March 24th, 2020 
Jackson Murphy 
The Steven Universe franchise is coming to an end. Steven Universe Future, the continuation limited series that debuted in December, will conclude with a final hour of new episodes this Friday March 27th at 7pmET on Cartoon Network.
The final four 11-minute episodes, which I’ve had the chance to screen, are “Homeworld Bound”, “Everything’s Fine”, “I Am My Monster” and “The Future”. These episodes are filled with action, emotion and surprise character returns, as Steven is forced to question things about himself and his existence.
During its 154-episode run from 2013-2019, Steven Universe averaged 1.44 million viewers on first airings. It was nominated for 5 Primetime Emmy Awards. Patrick Bryson won the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation Emmy in 2018 for the episode “Jungle Moon”. SU also received 5 Annie Awards nominations, 2016 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards and Teen Choice Awards noms, the GLAAD Media Award and a prestigious Peabody Award in 2019.
Earlier this year, CN and Fathom Events teamed-up to present a Sing-a-Long edition the acclaimed 2019 Steven Universe: The Movie in select theaters nationwide on March 23rd. And right after the film, fans were asked to stick around for the special exclusive debut of “Homeworld Bound”. However, because of the Coronavirus and mass theater closings, the screening was cancelled on Mar. 17. Earlier this week, Cartoon Network posted a link to the episode online.
Series creator Rebecca Sugar is looking forward to the show’s loyal fanbase experiencing the grand finale on Friday. She’s also aware that for most people, their focus has shifted to staying positive and healthy during these unpredictable times.
Jackson Murphy: What emotions are you going through right now on the eve of the finale of your beloved franchise?
Rebecca Sugar: Right now I’m just worried about the health and safety of my family and friends. I’ve wondered for a long time how I’d feel when I finally finished on the show. I was preparing for an existential crisis, but I wasn’t prepared for a literal one. Counting my blessings and staying informed. Grateful to have spent all these years working closely with artists I admire and respect.
JM: How long did it take you to plan-out and structure these final four episodes?
RS: The final four episodes were planned out along with the overarching season! We were working on Steven Universe Future while working on the Steven Universe Movie, so it’s all a bit of a blur. We always build on the foundation we’ve laid, so in a lot of ways these last four episodes, and all of Future, began back in 2012 when we were writing season one of the series proper. We wanted to bring back a lot of the season one elements: Steven’s tumultuous upbringing, the fluidity of Steven’s body based on his mental state, and the reveal that the monsters the Crystal Gems fight were once thinking, feeling individuals, and that they deserve to be protected and healed — this is something Steven needs to realize about himself. We wrote the final four episodes in the winter of 2018, but they’re based on pipe we laid very early on.
JM: Some TV shows don’t even get the chance to do a proper goodbye, but the ones that do are usually memorable. What are some of your favorite TV show finales?
RS: My favorite TV show finale lately is the finale of OK K.O., “Thank You For Watching The Show.” Ian Jones-Quartey and team did such a beautiful job expressing what it’s like to run a show for years, and how all these precious and powerful moments fly by, but they’re captured in the work that the team created together. And it’s up to us to really recognize these moments and how special they are, to sit down and take it all in. I’m biased of course, because Ian Jones-Quartey is the love of my life, but he really captured something honest with his finale and I get emotional every time I watch it.
JM: Since Steven Universe debuted 7 years ago, the show has been one of the biggest animation hits on TV. What are some of your fondest memories of this entire experience?
RS: Wow, what a question! There are so many. I have a ton of fond memories of being in our pitch room, hashing out an episode after an amazing pitch. When the characters really come to life in the hands of the storyboard artists, the feeling in the room is so electric. You can feel everyone holding their breath when a big revelation is dropped, or a moment becomes too real to handle. Those moments when the characters really came to life are some of my fondest memories.
I also have so many fond memories of recording sessions, excitedly pitching the story to the cast, and seeing them bring these ideas to a whole new level of life, and then building on that though design and color and finally seeing it in motion… it’s hard to talk about specific memories without going through a million of them, because there are so many stages of production, and so many brilliant artists I had a chance to work with on this show. Visiting our animation team in South Korea several times, those are extremely fond memories. Everyone went so above and beyond and I’ve been so honored and so proud for so many years to be working with such an incredible team both here and abroad.
JM: How do you hope diehard fans of the series react to these final four episodes (and in particular “The Future”)?
RS: I hope they will enjoy them, and I hope they’ll feel the catharsis we experienced while making them. Future is all about moving on, something I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do. I wanted to devote time to exploring that, exploring what we might be clinging to, and shoving down, so we could really open up and unpack everything, and get excited about the possibilities ahead of us. I didn’t want anything to feel “done,” I just wanted us all to be able to move forward, knowing we’ll all keep existing and keep finding opportunities to heal and grow.
JM: What’s in your future?
RS: I’m going to take some time to myself for a bit. The lyrics to our new ending theme, “Being Human” are pretty personal, and just how I’m feeling at the moment. Theres so much art and music that I want to make, but I want a little time to reconnect with myself and the world before I launch into the next thing. I’m happiest when I’m studying, so I’m really looking forward to going into study-mode for a while.
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