So. Lars. | Steven Universe ★

There were new episodes of Steven Universe and they were great so of course my obsession resurfaced. One highlight of the new episodes was seeing Lars again and how much he’s changed since Steven had to leave him on Homeworld. I forgot some things about him and I watched this entire video compilation of every time Lars showed up so you don’t have to! I forgot exactly when he stopped being…terrible, and honestly, it’s kind of worse than I thought. It’s a very slow process, but I believe we’re getting there!

Throughout the first half of the video, Lars acts the same. He goes through stuff that other people would have learned from and subsequently changed their behavior. But Lars has such deep-rooted insecurities and issues with popularity that he pushes everything down, puts on a persona to seem “cool,” and hurts people in the process. When he’s supposed to apologize or recognize he’s being a jerk, his reaction is “Whatever, I don’t care” (when he does care, maybe too much, he just doesn’t say it). I do think he learned lessons throughout the show, he just never implemented any new behavior. This is why I didn’t like Lars. For most of the episodes he’s in, he wasn’t enjoyable to watch and the whole time I would be thinking about how Sadie deserves better.

It takes about 40 minutes of this video for him to actually learn a lesson and change. It took Steven switching brains with him for something to happen. He stopped saying mean things and was nicer everyone. But then he was too busy worrying about the Cool Kids and baking to really be “better” so…boy’s still got issues but that’s fine, I guess. He’s workin’ on it.

The interesting thing about Lars is he’s always been like this but there have also been little moments and hints that show he’s not all bad. Sadie knows him better than anyone because around her, he’s just relaxed and doesn’t pretend to be “cool.” (It would have been nice to maybe see that side of him more often but I digress.) Still, it wasn’t surprising to see him blow up on the Sun Incinerator. He’s had moments of weakness like that before when he hid on the spaceship or when his friendship with Ronaldo was ruined.

It would have been really great to see him progress and become the captain of the Off Colors. I do wish they included that somehow. But I have never enjoyed seeing Lars onscreen more than I did when watching “Lars of the Stars” and “Jungle Moon”! Because…he’s still a brat…but like, in an enjoyable way now? And he takes initiative, which is new and refreshing. He’s definitely more considerate than he used to be when you look at how he interacts with the Off Colors. Ever since becoming a pink zombie and wanting to be someone who deserved it, he’s shown growth. That episode specifically really is one of the most important when it comes to Lars’ development. He was hero.

The little things get to me. Him hugging Steven instead of doing their failed high-five thing or even “Bingo-bongo!” That was a nice touch. I like how some random, embarrassing thing he said one time has turned into his catchphrase. Thinking Sadie having fun was meant to spite him was a low point and I’m hoping we’ve moved on from that BUT ANYWAY. I really really really want him to improve even more.

Being in space and fighting for your life as an alien fugitive with new pink skin and a wormhole in your head on a planet inhabited by rock people is not the easiest circumstance to combat your insecurities in. I doubt he had time to really think “Maybe I shouldn’t care what people say about me. I’m a freaking space pirate now! Let them talk.” SO for now, I’ll give him a pass, but the next time we meet Lars I want things to be a little better because there’s so much potential for him. This could be a great story with wonderful character development or it could flop. He’s already had a lot of development but sometimes you can tell it’s still old Lars. Being a sly thief in space won’t excuse him from anything when he gets home.

My hope is when he gets back, everyone will be so glad he’s OK that he’ll feel comfortable enough to calm down and accept himself. Because the people in Beach City do like him. And now so do I!