Hmmm... well, Jasper didn't really get a chance to show off much strategy. But it's possible she brought Lapis along for firepower (perhaps with the hinted promise of a reduced punishment, although not an eliminated one) or under the idea that if Lapis cared enough for Rose (Steven) to send a message back, Lapis might make a decent hostage in a battle with Master Strategist Rose Quartz.
I don't think Jasper or Peridot knew about the message. I assumed Lapis was mostly brought as an informant, as the only gem to return from Earth in millennia.
Wait what? That wasn't supposed to be an attack on you at all. You asked for an explanation and I gave one. I am seriously confused. Did I do something wrong?
I dunno about Alska, but I personally get really anxious when someone points out that behavior I thought was bad-but-understandable or just plain okay is actually abusive. I'm not good at recognizing that kinda stuff, and the whole "you can like characters that are terrible people, just don't deny that what they do is wrong" sentiment + "but I don't know what they do is wrong??" sends me into a guilty little spiral sometimes. I don't even know. I like a lot of characters who are terrible people, and it worries me that I can have trouble quantifying just how horrible they actually are. Buuuut, anyways, one of the writers tweeted about how Jasper's a complex character and we'd get to see that soon enough, so. Dunno if that'll make her sympathetic. I mean, I sympathize with anyone trapped inside a mindscape with two other consciousnesses struggling clamber to the top of the crab bucket, but that's just kinda basic "shit, wow, that's rough bro" kinda sympathy.
Oh no I get that. I had to block someone who insisted DirkJake was abusive cause I just didn't see it that way but they kept trying to guilt trip me. So I guess I should make this clear: I'm not saying my interpretation is the only interpretation. If you like Jaspis you like Jaspis, I'm not going to try to change that. The intent of me writing that post was not to guilt trip anyone or get anyone to stop anything. All that post means is I'm going to make a hard right if you wanna fan over it and come back later.
finally caught up on this thread. i'm so fucked up over this show guys it's not even a little bit funny (i've been watching since the pilot, even back then i knew it was gonna be something special, and i'm so glad it's continued to just be so utterly wonderful). also, re: Connie's parents: Spoiler: more mom talk it's funny i didn't notice anything weird at all about connie's mom's actions until i read the posts on this thread and realized that no, that is messed up. i definitely think it's an Asian Mom thing! it seemed super familiar to me, anyway. so like my parents didn't have me until almost ten years after they were married? it took my mom a long long time to get pregnant and i was a Complicated baby (had to be born via c-section) so i've always been her precious perfect sweet Gift from God, and she's really struggled with not turning into a scary over-protective Tiger Mom. so i see the same sorts of things with connie, the fact that culturally Asian moms tend to be a lot more involved in their kids' lives anyway, and like has been mentioned elsethread, the maheshwarans seem to be quite a bit older than greg. it makes sense to me that they had her later in life (and maybe struggled a lot to get pregnant) and so they're trying really super hard to love this kid and are going about it in all the wrong ways? like all of my friends with asian parents have struggled with the same stuff, having to hide stuff from their parents because they can't talk about it, having to do all these activities and achieve all this stuff but feeling like their parents don't really *see* them.
Spoiler: sadie's song spoilers (and added alliterative appeal (and, moreover, mentions of moms)) That was cute, but am I the only one who found the ending to be like...really abrupt? Like, weirdly so. If it weren't for the usual iris out at the end I'd wonder if the copy I downloaded got cut off by accident. Also, ngl, Barb gave me a fair bit of secondhand embarrassment. It's clear that she wants the best for Sadie, but--and I am sensing a theme here--doesn't really know her. Which dovetails nicely with Nightmare Hospital, in a way--both Barb and Priyanka think they know their daughters and definitely want what's best for them, but they really don't know them. But they go about it differently--Barb spoils Sadie and dotes on her like she's still a little kid, whereas Priyanka is more...harsh, I guess is the word? Like, Barb is more "the world just doesn't appreciate my little girl and I wish she'd appreciate herself more," and Priyanka is more "the world is actively out to get my little girl and she refuses to listen to me about that," y'know? The secondhand embarrassment comes in when I think about how my mom can occasionally be like Barb. Not to the same degree, and definitely not most of the time, but the whole "my kid expressed interest in this thing once, so obviously she's Super Into It" thing, plus the "sometimes treating me like I'm still a kid" bit. It didn't hit close to home in the AUGH BADFEELS way that some things can (more in the "oh my god mom you are embarrassing me" way, which isn't that bad tbh), and God knows I genuinely adore my mother, but yeah. That and the fact that I worry I'd be like that if I had a kid, and that I'm already like that with my friends. So uh...that gives me something to work on I guess, and maybe something to bring up to my mom when we watch the episode tonight! Also, Steven performing in Sadie's role was friggin' adorable, but I'm just waiting for Tumblr to go "OMFG TRANSMISOGYNY!!!!!111111111" tbh. >_> Finally, there's been a theme of Parents And Their Kids in this batch of episodes so far, and I'm excited to see where that goes. Since it's been, more specifically, mothers and their kids, I'm wondering if maybe there'll be something involving either A. more Rose backstory or B. the Crystal Gems and their relationship with Steven. (Or, ideally, C. both.) So yeah, not the best episode but definitely cute, and a nice breather.
i have no coherent thoughts re: sadie's song, just lots of screaming and glittery tears i just. i love this show. so much.
Spoiler: Sadie's Song spoilers I like Barb. She needs to tone it down like 12 notches but I like her. She sort of reminds me of my mom except not my mom. Also, Steven in Sadie's outfit, no one even batted an eye. He just wanted to wear the pretty outfit and be covered in glitter. I can relate. Spoiler: Nightmare Hospital spoilers Copied from tumblr, from after I first watched this episode: "I have never, ever, EVER in my life seen a portrayal of a controlling parent realize how controlling she’s been and then put the honesty of her relationship with her daughter above her own sense of parental authority." Additional thoughts: Sometimes we learn how to react to situations by seeing how others react, real or fictional. Showing a parent listen and respect her child when the parent is wrong gives people a different model of how to behave than "must avoid looking wrong at all costs". I really really appreciate this show.
"You can be wrong and admit it without fucking up your kid forever; you dont have to Always Be Right" is a thing i wish more parents were told. I think a lot of my mom's generation kind of had the idea that if they admit they made a mistake their kid wouldnt respect them anymore, and probably wouldnt Respect Authority in general and would End Up in Prison or some shit. It was really unhealthy for both parents and kids.
After a little back reading, I feel like it might be useful to say that I don't think an IRL parent like Priyanka would change like that, nor do I think a parent like her would get this positive message from a kid's TV show. I think this sort of portrayal is useful for primarily for children to see that it's not the end of the world to be wrong. It also shows them that good relationships with your family are more important than Being Right All The Time, and refusing to acknowledge a fuckup is doing a disservice to your family. That's all said assuming Priyanka sticks to her change, though.
That's why I'm a lolita! I have an excuse to wear frilly dresses (and fancy makeup when I want to) without having to date someone in high school. Or get married.
