This Steven Universe Future review contains spoilers.
Steven Universe Future Episode 8 Review
Lapis has had the most compelling arc of Steven Universe’s cast. While Steven, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl have all gotten meaty storylines that have taken up much of the show’s lengthy run, Lapis’ story has managed to be the most compelling even with only a handful of episodes fully dedicated to it. Seeing her go from an abuse victim to confronting her abuser to learning to live with Peridot, Lapis has covered a lot of ground across the series with so little time.
I’ve written before about the exemplary treatment of Lapis and this episode, like ‘Snow Day’ did with Steven, brilliantly let’s us check in on how much she’s grown. Lapis has become calmer over the years and seemingly isn’t pushing people away because of what she’s been through, as she did with Peridot back in season 5. She’s now easily working with Steven which also means she’s interacting with lots of other Gems.
She’s put to the test though when she has to confront two other Lapis’, ones that are still preparing worlds for colonization. She does her best trying to be nice like Steven but, as she admits, she changed partly because of the abuse she went through. It’s the only way she knows to start that kind of big change which makes it all the more difficult to try and impart it to the other Lapis’. How do you get someone who’s sole goal is destruction to appreciate the beauty in nature when they haven’t been locked up in a mirror or unwillingly fused with another Gem?
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It’s tough but it also ties in to some of the major elements running across Steven Universe Future. Not everyone experienced the same things while under the rule of the Diamonds. Many felt oppressed but others were completely fine. They even liked what they were doing! The two Lapis’ don’t want to stop what they’ve been doing all their lives simply because Lapis and Steven told them to. People like Lapis or the other Crystal Gems changed because of a traumatic event… but you can’t use that tactic on everyone. How do you make someone change their whole ideology in a normal setting?
Well, as we see with Lapis, sometimes you can’t play nice. Sometimes you have to show your muscle a bit and not let people walk all over you. You have to show them they’re wrong for what they’re doing and you can’t be nice about it. Lapis, thankfully, doesn’t take this too far but it leaves enough of an impact that one of the Lapis’ does come to Little Homeschool. The other doesn’t but that’s just continuing what we saw in ‘Bluebird,’ not everyone is willing to change.
I loved seeing Lapis lash out but quickly get it under control. Trauma does a lot to a person and when you’re reminded of it, as I’m sure she was with those water chains, it’s easy to lose control. However Lapis has clearly been working on trauma the last few years and easily stops herself the before she does anything too bad. She’s grown a lot but she’s not perfect and that’s okay.
If this is the last major Lapis appearance in the Steven Universe franchise I’m totally fine with it. She’s made a complete one-eighty from her first episode. Back then she was a prisoner. Now she’s taken charge of her life and isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty in making the universe a better place. She learned to deal with her trauma in a healthy way but the show never acted like she was cured of it. It’s still with her but she’s able to work with it.
As the series winds down, Lapis proves once again that she’s been the best character throughout.
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Shamus Kelley is a pop culture/television writer and official Power Rangers expert. Follow him on Twitter! He also co-hosts a Robotech podcast, which covers the original series and the new comics. Give it a listen! Read more articles by him here!