Only Steven sees that the families aren’t that different from one another, and that’s why he pushes so hard for them to get along after the Gems are banned from Fish Stew Pizza. That, and one of Steven’s most humanistic qualities shined this week—his inability to not be accepted. He was really distraught about the Gems being banned, while they couldn’t care less, and by the end of the episode, had even forgotten about why Steven forced them to attend the beach party.
The biggest surprise came with the Gems. We’ve touched on their similarity to the Pizzas and the fact that they didn’t care about what others thought after they were banned from Fish Stew Pizza. On top of that, we saw them flip just a little. At the start of the episode, and most of the time, they were very mission oriented, but they softened for Steven and even changed from their usual uniforms. I actually liked the switch, although we aren’t likely to see it again. Amethyst with her Kelly Bundy ensemble, Garnet looking like Serena Williams in her almost-too-sexy wrap, and then Pearl in a demure outfit.
While the Gems and Mr. Pizza seemed to be on the fence about the party, it was nice to see them realize they weren’t so different after all once they got into that volleyball game. It was interesting that Steven was paired with the grandma, but the others went hand in hand. How many times have we said Garnet is definitely the father figure of the bunch…and then she was paired up with Mr. Pizza? Coincidence, I think not. It was a parallel that they pushed in this episode.