Spoiler Doesn't Barn Mates come after this episode? If the clip we saw with Peridot and Lapis is from Barn Mates, Lapis looks tired and angry and she is nonverbal. She doesn't look or act like the Lapis we see here at all. I have a bad feeling about this episode, that it's going to be another So Many Birthdays or Steven and the Stevens where it starts out cute and harmless but it has a horrible twist that rips out your heart at the end. the entire sequence is cute, but to me it also feels wrong and unnatural on a visceral level. Either that's some kind of fantasy seqeunce, or this episode is going to end badly.
Spoiler my first, terrible thought was her trying to be like, see we can be fine on our own and free! crystal gems not needed!
Spoiler Hmm. It could be argued that we've seen Lapis Lazuli have a possessive streak, given, uh, Malachite.... It's weird--I think I'd feel much more more excited at the prospect of Lapis actually joining/interacting with the Crystal Gems team if I hadn't been spoiled months ago that it was going to happen. OTOH, I'm looking forward to finding out just how may headcanons and fan interpretations of her get smashed and need rearranging. Our understanding of Peridot has changed so much since Marble Madness and Warp Tour.... Unlike Lapis, we've had a lot more exposure to Peridot (Chille Tid versus, what? Keeping It Together, Cry for Help, Friend Ship....the whole rest of the 'Peridot's changing allegiances' arc.) after Jailbreak, so we've gotten to see much more of Peri's character and her gradual development. Actually--flashback discussion time. I was one of the many people who started watching the show because they'd heard about what an incredible episode Jailbreak was, and heard what an amazing song 'Made of Love' is. What was common interpretation/judgement of Peridot's character, before then?
before then i mostly thought she'd just be an annoying reoccurring antagonist and didn't really think much on it tbh
i loved her and her triangle hair. plus she was a New Gem so i was very excited. i think most people thought she was a lot more cool and together before jailbreak.
Consensus was generally 'either she's going to be Basically Zim or she's going to be a calculating evil mastermind a la Lex Luthor' and there wasn't a huge amount of agreement one way or another. People definitely though she was going to be a worse person than she turned out to be though, which seems like A Thing for this show.
Given how strongly interpretations of Lapis Lazuli can skew towards Precious Blue Cinnamon, but also towards Horrible Abuser, I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of an ambiguous result we get. Spoiler: finally weak enough to give in and watch spoiler clips I find the contrast between, say, 'Lapis alone with Steven--fluffy hair, happy, flying,' and 'Lapis interacting with Peridot and the rest in Barn Mates--frazzled sticky hair, flat expression, 300% done with everything' entertaining.
Spoiler: hydra cares not for facts, makes up junk he thinks is cute for cuteness' sake P-dot says riding along with Jasp was tiring, and I immediately decided to imagine Jasper, Actual Cat. Jasper who silently trails P-dot from room to room, always ignoring her and doing her own thing. P-dot tries to strike up conversations and gets roughly nothing, gets irritable and snappish. Expects to earn more than being pointedly ignored for the next few days, but. Jasp flounces off dramatically when she's insulted, but comes back later pretending it never happened. P can't even begin to guess what the fuck she's up to. "Diamonds damn you, WHAT DO YOU WANT?!??" When Jasp gets absorbed into the Momsquad, she spends hours rearanging the cubords while Stevo and P play videa games. When they go down to the beach with Connie, J very mysteriously has business with a patch of sand roughly 100 ft away, don't mind her. They go on a boat ride, and find Jasp waiting back at the docks,glaring at the ocean. Peri is fucking infuriated.
Yeah, I definitely think I'd be more excited without those spoilers... Spoiler Anyways, Lapis and Steven flying off to go see New York or whatever doesn't seem too much different than Amethyst and Steven going on the run. Though in that case Amethyst is a bit more trustworthy to the Gems on account of being one. But there's precedent for Steven and a Gem going off on a sightseeing adventure and having bondingtimes so I think it'll be OK in the end.
