Lion 3: Straight to Video

Lion 3: Straight to Video is the thirty fifth episode of the first season of the American animated series Steven Universe. It is written by Joe Johnston, Jeff Liu and Rebecca Sugar.

Steven Universe follows the adventures of a young boy named Steven and the three alien warriors Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl, who are together known as the Crystal Gems. Their ultimate goal is to protect the Earth from colonization by other members of the Gem species. In the meantime, Steven must try to harness his own magical powers, which were inherited from Rose Quartz, his mother and the past leader of the Crystal Gems, while finding balance between being half-human and half-Gem.

In the episode, Steven is introduced to a pocket dimension in his pet lion's mane when Lion continuously lies on his face when he sleeps. Him kicking Lion out of his home causes questioning about more information of Rose Quartz and Lion's mysterious connection with her.

Plot

Steven (Zach Callison) is wandering around the Big Donut with Lion, struggling to decide what to order when he comes across several paper bags with Sadie's name written on them. Sadie (Kate Micucci) says that they're packed lunches her mother prepares for her, which she feels are embarrassing but allows Steven to take one. Back at the Temple, Steven examines the contents of the lunch and finds a star-shaped cookie, prompting him to wonder what his Rose Quartz would have put in a lunch for him. Steven then expresses his desire to have known her better, attracting the attention of Lion.

Steven has a recurring dream of an a airless pink grassy plain, but Pearl (Deedee Magno) sees Lion lying on his face, suffocating him, and pulls Steven from underneath Lion, though he still has the dream. After throwing Lion out of the house, Steven realizes that the grassy plain isn't a dream but a pocket dimension within Lion's mane. Steven completely enters Lion's mane, where he finds a tree, underneath which is some of Rose's most treasured memorabilia, indication a connection between Lion and Rose. Among the artifacts, he finds a video tape with "For Steven" written on it.

Steven takes the tape to the Big Donut, now just opening, where he and Sadie watch its contents. It's revealed to be a message made by Rose of her and her human spouse Greg. In it, Rose (Susan Egan) tells Steven how she won't be able to be a part of his life as she will go on to become part of him, but that every moment he loves being himself that it will be her, loving him, loving being him. She tells Steven how he is "going to become something extraordinary": a human being, and finishes by telling him to "take care of them". The tape, which was filmed when Rose pregnant with Steven, leaves both Steven and Sadie tearful, as Steven goes out and hugs Lion while Sadie calls her mother.

Broadcast and reception

"Lion 3: Straight to Video" premiered on Cartoon Network on December 4, 2014. Its initial American broadcast was viewed by approximately 1.92 million viewers and received a Nielsen household rating of 0.4, meaning it was viewed by 0.4% of all households.^[1]

The episode was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Short-format Animation, but lost to Adventure Time episode "Jake the Brick".

References