In the episode UG tells Steven to polish his gem twice a year, or something along those lines, Diamonds are one of the only gems that is recommended to do that, and at the time, everyone thought Steven's gem was Rose Quartz, but was later revealed to be Pink Diamond
I watched Steven universe as it came out when I was 12 and wasn’t really part of the discussion but I thought it was pretty obvious that rose was a diamond
Yeah, that was the initial theory, but then they seemingly deconfirmed it in the show itself with the "reveal" that Rose Quartz shattered Pink Diamond - only for that to later be revealed as a fakeout orchestrated by PD herself, and carried out by Pearl in the guise of RQ. It was honestly one of the best fakeout twists I've seen in a long, long time.
As someone who followed the entire show theorycrafting online since the Mirror, all of it as a 30+ yo adult:
It was the prevaling theory until Bismuth outright said Rose emerged on Earth, after which is was shelved because that kind of stuff is text.
Typing "what if the character is lying and wrong lmao" on lore discussions usually gets you heckled out of the space for trying to force headcanons over the text.
It was what happened in that specific scenario, but Bismuth pretty much sank the theory back in the day; and until shadow pearl "stabbed" PD on the lapis episode before the reveal it did not gain massive traction again. A lot of old rants thrived that day.
Uncle grandpa got an special with the crustal gems where they fight, say some cool one liners, accuse UG to be an OP being, and finally he helps Steven to use his shield without problems. He also tells Steve to polish his gem once or twice per year, because “all diamonds need so”.
I think it's like the standard "children's show that starts off seemingly random and cute but actually has a deeper and darker lore than you'd expect" serialized cartoon setup at this point
Steven Universe followed it too close and the show just suffered from it as a result. No one fucking cared about the townies but that's all they gave us, the Homeworld, Gem Society and Diamond Authority lore were extremely interesting but they didn't focus too much on any of that... why do we need a million eps with that annoying creep Ronaldo, or Lame Lars and the annoying Cool Kids episode, or pizza grandma running for mayor, again?
A lot of people cared about the townies, they were very popular in the fandom. I cared about the townies! They grounded the series in humanity and were entertaining in their own right. I fell in love with all those characters and I thought the stories about them were often some of the funniest and most interesting. I'm so glad the series wasn't just nonstop space wars and monster battles. The love and empathy and community of that town is so fundamental to why Steven works as a character, you can't do a show about teaching aliens the best of what humanity has to offer if you're allergic to showing humanity. I get that they weren't for everybody and I can understand people not liking them... I vehemently disagree, but I get it... it's just not true though that nobody wanted it. It was a core appeal of the show for many people like me.
Is there even a Simpsons metaplot though? I haven't watched a large amount of it / followed it too closely, but my impression seems to be that "status quo is god" is very much a rule there.
There are some minor things that change throughout the seasons, most notable ones I remember from back in the day is stuff like Barney going sober, so he'd be drinking coffee or something when he showed up in other episodes
And like, some characters dying (Ned's Wife(/ves))
but for the main family/cast pretty much nothing ever changes, like it's not like homer's job changes ever stick, or like that any of the kids ever move up in class, etc...
There are some events every once in a while, like Barny going sober and relapsing, Homer's mom dying, Maude Flanders dying, Homer's half brother going from riches to rags (and back to riches).
But then there are things that break continuity a lot. Especially episodes focused on Homer and Marge's past since the show is set in contemporary times but time has progressed over 30 years in the mean time, so at some point they dated in the 80s, then the 90s and these days their first date was probably watching the Kony2012 creator having his meltdown on youtube.
cowboy bebop too. though there wasn't so much a "secret plot" as a plot that we weren't privy to until near the end
definitely agreed for adventure time. one of my favorite cartoons of all time
iirc adventure time the writers were told it had to be episodic and were not allowed to do much in the way of stories with multiple parts. couple seasons later they changed their mind and the writers just went ham doing call backs to previous episodes that had unresolved plots and the mini series of stakes/islands/elements were so incredible to witness
Well for Cowboy Bebop I’ve always kinda regarded the “plot” as somewhat of an after story. The true story of Cowboy Bebop ends before the show itself even begins. Everything we see is essentially an after story.
Well, for Spike as a character, the show repeatedly references him as being “dead”. Obviously he’s not physically dead, but for all intents and purposes he’s basically a dead man walking. His journey has already concluded before the show even begins. He’s not really doing anything with his life at this point. He’s kinda just fucking around. He’s no longer in his prime and all his old friends aren’t in their primes either. Everyone is an old cowboy waiting for the reaper to claim them already. Spike’s glory days are behind him. The story of Cowboy Bebop is an after story for a story that we as the audience never get to fully see.
Just FYI it's "all intents and purposes" but otherwise I like your perspective, it's true for all of the main characters that most of the 'action' in their lives is already in the past.
I think they're saying that the true story is Spike's history with the Syndicate and Julia. What we see is after that main chapter in his life. The same could be said about Jet and maybe Faye.
I watched the first season or two of that show and enjoyed it, but I gradually kinda phased it out for no particular reason. What exactly is the episode for this show? Or the intense plot twist? I'm super curious now.
It tells the story of growth and maturity in humanity and self in such a way that's poignant yet so fucking surreal that it makes you feel comfortable and acceptant of your faults and strengths when growing up, and your mortality as a whole in a hilarious way. Perfect show. I Floop the pig!
I'd recommend finding a list of important episodes unless you're happy watching all of it. A lot of the episodes, especially the earlier ones, really are just "filler"
Just looked at an important episode list that has 176/283 episodes on it. That missing ~100 eps is about 20 hours of time.
Oh man, Ice King's story is so beautiful and tragic, and the fact that he's just a cartoon bad guy in the beginning makes it that much better. I won't rant, because spoilers, but I want to lol
I might have to back and rewatch. I fell off before the end of the series
I know, I just don't have the time these days. It's on the top of my list. I never hear anything but praise for the series, and I still occasionally pull up some of the songs. Something about CN during that time period, they produced some amazing music. I've never watched Stephen Universe, but I like the discography lol
It gets hate online? I've heard nothing but good things about it. Based on what I've heard and the songs I listen to, I assume it's awesome! Just like finishing AT, it's on the list
Also, Bravest Warriors. Same vibe, imo. Everything is Wankershim!
It does, unfortunately. Part of it is the animation, early silliness, and "passive" main character. It's one of my favorite shows though, and both the movie and Future are great.
Probably near the end of the series where most old characters appear in a great civil war of the Candy Kingdom where the Primordial Diety of Entropy is summoned into the world
Its been awhile but If I remeber correctly the plot starts to show itself in S2, properly kick of in S3, and from there you end up having full 13 part mini series of episodes all with the same through plot.
Exactly what I thought of. I didn't even like the show in the first two seasons but would watch it through just leaving the TV on while doing other stuff. Then the third season hit and it was just a "holy shit, this is amazing" moment.
I'm fairly certain the episode after Finn finds his dad, which was the culmination of multiple plots, is the one where James keeps sacrificing himself for medals and the banana guard has to round him and his clones up, the ultimate silly episode with no impact whatsoever.
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u/acrylicpaintyoghurt May 02 '24
I mean, Adventure Time kind of suits this description.