“What’s Your Problem”[2] is the 20th episode of the fifth season of Steven Universe, the 148th episode overall, and the second episode of the seventh StevenBomb.
Official synopsis
Amethyst convinces Steven to take the day off for himself.[3]
Conspiracy
After Steven, Pearl, and Sapphire return from Rose’s fountain, Sapphire finds a letter from Ruby explaining that she is leaving. Steven, Pearl, and Sapphire ask Amethyst if she knows where Ruby went, but she hasn’t seen her since she delivered the pen and paper to write the note. Sapphire breaks down with guilt as Pearl tries to comfort her. Steven goes to find Ruby and Amethyst follows him.
Steven and Amethyst search the ocean for Ruby unsuccessfully. Amethyst jokes about how Ruby was able to become small and hidden in a shell. The two are later seen passing around flyers asking if anyone has seen Ruby. Amethyst takes Steven to lots of fun places, but he’s only focused on finding Ruby.
Amethyst convinces Steven to join her for pizza with everything, where she convinces Steven to talk about how he feels when he finds out about Pink Diamond. Steven talks about how confused he is about everything that happened, but he’s not surprised that Rose Quartz lied about it. He also talks about how he’s glad she didn’t break anyone, but he’s still confused about how to feel about it. Jenny Pizza appears and tells Kiki about how Greg is up at Brooding Hill with someone who is crying so bad they look red, so they both realize that Ruby is with Greg.
Steven then asks Amethyst how she feels about all of this and she avoids the question and tries to run away. Amethyst transforms into a helicopter and tries to fly away, but Steven uses his gravity powers to grab her and repeatedly asks how she feels. Amethyst tries to shake him off and he ends up in the pilot seat of her helicopter. She then tells Steven to get out of her head, before asking him if he’s getting too personal. Amethyst responds by mentioning that he is literally in her head. Steven then tells her to look outside and she looks up just in time to see the Beach City water tower. It crashes into the water tower but does not damage it.
Amethyst and Steven then crash on the beach, where Steven realizes that she was trying to cheer him up. Amethyst then lashes out at Steven, clearly telling him that she refuses to take millennia of her problems out on Steven while he’s already dealing with his own feelings and those of others, and that no matter what happens, she won’t fall apart because of him. such as Pearl, Sapphire and Ruby. Steven processes this and tells Amethyst that this reaction makes her the most mature crystal gem, leaving them in stitches. Amethyst then asks Steven if he still wants to look for Ruby, to which Steven says yes. The episode ends showing them on their way to Brooding Hill to meet Ruby and Greg.
Details
Cultural references
Amethyst pointing to the sky and speaking to Steven about not falling apart on him is a reference to the anime series Gurren Lagann, where the characters would point to the sky and give inspirational speeches. This was repeated in other series as well.
As Steven and Amethyst throw Ruby’s missing posters from the Beach City Funland teacup ride, a woman and child resembling Lisa and her son Sōsuke from Studio Ghibli’s Ponyo can be seen on the left.
Continuity
This episode picks up immediately after “Now We’re Just Falling Apart”.[4]
When Steven and Amethyst first try to find Ruby underwater, Steven uses his bubble like he did with Connie in “Bubble Buddies”.
Using her future vision, Sapphire sees Ruby and questions why she should be a cowboy. “The Question” shows her vision coming to fruition.
Mistakes
Although the official title of the episode ends with a question mark, it is absent from the title card.
Cartoon Network screen error not showing the “new episode” banner when this episode first premiered.
It also happened with “Now We’re Only Falling Apart” and later “The Question”.
It is morning at the beginning of the episode. However, at the end of the previous episode, it is dark inside the house, indicating that it is still night.
Sapphire’s name on the note is thin; however, at the end of the previous episode, the words were bold.
In the shot where Pearl tries to comfort Sapphire, the camera pans down as she kneels on the floor, which in turn shows Steven partially standing in mid-air. Although Steven is shown to be able to float, this is likely a result of the animator not realizing that the lower half of his body will not be covered.
Sapphire reads Ruby’s letter right side up; However, Pearl reads it upside down.
In one scene, when Amethyst is playing Steven’s GameCube, the controller plug is facing forward. In the next shot, it’s on the left.
When Pearl kneels, Steven’s left foot isn’t on solid ground.
When Amethyst says “Rose Quartz, huh?” To Steven, when she eats at Fish Stew Pizza, her crumbs stop with the frame and float in the air.
When Steven says that Amethyst needs help, an aspect of her gem is outlined.
