Lunar Sea Spire

Sophia and GC13 do a second hype/speculation episode in a row, this time talking about #StevenBomb4 which will be starting on January 4 (not much longer to go…). We’re ready for backstory, we’re ready for feels, and you know we’re ready for the hiatus to be over. There’s a good chance that we’ll get the first of our three long stories as the very first episode, though we’re not sure if the second episode will let us know how old Steven is or not… If you haven’t already, make sure to head to our Tumblr account and send us your trivia questions for next week’s trivia episode. GC13 will be asking, and the others will be answering.

GC13 and Sophia discuss the full list of season-two episodes Cartoon Network posted online a while back. This is full-on speculation mode; we have so much to look forward to in 2016 when Steven Universe begins premiering new episodes again. Perhaps the episode titles most prone to hype are the ones that sound like they pertain to Amethyst: The Kindergarten Kid, Crack the Whip, and Steven vs Amethyst (and maybe even Gem Hunt?). If taken at face value, those episode titles imply some really heavy stuff inbound. Of course there’s one thing we know for sure: Tiger Millionaire is making a triumphant return! That it took this long is of course terrible, but it’s definitely better to see him late than never. FAN ALERT! Our episode for the 28th will be a trivia episode! Do you have any Steven Universe trivia questions you’d like GC13 to quiz the others on? Submit a question to our Tumblr account, either as a question (“Tell us what’s on your mind”) or as fan mail. We look forward to matching our knowledge of the show against your questions!

Ken, GC13, and Sophia are joined by online columnist Eric Thurm (who you most likely know from his AV Club reviews of Steven Universe episodes). Of course everyone has to talk about their favorite songs. Yes, it’s always a tough question (so many to choose from!), but you get your answers.

GC13, Sophia, and Hunter discuss the various online shorts for Steven Universe: the extended theme, the three Classroom Gems shorts (What Are Gems, How Are Gems Made, and Fusion), the Hot Dog Duffel Bag unboxing video, and Lion! Which short was your favorite? How informative do you find the Classroom Gems to be? Can you answer any of the questions we can’t? If you want to support James Roach (the creator of the track we use for our intro and outro) on Patreon, then here’s the link.

GC13, Sophia, and Hunter come back strong with an episode about the eight issues of the Steven Universe comic series, plus the Greg Universe special. While the comic series is definitely different than the show, the comics are fun to read. Plus, they are canon until the show contradicts them, which has so far only happened with regard to the existence of Halloween—and even that was only contradicted on Twitter by Mr. Burnett. The short comics included in each issue are also fantastic, with far too many to be able to shout of all of the beloved ones (still, no one ever said “no” to some extra Opal, least of all Steven). All in all, color us happy to be getting a graphic novel and a new mini-series soon!

Ken tries to save the day while GC13, Sophia, and Hunter talk about just about anything but Rose’s Room. There’s not even much to summarize about this episode. It just… Is. Talk to us on our Tumblr account.

Ken, GC13, and Sophia discuss Beach Party (twice). We hope you’re ready, because it’s Kofi time! It’s actually not just Kofi time, it’s finally Nanafua time too. As you may have heard, Nanafua was based off of Mr. Jones-Quartey’s grandmother, Theodosia Okoh, famous for designing the flag of Ghana. Steven’s wardrobe expanded in this episode, adding in the tank top he wore to the eponymous beach party. He may not know where his clothes from, but we’re just impressed that Greg had so many of his shirts stocked in child sizes. He also took the lead for the first time in this episode, using his people skills to determine who should be partnered with who to best patch things up with the Pizza family.

GC13, Ken, and Hunter discuss Lion 2: The Movie, and give a special shout-out to the track Aivi and Surasshu made for the Google 2015 Halloween doodle game. So, what is the deal with Lion? Nobody knows. It’s the big mystery of the show, and unlike a lot of stuff doesn’t seem to have any clues that can help us solve it. Not only is it too soon to talk about Ocean Town, but it looks like it’s too soon to learn the secret origin of Lion. There’s more shouting out going on! Now that asks and fan mail are open on our Tumblr account there is another way for you to get in touch with us! Plus, shout-out to the Crystal Gem Cast and their new home.

GC13, Ken, and Sophia deal with the hiatus blues by talking about the sixteenth episode of the series: Steven the Sword Fighter. It was the episode that introduced the concept of Gems regenerating to us, and since we’ve seen Reformed (forty-one episodes later) we definitely know that we got the wrong idea about how long reformation should normally take a Gem. Talking about it more, there’s really a whole lot we still don’t know. Heck, we don’t even know whether Lonely Blade is a live action series or if it’s animated. Plus, Asks are now open on our Tumblr page, so you have another way to get into contact with us!

Ken, GC13, and Hunter see Steven Universe into the year-end break with a discussion of the latest episode: Too Far. It’s quite interesting to learn more about the homeworld, but it’s also great to learn that once again the fans were right: Amethyst’s body was meant to look a lot like Jasper’s, but she looks the way she does because she’s an overcooked runt. Play your preferred celebratory sound effect now. Steven, Pearl, and now Amethyst have got their field trip with Peridot, so when will it be Garnet’s turn? Sure, Steven’s the only one who seems to have enjoyed his field trip, but character development is important! Also note that while we mention that Steven is airing re-runs at 7:30 PM, it was moved to 4:30 PM. It will take a while before guide sites know, so just watch out!

Sophia, Ken, GC13, and Hunter continue to conduct the Peridemption train and discuss Back to the Barn and the huge lore drop about Pearls (next stop, Pink Diamond Station!). This was one of those big episodes. Of course everyone is excited about the confirmation of the Servant Pearl Theory, but we’re building robots now. Even if the episode was a bit predictable, Peridot learned an important lesson that is keeping her on track for joining the team full-time. We can’t let all of the thrill of learning about homeworld distract from the fact that Steven Universe takes place in an alternate history: there are no holidays (that link to Mr. Burnett’s tweet is for when he un-protects his account), and the Americas were also probably settled much later. The fourth-quarter break is almost upon us. Make sure not to miss Too Far on Thursday, because it will be the last episode for at least a little while.

Ken, GC13, Sophia, and Dakota, back from his break for an episode, get very excited to talk about When it Rains. The Peridemption train is rolling! At this point everyone will have their heart broken should something happen to keep Peridot from permanently joining the team, since that scene of her stepping into the rain seemed pretty conclusive. She’ll be a great asset for lore-loving fans, with her homeworld mindset and awareness of recent events (though of course we need Jasper to join as well). The Cluster continues to loom over the series, and the destruction it can cause has finally been revealed. Let’s just hope that we never see its physical form, so that destruction never becomes a reality—on Earth, anyway.

GC13, Ken, Sophia, and Hunter do a little bit of late-night recording to discuss the very exciting new episode of Steven Universe: Catch and Release. Who could fail to be thrilled by the prospect of Peridot becoming Green Mom? Nobody, not even a heartless podcaster who doesn’t love Centipeetle. There’s just so much to wonder about: the form the Cluster will take, the fate of Peridot’s limb enhancers, and why Peridot is so adorable and smol! The Crystal Gems look awesome, and Peridot is one playful kitty. A special shoutout to some fan art: MisterGrey’s fan art of our Pearl and some homeworld Pearls was mentioned in this episode of the podcast, so check it out. Aren’t they all just adorbable?

Sophia, Ken, and GC13 (and Hunter!) discuss the new episode and pop music factory: Sadie’s Song. How many times have you listened to Haven’t You Noticed (I’m a Star)? This makes two episodes in a row where a character’s mother has featured prominently, so maybe we’ve finally fixed Beach City’s dearth of mothers. We also finally got a Sadie episode without Lars as an important character! Of course the episode had to have a surprise twist to resolve the tension built up throughout the episode, so we got Steven singing while wearing Sadie’s outfit; Lars, not content to be anonymous, decided to be the only person at the concert not to pay attention. The Internet paid more than enough attention to make up for him though.

GC13, Ken, and Sophia discuss the episode that ended the post-#StevenBomb3 break: Nightmare Hospital. Ms. Molisee and Mr. Villeco definitely flexed their spooky-writing muscles when making this episode! We can’t be sure that the cause for Earth’s impending expiration was revealed with this episode, but the fusion clusters certainly seem like they could do the job in sufficient numbers. Of course Connie and Steven definitely showed that their training was paying off, with Connie’s sword skills really shining. Dr. Maheswaran was perplexing in this episode: on one hand her actions towards her “patients” obviously made sense in her world (everyone else at her hospital acted the same), but it’s still baffling to see for a viewer who sees how obviously strange the fusion clusters are. We’re on Tumblr now, so make sure to check us out and follow us!