For so long I’ve heard the criticism that Steven, as a show and as a character, is too passive. A reference point for this criticism is an interview with Rebecca where she says:
“I think it’s a fantasy that no one is truly evil. I don’t know if that’s true in reality, but it’s certainly true in my fantasy. Why wouldn’t it be?”
And it wasn’t until I got through the movie that I understood how that criticism is misplaced. In Danny Phantom, the hero punches first asks questions later. In the Powerpuff Girls, the hero punches first an asks questions later. Same with Teen Titans. Same with Kim Possible. It’s hilarious and reflects our reality, but it isn’t kind. I don’t get the impression that Rebecca Sugar set out to make a show about reality as it is but rather reality as it could be.
Steven’s world isn’t without conflict. He even acknowledges that there will always be work to do, but that work won’t be accomplished through violence of any kind. Steven isn’t indiscriminately forgiving nor does he lack action. When he’s able to get through to the Diamonds he doesn’t leave it at their word. He spends two YEARS teaching them how to be better people and treat people with kindness. When they expect to be rewarded for their effort he tells them no because being kind isn’t a means to an end, you should be kind for the sake of it.
So many people have said that Steven Universe denies a reality where people are inherently bad, but what if instead it was just imagining a future of empathy? Where we can be taught and accept kindness just for the sake of being kind? Isn’t that powerful? To portray a world full of conflict and show how kindness is a means to get us through?