Reunited (Steven Universe)
Ruby and Sapphire's wedding is interrupted by the Diamond attack.
"Reunited" is a double-length episode of the fifth season of the American animated series Steven Universe, serving as the 151st and 152nd episode overall. It features the wedding of Ruby and Sapphire, which was interrupted by an attack from Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond. The episode was nominated for a 2019 Emmy Award for Outstanding Short-Format Animated Program.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Steven Universe
- Season
- 5
- Episode
- 23 & 24
- Director
- Joe Johnston (supervising), Liz Artinian (art)
- Writer
- Miki Brewster
- Jeff Liu
- Katie Mitroff
- Paul Villeco
- Story
- Matt Burnett
- Ben Levin
- Rebecca Sugar
- Kat Morris
- Joe Johnston
- Tom Herpich
- Editor
- Paul Douglas
- Air date
- 6 July 2018
Facts from the source article.
Plot
On their wedding day, Ruby and Sapphire prepare for the ceremony with help from Steven, who sings "Let's Only Think About Love" to distract everyone from recent traumatic events. At the wedding, attended by Steven's friends, Ruby and Sapphire exchange vows: Ruby says Sapphire helps her see value in herself, and Sapphire explains that Ruby saved her from her destiny and opened new possibilities. They kiss and fuse back into Garnet. During the reception, Blue and Yellow Diamond arrive in giant arm-shaped spaceships to awaken the Cluster, a geo-weapon at Earth's core. The Cluster manifests as a giant arm but retains control and arm-wrestles Yellow's ship. Blue Diamond lands on the beach, subduing the Gems with her grief-inducing aura. Connie attacks with Rose Quartz's sword, but Blue Diamond shatters the blade. Garnet distracts Blue Diamond long enough for Lapis Lazuli to drop her barn on Blue Diamond, declaring her allegiance. The Crystal Gems overwhelm Blue Diamond, and the Cluster disables both ships before retreating. Yellow Diamond destabilizes Peridot, reducing her to her gemstone, and steps on Steven, knocking him unconscious.
Production
The episode was written and storyboarded by Miki Brewster, Jeff Liu, Katie Mitroff, and Paul Villeco, with art direction by Liz Artinian and Joe Johnston as supervising director. Ruby and Sapphire's wedding storyline was conceived early in the series, during production of their first appearance in "Jail Break", before same-sex marriage was legalized in the United States. Series creator Rebecca Sugar stated that the characters were designed to be "wholesome" in response to pushback about their relationship, so that "there could only be one reason you could not show this to kids"; their relationship was intentionally depicted to minimize international censorship. Ruby and Sapphire's gendered attire was reversed for the wedding: Ruby wears a dress while Sapphire wears a suit. Concept art for these designs existed since 2016. Sugar based their relationship on her own with Ian Jones-Quartey, and came out as non-binary days after the episode aired; she later noted that Ruby's dress referenced her own gender identity. Sugar cited classic musical films as influences: the wedding reception interrupted by violence was borrowed from Fiddler on the Roof, and the barn dropped on Blue Diamond referenced The Wizard of Oz. Cartoon Network pressured the crew to make Steven the leader of the Crystal Gems, but the crew pushed back, with Garnet becoming the leader again in this episode.
Broadcast and reception
"Reunited" premiered on Cartoon Network on July 6, 2018, as the fifth and sixth episodes of the seventh StevenBomb event. Its initial American broadcast was viewed by approximately 0.974 million viewers and received a Nielsen household rating of 0.28. The episode received critical acclaim, particularly for the quantity of important events within a single episode, including Ruby and Sapphire's wedding, Lapis Lazuli's return, and the battle with the Diamonds. Eric Thurm of The A.V. Club gave it an A−, praising the wedding but finding the fight scenes slightly underwhelming. Palmer Haasch of Polygon called it one of the show's "best episodes to date," and Lux Alptraum hailed it as an important instance of visible queer representation. Entertainment Weekly rated it one of the five best animated episodes of 2018. At the 2019 Creative Arts Emmy Awards, it was nominated for Outstanding Short-Format Animated Program.
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