Line #35 Recap/StevenUniverseS5E21TheQuestion


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/su_the_question.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''♪ This ol' Ruby rider\
3	Is Ruby ridin' alone ♫'']]
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5	'''Original airdate:''' July 4th, 2018
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7	'''Production code:''' 1053-151
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9	----
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11	Steven and Amethyst have caught up to Ruby, eating pizza on Brooding Hill with Greg. They find that she's surprisingly cheerful, having decided that she wants some time by herself to figure things out. Greg has also taken the Pink Diamond reveal fairly calmly, noting that he himself never told Rose that he used to be Gregory [=DeMayo=]. Steven is terrified at the prospect of Ruby never going back to Sapphire, which would mean the end of Garnet, but eventually agrees to help her out. Ruby decides to use one of several comic books Greg got her as inspiration, settling on one about... a dolphin. Steven quickly suggests she try ''Lonesome Lasso'', a Western comic, instead, and Ruby loves the idea. The next day, Ruby, with Greg, Steven and Amethyst along for the ride, heads out to try being a cowboy. Amethyst decides to play the horse, hamming it up as she shapeshifts into the form.
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13	During the day's adventures, Ruby nearly falls into a canyon (not that this bothers her), is chased by a bull after attempting to lasso it (along with the others), and uses {{Finger Gun}}s on a rattlesnake. That evening, as they camp, Ruby sings a song, "Ruby Rider", about her experiences by herself. But later that night, talking to Steven, she admits that, although she's been enjoying having her first real alone time in her entire existence, she still misses Sapphire terribly. Steven, flipping through the comic book, points out that the hero of the story, despite being called "lonesome", still has people he cares about and misses. He also has another idea, and shows Ruby something in the book that she really likes.
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15	At the Temple, Sapphire and Pearl have been DrowningTheirSorrows in tea when Steven enters, informing Sapphire that Ruby is outside and has something to say to her. She goes out to see Ruby, riding Amethyst, still in the form of a horse. Ruby dismounts, and Amethyst heads up to the porch, startling Pearl. Sapphire goes out to meet Ruby, and the red Gem expresses the opinion that although Rose meant well in telling them that they were "the answer" all that time ago, it prevented them from learning about themselves. She then kneels and, as her hat is blown away by the wind, asks Sapphire to marry her. The seer is surprised, but Ruby explains that it will mean they can be together in a sense even when they're apart. Naturally, Sapphire says yes. As the two spend some time on the beach, with Ruby tossing Sapphire into the air, we get a look at the last page of the ''Lonesome Lasso'' issue: the main character and his LoveInterest Sally May getting married.
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17	ToBeContinued.
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20	!!Tropes:
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22	* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: In the song "Ruby Rider", "she's a sturdy solitary stone."
23	* AnAesop: It’s okay to want time away from your partner. You are not and should not be defined solely by the relationship. And if you really want to be in the relationship, some alone time may remind you of why you wanted it.
24	* AlienArtsAreAppreciated: Ruby really gets into Wild West comics in this episode.
25	* AudienceSurrogate: Steven is horrified when he first hears that Ruby and Sapphire may not become Garnet again. Likewise, Greg serves as a surrogate for the audience members that believed Ruby and Sapphire needed something like this, gently helping Ruby do her own thing.
26	* BigWhat:
27	** When Ruby declares she wants to be her own Gem, Greg and Amethyst take it rather well, while Steven yells, "Whaaaaaaat!?"
28	** When Ruby admits she still feels lonely and misses Sapphire, Steven says it again in surprise.
29	* BizarreTasteInFood: Steven implies that he likes eating flour and sugar separately, not just together in cake.
30	* BlushSticker: Ruby at various moments during the episode, like when she gets the idea to propose to Sapphire from the comic book.
31	* BriefAccentImitation: A few times among Ruby, Steven, Greg and Amethyst during their wild frontier adventure. Steven even reads "I miss Sally May" in the ''Lonesome Lasso'' comic book with a southern drawl.
32	* BrutishBulls: Ruby tries her hand at wrangling and lassos a bull by his horns. The bull is not amused.
33	* CallBack:
34	** Once again in tough times, Greg brings pizza.
35	** Ruby gives being a cowboy a try, just like Sapphire predicted in the [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E20WhatsYourProblem last episode]].
36	* CalmingTea: By the time we get back to the Beach House, Pearl and Sapphire have stopped crying and drinking tea.
37	* ComfortFood: Ruby drowns her sorrows in pizza that Greg ordered for her while on "Brooding Hill".
38	* ConfusingMultipleNegatives: Ruby confesses that she enjoys going out on her own, but still wishes Sapphire was there.
39	-->'''Ruby:''' Turns out, I'm no good at not needin' nobody.
40	* ContinuityNod: Greg compares Pink Diamond changing her name to Rose Quartz to his own changing his last name from [=DeMayo=], which we first learned was his birth name in "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E8GemHarvest Gem Harvest]]".
41	* CowboyEpisode: Ruby spends the episode being a cowboy, complete with Western-style imagery and music.
42	* CrossReferencedTitles: The title references the season two episode [[Recap/StevenUniverseS2E25TheAnswer "The Answer"]].
43	* CueTheSun: Ruby returns to the Temple to propose at sunrise.
44	* DoubleMeaningTitle: The title is not only a [[CrossReferencedTitles Cross-Referenced Title]] to [[Recap/StevenUniverseS2E25TheAnswer "The Answer"]], in that Ruby has finally begun to question why she stayed fused with Sapphire just because Rose told them to, but it also refers to Ruby popping Sapphire '''[[WackyMarriageProposal the]]''' question.
45	* EasilyForgiven: Greg takes the revelation that the woman he loved used to be Pink Diamond well, as he can relate to her keeping secrets from each other. Of course, he has an easier time dealing with it than the Crystal Gems, since much of her life was already a mystery.
46	* FingerGun: Ruby points her fingers and says "pow" shortly after getting the idea to be a cowboy.
47	* FreezeFrameBonus: After Sapphire accepts the proposal and Ruby starts spinning her around, the underside of the former's dress is in the shape of a heart.
48	* ImmediateSequel: Takes place right after the end of the previous episode, with Steven and Amethyst finding Ruby after she'd run away following her fight with Sapphire.
49	* InstantExpert: Greg remarks on how quickly Ruby picks up the guitar, playing expertly ten minutes after he taught her.
50	* InnocentlyInsensitive: Sapphire may have realized otherwise, but Ruby is still hurt by Sapphire saying their relationship was based on a lie, and Ruby is seriously contemplating if this is true.
51	* LibertyOverProsperity: Played for laughs, as Ruby so wants her future to be unknown that she doesn't care if that leaves her barreling off a (literal) cliff.
52	-->'''Ruby:''' I almost fell down there. And it was all my choice! YEE-''HAW'', INDEPENDENCE!
53	* MundaneUtility: Ruby uses her PlayingWithFire abilities to start a campfire.
54	* NotQuiteTheRightThing: Ruby comes to this conclusion about Rose's advice for Garnet never to question herself; she meant well, especially in face of Homeworld's taboo against cross-fusion, but neither Sapphire nor Ruby really spent any time by themselves for millennia. Ruby states that this is the first time in more or less her whole existence when she's been by herself as Ruby.
55	* NothingIsTheSameAnymore: Downplayed with Sapphire and Ruby's relationship, as they get back together by the end of the episode, despite the trope itself being a ''major'' theme this season. Of course, them getting ''married'' is still a '''''huge''''' change. But there's also the implication that they might unfuse more often so they can have some alone time.
56	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ruby has never been seen eating food onscreen. The fact that she eats the pizza Greg buys says a lot about how upset she is.
57	* {{Pun}}: Before transforming into a horse for Ruby to ride, Amethyst says, "I'm always down for a little... ''horsin' around''."
58	* SawItInAMovieOnce: Ruby decides to make it on her own by emulating the cowboy in a comic book — which even gives her an idea for a ''marriage proposal''. Her first choice was actually a comic about a ''dolphin'', but even Steven wasn't going to pretend that was practical.
59	* SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud: Ruby at one point spits out a wheat sprig while ''saying'' "ptooie".
60	* SnakesAreSinister: At one point, the group gets menaced by a diamondback rattlesnake, which Ruby scares off with a FingerGun.
61	* StepfordSmiler: Ruby is taking things better than the other Gems have, but her attempts to cheer herself up cause her to keep thinking of Sapphire.
62	* TheyreCalledPersonalIssuesForAReason: Greg takes the revelation of Rose's origins the best of anyone, because neither of them were concerned with the other's past to begin with.
63	-->''Well, I fell in love with Rose Quartz, and she fell in love with Mr. Universe. Sure, she never told me she used to be Pink Diamond, but, heh, I never told her I used to be Gregory [[ShedTheFamilyName DeMayo]].''
64	* ToBeContinued: The episode ends without an IrisOut on an ''in-universe'' "To be continued" caption from a [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall comic book Steven holds up to the camera]].
65	* TwirlOfLove: Ruby and Sapphire engage in some blissful twirling at the end of the episode, just like they did the first time we saw them together. This time, however, the episode ends without them fusing back into Garnet, symbolizing their growth as individuals.
66	* UnnecessaryCombatRoll: Ruby does a lot of gratuitous acrobatics just getting around. She can't jump without doing some kind of flip or somersault.
67	* WackyMarriageProposal: Ruby (with help from Steven and Amethyst) gives a melodramatic proposal to Sapphire as if it were lifted straight out of a Golden Age Western.
68	* WhamLine: Spoken by Ruby after she returns to the beach house: "Sapphire, will you marry me?"
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Context Recap / StevenUniverseS5E21TheQuestion