#mangry

i think the problem with nominating “mr greg” is that it required way too much context. watching it without knowing what happened is... yknow, it’s pretty! it sounds good! but it’d still be a little emotionally hollow. 

yes, the emmys play favorites. yes, name recognition matters, and they’re good at awarding what they’ve already awarded, but... still, steven universe is a show that often requires context! they slowly set up the world so you understand the characters and relationships, and that helps you appreciate the emotional punches when they come. 

“now i’ve got to be there for her son!” 

this line kills me. it’s just... perfectly delivered. but would you really feel it, if you didn’t know pearl’s history with rose, or with steven? the episode never explains that. it assumes you’ve watched the show. 

the emmy judges, for the most part, haven’t.

in 2015, i didn’t like “jake the brick” of adventure time. i understood why it won, however: you need no context whatsoever to get sucked into it. it’s just nature narration over a storm, there’s no prior buildup. 

adventure time, more than any other nominee, understands the value of no-context episodes -  they’re doing the same thing this year. “ring of fire” takes you through a journey of this elephant lady’s marriages, and has a lot of like, facebook meme quotes about life. they could easily win again. 

which brings us to “jungle moon”.

do i think it’s a good episode? yes. 

do i think it requires context to make sense? some of it, sure.

do i think it stands a chance? actually... yeah, i’m gonna be hopeful!

you might not get why stevonnie talks to themselves if you don’t know what fusion is, and you might not understand why they’re in space... but unlike the core of “mr greg”, the previous context isn’t the point. the best parts are what we, the audience, are introduced to with stevonnie. 

the things that hit me about “jungle moon” are the build of tension and surrealism throughout the dream, and the creativity of the moon itself. 

you don’t need context to appreciate those things - we’re reacting to this new world WITH stevonnie. we are introduced to concepts AS they happen. things are seeded and rewarded in-episode: after the dream, you get the eerie implications of the colony in the sky. the blob bird pops up several times to defend its child. 

in the episode’s centerpiece - the dream - slowly realizing that That’s Not Your Mom happens naturally and gradually. seeing the spaceships fly over the rooftops, hearing dr. maheswaran threaten to shatter someone... even if you don’t know yellow diamond, you understand that something is wrong. Very Wrong. it doesn’t take much guesswork to realize that stevonnie is ACTUALLY seeing through the eyes of the “bad guys”. 

the dream has two great “oh shit” moments: when we see yellow’s eyes, and when pink punches the glass wall. because we just met pink (as far as we know), the episode makes sure we understand how she feels, and why. it hits. 

even the character development stuff works, because this is pink diamond’s first (historical-chronological) appearance. her motivations are clear, and we’ve seen enough of stevonnie’s easy-going and unassuming demeanor throughout the episode that we slowly realize - along with the logic of the dream - that they’re not themselves anymore. that transition is effortless, and i think (hope) it’s something anyone can appreciate, along with the clever imagery, symbolism, and creativity of it all.

moreover, this is steven universe’s fourth nomination, and they’ve been nominated back-to-back for as long as it’s been a recognized hit series. name recognition does matter, as we’ve talked about. i think the emmys enjoy feeling like they’re awarding consistency, making new shows “work for it” until they’ve proven their first nomination wasn’t a fluke.