Let's Discuss: Steven Universe Future "Growing Pains"

Here it is you guys, the moment some, if not most of us 'Steven Universe' fans have been waiting for. The slow burn of Steven's descending Mental Health sparking a fire. That fire? Gem Corruption.

This episode of Steven Universe: Future opens with a commercial promoting the newest Dogcopter movie. The theme of the previous episode 'Together Forever" carries over as Steven turns the TV off and responds with "Everyone is getting married but me." Triggering a pinkish glow as he thinks about the events of the last episode 'Together Forever'.

Steven once again looks to his friends for help, he calls the Crystal Gems, but because of their school field trip with the 'Little Home School' gems they are unavailable to help and don't yet know that an issue is starting to blossom into a problem. He looks at his phone again and his face drops at the sight of Connie's name and face in his contacts. If you have ever gone through a really rough breakup or a fight with someone they really cared about, then you'll recognize that agonizing pain in the pit of your stomach.

Steven calls his father, Greg instead. Steven explains how happy he is that his dad is coming home that night because he really needs someone to talk to, but the call cuts out and Greg asks him what he said. Steven brushes it off and Greg beams with excitement at the news that the tour had been extended. Meaning he wasn't coming home that night. Greg tells Steven that they are about to lose each other and offers him a callback or even to swing by Beach City so they could talk. Steven once again brushes this off and assures him that he's fine and tells him to have fun.

I really appreciate the way they keep emphasizing that Steven keeps attempting to reach out for help. It really stresses on the frustration and loneliness that is building up in this young 16-year-old's head.

A now defeated and lonely Steven walks across his empty house to the freezer where he has stored the glow-in-the-dark bracelet that he used to propose to Connie in the last episode 'Together Forever' this triggers another pink-glow and the first signs that something is starting to go wrong with him physically.

Steven looks to his phone again. Seeing Connie's name, he talks himself out of calling her. Only to, have her call him. He attempts to talk himself out of picking up the phone but as he pulls away from what's really bothering him he triggers another pink-glow reaction and his right arm doubles in size, answering the phone for him.

Connie, seeing that her friend isn't doing well insists that Steven see a doctor and takes him to go see her mother who works at the Beach City Hospital as a doctor. Steven, once again tries to play it off as nothing not wanting to waste her mom's time. But after one final push from Connie, Steven reluctantly agrees and the two head to Beach City Hospital.

Note, this is the first time we see Steven in the hospital. Aside from the episode 'Nightmare Hospital' where Steven and Connie are attacked by gem mutant made up of the shattered shards of the gems from the great war. In fact, this is the first time Steven has seen a doctor ever.

As someone who is watching this series real time, during the COVID-19 outbreak here in North America, where everyone is super scared of getting sick (and who wouldn't be?) but also really against vaccinations still, I laughed when Dr. Maheswaran grumbled under her breath about talking to his father.

This episode starts to get serious and everything leading up to the decent into corruption starts to come to head when Steven is given an X-ray scan and it's revealed that Steven has actually overcome quite a lot of physical damage to his head. She asks him if he's doing okay, explaining to him that sometimes trauma even though it may only seem physical can do some pretty harmful damage when experienced over and over again over a long period of time. She explains that when the brain is under extreme stress it releases the drug cortisol. Dr. Maheswaran asks if he has experienced anything traumatic in his childhood, but as we know as fellow viewers of the 'Steven Universe' cartoon we can definitely say there's been a lot of traumatic events, I even addressed that in my earlier review in this season. This is where the other shoe drops.

Dr. Maheswaran asks if Steven went through anything stressful recently and this triggers another full body glow and he grunts in agony as he begins to grow and shrink and change form and shape rapidly. Connie comes in through the door and asks if everything is okay and then asks Steven if this could be a reaction to what happened on the beach. Steven assures her once again that it has nothing to do with her and backs away. Steven cries out that he can't be around Connie right now and in enters Greg. Revealing that Connie had called him when they first got to the hospital.

The episode ends at Steven's house. Greg and Steven finally have that conversation Steven wanted to have at the beginning of the episode. This ending mirroring the ending of 'Together Forever' with Greg and Steven much like it did between Steven and Garnet. I also noticed that their roles, Garnet being the one that Steven usually turns to and Greg, Steven's human father were flipped in these two episodes. As much as Garnet tried to help, she couldn't. Much like throughout the series Greg tries to help Steven but he couldn't. These last few episodes are probably going to be the most important episodes of the series.

Steven Universe: Future is on Fridays at 7 p.m. on Cartoon Network.