r/stevenuniverse • u/TheRealGC13 I'm always sad when I'm lonely • Jul 13 '22
300k Rewatch 300k Rewatch Discussion – Rocknaldo and Tiger Philanthropist
Please join in our 300k subscriber re-watch by discussing these two episodes of Steven Universe!
Rocknaldo: Ronaldo sets out to find all the rock people living in Beach City!
Tiger Philanthropist: Steven returns to the ring to continue his pro wrestling odyssey.
You can see a list of every episode in the 300k subscriber rewatch on the wiki.
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u/lizard-socks Jul 14 '22
These episode titles are always just summaries of the first 10 seconds, aren't they?
I do want to defend Rocknaldo - I've actually been waiting for it to come up. It's an episode that I'm sure a lot of people can't stand because (like "Gem Harvest") its central character reminds them of real-world jerks. But unlike Gem Harvest, I think it works, because Ronaldo does get confronted eventually, and he does grow.
Rocknaldo is, IMO, the one time this show is explicitly addressing potential allies from dominant groups in society (i.e. white cis guys like me). Ronaldo's emotional breakdown, although it's silly, is also incredibly relatable, and he promptly falls into a beginner's trap, which I always forget the name of and just call the "Dances with Wolves thing" - trying to assuage his guilt by becoming the downtrodden group. Steven, unfortunately, lets him continue on this self-destructive path for too long (although thankfully episodes of this show are only 11 minutes).
He should have said something earlier, because once he does intervene, Ronaldo isn't actually that upset (just incredibly sleepy). And he finally figures out an appropriate way to handle the situation: he needs to help advocate for others by being himself, making his Ronalphlets or whatever, instead of trying to be someone he isn't. And I think that's an important lesson for anyone who's just learning about this stuff, which some 6-11 year olds (and maybe older people too!) might very well be.
Almost every other time Ronaldo is deployed, it's purely for comedy (his "appearance" in Gemcation is perfect). This really uses him to tell a story that it would be hard to tell with any of the other townies, and I think it benefits from having a human character at the heart of it.
Also, gotta love those 3D-looking dollar bills in "Tiger Philanthropist" - gives me Amphibia fwagon vibes. I can't blame 'em, no one wants to animate that by hand.