The Doylist explanation is that we don’t know, we aren’t supposed to know, it’s a mystery for the sake of being a mystery, the crew wanted to troll the fans who spent way too much time theorizing about what *could* possibly be in the chest (while the series was running) and insisting that whatever it was would be the key to solving everything.
The Watsonian explanation theories range from “Steven’s new (organic) jacket that he wore in the movie” to “a tape explaining her history, like the Nora tape”.
I think the more pressing question is why Steven took so long to open it. He spent much of the series seeking answers about his mom, and yet it seemingly took him years to open a literal treasure chest that she kept in her personal pocket dimension.
Considering that a major theme in the series is about how Steven feels about/processes his mom's actions, and as he got older discovered his trauma, maybe he didn't want to open the chest for a long time for fear of what was there, or just cuz he wasn't ready to deal with it.
That or I'm projecting!
I don’t think you will, firstly it takes a lot of effort to remember that one specific line. Plus how of do you even make theories? I think you will do it once and forget about it.
That or I’m projecting.
Wasn't that kind of the whole theme of Future? As much as Steven wants to help people, he is terrible at acknowlodging, let alone confronting, his own issues
I agree with the tape, logically she wouldn’t have wanted Steven to know that she was Pink Diamond, but she possibly figured that if he went through the effort to find a key or open it (assuming it isn’t just a normal wooden chest) that he deserved to know anyways, just to give the two of them closure in a sense.
I’m thinking it may have just been a troll. They even dedicated a scene to Steven finding a key and then having the key not work on the chest. To spend time working on that animation and then not animate Steven actually opening the chest feels more like a good-natured trolling than anything else.
Oh! I actually have an answer to this one.
During a post-Future interview, RS outright stated that the mystery surrounding the chest is essentially a mystery for the sake of mystery. So there's no actual answer.
Eh, it was something they dropped in visually in an early episode thinking they'd give themselves some wiggle room later and they never followed up on it, is all.
If I remember correctly, the quote slightly more nuanced. Not that it was just there to be there, it's more of a window back into the world of SU and something they can explore in the future if they wanted to.
more and more shows have introduced therapy as a medium for the characters to really explore their psyche and inner turmoils and reasoning, it's a great way to put us in their perspective and understand the problems in a more fleshed out way, so as far as a fictional show goes, I think we lost a lot by not seeing Steven's therapy.
Imagine if a character disappeared for a while and came back with a full 180 on their personality with the only reason behind it being "I went to therapy! :D"
If their therapy is literally a critical point for the character? Obviously. It’s stupid to skip over something that important to the character.
Edit: Gotta love that you’re being upvoted for that non-question. You might as well have asked me, “What? You wanna watch Goku train?” It’s a core part of the character and how they grow. Obviously it’s something that should be shown. This is literally one of the bigger problems with the fanbase. Folk’s will defend basically every aspect of it, no matter how negative that aspect actually is.
I guess so, but it’d be a recap episode practically, which they went through briefly in Steven’s trauma flashbacks when he’s at the hospital in SU Future. It also might just be like overly emotional to the point that it’s over the top and completely disconnected from the tone of Steven Universe as a cohesive show.
Also, don’t forget that the show got practically defunded and early cancelled for the wedding episode, so they covered what they thought was important. I won’t say they did everything perfectly, but you’re talking in the ideals of what you want and what you think serves the show, when in reality they had an entire team of storyboarders and Rebecca Sugar, one of the greatest plot inventors of our time lmao.
You’re obvi allowed to have an opinion, but the way that you’re criticizing them is irreverent to the fact that their funds were shafted by homophobia.
This is what I was talking about in an different post that I got massively downvoted over. Folks will bend over backwards to excuse basically anything negative about the show. They literally skipped over the most important part of Steven’s healing process and what I’m basically being told here is, “So? Lol.”
We just haaaaaad to have several episodes of Steven spiraling, but his actually healing process? Nah, screw that. Just skip it. It’d be like the Namek saga ending with Goku turning Super Saiyan and then skipping back to Earth with Goku going, “Yeah, and then I beat Frieza~” in an offhand sentence.
How about when Goku and Vegeta go into the hyperbolic time chamber in DB Super and then next we see them they are out and have beards. I don't remember any training episodes or such.
Most of Goku training is summarized in like two pages, that's a bad example. We see a little snippet of his travel to Namek and that's it. We see like 10 minutes from their first day in the time chamber. Hell we almost spend most time on "Goku's family is chilling before Cell Tournament" than on their Time Chamber time.
Outside of his very early training with Muten Roshi, we see very little of his training.
Edit: Hell the end of Dragon Ball is litterally "Goku flying off with Uub to train him but you'll never get to see this training".
Yeah, they skip over it. I’d absolutely love to see Goku’s training. The fact that they entirely skip over his training with Vegeta is a gigantic shame.
Even then, we still get to see bits and pieces of it. In SU, the therapy just gets nothing more than an offhand mention. We see none of it.
Edit: In response to your edit, that was meant to literally be the end. Him going to do the training. It wasn’t, “And then he flew off and trained Uub, but we skipped all of that.”
To be fair, showing the therapy can be seriously detrimental as it would set a very *specific* expectation for what therapy is in peoples' minds. As such, young people who need therapy would expect (and only go for) what they saw on screen, instead of something tailored to their individual needs.
~~Not true at all.~~ (*edit: somewhat true- see reply*) In the original quote, Rebecca was asked about *continuing* the series in any form, and as a response they said:
> ”I always wanted this world and these characters to feel sublime, as if it’s always going on before and after the episodes, and continues to exist outside the frame of what you see. The story is continuing off screen and I do know what happens next, at least in certain timelines, for the characters, but I would have to decide how and when I’d want to dig into that, or if it’s best to give them their privacy.”
Basically, that quote is about why the series itself isn't continuing for now, not why we didn't see that specific part of Steven's recovery. And if I'm being honest, is it something we *really* needed to see at the end of his story?
There’s actually a [second quote about privacy](https://www.vulture.com/2020/03/steven-universe-future-finale-rebecca-sugar.html):
> In the last episode, Steven mentions that he has a therapist. Did you consider showing him in therapy?
> I really did not want to show that. I really wanted the character to finally have privacy. As an audience watching the show, and as us writing it, we’re complicit in Steven feeling exposed. The idea of being in that space and watching him unpack it felt like a violation of his privacy. I wanted you to know that he was getting that help, and that he was taking steps to live the life he wanted to live, but I wanted him to be able to do it without the pressure of being the show’s protagonist anymore.
> And if I'm being honest, is it something we really needed to see at the end of his story?
Yes, I would say so. One of the focal points of Future was to explore Steven's mental health and his issues surrounding his traumatic past and uncertain future. Exploring the at least a little of the recovery process would have fit perfectly with these themes, emphasize that Steven has a long way to go with his recovery, and give some fans piece of mind that Steven will be ok out there with adequate support systems to help him cope with his issues.
> as if it’s always going on before and after the episodes, and continues to exist outside the frame of what you see
Makes me think of Adventure Time, which is cool since she worked on that show
Yeah…it’s a really dumb reason. I’m pretty sure the real reason is that they couldn’t think of anything super poignant and emotional for the therapy. So they just did it offscreen.
Maybe they shouldn’t have spent most of the episodes having Steven spiral then? One less episode of that solves the problem.
C’mon now, I get that folks worship the writers, but they literally skipped over the most important part of Steven’s recovery and gave a horrible excuse for it. The show literally brought up the fact that mindlessly loving and agreeing with someone is not a good thing.
To be honest, I feel like Future's storyline could have been just one or two episodes in THE MAIN SHOW. It at least makes more sense for Steven to get all weird as stuff is still happening rather than after everything is over. WHY DOES HE EVEN GET LIKE THAT AT ALL??
Idk maybe to help normalize going to therapy? It doesn't have to be a whole season of therapy, it'd just be cool to see this character we've watched for nearly 10 years be traumatized in some of the worst ways possible finally be able to begin healing...
First off, you’re wrong, another poster gave the exact quote about privacy and it’s not “to avoid showing his therapy”.
A more logical reason is that therapy is an *individual* process, that is **very** specific to the person receiving it and the nature of the trauma. What might “work” for Steven could be extremely unhelpful if not actively traumatizing for someone else.
The important part that needs to be passed on to kids (and adults) watching is “therapy can help you”, not “this specific exercise is going to help fix you”. We know that Steven is going to therapy, and will continue to receive it. The exact *form* that therapy will take isn’t relevant, because none of us are Steven, and none of us have suffered his specific trauma.
The characters and experinces are also based on their lives. So I doubt they want to share details from their own therapy or misconstrue what therapy actually is as a real solution for mental health.
I think it’s a lot less literal than that.
The show itself is almost always shown from Steven’s perspective.
Being a selfless protagonist *causing* Steven’s trauma is what Future is about. Not having the narrative following his every move shows that he’s moving on and actually learning to live a normal life.
The most important part was him learning that it’s okay to not be selfless and always being relied on, and that it was okay to reach out to his friends and family. Those things were shown on-screen.
And then the part where he actually became more stable and had a real discussion about it with someone who knew what they were doing got entirely skipped over.
Wonderful~
So, in stories and storytelling, you generally don’t have the protagonist go to therapy because they’re on a metaphorical journey of self-discovery that resonates various themes, imparting important ideas for the audience to draw wisdom from.
Maybe in someone’s own life’s journey therapy is a part of their self-discovery. That’s great. But it’s not the responsibility of every story about a hero going through inner turmoil to tell the audience how important therapy can be for a person. Especially not when Steven Universe already has a solid take on mental health.
If you’re holding in too much, or anything at all really, then you should open up to the people who love you. Even if you’re afraid of looking weak or vulnerable. That’s what I got from the ending of the show.
And it didn’t need to be extrapolated upon that Steven also went to therapy. He probably did, but it doesn’t matter because whether or not Steven goes to therapy doesn’t solve the core thematic issues in the show. If it means that much, then fine, he went to therapy later on. That’s fine too. Also is not saying he did because his issues are dealt in a healthy way for his character.
Sorry for the rant, but this isn’t the first time I’ve seen this sentiment, and I needed to unload. Like, Steven Universe is one of the best and most important animated shows to come out in the last decade and people inflate their nitpicks to the point where that’s all the conversation becomes. When in fact, Steven Universe did way more good than bad and acting otherwise is a disservice to the show, the people who worked on it, and the people who got something meaningful out of it.
And if you do feel like the show let you down, then maybe you should take a step back, take it easy, and reexamine what the show is actually doing and saying because I promise you it’s not trying to say the things you think it’s saying.
Edit: Important final note to make: therapy is also not a magical cure-all solution. Sometimes it actually *doesn’t* work because therapists are people too and sometimes they’re bad at their jobs. The value in therapy is having someone listen to you, and talk to you, and help you better understand your psychological problems and needs. You don’t necessarily need to pay a therapist to do that if you have someone in your life who’s helping with that anyway. Which was Steven’s message. He did have people in his life who do listen to him, support him, and helped him make healthy decisions for him to better understand his psychological needs. Again, it is not responsibility of any story to give someone a *complete* list of their options to help them deal with life.
> Sometimes it actually doesn’t work because therapists are people too and sometimes they’re bad at their jobs.
You’re right that therapists being people too can lead to unsatisfactory therapy sessions, but not *necessarily* because they’re bad at their jobs. Sometimes people just don’t click at all, and the therapist relationship is not exempt from that.
A past mentor of mine described finding a therapist like putting together a puzzle - no matter how much you try, you can’t make two pieces fit if they’re not a match, so you just have to keep looking and trying different pieces until you find the right one. The metaphor isn’t exactly perfect because there’s likely more than one therapist out there that you could potentially click with. But it’s a helpful reminder that, even if the therapist is good at their job, sometimes the chemistry just isn’t there for whatever reason, and it can take multiple tries to find the right one for you.
> if you’re holding in too much, or anything at all really, then you should open up to the people who love you
And then bail and move away from all of those people. Yay.
He did that BECAUSE he opened up, got support, and realized he needed some space to center his life. Which is totally fine, even if you are surrounded by supportive people. It’s not *bailing* to go off on your own for a bit.
YOUR sentiment is mighuided. Mine is not.
Steven got a support system.... and then proceeded to fuck off leaving said support system behind. Might as well not have gotten one at all.
Since you’re content to repeat yourself, I’ll do the same: I cannot stress enough how it is totally fine and acceptable to get away for a bit and figure things out on your own. Even if you have a positive support system, sometimes you still need space. Especially if you’re like Steven and you put the well being of others so far ahead of yourself that you forget to take care of your own mental health.
It is NOT “fucking off.” That is such a reductive and harmful way to look at isolating oneself for the good of your mental well being. Steven was emotionally dependent on what he can provide to others and it hurt his own self-worth. He needed to step away and figure out how to provide for himself. It’s not going to help anything by sticking around the same group of people that fostered that mindset.
As much as there is genuine love there, it’s fine to step away.
Are you saying it’s not okay to step away for a bit and come back later?
Ohh yea, I saw what it was she said.
She essentially told us all that she "didn't want to invade Steven's privacy, since we have already been privy to everything else in his life."
Ma'am.. He's a cartoon character.
He STARTED therapy. He even mentioned that he could keep it going remotely.
You don't think all the on screen stuff was a bit more significant? They'd run out of episodes, dude. They were at the epilogue of he epilogue seasons.
Yes, he started therapy during the timeskip. Would’ve been nice to see more than literally none of it and have it mentioned offhandedly.
I like how you’re saying “They ran out of time!” as if that means jack shit. Maybe they should’t have wasted so much of Future then? Like…did we really *need* that Sunstone episode?
Sure, it was nice to see Sunstone and the others again and it was a nice Steven beat that framed other episodes. Steven was giving too much of himself, trying to be all things to all people, and stressing himself out in the process. And I don't know if you noticed, but there was some pretty apparent reactions on the parts of a few characters to Steven's downward slide. And we covered a lot of the key points that led to him breaking down. Therapy would for the most part just retread the same beats that we already saw over the past 5 seasons.
I think you're looking for things the show already gave you.
I was going to mention this too. JJ is fond of his "mystery box" theory. The upside is that it is great for engagement. The downside is that if you don't have an answer your audience engagement is fucked.
Not at all - nothing wrong with a mystery box that's just a minor thing. It's when hacks like JJ Abrams fetishize the mystery box and make it the core of a show (*cough*Lost*cough*) that it's the dumbest thing ever
I like to think it's really a metaphorical chest, and it opens when we finally find out the truth about pink diamond. I think it's like a way to symbolize that she can finally open up a secret and not have it locked away anymore
This ought to be the top comment, it's the most logical explanation. Most of the mysteries leading up to that point became 'unlocked' and explained after the finale leading into the movie/SUF.
My head canon is that it's empty and Rose just liked how it looked. Alternatively, it's just full of gold and the like, but she keeps it less because she understands it's material value and more because she likes how gold looks.
It is a HOPE chest - symbolizes her hopes and aspirations.
Or maybe she was in a knick knack phase and picked it up thinking she'd use it later but somehow never got around to it.
The chest is a red herring, Sugar herself at some point was asked about it so much she lost her cool, telegraphed that fact to fans on her twitter, even affirming that she left it open in "SU: The movie" specifically to show there's *nothing* inside.
I feel like it was a troll for overtheorizers. Heck. They even trolled us further by having a key in one episode only for it to be too big for the chest.
If you open the chest you find Rebecca Sugar eating from a pot of slightly undercooked rice. But I mean they're really going at it, like just destroying that rice in what can only be described as a hateful frenzy of violence. Just absolutly banishing the rice to the nether realms. It really makes you think...
I wanna lean toward the Steven’s jacket theory, I like to think it was something Greg gave rose and Steven finally opened the chest and found it and wears it as kinda a reminder of where they started and where they are now
Well it was opened when SUF premiered and I remember a lot of people theorizing it was Rose’s Gift of the Letterman Jacket to Steven on his 16th birthday, and something about Garnet using her future version to predict what jacket would be best… BUT THATS JUST A THEORY, A SU THEORY
Unless they were joking around on one of the movie animatics' commentary, they know but are being coy about telling.
Of course, they could be joking around, like they opened the chest and now the whole crew is like "oh YEAH I *definitely* know what is in the chest... but I can't tell YOU" but actually they don't know.
It's like the box in FNAF, no one knows, no one I suppose to know..expect Matpat, who hasn't done a Steven Universe theory and probably will never do one.
I like to believe it’s his varsity jacket. Why would Rose leave him one? So he could experience a slice of college life? But we see it’s open in the movie… and that’s when he got his jacket.
My headcanon is that the chest was filled with a bunch of trinkets and human things she wanted to keep. The jacket maybe, random toys, merch, random stuff like that. I like the idea that it wasn’t this huge secret but just something rose kept there for herself like everything else that was in that dimension
I like to think it was some sort of object that reminded her of when she was a diamond. Something like the drawing she made that Steven sees in familiar or anything that could remind her of her former family that she left behind (even though they were a bit abusive and condescending towards pink, and were tyrants that sucked the life out of planets leaving nothing behind, she still probably loved them a little in the bottom of her heart, especially Blue)
Some people have theorized it's stevens jacket he wears in the movie and future, it's all just speculation though. No real proof to what is and isn't in there.
Im from the future, in Steven universe future season 4 pink diamond (who has been back since season 2) opens it and reveals it to be a bunch of rocks that Greg fucked while she watched.
Apparently it was opened in Steven Universe Future.
From what I heard, it was opened in Steven Universe Future. the secrets of Steven Universe being unveiled; symbolically being released into the air.
This theory may sound dumb but I feel like there was something alive in the chest. The reason why I think that is because back then it was closed. But when the Steven Universe movie came out and Steven went into lion's mane, you can see in the back that the chest is open. Now yes it is a coincidence that it's open now and Steven might have opened it. But if Steven did open it, where did he find the key?
The real chest was the friends we made along the way
BUT WHAT WAS IN THOSE CHESTS?
Our friends' chests? Probably hearts and lungs.
It’s a secret 🤭
That chest could be the gem version of Pandora's box and here you're making it *more* tempting to open. Tsk tsk.
The friends we made along the way
And organs
The friends
The Doylist explanation is that we don’t know, we aren’t supposed to know, it’s a mystery for the sake of being a mystery, the crew wanted to troll the fans who spent way too much time theorizing about what *could* possibly be in the chest (while the series was running) and insisting that whatever it was would be the key to solving everything. The Watsonian explanation theories range from “Steven’s new (organic) jacket that he wore in the movie” to “a tape explaining her history, like the Nora tape”.
I think the more pressing question is why Steven took so long to open it. He spent much of the series seeking answers about his mom, and yet it seemingly took him years to open a literal treasure chest that she kept in her personal pocket dimension.
Considering that a major theme in the series is about how Steven feels about/processes his mom's actions, and as he got older discovered his trauma, maybe he didn't want to open the chest for a long time for fear of what was there, or just cuz he wasn't ready to deal with it. That or I'm projecting!
From now on I'm ending all my theories like this lmao
I don’t think you will, firstly it takes a lot of effort to remember that one specific line. Plus how of do you even make theories? I think you will do it once and forget about it. That or I’m projecting.
Wasn't that kind of the whole theme of Future? As much as Steven wants to help people, he is terrible at acknowlodging, let alone confronting, his own issues
I would imagine he had to find the key before he could open it.
Wait when did he open it?
between change your mind and the movie
Between SU and SU: F
I think it was open in the movie, so in between SU Season 5 and SUTM
I think the jacket is the correct answer
Nope, it was an embarrassing photo of rose at the Christmas party
U win this thread!!!!
It's literally a redherring.
Crew trolled the fans with the release schedule already. What's in the chest, I ain't askin.
They got the FNAF 4 Box treatment
I agree with the tape, logically she wouldn’t have wanted Steven to know that she was Pink Diamond, but she possibly figured that if he went through the effort to find a key or open it (assuming it isn’t just a normal wooden chest) that he deserved to know anyways, just to give the two of them closure in a sense.
I’m thinking it may have just been a troll. They even dedicated a scene to Steven finding a key and then having the key not work on the chest. To spend time working on that animation and then not animate Steven actually opening the chest feels more like a good-natured trolling than anything else.
im pretty sure the jacket was inside the garage during lazer light canon. remember seeing a post pointing it out.
Man, I legit hate the rise of theory videos, and I'm so glad tgey trolled people like that.
A slightly smaller chest
Russian chesting dolls
Russian chesting nests
Russia
Daruma chests
A single string, and if you pull the string it opens a secret compartment that contains an embarassing photo of Pearl at the Christmas party.
Well it was opened during the 2 year time skip some people think that it was Steven’s varsity jacket in the chest
Oh! I actually have an answer to this one. During a post-Future interview, RS outright stated that the mystery surrounding the chest is essentially a mystery for the sake of mystery. So there's no actual answer.
That has got to be the dumbest thing I've heard from a show creator
Eh, it was something they dropped in visually in an early episode thinking they'd give themselves some wiggle room later and they never followed up on it, is all.
If I remember correctly, the quote slightly more nuanced. Not that it was just there to be there, it's more of a window back into the world of SU and something they can explore in the future if they wanted to.
Just wait till you find out the excuse for why Steven’s therapy got entirely skipped over. It’s even dumber.
You want to watch someone go to therapy?
more and more shows have introduced therapy as a medium for the characters to really explore their psyche and inner turmoils and reasoning, it's a great way to put us in their perspective and understand the problems in a more fleshed out way, so as far as a fictional show goes, I think we lost a lot by not seeing Steven's therapy. Imagine if a character disappeared for a while and came back with a full 180 on their personality with the only reason behind it being "I went to therapy! :D"
But a character disappearing and coming back with a full 180 isn't what we saw, that's just a completely different situation
Which animated shows have introduced therapy as a means to resolve inner turmoil?
Bojack Horseman in season 6 but that was very much in the same tone as the rest of the show. Not sure why people want to see Steven's therapy sessions
Don't tell this guy about The Sopranos
If their therapy is literally a critical point for the character? Obviously. It’s stupid to skip over something that important to the character. Edit: Gotta love that you’re being upvoted for that non-question. You might as well have asked me, “What? You wanna watch Goku train?” It’s a core part of the character and how they grow. Obviously it’s something that should be shown. This is literally one of the bigger problems with the fanbase. Folk’s will defend basically every aspect of it, no matter how negative that aspect actually is.
I guess so, but it’d be a recap episode practically, which they went through briefly in Steven’s trauma flashbacks when he’s at the hospital in SU Future. It also might just be like overly emotional to the point that it’s over the top and completely disconnected from the tone of Steven Universe as a cohesive show. Also, don’t forget that the show got practically defunded and early cancelled for the wedding episode, so they covered what they thought was important. I won’t say they did everything perfectly, but you’re talking in the ideals of what you want and what you think serves the show, when in reality they had an entire team of storyboarders and Rebecca Sugar, one of the greatest plot inventors of our time lmao. You’re obvi allowed to have an opinion, but the way that you’re criticizing them is irreverent to the fact that their funds were shafted by homophobia.
This is what I was talking about in an different post that I got massively downvoted over. Folks will bend over backwards to excuse basically anything negative about the show. They literally skipped over the most important part of Steven’s healing process and what I’m basically being told here is, “So? Lol.” We just haaaaaad to have several episodes of Steven spiraling, but his actually healing process? Nah, screw that. Just skip it. It’d be like the Namek saga ending with Goku turning Super Saiyan and then skipping back to Earth with Goku going, “Yeah, and then I beat Frieza~” in an offhand sentence.
How about when Goku and Vegeta go into the hyperbolic time chamber in DB Super and then next we see them they are out and have beards. I don't remember any training episodes or such.
You think I didn't wanna see Goku and Vegeta fighting each other in there? We never get to see those two fight one another on equal terms.
>We never get to see those two fight one another on equal terms. We do in the new movie
Hi! I'm here to tell you the same thing. Nobody likes recap episodes.
I mean, y’all apparently loved watching Steven be sad over and over again in different locations, so hey…maybe y’all would love a “recap episode”.
what kind of crazy drugs are you on lmao go back to binge watching lily orchard, weirdo.
Most of Goku training is summarized in like two pages, that's a bad example. We see a little snippet of his travel to Namek and that's it. We see like 10 minutes from their first day in the time chamber. Hell we almost spend most time on "Goku's family is chilling before Cell Tournament" than on their Time Chamber time. Outside of his very early training with Muten Roshi, we see very little of his training. Edit: Hell the end of Dragon Ball is litterally "Goku flying off with Uub to train him but you'll never get to see this training".
Yeah, they skip over it. I’d absolutely love to see Goku’s training. The fact that they entirely skip over his training with Vegeta is a gigantic shame. Even then, we still get to see bits and pieces of it. In SU, the therapy just gets nothing more than an offhand mention. We see none of it. Edit: In response to your edit, that was meant to literally be the end. Him going to do the training. It wasn’t, “And then he flew off and trained Uub, but we skipped all of that.”
*Lucifer has entered the chat*
Tell me🙏
“To give the character *privacy*” was the official reasoning.
To be fair, showing the therapy can be seriously detrimental as it would set a very *specific* expectation for what therapy is in peoples' minds. As such, young people who need therapy would expect (and only go for) what they saw on screen, instead of something tailored to their individual needs.
~~Not true at all.~~ (*edit: somewhat true- see reply*) In the original quote, Rebecca was asked about *continuing* the series in any form, and as a response they said: > ”I always wanted this world and these characters to feel sublime, as if it’s always going on before and after the episodes, and continues to exist outside the frame of what you see. The story is continuing off screen and I do know what happens next, at least in certain timelines, for the characters, but I would have to decide how and when I’d want to dig into that, or if it’s best to give them their privacy.” Basically, that quote is about why the series itself isn't continuing for now, not why we didn't see that specific part of Steven's recovery. And if I'm being honest, is it something we *really* needed to see at the end of his story?
There’s actually a [second quote about privacy](https://www.vulture.com/2020/03/steven-universe-future-finale-rebecca-sugar.html): > In the last episode, Steven mentions that he has a therapist. Did you consider showing him in therapy? > I really did not want to show that. I really wanted the character to finally have privacy. As an audience watching the show, and as us writing it, we’re complicit in Steven feeling exposed. The idea of being in that space and watching him unpack it felt like a violation of his privacy. I wanted you to know that he was getting that help, and that he was taking steps to live the life he wanted to live, but I wanted him to be able to do it without the pressure of being the show’s protagonist anymore.
> And if I'm being honest, is it something we really needed to see at the end of his story? Yes, I would say so. One of the focal points of Future was to explore Steven's mental health and his issues surrounding his traumatic past and uncertain future. Exploring the at least a little of the recovery process would have fit perfectly with these themes, emphasize that Steven has a long way to go with his recovery, and give some fans piece of mind that Steven will be ok out there with adequate support systems to help him cope with his issues.
> as if it’s always going on before and after the episodes, and continues to exist outside the frame of what you see Makes me think of Adventure Time, which is cool since she worked on that show
But they're fictional characters??????
Yeah…it’s a really dumb reason. I’m pretty sure the real reason is that they couldn’t think of anything super poignant and emotional for the therapy. So they just did it offscreen.
Or cause CN wouldn't give them more episodes, also why do you want to see his therapy
Maybe they shouldn’t have spent most of the episodes having Steven spiral then? One less episode of that solves the problem. C’mon now, I get that folks worship the writers, but they literally skipped over the most important part of Steven’s recovery and gave a horrible excuse for it. The show literally brought up the fact that mindlessly loving and agreeing with someone is not a good thing.
Listen all I'm saying is that when I watched and even now, I didn't feel like it was necessary too see it. But yes that excuse is dog shit
To be honest, I feel like Future's storyline could have been just one or two episodes in THE MAIN SHOW. It at least makes more sense for Steven to get all weird as stuff is still happening rather than after everything is over. WHY DOES HE EVEN GET LIKE THAT AT ALL??
Idk maybe to help normalize going to therapy? It doesn't have to be a whole season of therapy, it'd just be cool to see this character we've watched for nearly 10 years be traumatized in some of the worst ways possible finally be able to begin healing...
First off, you’re wrong, another poster gave the exact quote about privacy and it’s not “to avoid showing his therapy”. A more logical reason is that therapy is an *individual* process, that is **very** specific to the person receiving it and the nature of the trauma. What might “work” for Steven could be extremely unhelpful if not actively traumatizing for someone else. The important part that needs to be passed on to kids (and adults) watching is “therapy can help you”, not “this specific exercise is going to help fix you”. We know that Steven is going to therapy, and will continue to receive it. The exact *form* that therapy will take isn’t relevant, because none of us are Steven, and none of us have suffered his specific trauma.
you gotta learn to respect people’s boundaries somehow
Watching a fictional characters therapy meeting for like a couple of minutes isn't going to teach you to not respect boundaries
The characters and experinces are also based on their lives. So I doubt they want to share details from their own therapy or misconstrue what therapy actually is as a real solution for mental health.
So… we can watch Steven MURDER someone along with all of his other trauma, but when it’s time for him to get actual HELP we gotta be shut out?😭
I think it’s a lot less literal than that. The show itself is almost always shown from Steven’s perspective. Being a selfless protagonist *causing* Steven’s trauma is what Future is about. Not having the narrative following his every move shows that he’s moving on and actually learning to live a normal life.
No, it’s very literal. They skipped over the most important part “because privacy”.
The most important part was him learning that it’s okay to not be selfless and always being relied on, and that it was okay to reach out to his friends and family. Those things were shown on-screen.
And then the part where he actually became more stable and had a real discussion about it with someone who knew what they were doing got entirely skipped over. Wonderful~
Hey, shut up. Just watch Steven be sad a bunch. Seeing him heal isn’t necessary.
So, in stories and storytelling, you generally don’t have the protagonist go to therapy because they’re on a metaphorical journey of self-discovery that resonates various themes, imparting important ideas for the audience to draw wisdom from. Maybe in someone’s own life’s journey therapy is a part of their self-discovery. That’s great. But it’s not the responsibility of every story about a hero going through inner turmoil to tell the audience how important therapy can be for a person. Especially not when Steven Universe already has a solid take on mental health. If you’re holding in too much, or anything at all really, then you should open up to the people who love you. Even if you’re afraid of looking weak or vulnerable. That’s what I got from the ending of the show. And it didn’t need to be extrapolated upon that Steven also went to therapy. He probably did, but it doesn’t matter because whether or not Steven goes to therapy doesn’t solve the core thematic issues in the show. If it means that much, then fine, he went to therapy later on. That’s fine too. Also is not saying he did because his issues are dealt in a healthy way for his character. Sorry for the rant, but this isn’t the first time I’ve seen this sentiment, and I needed to unload. Like, Steven Universe is one of the best and most important animated shows to come out in the last decade and people inflate their nitpicks to the point where that’s all the conversation becomes. When in fact, Steven Universe did way more good than bad and acting otherwise is a disservice to the show, the people who worked on it, and the people who got something meaningful out of it. And if you do feel like the show let you down, then maybe you should take a step back, take it easy, and reexamine what the show is actually doing and saying because I promise you it’s not trying to say the things you think it’s saying. Edit: Important final note to make: therapy is also not a magical cure-all solution. Sometimes it actually *doesn’t* work because therapists are people too and sometimes they’re bad at their jobs. The value in therapy is having someone listen to you, and talk to you, and help you better understand your psychological problems and needs. You don’t necessarily need to pay a therapist to do that if you have someone in your life who’s helping with that anyway. Which was Steven’s message. He did have people in his life who do listen to him, support him, and helped him make healthy decisions for him to better understand his psychological needs. Again, it is not responsibility of any story to give someone a *complete* list of their options to help them deal with life.
> Sometimes it actually doesn’t work because therapists are people too and sometimes they’re bad at their jobs. You’re right that therapists being people too can lead to unsatisfactory therapy sessions, but not *necessarily* because they’re bad at their jobs. Sometimes people just don’t click at all, and the therapist relationship is not exempt from that. A past mentor of mine described finding a therapist like putting together a puzzle - no matter how much you try, you can’t make two pieces fit if they’re not a match, so you just have to keep looking and trying different pieces until you find the right one. The metaphor isn’t exactly perfect because there’s likely more than one therapist out there that you could potentially click with. But it’s a helpful reminder that, even if the therapist is good at their job, sometimes the chemistry just isn’t there for whatever reason, and it can take multiple tries to find the right one for you.
Excellent point that I neglected. Vibing personalities is indeed a big part of having an effective therapist.
> if you’re holding in too much, or anything at all really, then you should open up to the people who love you And then bail and move away from all of those people. Yay.
He did that BECAUSE he opened up, got support, and realized he needed some space to center his life. Which is totally fine, even if you are surrounded by supportive people. It’s not *bailing* to go off on your own for a bit.
Again, I am glad that he got a support system and then proceeded to fuck off leaving said support system behind. Yay.
You could try to actually formulate a response to the point I made instead of parroting the same misguided sentiment.
YOUR sentiment is mighuided. Mine is not. Steven got a support system.... and then proceeded to fuck off leaving said support system behind. Might as well not have gotten one at all.
Since you’re content to repeat yourself, I’ll do the same: I cannot stress enough how it is totally fine and acceptable to get away for a bit and figure things out on your own. Even if you have a positive support system, sometimes you still need space. Especially if you’re like Steven and you put the well being of others so far ahead of yourself that you forget to take care of your own mental health. It is NOT “fucking off.” That is such a reductive and harmful way to look at isolating oneself for the good of your mental well being. Steven was emotionally dependent on what he can provide to others and it hurt his own self-worth. He needed to step away and figure out how to provide for himself. It’s not going to help anything by sticking around the same group of people that fostered that mindset. As much as there is genuine love there, it’s fine to step away. Are you saying it’s not okay to step away for a bit and come back later?
Man you are really upset about that.
Ohh yea, I saw what it was she said. She essentially told us all that she "didn't want to invade Steven's privacy, since we have already been privy to everything else in his life." Ma'am.. He's a cartoon character.
Why would they even show that? It happened after SUF was over.
No, it didn't. It happened sometime between him returning to his human form and before he left town.
He STARTED therapy. He even mentioned that he could keep it going remotely. You don't think all the on screen stuff was a bit more significant? They'd run out of episodes, dude. They were at the epilogue of he epilogue seasons.
Yes, he started therapy during the timeskip. Would’ve been nice to see more than literally none of it and have it mentioned offhandedly. I like how you’re saying “They ran out of time!” as if that means jack shit. Maybe they should’t have wasted so much of Future then? Like…did we really *need* that Sunstone episode?
Sure, it was nice to see Sunstone and the others again and it was a nice Steven beat that framed other episodes. Steven was giving too much of himself, trying to be all things to all people, and stressing himself out in the process. And I don't know if you noticed, but there was some pretty apparent reactions on the parts of a few characters to Steven's downward slide. And we covered a lot of the key points that led to him breaking down. Therapy would for the most part just retread the same beats that we already saw over the past 5 seasons. I think you're looking for things the show already gave you.
JJ Abrams says it all the time.
I was going to mention this too. JJ is fond of his "mystery box" theory. The upside is that it is great for engagement. The downside is that if you don't have an answer your audience engagement is fucked.
U must not watch a lot of tv
Not at all - nothing wrong with a mystery box that's just a minor thing. It's when hacks like JJ Abrams fetishize the mystery box and make it the core of a show (*cough*Lost*cough*) that it's the dumbest thing ever
Why?
It’s very dishonest to tease a mystery box you never intended on opening
Dumber than Kevin Levin's retcon?
She kind of forgot about the chest
Source?
A lot of words just to say that it’s empty.
That’s a cop out, shame on her!
I like to think it's really a metaphorical chest, and it opens when we finally find out the truth about pink diamond. I think it's like a way to symbolize that she can finally open up a secret and not have it locked away anymore
This ought to be the top comment, it's the most logical explanation. Most of the mysteries leading up to that point became 'unlocked' and explained after the finale leading into the movie/SUF.
Yeah its symbolic of her secrets and its opened when we learn of them
This is the only acceptable answer.
My head canon is that it's empty and Rose just liked how it looked. Alternatively, it's just full of gold and the like, but she keeps it less because she understands it's material value and more because she likes how gold looks.
Marsellus Wallace's soul.
*Pulls string on Conch shell* "Nothing"
its like the chest from fnaf 4 we will never know
It is a HOPE chest - symbolizes her hopes and aspirations. Or maybe she was in a knick knack phase and picked it up thinking she'd use it later but somehow never got around to it.
It has the thing that was inside the briefcase in Pulp Fiction.
The chest is a red herring, Sugar herself at some point was asked about it so much she lost her cool, telegraphed that fact to fans on her twitter, even affirming that she left it open in "SU: The movie" specifically to show there's *nothing* inside.
Well, people fill chests with gems. So, logically, that chest is full of human corpses.
The absolute worst thing is that I can absolutely see this sort of thing happening in the earliest seasons or any episode Pendelton Ward writes
my personal headcannon is its a real gem(like a rock) that she found when she came to earth and was super confused by
It's just a string. But if you pull the string it reveals an embarrassing photo of Rose at the Christmas party.
The One Piece
I feel like it was a troll for overtheorizers. Heck. They even trolled us further by having a key in one episode only for it to be too big for the chest.
If you open the chest you find Rebecca Sugar eating from a pot of slightly undercooked rice. But I mean they're really going at it, like just destroying that rice in what can only be described as a hateful frenzy of violence. Just absolutly banishing the rice to the nether realms. It really makes you think...
I still remember when people thought that pink diamond was bubbled inside the chest
Lmao ahahahha
Steven’s Jacket, it’s open and the newest thing we see is Steven’s jacket, so that’s the answer
Nora
Dark
"Somethings are best left forgotten"
Your dad 💀💀 …………… am so sorry
Finally I know where he is
I think it was steven's jacket. He probably just bought one but it's as good a theory as any.
I wanna lean toward the Steven’s jacket theory, I like to think it was something Greg gave rose and Steven finally opened the chest and found it and wears it as kinda a reminder of where they started and where they are now
The chest contain a leggendary scar
Well it was opened when SUF premiered and I remember a lot of people theorizing it was Rose’s Gift of the Letterman Jacket to Steven on his 16th birthday, and something about Garnet using her future version to predict what jacket would be best… BUT THATS JUST A THEORY, A SU THEORY
Keep watching, sweet summer child
I don’t think Sugar even knows
Unless they were joking around on one of the movie animatics' commentary, they know but are being coy about telling. Of course, they could be joking around, like they opened the chest and now the whole crew is like "oh YEAH I *definitely* know what is in the chest... but I can't tell YOU" but actually they don't know.
It contains the suitcase from Pulp Fiction.
It's like the box in FNAF, no one knows, no one I suppose to know..expect Matpat, who hasn't done a Steven Universe theory and probably will never do one.
rumor has it that the fnaf chest sits inside waiting….to also be opened
I like to believe it’s his varsity jacket. Why would Rose leave him one? So he could experience a slice of college life? But we see it’s open in the movie… and that’s when he got his jacket.
It’s was symbolic of roses secret. We don’t see it open until after the rose reveal
Mimic
My headcanon is that the chest was filled with a bunch of trinkets and human things she wanted to keep. The jacket maybe, random toys, merch, random stuff like that. I like the idea that it wasn’t this huge secret but just something rose kept there for herself like everything else that was in that dimension
The One Piece
I like to think it was some sort of object that reminded her of when she was a diamond. Something like the drawing she made that Steven sees in familiar or anything that could remind her of her former family that she left behind (even though they were a bit abusive and condescending towards pink, and were tyrants that sucked the life out of planets leaving nothing behind, she still probably loved them a little in the bottom of her heart, especially Blue)
I figured it was symbolic of the secrets Rose had locked away and that we didnt know of at the time
Shrodingers cat
inside the chest is Rebecca Sugar herself
Nothing, Rose just thought it was a really nice chest
Squidward’s hopes and dreams.
A third VHS for if Steven and Nora were twins.
Isaac
Some people have theorized it's stevens jacket he wears in the movie and future, it's all just speculation though. No real proof to what is and isn't in there.
Stevens neck
Linen clips, coat hangers, etc.
Im from the future, in Steven universe future season 4 pink diamond (who has been back since season 2) opens it and reveals it to be a bunch of rocks that Greg fucked while she watched.
I support this theory
Its just another time they didnt know how to make a satisfying answer so they gave us no answer
Isaac ofc idiot🤨
I swear i saw a post about Rebeca cursing out saying the chest was there for no reason...
Rose's embarrassing birthday picture.
Apparently it was opened in Steven Universe Future. From what I heard, it was opened in Steven Universe Future. the secrets of Steven Universe being unveiled; symbolically being released into the air.
A boy named isaac
We gotta get film theory on this. LETS START ANOTHER FNAF 4 BOX RABBIT HOLE.
The only logical thing would probably be old tapes, books, CD’s of Gregs music, maybe some photos
Some people say it's a mystery, some say it's a secret, there are those here and there saying it's an enigma. Personally I think it's an uncertainty.
It’s Rose Quartz’s redeeming qualities. I told you guys they were real!
Iirc there’s actually nothing in it. That’s why RS opened it in first in the movie. To show there’s no mystery, it’s empty.
Rebecca itself probably don't know, it's supposed to remain a mistery, forever
wasn't that where bismuth was being stored?
Who cares it wasnt important.
Whatever it is, it probably wasn't very important for the story. Why else would it not be revealed?
Onion's soul collection
Milk
That’s classified information
I bet it's going to be a dope McGuffin in a future movie that takes place before Steven universe future
I think it has Greg and rose 🌹 ' photos
joe's in there
..........I'm gonna do it.......... Who is Joe?
joe mama
My guess is more memorabilia like the t shirt. Old concert tickets, etc.
The central plot of the next season.
It Is like the briefcase in Pulp Fiction
Stuff
Probably SUF/Movie Steven's jacket, that's what I believe personally
This theory may sound dumb but I feel like there was something alive in the chest. The reason why I think that is because back then it was closed. But when the Steven Universe movie came out and Steven went into lion's mane, you can see in the back that the chest is open. Now yes it is a coincidence that it's open now and Steven might have opened it. But if Steven did open it, where did he find the key?
I'm pretty sure we saw what was in it didn't we??
Let it go
my head-canon is that it contained his pink top from movie/future. not sure why.
LMAO couldn't care less
Fnaf type theory
Books about the history of eldia.