Gemcation

"Woo! Vacation!"

"Gemcation" is the 6th episode of the fifth season of Steven Universe and the 134th episode overall.

Official Synopsis
Greg and the Gems take Steven on vacation to help him relax.

Plot
A few days after the election, Steven still hasn't made contact with Connie, being depressed on his phone along with sending her a lot of text messages saying how much he missed her. Then Greg comes along asking for help, as he had gotten himself tangled in a bunch of hoses. Steven doesn't notice until he calls out to him, and he finishes writing his last text message. Steven then goes to help by biting onto the hose and ripping it apart, setting Greg free.

He then asks his dad if he's good and safe, and if he still loves him. Greg tells Steven that it's fine, that they're just hoses and that he can buy some new ones since he has like $9 million dollars left. Then Steven's phone buzzes. He closes his eyes and grabs it out of his pocket, hoping it's Connie. Instead it is Ronaldo asking about the Princess Koala box set that he lent to Steven.

Greg asks if everything's okay (since he looks a little glum) and asks if he should talk about it. Steven's answer is that it's just "Space lag" from when he went to space, and starts walking away toward the house, giving Greg an idea. We later see Steven being so depressed that he washes dishes with an unopened bottle of soap until his phone buzzes again, thinking it's Connie. He wants to "play it cool", but once again, it's Ronaldo asking about his Princess Koala set, which Steven ignores.

Then Greg and the Gems come into the house with a bunch of groceries. Steven informs them that the fridge is already full, but the food isn't for the fridge, but for their vacation house Greg rented for the weekend. Steven tells them to have fun, but Greg mentions that he is going too. Then Greg (hintingly) coughs at Pearl, and she states that it is the perfect time to have a vacation since it isn't very often that they get to be on the same planet together. Amethyst continues, saying that he will be with his favorite Gems and his dad. Garnet, than repeats an obviously rehearsed line agreeing with the others that Steven should go. Steven says he would, but he's tied up with something, right before receiving more text messages from Ronaldo, which changes his mind.

Later Greg drives them to the "cool ranch" house while Steven still pays attention to his phone.Greg states he wants Steven to feel as comfortable as possible, even bringing Steven's bed with him. He even informs the house has many great features, however according to the instructions read by Pearl they can't sue any of them. Amethyst also asked if he invited a "party guy" that is three feet long, hissing, and reptilian. Greg said no, so Amethyst informs they have a plus-one, which attacks Pearl. He promised Steven will have a great time here.

Later in the evening, Greg is barbecuing, while Amethyst is telling Greg that Pearl is okay, in which Pearl said it's not the pain, it's the surprise. Noticing Steven on his phone again, Greg asked Amethyst to go talk to him, so she did. She sits down next to him and starting to talk about all the stars in the sky, and they look so clear out in the country, it's very pretty. Steven said it's just okay, she then told him "it's okay if it isn't ok", leading them both into confusion. She then asks is Steven more into phones now, he disagrees and places it back into his pocket.

Later that night Greg insists Steven take his place in the hot tub with Garnet,so Steven did after placing his phone in a bag. Garnet thinks she knows what's bothering saying he didn't do anything wrong, and that Pink Diamond was a villain. She was about to tell their backstory, but Steven told her he knows everything bad has happened, so good things can happen. Garnet was lost for words, but told Steven it was good he understands.

The next morning, Steven was still on his phone, sitting on a rocking chair waiting for it to buzz or ring, but then he overheard Greg through the house window and started eavesdropping. He heard Greg and the gems trying to figure out why Steven was acting the way he was. Everyone started to give in as if Steven doesn't want to talk about it, even Greg know it's not "Space Lag" and he thinks it "Gem" related problem that he won't understand. Garnet knows if that Steven won't talk to them, then the help they can give is limited. The only one who didn't talk to him was Pearl, so they all thought it was the only option since she does know about space stuff. Willing to try, she went out as Steven resumes to his place as if he wasn't listening.

As Pearl went out she asked about how quiet it is out here, while Steven just stares at his phone and said yes. Then Pearl started talking about Homeworld saying she always hoped for Steven to see it one day, but she'd be there with him, and he wouldn't be a prisoner, as it would be a traumatic experience. Thinking he has a question he wants answers to, like the Diamonds, she tells him that there have been things that are impossible for her to explain but she wants to. When she was about to reveal something, her hand forced herself to keep quiet, then tries again but she really is forced to not say it. Due to Steven's emotional distress, he doesn't take notice her strange behavior. Steven couldn't take it anymore and told her the truth: he thinks that Connie now hates him. Pearl froze in confusion, and everyone just came in as they were all eavesdropping on him and Garnet told Steven to continue. He told everyone that he's not upset about being on Homeworld even though the events were really messed up, it was his relationship with his best friend is even more messed up. As he left her behind to go to Homeworld after promising that he and Connie would go through everything together, knowing he might have really hurt her. He has been calling and texting her, but she never answered, he thinks she'll never talk to him again.

Heartbroken and upset, he bursts into tears and runs off. Garnet called out to him, but Greg takes over as he knows what to do. He found Steven behind two red barrels and starts to talk to him. He asked why he didn't tell him sooner if it was about Connie. Steven told Greg that he was embarrassed but murmured as to even say it. Greg tried to guess but he never got it right, so Steven said louder that he was too embarrassed to even talk about it as he knows everyone likes Connie and was worried that if they knew, they would be mad at him too. Greg told him he not mad about it, he even bet Connie feels the same as to know that him surrendering to Homeworld was very stressful and very scary, that it is hard to get over. He guessed that taking out Steven in the middle of nowhere to spend time with him was his way to deal with it and spending time away from Steven might be Connie's way.

Steven starts to worry because the last thing he did was send her a bunch of "dumb" texts. Greg points out that there is no cell service in the area. Steven then freaks out because Connie might have been sending texts and think that he was ignoring her. Insisting on finding cell service, everyone returns to the van and buckled in. They then take a bunch of crazy turns, all the way up to a cliff where his phone finally gets service and then a text message.To his disappointment, it was once again Ronaldo talking about his Princess Koala set he has now. Everyone crawled up to the top of the van to help comfort Steven, and Greg told him it might hurt, but give it some time and let it go. The episode ends with Steven, Greg, and the gems enjoying the stars above.

Characters

 * Steven
 * Greg Universe
 * Garnet
 * Amethyst
 * Pearl
 * Connie (mentioned)
 * Pink Diamond (mentioned; flashback)
 * Bismuth (flashback)
 * Two unknown Crystal Gems (flashback)
 * Ronaldo Fryman (pictured, voice only)

Objects

 * Steven's Phone

Locations

 * Gem Homeworld (mentioned)
 * Beach City
 * Cool Ranch (debut)

Instrumental Songs

 * TBA

Trivia

 * The title card of this episode, as well as the one from "Raising the Barn", use the credits font for the name of the episode. However, it changes back to the regular font in "Back to the Kindergarten".

Cultural References

 * To rent out Cool Ranch, Greg uses an app service based on Airbnb.
 * The name of the land, Cool Ranch, is also a type of flavor for Doritos.

Continuity

 * Greg mentions that he still has 9 million dollars left from the check Marty gave him in "Drop Beat Dad".
 * Garnet brings up the rebellion against Homeworld to Steven, to which he states that he already knows about it. A brief flashback appears in a similar style to "The Answer".
 * This also marks the first animated appearance of Pink Diamond.
 * The episode shows Pearl trying to talk about the Diamonds and Homeworld, although unwillingly covering up her own mouth, preventing her from telling Steven anything.

Errors

 * When Garnet said "Also, please continue," her right palm has Ruby's gem instead of Sapphire's.