I loved the new Steven Universe. I know exactly the complaints people will have with it and it’s not even entirely invalid, but for me this is the representation of the ultimate wish fulfillment.

HUGE Spoilers beneath the cut:

To be able to look at those who hurt you because they didn’t understand you and to MAKE them see. To have them finally understand exactly who you are and have them accept the you that you are and love that.

It’s not about how “everyone deserves to be redeemed” or “no one is ever really bad” and especially not “you have to forgive everyone, especially family”. It’s the ultimate fantasy to be able to look the people you love and who you want to love you as you are in the eyes, break down those walls and have them understand. Or, even if they don’t understand, that they try to fix the damage they’ve done anyway. Sometimes the damage cannot be fixed completely, but there’s something so beautiful about the idea that you could convince them to try. To admit what they’d done wrong and make amends. That they would see you so clearly and find it beautiful.

Is that always realistic? Of course not. But not everything needs to be. Stories where the person’s mind can’t be change are very important, as that’s often what happens, and they help us understand that sometimes we have to walk away from the ones we love because the relationship isn’t healthy. There’s definitely a place for that kind of story. But I also believe there’s a place for that relentless optimism that SU has shown since the very first episode. That unrelenting belief in good and in love.

The core ideas of the show, from the very first episode to the most recent, have never been “forgiveness” or “being the bigger person than someone else”. It’s been that “perfection is an illusion that cannot be maintained” and “fix your mistakes”. It’s never been about forgiveness vs. punishment. Never been about “what makes a good person”. It is and has always been “Sometimes people do something wrong. Sometimes that person is you. Everyone makes mistakes but that doesn’t mean that it’s okay to hurt someone, even by accident. And if you make a mistake, FIX IT.”

Not a judgement. A call to action. Not that nothing is beyond forgiveness, but that you owe making amends even to those who cannot forgive you.