The episode begins with Pearl warping back to the Crystal Temple. Steven asks Pearl where she had been, to which she replies that she was looking for Peridot for a few days straight. Pearl says that she knows that everyone is disappointed in her, especially Garnet, and wants to make it up to her by showing she is trustworthy again. Garnet enters the house, and Pearl immediately tells her that she was just looking for Peridot. She asks Garnet for any new ideas on finding Peridot, but she ignores Pearl and heads to the warp pad, pausing when Pearl apologizes. Greg enters the house and enthusiastically asks if anyone wants to go on a road trip. After being met with confused and uncomfortable stares, Greg asks whether or not he came at a bad time, but Garnet tells him to continue. Greg wants to travel to the state Keystone because he bought car wash brushes through the internet for a very cheap price and wants to pick them up. He plans to stay in Keystone overnight in a motel, which gets Steven excited for a road trip, especially after mentioning that there will be a pool, free ice, and "The Best Diner in the World ". Garnet decides to come with them, even after Greg says the motel isn't actually as good as he says it is. Pearl tells Garnet that she will make sure Amethyst knows that Garnet and Steven are off to Keystone, but is silently cut off and is ignored once again.
During the car ride, Garnet sits in the back of the van, seeming visibly agitated. When they pull over to their room, Steven gets very excited and jumps on one of the beds. Greg panics and checks for bedbugs, as an irritated Garnet enters the room with everyone's belongings. Greg gets a message on his phone to pick up the tunnel brushes and asks Garnet to watch over the room. Her right hand starts to spasm, but she manages a thumbs-up. Greg then leaves to pick up the brushes. Steven begins bouncing on the bed and starts to read a brochure. Garnet begins to act strangely, and speaks to herself as though Ruby and Sapphire are talking to each other. The Ruby side of Garnet says that she doesn't feel like forgiving Pearl, then the Sapphire side says that she must, but Ruby yells if Sapphire is not listening to her, she could just go, forcing Garnet to unfuse. Ruby angrily tells Sapphire that Pearl tricked them into forming Sardonyx and that she feels used. Sapphire asserts that Ruby is taking this issue personally and then levitates onto the bed. Ruby yells that nothing is more personal to them than fusion. Sapphire simply says that the sooner they forgive Pearl, the better it will be for everyone. Unwittingly, Ruby begins to burn the floor and carpet, and storms out of the room, leaving burnt tracks behind her.
Steven leaves the room to swim in the pool and finds Ruby angrily pacing back and forth. He asks her if she wants to swim in the pool, but Ruby begins to rant about fusion. She is mad that Sapphire doesn't seem to care about what fusion truly is, and remarks that they are "always the bigger gem", but she doesn't want to let this particular issue slide, whereas Sapphire does. Steven jumps into the pool, and implores Ruby to join him. Ruby walks into the pool, sinking to the bottom while still pacing and incoherently ranting about the issue. She quickly heats up the water, prompting Steven to quickly exit the pool as it begins to boil.
Steven returns to their room only to see that the room is frozen and blue. Steven asks if Sapphire is fine, and she replies that she is, but as she speaks, she generates visible frost on the wall behind her. Steven turns on the television, and asks if Sapphire can predict which channel he will enjoy the most, Sapphire responds with "43, but there's not much on". The room gets colder, and Steven curls up in the blanket on his bed. He begins to ask Sapphire a question, but is interrupted by her saying that even if she does talk to Ruby, she won't listen. Steven seems puzzled, and Sapphire clarifies that she knows Steven will ask her that she should talk to Ruby. He says that Ruby seems very upset, but Sapphire merely asserts that this is irrelevant, and that Ruby can't stay mad at Pearl and herself forever. She states that she is confident that eventually Ruby will come back and say that she was right, as confirmed by her future vision. Steven says that he will go to the bathroom, but finds that the toilet is frozen and leaves the room.
Greg returns to the motel with his tunnel brushes and some pizza. He asks why Steven is outside in his bathing suit and inquires where Garnet is. He opens the door to his room to see it frozen, and Sapphire obscurely tells him, "He's not going to like that it's square". Greg realizes that Garnet has split, and asks where "the other one" (referring to Ruby) is. Steven points to Ruby, who is pacing in the steaming remnants of the pool. Greg knows that there is a big problem, since Garnet split up, but remains optimistic about sharing dinner with Steven and opens a box of square pizza, which appalls Steven. Steven contemplates why Ruby and Sapphire simply can't make up, and Greg explains that "sometimes people who love each other can hurt each other's feelings without meaning to." He suggests that they give the two Gems some space to work it out. Steven disagrees that it would be better if they just talked to each other, but Greg is confident that all of this will be over in the morning when they go to "The Best Diner in the World".
The next morning, the four sit at the diner and get their breakfast. Greg wonders why Ruby and Sapphire are not eating, and Steven reminds him that Gems don't need to eat. Greg replies that Garnet likes to eat sometimes, to which Ruby angrily exclaims, "well Garnet isn't here". Greg tries to lighten the mood by saying that this is, indeed, the "best diner in the world", but Ruby seems to grow more and more agitated, shaking the table. Sapphire calmly tells her that she is shaking the table, and Ruby yells that she is surprised that Sapphire is feeling anything at all. Sapphire says that she doesn't need to feel, she sees. Ruby gets more agitated at the fact that Sapphire can see everything perfectly and shakes the table enough to launch Steven and Greg's breakfast plates into the air. Sapphire explains to them that Ruby's rage is temporary, and she will burn herself out soon. Ruby loudly defies her, and asserts that she is "an eternal flame". She summons her weapon and overturns the table. Steven begins to tear up, and Greg tries to calm him down by saying that they can still save their breakfast. Steven, visibly shaken and upset, drops his plate on the floor, and leaves the diner.
Ruby and Sapphire rush to Steven outside to talk to him, but he stops them. Steven angrily explains that he was excited that Garnet wanted to come with them on the trip to Keystone because he thought she wanted to have fun, but that the trip is no different from home, which he complains has been "awful." Ruby and Sapphire's constant quarreling leads him to conclude that Steven himself is the problem. Ruby tries to comfort him and says that it's all their own fault, and Sapphire realizes why they made Steven feel as though he was at fault. She realizes that she was too focused on the future where everything had already been resolved and had ignored how they felt in the present. She begins to cry and understands why Ruby thinks she doesn't care about fusion. Ruby comforts her by saying that it is her own fault and admits that she only wanted to express her rage rather than find a solution, apologizes, and lifts Sapphire's hair to reveal one eye. They make up and Ruby picks Sapphire up and kisses her all over. Steven, clearly embarrassed, covers his eyes. Greg comes to Steven and says that he paid for everything and is now ready to leave for home. Ruby and Sapphire fuse, and Garnet says that they won't leave until they get the free ice.
The trio return to the beach house to see Pearl and Amethyst quietly discussing something. When Garnet walks in, Pearl asks her how she is, to which Garnet replies, "Not now". Pearl is audibly surprised that Garnet is speaking to her again, in any way. Greg says that this was truly a great trip, and when Steven asks if they can go on another trip some day, Greg permits that they can, but just not to that diner. The star iris closes over Greg's face as he sighs, "Oh boy".
This episode is symbolized in the promo art for the 3rd StevenBomb with a breakfast platter in the form of a smiling face.
This breakfast platter was shown to be the gang's breakfast at "The Best Diner in the World".
Only Sapphire had a straight-faced breakfast platter.
Sapphire is revealed to have one eye.
Amethyst appears in this episode, but has no lines.
Keystone is not an actual state outside of the show, but is the nickname for the real-life state of Pennsylvania. The image on the brochure Greg has is identical to the shape of the real world Pennsylvania.
This episode revealed that even though it has never been shown in the series, Garnet has accepted eating in the past. It is unknown, however, if she is still open to this, though in the episode "Secret Team", Garnet was drinking something in the Fish Stew Pizza to indulge Steven.
It is revealed that Steven knew that Sapphire was the Gem with future vision rather than Ruby, as he does not hesitate to ask her to use future vision.
The episode alludes to Steven being a keystone species. A species that has a unique and crucial role in maintaining a community or ecosystem. Without it, the ecosystem or community would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether.
It is revealed in this episode that Ruby and Sapphire have the ability of thermo-regulation (to raise or lower temperature).
Controversy
Shortly after the episode had aired, Google reviews for an actual Keystone Motel located in St. Pete Beach, Florida were written by fans of the show. The dishonest reviews made references to the episode, such as complaining about how "[their] toilet was frozen", how their pizza was square-shaped, or how the pool had been completely evaporated during their stay. This activity was brought to the attention of the Steven Universe crew. Ian Jones-Quartey and Matt Burnett both appealed to the fans when they were asked about the ongoing incident. Burnett responded by calling fans out on Twitter, and stating that "...messing with some people's livelihood isn't funny".[4] Jones-Quartey, however, was less critical, stating on Twitter that "they probably shouldn't be doing that... but... [he] won't deny that it's funny".[5] There has been many appeals from fans since the incident to remove any reviews from Google that may have been made by others, and attempts made by fans to contact the motel to apologize.
Cultural References
The Best Diner in the World is based on an 80's-styled diner.
The square pizza may be a reference to Pizza Hut and several other restaurants making square pizzas.
In northeast Pennsylvania, the popular Old Forge style pizza is referred to as "square pizza" and often topped with American cheese. Pizzas are called "trays" instead of pies, and they are divided into "cuts" rather than slices as well. When at some pizzerias in the region of Scranton, mostly those that advertise it or are in the small town of Old Forge, asking for a square pizza usually means you want an Old Forge style pizza instead of a more ubiquitous Neapolitan or Chicago pan pizza.
When Steven asked Sapphire what channel he wanted to watch to, Sapphire responded with "43, but there's not much on". Channel 43 is a channel listing for the standard definition version of Nickelodeon in Pennsylvania.[6]
Greg says "I'm off to see a man about a tunnel brush", a play on the expression "see a man about a dog [or horse]", a euphemism that originally referred to placing bets on races and later became used to excuse oneself from a conversation without divulging the true reason.
When Greg says, "If I'm not back [soon], call the police," it could be a reference to the Keystone Kops, stars of a series of popular shorts in the silent-movie era, partly because they are in the state of Keystone.
Greg's line "Hey, Garnet, I know I'm talking this place up, but... it ain't exactly the Ritz", may be a reference to The Ritz a 5-star hotel in London.
In the Brazilian dub of the episode, Greg mentions a real life place called Copacabana Palace.
Continuity
When Steven mentions the feeling of the car brushes on his fur, he is referencing going through the car wash during his out of control shape shifting in the episode "Cat Fingers".
Garnet (and, to an extent, Ruby and Sapphire) still show strong emotion towards the misuse of fusion, like in "Keeping It Together".
Garnet is still angry at Pearl from the previous episode. She is unwilling to forgive, or even speak to her, even though Pearl has been away from the base in search of Peridot and her own (hoped for) redemption.
Although Ruby showed her anger, Sapphire appeared to stay calm or conceal her anger.
Garnet's quote on "your old names" being like "names for your left arm and your right" from "Keeping it Together" is subtly referenced, when Garnet's hands are shaking uncontrollably, before Greg left.
Greg's comment about breakfast bringing people together is a callback to one of Steven's lines in "Together Breakfast".
Upon seeing Ruby and Sapphire, Greg implies that he has dealt with one of Garnet's "break ups" in the past.
In "Joy Ride", Steven earnestly stated, "I don't have anything against squares. I like all basic shapes." But in this episode, when Greg shows him the square pizza he exclaims, "Square pizza?! What's wrong with this crazy state?!"
It is possible that Steven freaked out because he was already a little stressed out because of Ruby and Sapphire's conflict.
Errors
When Greg and Steven first enter their motel room, the bathroom door is open. In the next shot, it's closed. After Greg checks for bedbugs, the door is open again.
When Greg pulls up to the motel, they pull in with the front of the van facing the door. When the door is opened, the back is showing and is open.
While sitting on the bed, Garnet's gem is pictured on the wrong hand; Ruby's square-cut gem is on her right hand when it should be on her left.
When Garnet separates, Ruby lands on the left and Sapphire on the right. According to the proper placement of their gems, these positions should be switched.
Ruby was burning the orange round carpet beneath her, but however when she walked out of the motel room the burn marks weren't on the round orange carpet but only on the gray carpet.
Right as Steven says that Ruby made a "warm spot" in the pool, and as she faced the viewers while stretching her arms up, her gem is missing.
When Sapphire's ice appears on the walls, it is located on the headboard of the bed in the next shot.
When Steven tells Greg where Ruby is, they are at the front of the van, but in the next shot, they are in the back.
When Ruby looks at her plate when the waiter gave them their breakfast, her gem is missing.
When Ruby starts shaking the table in the diner, the salt and pepper shakers fall over. But as soon as she stops, they stand right back up again.
When Garnet leaves the beach house, the door opens from the right, but when they come back the door opens from the other side.
