Steven Universe Future: Normalizing Mental Health Awareness
How the epilogue series tackles depression, trauma, and self-worth.
What happens after you’ve fulfilled your ultimate purpose? That’s what Steven is trying to figure out in the epilogue to the original Steven Universe series. While most shows would rather end right after the big climactic encounter it’s been building towards, Steven Universe Future decided to continue the story by exploring an important topic that’s often overlooked in children’s media — mental health. The limited series focuses on Steven’s inner struggles, the trauma he’s suffered throughout his life, and how it can manifest itself in harmful behavior to himself and those around him.
Created by the multi-talented Rebecca Sugar, Steven Universe followed the adventures of Steven and the Crystal Gems — a group of humanoid aliens that manifest their forms from the light that emits from their gemstones — as they face off against the threat of an intergalactic war with other gems from the planet Homeworld. But now that the war has ended, Steven finds himself devoid of any purpose in life, which is ironic seeing that his new role involves him giving purpose to other gems.
The limited series starts off with Steven as a guide for recovered gems that have been corrupted by the war. He basically gives them a brief summary of the events that occurred during — and after — the war and accompanies them to Little Homeworld, an area for gems to acclimate themselves to life on Earth by going through an educational program. And for a while, things seemed to be going well for Steven. He enjoyed helping other gems by giving them a new sense of purpose on Earth and assigning them with jobs that lent to their strengths. But once he notices his friends moving in separate directions, he starts to panic about his own future.
It seems like everyone else is sure of what they want to do with the rest of their lives, while Steven can’t seem to find any meaning without his friends around for him to help. His girlfriend, Connie, is moving to the other side of the country, and to make matters worse, he finds himself dealing with the sins of his mother, and how her actions have affected — and even traumatized — other characters who were around her.
One of which is the Pink Pearl who Steven refers to as Volleyball. Steven tries to use his healing powers on her but finds that he is unable to heal her shattered eye. It’s revealed that Volleyball’s “damage” comes from the psychological trauma she endured during one of his mother’s temper tantrums when she was younger. Volleyball continues to make excuses for her and blames herself for “standing too close to her” at the time. There’s even a moment where she instinctively curls up in fear in the presence of danger, which shows just how deep the trauma lies. Once she comes to terms with her own self-denial, she finds comfort in the arms of Pearl over their shared trauma, which allows her to finally open up about her pain.
The rest of the series sees Steven losing control of his powers and even lashing out into fits of anger, similar to his mother. It’s revealed that he’s actually suffering from PTSD due to the traumatic events he’s experienced at such a young age, and his body is now reacting to any emotional stress as if his life were in danger. And since he also believes he’s losing his support system, he’s prone to even more dangerous outbursts. Much like the original series, Steven Universe Future manages to convey complex themes with the use of metaphors, and Steven’s PTSD is presented in a simple way that children can understand while also providing enough nuance for adults to read into.
The fact that the series took this direction is beyond commendable. Seeing the main hero deal with deeply-rooted issues regarding his sense of self-worth isn’t something you would normally expect from a children’s cartoon, but Steven Universe is known to tackle some mature and sometimes dark subject matter, like loss, abusive relationships, consent, and the complicated emotions that come from interpersonal connections.
Throughout the series, Steven is known to put his own feelings aside in order to help others, which finally catches up to him as he descends into a state of denial — reminiscent of Volleyball’s— where he’s unable to open up about the problems he’s been internalizing. It’s interesting how the show manages to take something that’s usually considered to be a “positive” attribute like selflessness and examine the negative effects it can have on a person, especially if they don’t take some time to focus on their own problems before helping others. And Steven’s need to be needed shows just how low his self-worth is whenever he feels he’s not being useful to other people.
Although Steven’s friends provide a safe space for him to open up about his own problems, his incessant need to put the well-being of others before his own only exacerbates his unstable condition, which leads to him transforming into the monster he believes himself to be. In order to subdue him, the climax sees Steven finally leaning on his loved ones for support as they embrace him and allow him to feel whatever it is he needs to feel.
There’s a clear intent to normalize discussions surrounding mental health in media aimed at children and the importance of safe spaces for them to talk about their issues. The internal struggles we face are often the most difficult ones to address, let alone overcome. And having a cartoon that showcases the importance of mental health is incredibly valuable for younger generations of viewers.
The show even shines a light on an important aspect regarding the support system’s reactions to the victim’s trauma. At one point, a couple of characters start to blame themselves for Steven’s current condition, but what they fail to grasp at the moment is how they’re shifting the attention away from Steven and to themselves, which isn’t really helping Steven. While there are many emotions involved in such a volatile situation, it’s important to focus on the person who’s in need of help.
The series ends with Steven deciding to move out, see the world, and actually focus on himself for a change, something he was never able to do in the original series. He even mentions that he’ll continue to check in with his new therapist while he’s away on his trip, which is a good way to encourage viewers who are also struggling with their own mental health to seek professional help.
While the show is known for its progressive themes and inclusive nature when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation in its diverse cast of characters, it somehow keeps finding ways to surprise viewers by exploring all sorts of serious topics. It’s good to see a cartoon deviate from the typical, happily-ever-after narrative, and actually present a more nuanced and realistic look at the days that follow the so-called happy ending. It acknowledges that things can change and some days can be harder than others. It’s also comforting for viewers to know that their feelings are valid, and it’s ok to reach out — because we’re all a work in progress.
