It’s been two years for Steven, but for us it’s been 84 years about eight months.  This movie on some level functions as a restatement of the show’s central arcs, something it actively comments on near the end when Steven remarks in the midst of the final battle that the story feels like every bad thing and all the fallout of Rose’s mistakes he underwent already rolled into one, and knowingly invoked by the core Crystal Gems (as well as Spinel) being reset to “factory settings” by Spinel’s scythelike weapon. Attempting to restore his friends’ memories– as well as those of Spinel, who also came armed with a gem injector poised to destroy the entire Earth she no longer knows how to reverse– forms the bulk of the movie’s conflict.

The rest is that classic Steven Universe plotline, Steven having to fix the messes borne of his late mother’s unwillingness to take responsibility for making them. Spinel is perhaps the cruelest of these, a playmate left alone since the beginning of the rebellion and embittered by learning that Steven exists, and that by implication, Rose never even thought about coming back for her. She’s also a delight! The Cuphead-esque ’30s inspired rubber hose animation is something I didn’t realize I’d needed in Steven Universe until today, and her two entertainingly hammy personas are a highlight. In the end, of course, Steven reaches her too, and she ends up joining his other great success stories, the Diamonds, each finding something they loved about Pink in one another.

Stray observations

• Bones was extremely gay for Steg. I anticipate that she will not be the only one.
• White Diamond went full Jewish Mother today.
• Connie was amazing with that Akira slide! Twice, even!
• Sorry the review is late, I was hoping there would be a season 6 trailer or something.
• Happy Labor Day!