Helo! ^_^

Just to get the two small episode-specific items out of the way first:

I love Saturn standing up for Jupiter (or at least trying to). I've got more on this below, but his "nobody speaks to Jupiter like that while I'm--" is both so in character (he cares so much for Jupes) and out of character (he doesn't raise his voice much if ever) that it's very impactful. Look at Jupiter's reaction to it; even he's surprised.

"I'll miss you...so much." JEEZ, RIP MY HEART OUT AND STOMP ON IT WHY DON'T YOU. I'm a Patreon member so I saw this episode last week and I can't get that line and its delivery out of my head.

Edit: they left in the brief second when Jupiter’s eyes turned white again after making his decision. I thought that was an animation error in the Patreon version, but maybe not. And if not, interesting…

Anyway...

Saturn is one of my favorite characters. He's my second favorite character, actually, after Uranus. I know a lot of people complain that he is underutilized; to an extent, I agree. But maybe he's not as underutilized as we may think.

I have a lot I can say about Saturn, but I tried to focus on aspects of his personality, relationships, and character progression that relate mainly to his overall "use" in the progression of SolarBalls' stories and arcs. Think of this as just a superficial little romp through some of the things I find most important and intriguing about him within the context of "how does Saturn relate to the plot?"

SolarBalls and the Character Arc

SolarBalls has a distinct approach to character arcs. I think they've tried to give most of the main characters (and by that I mean the planets and several of the major moons) arcs, but it's clear that some characters' arcs are seen as more important than others. Like, even amongst the planets themselves, some are considered more central characters than others. Main main characters, let's call them.

This makes sense, I guess, to a degree. Having eight big main characters is a lot for a series like this (one with lots of characters and a huge variety of directions of focus) presented in its medium (short-ish animation). Also, in terms of "science," some of celestial objects have bigger roles in shaping what our Solar System is than others just by virtue of their size, placement, and composition, so giving them more focus is logical.

Earth, for example. It'd be weird if Earth wasn't a main character in this show, right? You could probably argue the same thing for the Sun and Jupiter. The big dudes have had a huge influence on shaping the Solar System. These three having big character arcs makes sense.

But at the same time, it seems weird to me that Mars has had basically zero focus or character development, especially looking at things through that "science" lens. Mars is probably the planet we're most interested in science-wise, but so far he's really just been relegated to the "main character's best friend" role. Absolutely no hate to Mars. He’s great, which is why I want to see more of him! Venus, too. Another planet with an interesting history, science-wise (and our second closest neighbor) and we've not gotten too much on him. He's had more character exploration and character development than Mars has, but a good amount of that was via the Theia arc.

Venus and Uranus, I think, are good examples of how SolarBalls treats what I consider their "secondary" main characters. They've gotten their own arcs - kinda - but their arcs have not had the same degree of focus as the arcs of the Earth, Jupiter, the Sun, Proto/Theia and even Ganymede. Their arcs were like little subplots within larger character arcs and were used mainly to advance these larger arcs. Venus was used to advance Theia's arc by (eventually) pushing the Theia/Proto relationship (do they even have a ship name?). Uranus was used to advance the Earth's arc, Jupiter's arc, and the Sun's arc (Uranus leaves the Solar System -> Jupiter breaks his "I'm not breaking the rules" rule to try to bring Uranus back -> Earth follows Jupiter and ends up in the Kuiper Belt -> all the planets return but their absences set the Sun off and kicked off the newest arc).

[Edit: heh, perhaps one could say that Uranus actually has had the biggest role in progressing SolarBalls' story since the end of the Planet X arc, as his actions set everything after that into motion, much like how people always say that Neptune kicked off the Moon Revolution by asking about rings. Too bad Uranus himself still got cheated out of getting any real focus and/or satisfying resolution...yes, I will forever be bitter about that.]

The tl;dr: there are SolarBalls' main characters and then there are its Main Characters. The latter's arcs take precedence over the former's, which kinda sucks but also kinda makes some sense.

Saturn's Role Thus Far: The Catalyst

So what does all this have to do with Saturn? Saturn's an interesting character because right now, I don't think he really falls into any of the above categories. He's not one of the main main characters (like Earth, Jupes, or the Sun), but he doesn't really fit into the "secondary main character" role either (Venus, Uranus, maybe Pluto and Triton, too?) since he has yet to have an arc of his own. But also, he's not quite on Mars' level, either, as he's played a bigger role in certain things than Mars has.

He's kind of on his own level character-wise.

A big part of this is his personality. He's so kind and so sweet and so...subdued. I absolutely adore Saturn's personality, but it doesn't lend itself to a major main character role the same way Earth's (previously) arrogant personality did or Ganymede's (mostly previously but still present) desire to be seen as a leader and the "Jupiter of the moons" does. Saturn obviously plays a role in things, but it's more of a catalyst role than an ongoing active role.

Example: he reacts with guilt and the desire for forgiveness when he learns about how his rings were formed. This leads to him talking to his moons, which helped to set off the Moon Revolution. But in terms of this revolution itself, Saturn played basically no role. He essentially was absent for that whole thing. Like Mimas said when he and the other moons reunited with Saturn after the revolution, "is he aware all the moons rallied up against the planets?" It's like...he produces consequences, but he doesn't play a big role in their resolutions.

Another big part is his relationship with Jupiter. I think this relationship automatically pushes him out of one of the main main roles, as he's sort of stuck being seen as the sidekick/best friend/partner of a major main character. But we can't discount Saturn's role in shaping how things have panned out plot-wise because of this relationship with Jupiter.

Examples:

Saturn was the driving reason behind the Grand Tack. Jupiter wanted to be with him, and Saturn didn't deter Jupiter from making the move so they could be closer together (despite X's warnings). This obviously had a lot of consequences.

Saturn discouraged Jupiter from trying to go get X back after expelling him. I don't know if Jupiter really would have gone after X, but Saturn reasoned with him and talked him down by emphasizing that leaving would probably cause even more destruction.

Saturn was the one who pushed the "our penance for the Grand Tack is to try to keep things stable" reasoning to Jupiter in the first place, too. "We make things right from now on," he said. I don't know how Jupiter would have handled the guilt from the Grand Tack/expulsion of X had Saturn not been there to ground him.

And it's all the same sort of thing: Saturn is obviously playing a role in things, but it's more of a catalyst role. He's like, "here, let me influence your actions for a second...and now my work is done here, bye."

Also related to this is how many times Saturn's stood up for Jupiter (or tried to stand up for him but got silenced in some way or another). He outright lied to the Sun for Jupiter after the Grand Tack. He advocated for him during the "planets ordered by size" episodes. He tried twice to confess his role in X's expulsion as a way to show that it wasn't entirely Jupiter's sole doing, but Jupiter silenced him both times. In the most recent episode, he stood up to SIMP and the other Rogues over their treatment of Jupiter (before becoming too frightened to continue...but everyone else was frightened by that point, too). There's so much potential for Saturn just in the way he is always trying to defend Jupiter. And, of course, in the way he's always trying to get Jupiter to open up to him and talk about his feelings, too.

What's Next for Saturn: Action?

Basically, all the above rambling comes down to this: despite not getting a major focus or even a minor arc of his own yet, Saturn has had a huge influence on things. This puts him in a unique place in the series, I think.

Specifically, it feels like there's been something building for Saturn for a while. While he hasn't had the spotlight, there have been hints that something big is going to happen with him and the focus is finally going to be on him specifically. There are a lot of possible avenues of character development - his relationship with Jupiter, his role in the Grand Tack/expulsion of X that has yet to be revealed to the Sun, what he knows/doesn't know about his rings, his memory issues in general - and we're just waiting to see which avenue we go down to give him the attention his character so desperately deserves.

Perhaps it will be the separation (or threat of separation) from Jupiter that pushes him towards something. Perhaps an off-hand mention of something about his rings from one of his moons or one of the Rogues will set off the Chrysalis arc (if there is going to be one). Perhaps he'll get his chance to actually stand up for Jupiter instead of being talked over or frightened into silence. Perhaps he'll eventually have to atone for his role in the Grand Tack and X's expulsion.

1. Oh stars.

So... our planets are absolutely fried and cooked. At least they actually bothered to discuss things this time rather than just immediately saying yes or no. I can tell that they're definitely growing suspicious about the army, ESPECIALLY Neptune. He literally says himself: "Also, just my opinion... it's SUPER sketchy that she wants us gone." THIS. LITERALLY THIS. FINALLY SOMEONE SAYS IT. I knew he'd have the right idea about this since the moment I watched them join like HELL YES GO NEPTUNE THANK YOU MY KING

And Venus as well??? He's asking all the right questions and making all the right assumptions. Plus him being sad about missing Astrodude made me so happy 🥲 YOU WILL SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN I PROMISEEE

I honestly feel so bad for Jupiter. He's so blinded by everything that's happened recently and by his own guilt that he barely hesitated to say yes to the mission despite the fact they'd be gone for almost 3000 years without seeing each other at all. Like... are you kidding? 1 MILLION planets each? He must be thinking about a lot right now.

Huge W to Uranus here by the way for looking out for Neptune and expressing his concerns with him being alone for so long. It's rare now that anyone says outright how worried they are about his mental state, so it's refreshing to see it actually happen.

Mercury as well omg. Mercury knows Sol better than any of the planets, it's only natural he'd know how he felt at that moment. If there is to be a future rebellion against the rogue planets, he would be one of the first to team up with the Sun again. I'm glad he's thinking of him.

2. Speaking of Sol...

So he is indeed hallucinating again.

He misses his babies so much ohhhh no. He will literally do ANYTHING to get them back at this point, even if it's as simple as a sorry and a conversation.

"You want me to say sorry, huh?! Will that make you all happy...?! Will that make you all come back?!"

"...Talk to me. Come on, you wanted to talk, right? You wanted to... communicate, and all that!"

It broke me seeing him cry, no joke. His flashback sequence and him realising just how bad and unapproachable and overbearing he's been? Dude, he literally looked scared of himself. [p.t: himself]

"Why aren't you back...? Why did you choose the darkness of space...? Please, someone, just... say something!" With tears in his eyes. He full on YEARNS for things to be back to normal and I just know he's on the verge of a full mental breakdown... that is if he hasn't reached his limit already.

In all honesty here, I would not be surprised if this implies at some point in the future he, Luna, and Earth will leave the solar system to find the others. Unless another star (or other stars plural) will be there in Sol's place to maintain the stability of the remaining orbiting objects whilst he's gone, I am not entirely sure how well that would go. I look forward to seeing what he decides to do.

3. HELL YES GOOD THINKING DWARF PLANETS

This is 100% the right move to make. Even with everything Sol has done, going back to him is worth it because he WILL cooperate. I'm just curious, though, how ARE they going to relocate the solar system? It makes me wonder: would they encounter any different ones along the way, like the Centauri system? If you couldn't tell I really want to see the Centauri system again like oh my goodness they have so much potential to be useful in this arc I WANT THEM TO APPEAR SO BAD UHHWHAHHAHSM

Sedna is an absolute girlboss btw. Her being the leader of the little dwarf planet army was the right move and I love her so much.

Thanks, Wise. You just gave them the opportunity of the century by banishing them lmao.

4. X YOU WONDERFUL MASTERMIND I KNEW YOU WERE ONE OF THE GOOD ONES

Look, we still don't know what exactly the rogues are planning with Earth or anyone else, but X sure does and we can only guess how bad it is.

They were NOT kidding when they said that what X did was brave. Who knows what the larger consequences of going against the rogue planets are, and since Wise knows that X sent Ogle away to the solar system, I am rather concerned for what's going to happen to him. Maybe he'll be banished? Taken into the empty void of space? Imprisoned, or even crushed? No matter what happens, he has a plan. We know how smart he is, therefore, I have reason to believe it will be successful, no matter how dangerous.