Buddy's Book

"Would anyone remember my name? Or will it be washed away by the ocean of time?"

"Buddy's Book" is the 3rd episode of the fourth season in Steven Universe, and is the 106th episode overall.

Official Synopsis
Steven visits the library with Connie and uncovers a long lost book.

Plot
Steven and Connie warp on Lion outside of Buddwick Public Library. Before heading inside, Connie compliments Lion's parking, which is a little crooked according to Steven. This is the first time Steven has ever been to a library, which is full of Steven's favorite thing: Books. Connie picks up three educational books with intent to get a head start in 7th grade. Steven asks why Connie does not look up information on her phone. When Connie did that, she wrote an "erroneous paper about raccoons having heat vision." Connie suggests to Steven to have a look around the library since there is stuff she is sure Steven will love.

Steven looks around the library and its categories until he trips on a wheeled ottoman and begins riding it. He sees a book underneath one of the shelves and picks it up. It is dusty, but after Steven blows it away, the cover of the book is blank regardless. Steven takes a look inside and sees sketches of various Gem structures. He runs back to Connie to show her what he found. It is Buddy Buddwick's journal. Steven recalls Jamie recreating a scenario about Buddy Buddwick helping Mayor Dewey discover Beach City, and Steven and Connie imagine Buddy as Jamie as they read through the book.

Buddy had helped found Beach City after he and Captain Dewey had escaped certain doom. Captain Dewey's legacy was "bronzed," Buddy wondered if he has marked his name on the world enough not to be washed away by the "ocean of time." He proceeds to achieve greatness in life as an explorer. During his voyage, he encounters the Gem Battlefield. He sketches the ruins and its architectural remains, such as the hammers and swords. It is where he meets Garnet and Pearl for the second time after they have saved Dewey and Buddy from a sea beast.

Buddy explains how he is exploring the unexplored to make a name for himself, but Pearl recommends traveling elsewhere away from the designated marks she draws on his map if Buddy wants to "keep his short life" as only the most seasoned explorers would dare to explore in those places. In any case, Buddy begins to explore the marked areas, starting at the Sky Spire, the Lunar Sea Spire, the Communication Hub, and then the Kindergarten. He feels a bit "off" about his journey until Amethyst comes onto the scene behind Buddy.

After reuniting briefly with her "fam", Amethyst shouts at Buddy why he is here. He shows Amethyst his accomplishments on the map, journeying to places unseen. However, from the looks of the Kindergarten, many people have been here, and since Amethyst's compatriots drew his map, he comes to realize he is merely a tourist rather than an explorer and adventurer and weeps over it. Amethyst suggest discovering the "Sand Castle" located in the arid environment known as the Desert. This brings back Buddy's enthusiasm and begins his travel to the Sand Castle.

Buddy has been wandering the desert for ten days and has not found the Sand Castle as of yet. He considers taking off his explorer's coat for some relief. However, if he does not wear it, people will see him as a normal, unimportant person. He keels over from the heat, fading into unconsciousness until he regains and becomes aware of a large figure resembling a giant woman standing in front of him. He also notices the seven lions surrounding him. He pleads not to be eaten, but the lions and Rose Quartz meant no harm.

Rose asks why a human would venture into the desert. Buddy rambles an explanation until he hands Rose his journal with his entries. He questions how he cannot find the Sand Castle. Rose notices this and points to the Sand Castle, which resembles a temple in the distance. Buddy is excited to record it but realizes Rose saw it first and how it doesn't count to him being an exceptional explorer. He wants himself to be eaten by one of the lions, but Rose lets Buddy know that while these places have been explored before, Buddy has recorded them so intimately that it makes these explored areas look new and special again.

Rose asks if Buddy wants to become an author, which he has become afterward ever since. He wrote so many books that he thought he could fill a library with them, and that is how Buddy Buddwick Library exists today and how it has left a mark on Beach City. Steven and Connie notice Buddy Buddwick's picture frame and how he looked and realized they had imagined him way off by imagining Jamie starring as Buddy. They preferred Jamie regardless and laugh it off.

Characters

 * Steven
 * Connie
 * Lion
 * Buddy Buddwick (flashback, pictured)
 * Jamie (mentioned, imagined as Buddy)
 * Garnet (flashback)
 * Amethyst (flashback)
 * Pearl (flashback)
 * Rose Quartz (flashback)
 * William Dewey (mentioned)
 * Nanefua Pizza (non-speaking)
 * Crystal Shrimp
 * Desert Glass (indirectly mentioned)
 * Bill Dewey (pictured)
 * Buck Dewey (pictured)

Objects

 * Buddy Buddwick's Journal
 * Injectors
 * Moon Goddess Statue (drawn)
 * Blue Diamond's Palanquin (drawn)

Locations

 * Buddwick Public Library
 * Beach City
 * Gem Battlefield
 * Sky Spire
 * Lunar Sea Spire
 * Communication Hub
 * Kindergarten
 * The Desert
 * Galaxy Warp (drawn)
 * Crystal Temple (drawn)
 * Pyramid Temple (drawn)
 * Blue Diamond's Palanquin (drawn)

Music

 * Rose's Theme
 * Strawberry Battlefield
 * The Heaven Beetle
 * Atop the Sea Spire

Trivia

 * The Crystal Temple in Buddy Buddwick's journal is a reused concept art drawing of the same location.
 * The librarian at the beginning of the episode is seen reading Passions of Xanxor.
 * The Gem Battlefield and the Pyramid Temple are revealed to be located on the real-world Scandinavian peninsula.
 * Rose pokes at the fourth wall by looking into the camera while telling Buddy about how he wrote his journal.
 * One of Rose's lions had a heart-shaped nose, while the rest had soft triangles.

Cultural References

 * Amethyst is seen at the Kindergarten wearing an 1890's Imperial Japanese Cavalry Uniform.
 * The two cars beside Lion resemble a 2006 Honda CR-V (left) and a 1997 Mazda MPV. (right)

Continuity

 * The Crystal Gems' forms during the 19th century, first seen in a painting in "So Many Birthdays", reappear.
 * However, Rose is not wearing the top seen in the painting.
 * The story presented in the journal is the post-voyage of the play in "Historical Friction".
 * The ruined structure illustrated as "The Palanquin" in Buddy's journal resembles Blue Diamond's throne as depicted in the flashback during "The Answer".

Errors

 * A possible error is Buddy's sense of time. In his narration, he says he has been combing the desert for ten days, but, when talking to Rose Quartz, he says he has been combing the desert for weeks, which two weeks maximum is 14 days.
 * The Journal says, "Captain Dewey and I, his first mate, Founded the land of Beach City." However, the narrator, Jamie, includes "Buddy," the name of the first mate in his sentence, to make, "his first mate Buddy."
 * Buddy includes a drawing of the inside of the Pyramid Temple despite not having the key that Garnet used to unlock the entrance.
 * Although previously seen being spelled "William Dewey," Buddy spells his name "William Duey" in his journal.
 * He also spells his last name as "Budwick" instead of the officially used "Buddwick" spelling.
 * When Amethyst tells Buddy to visit the desert she points a mark to somewhere in Germany but when the screen zooms in she is pointing to the exact location of the desert.

Videos
Buddy's Book