(GHOULS LV 2) Steven Universe S5 EPISODE 23 REACTION

OK, nobody has said it here yet, so I will! THIS was the storyline that got Steven Universe cut short. Here's what I said to another reactor (edited just for you! So I don't have to tap it all out again fresh!) The marriage between Sapphire and Ruby only happened because the creators (Rebecca Sugar, and others on her team) agreed to wrap up the show as soon as possible after it aired. There had never been a "same sex" (in quotes because they're friggin ALIENS for goodness sake!) Wedding in a children's show before, and so Cartoon Network had a policy in place that they wouldnt do it. Rebecca insisted, so they relented...but it cost us a sixth season on Homeworld. And there were so many things that Rebecca and the other show makers did to make sure that this episode was not only seen, but was so clear about what it was doing and so integral to the story of the show, that it couldn't be ignored! The best example is that Ruby is in a dress and Sapphire in a suit for a reason. Other countries with less than friendly attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people had been dubbing Ruby as a male, to get around the whole subject and still run the show in their countries. Because, as Rebecca conceived Ruby and Sapphires relationship - she showed only LOVE and didn't define them by their sex. This had the unfortunate side effect that those countries got away with ignoring the issue with a simple hiring of a distinctly male VA. In this episode, they force those countries to either: 1. run the episode and admit either the same sex marriage OR that their established "male" character is wearing a dress and looking super feminine. or 2. choose not to air the episode and lose a HUGE plot point. They "defeat" Yellow and Blue here...which can seem like too much to pack into even a double episode of SU - but that they do "defeat" them in this one is totally on purpose. If the episode wasn't aired, then the story goes immediately from finding out Rose is Pink and then....Blue and Yellow know it, too and they're friends....all of a sudden?? It's brilliant. And not least of all because Cartoon Network argued that they didn't want this episode/arc because "kids will find wedding episodes boring." She decided to call their bluff and insist that it'll be one of the more exciting episodes of the whole series (though, we all know exactly why CN didn't want this arc, and it had nothing to do with worrying it would be boring.) To close this long ass comment.... This is credited with the first animated children's show to feature a same-sex wedding (aired in 2018...20 frickin 18...). The next year (2019), the PBS show Arthur did the same thing with their teacher character and it made history too. Once you break the glass, all the "what if" fears kinda break with it. And I'm SO happy to have watched it with you (and to get to be the one to write it out here!)

Jessi