“Gemcation” is the 6th episode of the fifth season of Steven Universe and the 134th episode overall.[2]
Official synopsis
Greg and the gems take Steven on vacation to help him relax.[3]
Conspiracy
Several days have passed since the events of “Dewey Wins”. Steven has tried numerous times to contact Connie on his cell phone, but has yet to receive a single response from her. The situation causes him great depression and anxiety, until he loses contact with his surroundings.
A few meters away, Greg accidentally gets tangled in the hoses, and it takes Greg a few tries to get Steven’s attention. When Steven finally notices this, he panics, quickly closes his latest text to Connie and rushes to his father’s aid, immediately going to the extreme of biting through the hose to untangle it. In the immediate aftermath, Steven is overwhelmed with anxiety at his slow response and overreaction to a perceived threat; Greg tries to reassure his son but to no avail. Steven’s attention is suddenly drawn to his buzzing phone; he tentatively answers, expecting a response from Connie, but it turns out to be an irrelevant message from Ronald. Greg notices his son’s sullen mood and tries to comfort him, but Steven remains aloof and dismisses the problem.
At the beach house, Steven is so out of it that he tries to wash the dishes with an unopened bottle of soap. His hopes of reaching Connie rise when he receives another text message, only to be promptly dashed when he discovers another spam message. Just then, Greg and the Crystal Gems arrive to tell him they’re going to a vacation home for the weekend. Steven doesn’t realize he’s being invited to go on vacation with them and dismisses them, but his father and guardians urge him to come, in a transparently rehearsed manner. After hearing their pleas (and receiving another spam message), Steven decides to accept their offer.
Steven, Greg, and the Gems stop at the “Cool Ranch”, leaving Steven glued to the phone. Greg says he wants Steven to be as comfortable as possible, even if he takes Steven’s bed with him. He talks to Steven about the house and relays its somewhat disappointing features (which is then undercut by a note from the owner forbidding them from using said features). To make matters worse, Amethyst reports an unexpected guest, describing it as three feet long, hissing, and crawling. When the snake attacks Pearl off-screen, Steven’s promised “great time” looks doubtful.
That evening, Greg grills dinner while Pearl recovers from a snakebite (declaring that the surprise is worse than the physical pain). Greg notices that Steven is once again obsessed with his phone and urges Amethyst to talk him out of his funk; unfortunately, due to her half-hearted attempt to break the ice, the conversation quickly fades into awkward confusion. Later that evening, Greg invites Steven to talk to Garnet in the hot tub; he relents but insists on bringing his phone (which he kept in a plastic bag). Garnet tries to get to the root of Steven’s anxieties, but unfortunately misinterprets the situation and assumes that Steven is still feeling anxious about his mother Rose Quartz murdering Pink Diamond. As Garnet prepares to weave an epic narrative, Steven shuts her down and briefly explains that he’s come to terms with the situation, leaving Garnet with nothing to say.
It’s a new morning and Steven’s anxiety hasn’t eased a bit. As she sits on her porch staring at her phone, she overhears Greg and the gems; they anxiously discuss how they haven’t been able to break through to Steven and that they’re running out of options. Greg believes he is useless, he believes the problem is literally galactic in size and beyond his area of ​​expertise. Garnet suggests that Pearl handle the problem, and Pearl agrees, albeit hesitantly. Pearl steps up to greet Steven while Steven pretends to be unaware of his guardians’ attempts to counsel him. After several false starts, Pearl begins to ramble on about the situation, revealing her own anxieties in the process. He stops suddenly and struggles on the verge of what looks like a dramatic confession.
But before Pearl can spit it out, Steven finally breaks down and admits what’s been bothering him: he believes Connie has cut ties with him for good. To the gems’ surprise, Steven goes on to say that his escapades on Homeworld weren’t nearly as upsetting as having to deal with the possibility that his friendship with Connie might be over. She bursts into tears and runs away. Greg immediately pursues Steven with renewed confidence; unlike the Gems, he knows how to deal with the problems of Earth’s diversity.
Greg finds Steven hiding behind some barrels and continues to talk to him, playing the fool to lower Steven’s emotional barriers. Greg assures Steven that he won’t be angry; however, he admits that Steven’s rash decision to turn himself in to the Homeworld authorities was a somewhat harrowing experience for him, and he suspects that Connie is in the same boat. Greg admits that he took Steven out to the Cool Ranch for the weekend because it was his way of emotionally dealing with the aftermath; he suspects that Connie’s way of dealing with this is to keep her distance from Steven for now. Now Steven feels stupid for sending a series of texts that made him look too unconcerned and for Connie to read them all.
Then Greg points out that Cool Ranch doesn’t have cell service. Stunned by this news and realizing that Connie may have been trying to contact him all along, Steven urges his father to drive him to a place with cell service. The family of five piles into the van and begins to wander for the signal while Steven drives them, nearly driving them off a cliff in the process. He climbs onto the roof of the van and upon receiving a mobile signal is immediately notified of one pending text message.
He excitedly clicks it to see what Connie has to say, but it’s just another message from Ronald. Steven huddles, utterly disappointed. But Greg and the gems climb up to the roof to comfort Steven in his distress. Greg advises him that even though a broken heart can hurt, time heals all wounds. The five of them sit under the nightcloth and look up at the stars above.
This episode’s title card, like that of “Raising the Barn”, uses the Dosis (credits font) for the episode title (instead of the font normally used for episode titles). However, in “Back to Kindergarten” it changes back to regular font.
Appearing in the image when Garnet tells Steven the story of the rebellion, Rose Quartz cannot be seen.
Details
This episode’s title card, like that of “Raising the Barn”, uses the Dosis (credits font) for the episode title (instead of the font normally used for episode titles). However, in “Back to Kindergarten” it changes back to regular font.
Appearing in the image when Garnet tells Steven the story of the rebellion, Rose Quartz cannot be seen (although Pearl is shown, who always stayed with her during the war).
Ronaldo mentions Koala Princess, a character who appears in the series OK K.O.! Let’s be heroes.
Cultural references
Greg uses an Airbnb-based app service to rent Cool Ranch.
The country’s name, Cool Ranch, is also the flavor type for Doritos.
Continuity
Greg mentions that he still has $9 million left from the check Marty gave him in “Drop Beat Dad”.
Garnet demonstrates the Rebellion against Homeworld to Steven, who he tells that he already knows about. A brief flashback appears in a similar style to “The Answer”.
This also marks the first animated appearance of Pink Diamond and also shows the silhouettes of two unknown Crystal Gems.
The episode shows Pearl trying to talk about the diamonds and homeworld, though she seemingly reluctantly covers her own mouth, preventing her from saying anything to Steven. The cause and reason for this action is revealed in the episode “A Single Pale Rose.” This was previously hinted at when Eyeball states that Pink Diamond was broken by Rose Quartz in “Back to the Moon”.
The events “I Am My Mom”, “Off Colors”, “Lars’ Head” and “Dewey Wins” are mentioned.
Mistakes
When Steven sees the second text from Ronald, the background is still in the dishwasher and then he goes back to the kitchen.
When Garnet gives Steven a thumbs up and insists on accompanying them on vacation, her middle finger is missing the glove.
When Garnet said “Also, go ahead, Steven”, her right palm has a Ruby gem in place of Sapphire’s.
As the gems finish entering the van, the space between Steven’s and Pearl’s heads is painted the color of the latter’s hair.
When Amethyst peeks out the door to ask Greg if it’s normal to have a snake in the house, the right side of his braces is painted the same color as his hair. This changes in the following scene.