How i think Stevens return to home should have been
As soon as Steven returns home everyone is in tears to seeing he is okay. Connie, greg and the gems spend days and hours trying to find a way to rescue him and there he is. They're relieved to see him and then...
Well, then it's to be never talked about again. And that's where I have a problem with this storyline. You see, Steven, a 14 year old, was abducted by brutal tyrants and it wouldn't have taken long for the gems to also notice that Lars was also missing as well. Things should be talked about, things should be explained, Steven should be able to get reassurance from the gems like before.
The episode which came out afterwards just shocked me. While Steven was out in space fighting for his life, Connie just decides to ignore that and call him out on not letting her come. I feel that this shouldn't have happened. And I'd like to give you a taste of what i think should've happened instead. The episode following after Lars head should've been a recap/explanation episode and i say this because of a couple of reasons: 1) Steven universe noticeably derives slightly from Anime and in some anime, they normally do give recaps for everyone. 2) There was a massive Haitus at the time so in my opinion, it'd be good to give everyone a proper episode recap of the feelings surrounding the diamonds, lars, off colours, and Steven. and 3) because it would have been a perfect opportunity to explain to the gems about the situation going on.
I would've loved Steven to name the off colours and for: Garnet to blush at the thought of padparascha, Flourite and rhodonite, Amethyst to feel warm inside about the Rutiles and for pearl to admire that there are still good gems on homeworld. Steven could also mention lars as well and how he died. Pearl could then have a moment where she gets emotional about how Steven is protecting humans like Rose once did and then i would love for connie to point out how Lion is just like Lars. And while this is happening, Greg orders like 30 pizzas for everyone to eat.
Then while the gems are out with greg getting the pizza, connie might say something like: "Steven, i wish i could've helped you fight on homeworld" And Steven may of said something like "Connie it's okay, i was just trying to protect you" then connie is just like "But Steven! I can protect you, that's why i train so hard everyday"
then Connie would bursts into tears and hugs onto Steven tightly as she tells him how much him, as her best friend, means to him. It's an emotional climax. The gems and greg come back with a sack full of pizzas. The atmosphere is clean and Steven tells everyone how much they mean to him. Then in the next episode, we get mayor dewey. But a different type of mayor dewey episode. There's no conflict between connie and steven, and Sadie is a bit more generous with Steven. Pearl and Steven work hard to help mayor dewey but he loses and the lesson of the episode is that sometimes you can't always win.
Dewey felt happy about being helped and decided to throw a party for pearl and steven, which also shows how helping people can be beneficial for you as well. Next it's the lapis and peridot episode.
The gems know that peridot is living in the bathroom and Garnet says something like "Don't worry Steven, I have a feeling Lapis also feels sad about her barn mate not being near her"
The next episode is a gem vacation but instead of Steven feeling bad about connie, he feels responsible for Lars and Lapis and can't have fun till the gems sit down with him and comfort him and tell him that it's not his fault that these things happen and they also tell him how proud they are of him.
Next we get a peridot episode. Same stuff happens. Then a sadie episode and finally, Kevin's party. Kevin's party happens slightly differently. Steven is still invited and he only wants to come since his "best friend" will also be there.
Connie's reason for coming is because she was never invited to parties at school before. Steven and connie take this as a good opportunity to make new friends. Steven and Kevin get along and Connie and some of the older girls hang out. Connie and Steven are giggling about how much fun they're having when they see Kevin's mortified face as he lookd at an older goth girl walk in.
In the middle of the episode they fuse in order to talk to Kevins Ex. They both try and get Kevin and his ex back together because Kevin freaks out when he sees her. Kevin and his ex actually become friends thanks to Steven and Connie. And there, that's it. The other episodes stay the same. However i would also love for Uncle Andy to text Steven and ask if he's okay as well in the vacation one.
i just wanted there to be a wholesome episode where Steven is recognised as a Child who is adapting and overcoming his difficulties. And I wanted the gems and connie to help him do this, rather than making him feel uncomfortable.
