Steven Universe Season 4 / Tear Jerker

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"I-I had no choice! I-I'm sorry..."

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Kindergarten Kid

To help Peridot understand her monster prey more deeply, Steven starts pelting her with marshmallows while telling her exactly what the life of a Corrupted Gem is. When you're a monster, the whole world is against you and you've lost everything important. Just that he understands their torment so well despite being so young is heartbreaking.
Steven: Pretend I'm a freaked out human screaming at you in fear! Pretend I'm an Earth animal chasing you away from your first safe hiding spot! Pretend I'm an angry green gem trying to poof you! This is life for you now! End. Less. SUFFERING!!
- Halfway through his speech on what it is to be corrupted, Steven's face changes from merely mischievous to well and truly angry. Steven has so much empathy for these lost and corrupted Gems, and he is livid that he can't do anything to fix them or make people stop seeing them as mindless monsters.

Know Your Fusion

The Revelation that Smoky Quartz is a Sad Clown as they still carry all of Amethyst's and Steven's baggage and insecurities.
- Just the fact that the main reason they fused is because both of them have self-loathing problems. It's great that they can fuse so effortlessly, which showcases their close relationship, but it's still somewhat depressing over the how they can fuse so perfectly. In short? It's bittersweet.
- While their combined self-loathing may have been there, the fact that it took a great deal of unintentional wound-digging from Sardonyx to really bring it to the surface. Smoky Quartz came into the world as the loud, joyful, confident embodiment of Amethyst and Steven finding strength in their shared pain and insecurities. In the space of about seven minutes, they're knocked back down to square one.
The look on Sardonyx's face when Smoky Quartz reveals their self loathing through their jokes and she realizes that she's been Innocently Insensitive since a) Amethyst and Steven really wanted to impress Pearl and Garnet and she stole their limelight and b) all of her attempts to let Smoky showcase themself failed since she was forcing them to compare themself to the other fusions instead of letting Smoky be themself.
Sardonyx: They want to impress us. They were planning this all morning, we hijacked their show. I was excited. It's not about us!

Buddy's Book

While it is simultaneously Played for Laughs, the fact that Buddy tries to commit suicide by sticking his head into the mouth of a lion proves how severe a Heroic BSoD he's suffering from after going through so much trouble, only to learn that Rose beat him to the Sand Castle, ruining his last chance of being an explorer...
A minor note in a mostly humorous episode, but when Steven first enters the library, we see a poster of a younger Buck with his dad looking happy together, when we know how bad their relationship is now.

Mindful Education

Connie's guilt over accidentally hurting Jeff.
- What makes her guilt truly saddening is the fact that she became more skilled in fighting to protect the innocent. In this instance, she used it to harm an innocent. And while it was by accident, one can't help but feel sympathy for her.
- For anyone who ended up feeling more sympathy for Jeff in that situation, you have his tearful, scared look after he's been flipped and his arm is broken. He barely even knew Connie, and now suddenly this girl is flipping him over her shoulder for something he did by accident.
A minor one, but during the trip into Garnet's Mental World, we see how troublesome thoughts can affect Ruby and Sapphire—Ruby gets set off by one thought and runs off screaming at it, while Sapphire is overwhelmed by an entire swarm of them that separates her from Ruby.
- And just what are those thoughts? The lyrics imply that Ruby is haunted by the possibility of Homeworld using Sapphire, while Sapphire is just flat out terrified of losing Ruby.
- Another interpretation based on the lyrics ("What someone said and how it harmed you/Something you did that failed to be charming")—it could be that Garnet still isn't quite over what happened between her and Pearl in "Cry For Help".
Everything that Steven went through in the last season finally catches up with him as he hallucinates while training as Stevonnie. As Stevonnie runs down a Pearl hologram, said hologram suddenly turns into Bismuth, who looks at Stevonnie with a frightened and hurt look on her face before exploding into a swarm of butterflies. As Stevonnie backs away, they suddenly run into Jasper, who is right in the middle of Corrupting and looking angry and confused as Stevonnie pleads that Steven tried to help her, but she didn't listen. Jasper then turns into Eyeball, who glowers at Stevonnie furiously and looks as though she's prepared to crush them...before vanishing into the swarm of butterflies which swirl about for a moment... and then transform into the head of Rose Quartz, looking angrier than we have ever seen her on the show, and glaring directly at Stevonnie.
- Steven gets so emotional as a result that, afterwards, he and Connie nearly fall to their deaths because he can't work up the nerve to re-fuse until it's almost too late.
- Rose's angry expression: did it imply disapproval of Steven and his actions against Bismuth, Jasper, and Eyeball, or is it just the way Steven thinks of his mother now, as a less loving, caring person that he used to think of her as? Neither option is a happy one.
- A third, worse conclusion: Steven now realizes, or even blames Rose for being the cause of everything wrong in his life. Everyone he has had to hurt are because she hurt them first, and now she's hurt Steven.
- An even worse one would probably be that he may be subconsciously blaming himself for why Rose "died" and that the incidents with Bismuth, Jasper, and Eyeball finally brought this to light since he's the reason why they disappeared.
- Yet another possibility could be that Steven thinks Rose is disappointed in him, because while Rose shattered Pink Diamond for Earth's sake, Steven stabbed Bismuth and threw Eyeball out for his sake. Steven blames himself, thinking that both were selfish (even though he had no other options and did it in self defense), and may believe that Rose thinks the same.
- And the worst possibility? It's all of the above.
- Steven is in so much pain that he doesn't even care that he and Connie are falling to their deaths.
- Consider who this is all happening to. Ever since the beginning, Steven could be considered one of the most happy-go-lucky and optimistic characters on the show, and his childlike innocence and hope often kept the show grounded in the face of the outright depressing and horrifying things that happened to the characters. But now, even Steven is beginning to be traumatized as well, haunted by his failures and doubts. It's the loudest and most blatant example given that Steven is no longer the same child who sang about ice cream. For better or worse, Steven's childhood is ending.
Take a look at Bismuth, Jasper, and Eyeball. Bismuth doesn't have the Breaking Point, Jasper looks a lot more distraught than she actually was, and while Eyeball is angry, she doesn't have her dagger. There's a good chance that Steven thinks their fates were a hundred percent his fault, even though that's definitely not the case.
This episode can hit a little too close to home for anyone who has trouble facing problems, either by blowing a small problem out of proportion or letting problems pile on until they are overwhelmed by them.
The nature of the song can be a heavy mix of Tearjerking and Heartwarming. Given the way the lyrics weave together the process of the meditation Garnet is teaching the kids, the viewer is taken step by step. With them the viewer is asked to capture each thought and feel all the emotions and fears surrounding it- 'Take a moment, remind yourself, to take a moment and find yourself. Take a moment and ask yourself if this is how we fall apart.' before moving on to the process of reassurance, 'But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not. It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay. I've got nothing, got nothing, got nothing, got nothing to fear, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here.'

Future Boy Zoltron

Mr. Frowney in general. He's apparently been suffering from heavy depression. For years.
Mr. Smiley stops smiling when hearing about Mr. Frowney. To emphasize: he did not stop smiling when Steven broke his machine.
Steven has a helpful or funny prediction for everyone, then he gains Garnet's future vision. His answers for both Mr. Frowney and Mr. Smiley? "I see sadness in your future, no matter what you do."

Last One Out of Beach City

Pearl's outburst at the end, when she realizes that, despite her claims to be done with the past and being a new Gem, their night is ruined because she was once again chasing after a big, pink haired woman.
This line from Steven to Pearl after she runs away from the police.
"That’s the most scared I’ve been since you almost let me die!"
- What makes it sad is the fact that despite it being from season 1, Steven harbors some amount of anger towards Pearl for the incident, but like how he handled his guilt for not being able to help Bismuth, Jasper, or Eyeball, he's repressing it.
- What makes it even sadder is that it's unclear whether he's referring to the events of "Rose's Scabbard" or "Space Race". Despite how much Pearl loves Steven, she has almost let him die multiple times.
- Additionally, considering exactly how much horror and trauma Steven has gone through since "Rose's Scabbard", including multiple occasions of the world being in danger and him being stuck alone to deal with extremely dangerous enemies without help, if Steven seriously meant what he said, practically nothing scared him more than the times Pearl didn't act to help him when he was in serious danger.

Onion Gang

Onion's friends having to leave now that summer's ending. Onion is so upset that he actually cries.

Gem Harvest

Peridot and Lapis thought that vegetables were like Gems, and are disappointed when that turns out to not be the case.
Pumpkin becoming traumatized by Steven carving out a non-sentient pumpkin.
Lapis when Veggie Head only wanted to be around and held by Steven. She just sounds so upset that the newly-'born' Veggie Head doesn't seem to like them.
"It's only just come into existence, and it already doesn't like us."
While Steven reacts to falling off Andy's plane and needing to be caught like it's nothing, Andy's reaction is terribly realistic:
Steven: That was a close one, Uncle Andy! You sure are good at–
Andy: Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?! What good are you to me as family if you're– [Andy turns around with tears in his eyes before relenting] Sorry. Look I just– I'm just glad you're safe.
Andy's rant while Lapis and Steven chase after him.
Andy: I was the only one who wanted to keep things like they used to be!
- It gets worse when Steven is in the back of the plane, and Andy sorrowfully blames himself for losing touch with his family.
Greg's simple way of responding to Andy asking about Steven's mother. Andy is quick to apologize.

Three Gems And A Baby

The flashback portion of the episode takes place only a few months after Steven's birth... when Rose gave up her physical form to become a Gem/human hybrid with Steven. It's clear, from the way Greg sorrowfully looks at a photo of Vidalia with Yellowtail and Sour Cream, to Pearl's bitter demeanor throughout the Gem's visit with Greg and Steven, that the loss of Rose Quartz still weighs heavily on everyone's mind.
Throughout this episode Greg doesn't look sad. He looks tired. Not just from taking care of Steven, but also because it's like he's grieved for so long that he's numb to it now.
The bittersweet song that Greg sings during the opening of his story means so many things:
Things start, and things end
And isn't it lovely in theory, but
I could never be
I could never be
I could never be ready...
- Rebecca Sugar has said that she wrote this song immediately after a meeting where she was told that the show was close to cancellation, and she was denied even her proposed resolution (what would eventually become the Change Your Mind arc).
Pearl is so desperate to see Rose again that she nearly rips out baby Steven's gem... but she can't bring herself to do it. It's possible that it's not just because it's "what Rose wanted" — and equally possible that Rose's wishes were the only thing holding her back. Both interpretations are heartbreaking.
- Also a very hard blow after three seasons of character development and coping to see Pearl as she was when the wounds were still fresh and gaping. It's a pretty shocking contrast to say the least from current Pearl who, while still mourning is at least learning to better manage her grief, to revisiting old Pearl still in denial.
- A painful moment is when Greg is overjoyed to see the Gems offering them tea... only for Pearl to coldly cut him off saying they're just here to drop off the gifts and leave. As with the above, it's a stark contrast with Present Day Pearl, who finally made up with Greg or even Pearl at the start of the series or the extended opening who is at least cordial with Greg. Here she clearly and truly hates him for what happened to Rose and he just sadly takes it.
- "A Single Pale Rose" adds another layer. In that episode, Pearl says that she had wanted to tell Steven about his mother's real identity for so long. In this episode, she considers removing Steven's gem, which would have exposed its true nature. Either Pearl didn't consider that, or she saw that as an occasion to indirectly reveal to Amethyst and Garnet the secret she couldn't tell them, to lighten the burden that had been placed on her.
Seeing Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl just not understanding that Steven and Rose are not one and the same. Pearl is visibly upset and uncomfortable the entire time, Amethyst doesn't understand why "Rose" won't shapeshift back to normal, and even Garnet doesn't get why Steven won't "unfuse."
- Amethyst's oblivious glee is also hard to watch when you think about the horrifying similarities to someone in denial over someone's death.
Amethyst: We brought gifts for Lil' Rose!
Garnet: Amethyst, we've been over this. Steven is...
Amethyst: (dejected) ...a human baby.
Garnet: And Steven is...
Amethyst: ...not Rose.
- The desperation in Amethyst's voice when she says, "Come on, Rose! You have to change back!"
- Garnet unfuses to convince "Rose" to unfuse too, but this only makes baby Steven cry. Ruby and Sapphire look very hurt at this for a moment before fusing back into the very confused Garnet. Now think back to Jail Break. How long it took Steven to find out Garnet was a fusion, why Ruby told Steven not to look at her, why Garnet was worried about Steven's reaction to the reveal.
Garnet: (after re-fusing) I'm here! You know me! You know [Ruby and Sapphire] too! I... (voice breaks) I don't understand...
This episode heavily implies that Rose didn't really explain what would happen to her when she gave birth to Steven or what Steven is, or at least didn't explain it well. From what we've seen of Rose's actions in the series so far, from her keeping things from her teammates to being (unintentionally) oblivious to the feelings of others, it's not hard to imagine that Rose had only given the Gems and Greg the info that she believed they needed at the time, having faith in them to figure out the rest on their own. Granted, knowing what would happen probably wouldn't have made losing her any easier, but still...
- A flashback in "A Single Pale Rose" implies she did, but they took it rather badly, especially Pearl. A Freeze-Frame Bonus of Pearl looking sadly at Rose's pregnancy shows that Pearl feels there is nothing she can do about it but accept Rose's decision.
  Grieving Pearl: (Inelegant Blubbering) What was she thinking?! She can't have a baby!

Steven's Dream

Greg and Steven have a moment when Steven asks Greg if Rose ever told him about Pink Diamond. Greg's response implies yes, and Rose decidedly didn't consider it a happy memory, showing even if it was justified, Rose was likely not very happy with herself that she had to resort to killing to achieve her goals.
Steven suffers Death by Genre Savviness in this episode. In the previous season, his not knowing Gem secrets nearly got him killed multiple times. This time he tries to seek out the answers proactively, and Greg ends up getting hurt by it.
Blue Diamond is shown in a completely different context than back during “The Answer”. Away from her court and duties, she’s a wreck, covertly coming to Earth to cry over Pink Diamond and to talk to her memory.
- We look at Blue Diamond's actual face for the first time... and she has pretty prominent dark circles under her eyes. Looks like she was in grief for a very long time.
- While heartwarming, Greg comforting Blue Diamond by bringing up the death of Rose (though not in name) and his thoughts about it is sad as well. He thinks about Rose so much and he misses her every day, and it pains him to know that she won't be coming back.
When Blue Diamond decides to take Greg with her as a treasured memento of Pink Diamond, Steven frantically runs after them and tries to levitate himself towards her palanquin as it enters a nearby ship, but is too late, and falls while sadly murmuring "Dad..." before being caught by Garnet, who herself is panicking because she saw all that had transpired with her future vision, but was unable to stop it.
Blue Diamond’s secret, constant visits to Earth to visit Pink Diamond’s grave makes Yellow Diamond’s desire to have Earth destroyed, in hindsight, all the more sadder. If Yellow Diamond had her way sooner, NOBODY, save for the Diamonds, will be able to remember Pink Diamond. For as far as she knows, any visit to Earth Blue Diamond makes could be her last.
If the previous episodes didn't quite establish how strange and difficult it is for a Gem to mourn or understand the death of another Gem, this one does, and just so happens to make it worse. Imagine yourself having the power to create an entire species, and be worshiped as a God by said species, with no equal except with those of the same ranking as you, who are, basically, the only people you can confine in thanks to the whole "being worshiped as a God" thing. Then the possibly youngest of your group/family is allowed to do what should be standard procedure of creating and establishing their first territory and making their own subjects, but is instead killed by one of the subjects created to serve them. Now the only thing you and your family can do is mourn, but thanks to your completely different coping methods, you have to do most of it in secret.
- It lends a terribly tragic touch to the small smiles that Greg managed to elicit from Blue Diamond. With Yellow Diamond not really offering the kind of support she seeks in her mourning, those small, earnest smiles remind one that Greg is probably the first one to attempt to empathize with her over the loss; it seems likely that her fellow Diamonds are too closed-off for that and every other gem is too far below her station. One short conversation probably helped more than anything else in her thousands of years, and it reminds us that even the Diamonds are isolated by the Homeworld's system.
Steven lashing out at the Gems (sans Amethyst); even though Steven has learned many events about the Gem War, like the truth of Rose shattering Pink Diamond, Garnet and Pearl still won't tell him the answers he wants to know.
- Just listen to Steven’s “Rose wanted?” line. Small and subtle, but it’s another reminder about how he still lives in his mother’s shadow.
- And we now know that the whole time, Pearl desperately wanted to tell him the whole story, but her Diamond's orders prevented her.
Just before Steven leaves, Garnet pleads with Steven for him to stay, and Steven replies that he won't, something Garnet knows with her future vision. As Steven walks away, Garnet sheds a tear from her eye.
A small moment, but the when Steven voices his anger to Greg about if his feelings about knowing more about his mom matter, Greg responds with an immediate "yes". The sad part comes from Steven being briefly taken aback by this. It’s another sad reminder regarding Steven’s major Guilt Complex.
The fact that Andy doesn't stay with Greg and Steven to find the palanquin. It's good in that it means Blue Diamond doesn't find him, but also sobering in that he doesn't get to adjust to more Gem weirdness.

Adventures in Light Distortion

The first lines of the episode, spoken after Steven and Garnet warp back from Korea.
Steven: This can't be happening...
Steven having an emotional breakdown as the ship he and the Crystal Gems are in is about to crash. Even worse is because the whole situation is mostly his fault: his impatience over getting answers led to his father being abducted by Blue Diamond, then his impatience over saving his father led to the ship changing the Crystal Gem's shapes to Ruby size, and finally his impatience over fixing that led to the ship going so fast that their physical forms couldn't keep up, and he almost wasn't able to reach the controls in time to prevent the ship from crashing.
- Seeing Steven cry “I want my dad!” in particular really reminds the viewers that despite his adventures and abilities, he’s still a kid.

Gem Heist

Seeing Holly Blue Agate mistreat and abuse the Quartzes stationed at the Zoo can make you feel sorry for them. It gives you a small window into as to why Jasper and (initially) Peridot’s mindsets were so messed up.
We again see that the Homeworld Gems don't really see humans as sentient beings.
Ruby’s insecurity is still prevalent; from being angry at Blue Diamond because she yelled at Sapphire, when Blue Diamond was going to shatter Ruby, to casually calling herself "forgetful" and "disposable".
A small one in the promo's High School AU — Holly Blue Agate is seen giving an angry, berating rant to Blue Pearl who just passively takes it, with Steven trying to calm the former down. With the exception of Lapis (who is sleeping), the rest of the class are terrified, with Ruby and Pearl trying to sneak out the door to join Amethyst and Sapphire.
After Holly Blue Agate comments on how Sapphire's "Pearl" is close to her "owner", Pearl nervously states she'll goes back. Then, comes Holly's "chatty" line, followed by Pearl's blush. This small moment gives a powerful and depressing example of what those on the lower Gem caste (especially Pearls) have to go through.
- Exemplified when Holly Blue leaves and they need to get inside a door quickly: Ruby calls for Pearl to do it and she sarcastically grumbles, "Of course, what else am I good for?". It may have been Played for Laughs, but Pearl is clearly miffed that even after seeing how being treated by Holly Blue was a pain for her, Ruby already slipped back into the same pattern. Yes, Ruby was only trying to help rescue Greg and likely didn't mean any prejudice behind it, but still...

The Zoo

The Stepford Smiler attitude of the Zoo natives finally snaps when Greg turns down their love ritual, causing all of them to feel the sensation of "hurt". They’re so unused to any kind of hardship that they can’t handle rejection, and they all chase after the two newcomers, tears streaming down their faces as they beg Steven and Greg to "take the hurt away".

That Will Be All

The "family reunion" between Amethyst and the Zoo Quartz Gems is pretty sweet, and finally gives Amethyst some closure, but it gets a little bittersweet if you start thinking about Jasper. All the Zoo Gems were shown to be happy to meet Amethyst, and automatically choose to risk their lives in helping her with her goals, not only because they're aware of how they're mistreated, but also because they care about their own like family, even the defective ones, like Skinny and Carnelian. If fate hadn't made Jasper the "Ultimate" Quartz, then she would have been stuck in the Zoo, happy with her fellow Earth Gems and risking her life for Amethyst, instead of becoming the lonely Psychopathic Womanchild that eventually became the first modern day Gem to be Corrupted.
It’s apparent that one of the things Pearls do for their masters is sing to them to make them feel better. They sing the Diamond leitmotif for Blue, which segues into them accompanying Yellow’s song about moving on, about not being sad anymore. It doesn’t work, and what’s more, Yellow Diamond starts showing grief herself. At its end, an upset Yellow is bowed over, humming that same leitmotif like it’s all that’s keeping her together. The Diamonds have absolutely done some pretty horrible things, but they both clearly loved Pink Diamond.
- During the song, Yellow pulls Blue to her feet and the camera lingers on their clasped hands before Yellow abruptly pulls away. After the song, Blue puts a comforting hand on Yellow’s back. They care about each other too, but they both don’t know how to handle the grief.
- Notice how Yellow repeats the title of her Villain Song at the end while she’s having her (very brief) emotional breakdown. She apparently felt grief before when Pink Diamond died, and it terrified her so much that she completely repressed it, afraid of the pain it brought whenever it surfaced, while asking herself what good if having the ability to grieve for her lost ‘sister’ would do if it’ll only make you hurt so bad. “What’s the Use of Feeling?” indeed...
This conversation between Yellow and Blue shows that they're both frustrated about the whole situation, albeit for different reasons:
Yellow Diamond: Please tell me you're joking. You only just left, and you're already back?
Blue Diamond: Yellow! W-what are you doing here?
Yellow Diamond: I'm here to bring you back to reality, Blue.
Blue Diamond: I'm fine. Just leave me alone.
Yellow: It's been thousands of years, Blue, and you still can't bring yourself to destroy these Gems? [Pink Diamond] was shattered by a Rose Quartz! The entire cut of Gems deserves the same fate!
Blue: But they were hers.
Yellow: They should be wiped out of existence, not kept safe in bubbles!
Blue: Yellow, she made them. This is all we have left of her. These Gems, this place, and the Earth.
Yellow: I thought we agreed to put that planet and this whole debacle behind us.
Blue: (growing annoyed) Why can't you just let me grieve?
Yellow: You can't keep coming here forever!
Blue: WHY NOT?!
Steven and the Gems are forced to leave the Zoomans, the Famethyst Gems, and the bubbled Rose Quartzes, which are in danger of being shattered by Yellow, behind.
When you think about the situation concerning the Rose Quartz Gems, it's quite horrifying. While this episode implies that most Earth born Gems are loyal to their own, there's a possibility that some of the Rose Quartz could still be loyal to Homeworld, or could blame Rose for her actions and decisions during the war like Bismuth. We could end up getting a "Rose Quartz release" arc that combines Heartwarming, Tearjerker, and Nightmare Fuel, with some of the Roses attacking the Crystal Gems, some that would target Steven specifically under the belief that he's his mom, some only joining the Gems because they're angry that the Diamonds sealed them away, and some that supported Rose, but didn't get the chance to join her side during the Rebellion, and would wholeheartedly join them now.
- For added sadness on the whole Rose Quartz thing... do remember that Pink Diamond made them. Pink Diamond was the closest thing Rose had to a mother. And she had to kill her. Given Greg's discussion with Steven on the subject in "Steven's Dream", one can only imagine how Rose felt about that.
- "A Single Pale Rose" makes this even worse. Now we know that it wasn't a Rose Quartz that shattered Pink Diamond, which means that instead of the Rose Quartzes being bubbled indefinitely for a crime one of their kind committed, they're being punished for something their own Diamond did. And given Yellow Diamond's vindictive nature, she might not see that as a reason to let them out.

The New Crystal Gems

Connie seems a little hurt that Lapis doesn't remember her at all.
After Connie talks about not wanting to let Steven down, both Lapis and Peridot brutally tell her she will definitely let him down. Yes it's Played for Laughs, but considering Connie's self-esteem (especially how low it was in the past), it's a very cruel Kick the Dog moment.
Pumpkin's frightened expression when she sees Lapis and Peridot arguing.
During Connie's "The Reason You Suck" Speech, she mentions on how Steven has to act as the Only Sane Man to Womanchild beings who are way older than him. It's a small moment, but it speaks to what kind of internal stress Steven may have with handling disputes.

Storm in the Room

Connie's mother is late to pick her up from Steven's, and fails to respond to any of her calls. Connie starts getting so concerned she all but directly says she's worried that her mother might have gotten into a car accident. The minute Dr. Maheswaran arrives, she envelops Connie in a hug and explains that her phone died after she was called in to do a last minute surgery.
- When Steven sees how worried she is, he offers to take Connie home. She declines because what if her mom shows up right after they left?
The entire episode. Why? Because even with the parts that seem happy, it hammers in how Steven feels and the trauma he's been through. It's all a big reminder that Steven never had a mother, and part of him WANTS to have some interaction with her. Any interaction with her.
Steven's face between Connie leaving and opening Rose's room is more morose than we have ever seen him.
- Especially when he makes food and sits down to eat it. He looks up, sees Rose's picture... then decides to eat it outside rather than sitting in front of it. He only goes back inside because of a storm.
- "Makes" food is generous. He microwaves himself some mac and cheese, like a latch-key kid would. It just hammers home how alone Steven truly is. Thankfully Greg and the Gems, his full family, appear at the end with a pizza.
- Steven says to his mother's picture that he has heard a lot about her, but he wants to hear the truth, not an idolized, cleaned-up version.
Unlike the other instances when he was in Rose's room, this time he is fully aware that nothing there is real. He still wants to see his mom anyways, and, for a moment, he forgets that she isn't really there.
The Room can't summon the real Rose, despite her powers making it work. That is a sobering thought.
Cloud Rose is a walking Tear Jerker. She knows she isn't real and still tries to stand in for Steven's mother, by playing with him, hugging him and attempting Rose's inspirational speeches; despite this, she's still just an illusion. Unlike Cloud Connie, who was given the freedom to force Steven's confession out of him, Cloud Rose can only comfort, and listen. She also has no rebuttal to Steven's angry tirade, only an Armor-Piercing Question and a Cooldown Hug.
There are some implications that this is the real Rose, namely in how her quartz Gem activates the room, which makes hers and Steven's interactions worse: when she finally gets to meet Steven and play with him, she gets to hear her child call her out for her more heinous actions and the only thing she can do is stand there in shame. Rose cannot justify them, and Steven makes it clear that she's gone. She only rebuts his fear that she didn't actually love him, and that she created him to carry her burdens and mistakes; every other point is legitimate, but she did love her son. Then she fades away after comforting him and assuring Steven that she loves him, to possibly never see him again. The reason why this might have been the actual Rose Quartz is for the single fact that the room cannot generate complex characters, emotions and speech patters - yet this copy can do everything and even reply.
Steven calling his mother out counts too. It starts with him remembering that this is not his mother when he sees himself alone in his cellphone's camera. He calls her a liar, tells her how much everyone is missing her and theorizes she vanished because she was too afraid or cowardly to deal with the messes she made (Bismuth, Pink Diamond...) and chose to leave it to Steven instead, whom she according to this theory created for that exact purpose: so that he will carry on and solve things she couldn't solve. He's basically calling himself a pawn in her masterplan who only exists to fulfil an agenda that he cannot be blamed for. And yet, when Cloud Rose asks if he thinks she lied in the video, if he really thinks she never loved him... he admits that no, he doesn't believe that. He does believe his mother loved him, but the things he saw and found out about her really confused him and as the Gems have a habit of keeping the less savory things from him for his own good and idolize her and she is obviously beyond contacting, he will never get the answers he looks for.
After Cloud Rose gives Steven a Cooldown Hug, it begins to rain in Rose's Room. The room itself seems to be crying.
The entire episode is reminiscent of a religious person struggling in their faith, wondering if the God they've grown up hearing about is actually that loving. Steven trying to reconcile his image of Rose with everyone else's hits close to home for many young Christians.

Rocknaldo

Ronaldo stating that he's "an outsider among outsiders" near the end of the episode. It's true that he's been rather rude throughout the episode, but his offhand comment shows that he's more than an Attention Whore, and has issues of his own.
Steven is genuinely heartbroken by Ronaldo's self-absorbed motives for joining the Crystal Gems. As often as Steven pushes the Gems to understand humanity better, no human has ever made an effort to understand them. For once it seems like Steven has a chance to enlighten others about why he thinks so highly of the Gems, and it winds up being just someone's own selfish fantasy fulfillment.
- Especially depressing because not even Connie, Steven's closest human friend, has shown any interest in understanding the Gems better. All of her involvement with the Gems comes from a desire to help Steven with his life, as well as being enamored with the Gems' action filled lifestyles. None of it comes from a sincere desire to know these amazing beings better, as shown in "Sworn to the Sword."
A small moment, but the fact that Steven has begun to use a sleepy time app in bed possibly means that all the trauma he's been through lately has affected his ability to sleep.

Tiger Philanthropist

In-Universe, Tiger and Puma quitting wrestling.

Room For Ruby

Navy's betrayal, and admittance that she only waited as long as she did to steal the ship back was to see the look on Steven's face when his "favorite Ruby" betrayed him.
- And the fact the the reason behind Navy's betrayal is because of what Steven and the Crystal Gems did to her and her crew. Yes, Steven and the CGs are the supposed heroes of the story, but the Rubies only came to Earth to retrieve Jasper, not to harm anyone. And then they were tricked and deceived repeatedly, right before being blasted out into the empty void of space, with the risk of getting shattered thanks to a passing asteroid. This is one of the sad cases in which Steven getting betrayed is his own fault.
  - Going more detail for the above, it's very...disheartening for the Crystal Gems, who are seen as "heroes", not go back and rescue the Rubies from space. This is especially sad since Steven didn't even bother to keep up with his promise to rescue them.
- In a sad Rewatch Bonus, after Navy gets up after her landing, the first expression she makes speaks pure trauma and anger towards the ones who made her life a living hell since they met.
Lapis feeling like there's something wrong with her because it's been harder for her to adjust to living on Earth, while Navy acts okay with everything she's adapting to.
- Lapis' line, said when she's proven right about Navy's intentions really says a lot about her psyche.
Lapis: Ha! I was right! No one could be that well adjusted!
- Made worse by her breaking down laughing afterward instead of trying to catch up with the ship after they get thrown off. She was just about to accept that Navy might have been genuine when the betrayal comes, too...
It's kind of sad how Garnet greets Steven, Lapis, and Peridot with two balloons, a red one reading "Welcome to the Party" and a blue one reading "Sorry For Your Loss", the former of which she pops when she sees what happened. It seems she knew via future vision that Navy would betray them, but she also believed there was a chance, however slim, that Steven could convince her to join the Crystal Gems for real.
- Or perhaps just as bad—Garnet may have seen two futures; the one we saw...and one where Navy did join the Crystal Gems.
Though we didn't see her reaction, Peridot's obviously going to be hurt and saddened when she discovers Navy's betrayal. She'd been so happy and excited to have a new Gem barnmate and someone to teach about Earth, accepting her as quickly as Steven did, and was ecstatic that Navy was such a 'quick learner' to her lessons.

Lion 4: Alternate Ending

Steven tries so hard throughout the episode to find out why Rose wanted to have him, only to learn from Greg that it was just so he could exist. His perception of Rose has become so messed up that that possibility never even crossed his mind.
Look at Steven's face as he watches "Nora's" tape. At this point you're just as confused as he is, but Steven wears an expression of complete and utter betrayal. Can you blame him? Remember how the first tape was able to move him to tears, because it was his greatest connection to his mother thanks to her seemingly candid speech? It was special and made just for him. Now imagine how he must have felt seeing his mother doing the exact same thing for someone else, and without anyone telling him. This wasn't actually the case, but he didn't know that at the time.

Doug Out

While it may not sad in the strictest sense, anyone who went through thinking that their job pales in comparison to their other family members like Doug can relate to how unfulfilled that feeling can be.
Very subtle, but when Connie goes to reassure her father that she likes him the way her is, she also mentions how she's "got enough serious thing in [my] life". Given her reaction to facing a Corrupted Gem in "Gem Heist", accidentally hurting a classmate in "Mindful Education", and getting a taste at what Steven has to go through with the Gems in "The New Crystal Gems", it wouldn't be surprising if Connie is starting to realize how the fantasy-like life she earlier believed was exciting is actually extremely stressful.

The Good Lars

Lars being slightly open with his insecurities. He doesn't reveal the reasons, but whatever the cause it made him very insecure about being honest with either his hobbies (baking) or feelings for others (Sadie).
Lars deciding not to come to the pot-luck party and Steven finding the Ube cake in the trash. Needless to say, both Sadie and Steven's reaction is disappointing.
- Which is made even worse with the reveal in the following episode that, in all likelihood, he didn't show up because he'd been kidnapped by Aquamarine and Topaz just moments before he was going to join the party. While it's unclear whether he genuinely gave up on his Ube cake or if he just dropped it in the skirmish, it's still pretty sad (and also pretty unsettling) that Sadie and Steven never find out the truth.
Sadie's profound speech near the episode's end. Every possible emotion is packed into it, but mostly sadness.
Sadie: Ugh, he wants to be in with them so much. Heh, it's funny, I never thought I'd be the one hanging out with them. You know, they really are cool. Like, not like he thinks, but like... like, they're actually cool people. How's he going to realize that if he doesn't give them a chance? I wish I could just force him to be happy! Oh, no... I sound like my mother. Maybe I should be trying to fix my life instead of his.

Are You My Dad?

Steven's overall and increasing confusion at the episode's events (the donut shop being closed, Onion not being in any of his usual hiding spots, Jamie not stopping by to drop off the Universes' mail at his usual time of day), and then finding out the hard way how they transpired by the end. That's before he also finds out in the next episode just why everyone he was looking for went missing in the first place...
- It’s not terribly sad to hear on first watch, so much as a bit funny and nostalgic, but given the new wave of traumatic events that occur afterwards, Steven singing his postman song happily while waiting for Jamie is still essentially one of the last times we get to hear him be a child.
After Aquamarine throws Steven into a tree and leaves with Topaz imprisoning Connie, Sadie, Lars, Jamie and Onion, he can only reach out for them helplessly as he loses consciousness.

I Am My Mom

Steven realizing that what he said to Peridot in "Marble Madness" came back to bite him in the ass three seasons later, with all of the people on the list he gave to Peridot eventually getting captured by Aquamarine and Topaz.
In general, Steven's guilt complex hits him hard in this episode. From blaming himself for "the list", despite the fact that he had no way of knowing Homeworld would target his friends when he casually brought them up to Peridot, to the Gem War, something his mother started, and also forgetting that Homeworld was going to destroy the Earth anyway had Rose not intervened.
Steven giving himself up to Aquamarine to save his friends by revealing that he's Rose Quartz, knowing that the leader of the rebellion, who caused the death of one of Homeworld's monarchs would be a far more important captive than six humans. His entire exchange with the Crystal Gems after he makes this harrowing decision is absolutely heartbreaking. And then there's Connie's anguished scream for Steven as the ship leaves.
Connie: Steven?!
Pearl: No! Don't! Steven!!
Amethyst: What're you doing!?
Steven: I get it now! I'm the only one who can stop what she started! I can stop all of it!
Garnet: You're wrong! Steven, get down here!
Steven: She wouldn't have wanted this! But I do...
Amethyst: (very obviously afraid) I'm gonna kick your butt if you don't come down here right now!
Steven: (turns around, then walks into the ship, completely silent)
Pearl: (covering her mouth while crying, voice barely above a whisper) Steven...
Connie: NO! Don't you dare!
Steven: (ship door closes) I love you.
Connie: NO!! STOP!!!
(ship flies away)
Connie: STEVEEENN!!!
- Listen to what Steven says before the ship leaves. "I'm the only one who can stop what [Rose] started." Steven's opinion of his mother has fallen so far that he actually blames her for the Gem War, completely disregarding the fact that if Rose had not started the war, the Earth would be a Gem colony, the Crystal Gems would still be slaves to Homeworld, he wouldn't exist, and all of humanity would be dead.
- What makes this worse is that, for all they knew, the moment Steven went into that ship, that would be the last they ever see of him, unable to do anything but contemplate the very obvious fate that awaits him when he reaches Homeworld because they no longer have a ship of their own to go after him like they did for Greg. Their distraught reactions are very understandable with this in mind.
Through knowledge that Lars didn't jump out of the ship with the others, it's pretty clear that he's still in it. Looks like Lars is in for one strange adventure...
- Strange is an understatement. It's already been established that Lars has severe anxiety issues, preventing him from even admitting to the Cool Kids that he likes baking. This combined with the ordeal he's already faced when he was kidnapped by Topaz caused him to be too panicked to even stand up to one gem. Now he's been abducted and is on his way to Homeworld. The Diamonds already have no compassion for humanity, and they'll most likely consider Lars to be an ally of the despised Rose Quartz. Already his chances of survival aren't looking good, and his chances of coming out untraumatized are even worse.
The fact that everyone is worried about Steven when he leaves on the ship, no one even notices that Lars was still inside. Well, there's a chance Sadie would react if the episode didn't end at that moment, but it's still sad to see how everyone easily forgets about him.
Lars abandoning Sadie. The disappointed, heartbroken look on Sadie's face is sad by itself. What makes this moment even worse is the brief Hope Spot before then where it looks like Lars is about to stand up to Topaz and help Sadie, only to run away in fear.
The look on Jamie's face as Topaz starts squeezing his head. Seeing such a cheery Large Ham look and sound so terrified is a harrowing sight.
Jamie: Uh... S-Steven?
Just imagine how Dante, Martha, and Greg are going to react once they learn that their kids are on their way to another planet, and may never come back.
- The Maheswarans might react just as badly, since their only daughter was not just that close to being stranded in outer space like Steven and Lars, she was preemptively targeted by (from their view) an alien species they barely know anything about at all.

Tear Jerker / Steven Universe Season 4

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