Steven goes on a search and recovery mission with the Gems.
After the events of the last episode, the Crystal Gems have to into blast space on a rescue mission to find Steven’s Dad. Its revealed Pink Diamond kept a zoo for humans as a trophies which quickly becomes the team’s intended destination. This really helps to show just how callous the Diamonds can be if this is the view they have of humanity. Of course, given the way Gems never evolve and are set in their ways, a species which is so random in its behavior probably is bizarre for them to witness.
Unfortunately the episode offers a mixed bag of themes and is a bit all over the place. First it tries comedy by manipulating the ship’s gravity and changing the shape of the Crystal Gems in the process. Then it tries to switch back to being a more dramatic character centric episode. This would good except it comes from guilt which emerges as Steven starts to blame himself for events leading to this point. This almost feels counterproductive compared to the previous episode where he tried to hunt for answers. He shouldn’t be punished just for trying to figure out who what is going on in his world. Sure the team went off a little haphazardly but Steven has enough guilt and anxiety in him already. The show doesn’t have the layer it on for him any thicker.
This episode is good but seems more off balanced compared to everything which happened in the previous one. There is a distinct bit of foreshadowing here as Connie, Peridot, and Lapis Lazuli are instructed to protect Beach City as the regular team is off planet. This will result in a very entertaining episode in the future as the trio will no doubt have to fight for the first time as a team. Hopefully it will be a bit more balanced than this one.
