being implied everything was fixed by hugging and kissing.
Considering the amount of limitations the crewniverse had while writing the end of the show, I feel like they did pretty well. Sure, it seemed rushed at times and yeah, there's a few inconsistencies, but overall I think Future was fairly good. SU may not be perfect but neither are high-ranking shows like Breaking Bad and Bojack Horseman. Most of the show haters I know have barely scratched the surface of the show.
agree with everything in this video, but oh my god
dude the voice acting for when steven is crying into lion fucking stabbed me,, the breaking in his voice shows that he needed to let all of that out :( still crying abt it that hurts
Thank you for making the video and describing the things that I am too lazy to do so myself!!!
I find this epilogue series to be a really thoughtful ending to the story. And it’s disappointing to have seen so many other people not recognize what was actually happening in this epilogue.
I highly implore everyone who didn’t like or didn’t “get” Future to rewatch the entire series and with the components of this video in mind as a guide
I like suf but I'll never get over all the wasted potential of bluebird like aquamarine and eyeball were such an interesting duo and we just never find out what happens to them? Lame asf
Tbh I 100% agree with you. Future DEFINITELY had its problems, and I'm not saying it was perfect, but to me it touched on some really important topics both for Steven as a character and to the viewers. Steven had been pushing his feelings down, putting others' needs before his own, and was forced to mature for YEARS, and future was finally the time he had a second to think about himself and what was happening around him. Yeah, Future was stupid in some parts, but it was also deep and meaningful in other parts.
3:48 Blue diamond sells drugs😭
Finally a youtuber who mirrors my feeling on future. I never understood the hate for future like- it had some issues- and a few stinker episodes... but full on hate? why?
Trauma and the subjection to what it is and what it isn't.
Discussions like these that were brought up to denounce the nuance of Steven's trauma and how crewniverse decided to write it really put me off. A lot of collectives who watched SU:F pointed out that many of the neurodivergency community who have suffered from trauma and the effects after decided that his trauma wasn't written "well." and that trauma is signifcantly "supposed" to be written in a desirable relative way where they can also relate.
I'm so thankful that you did this video because it really was written well considering there cutbacks of SU:F in the first place with CN. 😢❤
I 100% agree with everything here!! I grew up with Steven Universe, I love the shows and movie so much, but I know and acknowledge that they're flawed. Also, another thing that was brushed over at the beginning of the video, that I think should've been more highlighted was the fact that Rebecca Sugar and the crewniverse were being forced to finish the show, and that Future wasn't allowed to be more than 20 episodes. So.. while the original series was being rushed to finish, Rebecca trying her hardest to wrap up the loose ends from the main show that she wasn't able to, with Future.
All because they had a gay wedding. Ridiculous.
I had never heard of the show until late 2021 didn't knew a single thing about it when I watched it for the first time in 2022 and I didn't even saw Steven Universe Future when I re watched the show I liked but I like the main show so much more
“Don’t make your space aunt kill herself”
Sdfghjk
👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻
i’ve literally been obsessed with it for years and it’s refreshing to hear someone talk so good about it
Steven Universe Future has always had a special place in my heart, as I grow older I relate more and more to Steven and being diagnosed with PTSD makes me appreciate the show even more.
These points are valid but it's not gonna stop people from hating the show.
I feel likeTwitter isn't the only place insane people love being in.
Great video! I definitely think the hate for Future and even the original series is overblown, and I’m glad you bring up the flaws it had as well as the good aspects of it. I think this series would’ve been better if it simply had like 2 more episodes towards the later half so the season didn’t feel rushed at the end. Overall like where they took the series, but some poor writing decisions like reviving Jasper with little effort, the pity party where everyone blamed themselves, and the “Monster Steven” scenes feeling way too short made the season not as great as it could’ve been.
I am so grateful for your videos. I never understood all the hate the show got, specially when (from my perspective) it treats and depicts mental health problems with such nuance and care. It feels good to finally see someone addressing all the unfair criticism and showing that, while the show has its flaws (like everything in life) it's not nearly as bad as every other youtube video makes it seem like. Thank you so much!
I absolutely understand where the criticism comes from in regards to this show, but even with all its flaws, I think it holds a really special place in my heart, especially with its depiction and representation of mental illness. When I first watched SUF, I was going through a whole lotta stuff, and seeing someone in media who had a similar trauma response to me was really comforting. Steven's "need to be needed", his constant pretense of stability, and his eventual meltdown are all things that I could, at the time, relate to, and while I am sad that so many plotlines had to be rushed or cut because of the show's inadequate length, I'm still really grateful to the writers for the way they decided to bring light on situations like Steven's :)
Steven Universe Future was fantastic and heart breaking at the same time.
Steven only feels valuable when he’s fixing things because he was left alone a lot as a child and was only allowed on missions AKA to be with his family when he was useful
11:38 perfectly said people keep saying it’s bad because they think that it all got fix with a hug but it didn’t that was just getting him out of his corrupted form like you said
Steven was _extremely_ traumatized and it was something that needed explored, it's just most of the other stuff that also happens in that season that I just don't care about.
I remember with Amphibia people were somewhat disappointed that the show *didn't* have the characters come out with long term trauma despite the life threatening ordeals they went through.
as a brittish person, i can confirm, i am evil
13:00, "dont listen to me, dont listen to anybody, watch it for yourself and find out if you like the show"
A line you don't see enough in these types of videos
As a young adult who just end schooling and all I can do now it's to find my purpose in life, job etc I find this show really relatable
Lets be real, the reason why Future was ended so quickly was because CN was done supporting the show. Can’t even blame Rebecca how it ended bc they had little to work with in just 20 EPISODES
I love Future besides all it's flaws, so thank u for addressing this in a rational way!!
I feel like a lot of the series was rushed and condensed which is why the story and writing can feel off at times. ESPECIALLY the monster Steven arch, that should have taken an entire 1-2 episodes to resolve. Though the hug scene was cute and sweet, it felt like a huge copout.
But I still liked it overall. I liked seeing Steven's temporary downfall due to his unresolved childhood trauma and him learning to deal with it in a healthy manner. Mental health issues sometimes aren't obvious even to the person suffering from them until things boil over, and SUF portrayed that really well
Ive heard of people really hating SUF but i really love it. I see a lot of my own struggles with mental health being portrayed in such a real way and sometimes i go back and rewatch it when im really down
I enjoyed the show a lot. Both the original and future. My only wish was to see steven deal with a villain that wasn't redeemable. One that can't just be talked to and turned good.
She was a pretty minor character, but I think Bluebird Azurite can count as one of the villains Steven wasn't able to redeem! She kind of just leaves and is never seen again after proclaiming her undying hatred for Steven, lol 😅
Yessss agreed!!! I love Steven Universe so much; it’s such a special show to me, and I really enjoyed Future honestly!!! I really appreciate what they set out to do and I really appreciate the fact they tackled mental health.
I love both of your Steven Universe videos, you really tackled a lot of the good and bad criticisms really well! It’s completely alright if people don’t like the show, but some of the takes I’ve seen from others are just,, what???
i cant watch future without spiraling so i’m not sure if it’s a testament to how raw and good and relatable stevens arc was or if it was deliberate psychological torture by rebecca and the crewniverse at the start of quarantine to signify the end times
“Let me defend this murderer real quick” 😂😂🤩 I’m all here for it !!!!!!
The ending of SUF is the only time I've ever cried for a piece of media aside from the end of the Vampire Diaries.
I loved Steven Universe since the start and still do.
8:16
Honestly
I did watch that video
All I understood is that he has no idea how basic mental health works
I couldn't watch the video without cringing
1:59 each title for each episode gets less and less amount of time to actually show and i love that
1. Unconditional love is a important and a must in a child's development but it's NOT enough. Children also NEED stability and structure.
2. Steven spent a huge part of his childhood (one of the most influential part in a person's life) helping others with their trauma without truly processing his own so of course he'll become controlling towards others
3. PTSD is not just like how movies portray it to be, it has many complex effects depending on the nature of the trauma it comes from and on the person themselves
4. Triggers have many forms and people respond to them differently. Sometimes you become irrationally angry and lash out at people
5. Not all medications work on everyone. Everyone's needs are different. (I've seen too many people misinterpret Blue Diamond's method, it's NOT the harmful kind of drugs! It's actually more like serotonin)
6. Your mind and body are closely linked. If one side is not being taken care of correctly, the other WILL be affected whether you want it or not.
Most criticism is valid (given that you get your facts right and it's not based on bigotry) given that media is subjective and all, but we really don't see enough praise of this show, and I think it deserves better. I'm really glad you made this
GO OFF KING we love nuanced critical thinking
Despite everything I'm glad Future existed, in some regards it was very much needed. The show had to adress Steven's own issues but never could because there's always someone else that needs helping. We needed to aknowledge his trauma and how, despite meaning well, all of Steven's parental figures failed him in some way.
Like, seriously, at the start of the show the Crystal Gems were NOT well equiped to raise Steven, they either had way too many issues or were emotionally unavailable in some way. They got better but it was thanks to Steven, and you don't put that kind of pressure on a child
whoa this is so weird, yesterday i was rewatching some of the SUF episodes for the first time since they aired and now i've been recommended this (lovely) video
I really appreciated how objective your opinion was and how you really took the time to assess the show for what it was and its intent. You put everything perfectly
I LOVE MEDIA LITARACY!
Bro you’re editing for these videos are always so good, I loved how you implemented the Alex g song it fits so well!
9:35 nah bc i’d definitely check out cartoonshi’s new content ESPECIALLY his latest steven universe video, he has a whole segment at the end of his owl house s3 review talking about how he regrets making his old content
He wasn't hating on toonshi. He was just giving valid criticism. And of course we know how much toonshi hates his old content, and I myself watch his videos all the time. This was just the one of few video missteps. ^^
Bro why are you so based
Thank you Jord.
You are voicing the us and I will never stop appreciating and admiring you for telling your truth and not care about what others may think.
I feel understood
One plothole in the movie that is weird that Steven says in the movie he feels like a child but he is still his normal age
“Let me defend this murder real quick” jord 2023
My theory is that people just hate steven in future because they hate necks
Really nice to see a balanced critique of SUF, and really good production value! Thanks for the video :)
“Blue diamond sells drugs” 💀😂😂
Honestly I accept the flaws you listed but the pros of future are just so strong for me it’s probably my favorite part of the whole series. The emotions felt here were stronger than ever. Me and my sister freaked the fuck out at the shattering. And when Steven just let everything out in that sob(btw most realistic crying I’ve ever heard) it even brought my dad to tears and I’ve never seen him cry at any show or movie before
something i’ve always wondered is can steven achieve immortality in the sense that aging won’t kill him? and i’m only saying this because steven was about to make himself older and younger so can’t he just constantly make himself younger?
In theory sure, but he's still a human and with his aging being based on his own perceptions of himself he''ll inevitable die of unnatural old age.
I hate it one second, and then I like it the other, like you said about your feelings. That’s the best way to summarize how I feel about it.
I also like some of the episodes individually as something on their own (Why So Blue and Volleyball are examples) instead of Future as a whole.
One things for certain, I really dislike corrupted Steven’s design. Him turning into a monster is a cool idea but I don’t like the design for it.
SU: so my finale is not perfect but is enjoyable
GoT: mine is too, right?
SU: ...
GoT: right?
SU: *proceeds to leave*
11:47 I honestly think this is both a good praise and a good criticism. Yes, it’s not the hug that solves everything, it’s just what starts it. The main problem is that this isn’t conveyed the best due to the timeskip. I think if a timeskip was necessary, the show should’ve at least shown Steven going to one therapy session and having a realization within it that stops his mental collapse and begins his mental repair. Either that, or end the show without the timeskip at all, leaving the series on an uncertain but cautiously optimistic note.
thank goodness i found this video because for the life of me, the nitpicking, mean spirited videos of retrospective-type su videos have been driving me bonkers. it gets to a point where the aggression towards steven universe was so incessant it almost made me feel guilty for enjoying the series. i like steven universe, i know its not flawless, but NOTHING is flawless. and the entire point of the show is that things are ALLOWED to be flawed.
when i look at steven universe reviews, i often see people attributing a message to the show that was not intended by the audience or even one that could easily be read. they're ideas that were projected by voices that were so loud, that people started echoing and repeating them. it feels nice to see a video where someone points out that the nitpicks and reasons the show are bashed upon so hard are a little bit mean spirited at best and flat-out incorrect at worst. the stubble issue is a new one, i've never heard someone get so heated at the fact that OF COURSE steven regressed to his 16 year old self and is not stubbled anymore??? SORRY?????
anyway thanks for having good spirits about this video. whenever i look at mean spirited critiques i get so deflated that people hate something i love so dearly. so it means a lot to see a video doing the opposite!
I’m so happy I found this channel your stuff is so high quality damn. I feel like I’m early to something great lol
FINALLY!!!! Someone who actually understands the hug wasn't the cure, it was just the beginning of the healing process!
They did the best they could. I still would have preferred if Cartoon Network hadn’t jumped the gun and canceled the show when Rebecca pitched the gay wedding a few months before the show blew up.
They did their best, but I’d have still preferred the back 20 episodes of Season 6 to “Hey, Rebecca gurrrrllll! So we know you wanted a movie to wrap things up but instead we’re gonna go ahead and order the movie plus those 20 episodes you already scrapped! Yay money!”
They did their best, but Steven Universe Future represents Cartoon Network’s complete lack of faith in the show and the ideals their channel reflects, as well as their tone-deaf approach to fandom.
So I’m gonna be bitter about it.