WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the finale of Steven Universe Future, which aired Friday on Cartoon Network
Steven Universe Future concluded the nearly seven-year story Friday on a high note, with an emotional goodbye to the major characters, and setting the stage for Steven to grow and become his own person.
The end credits for the entire Steven Universe Future miniseries have depicted a car driving down the road, away from Beach City and the home of the Crystal Gems. But the final moments of the finale reveal the sequence has actually been teasing Steven's fate, with the franchise's antagonist ending hist story by deciding to leave home and drive away from Beach City.
HOW IT ALL ENDS
The final four episodes of Steven Universe Future have centered on Steven trying to learn to control his powers and emotions. However, they get away from him, and he keeps lashing out. That ultimately ends with Steven believing himself to be some kind of monster - which, because of his powers, his body morphs into. The Crystal Gems, the Diamonds and even the Cluster aren't strong enough to hold back Steven when he's in this form. Connie eventually unites all of Steven's loved ones and gets them all to embrace Steven instead of fight him. That gives the group the chance to get through to Steven and help him to deal with his pain, which in turn ends the transformation.
The final episode, "The Future," takes place months later. Steven is preparing to leave Beach City and find his own place in the world beyond being a Crystal Gem. He intends to pack his belongings into a car and set off on a 37-state road trip, to learn more about himself. Unsure of where he'll end up, all he knows for sure is that he wants to visit certain people (such as Connie, Lars and Sadie), but that he can't stay home any longer. After having his emotional goodbyes with the other major members of the cast, Steven sets off. The show ends with him leaving Beach City. The scene then transitions to the credits -- revealing the car driving away from Beach City at the end of every episode of the miniseries has been Steven all along.
Steven Universe Future has been quietly setting up that ending all along, conditioning the viewer to be OK with leaving the town once and for all with Steven. This is, after all, the conclusion of the franchise. It also imbues the end credits with real weight, making the final moments of the entire show a part of the story.
Steven isn't turning his back on his former life, but he is ready to move on and find something else. It's a fitting final moment to connect Steven with the audience, allowing them to bid farewell to Beach City along with him. The show has quietly been setting the stage for such a turn, almost as if to ease viewers into the idea that Steven can -- and must -- leave Beach City once and for all.