The Ocean disappears on the first day of summer and Beach City is in a panic.
Plot
Ocean Gem starts with the Gems angrily telling Steven that he is grounded for disobeying orders, when Greg shows up and tells them the ocean is missing. Mayor Dewey, angry and shouting loudly, starts to blame the Crystal Gems. He cries that no one will come to "Desert" city. Garnet tells it was Lapis Lazuli, and Pearl explains the current situation. Still upset, Mayor Dewey angrily tells them to fix it. Steven, while inside, prepares to find Lapis, as he acknowledges that the whole situation was his fault. Not wanting him to be alone, Connie, Greg, and Lion all want to join him on his quest, with the Gems adding in that they obviously have to go. Garnet also adds that Steven is ungrounded. As the Gems, Steven, Connie, Lion, and Greg are leaving, Mayor Dewey sadly starts a hose, and starts to pour the water into what used to be the ocean. While driving, Greg plays some music that Rose liked, and Garnet, greatly disliking it, rolls out of the car. She spends the rest of the trip riding on top of the van.
Before they arrive Steven questions why Lapis is fighting them. Pearl admits that not all Gems are good, and explains that the monsters they fight were gems that became corrupted and broken. When they arrived, they see a large tower of water that leads into the sky. Lapis, sensing them, yells that they shouldn't be there and should leave her alone, and Steven responds that they're not leaving unless they get the ocean back. Lapis then makes water doubles of Steven, then the Gems to fight them. During the battle, Greg gets his leg broken by the water double of Steven. Steven, telling Lapis to stop fighting them, activates his shield as his double attacks him, Greg, and Connie. The resulting vibration from the attack deflecting off of Steven's shield force the water doubles to dissipate. Then Steven, telling Lapis that he is coming up to see her, is led to the top of the tower to talk to Lapis.
Lapis explains that she does not believe in protecting earth and wants to go back home, but her gem is cracked, so she was ushering the ocean to stretch her to her home. Steven, remembering his healing powers, fixes her gem in return for the ocean. When her gem is fixed, Lapis' eyes are healed, and she gains wings in the form of water. Thanking him, Lapis flies off into space. suddenly, the tower falls and Steven plunges back to earth. Teaming up, Lion and Connie are able to catch him before he lands. As the Gems, Steven, Connie, and Greg return, the residents of Beach City congratulate him as their hero. Garnet acknowledges that Lapis made it off the planet, and Pearl to ask what does it mean for them. Garnet just says to wait and see. Steven says goodbye to Lapis Lazuli wherever she may be, as it stars out on a glimmering sparkle far away as the residents of Beach City are proud of Steven for saving the town and bringing back the water.
In the first scene inside the van, part of Pearl's outfit is black.
Near the end of the episode when Amethyst tells Steven "that's how you do it", Garnet and Lion disappear when they are supposed to be in the background.
When the population of Beach City lift Steven, other characters who were seen from far away disappear.
When Pearl is speaking with Garnet, Garnet's left shoulder is brown, when it is supposed to be black.
When Beach City's population celebrates with Steven, Mayor Bill Dewey lifts Steven on his shoulders, but in another scene Steven is on Lars shoulder.
When the episode first aired, Cartoon Network accidentally messed up the colors so that Lapis' water head wasn't very visible.
Cultural references
Steven tells Lapis, "No prob, Bob," a reference to Bob the Builder.
When Garnet jumps out of the van, she uses a roll similar to the "stop, drop, and roll" technique and a roll seen in many action films.
The Water Tower from Steven Universe and The Tower from Adventure Time
When the Water Gems summon their weapons, Amethyst says "Ruh-Oh," a reference to Scooby-Doo.
Continuity
Pearl said about pork chops and hot dogs that referring to the Greg's quote, "If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs" in the episode "Laser Light Cannon".
When Steven gets ready to find Lapis he has on his Cheeseburger Backpack from "Cheeseburger Backpack".
Amethyst shapeshifts into The Purple Puma again in order to fight her water duplicate.
When fighting her water clone, Pearl says "I hate fightning me," a reference to when she fought Holo-Pearl in "Steven the Swordfighter" .
"House Guest" is a continuation of this episode, because Greg injures his leg in this episode, and his van/home is destroyed.
This episode marks the second appearance of Steven's shield, the first being from "Gem Glow". However, this is the first time he's had control over summoning it.
This episode revealed that all monsters were once Gems that had become corrupted by some currently unknown source.
This episode reveals that it is likely that the Gems are from another planet.
This episode also shows that all of the Gems are able to use dual weapons, except Garnet, due to her already using two gauntlets.
The ending theme is played at the end of the episode when Steven returns.
Steven is shown to be able to bubble large things, as he bubbled Greg's van to shield him and his team-mates from drowning in the ocean.
It is shown that Amethyst's whip can stretch far distances and even lift heavy objects such as boulders.
It is once again shown that Pearl can drive a car/van. She was previously shown to be able to drive in "Arcade Mania".
In the title card for this episode you can see there are none of Steven's clothes being dried and the ocean has also disappeared, referencing the events in the episode.
Amethyst has a very warped grasp on the definition of grounding (and possibly other terms), as she was prepared to literally bury Steven in the sand.
This marks the first time Steven heals a gem with his spit.
