Steven Universe: Room for Ruby
March 10, 2017 4:58 PM - Season 4, Episode 20 - Subscribe

Another Gem comes to Earth.
posted by Small Dollar (8 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
I'm gonna miss Lauren Zuke. I feel like they had the best handle on Lapis.

Navy turning out to be a little sociopath wasn't particularly surprising. Like Lapis said, nobody can be that well-adjusted. I'm assuming Navy will gather up the rest of the Ruby squad and report back on earth's current condition. They still don't know that the cluster has been neutralized, though, so who knows what the diamonds will decide to do?

Garnet's two balloons reminds us that apparently Rubies are pretty good at clouding Future Vision.

Poor Steven gets another thing to agonize over. Bismuth, Jasper, Eyeball, now Navy. Yet another gem that he couldn't win over to his side with acts of kindness. For a long time I assumed the series would end with Steven brokering peace between homeworld and earth, but it seems like the show is setting up the idea that Steven's modus operandi isn't going to do the job.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 7:07 PM on March 10, 2017 [7 favorites]


I didn't trust that damn Ruby the minute she landed. Poor Steven...
posted by numaner at 10:03 PM on March 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


Lapis is best. Her told you so at the end is the best part of the episode. Like, I would have been ready to strangle Navy myself after like, the third outburst of saccharine.

I also like that this puts to bed the fantheory that all belly gems are sweethearts. Good at emotion, maybe, but that's just as likely to manifest as manipulation, as seen with Navy.

Other highlights:

Seeing the barn is always a pleasure. Today's addition: Fairy lights and potplants on the Ruby Ship.

Of course Lapis snores. Snorty gigglers almost always do. And the fact that she sleeps at all! In a hammock! "A bed you fall out of".

The balloons at the end were just the best, too. I love Garnet.
posted by Jilder at 10:07 PM on March 10, 2017 [4 favorites]


Oh! And my filthy shipper's heart is warmed to learn that Lapis trusts Peri enough to be completely defensless in front of her while sleeping. Bless those two.
posted by Jilder at 11:41 PM on March 10, 2017 [3 favorites]


I still don't see Lapis and Peri as a romantic couple, but romance is weird with Gems anyway, so hey: whatever makes them happy.
posted by emjaybee at 9:46 PM on March 11, 2017


This episode slightly broke my heart. I loved Navy, her "Aw shucks!", dirt-kicking (well, rolling), slightly-lost voice routine really reminds me of some cartoon antecedent I can't place. I thought the pivot to "Oh, this is actually a Lapis episode!" was cleverly done, but as the episode progressed and Navy got more loosely-drawn, wider-eyed and somehow Betty Boop-ier my doubts crept in. Even so, the twist still got me, oomph! punch to the gut! right in the omphalos!

Like others, I'm guessing that Navy will collect up the remaining Rubies, which is a good thing really. Spinning/screaming throughout space forever is a bit harsh for anyone.

Saw a couple of comments elsewhere online which pointed out that the outcome balloons Garnet has at the end are possibly colour-coded, i.e. red for (our) Ruby's hope that Navy was sincere and Blue for Sapphire's foresight that she wasn't. Nice touch if intentional!
posted by comealongpole at 4:47 PM on March 12, 2017 [2 favorites]


I'm just waiting for the Peridot/Lapis fusion. They're growing relationship and intimacy seems to be leading to it. I'm expecting an arc where Steven/and/or/the_Gems are in danger and Peridot and Lapis simply aren't up to the task of helping them, and where Lapis realizes she needs to, literally, join together with her friends to help them.

I think Lapis' laugh at realizing her own judgment of Ruby was correct is more important than a through away joke. She's coming to trust her own judgment of other people after a long time of being wrong.
posted by bswinburn at 10:48 PM on March 12, 2017 [3 favorites]


bswinburn: I suspect they're saving a Peridot/Lapis fusion for some Serious Fucking Business - Lapis has issues around fusion, and as a Era 2 gem Peridot doesn't even know if she can, so it's going to be a very serious thing if it ever happens. Much like Pearl's shapeshifting.
posted by Jilder at 7:10 PM on March 13, 2017 [2 favorites]


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