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YMMV / Steven Universe: Future

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Examples from the movie go here, and examples from the original series go here.

  • Alternative Character Interpretation:
    • Pink being the one to break her first Pearl brought out multiple interpretations the moment it was revealed:
      • Was what Volleyball said true, and did Pink just carelessly let her destructive powers loose and hurt someone who was standing too close? Did she, probably being a very young Gem at the time, even realize she was able to cause such destruction with her Diamond strength?
      • Did Pink intentionally lash out in her rage, and Volleyball is too blinded by love to see what really happened? Claiming that what their abusers did was an accident is a common excuse that abuse victims give.
      • With the reveal that Pink "broke" her Pearl, the question rises; was White replacing Volley with another Pearl punishment for the tantrum that broke her, or did she use it as an excuse to replace her because Pink and Volleyball acted too chummy with each other, as previously assumed by a lot of the fandom, or both?
    • Lars' decision to return to space with the Off Colors; is it truly a craving for adventure, or an attempt to get his mind off him and Sadie not getting together and her finding someone else?
    • Did Lars and Sadie drift apart naturally, or did Lars/both learn of Lars' incredibly slow aging and broke it off to save each other the strife?
    • Is Spinel really perfectly fine now? When Steven meets her and as a response to her jokingly kissing him, angrily asks what's wrong with her, her reply is a nonchalant "Oh you know, the usual." She goes on to tell Steven how she was a wreck before, but that she's "so much better now!" with a tone and expression that could easily give the impression she's being a Stepford Smiler rather than being genuine. When White Diamond asks for some private time, Spinel says "Don't take too long", which could be joke or an actual light-hearted comment, but also comes off as being from her deep abandonment issues. While she likely is doing better than before, it leaves open for interpretation if she's actually perfectly happy with the Diamonds as she thought she'd be, or she's content to be with them, but still has to work on her deep-rooted issues that won't simply go away by changing friends, and is putting on a happy front for Steven not to make him worry more over her while she's still working on herself. It also adds fuel to fan opinion that Spinel might have been better off trying to be her own Gem than something of a replacement for Pink for the Diamonds.
    • After the episodes "Growing Pains" and "Mr. Universe", Steven becomes noticeably more closed off from the rest of the Gems. Is it only part of his trauma, or does he also blame them for allowing him to get PTSD so young, consciously or not, like he blames Greg for not giving him a stable life? Or is he afraid they'll blame themselves and beat themselves up over trying to help him?
    • The part where Steven was controlling White Diamond's body. Was it White Diamond begging Steven not to hurt her, or was it Human Steven begging Pink Steven not to hurt White Diamond? If it was the latter, it would make a good call back to "Change Your Mind" where Human Steven begs Pink Steven not to hurt the others.
  • Angst Aversion: Many fans avoid rewatching the series and/or tell those getting into the franchise to skip Future, as the dark, realistic depiction of Steven's deteriorating mental state combined with almost no moments of reprieve in the later half of the show make it very hard to watch, especially in one sitting.
  • Anti-Climax Boss: Steven's corrupted/giant monster form is built up throughout "I Am My Monster" as a nigh-unstoppable foe, being the culmination of everything Steven's repressed over the course of the franchise that not even the other Diamonds alone can bring back to a comprehensive state. He's "defeated" when Connie rallies everyone together to give him a big Cooldown Hug, and the following episode takes place months later where Steven is already healthily dealing with his issues and is in a much better state of mind.

  • Award Snub: "Fragments", widely considered one of the best episodes not just in Future but for the entire series, was nominated for "Outstanding Short Form Animated Program" at the 2020 Emmys. Fans were absolutely furious when it lost to the Forky Asks a Question short "What is Love?".
  • Bizarro Episode: The ending of "A Very Special Episode" reveals it to be a PSA by Sunstone about managing your time more wisely. It's questionable as to how much of the episode is actually canon.
  • Broken Base: The show, concerning its overarching plot of Steven and his trauma. On the one hand, Future slowly going through Steven's issues and showing the end results of his suppressed self-loathing and hero complex were seen as welcome additions, and helped flesh Steven out further as a character and human being. On the other, a significant number of fans believed that devoting a season to these issues came too little, too late, and should have been better incorporated into the main series. Not helping things is that some episodes didn't contribute to the overarching plot, leaving many fan feel like there could have been much more to the final season.
  • Cargo Ship: As Steven underwent Sanity Slippage, some have jokingly started shipping "Steven/Therapy" as an extension of the "Steven needs therapy" meme.
  • Catharsis Factor:
    • Steven, of all people, chewing Jasper out for holding such a strong hate against Rose Quartz that she would rather corrupt herself than let her son heal her, and once he actually manages to heal her, she doesn't show the least bit of thankfulness. It's very satisfying for those who don't victimize her.
    • After all the stuff they put Steven and the rest of the Crystal Gems through while managing to get away effectively unscathed, it is incredibly satisfying to see Alexandrite swat Eyeball and Aquamarine (as Bluebird) into the ground.
    • "I Am My Monster" shows nearly everyone, except Connie (who never directly harmed or mistreated Steven to begin with), acknowledging how they either directly or indirectly hurt Steven and helped contribute to his mental breakdown: from Greg acknowledging his unintentional Parental Neglect, the Crystal Gems recognizing their inability to realize how much pain Steven was in and acknowledging that constantly using him as a dumping ground for their own issues was a major contributing factor to his bad mental state, to the Diamonds and Spinel pointing out how much they knowingly hurt Steven. White Diamond especially takes the blame for every bad thing that happened in the series, pointing out how her abuse of Yellow, Blue and Pink led to every member of Gem society suffering, Yellow and Blue abusing Pink themselves, Pink abusing Spinel, etc. Connie, meanwhile, bluntly agrees with everyone on how they've hurt Steven, and then gets them to understand that wallowing in self-pity over it isn't going to help him.
  • Common Knowledge: Those who have criticized the ending of "I Am My Monster" where everyone helps Steven transform back by hugging him and telling him they will help him overcome his problems claim that the hug instantly cured Steven of his PTSD and is a poor representation of PTSD as a result. This is not the case; the following episode is set a few months later, and Steven mentions seeing a therapist that he can video chat with while he's on the road, meaning that his PTSD is still there and he's found a way to manage it better.
  • Crack Pairing: After the series ended, the amount of fanworks (primarily of the NSFW kind) that pairs Steven with his Gem/Pink self practically exploded in popularity online.
  • Die for Our Ship: The moment Shep was introduced, they got flak from Larsadie shippers due to being Sadie's new romantic partner, even though they had absolutely nothing to do with Lars and Sadie growing apart.
  • Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Epileptic Trees:
    • One of the most persistent theories in the fandom since the opening of Future was released is that Steven and the Worm Creature from the opening are one and the same, originally stemming from a joke comparison between Steven and the worm's noses and how its horns and tusks match the bumps in Steven's hair; fans eventually spiraled into a web of conspiracy, finding events from Steven Universe that could be used as in-hindsight foreshadowing for such a thing, from the old sleeping bag Steven used to the leaves in his hair in "An Indirect Kiss". Even among people that refute the "Corrupted Steven" theory, the connection between Steven and the creature is hard to deny, with another, less popular theory being that it's his repressed emotions and trauma given physical form. The corruption theory would end up being true with the final few episodes of the series, with Steven undergoing the corruption process in "Everything's Fine" and fully transforming into the monster in "I Am My Monster", although it's not a worm creature but more of a kaiju instead.
    • After Pink Steven turned out to actually become Steven's Superpowered Evil Side some started to speculate that Steven being hit with Spinel's rejuvenator had more of an effect on him than initially thought. Specifically, that Pink Diamond's repressed powers and personality begin restoring themselves in him.
    • After Rebecca Sugar herself confirmed that sequel comics won't be happening any time soon, some speculated that the main story of Steven Universe might be over for good, but there are still plenty of other stories in that world that could be made written down and published someway. Some think of video games, given Squaridot showing up in The Stinger of Unleash the Light indicates that the Light story isn't over. Others hope for spin-off shows based around the adventures of Lars and the Off Colors, or maybe a political drama featuring the Zircons.
    • Bismuth smithing a wedding armor in "Everything's Fine" with Yellow Pearl as the model spawned two theories: Yellow and Blue Pearl plan to marry or Bismuth plans to marry Pearl. Even though both Pearl and Blue Pearl are present, with "Reunited" showing Ruby and Sapphire taking human marriage customs incredibly seriously.
    • After both "Volleyball" and "Everything's Fine" showed Volleyball/Pink Pearl with her left eye obscured, some speculate that it may have healed. While it's intentionally left ambiguous, plenty of fans believe that it healed enough to be able to function again.
  • Evil Is Cool:
    • Bluebird Azurite is a Fusion of two fan-favorite villains, with an incredibly entertaining, devious personality, and an awesome weapon.
    • Monster Steven is a colossal Godzilla-like creature whose strength and relentlessness are both terrifying and fascinating.
  • Fanfic Fuel:
    • Aquamarine and Eyeball's meeting and decision to Fuse to get revenge on Steven is only vaguely described, giving fans open room to fill in the blanks.
    • In "Bluebird", Garnet says that if Bluebird tries anything, the Crystal Gems will smash her. Considering this literally happens later on, it implies she saw it as a potential possibility with her future vision, which can see multiple futures. This also implies she saw at least one other future in which Eyeball and Aquamarine ended up genuinely pulling a Heel–Face Turn.
    • "Little Graduation" has Lars and the Off Colors planning to go off for more space adventures. What type of adventures will they get into? What type of creatures and planets will they find? Will they square off with Emerald again or has she turned over a new leaf by this point?
  • Fan Nickname:
    • Most of the fandom think that "Mega Pearl" sounds too non-descriptive, preferring "Royal/Queen/Prince Pearl" instead.note 
    • Before her canon name was revealed, people called Bluebird Azurite "Aquaball" or "Eyequamarine". The former has since become the shipname for Aquamarine/Eyeball.
    • People call the two Lapis Lazulis "Curly" and "Freckles", since their canon names "Mean Lapis" and "Nice Lapis" are too vague. Together, they're referred to as "The Lazulis" or "Double Trouble".
    • The giant pink creature in the opening is called "Wormy Boi/Worm Boi" with surprising frequency, usually in conjunction with the Corrupted Steven Theory.
    • Pink Steven's new buff frame got him the nickname "Chad Universe".
  • Fanon:
    • A lot of fanart of Steven after the series ended has him wearing a white shirt instead of the black one to symbolize him moving on from the problems he's had to face.
    • Crazy Lace Agate's components are commonly depicted as a Jasper and an Amethyst, the latter usually a Lace Amethyst in particular.
  • Fanon Discontinuity: There are some fans who pretend this series doesn't exist and that the franchise ended with The Movie, mostly due to discomfort over the amount of trauma Steven has to deal with.
  • Fans Prefer the New Her: Steven's shield changing from the intricate round one his mother used, to a more simplified hexagonal one his separated Gem half used, is meant to show him burying his past morals and becoming more violent. However, plenty of fans prefer the hexagonal design over the round one, thinking that "less is more".
  • Genius Bonus:
    • In "Volleyball", Steven, Pearl, and Pink Pearl visit the facility where Pearls were manufactured, called the Reef, which is run by an Artificial Intelligence called Shell. In computing, a shell is the initial program that an operating system runs on startup, which functions as the user interface. Shell is the Reef's shell.
    • In "Why So Blue?", Nice Lapis has yellow freckles, in reference to how the mineral lapis lazuli often has pyrite growths inside it.
  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • Greg saying he can feel the rest of his hair falling off upon seeing the Rose Quartz trio in "Rose Buds" became somewhat more awkward to hear when, two episodes later in "Bluebird", he had to cut off his own hair to free himself from Aquamarine and Eyeball. Which is even harsher after "Mr. Universe" when we see a photo of a miserable young Greg from when his parents forced him to keep his hair short, and Greg saw his long hair as a symbol of his freedom.
    • In "Volleyball", Pearl says that Pink Diamond would never shatter anyone. In "Fragments", Steven shatters someone... Jasper. It's implied to be an Accidental Murder on his part, but still.
    • In "Guidance" Steven's attempts to help the Gems by haphazardly putting them in jobs they're unfamiliar with can seem a little forced on a first viewing. Come episodes such as "Prickly Pair" and especially "Everything's Fine", and Steven's crumbling mental state stemming from a compulsive desire to help others makes the previous events hard to watch. His insistence on not wanting gems to perform the same jobs they had on Homeworld also takes a darker turn after "Homeworld Bound" where Steven expresses disdain for being anything like the Diamonds.
    • In "Bluebird", Greg cuts his own hair to break free from the grasp of the aforementioned gem and the ordeal leaves him completely devastated. A couple of episodes later in "Mr. Universe", we learn about the abusive nature of Greg's parents, who would make his life miserable by dictating about every aspect of his life without accepting any complain. A example of this is a time when they forced Greg to have his hair cut just before a music gig. Greg's iconic long hair wasn't just a style thing, it was a symbol of the freedom his parents never let him have, so having to cut his hair again just to escape the threat of Bluebird must have been a traumatic experience that made him relive some very painful memories.
  • He Really Can Act: Zach Callison is given more emotional and brutal chops for Steven in this season compared to the movie and the original series, all of which he delivers phenomenally; the second half of the series in particular include the most standouts:
    • During the climax of "Growing Pains", Steven breaking down and finally discussing his trauma with Greg.
    • Likewise, the utter sadism in Steven's voice before he shatters Jasper in "Fragments", and before attempting to shatter White Diamond in "Homeworld Bound", is utterly chilling.
    • And the penultimate examples come during Steven's mental breakdown, from "Everything's Fine" up to the end of "I Am My Monster." You can hear his voice filled with raw madness and despair in a brutal yet realistic way, and his cathartic Cry Laughing when he transforms back into a human and is being comforted by Lion is no less raw and realistic.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
    • This fancomic essentially predicted how Aquamarine and Eyeball would fuse in the episode "Bluebird".
    • For years, it was not uncommon to depict both Lapis and and other Lapis Lazulis with pyrite-freckles. Now Nice Lapis confirmed it is possible.
    • Before Steven Universe Future premiered, MKatwood released a parody video of the intro called Steven Universe Fear, that ended up being pretty accurate about the general mood and recurring themes of the series.
    • The entire "Steven needs therapy" meme is this mixed with Heartwarming in Hindsight, since in "The Future", Steven mentions actually contacting a therapist and talking to them online.
  • Idiosyncratic Ship Naming: Pearl/Volleyball is sometimes called "Pearlesbians" or "Pearlfriends".
  • I Knew It!:
    • One fan on Twitter expressed interest in seeing Spinel sing a reprise of "Change" to Steven to help him with his issues. This exact thing happens in "Homeworld Bound", though it's played more for humor and doesn't really help Steven's mental state.
    • Many fans predicted that the giant horned monster in the intro was a corrupted Steven. These fans proved to be right with "Everything's Fine" showing Steven undergoing the corruption process and "I Am My Monster" showing his corrupted form in full.
  • Iron Woobie: Pink Pearl/"Volleyball", despite Pink Diamond doing something to her that gave her a crack that wouldn't heal and spending 8000 years as a Meat Puppet for White, she doesn't come across as hurting and even makes excuses for getting that crack. It takes being trapped and almost rejuvenated for her to finally admit that she was hurt and that it wasn't her fault.
  • It Was His Sled: Steven himself becomes the Final Boss after corrupting himself into a giant rampaging monster.
  • Launcher of a Thousand Ships: Pearl retains her multiple fan ships from the original series, with several more to add to her "harem", including Spinel, Volleyball, and Bismuth, with the latter even having canonical feelings for her, but not acting on them because she thinks Pearl is happier single.
  • Love to Hate: Aquamarine and Eyeball Ruby are just as unrepentantly evil as they were before, if not more so. However, that's precisely why they're so well-liked, as they're some of the only villains to break the series tradition of redeeming themselves. Thus, they continue to be petty, sadistic, and Laughably Evil, showing that not everyone can be reasoned with if they refuse to listen to reason.
  • Memetic Mutation: Has its own folder on the franchise page.
  • Memetic Psychopath:
    Larimar: One day, I will make you scream, Steven.
    • Steven in "Fragments", just as he's about to unleash the killing blow on Jasper. The Slasher Smile and the pink eyes with diamond pupils does not help. At all.
      Steven: You were right, Jasper...(cue manic grin as his giant pink wall grows spikes on it) I have been holding back!
  • Misaimed Fandom:
    • Some fans think that Steven should've stayed in his Pink form seen in "Fragments" because of his muscular physique and his willingness to engage in violence and use his full power against Jasper. This is missing the point of the entire sequence; to show that Jasper was using Steven for her own gain and allowing him to indulge in his worst aspects, effectively culminating in Steven shattering her after pushing him to use more and more of his power.
    • There are fans of the series that feel that Jasper should have stayed shattered to show that Steven's actions have consequences. This is despite the fact that the whole show was showing that Steven's mental health was declining and he was suffering from massive guilt already, and permanently killing a Gem would have been overkill for a character that the audience is supposed to sympathize with.
    • Many fans wished that Steven actually shattered White Diamond in "Homeworld Bound", completely ignoring that he attempted it not for what White has done to the galaxy and Gemkind, but out of his own trauma at White pulling out his gem. The scene is meant to further add on to Steven's declining mental health.
  • Most Wonderful Sound: Much like hearing Lapis finally sing in "Can't Go Back", hearing Blue Diamond finally sing in "Homeworld Bound" is nothing short of magical, especially since her voice actress is an accomplished singer.
  • Narm: While Spinel and White Diamond blaming themselves for Steven's state in "I Am My Monster" is a great moment of character depth, it's kind of hard to take it seriously due to their Inelegant Blubbering. Remember, these two were the biggest threats Steven ever had to face. What makes it more jarring is that their lines are delivered in over the top "crying" voices, compared to Zach Callison's more raw, emotional performance in Future or even their own much more real breakdowns in "Change Your Mind" and the movie.
  • Narm Charm:
    • Spinel and White Diamond's Inelegant Blubbering over hurting Steven is silly, but said silliness highlights that blaming yourself for someone else's pain when you could be doing something to help them still makes it all about you, as Connie points out.
    • The way Steven's companions "defeat" him in monster form by collectively hugging and reassuring him to bring him back to his human form may seem anticlimactic and ridiculous, but the way it's framed — as a climatic anime-style showdown leading into a shower of love — is undeniably awesome and heartwarming.
  • One True Threesome:
    • Since all three of them were hurt by Pink in some way and both Spinearl and Volleypearl being popular ships in their own right, some have settled for Spinel/Volleyball/Pearl, arguing that all three deserve closure and there not being many fitting characters to ship the first two with.
    • Following "Bismuth Casual", many have gone for Bismuth/Pearl/Volleyball due to Bismuth's crush on Pearl being made abundantly clear but fans not wanting to drop Volleypearl.
  • Portmanteau Couple Name:
  • Rooting for the Empire: A good chunk of fans wished that Steven actually went through with shattering White Diamond while he was possessing her due to feeling that she was way too Easily Forgiven despite destroying countless planets and being a tyranical leader who sentenced gems to death for minor infractions.
  • Salvaged Story:
    • After many complained about the rather excessive amount of A Day in the Limelight episodes for the relatively mundane human characters in the original series, this series spices them up considerably by adding a good variety of Gem characters interacting with the humans as well as getting just as much focus. Even some of the ones who haven't been getting enough attention yet, like Peridot and Bismuth, have now gotten episodes focused on them.
    • The original series got a lot of flack for the resolution of the Gem War being far too neat and tidy, with the entire Empire seeming to change from millennia of conquest after just a few speeches. After the movie already poked some holes in the idea, this series goes even further in showing there are quite a few Gems who still aren't happy with Steven and the new rules.
    • Instead of the Diamonds pulling an easy Heel–Face Turn and calling it a day, "Homeworld Bound" shows all three actually hard at work undoing the countless ages of harm they caused. The reveal in said episode that shattered gems can be revived thanks to Yellow Diamond's new powers and with her planning to fix the gems in the Cluster also puts relief over the fact that the finale of the original series was criticized because of the Diamonds being redeemed despite their genocidal history too much to forgive.
    • For those who think White Diamond was too Easily Forgiven at the end of "Change Your Mind", "Homeworld Bound" shows that Steven still hasn't forgiven her completely and holds a lot of suppressed resentment towards her, which surfaces when White allows Steven to control her body as a form of therapy and leads to Steven attacking her.
    • The season as a whole addresses the frequent complaint to the original series of Steven not having healthy boundaries when it comes to his friends, and that their Character Development were entirely dependent on Steven being present. The final season reveals that Steven has both a complex and obsession with being his friends' Living Emotional Crutch, and when he realizes that he is no longer needed in this capacity, he undergoes an emotional breakdown and an identity crisis.
  • Self-Fanservice: Despite being as chubby as he was as a kid, certain fanarts depict 16-year-old Steven with a taller, more muscular build than usual.
  • Ship Mates:
    • Laremmy shippers have embraced Sadie/Shep, since it allows Lars to be with Emerald.
    • Most Bellow Pearl shippers tend to be fans of Volleypearl, if they're not just shipping all four with each other by inserting Volleyball into the already existing "Polypearls" ship.
  • Ships That Pass in the Night:
    • Orange Spodumene/Bixbite is relatively popular, due to their visual similarities and potential butch-femme-dynamic. They haven't really interacted with each other, and the two didn't have much screentime in general.
    • Jasper/Mean Lapis, due to both being powerhungry Gems who rebel against the new order. They haven't interacted at all in the series, but the potential of a second Malachite is just too big of an opportunity for the fandom to pass up, especially since our Lapis doesn't have to get involved.
    • Jasper/Bluebird, even though they haven't met at all, as the popularity of the Jasper/Eyeball ship naturally swept over, with many outright hoping they'd team up. Some include Mean Lapis in a possible relationship, turning them into a One True Threesome Unholy Matrimony.
    • Lonely Pearl/Aubergine Pearl; they have never shared a scene, since Lonely Pearl only appeared in The Phantom Fable. However, since Pearl/Volleyball and Blue Pearl/Yellow Pearl have strong fanbases, and Rhodonite's Pearl is already canonically paired with Rhodonite's Ruby, fans decided to pair the two remaining Pearls with each other.
  • Shocking Moments:
    • Steven shattering Jasper. Of all characters, nobody expected them to actually do it, and who it happened to. While she did get better, both Steven and Jasper are permanently scarred by the experience, the latter even literally.
    • In "Homeworld Bound", Steven loses it when he's taking control of White's body and attempts to smash her gem against a nearby pillar. White was lucky she wasn't actually near one, otherwise Steven would've outright killed her.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
    • While the show did introduce a lot of new characters who were uncorrupted back in "Change Your Mind", plenty of fans are still wondering about the whereabouts of some of the Gems who aren't Little Homeworld citizens, particularly the "Water Bear", since she was shown alongside everyone else but never appeared in Future or the movie.
    • Nephrite's absence in the series is extremely noticeable, due to her importance back in the original series' run and presence in Future's opening. It's to the point that fans point out that her crew gets more screen time as background characters than she does in the entire series. Some people would've loved to see her Back for the Finale, as she knows what it feels like to be turned into a monster, and thus would've been especially helpful with Steven.
    • Some fans were left wondering why Cherry Quartz was introduced in the first episode, yet didn't actually do anything worth mentioning. She wasn't even named in-universe. Some would've liked to see her role swapped with any of the corrupted gems that actually appeared in the series.
    • A good number of uncorrupted Gems hardly get any focus, even those that were uncorrupted on-screen and appeared in Future. Orange Spodumene hardly got any characterization, her role being relegated to being a background character. The Geode Beetles still aren't named, with their only role being a chronic collective Damsel in Distress and hints at a relationship. Watermelon Tourmaline got a redesign that possibly retconned her character into a fusion, but the show never elaborates. Biggs Jasper and Crazy Lace Agate are also just walking around in the background, despite being former Crystal Gems, and the hints that Bismuth and Biggs are quite close and Crazy Lace being confirmed as a fusion.
    • The concept of Bluebird Azurite was quite popular within the fanbase, as two pre-established antagonists fuse to team up against the Crystal Gems. However, much like Malachite before her, the show doesn't really do anything with Bluebird as a character, merely inserting her into the story to give Aquamarine and Eyeball a proper send-off, with Greg getting a Traumatic Haircut being the only plot-relevant thing happening in her sole episode, despite Aquamarine threatening their return.
    • The Off Colors are reintroduced in "Little Graduation" just in time to head back to outer space with Lars. None of them even speak, despite the setting being their own graduation from Little Homeschool.
    • Sadie and the Cool Kids appear in "Little Graduation" only to announce that their band is breaking up and they're going their separate ways, with Sadie and Sour Cream being the only ones to stay in the music industry.
    • Many had expected Jasper to have a big role in the series due to her prominent presence in the opening and series premiere, and Rebecca Sugar's multiple statements that she loves Jasper too much to permanently put her by the wayside. In actuality, Jasper only appears four times in the entire show; once in the aforementioned premiere, and the other three near the tail end of the series, two of which were minor appearances. Her character was not explored or developed further besides her warming up to Steven in "Fragments" (which gets completely upheavaled in the following episode) and implications in the final episode that she's trying to get better.
    • Spinel is Demoted to Comic Relief by the time of her appearance in the series, and despite suffering from major trauma and severe depression like Steven, she contributes very little in actually helping Steven, even going as far to say her vengeful feelings went away completely after the movie, when the movie itself implies Spinel definitely has some more steps to take.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
    • Many felt that Steven fusing with both Pearl and Garnet at the same time would've been a better ending for "A Very Special Episode" than the actual ending. Mostly since it feels like the most logical conclusion, as they need to save the gems who are falling off the cliff. It would have also delivered the message that it's okay to ask for help when you're having problems, which could've been put to good use after Steven experiences Sanity Slippage.
    • The fact that we never got to see Lapis fuse with someone again or Peridot fuse with anyone period, is still a sore point for many in the fandom. Especially since people have been asking for them to fuse for years and there were instances where either of them could've fused with Steven. Specifically, "Why So Blue?" showed Lapis and Steven dancing right next to each other, with them having to deal with two rogue Lapis Lazulis, it wouldn't have been too hard to have them fuse with each other to fight them.
    • Steven shattering Jasper is a pretty shocking moment itself, but after her reformation, the whole idea is dropped entirely. While there are some nods to the severity and how it impacted certain characters, the twist is almost immediately forgotten about.
  • Unintentional Uncanny Valley: Seeing the normally artistically alien White Diamond being controlled by Spinel can be surprisingly creepy to watch. Spinel's goofy facial expressions do not translate well to White's semi-realistic face.
  • Unfortunate Character Design: A lot of fans have pointed out how Monster Steven's head and neck look incredibly phallic.
  • Unnecessary Makeover: Steven going from his blue shirt in the movie to a black shirt is a common element of confusion and complaints. While the black shirt is meant to represent Greg and symbolize Steven's Sanity Slippage, a good number of fans think the light blue shirt compliments Steven's color scheme better.
  • Unpopular Popular Character: Aquamarine and Eyeball may have become rejected by Homeworld, but they continue to be fan-favorite villains, especially with how they're among the only Gems who are not cool with Steven and Era 3.
  • Viewer Gender Confusion: The non-binary Shep is occasionally mistaken for a woman due to their feminine voice and appearance.
  • What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: The show is rated PG, same as the original Steven Universe; while it does start off fairly lighthearted, it gets much darker towards the second half of the series, as the show realistically depicts Steven's deteriorating mental state as he spirals into a deep pit of anger and self-loathing, with heavy implications that he's suffering from multiple mental disorders due to all the trauma he suffered as a child and having to be everyone's emotional rock growing up — Dr. Maheswaran outright speculates he has ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) after he shows immense stress towards basic checkup procedures.
  • The Woobie: Just when it seems like Steven can finally catch a break, problems just keep popping up that he either has to or feels like he needs to deal with, including Jasper still being against him (at first), continuing to have his mother's past and mistakes smack him in the face, Eyeball and Aquamarine seeking Revenge on him and attempting to use his own father against him, and everybody moving on and changing without him. In addition, him going through the typical trials of growing into an adult and dealing with change are complicated by his powers overreacting to the wild emotional rollercoaster that comes with being a teenager, making his very feelings dangerous and him even more unwilling to try and handle them.

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