“There’s no other way out.”

There’s a lot to be said for acting heroically on instinct, especially when your usual instinct is running away. In the sweeping string of episodes beginning with Doug Out and ending with Kevin Party, Lars makes three gut decisions: two cowardly, when he abandons the potluck last-minute and flees instead of helping Sadie, and one brave, when he attacks the drone to save his friends. The brave one gets him killed, adding an extra layer of valor into the mix. But despite the inherent heroism of the actions that led to his death, this is the episode where Lars truly becomes a hero.

Acting on instinct is great, but it’s a step beyond to give an action plenty of thought, realize it will help people even if it might not end well for you, and go through with it anyway. In a full flip, Lars takes Steven’s mantle as the kid who’s willing to be abandoned on an alien planet if it means his friends are safe. Where Steven once tried to get Lars onto an escape pod, Lars becomes an escape pod for Steven. We even swap which kid expresses hunger, a sign of focusing on one’s own immediate needs. Steven doesn’t become like Lars in any other major ways, so this isn’t a two-way switcheroo, but it doesn’t have to be to tell a compelling story.

Still, it’s not enough to sacrifice yourself. If it was, Steven wouldn’t need to grow out of his martyr complex; the guy’s been trying to sacrifice himself from the moment he heard the story of his mother shattering Pink Diamond. The most important aspect of this episode for Steven is seeing himself in Lars, and seeing Lars accept help. Braving danger alone might be admirable, but it’s ultimately self-destructive, and despite his transformation Lars remains pragmatic enough to not argue much when the Off Colors offer their assistance. Steven has spent so long putting the full weight of the past on his shoulders that he forgot about the power of teamwork—his gambit in I Am My Mom is proof enough of that—and every aspect of Lars’s Head reminds him that it’s okay for a helper to be helped. And I mean every aspect:

As with other culmination episodes, callbacks are everywhere in Lars’s Head. We’ve got the durian juicebox from An Indirect Kiss and numerous references to the recent space adventure episodes, sure, but the whole thing is a combined sequel to The New Lars and Lion 3, two episodes that have almost nothing to do with each other until now. From The New Lars, we get Steven apologizing for altering Lars without asking, showing that he still takes the lesson from that story to heart even in situations where he obviously helped. We then get a more explicit callback, with Lars likening Steven’s literal foray into his head with their mind-hopping escapade. And again, this is an episode where Lars acts the way Steven might, but in a way that’s true to himself rather than as a result of being possessed. This is indeed a new Lars.

And then there’s Lion 3. Lars’s Head begins like a typical episode, at least in terms of tone: after an introduction that replays a bit of Off Colors, we get the usual Steven Universe blend of story, humor, and heart. Padparadscha is in full form, and after Steven pushes a big rock and reminds us of his super-strength, a tense huddle about what to do next is magnificently interrupted by Lars asking, unprompted, if he’s a zombie, and receiving little evidence to disprove his theory. We tiptoe around words like “dead” and “die” in a way that’s common in children’s media but unusual for Steven Universe (perhaps because this is a concrete case of death rather than the abstract possibility of it), but these verbal gymnastics feel more charming than strained. A whole episode with this energy would be great, but the second Steven enters Lars’s hair, the crew uses every trick in the book to bring us right back to the quiet wonder of his first steps into Lion’s mane.

The stunning landscape is matched by Aivi and Surasshu’s soothing return to their Lion 3 peak, where the lack of air lends a silence to the scene that allows the music to be nice and quiet. There’s no voiceover this time, just visual storytelling that allows us to realize just what Lars has become. He gets a simple Narra tree to match Lion’s decorated acacia, and we linger in this world long enough to exhale after a salvo of stressful episodes. Considering Lars’s Head is followed by Dewey Wins instead of a cooldown episode, we’ll need all the calm we can get.

When Steven emerges, it’s to the same empty house as Storm in the Room, with only a surprised Lion for company. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs takes effect, reminding us that oh yeah Steven hasn’t had food or drink since he was abducted. It’s a funny scene, and a surprisingly realistic one considering how easily narratives (cartoons in particular) can ignore the physical requirements of their characters to suit the story. But it does have a story purpose beyond highlighting Steven’s ordeal: this is an episode about learning anew the importance of taking care of yourself if you want to take care of others, and the basic necessities of the human body are excellent teachers.

Steven narrates his thoughts throughout the food-gathering scene, which makes it all the heavier when he can’t find the words to express the strange new understanding he has with Lion. Out of nowhere, the question of Lion’s origin has been answered, and in a way that elegantly explains Lars’s metamorphosis. Like in Buddy’s Book, our wordless companion gets his story told through suggestions rather than outright statements, in an episode where he isn’t even the character in focus, and it’s a brilliant way to maintain Lion’s mystique even as we solve his mysteries.

Returning to Homeworld means returning to the zanier tone, but it’s been tempered to allow for our third act to veer dramatic without feeling any whiplash. Which is great, because Steven’s expository tangent is the best joke of the episode and it hinges on taking a huge chunk of time. We already got the visual story of what happened: it’s obvious that Lars has become like Lion and their magic hair portals connect them. We then get Lars’s simple but accurate summary that his hair is a wormhole.Steven doesn’t need to explain a thing to us, but it wouldn’t make much sense for him not to explain it to his friends. The crew is thus allowed to give him a rambling speech without worrying about any of us falling behind, and I dunno, the meta-commentary on the value of brief, coherent exposition just rubs me the right way. It’s weird to hear an in-universe explanation that isn’t meant for the viewers, and I love it.

We move right into more character-specific humor as the Off Colors react to the news that Earth is still spinning. The Rutile Twins provide the greatest instance of their signature paraphrasing (“I’m incredulous!”), and we reference both Fluorite’s slowness and Rhodonite’s anxiety when the latter interrupts the former’s gradual speech to say that Earth was wiped out.

The false story of Earth’s destruction isn’t something we talk about much, but it’s one of my favorite bits of worldbuilding on the show. All it takes is one scene to establish that Diamond propaganda ensures that the masses believe that the regime has never lost a war, and thus will never lose a war. It shows how rattled the Diamonds were by Earth, fearing that the simple idea of its existence could spark future rebellions. It shows how fragmented Homeworld society is, considering every Homeworlder we’ve met until now, from the tyrannical Holly Blue Agate to the lowly Peridot, knows that Earth is still around. And in retrospect, it shows that Pink Diamond didn’t have a monopoly on secrets in her family. (Padparadscha is also shocked that Earth is still around.)

But back to the Off Colors. I love that their decision to stay with Lars isn’t uniform at first, with Rhodonite eager to bounce as soon as she can. The Rutile Twins stop her before Fluorite can speak in favor of staying with Lars, but Rhodonite isn’t shamed for giving into the temptation, and she gets the last word for all of the Off Color Gems by expressing faith in the future after two episodes of fretting. It’s easy to lump a new group of minor characters together when they’re always shown within that group, so moments of disagreement, however small, lend welcome realism to the dynamic.

Of course, they wouldn’t have to argue in the first place if Lars wasn’t insisting on staying behind by himself. Matthew Moy is fantastic with this new side of Lars, maintaining his signature irritation even as he transitions from selfish to selfless. Where Steven might put up a confident front when others refuse to let him sacrifice himself, Lars gets fed up that his “beautiful act” isn’t being appreciated. And while fellow grouch Peridot softens up when praising Earth, Lars spits out details about his love of his home planet as fast as he can. It would be absurd for him to make a complete character shift this quickly, especially considering we just had an episode where Steven praises his orneriness, and these touches deepen the impact of his final two acts. (Padparadscha sides with the Rutile Twins and Fluorite as well.)

First, there’s the hug. This isn’t even the first time Lars and Steven hug in this episode, let alone in the series, but for obvious reasons it tends to be Steven who initiates. He still leads the gesture by putting his hand to Lars’s chest, and while Lars bats the hand away, it’s clear that it isn’t out of the same kind of cruelty he might have once showed. It’s to bring Steven in for a hug, one that culminates their entire relationship since the literal first scene of the series (and even from the pilot before). Steven’s eyes may be full of tears in the episode’s first hug, but when that shot is reflected, Lars’s expression is far more powerful: an indescribable sense of acceptance, a simultaneous thanks and apology for everything that’s happened over the course of their friendship. The closest thing it reminds me of is Aang in a moment of solemn peace in the final minutes Avatar: The Last Airbender, with eyes that are closed but not scrunched, finally at the other side of a long journey.

Second, there’s the kneel.

It’s only for a moment, but damn, what an image. Lars has already proven his willingness to protect Steven, but it’s stirring to see him transition from a gesture of friendship to a gesture of service. Long ago, in an episode that foreshadows their imminent friction, Steven and Connie laughed off a similar bow, but this time both parties are sincere. Lars chooses to act as Steven’s knight without question, and as we saw when Connie went too far with that concept in Sworn to the Sword, the dynamic makes Steven deeply uncomfortable. He’s too driven to serve others to be okay with others serving him, especially his friends, but as Lars says, there’s no other way out.

There was a risk of Steven learning the wrong lesson here, seeing Lars’s selflessness as a sign to double down and focus even harder on helping others at his own expense. Connie will thankfully put a stop to that, and the fallout of this adventure will continue for the next six episodes, just in time to check in with Lars and the Off Colors again, then return to the Pink Diamond storyline right after. Stepping into the pink savannah was a welcome respite, and we get another when Steven sees his family again; the road may not be ending here, but at least we get some relief before driving deeper into the woods.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!



Wait a second, I forgot the most important part. I don’t care if you don’t pronounce the first R in “library,” and I don’t care if you put a second U in “nuclear,” and I don’t care if you say “irregardless” instead of “regardless,” but I draw a line in the sand at putting an apostrophe without an S after singular words ending in S. Lars is not the plural of “Lar,” so I can’t in good conscience write Lars’ Head instead of Lars’s Head. If you noticed that I’ve been using the incorrect episode name, please understand that without my convictions I am nothing, and a choice between the proper apostrophe and the proper title is no choice at all.

Some style guides will tell you that this is an interchangeable matter. These style guides were written by fools.

But sure besides that this episode is pretty good.



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6. Horror Club

5. Fusion Cuisine

4. House Guest

3. Onion Gang

2. Sadie’s Song

1. Island Adventure

(Rarely does the fanart I use in lieu of official promo images actually resemble a promo image to this degree. Outstanding work from greedfan!)