Steven Universe Season 5 Episode 13 Review: Your Mother and Mine

This Steven Universe review contains spoilers.

Steven Universe Season 5 Episode 13

Finally Steven Universe lays out some answers but they’re thankfully not all given at once. Learning the story of Rose and how she started the rebellion was one fans have discussed for ages but it’s delightfully simple. She fell in love with Earth only because she took notice of it and fell in love with it. There wasn’t anything special about her creation as a Gem. She wasn’t a mutation or had some special destiny.

No, she just had curiosity like anyone could have. This makes her actions all the more special because they all came from her, not some tragic back-story or huge world turning event. Everything she did was because she believed it was the right thing to do. 

It might feel like a let down after all of Steven’s angst about Rose but it works. It fits the themes of the show. Steven, with all the understanding he’s gained across the series, can finally hear this story and understand why she did it. She shattered Pink Diamond because “she feared she’d have nothing left to protect.” I’m sure there are more details that could be filled in here but that’s all we need. She simply wanted to protect this beautiful world that she fell in love with.

Again love features as the defining theme of the series. Love is what wins the day. Love is what brings everyone together. Love is what makes the Off Color Gems believe in themselves. Love won’t get you through everything; after all it’s pretty much shown Rose sacrificed herself to save the other Gems.

That does open up some questions about the timeline and Rose’s video all the way back in Lion 3. When she said she’d have to give herself up so Steven could be born what she not being quite literal? Was it that she knew she’d have to sacrifice herself to not only keep the Crystal Gems safe but also the infant Steven?

There are still questions here but Steven Universe doesn’t seem like the kind of show that will get into the nitty gritty. It gives you just enough to explain the broad strokes and you can fill in the rest. Garnet telling the story (and seeing it so beautifully animated) helps convey more the emotions of why Rose did what she did than the cold hard facts of what happened when. That’ll drive some people nuts but the themes are more important here. Love, as always, is the answer.

Shamus Kelley is a pop culture/television writer and official Power Rangers expert. That sub was the most beautiful gift and Lars didn’t appreciate its glory. Follow him on Twitter!