All season thus far of Steven Universe, mention has been made of looking for Lapis Lazuli and Jasper. Hell, the first episode I reviewed here had Garnet searching the bottom of the ocean for them. They haven’t been successful in finding them.
So they’re in a raft in the middle of the ocean. At night. Amethyst is holding Steven upside down in the water. Pearl is tense, and Amethyst asks her if she’s tired. Pearl doesn’t get tired, she gets results; just like anyone in business, she knows that only closers get coffee. Amethyst has forgotten that Steven needs air to breathe. And then completely forgets that she’s supposed to be holding him up.
Steven bobs up to the surface, and then Garnet hops up from the depths and tosses him into the raft. Pearl incorrectly uses lightyears as a measurement of time, and Amethyst almost manages to correct her. Pearl also hates the life vests Steven made them all wear; he insists they are for safety. Garnet says that for safety’s sake, they’d best find Lapis and Jasper, as their fusion is based on hatred , and due to that is unstable. But their first priority is to get Steven home, since he’s completely tuckered out.
They get back to the beach house, and Pearl is upset that they’re wasting time that could be better spent looking for Jasper and Lapis. Garnet tells her that Steven isn’t like they are; he needs to sleep. Steven thinks they could use some too, as they all look pretty tired to him.
Steven suggests a slumber party as a way to make it fun. Fun is a foreign concept to Pearl. Must be part of why she and Amethyst don’t get along. Garnet tells them all to stay, then leaves via teleporter. Amethyst drops off immediately, but Pearl needs a lesson, because she seems to think that it works like elven reverie. She finally winds up on her stomach. Naturally Steven nods off first.
He imagines his life as some kind of sitcom. It’s in black and white, but obviously contains elements of other decades like Amethyst riding a skateboard, or Garnet dressed like a specific 50’s era greaser. The bit revolves around him getting ready for some school dance. He opens the door expecting Connie, but…
The tears from Lapis’ eyes flood the house. It’s notable that she’s the only thing in color. The nightmare wakes him up, and he finds out that Pearl has been watching him sleep again. He tells her about his dream, but Pearl doesn’t understand how dreams work. He tells her that dreams are nonsensical, and are often boring to listen to. He starts to tell her about a dream he once had, and it actually sends them both to sleep.
Steven arrives, via crazy dream logic, in a void with Lapis She’s terrified by his unexplained presence, and he assures her that he’s just dreaming. She panics, however, as she needs to concentrate to remain in control. A Cheshire cat-like grin rushes in from the background and Steven wakes up. He finds Amethyst giggling at Pearl’s dream, which just happens to be projecting from her gem.
He tells her about his dream again. She responds in a way that makes you think that she knows they just watched he fantasize about rose. But this time, Steven’s sure it wasn’t just a dream. Pearl hypothesizes that he’s using his dreams to contact Lapis. They decide that he should try again, and he asks Pearl to tell him about her dream to help him get to sleep. Lucky for her, her attempts to avoid it worked.
He eventually find’s Lapis in a room, manacled. Lapis is not happy to see him; she’s struggling against the chains. She tells him that she’s trying to keep them down with the weight of the ocean. Steven wants to know their location, but Lapis suddenly loses out and gets dragged under the water, Jasper appearing behind Steven. She makes an aggressive move towards Steven, but Lapis wins out, dragging Jasper beneath the surface again. She rejects the offer for help; she just want’s to do this for Steven. She tells him that she’s not Lapis anymore; she and Jasper are Malachite. She sinks through the floor, and Malachite rises.
He wakes, and tells them of the events of the dream. Garnet shows back up, and notes that it doesn’t seem like much of a party. She stops Steven from telling her about his dreams, and shows them how the whole sleep thing is done.
I’ve noticed that there are people that think of this as a filler episode. I’d argue it isn’t. Filler episodes don’t move the plot along and everything is back to normal afterwards. And while we aren’t sure what the events mean I’m guessing that the whole “Malachite at the bottom of the sea” thing is going to end soon. Which is good, as I’ve been wondering what’s been going on with that.
Final Thoughts:
- Life Diapers
- No one wanted a sleep buddy.
- “Thank you so much… FOR FIXING MY VAN!”
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