While the biggest Stevenbomb ever may be over, new Steven Universe episodes will continue to air once a week through into September. “The “Summer of Steven” began July 18, giving us time with Beach City citizenry before Jasper’s return and the introduction of Bismuth . “Beta” and “Earthling” rocked our universe, but all ended on a loving note in “Know Your Fusion.” The latest Steven Universe episode, “ Mindful Education, ” brought mindfulness meditation to its viewers with beautiful new song “Here Comes A Thought,” sung by Estelle and AJ Michalka.
Today's Steven Universe episode, "Future Boy Zoltron,” fills us in on some Mr. Smiley backstory -- which has been a long time coming. Steven is immediately attracted to the new attraction Mr. Smiley puts up on the boardwalk: Zoltron, Robot Fortune Teller from the Future. “I know your future because I am from there!” croaks the machine, a vintage model Mr. Smiley has dragged out of storage.
Steven is the first to try it out and asks, “Will I get that fancy kazoo I’ve always wanted?” Zoltron responds with Steven’s lucky numbers: “16, 47 and W.” Hah!
Steven, disappointed, wants his money back. “If I had a quarter for every time someone wanted their quarter back… wait, I do!” Mr. Smiley quips. It turns out he used to be a comedian, but he doesn’t want to talk about it or share old jokes. Steven asks Zoltron instead, but a reassuring tap on the robot oracle’s shoulder knocks Zoltron out of the machine.
Steven grovels for Mr. Smiley’s forgiveness -- “Please, I just don’t want to be banned from any more of your businesses!” -- and Mr. Smiley agrees that Steven can replace Zoltron himself to make up for the damage caused. And that’s literal: Steven dresses up as a robot boy from the future and puts on his robot voice while standing inside the Zoltron machine. The cogs of capitalism creak ever onwards.
The first people to swing by are Sadie and Lars, who are debating whether or not to skip work. In his super-detailed answer, Steven addresses them by name and psychoanalyzes both of them, to their deep disquiet. They scurry off, Onion swings by with a crowbar, Zoltron!Steven informs him that he sees prison bars in Onion’s future…. so Onion comes back with a robber mask over his head. Thanks, Onion, for everything that you do.
After a few more Beach City residents swing by to visit Zoltron, a mysterious stranger appears. He has a forlorn look and a British accent and kind of seems like he walked in from a different show. He asks Zoltron strange, sad questions: “Was it a mistake to come here? Will talking to him make any difference? Do I really just drive everyone around me away?”
Steven has an increasingly harder time answering the melancholic man’s mopey questions, answering the last one with the same lucky numbers the real Zoltron gave him earlier. Just as the man accidentally drops his final quarter, Steven wishes he knew what to tell him and could see into the future like Garnet to help this man out.
Cue Garnet! The episode’s stand-out interaction occurs:
Steven: “Can I borrow your Future Vision? I want to help some random stranger I just met.”
Garnet: “That seems like an appropriate use of my powers.”
She gives Steven a smooch on the forehead to share her Future Vision with him, then hands the stranger a quarter and leaves as suddenly as she arrives. Thanks, Garnet!
With Future Vision, Steven sees that nothing he says will cheer the man up. That’s when the man inadvertently reveals that he’s Mr. Frowny, the other half of a comedy act between himself and Mr. Smiley. He mutters that he’ll just get on the bus and leave.
Cut to Steven making a face while saying, “Zoltron says that’s a question for your doctor!” to a random passerby. Hah! Mr. Smiley appears and Steven tells him all about Mr. Frowny. In turn, Mr. Smiley explains that Mr. Frowny couldn’t be cheered up, even offstage. Steven’s Future Vision confirms that no matter what Mr. Smiley says, Mr. Frowny will take it badly.
Still, Steven runs after Mr. Smiley and asks if Mr. Frowny even knew he made Mr. Smiley sad. Smiley and Frowny reunite at the bus station, where Mr. Smiley says he wanted their act to work but it was making Mr. Frowny unhappy. But Mr. Frowny just wanted it to be taken seriously. He turns away with a tear: “I guess it was never going to work. But I really thought we had something.”
As Mr. Frowny wipes away his tears, Mr. Smiley goes into their old routine, which actually puts something of a smile on Mr. Frowny’s face. Frowny chuckles, then gives Mr. Smiley a big hug before heading out of town.
Steven is touchingly delighted to witness such happiness (especially pleasing for anyone who remembers Steven’s trauma in “Mindful Education” ), but his debt is by no means paid off: that machine cost thousands of dollars. “Zoltron sees cramped legs in his future,” Steven quips sheepishly. End of episode.
Beach City citizenry episodes can be a little uneven , but Mr. Smiley has to be one of the citizens we knew the least about. It’s easy to empathize with someone who misses someone else and still has regrets over the way things went down, even if no one was particularly at fault. I’m glad Mr. Frowny took his unbearable melancholia on a bus way the heck out of Beach City, but seeing the Smiley and Frowny routine so touchingly reenacted in a way that clearly helped both men feel better was great to watch.
It was also good for Steven to see that he can still contribute to people’s happiness, since we know that being able to help people is a major bugaboo for our little lad. And Garnet’s appearance was perfect: random, funny and tender.
Make sure to check back with iDigitalTimes for upcoming news, analysis and hot takes as they happen, with new Steven Universe episode “Last One Out of Beach City” next Thursday at 7 PM.
