Now that I’ve sufficiently got the watermelon parody posts out of the way, I want to talk about how the Watermelon Stevens made their way into having their own village, and what they value now that it’s there.
1. On Possessing Bodies
The first indicator of their lives we get, is the farming sequence. As it turns out, the Watermelon Stevens (WS for short) create life. I don’t know if this is something Rose Quartz did with her armies, but if they did, they would be a terrifying force, enemies who could respawn without their commander. I think it would make sense though, that Steven and Rose would be in full support of creating more life. They believe that each individual has an experience worth sharing and a life worth living.
So I guess that makes it terrifying that Steven failed to realised they were playing “Not it” and got chosen, and then the WS body he was in got eaten by Malachite.
That’s a life right there, who had to be sacrificed to move the story along. It was totally sentient, and Steven sort of just popped it out of its body. Nobly, if he didn’t sacrifice himself for Steven’s consciousness, we never would have found Malachite and defeated the Cluster in time. I guess the question here would be about this other WS then.
When Steven’s consciousness drifts back into his real body, does the consciousness of that WS return to its original body as well? If it does, does he remember anything? I’m not sure, but I sure hope so, if not, that’s a terrifying power Steven has. It means that he’s very connected to his soldiers, but it’s also a constant reminder that he holds infinite power over them and that he could take their very real lives away at any moment.
In the heat of the moment, trying to figure out what to do about everything, Steven probably wasn’t too aware of the repercussions of what he’d done. But knowing Steven, he’d be very guilty when he realises what happened to the WS he temporarily possessed. Steven is never up for a meaningless loss of life. That’s why in the WS’s debut appearance, he made a big deal about their fighting one another and the Crystal Gems. It wasn’t worth it and it wasn’t worth the sacrifice of Baby Melon.
2. Creating Life
But what’s significant is that the WS do create life in meaningful ways. They don’t just plant babies for the sake of it. There are family units that want children.
And the children even have informal learning because of the village priest melon.
In fact, they have domesticated animals and pets. They’ve differentiated by wearing clothes and accessories. This all shows that they have been making meaning in their lives.
When Steven sent them away he said “Don’t come back until you understand what he (Baby Melon) did for you.” Baby Melon sacrificed himself so that the other WS would understand that there was more to life than just fighting and being a soldier. He showed them that there were many things to live for: love, youth, peace. And now the WS are back and it shows they’ve understood the value of these things. They value their young and they try really hard to live a peaceful life.
What I find questionable in all this, is that when there were signs of trouble, the WS offered up one of their own, almost in a sacrificial way.
Clearly Steven is an important figure in their society. And I wouldn’t look past the part where they adorned him in roses. The WS recognise their true master, and they hope that his image is enough to save them. I would look at this not as sacrifice, but rather, as channeling the power that Steven has and that this power would be enough to defend them from incoming threat.
3. Baby Melon
I mentioned that Baby Melon has left an indelible mark on the WS society.
The peacocks (which we never see again) are associated with Baby Melon. They are also associated with Hera, the wife of Zeus, seen almost as his second in command. In the same way, the WS acknowledge that BM was important to Steven in a significant way. Moreover, peacocks symbolise divinity and royalty. They also symbolise eternal life, because of their association with phoenixes.
I think at this point, BM has become the driving force behind their desire to form a civilisation and settle as a community. From a young age, all WS are taught the Baby Melon way of life.
It is one of peace, love, and sacrifice.
Finally, peacocks are associated with Argus Panoptes, Hera’s servant with a hundred eyes, because of the designs on their feathers looking like many eyes. When he was killed, Hera turned him into a peacock to immortalise him. It’s almost as if Baby Melon, as a statue in the very middle of the village, is watching over every one of the WS and making sure that they do what Steven said they should be doing.
I think this devotion to the Baby Melon way was what ultimately led the WS to agree with Steven’s battlecry and help Alexandrite in the battle against Malachite.
4. Watermelon Stevens are still soldiers
Despite the changes the WS have made to their way of life, they’re still soldiers. If you’ve noticed, there was no way they could have had an armoury that extensive without months of stockpiling and forging weapons. Spears and shields I can maybe believe they had lying around as raw materials, but catapults and gliders couldn’t have been built in that short a time.
The basic instinct for a WS is still to serve Steven and fight for him. Weapons are made, even though they aren’t always necessary. But I think that was the key to their success.
5. They’re like Steven
One thing I think we’ve all noticed is that the WS have many of Steven’s mannerisms.
Because they carry his DNA. But I think what Steven has been socialised to understand has also hugely been carried over into the WS.
That’s the same couple we saw earlier in the episode. It’s a huge slap in the face of conventional gender roles. The archetypal male/husband/father figure stays home with the child, while the archetypal female/wife/mother goes off into battle. And he’s the one looking worried. I’m of the firm belief that these watermelons don’t have a gender, and they’re free to express as they identify with one. This is also how Steven sees things. There are no lines as to who should do what, and it’s something that’s ingrained in the WS as well.
It was very silly when I noticed it, the watermelon dog has a star-butt and lion has a star-head
but it did get me thinking… The watermelon dog knows Steven instinctively, even when he changes bodies. Just like Lion knew Steven instinctively when they first met.
Is Lion inhabiting the watermelon dog?
lion could be a plant animal like watermelon dog is. LIke a strawberry or something
Steven: Let's try talking to Malachite so we can help her!
Why Steven Universe is Incredible (Spoilers Under Cut)
So after watching the first two episodes of ‘In Too Deep’ I had a few thoughts to add on the whole cluster ordeal that occurred in the second half. We get to see Steven’s obvious discomfort with going with intentional purposes of hurting the Cluster - THE VERY “ABOMINATION CREATED TO DESTROY THE EARTH - and tells Peridot of his discomfort.
What she tells Steven though is that the Cluster is so.. “shattered, they don’t know who they are, what’s happening around them”. More to the point, they’re mindlessly trying to find their missing pieces that, unknowing to them, won’t find.
But when they reach the Cluster…
Steven FREAKS OUT. He doesn’t know what’s happening, because he’s seeing the Cluster. But..
Steven doesn’t just see gem shards.
Steven isn’t just seeing the Cluster.
Steven’s gem is reacting.
He’s experiencing and seeing them for what they really are. (Cough cough… Thnx Pearl)
They’re lost; the shards contained within the Cluster are so shattered, so broken down that they don’t know what’s happening; and only Steven can hear their cries and anguish as their being forced to fuse.
But he knows that they are not just that.
But what does he do instead of hurting the Cluster, just as everyone else had planned to do? What does he do instead of following along to Peridot’s mission and drill through it? (Which probably would have just made multi-mini-clusters to be frank..)
He does what Steven ALWAYS does. Steven befriends the Cluster – he sees the GOOD in them, and talks to them through the powers of his Gem, telling them they DON’T have to fuse - because he knows they don’t want to hurt the plant (hearing them say know made me want to cry tbh) - that even though they’re missing pieces of themselves they can find so much within themselves, and get to know each other’s pieces; and ultimately Steven helps the Cluster make peace with itself.
Knowing the only way to save them is the bubble them, he tries to bubble the Cluster, only bubbling five and asks for them to work together to bubble itself so the earth can be safe, and the cluster be at peace.
I mean.. wasn’t that the theme of the episode? To work together and you can make something great? ( Just look at how cute P looks, she did great)
tdlr; Steven teaches us an important lesson: work together and even the seemingly impossible will become achievable.
I am Silver Tongue, I am an artist. I have many characters and you can check out my art in the art tag. I occasionally practice witchcraft though I don't do anything too complicated. I am girl 2 and don't know what else to put here.
