^ omg I'm not the only one.
Yep, it has. I'd say sometime after the whole
Cluster arc getting resolved so fast and easily. To me, that marks the turning point because I feel like a lot of interesting plotamajigs since then have been ignored or rushed to resolve in the same way, namely Bismuth and how quickly Steven and Greg got back from the zoo. And it's just stupid and unrealistic how the CGs have barely mentioned the Cluster since or shown worry or apprehension about it. It feels like it was built up for like a whole season and then they just tossed it away!
Oh yeah and that's pretty much where the character development stopped. I mean, Lapis got a bit afterwards but we've barely seen her and it feels like she's shoved in, and I feel like Peridot's actually become super Flanderised, and both are totally irrelevant now.
Don't get me wrong, I don't want them spending seasons on all the plot threads or something, but it feels like they're nothing when they're over this quick and resolved as easily as they are. This show keeps darting in and out of developing its plot and devoting time to filler now, they rarely tie together, and the filler episodes lately haven't had good development for any of the CGs. It sucks.
Which is a shame, because it's still a good show with some wonderful ideas. I just feel like this show isn't building up anything any more and the interesting character development for the main characters is done. I can't help but feel a lot of it is rushed these days and there are too many unexplored ideas it keeps tossing at us and leaving behind and I don't understand why. It doesn't feel like it's building up those ideas purposefully, it feels like they're just there and forgotten... In other words, it doesn't feel like this show's story is as carefully planned as it should be.
Also yeah the animation really has gone downhill.
With all that said, I thought the last bomb was good, since it had a filler episode that was entertaining in its own right but ended with a meaningful cliffhanger the rest of the bomb followed up on.
And Aquamarine was a riot.
I'm just worried the whole twist at the end of the bomb will get resolved in the second or third episode of the next season or something... When major problems all get resolved that fast and new characters are introduced and disappear that fast, so often, they seriously just lose their impact and feel... Monster-of-the-week-ish.
TL ; DR It's still good but peaked with Season 2, where all the character developments were coming to a crux and were more major and meaningful, and it had a lot less unused ideas and unresolved/rushed/pointless plot threads hanging around.
I have to agree. For me it went downhill since the Malachite arc ended becuase it has been focusing less on the main 6 gems. We still need Pearl's & Amethyst's backstories, more on Lapis and practically everything on Jasper. I always loved how it focused on the characters but now they're basically irrelevant and have no development whatsoever.