Steven Universe Future: Misunderstood, Misrepresented, and Magnificent

Hey guys ! As you can tell by this one's length, this has been quite the undertaking, so I'm really glad for you guys to finally see it! Unfortunately, the length of this one also means that there are a few different errors throughout, so here's a list of every correction I can currently think of, plus anything that you guys point out later. 8:14 Comparing her role in getting the actual Rose Quartzes bubbled and her role in injuring White Pearl isn't as simple as I make it sound here. 12:04 Jungle Moon is one of my favorite episodes, don't know why I made it sound bad here. 19:05 There's probably not actually a 'handful' of episodes in this season that focus on characters that nobody cares about. 35:38 Not 'Premises,' it should be 'Premise'. 41:38 This part definitely hurts, as I would usually just rerecord, but since this video kind of needs to come out on Wednesday - here we are. "Out of all of the songs on this list, including number one, there’s not a single one that I enjoy casually listening to more than Mr. Universe, which makes the fact that it’s not on Streaming Services an actual crime. Seriously though, removing the fact that I’m a pretty big Bowie fan, this one also just hits so hard in its namesake episode, as Steven’s been waiting this entire time for some kind of revelation, only for the reveal that his father chose their last name based on a cheesy glam rock song, with some wonderfully cosmic lyrics." 42:42 Technically, Greg and Pearl both sing along with different original songs, but you get the point. 59:08 Again, this isn't technically wrong, but the first "beneficial" is supposed to be "helpful." 1:21:57 'Make,' not 'Makes' I am very sure that I am missing some other stuff, but if I watch this video again I might actually go crazy, so if you catch any other mistakes please let me know, even if they are as dumb as me mispronouncing a word. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy my last month of work !

I’ll always hate the fact that people acted like Steven’s trauma in this show came out of nowhere, even though the original show had a LOT trauma moments for Steven and Future even references some of them when Steven goes to a doctor’s appointment.

Honestly, I loved SUF. I don’t understand why people criticize for being too edgy, relatable and with an anticlimactic boss fight, when it makes sense in the context. Steven is literally the poster child for “Why we do NOT recruit children as soldiers, or as underaged adults, or as degree-less therapists”. Here’s shown why such trope wouldn’t work in real life.

I feel like people who hate Future just don't understand the goals of the show and it's creators. Sure, I would've liked to see some things done differently but Future is exactly what the next part of Steven's story was always going to be.

I grew up a lot like Steven did (no schooling, no doctors visits, very little interaction with peers my age, being a therapist/parentified child for mentally ill adults, my life being a long, haphazard line of gargantuan and small traumas alike, feeling abjectly alienated from the human experience etc etc etc). As someone who lived like that, and watched Steven Universe as a coping mechanism during my formative years... Steven Universe (most especially Future) feels like one big, comprehensive love-letter written just to me. The original show was extremely relatable in a lot of ways already, because as a kid I saw Steven as the good, helpful child I so desperately wanted to internalize myself as being in the face of trauma - it delivered a sense of hope and wonder that my life just couldn't. Future, on the other hand, came when I was first brushing with adulthood - I was growing up, and I was struggling so desperately to make sense of the slew of things that had happened to me, and as a result of all the damage that had been done I couldn't function in daily life. With Steven Universe, I felt like I saw my parental relationships represented, my sibling relationships represented, my hopes represented. With Future, I saw the reality of those traumas and my relationships represented, and most importantly, myself represented. So horribly, wonderfully, awfully comprehensively. The conversation Steven had at the roller rink with those kids? I feel like I've had that exact same conversation so many times in my life. Some random kid my age asking me what grade I'm in, me not knowing how grades work because I've had no exposure to schooling, "uhhhh... elevennn...th?" Trying to relate to peers about their struggles and gripes, but saying something horrible and traumatic that no average person is going to relate to. Doing lots of "normal human things" at what could be considered a very late age. Being overrun by fear, "how am I supposed to live life if it always feels like I'm about to die?" Doing horrible things, feeling like a monster, feeling and becoming so much like the people who hurt you. I can go on and on! It's just so funny!! Both of them feel like genuine love-letters for me at both times of my life! Steven Universe said, "Look at this! Isn't this wonderful? Despite what goes wrong, it's all going to be okay." Future said: "I see you. Here you are. How you're feeling makes sense, and what happened to you wasn't okay." It's just so funny to actually relate to something. To actually feel represented. Because before this show, that had never, ever happened to me. Anyway this was a bit of a rant, but I really appreciate this video!

I didn’t realize people hated Future. I watched SU last year and Future was my absolute favorite part of the show. Steven was so relatable and it actually does a good job of showing why people bottle up their emotions and why it’s harmful for both yourself and others. It’s not noble to hide your feelings and pain. Plus showing a “good” main character doing pretty horrible things like basically murder is honestly such a breathe of fresh air in cartoons, where so many characters end up being sorted into a “good” or “bad” camp eventually.

I feel like people's opinion on Steven's character in SUF is a litmus test for who's trustworthy when it comes to mental illness or mental health advice. SO MANY people dismissed the entire season as just "Steven is an angry white boy now, what else is new" and it BAFFLES ME. These are the same types of people who will write paragraphs about how harmful romanticizing mental illness is. It just breaks my brain trying to understand their thought process. It also really infurates me to see people watch SUF and then get mad that Steven "flips out out of nowhere". Like, I'm sorry, but how is it out of nowhere? He's had to deal with world ending threats his entire life, do you really think he has the time to sit down and process his trauma first? The kid has not been able to breathe until the end of the movie. Now he has all the time in the world, which is why it's all hitting him like a bag of bricks. Don't we joke about that on the internet all the time? "Uh-oh, gotta keep myself busy so I'm not left alone with my own thoughts!" - but when Steven does the same that's unrealistic?

Steven reminds me of Shinji Ikari in the way a sizable portion of the audience just couldn't handle them being imperfect protagonists going through trauma in a realistic manner.

The episode Growing Pains was honestly probably my favorite episode of the entire show. As someone with C-Ptsd, I could feel for Steven sooo deeply. I love the entire show so much, depression and PTSD can be struggling and so hard to cope with. It can be ugly and raw and I love how well they portray that in Future. I love this show so much

OH I absolutely LOVE how unlikeable Steven was in future. I had my own descent into severe depression during the time that future aired. It was to the point that I justified sticking around, in order to just see how Future would end (i had been invested in steven universe since middle school and throughout high school, so I may as well finish the whole thing.) I was an absolute asshole to the people who loved me. I was unbearable to be around, because I felt so miserable. Seeing Steven, the same. Seeing Steven, despite all of that, as still worthy of love and forgiveness means so much to me. It genuinely makes me tear up, time and time again. Remember, Steven, the character, had been there for me as I grew from child to adult. He was very personal to me. It's one of the best depictions of mental illness I've seen in fiction. It just felt so relatable. I still remember the internet argument I got into with someone, telling me Steven's character was ruined because he "tried to kill his dad by crashing the van," lmao.

This video was so good, I'm gonna let you choose which horseman you die to in 20 years

I find it so hilarious when people hate Steven for lashing out because of his trauma, when literally that’s what he’s been surrounded by his WHOLE LIFE. People lashing out because of their trauma. Pearl, Amethyst, Lapis, Bismuth, Spinel. Where do you think he learnt that from??? And yet it’s fine when they do it right?

Future was very important for me because when I first watched the season with my mother I was going through a mental health crisis. I saw how Steven was feeling and how he was self destructing and I saw myself in him and used him to communicate my problems with my mother. It's extra hard for me to watch because it reminds me of my worst times and it's not something that's easy to relive.

"Growing Pains" was my favorite episode, as most shows period don't exactly talk about the trauma their characters undergo. The flashback montage where Steven narrates what happened, before Connie's mother interuppts and Steven says "But... that was just the early stuff!" hit me like a fucking truck. That entire scene is exactly how I feel about any sort of traumatic event, and I already related to Steven enough. Words can't really describe how much I loved that episode/scene and how heavily they impacted me.

For some reason I only decided to watch steven universe earlier this year, and as a very, very mentall ill person, I loved future! it was pretty sad searching what other people thought about the show and seeing how negative most stuff was, only to then realize the entire problem was they didnt understand how mental illness works and how well the show represented it, but I know you're smart and understand this stuff well so imma shut up and enjoy this video now

1:28:12 as the resident Jasper stan and scholar I always argue her just being in Little Homeworld is a massive step for her character. People act as if Jasper wouldn't need to be dragged biting and clawing into introspection and development. Also her crashing through the wall to say goodbye and acting nonchalant about it like she absolutely wasn't just eavesdropping on his conversation with Bismuth, Peridot and Lapis always cracks me up.

Omg I agree about Bluebird, the first part of the episode is so whatever but grown-up Steven is so funny when he’s annoyed and done with people’s BS and it made the last part hilarious. RIP Greg’s hair.

Steven in SUF is one of my favorite protagonists from any piece of media. I'm so glad people are finally beginning to realize how good this miniseries was.

I absolutely adore future. I found that it fantastically followed up on stevens savior complex and it came at a time where i found it very relatable as i was about to go to college so i absolutely bawled at the finale.

Yeah, Future just felt like a natural continuation of S5. The series started off really great with the first season and as most great series do, just continually gets better each passing season, with each episode improving on the last. And Future fits into this very nicely I'd say.