For so long Steven thought he had it all figured out and that included his problems. He believed his biggest issue was dealing with his, as he once called them, “complicated” feelings about his mom but now that we’re well past that? Steven isn’t sure who he is. He doesn’t know what he wants or desires. He has no direction and no place. He’s spent so long being what others needed and helping them he never took much time to help himself.
So that should mean Greg would be coming in for the rescue here, right? At first it seems that way, with a great little montage that brings back “Dear Old Dad” from early season one. Back then a little road trip was enough to fix anything. Now though Steven isn’t so easily amused and he isn’t able to shove his emotions down. Which makes the big moment of this episode hurt him all the more.
It turns out that Greg’s relationship with his own parents wasn’t too great. He felt stifled by them, locked into always doing the same thing. To Greg this was torture but Steven is completely enamored with the idea of any kind of structure. Normalcy, school, graduation, family. These are all things Steven had. While Greg hated the idea of meatloaf every week Steven would gladly have taken it over his fingers turning into cats.
Steven is able to keep all these feelings inside until Greg tries to show Steven his favorite song, the one that made him pick the name Greg Universe. For Greg this was a huge moment, a defining point in his life that set him down the path of a rock star. For Steven? It’s nothing. The song does nothing for him and that’s the core of the episode.
Greg means well. He’s not trying to be awful to Steven, he genuinely wants to give him advice he thinks will work… but Steven isn’t Greg. One person’s life advice doesn’t always work for the other. It’s not what Steven needs to hear and it pushes him past his limits. Where before he may have kept it inside, Steven unleashes his fury on Greg. He can’t believe Greg ran away from all this. Can’t believe he never let Steven have this. Steven hates he never got to go to school or the doctor. He even gives his dad the ultimate insult, “you’re just like mom!”