SPOILERS AHEAD!!! If you have not caught up till this episode, turn around bright eyes, and every now and then fall apart.

Stray Observations

"Room for Ruby" is the 123rd episode of Steven Universe, and currently the latest episode that has (officially) aired.I apologize for the godawful joke.This episode is about when Navy (one of the Rubies from the Ruby Squad) falls from space and lands in the most motherfucking convenient spot - right in front of Steven's fucking house. And somehow doesn't poof. Ummm... what? So a gem can fall from fucking SPACE, enter the atmosphere and NOT poof, yet Amethyst was poofed by a single headbutt? I think for the sake of the rest of this episode I can just overlook this and put it down to this being part of her master plan, rather than some MASSIVE co-incidence (I mean come on, this show used its co-incidence quota when the Cluster started emerging RIGHT when the audience and CGs learned about its existence, AND after lying dormant for 5000 years).The scene where Garnet and Steven are stargazing is cute. As is the moment when Navy initially lands, pleading not to go back to Homeworld since the other rubies were mean to her (they weren't in any previous episode that had the Ruby squad). And just with that hint alone, it's obvious she's lying. Steven makes an adorable call-back to "The Answer", and then has an idea where to put this supposed new member of the Crystal Gems. The place where all the non-core members vanish to - The Status-Quo-Is-God Barn.The bulk of this episode is Steven and Peridot trying to acclimatize Navy to her new life on Earth. There are some cute moments and call-backs, such as when Peridot shows Navy rain. This was one of Peri's first experiences after her redemption arc started, so it's one that really sticks out to her. But since the weather is bright and sunny, they use Lapis to literally make it rain with her hydrokinesis. Other activities with the Ruby involve trying to teach her to sleep. Which as expected is a bit of a slow moment, but it's not too long. Also, who knew that Lapis loved to sleep!?Ultimately, however, I think the most important aspect of this episode is Lapis Lazuli. She's been under heavy criticism lately for her inconsistent characterization. But this episode brought back the Lapis we once knew in seasons 1 and 2. Lapis grows more and more envious of Navy as the episode wears on, since Navy is just seemingly so able to adapt so quickly to everything. Navy just loves EVERYTHING she sees - carrots, puppykin, the freaking DIRT. Just everything! Yet Lapis herself found it so difficult to acclimatize (even though she settled in one episode), and she's still finding it incredibly hard even now. With this, she storms off.It is shortly after a BRILLIANT Lapis moment that Navy mentions she misses her ship. And what does Steven do? Offers her a freaking joy ride in the ship. Oh what a surprise, Navy has not turned good. Oh what a surprise, she stole the ship and flew off.Navy is a psychopath. And you know by now if you're one of the fifteen people that's been following my reviews that I am a sucker for psychopaths on this show. This show has a lot of them, and having them here just makes the show feel more real. Like, this show does have some very bad people in it. Not everyone is as nice as Kiki, or as easily transformable as Peridot was. Some people just don't want help or change, and I do like this in the episode. I feel like this particular part was very well handled, how Navy is just... so evil! And I think after this episode, she might just be my favorite little Ruby! So I did like the many cute moments and Ruby's overeagerness, as well as the stargazing scene at the start of this episode.What I didn't like... what I REALLY didn't like... was Steven in this episode. It is acceptable for Peridot to fall for Navy's ruse. But Steven. STEVEN. How many spoonfuls of STUPID were you fed before this episode? YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE WRINGER, STEVEN. You have been betrayed time and time again. You've had your run-in with Bismuth, your countless run-ins with Jasper, YOU EVEN HAD A RUN-IN WITH A RUBY FROM THE SAME DAMN SQUAD THAT ALMOST ENDED UP WITH YOU GETTING BRUTALLY MURDERED BY KNIFE,Steven, this is ONION TRADE levels of stupidity!!!!(drinks some guacola to calm down)My point is, Steven should not have fallen for Navy's ruse at all. Not season 4 Steven anyway. Maybe season 1 or 2 Steven. Another bonus for if you've been following - you'll know I've been very impressed with Steven's development and growth throughout season 4. And this episode felt like a real step back. And this is a shame. And this step back isn't due to any big event or anything, it was just sloppy writing. And it kills me to say that because I could really see what they were going for here, and I have SO much respect for the writers of Steven Universe.Not just in the ending, but in many parts did Steven act younger than his age. "I'm gonna ppprrrreeesssssss iiiitttttt!!!" is the prime example, but man Steven was so dumb in this episode. Okay. I've ranted about Steven for long enough. Let's talk about another issue people have with this episode. This could have all been avoided if the gems had actually gone and gotten the rubies from space instead of just... inexplicably ignoring them and totally going back on what they promised in "Adventures in Light Distortion". This was never explained, and can only be put down to the Crystal Gems were lazy. But let me offer an alternate opinion - it wouldn't be the end of the world if all the shit that goes down after this episode is a result of the gems being lazy and not getting the rubies, in my opinion. I mean, we all make mistakes, even heroes make mistakes. I've seen so many people getting mad and saying that "Well I don't care what happens to the CGs now, because they DESERVE it for being lazy not getting the Rubies!" - guys, everyone makes mistakes. But people learn from their mistakes, and the CGs certainly won't do it again. Unless you're Steven and you apparently never learn that new gems will try and kill you or deceive you.The final issue I have with the episode is that it's just a little anticlimactic. When Lapis flew back to Homeworld, it was a HUGE DEAL. When Navy escapes, Garnet just says "Eh, it was worth a shot..." completely neglecting the fact this could spell doom for the characters of this show going forwards.I know I am sounding quite negative in this review, again, but this episode does have quite a number of writing problems. I did like lots of this episode, and liked it overall, but when reviewing a flawed episode like this, it's much easier to point out where the episode went wrong than just gush about all the good parts.But I will take a moment to talk about Lapis Lazuli again, and how GREAT she was in this episode! She did NOT fall for Navy's ruse. She was the sceptic all along, and she was acting the way Steven SHOULD have been acting. She is ultimately what saves this episode from being a wash. That "Oh COME" was just brilliant! And her maniacal laughing when she realized she was right about Navy all along. I've also seen people get mad that Lapis didn't use the entire ocean to stop Navy. Guys, that ship can go faster than the speed of light, I don't think Lapis would have stood a chance trying to stop her, even with all the water in the world. Lapis coming clean about her inner struggles trying to adapt to Earth and trying new identities may actually explain why Lapis has been so inconsistent - she's always trying new behaviors and new ways of acting. Though it comes across as more of a cover-up from the Crewniverse because they're probably by this point aware that Lapis has been written inconsistently these last two seasons, I'm fine with that. I'm fine with however they want to fix Lapis's character, so long as it gets fixed.So this one's a bit of a doozy, really. As a standalone episode, yeah, I would probably really like this episode simply because of what it did for Lapis's character. And I do love me some cute Navy moments, even if it is all a ruse. But as an episode that is part of the show's plot - which this episode actually is - this episode makes no sense whatsoever, and is frankly trash. But not considering that, this is still a very enjoyable fun episode, even if marred by sloppy writing in places. So really, the bottom line is, I'm still incredibly conflicted on how I feel about this episode. I like it, but not in terms of the story. In terms of the story, this is a huge step back in Steven's development and opens plotholes. As a standalone, it's cute, funny, has some great Lapis and Peridot moments (which I'm always down for)... I'm conflicted, okay.I mean it IS possible that Navy somehow knew EXACTLY what to say to Steven to get through to him. After all, she did say ALL the right things that WOULD fool even season 3 Steven. So either she got INCREDIBLY lucky with her plan, or she is the smartest character on the show to date (though her previous experiences would suggest otherwise).I think with this one we may just have to wait and see. Though I think as the Lapis scene at the end and the Ruby Squad neglect didn't bother me like it bothered others, I think I possibly liked this episode more than most.-Why is the ship wrapped in Christmas lights? I thought they didn't have Christmas in Steven Universe.-The balloons at the end were red and blue, like Ruby and Sapphire. You can never read too much into this show.-No Amethyst or Pearl. Sigh.-This episode may as well be called "Status Quo is God", since they were going to put Navy in the barn, but then it turns out Navy never actually DID change to good, AND Navy took the ship from the gems, grounding them all once again.-Having that ship on their hands probably would advance the plot too fast. We certainly won't be seeing any more space adventures for a bit.-I'm amazed Puppykin hasn't rotted yet.-Just how much time has passed? Judging by the height of those crops it must be JUNE.