I love your analysis here & I very much agree re: the latest Steven Universe arc. It's an ongoing issue -- much as I ADORE the show, I think it's a little too sunny/optimistic for my liking, at times when I'd rather it dug in deeper. Honestly the most compelling character arc of SU for me was how Lapis couldn't get over her fear and trauma and just up and left the planet.

I think one of the reasons emotional abuse doesn't get handled well in media is that it's not story-shaped. Doesn't really conform to a nice narrative with a bow on top. In my life, when I've fought for healthier relationships with people in my family, it just takes -- a long time, because of ingrained habits. There's a lot of mundane stuff to get through, two steps forward, three steps back, arguments in which people understand a little more next time and then mess up again and maybe apologize but a year later, they do it less often, because they're trying. Basically: like silveradept said, I saw a possible S6 narrative in that montage, but they skipped over it.