Episode 034: The One Where Steven Accidentally Breeds a Watermelon Army
Not many kids' shows would open with a non-sequitur Amadeus joke. Especially one where he has an Italian accent for some reason.
Steven's dad (Greg! I remembered!) is especially good at expectorating.
Is it just me, or has Greg's mullet grown longer and more luxurious? I expect that, by the end of the series, he'll be able to wrap himself in it, like a hairy scratchy blanket.
"By Jove! It's full of seeds!" Nice 2001 reference
Long side tangent warning: when I was a kid I remember watching old cartoons on the Disney Afternoon and Warner Brothers and such that were chock full of references to old movies from the 40's and 50's that flew way over my head. It's a little bizarre to see the same phenomenon in more modern shows like this one, but now I understand them because they're from later movies from my childhood (well, 2001 was a 60's movie, but close enough). Though the fact that Steven knows Amadeus, but not well enough to know that Mozart wasn't Italian, is a pretty good layered joke that's more than just a reference, so kudos.
Of course, then there's the hot dog stand in the background named "Wiener In Hand" which is the other kind of adult reference...
Could you even do this plot now? Most watermelons nowadays are seedless (other than the little white seeds that are edible, anyway).
Rose backstory alert: she could make plant armies! Did we know this one already? I feel like something similar may have come up before.
Steven, regarding the baby melon: "YOU'RE...ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE?...I really shouldn't be so surprised about this." Hey, he is learning!
My favorite subtle joke: Ronaldo's livestream (you know, the one where a dozen sentient watermelon people are beating him up) has 0 views, viewers, or followers.
It’s a little embarassing that all three Gems ended up getting schooled by a bunch of sentient watermelons. I’d, uh, probably leave that one off the resumé.
I legitimately do not understand the ending of this episode. Why did the melons attacking Baby Melon suddenly pacify them all? Though maybe that's the point? Like, Steven himself said that the melons had to leave until they understood Baby Melon's sacrifice, so its nonsensical nature meant the melons would never return?
It might also be a movie reference that I don't understand, since this episode was full of them. I'm going to assume it's that.
This seems like the platonic ideal of the typical Steven Universe episode (at least so far in season 1). It begins with a slice-of-life scene with Steven and a friend or family member, then something fantastical happens that makes Steven happy, then it gets out of control and terrorizes the populace, then the Gems try to fight it and that doesn’t work, and finally Steven defeats it with the power of love or innocence or nonsensical speeches or whatever. Classic Steven Universe template for Problem-of-the-Week episodes.