#apof meta

[blujane]

Aside from the unnecessary color filters used throughout Wanted (why, crewniverse? why did you not want us to get a good look at Lars’ OG colors one last time?), the only thing I’d really change in the episodes is that Lars would be bound during The Trial like he was in the storyboard art.

It makes the desperation of their situation more visible, especially for Lars, and better suits Steven’s distressed reaction to seeing Lars than the Zircons just presenting him as evidence (with the way Lars’ appearance was done in the final product, one would think Steven would be more relieved, though concerned, to see Lars again unharmed instead of horrified), further illustrates how helpless and hopeless Lars’ entire arc is in Wanted up until the very end of Lars’ Head (yeah, he was resurrected in the previous episode, but he was troubled by this and then legit thought he would be left behind on Homeworld and just... surrendered to this idea without a fight? and was confused when they said no?).

Lars being bound during the trial also would’ve kept him from being able to try to “run and hide,” completely removing the option for his character, which arguably would’ve fit his own arc in Wanted better than him apparently just forgetting how to use his legs for the entire duration of the episode before he dramatically takes a stand and stops running and hiding when others need him. You could argue that he didn’t try to flee or shrink away in The Trial because Steven needed him, but that’s exactly why Lars arguably shouldn’t have had the possible option of trying to get away from the Diamonds and Zircons (it would’ve been futile, but still). The entire focus of Lars’ arc in Wanted is that he’s tired of being scared and running away when people need him like a coward and Off Colors/Lars’ Head is supposed to be the climax of this arc.

It would also follow with how previously we’d seen from Gem Heist (and technically “Are You My Dad” through “Stuck Together”) that the gems would actually bind their human captives and not just have them sit around technically free but with no place to go like in The Trial. Sure, one could argue that it’s because the Diamonds are right there and Lars has no place to go, but it’s still a strange choice. 

And Homeworld binding the fragile human Lars instead of the traitorous Diamond-slaying “Rose Quartz” gem to prevent any attempts to escape could’ve worked as further foreshadowing from Jailbreak that gem tech only detects gems, setting up for the events of Off Colors a little more, while also making arrogance as the root of Homeworld’s technological flaws considerably more clear by showing that they are already aware that their tech is useless against organic life. They just don’t care.

[blujane]

Idk but it’s just feels like Lars and the Off Colors return could have easily been its own episode, not just randomly thrown in, they could of had him in and his crew in their wedding attire with the rest of the cast in Reunited. He didn’t participate in the Diamond battle in HW so why keep him in space that long. Nor did they do anything to show how he became the awesome Space Captain, or made many enemies along the way, but just off screen stuff mentioned.

It might be because that’s going to be part of the conflict in the next arc of the show.  Despite the war between Pink and the other Diamonds having officially ended,there’s still a high chance of conflict between Earth and Homeworld continuing after CYM.

While the Diamonds themselves are working to undo the damage they did to themselves, gem culture, and Earth, and have openly expressed the desire to change, it’s unlikely that all of Homeworld is going to immediately follow suit. The same beliefs that the Diamonds held until CYM are deeply ingrained in gem society, not just something the Diamonds forced upon everyone. For example, the reaction of most Homeworld gems to seeing fusions and “flawed” gems has been depicted as being negative for the most part, and even off-color gems openly refer to themselves as wrong. Aside from this, word will probably spread that White is off color, thanks to her massive personal ship taking on her pink blus. This could further alienate gems still clinging to the old ways from the changed Diamond Authority.

So there’s probably going to be gems out there who have turned against the Diamond Authority due to their sudden recent change in tune, since they would see the Diamonds as having become corrupted and losing sense of what’s right and wrong. If this is the case, it’s likely that some of Lars’ enemies from his time in space will be among these gems.

[blujane]

I had the extremely sad thought that Lars’ mentality that he didn’t deserve to be brought back to life might be another way he parallels Rose, given that she’s now implied to have had self-loathing issues that led directly to her death via childbirth....

[blujane]

ricardoreviews replied to your post “Why do people keep assuming Lars was alarmed that he’d turned pink...”

People say that? I always figured it's cause his body is now like, another color. Would've been the same if he came back blue or red.

Yeah, I see people claiming that he hates being pink because it's a "lame color" and "unmanly" a lot. When they don’t go the other way and make him act like turning pink was the best thing to ever happen to him despite his clear distress over it in canon, that is. 

It's really annoying, especially given that the experience of having one’s skin color drastically altered like that (like through a skin condition like vitiligo or something) is actually known to be psychologically distressing irl. The psychological effects have been said to be comparable to that of being badly scarred before. Sure, it might not look all that bad, but for the person themself, that’s what it can feel like on a psychological level. There’s even emotional support groups for people with such skin conditions to help them cope.

[blujane]

Okay. So.

Lars was naked in bed when Steven possessed him.

In the end, when he woke up in Sadie's arms, he didn't jerk away and was only alarmed when he realized he wasn’t in his room and saw everyone else.

LARS: Mmm, huh? Sadie?

LARS: How did I get here? What are you all doing here?

It’s not like he forgot he was naked before either, given his reaction to realizing Steven had spent a day in his body.

So, yeah, Lars apparently trusts Sadie so much that he could fall asleep naked and wake up in her arms unexpectedly dressed, and be just sort of groggy and confused. 

That's sorta sweet, but also a bit heartbreaking. It just goes to show how vulnerable Lars is with her despite everything.

[blujane]

I literally just noticed Lars’ secret cookbook is a regular hardback school notebook and the photo of the ube roll is a polaroid photo taped inside (you can very faintly see the tape up close).

It’s unlikely that it was created by anyone other than Lars, given that it’s homemade and hidden under his mattress. It be weird if someone else in his family put it together, because then Lars would be hiding a cookbook someone else made from scratch under his mattress (rude much?).

Which would mean Lars took a normal hardback school notebook, copied down recipes he liked in it by hand, put a space between the recipe names and the recipes themselves so he could tape photos he took of the finished results of said recipes inside, marked the recipes with pretty hearts, and included his own additional notes.

With this in mind, I can actually understand why Lars would hide this under his mattress as if it were a dirty magazine. The potential deep embarrassment of people finding it wouldn’t stem solely from his insecurities about his love of baking, but rather the fact that he made this adorable “lame” cookbook from scratch. His love of baking is “embarrassing and shameful,” but his cookbook is personal and an expression of himself.

[blujane]

Adding to your bit about Lars' symbolism: Not sure if this was intentional, but "Lars" sounds similar to "Lazarus", the famous name of a person Jesus RAISED FROM THE DEAD. And taking into account Rebecca's jewish heritage, there's a whole lot of untapped religious analysis that can be done with the show.

Lars and Sadie were created before Steven Universe was even a concept, both the show and the character, so I doubt that. The pronunciation of Lazarus also differs from country to country. Here in the states, it doesn’t sound like Lars at all, so it’s hard to judge if his name was a factor in Rebecca’s eventual decision to kill him. Also I find that unlikely given that, as you said, Rebecca is Jewish.  Then again Lars’ parents have death-themed names associated with Catholicism and Martha is the name of Lazarus’ sister, so who knows?

Yeah, I agree, the show has arguably just as many Jewish themes as it does LGBT themes. For example, the major recurring themes of SU themselves arguably tie into Rebecca’s Jewish beliefs. Every human being has both good and bad in them but mostly good, relationships are necessary for a good life, nothing is black-and-white, etc.

Also Rose was honestly more of a Mosaic archetype than a Satanic archetype. Pink was raised as royalty and basically plagued Homeworld as Rose Quartz while demanding that the Diamonds let the Earth and gems that don’t fit in Homeworld’s regime go, which eventually resulted in her faking her own death (arguably like a sort of metaphorical take on the “death of the firstborn” plague) whereas Lucifer was a high-ranking angelic servant who grew proud and sought to become a god himself before being struck down from heaven. Of course, it should also be noted that the Satan in Judaism is very different from the version in Christianity which the Satanic archetype is based on.

Steven’s role in the series fits the Jewish interpretation of the Messiah better than the Christian version since it’s likely he will usher in an era of peace for Homeworld and Earth. Interestingly, the series takes place nearly 7000 years after the start of the Rebellion (the seventh millennia being the millennia of the prophesied Messianic Age). Steven’s role as a symbolic Messiah makes Lars’ shades of the Messianic archetype (which would be better called the Jesus archetype in this case) arguably fitting as he’s Steven’s foil and written counter to him. The fact that the standpoint that Steven Universe’s major religious themes come from Judaism rather than Christianity would make Lars a metaphorical false messiah, but it doesn’t necessarily make him a Dark Messiah. Rather, it’s likely that Lars is meant to be a realistic take (i.e., a “deconstruction”) on the archetype rather than a straightforward example. 

Just some general thoughts on the subject. It’s not clear if this is all intentional, but it’s very likely as the show is based on Rebecca’s experiences as a nonbinary bisexual Jewish woman.

[blujane]

Made of Honor confirmed something I’d honestly always thought was apparent, because of how Bismuth and her backstory was done in her previous appearance, but it seemed like a lot of the fandom hadn’t picked up on: ROSE ATTACKED BISMUTH FIRST. The reason why Bismuth freaked out in her titular episode is because her beloved leader suddenly went on the offensive and bubbled her when she excitedly presented a new weapon to her, leaving the metal gem understandably confused and traumatized (and also more than a little paranoid and prone to go on the offensive). I love Rose almost as much as I love Lars (and I can understand her reaction to the Breaking Point, awful as it was), but oh poor Bismuth.