“Do you wanna talk about it?”



The difference between the Week of Sardonyx and the Breakup Arc is the difference between Act II and Act III of Steven Universe: the former stars the Crystal Gems, and the latter stars Steven. Our hero is growing up, and part of growing up is gaining independence, so a show about Steven and his family becomes a show about Steven, featuring his family.

The transition is gradual, as Season 4 has a sweep of family-focused episodes to ease us into Steven’s growing self-reliance. Gem Harvest and Three Gems and a Baby present a world where Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Greg are at peace, an unusual but fully-functioning family. But these episodes are immediately followed by Steven’s Dream, which opens a small new rift by making Greg an ally for the truth and the Gems holders of secrets, then a much larger rift when Greg is kidnapped. The ensuing arc sees Steven get his family back together, but its coda, Storm in the Room, centers around a silent stretch of Steven taking care of himself. That episodes ends with one last scene of Greg and the Gems joining Steven for a meal, and that’s the last we see of the gang all together until the very end of Lars’s Head (which features a similar scene of Steven taking care of himself, but in a way that feels less like a kid all alone and more like a teenager casually getting things done).



So it makes sense that our first episode back on Earth begins with Steven walking away from Greg and the Gems to talk with a peer. This is a version of the Steven who worries that his family is never gonna let him out of their sight again, rather than seeking comfort with that family after a traumatic experience. But becoming more of an individual doesn’t mean family stops mattering, and Gemcation is a magnificent glimpse into our new status quo.

It’s been a known quantity since midway through Act I that the Crystal Gems aren’t naturals at raising a child, and Greg often makes a point of saying he doesn’t understand Gem stuff. But there’s a whole new level of confusion that comes with teenagers. Steven’s issue seems obvious to them, as the whole gang is still reeling from his abduction, but the real problem is that Connie’s refusal talk to him is making him wreck, to the point where he can’t see that his refusal to talk to his family is making them a wreck.

The Gems want to help, but they’re clearly uncomfortable and require coaxing to try. That coaxing comes from the true protagonist of Gemcation, the emotionally healthiest character in the series, whose wisdom allows all four main Crystal Gems to grow.

Greg Universe understands Steven’s moping in a way nobody else can, and he knows Steven well enough to figure out the best solution: asking for help from the kid who loves to help. But when Steven follows his frantic removal of a rogue hose with “Are you safe!? Do you still love me!?”, Greg recognizes that he might need another approach. He asks for help once more (with the groceries), but only as a way to surprise Steven with a trip. While it’s true that all five of our vacationers need a break, Greg prioritizes his son’s well-being over his own. And because Steven’s whole problem is prioritizing others over himself to an extreme degree, Greg models a healthier way to do it.

First, he’s Steven’s father, so it’s much fairer that Greg put his son first than it is to expect Steven to put the adults in his life first. Steven’s obsession with fixing things comes from a childhood spent helping adults with their baggage, which was kind and mature of him but taught him too well that his value comes from helping. What’s worse, he learned from a young age to not expect a consistent Adults Help/Kids Are Helped dynamic; it’s unfair for a child to be a caretaker for their parent, let alone several parent figures. His worldview is muddled by being the only minor on a team of adults, so he’s always sought to be a peer in a way that doesn’t fit with the usual parent/child relationship (which is one of the reasons his strongest bond is with Amethyst, who has always been more sisterly than motherly). So just by acting like a dad instead of a partner, Greg reminds Steven that it’s okay to be helped.



Second, he inadvertently shows Steven that it’s okay to ask for help when you don’t know what to do. It’s clear to us from the winks and nods that Greg is behind the Gems’ attempts to talk with Steven, but this later becomes clear to Steven as well when he eavesdrops on his dad rallying the troops. This isn’t even a new lesson for Steven: he realizes that only Pearl can help Amethyst in On the Run, which informs his plan to have Greg and Pearl talk things out in Mr. Greg. But it’s a lesson that he needs a refresher on, because his inability to ask for help is what caused the fight with Connie in the first place. Sure, it’s a symptom of a larger issue with martyrdom, but competent doctors still treat the symptoms when they get bad.

And third, he shows Steven that it’s okay to talk about your own problems. This isn’t something that Steven is necessarily bad at: as lately as Stuck Together, he’s been able to open up about his worries to empathize with others in need. But Gemcation is all about his reluctance to open up about what’s hurting him, and when he finally admits that it’s about Connie, Greg not only eases the embarrassment by razzing his son a little, but confesses that he’s also messed up over Steven’s abduction and that the vacation is his way of coping. It’s a step beyond validating another person’s feelings by sharing his own: it’s revealing the actions he’s taken to help himself.

Now that we’re done with an arc about the trials of Steven’s alien half, it’s time for another about the trials of Steven’s human half. His dad might not be qualified to talk about Gem stuff, but as the man says, he knows about this. In a show that’s very much about parents and children, Greg is the ultimate role model, an imperfect parent who nonetheless loves, understands, and supports his child, always seeking to relieve the pressure of his enormous destiny rather than compound it, and that’s what makes him a hero.

And boy oh boy, does Steven need support more than ever. The opening of Gemcation is perhaps the most agonizing scene of the series, a stream of increasingly desperate texts that every teenager in love will one day send (or be sent). Starting off here is perfect, because he’s an angsty little pill throughout the episode and without setting up the context this well, his sulking would be more irritating than relatable. Desperation is the name of the game, and from the start we understand that these stakes are just as high to Steven as his recent capture.

Steven oughtta know from how painful Connie’s silence is that his own is hurting his family, but he can’t muster the strength to tell them what’s really wrong, so instead he broods. Connie doesn’t even have to be here to remind him of the mess he left when he went away, and as her absence hangs over him, the shame of wronging her gets enhanced by the shame of seeing Greg and the Gems struggle to help when he thinks he doesn’t deserve it and knows that he made them suffer. The good news (speaking relatively) is that he’s moved from shame for his mother’s actions to shame for his own: neither is great, but the kid obsessed with fixing problems finally gets one that he can fix, in a way that will actually help him in the long run. The larger victory is moving past the obsession, but you gotta walk before you run.

Ronaldo, whose terrible advice from Full Disclosure haunts the Breakup Arc, twists the knife beautifully in a recurring gag whose final punchline threads the needle between hilarious and devastating. This is the ultimate form of Ronaldo, the essence of his role on the show right down to his eerie foresight: he was a fan of Koala Princess half a year before a character of that name appeared in sister show OK K.O. We aren’t ready for a reconciliation between Connie and Steven, so Gemcation was always going to end in heartache, but at least Ronaldo is there to soften the blow.



The Gems, as mentioned, are adrift. But for the first time in a while, we get little moments of focus with all three, allowing us to check in them as a group one last time before we learn the truth about Rose.

I’ll always admire Steven Universe’s willingness to give lopsided focus to the Gems, even in episodes that feature them as an ensemble. There’s a perfunctory instinct to give them each their own equal time to shine in situations like this, but it’s nice and messy to have uneven levels of importance. So while I like Amethyst’s scene, where her budding role as the most mature Crystal Gem sees her trying to talk things out directly, and Garnet’s scene, where we’re trolled into seeing more Pink Diamond stuff before moving back to Steven’s immediate concerns, I love that out of nowhere the episode becomes a sequel to Space Race.

In this other episode about Steven and Greg visiting a new place outside the city two episodes after major alien drama, Pearl is once again cast as the Gem most familiar with Homeworld and outer space, and she references her early desire to bring Steven there as her conversation begins. But it soon becomes apparent that Steven and Connie aren’t the only characters who can’t bring themselves to speak: in her most prominent instance of self-censorship yet, Pearl covers her mouth, rips it away, and covers it again as her piano goes off the rails. This, after she emphasizes that the truth Steven seeks is impossible for her to explain.

As with Garnet’s story, we’re yanked back to the present by Steven, this time finally admitting that his problem is that Connie won’t text him back. But just in case the foreshadowing for A Single Pale Rose wasn’t thorough enough, we then end with a chase and a smartphone.

Gemcation might not even be the harshest episode in the Breakup Arc, let alone the series: we still haven’t gotten to Lapis and Peridot’s own split. But it’s certainly in contention: those opening texts, the new awkwardness strangling our family, and Pearl’s lingering curse are all tough to watch, but if that isn’t enough, we get that spark of hope as the family races to the top of a hill for good reception. Disappointment is the only good way the episode could end: relief would be nice, but any conclusion that doesn’t involve an actual conversation with Connie would do her a disservice. There’s an extra kick in the teeth when we learn that she did try to talk to him in person while he was away, bringing the teenage suffering to almost comedic levels, but isn’t that how it should be? At Steven and Connie’s age, a fight like this feels like the end of the world, so piling on the pain to an absurd degree feels just right.

And of course, Greg and the Gems are there to lighten the load. The Gems haven’t always been as good at supporting Steven as Greg, but let’s not overstate their incompetence: when they’re on, they’re on. Despite their clumsiness here, all the adults are trying their best. But they can only provide the comfort Steven needs when he lets them in. Thankfully Steven isn’t too far gone to notice the effort, and while it doesn’t solve everything, it’s clear than he appreciates it.

It’s a small win, but in arc this depressing, we’ll take what we can get.

Future Vision!

“Got room for three more?”

“Always.”



We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

I love Greg, and episodes like this are why. It’s painful, but the whole dang arc is painful, that doesn’t mean I can’t love it.

Top Twenty-Five

Love ‘em



Like ‘em

Enh

No Thanks!

6. Horror Club

5. Fusion Cuisine

4. House Guest

3. Onion Gang

2. Sadie’s Song

1. Island Adventure