Future Foreshadowing in SU

January 31, 2020

Introducing my girlfriend to SU and oh my god the foreshadowing. Even in an episode as seemingly inconsequential as “Steven and the Stevens,” we can see Steven demonstrating some really controlling behaviors! It will take another five seasons and a movie for this flaw of his to shine, but there it is, right from the start. (SATS isn’t the only early episode where this happens; it’s just a particularly powerful example.)

Also, Rose’s room! Not only does the room give Steven whatever he wants (some early foreshadowing of the immense political power he’ll inherit), but Steven also immediately gets whatever he wants after he leaves the room. The original “Rose’s Room” episode ends with what I’d assumed was a throwaway joke: Steven almost learns a tidy moral lesson about how things can’t always go his way, and that’s okay—except then he doesn’t, because everything goes his way. Again, the goddamn foreshadowing.

This holds up in other episodes, far as I can tell. In “Together Breakfast,” Steven doesn’t have his wish fulfilled (all the gems plus together breakfast in one place) until he passes through Rose’s room and into the basement. Likewise, in “Catch and Release,” Steven passes through Rose’s room on the way to free Peridot—marking Peridot’s redemption arc as Steven’s fantasy manifest.

I haven’t rewatched “Open Book” or “Storm in the Room” yet—I forget if there are any others—but I’ll be keeping my eye out for this.