Steven and Connie learn to focus better.
SPOILER ALERT
There is a lot to unpack in this episode. Its start off with Connie being distracted and from there it’s revealed she’s made a mistake and needs to own up to it. This is solved pretty easily through a musical number but right afterwards, Steven’s demons come out to play. Sadly it doesn’t look like his will be solved simply by a catchy song and a little relaxation meditation.
Though they come out for a brief moment, Steven’s problems really help to illustrate all he is dealing with. He recently had to defeat several enemies in a much more brutal manner than he was accustomed to and is having difficulty realizing a simple joke and a friendly hug won’t solve everything every time. All of these feelings seem to be coming from one specific event but it’s better to watch it in the episode instead of having it explained. Needless to say, Steven may need a therapist appointment twice a week for the rest of his life.
The episode also gave a little more of an insight into Ruby and Sapphire. It’s shown Ruby is one to get frustrated by a problem and it consumes all of her focus. Sapphire on the other hand is able to not let one problem get to her but when instead becomes consumed trying to look at all the problems around her she often gets overwhelmed. It’s an interesting look into the characters and the entire segment is beautifully told through actions and without dialogue.
This episode really sticks with you after it’s over. It leaves one of those emotional impacts which takes a moment to recover from and you have to remind yourself you need to breath. Hopefully episodes of this caliber will be more commonplace in the middle of the season instead of the weird and more comedic ones which were littered throughout the middle of seasons two and three.
