Lunar Sea Spire

GC13 and Hunter discuss the In Too Deep event, plus ask for more Steven Universe comics or a webcomic and a more consistent airing schedule (pretty please?). So, the bad news: we never found out what they really are (still, it made for a great commercial). On the plus side, Lapis is integrating well, and Peridot is still great and lovable. Let’s also never forget: Ruby! Ruby! Ruby. Ruby! Ruby. And Ruby! Plus, Super Watermelon Island was just a great fight. Steven’s not just a great coach, he’s a great inspirational speaker. His father does, after all, live in a van down by the car wash.

Sophia and GC13 discuss the last episode of the In Too Deep event: Hit the Diamond. The fans wanted a baseball game, and we got it! Rev up those Ruby jokes, but while they may not be the brightest Gems out there they can play baseball pretty well. They’re no match for Earl, Amy, Bob, and Sophie though (and Steven!). So, which Ruby was your favorite? Each comes with her own distinctive personality (and even two distinct outfits!). Pearls may be the fancy ones, but apparently the homeworld isn’t super strict about who gets to look a little different. Of course why the Rubies have such different personalities is a bit confusing, but hopefully we’ll see them later. Ruby and the Rubies!

GC13 and Hunter discuss what is certain to be the most precious episode of the In Too Deep event: Barn Mates. Let the wacky roommate comedy commence! In a different episode… So Lapis certainly has good reason to be angry. Poor Peridot is so new at this whole friendship thing (and not making people feel bad), so making friends was already going to be a tough proposition even without someone with such useful information as her target new buddy. It’s okay, because Lapis eventually comes around. Next stop: Jasper? We can certainly dream, but two out of three wouldn’t be bad either, right?

GC13 and Hunter discuss the first episode of Steven Universe where Lapis has actually been happy: Same Old World. There’s a flashback with lots of interesting goodies (including a Gem who has intrigued the fanbase and we hope to see again), as well as a bright future ahead for Lapis and Peridot (who may either become a farmer or simply work at the Big Donut). It also had some very interesting animation, some very big hair, and was the first in-show appearance of Steven’s new hot dog duffel bag from the online short. We’re calling this a huzzah!

GC13 and Sophia discuss the high-hype opening of the In Too Deep event: the two-parter of Super Watermelon Island and Gem Drill. Even if you had seen (most of) the Alexandrite vs Malachite fight thanks to Cartoon Network UK’s carelessness with posting episode clips, it was still quite a sight to behold. Besides, we didn’t get to see the fire breath until the episode aired. As for Gem Drill, that may have been the shortest two-hour journey ever portrayed in a cartoon, but since Peridot never leaves home without a blast cannon we got a wonderful joke about the controller for the Nintendo 64.

GC13, Sophia, and Hunter discuss, in a wonderful coincidence, the closest thing Steven Universe has to a Mother’s Day special: Lion 3: Straight to Video. It’s an adorable episode, with lots of wonderful cat humor coming from the interaction of Steven and Lion. Plus Pearl sometimes watches Steven sleep—and by sometimes we mean often. Steven finally learns a bit of what his mother is like, and Sadie appreciates her own mother a bit more. Us? We’re happy to have this early look at Barb’s character, which matches up with her behavior in Sadie’s Song. What is Lion, anyway? That’s an answer we might just get some day.

GC13 and Sophia discuss the first in a string of good old episodes: Watermelon Steven. (Not everybody likes it just for the assault against Ronaldo.) Steven is crowned king by a Greg who is surprisingly good at chomping through a watermelon rind, and Steven shows off the impressive watermelon seed spitting genes that his father gave him. Do you think it would be fair for him to enter contests? Seeing the new fighting techniques of the Crystal Gems was a treat, as was the sight of a three-dollar bill. Are you ready for new episodes to begin? There’s only one more week of retrospective looks at old episodes before we get new episodes.

GC13, Sophia, and Hunter start up the hype train for In Too Deep, four weeks of Steven (and not a bomb in sight). Choo choo! Be warned: if you have managed to keep away from the Cartoon Network UK leaks (no spoilers in the link), this is an episode all about those spoilers, and what they could mean combined with the (spoiler-laden) commercial that Cartoon Network is running to promote this set of five episodes. If you’re up to date on all of the spoilers though, then all aboard the hype train! Next stop, May 12th Station!

GC13 and Sophia discuss everyone’s favorite piece of Garnet fan fiction: Garnet’s Universe. It’s fun, it’s anime, and it’s over 9000. The word “filler” might come up a lot, but it doesn’t have to be a dirty word (and remember, foreshadowing comes in many forms). Plus, it has an epic training song. How do you remember who’s Hopper and who’s Hoppy? It might just be the great question of our time, but if you have trouble keeping who’s who straight then just remember that Garnet has trouble with their names too, and they’re her secret animal friends.

GC13 and Hunter discuss Alexandrite’s debut episode: Fusion Cuisine. It may not be the best episode ever, but it’s the one that gave us the term “mid-season pre-finale”, which has retroactively been applied to the Mirror Gem and Ocean Gem two-parter. Plus, Steven in a little bowtie. What’s not to love? Well, Pearl did develop an incredibly strong aversion to eating, thirty-two episodes into the series. That was a little weird. Maybe someone should close the gate, lest anything happen to the pie. Still, if this episode doesn’t get you hyped to go work on an apple farm, then what will?  

GC13 does his best to discuss Keep Beach City Weird. (Hey, at least it’s a Ronaldo episode, right?) There are some heavy things in this episode: the breaking of Ronaldo especially, but also Pearl’s observations on why humans form conspiracy theories. That doesn’t mean it’s all doom and gloom though: just because Ronaldo functions as a great stand-in for a lore fan doesn’t mean GC13 can’t wonder about what Ronaldo means for the lore. Plus, let’s not ever forget how right Ronaldo was: it’s the Great Diamond Authority who rule the Gems. How will our diplomat save us?

GC13 and Sophia put on their sunscreen and head to a tropical island to discuss Island Adventure (underneath the molten lava moon, of course). While Steven was being just as funny as always (if not more!), Lars and Sadie really were the stars of this episode. Lars may have been a sourpuss, but being trapped on a potentially dangerous island for days can tend to be quite a stressful experience. Is it possible that some day Lars and Sadie will be right for each other? Or will that day be as elusive as the explanation for how Steven was able to be away from the temple so long without the Crystal Gems thinking to check the island they had just visited for him?

GC13 and Hunter discuss another old favorite episode: Secret Team (definitely another episode worthy of a gold star). A fun episode showing how Amethyst, Steven, and Garnet used to be earlier in the series (less responsible, less mature, and less warm, respectively), Secret Team is a great episode to watch if you want to appreciate some character development. Imagine post-Reformed Amethyst being so concerned with “busting” Pearl. Of course poor Pearl was also willing to scold Steven as he threw himself under the bus (something a lot of fans took her to task for). She’s always had the willingness to be deceptive (even if apparently she’s not the best at it), hasn’t she?

GC13 and Sophia discuss another favorite: Space Race. Everybody loves Pearl, and this was a really good Pearl episode: there was so much emotion, it showed off Pearl’s qualities and her flaws so well, and she was reminded of how much she appreciates Steven. Just in case Mirror Gem and Ocean Gem left any doubt about whether Gems were from space, Space Race definitely settled the question. That’s enough to give it some nice lore points (so thanks again to Pearl, this time for the exposition). Finally, one more accolade for Pearl: she is a very good mechanic. So what if her ship couldn’t leave Earth? She built it in one day. Very impressive.

Ken and GC13 discuss House Guest, the episode that had the unfortunate duty of following Ocean Gem (let’s face it: not the easiest episode to follow). Coming after a big episode wasn’t House Guest‘s only problem though: it seems to have a more basic cartoon plot than most episodes of Steven Universe. Plus, apparently, people don’t respond well to Pearl wiping oil off of herself. It’s still nice to see some father-sun bonding though, which means that Greg is forgiven for interrupting Pearl’s history lesson. When Steven will get his healing spit back, nobody knows, but it sure was impactful while it lasted, wasn’t it?