1001 Animations: Sworn to the Sword

Wow, I mean, my god; Season 2 really started off with a bang this time around! I probably should've figured Connie as the type to learn the most respected of weapon combats, swordplay, considering we've seen she can hold her own in battle before like in "Lion 2: The Movie" and in "Open Book", the latter of which I'll review another time. Even this early in, it’s one of the most powerful episodes of the show in that it deals with the themes of sacrifice. I've seen in multiple media how characters have sacrificed their lives or put there on the line for the ones they love; like how Goku saved the world twice by allowing himself to die so a threat could be stopped.

A lot of people are going to see Pearl as villainized for essentially training Connie to become Steven's human shield/bodyguard, which is ironic considering he can produce his own shield, thank you very much! However, I fully understand her intentions as pure if not somewhat misguided due to her being Rose's confident and bodyguard. I know we've been through this hoop in other episodes, but the grieving process can take a very, very long time, so I'm willing to accept this well enough. It's clear she was thinking more of Rose than of Steven in her intent, but thankfully, she got snapped back to her senses. Steven is definitely bang on about Connie and him being able to fight together; they made an amazing team fighting an entire squad of Holo-Pearls and even almost beating Pearl herself, and Steven didn't even receive training!

I'd also like to point out that Steven appears to now have full control over using both his bubble and his shield weapon. This means that "Say Uncle" MUST be canon after all! Otherwise, they just glanced over real major development off-screen; if that's so, it's one of the worst things this show has ever done! However, I'm going to accept "Say Uncle" as canon to avoid putting such an amazing episode as an animated atrocity for such an oversight. And yeah, I know Steven has summoned his shield through love and the need to protect his friends in times of crisis before, but this time, it really does seem like he knew exactly what he was doing and had control over summoning his weapon. The two songs of this episode, "Jam Buds" and "Do It For Her", are two of the absolute best songs in the show as of now; they're in my top 5, with "Do It For Her" being in #2. 

I have an amazing amount of respect for those that wield the sword; after all, The Legend of Zelda series is one of my favorite video game franchises. While it may seem impractical to the naked eye with all the fancy schmancy weapons like armor piercing machine gun rifles and nuclear bombs of the 21st century, the way of the sword will forever remain relevant to those who can truly harness it's amazing power.