YMMV / Steven Universe: Future S1E15 "Mr. Universe"

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Since we never get to personally meet them, we don't know exactly how strict and overbearing Greg's parents were beyond his words on the subject. While some of Greg's complaints can come across as the overblown sentimentalities of a disgruntled teenager, there's also several instances that show that his criticisms are actually valid. Greg noted how everything he felt or did was wrong, even having to hide his music CDs from them. They never supported his pursuit in music, up to never even seeing him play. All of this indicates a lack of emotional support and their preference to put Greg on a path they deem better. Perhaps the most telling yet subtle example was when Steven discovered the letters Greg sent to them from when he moved to Beach City and remarks they were unopened. This has pretty negative implications on just how bad the relationship between Greg and his parents is now.
  • These implications became even worse when one considers the possibility that in at least one of the letters Greg had sent them, it was about Steven's birth. He was a single father whose lover died in childbirth, raising a newborn son with only a van and low income. Yes, he had the Gems, but they were much less prepared for child-rearing than he was. If Greg did try and reach out to them for help or just to reconnect and they never responded despite him knowing they're alive, it becomes bleakly clear how they stand. When he went fully against their wishes to follow his own path, they responded by cutting him entirely out of their lives. No wonder why Greg never spoke about them or holds them in such low regard. In fact, Andy himself never mentions Greg's parents (his aunt and uncle) except for a short line that they were among the first he lost contact with. This implies that even Andy was aware that the relations were pretty bad and hence said nothing about it.
  • About the only positive note was that they kept the letters in the first place rather than throw them away. Either they were content with knowing he was just alive or they figured it would be best if they left him alone (though this is incredibly unlikely since the letters weren't even opened in the first place). Alternately, given how close the extended family used to be, the letters could've been kept by a member of the extended family.
• Misaimed Fandom: Steven's outburst at Greg caught a lot of flak from fans who viewed it as him unfairly blaming Greg for all of his problems presented through the series especially over topics such as school that didn't go any further since Steven found it to be no big deal, and also for comparing his dad's childhood to Pink Diamond's even though Steven already got a glimpse to what her family is like and viewed it as uncomforting. The intention with Steven's outburst at Greg was to continue to show how much Steven is suffering from his childhood trauma and his identity crisis over not knowing who he is since he was never given any guidance to figure out what he wants to do with his life, and his outburst at Greg is once again an irrational response due to his problems and "Everything's Fine" shows that he regrets lashing out at Greg just like with the other things he regretted. And Steven saying to Greg that he's like Pink Diamond and going into his pink state as he says it is a lot more of a painful realization for Steven than it seems due to the low opinion that he has about his mom due to all of the hurt she caused, as Maya Peterson lampshaded when explaining about the episode.
  Maya: Steven claims that Greg is just as bad as Rose was-running from family, depriving him of all of it. When a young person's last, most fundamental illusions about their parents are punctured with a sharp vision of reality, it can be painful and disorienting.

---