YMMV / Steven Universe S4E8 "Gem Harvest"

• Broken Base: Some fans say the episode was perfectly timed given all the issues around immigration and such in late 2016, while others argue that it was the exact wrong time to try to create sympathy for a character like Andy, and may even give false hope to any kids who want to change the minds of their bigoted relatives. There's also the issue of whether this story deserved its double length, after the huge Wham Episode the previous one was. Some feel it did due to introducing a new member of Steven's family and having all the heroic Gems in one place interacting with one another for an extended period of time, while others feel the double length episodes should be for "bigger" episodes.
• Crosses the Line Twice:
  • Steven makes the mistake of carving a jack o'lantern in front of Pumpkin, who freaks out and curls up in Lapis' arms.
  • Pearl's announcement that the family should marry each other would mean Greg being married to his son and his cousin.
  • And in-universe, there's Lapis making a corn joke using her trapped state in the mirror for thousands of years as a punch line. Only Lapis and Peridot laugh at it, while the rest of the group is disturbed (though Andy might be more confused).
• Ensemble Dark Horse: A lot of people love Pumpkin for how cute she is.
• Faux Symbolism: While one of the (many) grooms that fall off the wedding cake obviously symbolize Andy being left out of the family, note that it was one of the (again many) grooms that was in a straight couple, reflecting Andy's anger at the lack of tradition.
• Harsher in Hindsight: At one point in the show, Greg mentions that Steven is all the family he has left. This episode shows another member of Greg's family, and Andy mentions the rest too, but considering how much the family has apparently drifted apart, it brings a whole new meaning to what Greg meant.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Many progressive fans of Steven Universe felt that the episode was timed perfectly in its release; Andy's grumpy attitude at things changing is how many progressives characterized Trump's voters, even though the episode was written way before Trump won.
  • In "Marble Madness", Dr. Maheswaran makes a side comment about believing that "Universe" isn't Steven's real last name. Cut to this episode, where it's revealed that Greg's last name was "DeMayo" before he changed it to "Universe".
• I Knew It!: Due to the Crystal Gems not being documented citizens, them not understanding many human traditions, and Greg being open-minded about many things, many fans speculated that Steven was conceived out of wedlock. This episode confirms that Greg and Rose never married each other.
• Jerkass Woobie: Andy... Well, Andy is a contentious character. But imagine if you came home after a long trip abroad and found a group of people were living in your house, taking apart your stuff, made modifications to the property, and that the one responsible for all of it is your cousin, who decided to distance himself from his family to the point of not telling his son anything about his own flesh and blood. You'd probably be just as annoyed as Andy was. Given how attached Andy is to his family, Greg changing his name and never mentioning their original name to his son was probably a big slap in the face as well.
• Les Yay:
  • In the intro, Peridot and Lapis act like a lesbian couple sad at their lack of ability to have a child, with Pumpkin acting as their child (and Steven thus kinda acting like a surrogate father by using his spit to bring him to life).
  • Pearl states that the family should marry each other, so that would technically mean that all the Gems (who present as female) are in a lesbian marriage while Greg is married to his cousin and his son.
    • The wedding cake has three straight, two gay and two lesbian couples on it.◊
• Memetic Mutation:
  • According to fans, "Steven's Knife" is now real!
  • Pearl says that the family should "all marry each other". Every ship is now canon!
  • The way Pearl says "Our Greg is clearly the superior one" is rife with this.
  • "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY FRICKIN' BARN?!" ^explanation Based off of Carl Brutananadilewski's famous "What happened to my frickin' car" quote from the first episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force; the joke is that both Andy and Carl are voiced by Dave Willis, with Willis even using the exact same voice he did for Carl.
• What Do You Mean, It's Not Political?: Many interpreted Andy's behavior to be that of a hateful reactionary. Examples include his aversion to sharing the barn with Gems who Greg describes as refugees (at the episode's airdate and as of the time of this writing, there is a refugee crisis in the Middle East which is quite divisive), and Andy calls the Gems "illegal aliens" who need to leave USA (a possible allusion to Mexican immigration in USA which was a point of debate in the 2016 elections), not to mention he also called the Gems "hippies". Then there's Andy being mad that Greg never married Rose, and finally, Andy at the beginning of the episode generally hates change.
  • And if you consider Andy a foil to Bismuth, Andy is the reactionary to Bismuth's revolutionary.
  • On the other hand, it's not necessarily political that Andy was mad that someone was squatting in his barn and breaking his cherished memories. Imagine if someone came and started squatting in Greg's garage and using his treasured stuff for parts.

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