One of the great things about the family dynamic of Steven Universe is that each of the Gems can function in pretty much any age range in any given episode—because they’re ageless and relatively elastic, they can be overprotective mothers, caring and/or bratty sisters, cool aunts, or even just friends. Each of these roles reveals a different facet of the Gems, who are complex enough characters to pull off this balancing act. Still, Amethyst has sort of settled in as the temple’s resident angsty teen, and “Reformed” is the most sustained look yet at what that will entail.
Steven manages to set off Amethyst by asking her a series of questions in an online quiz to determine which Crying Breakfast Friend she is—an easy tactic, but also one that allows the contrast between her answers and her actions (eating a massive, explosive sandwich that’s just missing motor oil) to say a lot about where her head is at. (Also, it gives us the names of several Crying Breakfast Friends, the most important show-within-a-show to exist since Single Female Lawyer.) In particular, she’s clearly insecure and uncomfortable in her own Gem skin, especially in relation to the perfectionist Pearl and super-powerful, kickass Garnet.
As much as the Gems have proved themselves able to come together to overcome obstacles or talk about their problems occasionally (in particular, Amethyst and Pearl forming Opal in “The Return”), a single episode shouldn’t be enough to totally resolve those issues—these are complicated, ageless aliens. So the process of perpetual regeneration (reformation?) Amethyst goes through during most of this episode is an effective metaphor for someone trying to reinvent themselves. If you were given the ability to fashion a new body, how would you change it? Amethyst literally gets that opportunity when a creature (The Slinker, as Steven calls it) perpetually “poofs” her, and uses it to come back—too soon—first with four feet, then as a gross facsimile of Pearl, then a misshapen “strongwoman” Amethyst before taking her time on a final, permanent-for-now form (that adds another shoulder strap_.
But with such a strong idea, the execution in “Reformed” feels a bit weaker than the past few episodes. Even though it’s giving us much-needed Gem time, it doesn’t quite hit any new character notes, or reframe existing ones in interesting ways. We know that Amethyst has an inferiority complex and authority issues when it comes to Pearl, at least some of which stem from her status as a newer, initially evil Gem. We know that she looks up to Garnet but occasionally lashes out at the more powerful team leader. Everything is just a tad broad here, especially when the madcap elements of Steven, Garnet, and Amethyst chasing The Slinker don’t quite cohere into something as beautifully silly as “Love Letters” and the emotional elements don’t hit quite as hard as they did back in “On The Run.”