I'm not sure if these are intentional or not? On Adventure Time when you see these kinds of weird movements or scenes, it's just the style. I haven't gotten a good grasp of the show yet, so I can't tell if these were intentional or not.
Btw, this was my favorite episode, right next to the first. That van song got me on the first episode. I like the Cheeseburger Backpack episode, because of the Mr. Queasy doll. That dolls quote's were so funny.
The weird drawings are 100% intentional, as I said that episode is boarded by Ian and those are his drawings on the screen. Also I don't know if you were trying to point out disappearing/reappearing eyebrows as a flaw but that's a super old cartooning thing where they appear as needed.
I was exited for this show but so far nothing makes sense and there is no attempt at character progression.
I honestly dont know what the show is about.
Steven is the main character who is the son of a Gem. But he cant use his powers yet, and when he does its either by accident or random luck. We are how many episodes in and there is no attempt to describe his character. Every episode has absolutely nothing to do with nothing; Its almost like Adventure Time randomness but we aren't learning anything about whats going on.
Why is he with the Gems, why are the Gems on earth, what do they actually do, hell what are Gems exactly? Backstory, plot, motivations, reasoning, ya gotta give me something other than fighting anonymous enemy's and situations that develop into nothing that are there just to make a cartoon episode.
They've stated that the first half of this season was purely to lay down the foundation for all of that. If you actually think they've done nothing to describe Steven's character we might be watching different shows because it's been incredibly clear since the Pilot who he is and what his motivations are. And we have plenty of answers to your questions already.
Q: Are Steven's powers activated randomly?
A: No, it's strongly hinted at in Cookie Cat that when Steven feels love/togetherness from his team he can access his Gem ability. His other powers need to be learned, he's a young and inexperienced kid and his mentors are typically too busy to be hassled with teaching him, or simply don't understand him well enough to give him proper advice.
Q: Why is Steven with the Gems?
A: His mother was their leader, and when he was born she gave up her life force for his. He has a gem, much like his mother's, so even though he is young he is still a Crystal Gem and technically part of their team.
Q: Why are the gems on Earth?
A: They're here because they're guardians of the Crystal Realm and when things come through into our world they fight them to protect us. This is kind of a pointless question though, they're here because they're here. Sailor Moon was on Earth because if she wasn't there'd be no story. Why is there running water and fire in SpongeBob, Regular Show clearly takes place on Earth but there are talking animals and other inanimate objects which are never explained, etc Sometimes you just have to let that kind of thing go as part of the world the show takes place in, not everything is a deep mystery (though I'm sure they'll actually answer this as the show progresses)
Q: What do they actually do?
A: They protect us from otherworldly creatures that come in from the Crystal Realm or tears in time/space/reality.
Q: What are the Gems exactly?
A: They're a race of people from another world that obviously has some kind of connection to Earth. It would appear the Crystal Gems are the last of that race, and from the glimpses of the Crystal Realm we've seen, their world is old and fragile, often in a state of decay or ruin.
The season is likely like every other CN show, and there will be 26 12-minute episodes. We've seen 8 of them. All these questions will be much further explained as the show goes on. It's barely even started. I don't know how you can say there's no character progression when we're less than 1/3rd of the way into the first season.
Since the Pilot, Steven and the Gems have learned what his Crystal Power is, he's learned he can transform his body, and that he can create a bubble orb shield. That's 3 out of 8 episodes dealing with him learning about his powers, two more episodes involve him actually going on missions with the Gems into the Crystal Realm and helping them solve the problem, and one episode that's backstory about his mom, dad, and the Gems. So 6 of the 8 episodes we've seen have been character or story progression.
