“I’m supposed to be a Crystal Gem…I’m supposed to be a Crystal Gem!”

Warp Tour and The Test focus on Steven being underestimated as a rookie Crystal Gem; by now it’s old news that he (and we) can see that he’s grown, while the Gems haven’t. But in case we were convinced that Steven is totally in the right and the Gems are in the wrong, Future Vision provides a subtle rebuttal. We get a deep look into Garnet’s way of seeing things, and suddenly Steven’s treatment make a heck of a lot more sense.

Crucially, Steven’s development doesn’t need backpedal for Garnet’s perspective to be valid. We begin with him continuing the thread of Warp Tour and The Test, in this case getting rid of childish things (or at least attempting to) to display his budding maturity. Yes, this is itself a childish act, but it reinforces that he’s trying to grow. He is a big boy now, even if he says things like “I’m a big boy now.”

But once Garnet pops in, his behavior immediately reverts to that of a little kid. She protects him from falling down the stairs, then pokes his nose and calls him a cutie pie, and he revels in it. Even if he’s more capable in missions, his attitude at home really hasn’t changed much since Gem Glow. And even if she’s wrong to do so, it makes sense that Garnet conflates his domestic behavior with his competence in the field.

Warp Tour and The Test contain two Garnet moments that provide vital context for Future Vision. In the former, she acknowledges Steven as a fellow Crystal Gem and apologizes for not trusting him. In the latter, speaking for all the Gems, she admits that she doesn’t understand Steven and has no idea what she’s doing. With these scenes, our perception of Garnet shifts from a nigh-omniscient protector to a new leader that’s still learning the ropes. She’s still the baddest of badasses, but we’re primed to notice her trying new things now that we’ve taken a glimpse into her thought process.

Future Vision has Garnet reaching out like never before. After Garnet’s Universe displayed how little Steven knows about her, it’s time for her Season 1B arc to rev up: from now until Jailbreak, Garnet’s story is about gradually revealing her true nature to Steven, and it’s only fair that she starts with the revelation of her signature ability.

Before getting into the nitty gritty of future vision as a concept, we’re treated to a beautifully bizarre moment of beach bonding. Pacing is everything for a show with eleven-minute episodes, so devoting a full thirty-five seconds to a strange sight gag is a hell of a bold choice. But this is a classic comedic sequence: it’s entertaining enough to watch Garnet and Steven stare right at the camera and wordlessly exercise to a Korean tape in perfect harmony, but we know something has to happen eventually. There’s a bit of a variation—Steven grabs weights, Garnet summons gauntlets—but the scene drags on and on until Garnet, without breaking rhythm, finally relieves the tension by smashing the entire boombox. And we never talk about it again.

If you want to go full analysis mode, the morning workout scene can be interpreted as a metaphor for Garnet herself. Until Future Vision, she’s been just as enigmatic and funny as the visual gag, and just as tethered to Steven. But the act has gone on long enough, and it’s time for her break out of the routine and start a new day afresh.

(Or if you’re like me, the cigar is just a cigar and you appreciate a silly scene. But you do you.)

Garnet’s explanation of future vision evokes her explanation of weapon summoning way back in Gem Glow, down to its similar background track. In both scenes, she explains a new concept by waxing metaphysical while we cut to a creative visual aid: in Gem Glow, it’s Steven’s head sinking into four shifting images of varying cosmic importance, and here, it’s the flow of water framed by Garnet’s shades on a black background. Again, Future Vision feels like a new beginning with Garnet.

If I’m talking a lot about the first act, it’s because the bulk of this episode is pretty simple: after learning of his countless doomed potential futures, Steven becomes crippled by fear and indecision. It’s a heavy subject, lightened by cutesy vignettes of death-as-becoming-a-skeleton (with help from Estelle’s exaggerated narration and Aivi and Surasshu’s ragtime score). But the plot suffers from predictable “be careful what you wish for” beats: Steven initially has fun, then sees the downside, then learns a lesson. It’s a formula that Steven Universe lives to subvert, making the structures of episodes like Cat Fingers and Future Vision feel rote by comparison. Considering this episode is literally about predicting the future, perhaps this was intentional, but it nonetheless requires a heaping helping of humor to help the formula go down.

The jokes help for sure: by now, Steven Universe is such a well-oiled laugh generator that it’s easier than ever to overlook an episode’s flaws. On top of the great visuals like the aforementioned river analogy and doom sequences, Future Vision’s brilliant sound design heightens the humor: the little plinks of Steven’s skeleton collapsing, the drumming heartbeat when he tries to pick up a breadknife, the dramatic strings after Garnet tells him not to go on the roof. But in terms of story itself, the middle act is nothing to write home about.

The third act picks us right back up again, with Steven’s fears making him feel more like a little kid than ever, terrified of a thunderstorm and clutching a plush bear for comfort. But this is what pushes him to get on the roof: an earlier Steven might have waited it out until the Gems came home, but now he’s willing to take new steps to assert his place as a Crystal Gem. He’s still afraid, but that’s the first step towards being brave.

Again, the reveal that Steven’s dark future is fear itself doesn’t win any awards for originality, but the rooftop scene is powerful regardless. Steven and Garnet finally verbalize their mutual lack of understanding, and the irony of Steven’s rant claiming Garnet can’t comprehend the pressure of future vision is nicely understated. He genuinely doesn’t seem to see that portents of doom are part of Garnet’s daily reality, and this myopia proves that he’s got a lot of room to grow.

Garnet’s retort is our first major look through the cool facade she’s always maintained. It’s certainly cracked before (most notably her freak-outs in So Many Birthdays and Warp Tour), but this is the first time she chooses to remove her shades to look Steven in the eyes. She explains the stress of her power without shifting the focus to herself, and takes the blame despite good intentions. In short, she’s still a parent to Steven.



It’s not groundbreaking to note that Estelle is a fantastic voice actor, but it’s still a joy to hear her talk this much at this point in the show. We know by now that she can sell the big monologues and jokes (“I drink coffee for breakfast!”), but it’s the little flourishes that really get me, like muttering “yeah” to herself after predicting a bad sunburn.

Still, in retrospect, her best line is the firm but vulnerable “Please understand,” not only for Estelle’s delivery, but because this is the first instance of the loaded phrase. Garnet will use it again at the conclusion of the Week of Sardonyx when she lets her guard down again to repair her relationship with Pearl. But not before Rose Quartz, via Pearl’s Rose’s Scabbard flashback, uses it to explain the ramifications of fighting Homeworld. When Garnet really needs to reach someone, she still emulates Rose.

The Gems still need to take Steven more seriously, but Future Vision grants them some slack. Garnet gives Steven the respect that he wants by entrusting him with heavy information, and he still drops it a few times before picking it up. And for all his growth, he still needs her to block the lightning every now and then. It’s an elegant reversal of The Test, with a rainstorm at the conclusion rather than the onset, and a reminder that for all of Garnet’s self-doubt when it comes to raising Steven, she’s one hell of a mom.

Future Vision!

Future Vision gets a brilliant companion episode in Pool Hopping . Both feature Steven and Garnet spending a day together and exploring a facet of future vision, which belies the actual story about Garnet learning to accept Steven’s growth. Both feature coffee being spilled in the Big Donut and a dramatic climax in the rain. Over a hundred episodes pass between the two, and I love that this extreme distance doesn’t stop the crew from drawing on the past in such specific ways.

gets a brilliant companion episode in . Both feature Steven and Garnet spending a day together and exploring a facet of future vision, which belies the actual story about Garnet learning to accept Steven’s growth. Both feature coffee being spilled in the Big Donut and a dramatic climax in the rain. Over a hundred episodes pass between the two, and I love that this extreme distance doesn’t stop the crew from drawing on the past in such specific ways. Steven’s skeleton fantasies return in Steven Floats .

. An entire jar of mayonnaise will plop out again in Steven vs. Amethyst .



. Together Forever suggests, and a chart from Growing Pain confirms, that one of Steven’s middle names actually is Cutie Pie (at least according to himself).

suggests, and a chart from confirms, that one of Steven’s middle names actually Cutie Pie (at least according to himself). Our very last episode, The Future, sees Steven repeat the exercise sequence once again, complete with the stereo getting smashed.



If you interpret Cookie Cat an allegory for Rose, his fellow pink-centered space refugee that left a family behind, and you interpret Rose’s backstory as proof that she’s not nuanced but “evil,” then I suppose Steven’s fantasy encounter with a violent Cookie Cat is foreshadowing?

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

Terrific long-term interaction between Garnet and Steven and great humor help atone for Future Vision’s by-the-book plot structure. It just makes the Top Ten, but I predict it isn’t going to stay there long if On the Run has anything to say about it.

Top Ten

Love ‘em



Like ‘em

Enh

No Thanks!

3. Fusion Cuisine

2. House Guest

1. Island Adventure