Episodes 1-2 Episodes 3-4 Episodes 5-6 Episodes 7-8 Episodes 9-10 Episodes 11-12 Episodes 13-14 Episodes 15-16 Episodes 17-18
Hey guys! Back with episodes 19-20. I’m going to try to get these out when the new episode isn’t airing, so either a few hours before or after it. I guess you guys will already know, but I don’t yet, so… There’s that. Also, please keep your discussion spoiler free! I’m trying to go into this show with as little knowledge about it beforehand as possible, so as to keep my reactions as, well, reactionary as they can be! Anyways, let’s get into the episode!

Episode 19- Rose’s Room

A new room is unlocked in the Temple that grants Steven's every wish, but such power threatens to teach him a lesson.
Written and Storyboarded by Joe Johnston and Jeff Liu

• A-already? Didn’t we just get one of these? Oh man.
  
• Also, Rose’s room? Are we going to learn more about Rose? Watch this episode be something entirely different.
  
• Creamed corn? What kind of terrible parent even buys that for their child?!
  
• I tried to find a man vs food video about corn but not even Adam Richman eats creamed corn. When Adam Richman eats better than you, you know you have a problem.
  
• 4 CANS?! Jesus Christ, Steven! There are limits to what you can do!
  
• I love the Gems reactions. Just…”Cool.”
  
• 5 Dollar coupons? That can costed a dollar, at most! That’s terrible business!
  
• Oh, he subjected himself to cream corn for the gems. That’s pretty cute, if still unsettling because seriously creamed corn is nasty.
  
• So, the gems do seem to genuinely want to be able to spend time with Steven. I like that. A lot of shows would just have the “adult” figures be unwilling to play along with the kid. Hell, minigolfing is fun as hell! I’ll go with you, Steven!
  
• Oh god these make me sick
  
• “They’re a little big on me, but you can wear them, Garnet!” I hope that there’s fanart. Somebody send me fanart.
  
• “Golf Quest Mini”? That’s radical!
  
• Woah, was that a double pokemon/zelda reference there? Hitting the fast ones, eh, Steven Universe?
  
• And maybe a little Final Fantasy in there? Yowzers.
  
• You can Mulligan in this game?
  
• Oh. Apparently, Mulligan is a golf term. I’ve only ever heard it used in card games. Huh.
  
• Actually me writing this right now
  
• You actually get to fight the professor at the end of this game?!
  
• Did You Know? There are signs embedded in the code of the original Pokemon games that suggest that Professor Oak was going to be the final boss.
  
• The main character of this game kind of looks like Cid.
  
• “June 9th, 2014” Please tell me this was the episode’s air date.
  
• Whaling Stone? What does that even mean? And isn’t that a little...dark?
  
• Sound-waves?
  
• OH! WAILING STONE! GOT IT.
  
• Man, it broke the TV? Isn’t this the third time? There was HoloPearl and Steven’s shield. Where do they get the money to keep buying more TV’s?
  
• “Steven loved it!”
  

Steven did not love it.

• “Now I have to replay the final dungeon all over again!” Didn’t Connie have a phone? Why can’t he just look this up on Youtube?
  
• Wait, why are touch-phones and N64’s existing at the same time? Is Steven just old-school like that?
  
• “I can’t stop going to the bathroom because I ate all that creamed corn!”
  
• This is the face of a man plagued by his overconsumption of corn.
  
• Yessssssss!
  
• “Rose’s door!” I guess this hasn’t opened in a long time? It would make sense.
  
• Goobye, Steve.
  
• PRETTY!
  
• This is a nice song.
  
• Oh! It’s a holodeck!
  
• “Quadruple bunkbeds!” He’s still thinking about the gems, even if he doesn’t realize it…
  
• Oh noes this shot was in this comic oh god something about seeing where this comes from is making me cry.
  
• This doesn’t count as an episode that made me cry, by the way! The comic made me cry!
  
• Hello, this thing! How are you today?
  
• “It’s me, your father! After decades of cryostasis I’m finally free!” Oh god...this is horribly sad. This is definitely about Steven imagining his mother returning to him after years of “cryostasis”.
  
• That was the secret ending? That kind of sucked. What about Operation FLOG? Where did that go? Is this just sequel-bait?
  
• I guess he can’t eat food in here. Makes sense, I suppose. None of this is real, so he can’t digest energy that doesn’t exist. I wonder about the physics of this whole place, though. Once again, z-space theories seem to pop up everywhere. Weapon summoning, fusion (though now disproven), that cave that had those weapons, Lion’s head sword, and now this place.
  
• Ugh, those windows are horrifyingly black.
  
• Actually, I take that back. I would totally spend hours outside on a night like that stargazing.
  
• Oh. He’s still in the Matrix, huh?
  
• Woah, this music is really eerie. It has these subtle little skips that keep throwing me off.
  
• Oh, man. This animation is horribly creepy. The absolute lack of sound as they move really got me.
  
• The end has come. This is my domain now.
  
• Also, and this is definitely unintentional, but Onion is doing the Sans pose.
  

Actually, that’s my new headcanon. Onion and Sans are one.

• Euagh…
  
• Oh, shit! I didn’t even notice this music! It’s neat sounding.
  
• OH MY GOD! That was really unexpected.
  
• Also, this is how you do a fucking jumpscare. You don’t need to execute an entire orchestra simultaneously every time something scary happens. Just show it to us!
  
• This is genuinely good horror.
  
• This whole place really feels like a glitchy computer. This, especially, feels like a videogame thing, with characters doing the same thing and objects overlapping.
  
• This music just got turned up to 11!
  
• Also, this town is absolutely beautiful at night. I could seriously imagine just walking around here at nighttime for hours.
  
• This music is so serene I absolutely love it.
  
• Oh, god, Connie. What are they gonna do to you?
  
• This stuff is cool, man.
  
• NOPE! No thank you! I’m good!
  
• Now they’re all anime characters? Noooooooo!
  
• This is cool. Actually, everything in this episode is cool! This episode is cool!
  
• This lighting is really good. It’s also kind of creepy.
  
• Man, Greg is so wonderful. I mean, I’m pretty sure that this isn’t actually Greg, but still.
  
• I’m pretty sure real Greg wouldn’t do this, though.
  
• How has Steven not realized that he’s still in Rose’s Room?
  
• “Well, the important thing is family friendship, honesty, values and no one got arrested!” Haha that line is priceless.
  
• Freaking Steve, dude. Of course it’s not real, eat the donut!
  
• Oh, this is horrifying!
  
• “What do you want, Steven?”...Why do you sound different?
  
• Aww…
  
• Oh my god they’re so fucking cute together
  
• “You had Rose’s Room build the whole town?!” I guess it can’t handle that much information, huh?
  
• “It can’t handle a task like that!” Oh. I guess so, then!
  
• YESSSS! THEY’RE FUCKING GLORIOUS!
  

Closing Thoughts-

This episode had some unexpected horror! You know how I feel about horror, so this episode was really fun for me. The music was fantastic. It had this constant glitchy vibe going on, with musical cuts and distortion, and the song that plays when Steven is exploring the town is absolutely serene. I loved how the town was drawn in this episode! I hope we get to see more scenes in the nighttime, because I love how it looks in this show. This episode was really good, one of my favorites so far! It’s definitely on my top 5. Let’s move on, shall we?

Episode 20- Coach Steven

Steven is resolved to get super strong and takes physical training to a new level after witnessing Gamet and Amethyst's fusion into Sugilite.
Written and Storyboarded by Raven M. Molisee and Paul Villeco

• “This was once a communication hub for gemkind!” I don’t know what to think of this, but it’s definitely important.
  
• “It’s hurting television.” NOOOOOO!
  
• Oh my god Steven said the exact same thing as me I’m dying
  
• I’d probably do this all the time if I could shapeshift.
  
• Fuckin’...Pearl.
  
• “What we need is Sugilite.” Is this… Could it be?
  
• “Amethyst...fuse with me.”
  
• Oh my god they’re squeeing as much as I am!
  
• “You and Amethyst can be a little...unstable when your personalities combine.” What does she mean by this?
  
• This is fucking awesome!
  
• Why is Pearl blushing?!
  
• This is really well drawn! The lighting on her face is fantastic!
  
• That is very sexual. I wonder if we’ll get some sexual undertones with fusion.
  
• Also it’s actually happening I am very excited
  
• We get to see both of Garnet’s gems here. Makes sense if she has two that they both appear when she fuses.
  
• OH MY GOD GUYS HERE IT IS!
  
• Actually, though. Holy shit they look AWESOME together!
  
• That voice sounds familiar.
  
• Holy shit! That might actually be cooler than Opal’s weapon!
  
• Also, I went back and listened to the music. It’s, like, industrial metal. How fucking RADICAL!
  
• “You like that, little man?” Man, this line delivery is fucking awesome. I wonder who her voice actress is…
  

ACTUALLY WHAT THE FUCK. ACTUALLY THEY GOT NICKI MINAJ THOUGH? BUT THEY GOT ACTUALLY NICKI ACTUALLY MINAJ THOUGH?

• Steven is right, this is fucking awesome.
  
• Oh, shit. Steven just got messed up by a rock. That’s, like, the most serious injury he’s had this entire show. Yikes.
  
• “You’re just...too much!” “Maybe you’re just too little!” Actually, maybe this is the perfect role for Nicki Minaj. Like, it’s so her.
  
• Is Steven wearing these glasses to be more like Sugilite? I’m going to assume that he’s actually just cosplaying Kamina.
  
• “I got hit by a rock!” Man, this kid is super resilient! Makes sense for the team tank, though.
  
• Oh! I’ll assign each of the gems a role! Steven is the Tank Cleric, Garnet is a Melee Bruiser, Amethyst is the Middle Range DPS, and Amethyst is Debuffer.
  
• Combined into their fusions, Opal is Debuff/DPS, Sugilite is Debuff Bruiser, and PearlNet is DPS Fighter.
  
• They’re pretty cute together.
  
• “You could beat up Lars, and you don’t have to starve to death if Sadie divorces you!” Haha holy shit that line is good.
  
• Also, the ship strengthens.
  
• “I know just the guy to help us out!”
  
• Poor Greg. I feel so bad for him.
  
• “Hey, Pearl. Come to check out some buff studs?” “No.” This is actually Pearl’s best line ever I’m dying.
  
• “Imma get supa strong!” Pearl blushes “Like Sugilite!” Pearl frowns
  
• Man, this whole dynamic between Pearl and Sugilite is really interesting. There are some very sexual tones in the formation of Sugilite, and it really seems like she’s not too worried about what happens to the people around her. I can’t wait to see where they go with this!
  
• “But I want to be strong in the real way!” That’s the interesting thing, too. Pearl doesn’t disagree with Steven working out. She’s just worried that Sugilite is a role model for him.
  
• SONG?
  
• SONG!
  
• Oh, shit! She’s a good singer, too!
  
• Wow, this song is really good so far. I love that Pearl sees the glasses and instantly understands, too.
  
• “Can’t you see that she’s out of control and overzealous? I’m telling you for your own good, and not because I’m-” Oh wow that is clever as shit!
  
• Also I love that she follows the piano there.
  
• Oh. Strong in the real way. That’s actually super clever. They’re both using that phrase to describe entirely different types of strength, but neither is necessarily wrong. They both have faults in their thinking.
  
• “I want to inspire you! I want to be your rock, and when I talk, it lights a fire in you!” This song is really creative with it’s rhyming!
  
• And God damn Deedee Magno is a good singer!
  
• Oh! Steven singing as well! Let’s get it rolling!
  
• It’s pretty good. I like that they use the microphone as a voice effect. Also, Steven has a pretty high range!
  
• Man! This song fucking rocks!
  
• “Hey! Steven! Maybe,uh, you can work a bit too?” Oh my god has he actually been singing this song to them?
  
• Does that mean that Pearl was also singing? I can imagine her singing to herself as she cleans up after Steven.
  
• “I’m switching to 4 wheel drive!” Pffff
  
• I feel for Steven. Being sore in the morning is actually the worst thing on the planet.
  
• “I don’t understand! Amethyst and Garnet still aren’t back yet!” I mean, Sugilite did destroy the teleporter, right? They could be anywhere on the planet.
  
• This shot is fucking awesome.
  
• “What the hay is that?” I guess Greg has never seen the gems fuse before.
  
• “I’m bored!” Oh...they’re actually terrible together, aren’t they?
  
• Yeah, Pearl and Sugilite talking really has a lot of subtle hints as towards their relationship. Pearl is clearly afraid of Sugilite, and Sugilite is using her fear as a weapon of intimidation.
  
• Oh, wow. Sugilite is actually physically attacking Pearl? That’s pretty fucked up.
  
• “You’ve been fused for too long! You’re losing yourselves!” So, if gems stay fused for too long, they lose themselves in the fusion? That’s really fascinating.
  
• I just noticed that Sugilite’s arms split at the elbow. That’s pretty cool.
  
• Fight! Fight! Fight!
  
• I like how Pearl’s piano is put into the Sugilite theme when she starts fighting.
  
• This is so cool looking! I love that she has 5 eyes. Why doesn’t Opal have 4, though?
  
• “You...Ain’t...Nothing!” What horrifying line delivery.
  
• Man, poor Pearl. She feels like she doesn’t have the ability to protect any of the people around her. We’ve gotten some interesting characterization this episode. She doesn’t think she’s able to be enough for Steven. Earlier, when I was making my theory that the Cool Kids are, in terms of character, related to the Crystal Gems, I brought up Sour Cream’s insecurity, and how I felt that we might see some of that in Pearl. Well, here we are! As a reference, in case the other character traits carry over, Amethyst’s counterpart, Jenny, doesn’t get along with her family, while Garnet’s counterpart, Buck, thinks that emotional distance makes them who they are. Moving on.
  
• “I can’t…” I think Pearl’s voice actor might be my favorite for scenes like these. She really puts a lot of emotion into her lines.
  
• Oh, man. Holy shit that hit hard. “You’re strong, Pearl! Strong in the real way!” with the chords from Strong in the Real Way playing… I didn’t expect to cry here, but I definitely did.
  
• This moment is really, really powerful, even though I don’t understand it. She’s looking for reassurance from…whatever the temple represents, and when she looks back towards Sugilite, it’s with determination. I love, though, that you can still see the tears on her face. It’s a wonderful medley of emotions and I’m honestly shocked they got so many concurrent and realistic emotions through this single moment.
  
• I’d also like to add that we see this through the music in an interesting way. For the first time in the episode, we see Sugilite without her musical themes. In other words, the music, which is a song about the strength of the bond between Steven and Pearl, has finally overpowered the harshness of Sugilite. I love this episode so much.
  
• “You’re no match for me!” This is so wonderful! Pearl is finally confident and in charge.
  
• I love the song that’s playing during this section. It’s got such a wonderful tone.
  
• You got me, Steven Universe!
  
• I’m so happy that Pearl’s first words after beating Sugilite are, “Amethyst! Garnet! Are you okay?” She really does want to protect them. She’s such a maternal figure to the people in her life.
  
• Haha! Amethyst and Garnet are sore, like Steven!
  
• Oh god, I’m dying…
  
• “Yeah! I was right!” I was gonna say something like, “Back to normal, Pearl…”, but this feels different somehow. Before, she would have used her “rightness” to make fun of Amethyst, or to prove something to Steven. Now, she’s just enjoying being right. She’s internalized it, and is evolving as a person into a more confident character. Deedee really poured her heart out into Pearl, and I can absolutely feel it in these episodes.
  
• “We deserve it.” Wasn’t it more Sugilite, though? I guess she means because they didn’t listen when Pearl suggested against Sugilite fusing.
  
• I love when they mess around with the star gag at the end of the episode!
  

Closing thoughts-

This episode was, start to finish, incredible. The animation was fantastic, the music was unbelievable stellar, and the voice acing… the voice acting! MMMM! The song, which was wonderful sounding, was used as a motif throughout the rest of the episode, and it was so powerful! I loved Sugilite; Nicki Minaj was born to voice act for that role. Pearl’s acting, too, was absolutely incredible. She put so many different and complex emotions into her lines, and it’s really incredible to watch. Let’s get into the episode ranking! My top five episodes are-

1. Coach Steven
   
2. Laser Light Cannon
   
3. Giant Woman
   
4. So Many Birthdays
   
5. Rose’s Room
   

That’s right! Laser Light Cannon is officially, for real this time, actually dethroned! As for my musical list, it goes as follows-

1. Strong in the Real Way
   
2. Giant Woman
   
3. Let me drive my van into your heart
   
4. Cookie Cat Rap
   

As always, thanks for reading! Please, please, please keep your discussion spoiler free! I want to go into this show as blindly as I can. I’m already very irritated at the sub. Even though I have subreddit style turned off, I can still see the reddit alien variation for Steven Universe, so now I know that there is going to be both a blue and a red gem. Still, I’m looking forward to meeting them! Finally, a question-
[EDIT] I had originally asked for what episode you guys were most excited about me seeing, but then realized that it might get spoiler heavy, so I changed it to-

• What is your favorite crossover between series, one of which must be Steven Universe, using the characters we've met?

Until next time!
Episodes 21-22

Once again, thank you to the 2310 of you who responded to this survey! I promised to release a brief* analysis of the results after weeding through a couple of joke responses and duplicates and examining the Others, and here I am. Due to family reasons, I won't be around for a couple of weeks, so I do hope the people who took the survey can see this. Anyways, enough about me; let's get to it!
* = I thought this would be brief. I guess not. In any case, if you want the TL;DR version with pretty colors, read this, but note that some numbers may differ from the final results due to me weeding out some joke responses, duplicates, and fixing Other responses that could've gone into already existing choices.

stevenuniverse's Favorite Characters

I asked the people to rank the main characters from favorite to least favorite on a scale of 1 to 9. There was some misunderstanding among respondents, but given a brief change instituted early on, I have reason to believe the majority understood the directions given in the survey.
In any case, to give a final ranking, I decided to use a points system of 9 to a Favorite, 8 to a Second-favorite, and so forth, down to 1 point for a Least Favorite. Here were the results.

Main Characters

Character	1st Place Votes	Total Points
Pearl	428	12764
Peridot	420	12558
Steven	285	12533
Garnet	257	12290
Amethyst	151	10990
Lapis	257	10980
Connie	136	10525
Greg	141	9943
Jasper	327	8293

It really is the Robolympics out here: Pearl and Peridot received the most first place votes and total points of the main characters. Jasper is very polarizing; while she received the third-most first place votes, she received the most least-favorites as well, which contributes to her bottom ranking in total points. Lapis is also polarizing to a lesser extent; she also finishes in the bottom half of total points although receiving the same amount of 1st place votes as Garnet. Finally, Connie received the least number of 1st place votes, although no one really considers her enough to be least-favorite.

Fusions

Fusion	1st Place Votes	Total Points
Stevonnie	655	13568
Opal	303	12807
Sardonyx	324	12099
Smoky Quartz	294	11884
Alexandrite	80	10957
Malachite	142	10619
Sugilite	74	9985
Rainbow Quartz	86	9613
Ruby Squad Fusion	303	7804

Above all, we're a Stevonnie subreddit; they finish with more than double the number of 1st place votes than second place in that ranking, Sardonyx. However, there were a fair number of dislikers, which kept Stevonnie from pulling away in total points. Sardonyx is also slightly more polarizing than Opal according to this survey. I think the Ruby Squad Fusion is the most visible proof of some serious misunderstanding, unless there's a huge fanbase for that fusion I'm unaware of. In any case, in total points they finish last anyways. Sugilite finishes with the least 1st place votes. I'm a little man, and I don't like that...

Favorite Secondary Gem

Gem	Votes	Percentage
Centipeetle	511	22.7%
Rose	480	21.4%
Bismuth	337	15%
Ruby	318	14.1%
Sapphire	271	12.1%
Yellow Diamond	65	2.9%

Most of us were split between Centipeetle and Rose for our favorite secondary gems. I found interesting that Ruby ended up ahead of Sapphire. After our top 5, there's a steep drop off. Among others receiving votes, Lion received five, ahead of Army's lone two supporters.

Least Favorite Secondary Gem

Gem	Votes	Percentage
Blue Pearl	308	14.1%
Yellow Pearl	257	11.8%
Yellow Diamond	252	11.5%
Eyeball	234	10.7%
Army	225	10.3%
Bismuth	209	9.5%
Blue Diamond	180	8.2%

Apparently, stevenuniverse doesn't like characters with a color in their name. Particularly, I find it fascinating that the other Pearls receive the dislike. In terms of commentary, perhaps its their hyping by fans and artists that turns people off? Not sure what reasons of dislike come from their performance in the show, but it certainly is interesting and I'd love to hear from those people. Shout out to that one person who put “The disapproving background Homeworld Gems from The Answer.”

Favorite Human

Human	Votes	Percentage
Sadie	486	21.7%
Vidalia	228	10.2%
Sour Cream	210	9.4%
Nanefua	206	9.2%
Onion	198	8.8%
Jamie	180	8%

Crewniverse, get us some more ladyboardies! Women take up three of the top four slots. Of course, Vidalia has spoken in about two episodes and Nanefua hasn't gotten a line since Season 2... On a somber note, pour one out for Mr. Fryman, who received a grand total of zero votes, less than Mystery Girl, Yellowtail, Jeff, Garbanzo and Dante.

Least Favorite Human

Human	Votes	Percentage
Kevin	477	21.5%
Lars	403	18.1%
Marty	283	12.7%
Ronaldo	242	10.9%
Onion	164	7.4%

About half the subreddit hates either Kevin, Lars or Marty. Deeper down, I found interesting that Kofi appears doubly hated than Jamie; I never would have guessed that. Also, Kiki and Vidalia are the least hateable people on the show. They should hang out.

Fusion Questions!

Fusion Most Excited to See?

Fusion	Votes	Percentage
Lapis+Peridot	809	36.1%
Steven+Pearl	367	16.4%
Steven+Peridot	196	8.8%
Steven+Garnet	191	8.5%
Amethyst+Peridot	161	7.2%
Steven+Lapis	113	5%

stevenuniverse is a dirty Lapidot shipper. In other news, we're really excited to see Steven fuse with other gems now that we know it's possible. Honestly, I'm surprised the Steven+Pearl fusion is as highly anticipated as it is, given I don't see much talk or fanart about it here, but hey, that's what the survey is for! The least anticipated fusion is Peridot+Jasper, presumably because even being on that ship is tiring. Others receiving more votes than that one is Alexandrite (or all the Crystal Gems)+Steven (10 votes), the Temple Fusion (Rose + some combination of the Crystal Gems, 9 votes), Greg+Steven (9 votes...), Don't Care Fusion (7 votes) and Any New Fusion (6 votes).

Who will Peridot fuse with first?

Gem	Votes	Percentage
Lapis	1269	56.6%
Steven	398	17.7%
Amethyst	262	11.7%
Garnet	159	7.1%
Peridot will never fuse	109	4.9%

Once again, stevenuniverse is a dirty Lapidot shipper. The majority believe Peridot will fuse at some point. 2 different voters believe it will be Kevin time.

Gem Personality Questions

Funniest

Gem	Votes	Percentage
Peridot	1173	52.3%
Garnet	339	15.1%

Peridot defeats the Master of Comedy at her own game. Jasper is the most hilarious to 4 precious users.

Most Annoying

Gem	Votes	Percentage
Jasper	584	27%
Amethyst	447	20.7%
Peridot	350	16.2%

I'd never characterize Jasper as annoying given the little screentime she's afforded, but apparently a quarter of the subreddit believes she's the most annoying of the gems. 80 of you refused to call any gem annoying, and I salute you for taking a stand. Interestingly, 26 votes went to Yellow Pearl, which beats out Garnet. I suppose the smugness can rub some people the wrong way.

Most Intelligent

Gem	Votes	Percentage
Pearl	944	42.1%
Garnet	826	36.9%
Peridot	339	15.1%

It's pretty much a race between Pearl and Garnet for who is considered the most intelligent of the Crystal Gems. Amethyst received 6 votes, the least of any gem, although 7 votes went to some variation of “Subjective”.

Plot Expectations

• It's pretty much a three-way tie between what interaction Rose will have with Steven; the slightly leading opinion goes to not at all, with 36.9%, while “by Steven retreating into his Gem” and “by a vision or some sort of out-of-body experience” trail at 30-31%.
• 57.7% believe Jasper will be uncorrupted and will end up unaligned, in a similar situation to current-day Lapis. 51% believe Centipeetle will be uncorrupted and join the Crystal Gems outright. While the rest of Jasper votes were split between the other options, stevenuniverse agrees that Centipeetle will definitely not want anything to do with Homeworld.
• The majority of us, 83.6%, believe Steven will go to Homeworld at some point.
• 70.4% believe Peridot and Lapis join the new intro. Once again, stevenuniverse is a dirty Lapidot shipper.

Which character needs more development or backstory?

Character	Votes	Percentage
Lapis	497	22.2%
Jasper	488	21.8%
Pearl	466	20.9%

Despite hints of Pearl's past being dropped all the time, it seems we still want more Pearl. Even so, more of us want the personalities and histories of Lapis and Jasper to be fleshed out. I should note that 23 of you voted Rose and I think I erred in not adding her as an option here.

How We View How The Fandom Views Characters

Overrated by the fandom

Character	Votes	Percentage
Jasper	703	32.5%
Lapis	489	22.6%
Peridot	244	11.3%

Jasper wins in the Most Overrated and Most Annoying categories. :( 48 of you entered “None”, more votes than Greg received. Also, who of you entered “The restaurant families”?

Underrated by the fandom

Character	Votes	Percentage
Greg	836	38.1%
Connie	402	18.3%
Amethyst	333	15.2%

stevenuniverse's consensus: Give the humans more love. And Amethyst is the most human of the gems, so her too! Among others receiving votes, Ronaldo leads with 15 votes.

Favorite Episodes

Since I knew how hard it is to choose one episode, I gave the option to choose your second-favorite. So I'll use that info to use a similar points system as to the favorite characters: 2 points for a favorite vote and 1 for a second-favorite.

Episode	1st Place Votes	Points
Mr. Greg	277	739
Mindful Education	177	488
Jailbreak	139	436
Last One Out of Beach City	131	381
Bismuth	115	322
Rose's Scabbard	110	316
Earthlings	102	295
Log Date 7 15 2	74	225
Sworn to the Sword	57	175
Hit the Diamond	55	162

Either Steven Universe has been really good lately, or we're a recency-biased subreddit. Four of the top five episodes were aired during the Steven Nuke this summer or part of Season 4. Pearl is the arguably the focus in four of the top ten, while Garnet occupies spots 2 and 3 of this ranking. Season 2 is the least respected by way of Log Date, its top episode in this ranking, going 8th overall. Beach Party, Open Book, Shirt Club, and The Message (a shocker to me) received zero votes in favorite and second-favorite.

Least Favorite Episode

Episode	Votes
Say Uncle	306
Frybo	161
The New Lars	149
Onion Gang	135
Cat Fingers	103
Gem Glow	98
Rising Tides, Crashing Skies	72
Garnet's Universe	71
Onion Trade	59
Future Boy Zoltron	58

This vote isn't canon. For hating, it's probably either early Season 1 (3 of the first 6 episodes, and 4 of the first 15 appear here) or the recent spate of Beach City episodes (2 of the last 3 have been busts according to this survey).

Favorite Song

Song	Votes
It's Over, Isn't It	535
Here Comes a Thought	504
Stronger Than You	203
Love Like You	182
Do It For Her	111
We Are the Crystal Gems	105
Peace and Love	102

Half the subreddit either sides with It's Over or Here Comes a Thought. Pearl and Garnet each have two solo songs, while Amethyst's two majority songs (On the Run and Tower of Mistakes) barely escape the bottom five. Speaking of bottom, Dear Old Dad received one vote, along with Others such as Mirror Gem (Lapis' Theme, 2 votes), Destiny (2 votes), Amalgam (Opal's Theme, 1 vote), Do Or Do Nut (1 vote), Mr. Greg (1 vote) and the Pepe's Burger jingle (1 vote).

Demographics

• Over 50% of the subreddit is between 16 and 23. About 16% are 15 and younger, and 19% are 24 and older.
• Close to a majority of the subreddit lives in the United States (62.6%). However, we have sizable pockets in Canada, the UK/Ireland, continental Europe, and Australia/New Zealand. In addition to the options already offered, we had several pockets of users from Scandinavia, the Middle East and the Caribbean. Also, shoutout to the 2 Icelandic stevenuniverse users and the lone Pacific Islander out there!
• stevenuniverse is about 66% male, 30% female (an upgrade from the last time a survey of this size was done, 20% females about 6 months ago). Approximately 4% of stevenuniverse identifies as transgender (note: the transgender question was done separately from the gender question).
• 53.1% of stevenuniverse users consider themselves heterosexual, in addition to a 22.7% bisexual/pansexual population and a 12.3% homosexual usage rate and a 6.8% asexual representation. 6 of you still use the attack helicopter meme.

AND THAT'S ALL FOLKS!

Episodes 1-2 Episodes 3-4 Episodes 5-6 Episodes 7-8 Episodes 9-10 Episodes 11-12 Episodes 13-14 Episodes 15-16 Episodes 17-18 Episodes 19-20 Episodes 21-22
Hey guys! We’re back once again with a new let’s play-er, reaction video! As usual, please avoid posting spoilers in the comments. You guys have been really fantastic about this, so I’m super glad that I can read the comments freely. I’m really looking forward to getting to episode 25, so let’s get started with…

Episode 23- Monster Buddies

Steven accidentally releases a monster from a gem bubble and attempts to tame it and takes it on an adventure.
Written and Storyboarded by Lamar Abrams and Hellen Jo(Jo)

• Are they trying to climb Mt. Caradhras? Not even the Fellowship managed that one.
  
• Oh god half of the mountain literally just collapsed. The seismic activity that a mountain falling apart would have must be enormous! May God have mercy on those poor souls caught in its strength.
  
• “One more attack should do it!” Well, has it changed color yet, Pearl?
  
• “Oh...geez..oh… WOAH, MAMA!” God, Amethyst. Please, never change. For me.
  
• “I’m sending you back to the temple.” You can do that? Without a teleporter? Why do you even have them, then? I need more information.
  
• Okay, so, Garnet bubbles Steven to send him back. Why don’t the gems bubble themselves whenever they’re in danger and send themselves home? Or just...to get around? Fast Travel is a very useful skill, guys!
  
• Oh. I guess this is a pretty dangerous thing to do, then, considering Pearl’s reaction. I wonder why?
  
• Oh! Garnet’s room! I guess that makes sense. I assumed that that’s where the gems were teleported to, since they ended up in Garnet’s room.
  
• The pokeball from the first episode! Nice too see you, old friend.
  
• !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  
• Okay, so this brings some credence to my theory that the gems used to be monsters. Here, we see a monster reforming, and we literally watch it attempt to create a humanoid form! This makes me think about that line Garnet said during Steven’s Lion,” We kept Amethyst.” If the gems actually used to be monsters, like this seems to imply, then it seems entirely likely that the gems found Amethyst and she turned into a humanoid! In fact, this could have happened very recently! That might explain why Greg hadn’t seen Sugilite before. Maybe they found Amethyst around the same time Steven was born, which would explain why Amethyst has always felt the youngest of the three gems. Anyways, let’s continue.
  
• Oh my god it’s fucking adorbable
  
• I guess Steven is going to make friends with the...thing… fuck it, let’s call it a pokemon until we get a new name for it.
  
• Wait is the episode actually called Monster Buddies? Is this episode going to do a Pokemon thing?
  
• Okay. This is a pretty appropriate reaction, but I feel like the gems are also pretty unaware of the situation. I mean, if I saw my child alone with something strange in a room used exclusively to hold evil monsters, I would have a similar reaction, so I can’t blame them, but we’re clearly meant to sympathize with the monster, so… Boo, gems!
  
• “I can’t say no to that face.” I know that feeling, Garnet. He’s a fucking potato!
  
• I’m intently studying this scene for any indication that Amethyst was once a monster, too. I have yet to find any, though.
  
• Okay, once again. I know that the answer is probably to let it be free and bond with Steven, but it’s a motherfucking monster that attacked them! I actually agree with the gems, even though I also believe that it’s kind of messed up.
  
• Lion’s here? Actually, hold on. Literally this exact same thing happened with Lion? Why are they making a huge fuss out of it now?
  
• Hm. So, Garnet decides to trust Steven. She thinks that he’s mature enough to know if he can handle a situation or not. This stuff is small, but these little changes are how people actually grow up. You don’t learn a lesson and become a different person, you see 100 little things and slowly change over long periods of time. Good Jorb, Steve Solar System.
  
• I enjoy these scenes where Steven talks to the pokemon, even though they also give me horrible anxiety because I have absolutely no ability to deal with animals that move quickly at all. In 5th grade, we had to take care of animals, and I absolutely hated it, even though I love looking at animals, because I couldn’t deal with their movement. Something about it makes me really uncomfortable.
  
• The return of chip chaps? I thought I would never see those ungodly things again! I already made one image for you!
  
• I’m really enjoying this song! It’s based on The Mother, but it has this jazzy feel to it that I really like.
  
• “I don’t know how you eat with an eyeball in your mouth!” OOOOHHHH! IT’S AN EYE!
  
• These two must become best friends. I demand it!
  
• “But we have to go back for the shooting star!” Oh… A shooting star?
  

Earlier, I theorized that we would see a new yellow gem based on the colors of the balloons. I also noticed that, on Greg’s van, there was a shooting star of the same color of yellow as the balloon. Y’all are saying that the big, exciting episode is coming up… Is this shooting star the one I theorized about? Are we about to meet a new gem?

• “Woah! Why isn’t that thing on its rock?!” I love the way this line is delivered so much.
  
• It spits acid on command? This thing is radical.
  
• Goobye, Pool.
  
• “NOOOO! MI TORTA!” This… this is actually it. This is the best line ever uttered by a human. We’ve done it. We’ve reached our peak. Where will humanity go? We can’t ever do better than this. We’re a doomed people.
  
• “Steven, this is unacceptable!”
  
• Garnet seems to be really trying to prove to the other gems that Steven is capable of making his own decisions.
  
• Yessss he’s wearing the jacket!
  
• Pearl should be happy! Steven is finally learning to accept his true form as a bird!
  

(See, guys, I know the memes!)

• This song sounds so MMBN it’s crazy. I can just imagine this song playing over a section where Lan has to go talk to every character at some wacky expo…

God the filler in those games were bad…

• Also, all of these tight caves are giving me horrible anxiety, so I’m trying to get past them as quickly as possible. What is with this episode and it igniting my horrible phobias?
  
• This is really cool…
  
• “There it is! The shooting star!” Damn, I guess I was wrong. Maybe the new gem doesn’t emerge for a while? Maybe?
  
• An ancient “elemental”? Hm… So, is this thing literally the aspect of something? I could see that factoring into some interesting magic lore, but I don’t really know where to go with it. This thing feels...different, though. It’s important, somehow, but I don’t know how.
  
• Calm down, Pearl!
  
• Also, something about that shot really felt like an Adventure Time animation. Maybe it’s the shape of her head and arms, but it looks a little off-putting in Steven Universe. Maybe that was the intent? Make this thing seem so different that the animation changes to reflect that?
  
• “Garnet, You’ll need to use your gauntlets.” Oh, boy. This is going to go well.
  
• Yikes.
  
• Man, you really do have to feel bad for the pokemon here. Pearl and Garnet are just beating on it, and it’s just scared of their weapons. Here, I draw the line. It’s clearly just afraid of the gems hurting it, especially considering that its only interaction with them has been fighting and dying to them.
  
• I’m amazed at how well the animators got down the “twitchy animal” vibe. It’s absolutely perfect looking!
  
• “This all happened today!” I guess it did. Huh.
  
• Oh, man. This image is really great. Steven is holding onto the pokemon, even though its acid is clearly hurting him, because he’s willing to risk himself to help it. It’s scared, and confused, and really has an astonishing amount of character for a non-vocal monster creature.
  
• Oooooohhh my god that thing is dead isn’t it
  
• Ugh...its pupils go blank, and its whole body goes inert very slowly before it poofs. That was really sad.
  
• “Your mother would be so proud.” Oh, god, that’s got to be such a mixed bag of emotions for Steven. His pet dies, and then Garnet tells him that his dead parent would be proud of how he handled the situation.
  
• “The truth is, Rose Quartz had tried to use her powers to save these monsters, too. But she was never able to heal them.” Well, fuck. There goes all of my theories. All of them. They’re all gone now.
  
• Oh. I kind of already assumed he could do that? I mean, he could bubble people, so gems wouldn’t be too difficult, would it?
  
• Oh, wait. None of the gems were there the previous two times Steven had made a bubble. This is their first time seeing it, but Steven has already used his powers. I guess this adds another little layer to the relationship between Steven and the gems. He’s already advancing beyond what they know. He’s starting to mature without them realizing.
  
• Oh, man. A reprise of the intro theme? Please, spare me…
  
• Yeah, this is tear-worthy. That got me. Whoo!
  

Closing Thoughts-

This episode was great! Excluding the character breaking we got from the gems, this episode was really fun. The music was great, although nothing made my top 5 BGM’s. (Should I include that as a list, too? I think I like most of the BGM’s more than the vocal songs.) The animation was very interesting this episode, and we got a lot of little hints about the past. Overall, I really loved this one. It was fun, and upbeat, and had some good emotional weight at the end! Let’s move on to the next one!

Episode 24- An Indirect Kiss

Amethyst cracks her gemstone and Steven and the Crystal Gems try to heal her using Rose's healing tears.
Written and Storyboarded by Raven M. Molisee and Paul Villeco

• I’ve noticed that we’ve started to settle into pairs of writers/storyboard artists. It’s interesting, so I hope I’ll be able to identify different styles between the different groups.
  
• RED ALERT! RED ALERT! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! WE HAVE A CONFIRMED CONNIE SIGHTING!
  
• She looks...different. She seems a lot taller.
  
• Oh, man. He’s really just going in with the whole potato thing, huh?
  
• This is so pretty! Why don’t they hang out up here more often?
  
• So, this entire episode is a flashback setup? That’s a little new, even if I’ve seen it before in other shows. Show Me What You Got!
  
• “Amethyst was horsing around by the cliff.” Pretty standard, so far!
  
• God, I love this fucking potato. I’ve raised my son well.
  
• “Steven, please. I’m a gem warrior, I’m not gonna fa-” She says this in such a specific way. Like, anyone else would have just said “I’m a gem”, but she specifically adds warrior to it. It feels like this is a title that she used to go by, maybe? Y’know? Yeah, you know, yinz filthy animals.
  
• “Ugh! This is so embarrassing…” Have I mentioned how much I love Amethyst’s deliveries?
  
• That impact sounded like it hurt! Yikes.
  
• W-Why does she have a giant eye now?
  
• Oh, that cannot be good. If the gems’ gems are their real body, this must be an actual injury. They can’t just regenerate their damage if the gem itself is the damage!
  
• “You’re gem is cracked!” “Rude!” She’s pretty defensive about asking for help, isn’t she?
  
• “How could I have been so blind? We need to put a fence up there so this will never happen again!” “And that’s why there’s a fence. The end!” Uh, Steven. Steve-O, my boy, uh, aren’t you forgetting something?
  
• Angry Connie is the cutest.
  
• “Okay, okay. But only if you let me try on your glasses.” That’s a fair trade!
  
• Durian juice? What the fuck? Who are these people?!
  
• “How do I look?” “I have no idea…” Can you really not see 3 feet in front of you without your glasses? I dunno, I’m pretty functional without mine, even though my eyes may as well not exist without them.
  
• “Before...we had Rose.” Man, she packed a lot of emotion into that line!
  
• So, Steven’s mom was also the Tank Cleric, except that she had more of an emphasis on healing? I wonder how that changed the party dynamic? I imagine it would have more of a focus on Garnet frontline, with Rose supporting.
  
• “She felt real love for those around her, and she felt real sorrow when they were hurt.” Did she actually have to cry, or could she just create her tears? Because I know I wouldn’t be crying if my mom broke her arm, even though I love her very dearly and would feel terrible for her. I dunno, it seems a little awkward to have to actually be crying to use your powers, y’know?
  
• Okay, this one got me good.
  
• “Just today, you were crying about snakes!” “They don’t have any arms!” Don’t worry, Steve-o! I can fix that for you!
  
• “We need to take Amethyst to Rose’s healing spring.” Are we going to start learning more about Rose? I could really use some of that right about now.
  
• Okay. This is officially bad. Amethyst has gone full glitch-mode now. I guess my comparison to gems as computers during Steven the Sword Fighter was apt. It really feels like her “hardware” is damaged here, y’know?
  
• “And in the center of the garden, Rose’s fountain! Overflowing with your mother’s healing lacrimal essence.” Hrm…
  
• Pearl is really freaking out. Whatever is going on, it’s definitely hurting Pearl right now.
  
• “Directionless, pathetic, clinging...things.” Mhm….
  
• Okay, Pearl is very emotional about this place. It clearly mattered to her a lot.
  
• Has anyone made the reversed audio for Amethyst? Actually, I know they have. Where can I find the reversed audio for Amethyst?
  
• “Pain can make one cry.” This seems like a bad idea, Steven!
  
• So, these things are alive? Are they like the moss from Lars and the Cool Kids? And why does Rose keep tending to such dangerous plants?
  
• Okay, this totally feels like a model glitching out. They definitely have a computer vibe going on here.
  
• Now that I think about it, so did Rose’s Room. Hm…
  
• Pearl proceeds to make bird noises
  
• Okay, Pearl is having an actual breakdown now. She’s definitely got either enormous attachment to this place, or to Rose herself, and it seems really unhealthy.
  
• Fuckin’....eyes! ARGGGHHH! What do you mean?!?!?!
  
• “The fountain isn’t running.” I don’t know why I quoted this, I just did. Good… Moving on.
  
• “I’m getting emotional! I’m really feeling it!”
  
• “Steven, it’s fine...just...just stay here and watch Amethyst.” This is the first time I’ve heard Pearl sound actually frustrated and irritated by Steven.
  
• Okay, Amethyst has entered full spaghetti mode now.
  
• Why can’t I cry?! I dunno, Steven. I don’t think I’m going to have the same issues in a minute.
  
• “I don’t know how to feel about you...but everybody else does. I wish I could have met you. Then this place could make me sad, and I could cry healing tears, like you.”
  
• That was a really great scene. As someone that grew up without a parent, I can really understand where Steven is coming from. I have no relationship with my father, so I can’t imaging crying at some shrine of his that someone else tells me is important. This is a really powerful scene, and I’m really glad we get to see it.
  
• Also, I don’t think we’ve heard this song before, but I kind of love it.
  
• Amethyst screams like a monkey
  
• So, I assume that this is the enemy of the week? Gotta have some action, I guess.
  
• “Ha..ha…you...care...about...me.”
  
• “OH, COME ON!”
  
• So, Rose now has a canonical eye motif. This is good. Yes.
  
• God, everything with Rose is so beautiful.
  
• Wait, this is The Hill! God, this music is so beautiful.
  
• I just want you guys to know that I’ve been crying since “You care about me”, Btws.
  
• “I’m pretty sure Garnet and I unplugging a clogged chamber brought the fountain back to life.” Pfff…
  
• “Oh, Steven. You don’t have healing tears. You’ll never have any real magic powers, and we don’t want anything more to do with you.” Oh, man. For a second, that got me. I’m pretty sure that this didn’t happen, though.
  
• “She didn’t really say that?” Good.
  
• “Everyone expects me to be like my mom. What if I never get those powers?’ “Then you’ll be like me. That’s not so bad.” “But, if I don’t have powers, then I can’t hang out with Amethyst, or Garnet, or Pearl, and-and I can’t go on Missions!” “You don’t need any powers to be here with me.”
  
• NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!
  
• “I can see!”
  
• “The Juice-Box!”
  
• “What am I going to tell my parents? What am I going to tell my optometrist?!”
  
• Wow, this is a really good shot.
  
• I like how the music just cuts out here. It gives the episode’s ending a lot of oomph.
  

Closing Thoughts-

This episode made me feel a lot of emotions. There was a lot of crying. The reprise of The Hill actually ended my existence, I think, so it’s going to be a little harder to write these from the astral plane. The animation was beautiful in this episode, especially with regards to anything Rose-related. Also, it’s very interesting to see Pearl’s breakdown over the state of the fountain. There’s definitely something else going on behind these moments, but I don’t want to pass judgement yet. Anyways, now for my episode rating! It is as follows-

1. Coach Steven
   
2. An Indirect Kiss
   
3. Laser Light Cannon
   
4. Giant Woman
   
5. So Many Birthdays
   

As for my music listing, it goes-

1. Strong in the real way
   
2. Steven and the Stevens/Crystal Gems
   
3. Giant Woman
   
4. Let me drive my van into your heart
   
5. Cookie Cat Rap
   

As always, guys, thanks for reading! Remember, keep all of your discussion spoiler free! I’m really enjoying these episodes, and I would hate to be spoiled of a big emotional moment, or huge plot movement, or anything along those lines. Also, we officially have our first piece of fanart! Thank you so much, jaifriedpork! Finally, a question-

• What do you guys think the gems would be doing if they weren’t busy saving the day?

Until Next Time!

Series writer Matt Burnett is currently on a question-and-answer trip on his Twitter account. I've copy-pasted the questions and answers below for ease of reading.
How does Sapphire see through her bangs??? I have been wondering this ever since I saw her and it's been killing me...
Magic.
Did those alternate timelines Steven create cease to exist or are they still a thing, if so well we ever see them again?
They are all dead, along with their entire timelines.
How do you feel about the people saying SU is ONLY a show for trans/women/agendered people? Pretty silly, right?
Incredibly silly. It's for everyone. Choose love.
Are G.A.L.S. really rare? Steven seemed shocked Onion had them.
They were discontinued years ago. G.U.Y.S. are currently back in production as part of an 80s nostalgia wave.
Would you say SU is a character driven story, plot driven, or a little bit of Column A and Column B?
Character driven. Plot means nothing without characters.
If you guys had the chance to redo the show into a 22 minute/half hour timeslot, would you? And how would that change the story?
No. It's just not that kind of show, and the way the show is produced couldn't be done if it was 22 minutes.
There Is one thing that has been bugging me about SU Since the start. Are the gems Genderless or male or female?
They're Gems!
Don't know if this has been asked, but seeing as this Steven Bomb was a full ark, was it written to be a Steven bomb?
Nope. Steven Bomb format was sprung on us long after episodes had been written.
But if Jaspers not a forced fusion then why does Malachite have six arms, no legs, and looks ginormous???
Because it looks cool.
What do you think was your main inspiration while working on steven universe?
Rebecca Sugar. I'm just working to support her vision for the show.
Is it possible for a fusion to be forced to stay fused, therefore preventing them from unfusing for an indefinite amount of time?
The clusters Peridot checked in on are basically that.
I have a BURNING question, do gems hate jewelry? Cause most necklace Irl have .... Gems stuff
I don't think they hate it, they just think it's weird, like most human customs.
How do the gems make their money, is that a spoiler or?
They don't.
Do you guys think you'll do another universe episode like garnets universe?
I hope so, that episode was a lot of fun!
Who do you identify with most in the show?
A fusion of Ronaldo and Kevin.
Have you ever seen this? Dentist Game for Steven Universe by Federico Miller
We were just debating at the office whether Steven's healing spit would prevent him from ever getting cavities or not.
Are we going to learn more about rose in further episodes?
Nah. I don't really think she'll ever come up again, TBH.
Updated:
Can gems fuse if their gems are in the same place on their body?
Pure hypothetical answer: yes. Gems would be side by side.
(In response to the question about money) Oh, but how do they pay for everything, like the cookie cats or any other food actually?
Greg!
If Greg pays for everything, how does he afford anything working at a car wash?
He still lives in the same van he was living in, like, 20 years ago, so that should paint you a picture.
How does garnet summon her gauntlets instantly, all other fusions have to summon each gem's weapon, then combine them?
She’s just that good.
Hey are we going to see Steven kissing Connie or Connie kissing Steven?
Probably not, due to a recent cooties outbreak in the Beach City area.
If Amethyst fused w/ Sardonyx, or Pearl w/ Sugilite, does that make Alexandrite or a new gem?
Still Alexandrite. 1+1+1=3 and 1+2=3
I'm a short story writer and would love to be a TV writer, especially for Steven U. How can I pitch an episode to you and Rebecca?
Show does not take outside pitches for a number of reasons, sorry.
Fanart aside, i keep hearing that all the gems so far are placed on chakra points, was that intentional?
Nope. Stick ‘em wherever you want.
What can you say about sonic's references and cameos in the show?
gotta go fast
Update 2:
Are we going to get more emotional episodes with Steven and each seperate crystal gem?
Nah, no more emotions in this show.
When did you realize that the show was going to be really popular?
When I first met Rebecca and she showed me an animatic for the pilot.
How long does it take to create one whole episode?
From first thinking of idea to it airing, 9-12 months.
But like how long does it take from the story boarding?
Still about 9 months. After storyboard, voice record->animatic->design->animated overseas->editing->music->sound design all have to happen.
We know what G.U.Y.S. stands for, but what about G.A.L.S? Gals something, of course, because recursion.
Gals Against Lazy Stereotypes
Will we being seeing more of Peridot in the future when Steven Universe returns?
Nope, she got away.
So no Peridot at all in the future or will she eventually be back?
Never again, she just helicoptered back to Homeworld.
I asked if gems with more than one gem are just fusions? I wondered if it was possible to have more than one gem.
Nope. That'd be a fusion.
How is Pearl able to pull real world items from her gem (like the wrap from Sworn To The Sword?)
She can store stuff in there.
Will stevens birth ever be fully explained? -not all the gross details, I mean how rose was able to have him at all.
She shapeshifted to mimic a human female body - similar to how Amethyst shapeshifts a human digestive tract to eat.
Are the gems' clothes a part of their bodies?
All part of their projection.
Will Garnet ever play Meat Beat Mania again?
Dude, that machine is BUSTED.
The arcade wouldn't buy a new one?
The food-based rhythm game trend has kinda ended, got replaced by a Lonely Blade fighting game.
What will happen in Malachite['s] future? Will she defuse or rise out of the ocean?
She’s having adventures with fish.
Is Historical Friction about Pearl? I feel like it's addressing how there's some fans who dislike her because she's flawed.
Not addressing those fans specifically, but the ep was supposed to thematically resonate with her story
Does Greg own the car wash, or is he like a general manager?
Sole owner and operator.
Is it Petey or Peedee?
Peedee
Sorry I can't get to all my @'s, but pretty much every SU question asked has an answer that the show itself will give you eventually.

Episodes 63-67
POST ALL OF THE SPOILERS. POST THEM ALL IT DOESN’T MATTER ANYMORE!
Guys… I didn’t even realize last time, but this is going to be my last reactions post D: There are six episodes left, so I might as well do them all in one post. I’m still going to be hanging around on the subreddit, posting theories and commenting on things and whatnot, but this’ll be the last post of this series.
I was right to assume that people were going to have strong opinions about the last set of episodes, because I got a lot of thorough, thoughtful comments about how wrong I am XD There were a lot of people saying the same things and, while I usually try to have a discussion with everyone, I couldn’t feasibly do it this time. I’ll say two things about it, though, that basically everyone brought up…
For one, I never thought Garnet was blameless, and didn’t mean to give the impression that I did. It was wrong of her to intimidate Amethyst into forming Sugilite, but I think the difference between that and what Pearl did was that Garnet was emotionally compromised and made the decision spur-of-the-moment, whereas Pearl planned it out ahead of time. Pearl knew it was wrong, knew Garnet would be upset if she found out, and did it anyway. Premeditated or not, they were both wrong to do what they did.
As for my continued use of fusion as a metaphor for sex (and, consequently, Pearl’s actions as a metaphor for rape), I’m starting to think that trying to define fusion in human terms is just never going to work. While what Pearl did was a betrayal, the human concept of rape has too strong a connotation to be accurate in this situation. I still think it’s a fair comparison to make, but it just doesn’t quite sit right. u/fennric linked me to this, which is the best commentary on fusion that I’ve seen so far. So I’m just going to point you all to that, and be done with this debate :P
Episode 68 – Nightmare Hospital
• CONNIE!!!
• So she still hasn’t told her parents about the glasses?
• That sword is a little big for her
• You can tell Connie’s experienced at lying to her parents… and Steven’s obviously not haha
• “Do you know how many children I see in the hospital who cut their faces off playing with swords?” Um?
• “None!” Oh lol, that was a bad place to pause apparently
• She just puts it in her duffle??? Pretty sure you can’t take that into a hospital
• My mom is like a mix of Pearl and Mrs. Maheswaran
• Lion lickers! Of course haha
• AW THEY’RE HOLDING HANDS
• Oh god, what’s under the blanket?
• ????
• “No heartbeat.” OH THAT’S NORMAL
• DON’T GO IN THERE!!!
• IT’S A FORCED FUSION???!!!!
• I thought we took care of these things!
• “It’s my other patient.” OH REALLY?
• “Now is not the time!” NOW IS DEFINITELY THE TIME
• OH GOD NO CONNIE
• Yay! Steven to the rescue!
• “My Connie!” <3
• OH NO THEY’RE SO CREEPY
• Hey his bubble did the animation with the flower thing again… has it always done that?
• “All her activities, all her internets.” lol
• “What, your eyesight just magically got better?” “YES” I love Connie XD
• OH SHIT LOOK AT THOSE TWO WORKING TOGETHER
• They’re so… competent, damn
• “It scares me that you can’t talk to me. I need to know what’s happening in your life, I need to step in when you’re in over your head.” Aw, well said
• HE HUGGED THE SWORD OH NO
• Suddenly, sadness :(
• Nice Connie episode! I really thought the CGs had poofed all of the fusion mutations in the Kindergarten, but I suppose I’m not complaining because they’re definitely the creepiest monsters this show has thrown at me. Connie and Steven were badasses, as usual. I wonder if Connie will still wear her glasses-frames? She doesn’t really need to anymore.
Episode 69 (eheh) – Sadie’s Song
• Is Sadie gonna sing???
• Oh hey, beachapalooza again (which I still don’t know how to spell)
• Oooh, she does have a song! And it’s catchy!
• lol, she just throws that box
• “It’s so cheesy and dumb and catchy and… I know every single word.” I relate to this so hard
• I feel like Sadie looks older in this one, but idk maybe that’s just because I haven’t seen her in a while
• She lives in her parent’s basement? Interesting
• “Ever since my act two years ago, there’s been a rule that you gotta wear clothes.” Wow Steven XD
• “That one’s pretty!” … Steven, do you want to wear it?
• OH MY GOD ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME??? SHE’S SADIE’S MOM???
• “I knew you delivered mail but I didn’t know you delivered Sadie!” LMAO
• That might have been the best joke Steven’s ever made, I almost pissed myself
• Oh, she’s one of THOSE moms… can’t say I can relate, in this case. My mom is a lot of things, but overenthusiastic is not one of them :3
• Damn, Steven and Barb should do this routine XD
• Is that Peridot on Ronaldo’s chalkboard?
• Wow, Sadie looks like death lol
• Aw, I like Mr. Smiley. I feel like we haven’t seen a lot of these townspeople in a while, it’s nice to see them again
• Everyone needs an emergency supply of glitter… in case of fabulousness
• “Please mom, don’t make me do this…”
• “I just wanted everyone to know how talented my daughter is!” “This is not your daughter.” daaaaaaamn
• OH MY GOD STEVEN
• BEAUTIFUL, 10/10
• Oh, that ending was really cute
• Well, now I know where that Jamie-Steven came from! I love this episode, it’s so happy and wholesome and no one’s sad except for me because I only have four episodes left –cries-
Episode 70 – Catch and Release
This is the last video! And the only one where I’d consider my reaction legitimately embarrassing… I may have shed a few happy tears. Also, spoiler alert: No one walked in on me talking to myself.
• -sings intro- I sang the whole thing this time :3
• “Playful kitty” ??? lol
• Oh! Peridot?
• !!!
• Oh she’s still missing her foot! [she didn’t tie a cardboard box to her leg, dang]
• I feel a little bad for her… just a little bit
• -imitates Peridot’s hand motions-
• I don’t think Steven’s spit is going to work
• Nu-uh
• Aw, I do feel bad for her
• “It’s not going to be like anything soon!” Excuse me?
• -CGs arrive- Are they actually gonna get her this time? I kinda hope so.
• -Garnet does electricity thing- Yeah!
• -Garnet poofs Peridot- Daaaaamn!
• The arms and legs aren’t part of her body! I knew it.
• She didn’t crush her, did she?
• Okay, no. Nice job
• Pfft, Amethyst, we might’ve needed those
• I wanna know what Peridot was going to say, man!
• Steven’s gonna pop her bubble I bet
• -gets scared by Amethyst- Jesus Christ…
• (you can hear my school’s clocktower chiming in the background, lol)
• Rose’s room?! Yeah!
• No, you gotta pop the bubble. Do it!
• “I know there’s a way down from here!” Oooh! Like from… whatever the fuck that episode was. Together Breakfast!
• Yes! She doesn’t have the arms!
• Awwww! she’s so tiny!!!
• -muffled- Oh my god she is so adorable
• -squealing- I love her!
• Oh, she’s adorable!
• OH MY GOD SHE’S SO CUTE
• SHE’S SMALLER THAN STEVEN
• -laughing at Steven and Peridot’s slap fight-
• I can’t get over this, man, I will never get over it
• “You really want to know?” Yes.
• “You really, really want to know?” YES
• “What’s your shirt?” LOL
• Oh my god, she’s such a child
• Peridot, you done goofed
• -giggling over Peridot running from the CGs- Oh my god this is ridiculous
• Is she in the bathroom?
• This is amazing
• Is she gonna try to flush herself down the toilet?
• -DIES-
• “Duh, homegirl knows we’re gonna beat her into a green pancake.” I love Amethyst
• She’s making faces in the mirror! Oh my god. I can’t believe this small child
• “You filthy war machine!” Hey, now!
• This is so ridiculous… so she just lives there now?
• “What’re we going to do? Put her on a leash?” I mean…
• “What’s with you guys and making me pee outside?!” Like Sapphire?
• She just lives there now! I can’t believe this show
• Awwww she’s sooooo cute! Wow…
• -whimpering over how cute Peridot is-
• “Whatever it is, I wanna help!” Aw, that’s nice
• Are you kidding me right now? That was amazing! I love that episode… she just lives in his bathroom now, it’s fine, no big deal
• Peridot went from being a formidable opponent to being Steven’s new little sister and/or pet cat in the 2 seconds it took her to reform XD I’m wondering what the hell the cluster is, because first I thought it was going to be new Kindergarten gems, then I thought it was the forced fusions, and now I just have no idea. Apparently it’s going to destroy Earth, though, which is not good. I’m just so happy that Peridot lives with them now, maybe she’ll eventually be an honorary Crystal Gem, herself. After all… they kept Amethyst.
Episode 71 – When it Rains
• I want Peridot to be in the intro, now
• Tell her, Garnet!
• “Is it like a big… hunk of… granola?” Okay, one of you assholes said that to me, who the hell was it? I don’t remember, but I bet it was the Spider guy
• lol, Pearl’s kind of adorable when she’s mad
• “I love you, bye <3” JUST FUCK ME UP
• -bursts out of the bathroom- “IT’S HAPPENING” O.o
• Aw, she’s huddling behind Steven
• “I don’t know anything without my screen.” S A M E
• Steven’s pretty smart
• Oh man, that whole scene with Peridot in the rain was really powerful. I don’t know if it was the music or the angels or the little “cool” at the end, but it got to me
• “Thank you.” Wow
• Peridot is such a child, I wonder how old she is, actually
• “You want me to take you to the Kindergarten?” This sounds like an exceptionally bad idea
• Oooohhhh nooooo, Steven reaching out to touch Peridot’s hand when they fall. This episode is too much for my heart
• Hmm, so Peridot knows about Steven being a hybrid, now. Not sure how I feel about that
• “When it became clear that Earth was no longer a viable colony,” So they made the forced fusions after the war, but I thought Homeworld left after they lost?
• Lol, Peridot’s so genuinely impressed by Steven’s strength
• “What’s up Dot?” I love these two
• “A single giant artificial fusion comprised of millions of gem shards. The Cluster.” WOW WE’RE SCREWED
• “It’s you, Steven!” Peridot I think you’re overestimating this child’s ability to stop giant mutant gems buried deep under the Earth
• Oh wow, is she going to ask Greg for help now? That’d be amazing
• YIKES the fusions… that one with the big mouth is creepy
• “Let’s run into this corner!” “Oh no! We’re cornered!” JESUS LORD GIVE ME STRENGTH
• The gems are kick-ass! And Garnet’s using her electric powers so much more lately
• Dang, dat ending though
• Well, now we know what the Cluster is. It feels weird, asking a question and then having it get answered in the next episode. I might get spoiled if they do this too often.
Episode 72 – Back to the Barn
• Pfft, she couldn’t have just told them about the Cluster? Come to think of it, she didn’t really need to go to the Kindergarten, either. She could’ve just told Steven everything he needed to know.
• I don’t know why, but I really like the way Peridot says “crust”
• “What a cluster…” if there was no such thing as censors, she would’ve definitely said clusterfuck
• Hehe, the little silent conversation between Pearl and Amethyst
• NO NOT THE TV THIS ONE LASTED SO LONG!
• UUU Space Travel is back!
• “You can go now.” ??!!
• “Because Pearl’s aren’t for this! They’re for standing around and looking nice and holding your stuff for you!” OH BOY
• “She’s a made-to-order servant just like the hundreds of other Pearls being flaunted around back on Homeworld.” WOW I WAS NOT EXPECTING SO MANY ANSWERS I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF
• DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH PEARL –hisses-
• Oh my god, did she used to belong to Rose? That would make so much sense…
• Tell her, Pearl!
• lol, Steven… “-whispers- Robots…”
• Oh man, I love the combo of Pearl’s music style with Peridot’s
• “We’re building robots now.” XD
• Wow, that was fast
• Aw, Steven totally rigged this so that they’d each be good at half of them
• “Tree” LOL
• What was going on with Garnet and the popcorn?
• “Subjective” Bullshit, Pearl’s was totally better
• Sexuality: Garnet yelling “get it gurl!”
• Just fight each other, it’s the only way a giant robot competition can end
• Haha, they actually are fighting XD
• “Fight, fight, fight!” I’m with Amethyst lol
• OOOOHHHHHHH
• Yikes, Pearl got her ass handed to her… but it was all worth it for that sick right hook!
• No one cares, Peridot
• “Welcome to Earth” <3
• Aw, nice save, Peridot
• “Aaaaah! We’re doomed!” Ominous?
• This explains SO much of Pearl’s character; her self-hatred, for one, and her complete dedication to Rose. Even if she wasn’t Rose’s made-to-order servant, the mentality was probably so ingrained in her head that she at least subconsciously thought of Rose as her “master.” That relationship was super unhealthy… possibly the reason why Rose ended up getting with Greg instead of Pearl? She probably didn’t want to take advantage of Pearl. Maybe I’m reading too much into this :3 I really love that Pearl stuck up for herself; it shows how far she’s come. I think that talk with Garnet in Friendship really got through to her, which makes me happy.
Episode 73 – Too Far
• Trying really hard not to think about how this is the last episode
• Failing at not thinking about how this is the last episode D:
• Aw, I’m glad they’re working together
• “Singing… crying… singing while crying.” Holy shit, this is where you guys got that from? I’ve heard that phrase quite a few times while doing these reactions
• The logs are like her security blanket
• “Would you mind unfusing? It’s making me incredibly uncomfortable.” GTFO
• LOL GARNET AGREES
• Huh, Peridot and Amethyst are kind of… friends? This is weird
• “You’ll know when I’m joking.” Honestly I think Garnet dislikes Peridot the most out of all of the CGs.
• Peridot really is a huge nerd
• “She’s not even fighting!”
• WOW
• STEVEN DO NOT COPY THAT
• Amethyst and Peridot are almost getting along too well for my comfort
• “despite the fact that you’re defective!” ???
• Hmm, so you’re saying size matters?
• “Are you saying I’m wrong?” “Gemetically speaking, yes!” DUDE this suddenly got real for me
• “Look at that! You can do everything a normal quartz can do!” dude
• “Would that make it… carbony? :3” Steven, stop
• Oh, fuck off, Peridot
• I really love Peridot’s VA, though. She’s really good
• Uh oh
• lol, I love Steven’s messed up hair
• and in the distance, you can almost hear me shouting “gaaaaaaay!”
• “I blame the cows” XD
• “I hope you understand. I want to understand. I’m sorry.” Oh shucks, I forgive her
• “How do you feel?” “Big.” nooooooOOOOOOOOO IT’S OVER
• Well, it was a good note to end on, at least :( I really identified with Amethyst in this episode; I have a genetic disability, so that “gemetically speaking” line hit close to home for me. Though I do think Amethyst was being a bit of a jerk before that, laughing at Garnet and Steven’s expense. The end was really nice, though. Peridot’s definitely improving. Even though it ended well, I think this may have lasting implications for Amethyst. She already has body image issues... this, plus the fact that Garnet and Pearl probably knew she was defective and neglected to mention it to her, will probably all come up again.
Final Thoughts:
Well… shit! It’s over, I’m caught up. That was quite a ride! Do I really need to say how much I love this show? Because I really love this show. I wouldn’t have put so much effort into writing these reactions and doing all my theory-crafting if it didn’t have a special place in my heart. I’m loving season 2 so far; it’s leagues better than season 1, in my opinion. I especially adored the whole Sardonyx arch, and I’m really enjoying this Peridot development, too! What an odd place for the show to go on hiatus… right in the middle of a big plot point.
In the future, obviously I’m looking forward to seeing them take on the Cluster. I can only assume Yellow Diamond is going to show up soon, since they showed her in the extended intro, so I’m really looking forward to meeting her, too! This should shock exactly no one, but I want us to get a Garnet episode soon, specifically, an episode about Peridot and her prejudiced views of Garnet as a fusion.
Really, though, I just want to see more of these characters. I’m more attached to these space rocks on a children’s show than I am to any other fictional characters, and I just want to see more of them in any capacity! You guys were right all along; this show isn’t about the plot, it’s all about the characters.
To answer a couple questions before they get asked…
Top 5 Favorite Characters:

1. Garnet
   
2. Connie
   
3. Peridot
   
4. Steven
   
5. Pearl
   

Top 5 Favorite Episodes

1. Jailbreak
   
2. Rose’s Scabbard
   
3. Keeping it Together
   
4. Keystone Motel
   
5. Cry for Help
   

(That was really hard, you don’t want to know how long I agonized over that)
I don’t usually show people my drawings, but I’ve been sketching Steven Universe fanart in the margins of my notes basically since Arcade Mania (see: one of my OCs stealing Garnet’s glasses) And I’m pretty sure you guys are unlikely to laugh at me, so here we are :P
Some of my slightly more finished drawings include…
The only time I was ever able to draw Steven with any accuracy
Peridot blushing at… someone (insert ship here)
This tiny!Peridot that I threw together just now
I would like to end this post with a heartfelt plea to please send me all of the links to your favorite fan-made things! Or other official content (I hear there are shorts? I’ve seen a couple but it would be nice to have a list of them all.) Basically, I need things that will hold me over until the next episode. I gave you guys these reactions, now pay it forward XD
Seriously, though, thank you all for reading my ramblings! Without you guys, I would never have watched this show. And boy, did it deserve to be watched! Stay cool forever, guys. Arrivederci.
Episodes 1-5

Here are the results for the Theory Category!
1st - Team White Diamond (Team #1)
2nd - Team Blue Diamond (Team #2)
3rd - Team Pink Diamond (Team #3)
4th - Team Yellow Diamond (Team #4)
This brings the point total to...
Team White Diamond - 225
Team Yellow Diamond - 225
Team Blue Diamond - 375
Team Pink Diamond - 175
Here are the users participating in the analysis category. Wish them luck!
Team White Diamond - theneverendinghiatus
Team Yellow Diamond - Pydyn17
Team Blue Diamond - kerfufflekerfuffle
Team Pink Diamond - tyzoid

Team #1

Images being analyzed appear here: http://imgur.com/a/f3urM
Symbolism in Nightmare Hospital Nightmare Hospital is one of the eposides of Steven Universe which has the most significance to the development of Connie’s character. Prior to this episode, she must keep all her activities with Steven a secret from her parents, for fear that “if I didn’t hide it, you wouldn’t let me see Steven ever again.” This episode represents Connie’s coming clean to her mother about the goings-on of her adventures with steven, and in a way, reconciling her divergent identities – ninja by night, unsuspecting student by day.
There is quite a lot of symbolism in this episode, as are in all episodes of Steven Universe, however I would like to take a close look at the scene in which Connie is jumping upwards, trying to reach the sword that her mother is holding out of reach. This one particular scene is important, because this is the moment where these two divergent worlds of Connie’s collide, and her internal struggle becomes evident. I do this through the lens of Semiotic Analysis, using the groundwork laid out Ellen Seiter in her essay “Semiotics, Structuralism, and Television.” The basic premise of this type of analysis is to identify symbols in an image, and piece them together to identify how they build up meaning together. There are five categories of symbols that are commonly identified when studying imagery in Television: image, graphics, voice, music, and sound effects, and we will take a close look at each one.
Image In this scene we can see two people, Connie and her mother, connie with an angry/frustrated expression on her face, and her mother with a surprised/worried expression. Her mother appears dressed in a white lab coat, with shoes, pants, and a collared shirt. Connie, wearing glasses, is dressed in shorts and a T-Shirt. Connie appears in the middle of a jump to try to grab the bag or sword. This takes place in front of a red curtain and on composite checkerboard-patterned floor. Behind the curtain on the left, we see a mirror, sink and soap, along with some sort of medical illistrutation.
Graphics Graphics is usually simpler, but there are still important features to identify. The detail in the sword, the logo in the center (partially obscured) which matches the emblem of Rose, The imagery on the medical poster, which labels parts of the eye (seen more clearly in an earlier scene, included for reference). When originally aired, a small Cartoon Network emblem appeared in the bottom right hand corner.
Voice The dialog of the scene plays out as follows: Connie: Mom! I really, really need that sword! Dr. Maheswaran: Connie, no. Now is not the time. * banging on door * Connie: Now is the perfect time, mom! Dr. Maheswaran: Connie! What has gotten into you! You know I never go back on a rule, young lady. Connie: There have to be some exceptions; I’m not some… rule driven robot!
Music The music in this scene features a low pitched synthesizer, ominously playing two different notes close in range. A deep drum beats in the background periodically, but not in any discernable pattern.
Sound Effect This scene is a haven for sound effects of many different kinds. The foley of the bag shifting around in Dr. Maheswaran’s hands, and of Connie jumping and landing on the ground anchor the scene into reality. The banging of the monsters on the door bring a sense of urgency. The instrument build up towards the end of this scene, and the screeching of the monster that comes out from behind the curtain build suspence, fear, and shock.
Piecing Together Meaning The expressions in each of Connie and her mother’s faces highlight the emotional aspect of this struggle, with connie’s jumping and the sword held above her head being the physical manifestations of the struggle. The imagery in the scenery – the curtains, the poster, the sink and mirror, the floor – all point to a hospital environment. Connie’s mother is anchored into this environment by her attire, especially the lab coat. Connie appears very much out of place, owing to her T-Shirt and shorts. Connie’s glasses here represent two things: both a call back to the episode where Steven heals her eyes, showing her relationship to Steven, and her hiding this special relationship from her parents.
The music and sound effects, while building a dramatic and ominous mood for the impending monster attack, also serve to build up the emotional tension in the scene, concentrating the viewer’s focus on the struggle of Connie to obtain the sword, and to a greater degree, face her mother about the training she is receiving and the secret identity she holds. The dialog plays into this, with the choice word of “robot,” as she tries to reason back the sword to no avail. This both can be in reference to the robotic nature of the gem fusion experiments, and to her regimented life.
The sword as a symbol has many different possible interpretations: As a remaning physical manifestation of Steven’s Mother, of Steven’s trust to Conne, and of Steven’s respect of Connie’s swordskills. In this scene, the sword represents an aspect of Connie’s secret life that her mother finds out about, and is subsequently trying to get rid of.
There are a few overarching themes to this episode, family, friends, trust, bravery, and fear (particularly of the unknown). This scene is an intense highlight of how trust and bravery in one relationship, ex. friendship, may appear completely differently in that of another, ex. family. From these symbols, we can start to understand a larger picture of the role that this scene, and more generally, this episode plays in Connie’s development as a character – both in the context for adventures with steven, but also in the context of her relationships.
After this episode, and I would argue, as a direct consequence of the events of this episode, we can see this dynamic change completely, and a huge weight can be seen to be lifted off of Connie’s shoulders – she appears more relaxed and at ease with the Steven’s adventures, doesn’t wear her glasses anymore, and appears to talk to her parents in a more engaging and meaningful way. This scene represents the collision of Connie’s prior secret identity as a swordfighter and her identity as a student/daughter, and merges the two, allowing Connie the freedom to explore both herself, and her passions without the overhanging fear of being “found out.”

Team #2

Gem Harvest is an episode I feel is criminally underrated. I understand why, people were expecting something plot-heavy from their double length episode. What the episode lacks in plot, however, it makes up for by being the only episode to prominently feature a similarly underrated and quite complex character: Andy DeMayo. In this analysis, I’ll walk through Andy's part in the episode in an attempt to break down his character and show what makes him tick.
Andy is introduced in the episode as a typical older conservative man. He makes such comments as: "A hobo's a man's job!" "What're you doing socializin' this fine American barn?" "You couldn't even marry an American?" "What do you mean you weren't TECHNICALLY married?" This doesn't exactly paint him in a positive light, but it is a realistic one. The people of Beach City are a very accepting bunch, but in reality there are a lot of people like Andy out there.
Andy comes to visit his parents' barn in hopes of reminiscing on his past, but instead finds it defiled by Peridot and Lapis, who have been living there for some time. This makes him extremely angry, until Greg is called to the scene. Greg introduces Steven as his son, which causes Andy to immediately change his tune, bringing Steven in for a hug and insisting he call him "uncle". He then ribs Greg for ditching the family and never mentioning his son.
Based on this and later interactions, it is clear that Andy values his family above all else. He will refer to various family members and things they used to do in the past. He also shows a clear disdain for Greg since he abandoned the family to pursue his music career. There is nothing more important to Andy than his family. Andy is a proud DeMayo.
And then Greg basically spits on this by explaining that he has changed his (and by extension Steven's) name from DeMayo to Universe. Their family name, the very thing that ties together the family that Andy cares for so much, and Greg just threw it away like it was nothing. And to something as silly as Universe, of all things! This is about as personal as an insult can get for Andy. He denounces Greg and demands that the gems leave the barn forever...
But then Steven appeals to Andy's values by offering that the gems participate in a long-held family tradition (basically Thanksgiving) with him. "you'll have to admit they're family. And would you kick family out of the family barn?" Andy melts at the request, and agrees to participate.
Things seem to go smoothly for a while as Andy observes the Gems preparing the food for dinner. However he then sees what Peridot and Pearl are using to cook the dinner: an amalgamation of plane parts, including his parents' engine. This sets Andy off again.

It's TERRIBLE! That was the heart of the legendary wings of the "Daring DeMayos." I learned to FLY on this plane!

The plane had a lot of sentimental value to Andy, and they disrespected it. To him, the plane was a symbol of his parents and his time with them. And here the Gems are calling it junk. Andy leaves the situation, saying he can't look at it.
Later, however, while peeling potatoes with Steven, Steven pays him a compliment regarding his potato peeling skills. This gives Andy an opportunity to reminisce on his time spend with family doing the very same thing. He softens up a bit after this, and is able to cool down enough to concede that it's ok what the Gems did to the engine, at least someone is using it.
Andy opens up a bit with Steven and Greg, and this is where we first get our most important piece of the puzzle that is Andy: his loneliness. He has this to say regarding getting to travel the world:

It's really something else, you know? Just you and the hum of your engine up in that thin air, no other people, no living things around to uh, keep you company. But you know, it's not like there's much for me on the ground these days either, so...

Andy has turned to travelling the world because there’s no family left for him back at home. This is key - Andy takes such pride in his family, and yet the family as he remembers it no longer exists. This seems to have eroded away at his attitude and turned him into a bitter person.
After seeing the Gems make an attempt at participating in human traditions, he is willing to try to become a part of their family by spending a thanksgiving-type dinner with them. Unfortunately, this goes horribly for him, as he is completely alienated from the rest of the group throughout the conversation. None of the gems will join him in eating, then they begin talking about events he is unfamiliar with and then cracking inside jokes amongst themselves. To twist the knife further. they begin to pass thanks around the table and completely forget to include Andy at all. Andy is now visibly bothered by this, so Peridot tries to offer him some thanks as well:

Hmm... thank you, Andy for.. showing up! Because of you, everyone came out here to the barn, and now we're all here for the first time in a while. And it's actually... pretty great! So.. Cheers!

While Peridot means this as a sincere thanks, this strikes a wrong chord with Andy. He was able to bring a different family together, but what he really cares about is his own, which has split apart. It's the last straw for Andy, he immediately removes himself from the situation and flies away.
When Steven gives chase and asks him why he left, Andy has this to say:

I'm the only one who didn't! It was your goofball father who was the first one to hightail it outta here! Then after him it was Aunt Deb, she and her partner got the RV! No reason to stick around with that thing! Grandpa moved to the keys! Too old to make the drive anymore! I was the only one who tried to keep things the way it used to be! I knew what it meant to really be a family! And look what that got me, huh? NOTHING!

When Steven falls of of Andy's wing, Andy freaks out and rescues him. Steven acts like it's nothing, but Andy has this to say:

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU?! What good to are you to me as family if you're... Sorry. Look I just-I'm just glad you're safe. It just doesn't feel fair, everything got so different. I wanted everybody to stay the same, but they-they just didn't.

One by one, each of his family members have left him behind. He was happy with the status quo of his family, but everyone else moved on in their lives to different things, leaving him alone. He's taken to traveling the world alone because it's not like there's anyone to spend time with at home anyway. This has eroded away at Andy, making him a sad man who is quick to anger.
Andy doesn't exactly have a happy ending here, and he doesn't learn any particularly meaningful lessons. He now knows that he has a family in Greg and Steven that he can visit whenever he wants, but he is still a bit of an outsider to their own family. He does however seem more comfortable with their presence, and he has acknowledged that he could make a change in himself, as well.
In summary/TLDR
Andy is a man who values his family and tradition above all else. He was very happy with the way things were when they were together, however his family eventually went their separate ways, leaving Andy behind by himself with no one to share his traditions with. He travels the world, but this does not cure his loneliness as he longs for the way things used to be. He meets Steven but is horrified by the way the gems treat his family's old possessions as junk. But in the end, he is touched by Steven's desire to become a part of his family.
I find Andy to be a good character in Steven Universe because he feels so real. He doesn't line up with the type of person the average SU fan enjoys, but he has his own issues and values that he upholds. He's not a monster, he's just ignorant and is nowhere near unreachable. Andy shows us that we should think twice before judging this type of person by their cover.

Team #3

Amethyst is one of the most conflicted gems on the show. While initially she is seen as the reckless, impulsive, garbage eating comic relief, it is soon revealed how many insecurities lie beneath her surface. One major issue she dealt with throughout the series is feeling alone, as if she does not belong anywhere. This major inferiority is caused by her inability to connect to garnet and pearl, the circumstances of her birth in the kindergarten, and being defected. In fact, all of her insecurities can be analyzed through her song in “On The Run” (lyrics)
It is instantly seen that this song represents Amethyst’s feelings of being alone just by looking at the pronouns. When glancing at Steven’s portion of the song, he always uses inclusive pronouns. He sings how it’s time “for us to have some fun,” that “our adventure’s just begun,” and that “We’ll be thinking ‘bout our friends as we chase the setting sun.” Yet by looking at Amethyst’s parts, she sings that “I don’t care,” “I guess there are some things,” “I wish that I could say,” and that home’s “a place I have never known.” By having these singular pronouns immediately after Steven’s inclusive ones, it strengthens the fact that she considers herself alone. And while it ends with “That’s why we’re on the run,” this use of “we’re” may only be used since Steven had sung the previous line with Amethyst; if he did not, Amethyst may have continued with the singular I.
Now that it is established that the song represents Amethyst feeling alone, we have to wonder why she feels alone. The first time we listen to the song we have no knowledge of the kindergarten, and therefore must interpret it another way. Since the only previous episode highlighting one of Amethyst’s emotional problems is “Tiger Millionaire,” this reference will be in mind. Throughout that episode, it is revealed that Amethyst feels out of place with Garnet and Pearl, even leading to her telling Steven “you can't let anyone make you feel like garbage.” This implies that the other crystal gems often make her feel insecure and worthless. Even though the episode ends with the gems making up, most likely there will still be lingering feelings.
With this perspective, let’s dive line by line into Amethyst’s part. First, we look at “I don’t care about what all the others say.” In this way, the “others” clearly respond to Pearl and Garnet. But by labeling them as “others,” Amethyst is distancing herself from the rest of the Crystal gems, signaling her loneliness. And what they “say” would mean that she is immature, selfish, brash, or as put before, garbage. Following this, “there are some things that will just never go away,” means she has been dealing with this problem for her whole life. This would imply that she has tried to fit in with them for the hundreds of years she has been alive, but to no avail, she still feels out of place. Next comes the line “I wish that I could say that there’s no better place than home. But home’s a place that I have never known.” By not feeling like she belongs with the other gems as a family, it would be true that she has never had a home. In which case “why” she’s on the run is to get away from the Crystal Gems that do not accept her, leaving her alone.
After rewatching the episode immediately afterwards (which should be done because it is fabulous), the knowledge of the kindergarten clearly reshapes how the song is seen. Now in the first line, the “others” stay the crystal gems, but what they “say” is now them blaming her for the atrocious situation behind her birth. When Amethyst screams at Pearl “You think I’m just a big mistake,” later in the episode, it shows what terrible thoughts she assumes the other gems say behind her back. Then the following line’s “things that will just never go away” refers to her never being able to change the circumstance of her birth. It will always be lingering in her mind that she was made to destroy the Earth and the Crystal Gems, no matter how much she grows. No matter how many times she saves the world, she still knows she was meant to destroy it. Furthermore, the “home’s a place that I have never known,” would easily describe her never living in her intended home, including never knowing homeworld nor any of the other kindergarten Amethysts. This divide of everything she was intended to be further makes her feel alone. So now “why” she’s on the run is to try to run away from her terrible birth, which ironically leads her face to face with the kindergarten.
Finally, rewatching the episode after the Jasper arc, the song instead shows her insecurity about her defectiveness. As seen in “Too Far,” when Amethyst finds out she is “defective,” she becomes distant and defensive, even angrily stating to Peridot “Are you saying I’m wrong!” This new insecurity intensifies as Jasper returns, representing what a perfect Amethyst could look like, act like, and be like. This feeling of inadequacy climaxes in “Earthlings” where Amethyst, defeated by Jasper, pleads to Steven “I can't win. No matter what I do, no matter how hard I work, she came out right, and I came out... wrong…” By admitting she is “wrong,” it shows that she has lost to her insecurity and let her defects define her. She became a frail, emotional mess. If it wasn’t for Steven to talk her out of this mindset, she may have never gotten over her defectiveness.
Using this interpretation, the song again means something different. Now the “others” in the first line would include all other gems met, including Crystal Gems, Homeworld Gems, and specifically Jasper. They are the gems that were made correctly. In fact, this also implies that Garnet, Pearl, and Rose most likely at some point discussed her defectiveness since they all knew what a proper Amethyst looks like. If so, they would have intentionally kept it hidden from Amethyst, thinking that she could not handle the truth (which is right, she couldn’t handle it). Along with this, she imagines they would “say” that she is weak, wrong, and destined for failure, such as the time Jasper screamed “You could have been me! And what are you instead? Just a joke.” Next, the “things that ... never go away” refer to her unable to change her defections. No matter how hard she trains, she will never be as strong as Jasper; even Steven, who has been training as a crystal gem for less than two years, has already surpassed her. When Stevonnie beats Jasper without her help, Amethyst somberly declares “Oh good! You didn’t need me at all.” This further shows how she believes her defects prevent her from being good enough. Finally, the “home’s a place that I have never known” refers to a family that she feels she’s on par with. Garnet, through the unconditional love of ruby and sapphire, is more than just her parts. Pearl, through hard work and determination is much stronger than any homeworld pearl. And Steven is shaping up to one day be better than Rose. For her to fit in she would need to be Jasper, but she is not. All Amethyst can think of is all the ways she’s not Jasper, showing she is inferior to all her teammates. So naturally, she is is on the run to escape the fact that she’s flawed.
Amethyst is a troubled gem that has dealt with problems that have left her feeling weak, defective, a mistake, and ultimately alone. However, through defeating Jasper as Smokey Quartz, meeting the famethyst, and growing stronger as a gem, she has grown more confident and feels accepted. She even gets to the point that she no longer needs to wrestle anymore, stating “I mean, I needed it when I felt like eh I wasn't good enough. But I don't feel like that anymore.” I don’t feel like that anymore. It seems her issues, like this analysis, is over, isn’t it?

Team #4

Hello everyone. I have decided that for my portion of the SU Olympics, I’m going to analyze Cry for Help, the first episode of the Sardonyx bomb. It was the first bomb that I ever watched lived, and it's my bomb in all of Steven Universe. I figured that it would be fun to analyze why the Sardonyx bomb worked so well, and why I feel it is when of the best things SU has ever done. Without further ado, let's begin.
Cry for Help is the first episode in the Sardonyx bomb. Naturally, it needs to create the conflict that the rest of the bomb is based around. Cry for Help does more than that however. It also hints towards how certain characters are going to act once everything goes wrong.
Cry for Help does this from the moment the episode starts. The first line in the episode is "I don't get this cartoon man. Why don't they just eat the ice cream off the floor? They don't have to cry about it". While on the surface this doesn't mean much (the bomb is about Pearl tricking Garnet into fusing, not eating ice cream), it does say a lot about Amethyst, and what her reaction is going to be to the conflict. She will want the conflict to end quickly, for Pearl and Garnet to quickly make up. She will not understand why they can't just move past it, and will see the others as just being dumb. So while this line doesn’t hint towards the plot of the episode, it does foreshadow Amethyst's feelings during the entire bomb.
The next important moment comes when Steven says that Garnet and Amethyst should fuse. Amethyst's reaction is while at first a bit unsure, she convinces herself that it would be a good idea to form Sugilite, and gets excited. This is important for one reason. If Amethyst didn't want to form Sugilite, or didn't care, then the pain she would feel watching Sardonyx fix her mistake a lot less. However, because she does want to fuse, she is that much more hurt when Garnet rejects her.
Another thing I want to bring up is the brilliant idea of using the communication hub again. This is obviously the place where Amethyst and Garnet fused. This creates an obvious parallel between the two fusions. It also allows Amethyst to view the Communication Hub as her failure. She thinks it's her fault it's still working, and it hurts that much more to watch Sardonyx fix her "Tower of Mistakes".
There is a very good reason why Amethyst is the main focal point of this episode. The bomb mostly focuses on Garnet and Pearl, and how this affected them. What's sometimes forgotten about is how this whole thing affected Amethyst. She does get two episodes that talk about how she feels (Cry for Help and Onion Friend) but they're often overshadowed by other things in those episodes (Pearl's trickery and Onion's weirdness). In the bomb alone this is important because when two people fight, everyone around them is affected. It is very important to remember that. It also fits into one of Amethyst biggest problem, that her emotions are ignored by everyone except Steven. She is constantly put to the side in favor of someone else, and this bomb is no exception.
Sardonyx's reveal is great. Its purpose is to drive home the idea that Sardonyx and Sugilite are very different. Everything about that scene does this. Steven's "You're so articulated", the music, the way she summons her weapon, the way she takes down the Communication Hub, to her line "Smash is the word one would use to describe what... someone else might do". This is gives Amethyst even more reasons to doubt herself. Another important line, also centered around Crying Breakfast Friends, is "I'd forgive Pear, wouldn't you?". Garnet's response to this is to basically blow it off, implying she wouldn't forgive Pear. This is hinting towards the fact Garnet does not forgive Pearl after she fucks up. Like Amethyst line from the beginning of the episode, this is foreshadowing Garnets emotions in the bomb. (As a small note, having Amethyst pick up a rock shaped like Peridot’s gem during Tower of Mistakes is a nice touch, hinting towards her "solution".)
Amethyst reaction to the entire thing is interesting. While they could have shown her gleeful that she could rat on Pearl, they chose instead to have her conflict. She wants to tell Garnet, but at the same time she doesn't want to hurt Pearl. This shows a huge growth in character, as season 1 Amethyst would have no problem with telling Garnet. And not only does she not want to tell on her, she tries to stand up for Pearl. It doesn't work, but again it shows how Amethyst's character has changed. A good example from 1A is Secret Team. In that episode Amethyst wants to tell on Pearl, until it would hurt her too.
The final fusion between Amethyst and Garnet changes the name of the game. For most of this episode it was all about Amethyst and how she's feeling. Now all of a sudden it centers more on Pearl and Garnet. This is what most of the bomb is going to be centered around, with a bit of Amethyst and Steven mixed in. More than anything else this episode was showing how much Pearl messed up, showing how she hurt Amethyst and Garnet.
So, in conclusion Cry for Help is a great start the Sardonyx arc. The episode accomplishes its main and most important task, which is setting up the main conflict of the bomb. It also does an excellent job of foreshadowing how the characters are going to react to the future conflict. The episode also needed to focus on Amethyst more, because they need to make sure people realize that Pearl’s action’s hurt everyone, including Amethyst. Plus, by focusing on Amethyst it really shows how much her character has evolved over the entire show.
VOTE HERE for which team you thought wrote up the best Analysis. See you on Sept 8 for the Fanart Category!

This is the fifth category of the /StevenUniverse Olympics!
The Analysis Category ^{art by fennric}
Your job (the reader of this post) is to look at both teams' SU analysis' and choose which one you think is better.

Submission 1

SU Analysis - Alone Together
Firstly, a brief note on the nature of Fusion-Dancing-Synchronization: My understanding is that dancing is a means towards fusion (I believe this is a pretty common understanding). For fusion to occur, synchronization must occur on some level. The number of different kinds of levels is as vast as the number of kinds of relationships. There is obviously romantic synchronization (Ruby and Sapphire) but there can be platonic as well (Garnet and anyone else). If I were to comment on the nature of forced fusions, then I might argue that a person can force someone into following their beat, like in a Dominant-Submissive relationship (no relation to the willful kink). Imagine a bully of a band teacher who uses intimidation to get his students on beat. He yells, stares menacingly, throws things against the wall, breaking down your will in order to get you to conform to his beat. This is how I understand Jasper forcing fusion with that gem monster - she subdued its will through intimidation, forcing it to meet her at her level.
Whatever the type of relationship you have, dancing enables its participants to sync up their levels. For the gems who are already presumably almost always on the same level (e.g. The Rubies), dancing is largely unnecessary. For those who reach a shared level through a means besides dancing (Smokey Quartz), dancing is unnecessary.
You ever see those fights where the fighters are at such a high level of ability and so close to each other in terms of strength that at some point they synchronize their breath and movement? All else falls away and dramatic music fills the air as the two flow atop the battlefield. Martial arts at an incredibly high level is often comparable to dancing and vice versa. So much so that dancing itself can be viewed as a kind of battle, and dance and battle can be further conflated with the development of relationships.
Put more simply, at certain levels, Fighting <- Dancing <- Relationships. Fusion allows us to see all three in action.
This having been established, let us move on to season 1 episode 37:

Alone Together

The episode begins with the Crystal Gems attempting to teach Steven how to dance in preparation for fusion. I do not have much to say on this except that what I understand to be the goal of the exercise is to teach Steven to match up to their movements. This may be why they have him copy their movements, despite the fact that you do not really need specific dance moves in order to fuse. If he can learn to copy movements, then he can potentially reach the minimum level on which he may potentially fuse with them. When later Connie asks if they can write out the steps, Steven says that he doesn't think it's entirely about the dancing, and I agree. It is not dancing, but the syncing that dancing enables that is important. So what does learning the moves do? It gives us a start.
In the immediate next scene, we have Garnet make what may be a throwaway line. Amethyst says that fusion is hard, even for the Crystal Gems, and Garnet replies with, "Not for me." Now why Garnet can claim this can be answered pretty straightforwardly by simply exclaiming, "Becuz she's literally a fusion!!!", but I would like to dip down just a little deeper. I refer to this to point out that, emotionally, Amethyst, Pearl, and Garnet literally operate at different psychological/emotional stages. The lower your stage, the more difficult it is to understand people above you, and consequently the more difficult it is match and maintain synchronizations levels. This is not to suggest that you need to be at the same psychological/emotional stage to fuse; the relationship levels I discussed above are different the kinds of "stages" described from a psychology perspective.
Besides Steven, Amethyst is at the lowest stage emotionally (though she has made considerable progress since then!) Consequently, she has the most unstable fusions among the CGs, as it is more difficult for her to reach and maintain stable levels with the other CGs. Garnet is at the highest stage among them, and so consequently has more stable fusions among the CGs, as she is the most capable of understanding the other CGs emotionally. Pearl is inbetween Amethyst and Garnet, and so consequently has a more mixed fusion stability.
Opal appears to unfuse rather quickly. Sugilite, despite her excessively aggressive personality, is able to remain fused for a very long time. Sardonyx is seemingly rather easy to maintain - Garnet and Pearl seem to have no trouble syncing up time and time again. The greater your emotional stage, the more capable you are of reaching and maintaining the same level as another (Garnet + anyone). If the fusers are on different stages, then it makes syncing and duration more difficult (Opal). Even when the fusers are on different stages, if they at greater emotional stages than lower, then syncing and duration are easier (Sardonyx). However, if the fusers are operating at the same emotional stage, then the fusion can be more easy to reach and maintain, because their levels are already similar (Malachite, Smokey Quartz).
When events result in the fusers dropping down emotional stages (Cry for Help/Keystone Motel), then the trauma can completely destabilize even the most stable of fusions, which will not be reformed until the fusers can reach the same level again.
So when Garnet says it's not hard for her, it is not merely because she is a perma-fusion but because of all of the factors that allow and enable perma-fusion. It is because of the quality of the level of her relationship.

Now it's time for Steven and Connie!

We are quickly introduced to Connie's well-established self-doubt. As I currently understand it, her sense of inadequacy is largely due to her over-protective family environment and her frequent moving. Over-protectiveness tends to limit the exploration of one's capabilities and affinities, as well as instill a constant feeling of fear of the unknown. While safety is important, especially for babies and children, there is such a thing as excessive safety, and Connie is a decent product of that.
Her frequent moving makes it difficult for her make friends. When we make friends, we gain a peer with whom we can compare and contrast ourselves with. In doing so, we learn about ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses. We also gain someone who can bring us into new experiences, push us into new boundaries, and test our limits. In the absence of such a friend, we are left severely restricted in our self-discovery. The growth of our self esteem and self awareness becomes stunted.
So here we have fearful, almost-friendless Connie. The over-protectiveness has held her back from attempting new and scary things. Her frequent moving has deprived her of bonds that enable exploration and experimentation. Hence why Connie was unable to bring herself to go to her school dance despite her excitement for it.
Then along comes Steven.
As they dance, they begin to sync. No expectations, no reservations, the two express themselves freely, without question. And at their dance's peak? They fall... into Stevonnie.
Let's jump a little forward to Stevonnie showing their self off to the CGs. Why does Pearl call a gem fusing with a human being inappropriate? Why "inappropriate"? What's that supposed to mean? What is with Pearl's uncomfortability at Stevonnie? To answer this, we must go back to the different emotional stages thing from earlier. To put it simply, Pearl is presently operating at an emotional stage wherein what is important in life is order, stability, and cleanliness. Any challenges to the norm is unnerving because they threaten to tear at the fabric of their community.
This is commonly one of the reasons why parents get upset with that "new music them dern kids are listening to", new technologies, and new trends.
So Stevonnie is a challenge to the norm. Steven himself is a challenge to the norm, too. Looking back at the real world, we are currently witness to the full recognition of relationships that challenge the norm, too, e.g. LGBTQ+.
For Pearl, any challenge to the norm causes discomfort because of how it might threaten the expected order of things, which is somewhat ironic considering her liberation as a Pearl. But that is perfectly normal, because we humans do this all the time.
Now we arrive at Garnet's immortal words:

Stevonnie. Listen to me. You are not two people and you are not one person. You are an experience. Make sure you are a good experience. Now Go. Have. Fun!

Now what is the meaning of her words? In simplistic terms, Fusion are representative of Relationships. I argue that fusion can be representative of all the varieties of relationships, from romantic to platonic to familial to codependent and so on. I am reminded of the concept of Gestalt psychology which is where we get the phrase, "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts". However, that is an incorrect translation. The true translation is:

The whole is other than the sum of its parts

Meaning the whole is something wholly different from, not just more than, the parts that go into it.
Anyways, I would argue that we can see a reflection of this in Garnet's words to Stevonnie. Stevonnie is neither just their parts nor merely a thing greater than their parts - they are something entirely other. Something new, something alien, undiscovered, unexplored territory.
The same may hold true for any of human relationships. Relationships between peoples is also other than the sum of their parts; when we engage with someone we've never done so with before, who knows what will happen? Recall my explanation regarding the importance of friendship earlier:

When we make friends, we gain a peer with whom we can compare and contrast ourselves with. In doing so, we learn about ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses. We also gain someone who can bring us into new experiences, push us into new boundaries, and test our limits.

To begin a relationship is to create the new, the unforeseen, the gestalt. Humans grow by means of entering (and leaving) relationships. Emotional growth is impossible without it. It is hard, if not impossible, to come up with something truly original, but for every individual everything they experience for the first time is something truly newly original to them, and that is something very important about relationships and human experience. While growing up, we might often hear the phrase, "Oh, it's just a phase you're going through; it'll stop eventually". Sometimes a parent might even actively stop or prevent their child from going through a phase, perhaps because the parent also went through that phase and so wants to protect their children from it.
However, in light of the nature of the fusion of Stevonnie and Garnet's words, we should amend that phrase. It should not be "phase we go through". It should be "phase we grow through", meaning the phases in our lives are important to our development as individuals. Phases and relationships are opportunities in which we can attempt to discover gestalt! Which is why it is so important for the experience to be made a good one. Gestalt is an opportunity to discover, learn, and grow. If we are made to only feel guilt, shame, anger, etc. in association with it, then we may end up too fearful to try it again.
It is important for experiences to be associated with good feelings alongside any pain and frustration we may also develop along the way. Because while all growth is change, and all change is necessarily painful, we must not end up too afraid of change to not try again.

The Big Donut

The common concept to appeal to here is the notion of puberty and how its development in your physical body can dramatically change how people perceive and treat you, despite the fact that you are mentally/emotionally mostly the same as you were prior to the onset of puberty. I will appeal to that, too. The dramatic change in Stevonnie's form and demeanor elicits a peculiar response from Lars and Sadie, a response that Stevonnie hardly notices because their self-awareness has yet to catch up to the reality of their new physical form.
When we grow, we gain power, regardless of whether we want such power or not. Even when they still feel like a kid inside, any given adult usually has more power than any given child. That is a reality that most everyone will have to contend with at some point in their lives. Stevonnie is more powerful than Steven and Connie in ways beyond just mere physical strength, and this is a trial the two must come to contend with.

Two Donuts: Are you Okay?

Now why is Stevonnie/Steven/Connie asking themselves if they are OK? As I understand it, this whole fusion exercise is an experience in relational limit testing. Put more simply, they are seeing how far they can go, what they are willing and unwilling to do, together. When you're alone, you only have to ask yourself if you're willing to go so far. However, when in a relationship, you must also be aware of the limits of your partner. Something that is within your limits may be beyond theirs. You might want to move towards your limit when your partner feels it's moving beyond theirs. Simultaneously, you might want to hold yourself back for the sake of your partner, while your partner may want to push themself for you.
Stevonnie is an exercise in relational limit testing.

The Dance

Opportunity strikes! The Connie part of Stevonnie is afforded the opportunity to make up for that dance she skipped. Emboldened by the power of their new form, they go without hesitation. Yet when the rush dies down events turn for the worse.
Why did Stevonnie stop dancing? Why did they start paying attention to everyone paying attention to them? It is because their heart and mind had still not yet caught up to the power in their gestalt form.
For Connie, dancing among many people is a foreign concept, an untried experience. The form of Stevonnie allows them to dance beyond human limits, but Stevonnie is unaware of just how spectacular they are. Lacking experience in being cool at a cool dance, the Connie part of Stevonnie cannot understand why everyone is staring at them. Did they do something wrong? Is this not the right party? Are they supposed to be doing something else? What is going on!?
As with any new experience, there is invariably confusion. And in times of confusion, dark thoughts can start creeping in. Underneath the Stevonnie layer of power still exists the fragile esteem and high anxiety of Connie. This manifests in that hallucination, a visual metaphor for withdrawing into oneself and feeling isolated and cornered. While Stevonnie is capable, Connie's own limit has been reached. But before we can contend with that... out comes
#Kevin Time
What is Kevin? Based on all evidence available throughout the show, he seems to be a guy with access to a lot of money, a lot of free time, and generally decent genetics. So, of course, he's a bit of an incorrigible douche. But what is he within this scene?
He is an antagonist, another point of comparison, a 3rd wheel, a wall. He is a challenge. A challenge that Stevonnie initially flees from. Why?
Because they're not having fun. Why aren't they having fun? The Connie part of Stevonnie asks the Steven part why they're not having fun. Steve likes dancing, so why do they not like this dancing?

If we were together, it would be OK. But we are together, and it's not... I'm alone.

And so we are finally approaching Stevonnie's limit - a limit inherent to Stevonnie the gestalt, not Steven and/or Connie. Entirely new experiences mean entirely new challenges, and Stevonnie's challenge is one of reassurance. When in Stevonnie, Steven and Connie cannot reassure each other like they usually do - there is a dramatic difference in pepping yourself up and being pepped up by another person. In the former, we are merely taking something from ourselves that we already have. In the latter, we are being given something that is not originally ours.
In the former, we are alone. In the latter, we are sharing.

Kevin Time 2: Electric Boogaloo

Here comes Kevin again, trying once again to establish a relationship with Stevonnie. While Stevonnie is busy trying to understand their limits and the feelings of their partners, Kevin is blazing through with complete disregard for anyone's feelings, asserting meaningless things like a shady mystery attraction purveyor trying to entice idiots into purchasing overpriced knick knacks.
Kevin says they're perfect for each other, and Stevonnie cannot believe how Kevin could assert such a thing; they don't even know each other!
One difference between the two at present is that Kevin is ignorant of his limits with regard to other people whereas Stevonnie becoming aware of theirs. Unfortunately for Kevin, Stevonnie is willing to show Kevin where his limit lies with them.
Apparently, that limit is at two kids.

Together Again

Finally separated, Steven and Connie let out a cathartic laugh, a mix of frustration, anxiety, and relief. As with most learning experiences, Stevonnie was a lesson in fun, confusion, limits, and pain. In a fusion, they gain power, but they lose themselves within each other. That power can compensate for their individual weaknesses, but that does not make those weaknesses go away.
So what of importance does Alone Together have to share? It

• Reveals a bit of the nature of fusions
  
• Reveals the nature of relationships
  
• Argues for the need for limit-testing experiences to be good
  
• Shows that relationships can grant enhanced power
  
• Depicts that despite the greater power, relationships do not rid you of your unresolved weaknesses
  
• And that even in a relationship, you can feel alone.
  

I hope that whatever experiences you have, whatever relationships you enter, you remember to try to make it a good one. Now Go. Have. Fun!

Submission 2

The Great Wall: A Jasper Analysis

Jasper; a name that is as infamous to the Steven Universe fandom as it is controversial. It is a name that conjures up images of conflict and brutality, a name that inspires fear and implies everything that our intrepid and outnumbered heroes stand against. This is Jasper; Homeworld's finest champion and arch nemesis of Rose Quartz and her Crystal Gems.
Yet for all she represents, we have known precious little about Jasper until very recently. Her origins, her motivations, and what generally makes her tick were all revealed in a short amount of time over the course of the past couple of months and this has left many fans (including myself) speculating as to what her next fate shall be.
To seemingly make matters even more complicated, new evidence has surfaced via word of god that further sheds a light on who Jasper is and where she may be headed. Of Jasper and her current fate as of Earthlings, Sugar had this to say;

Jasper is very different than Peridot and Lapis. Unlike them, she has a deep hate for herself because of her origins on Earth. She is determined to never be weak or vulnerable. So at the point when she’s the lowest, there’s no way she’d ever accept help, because she believes she doesn’t deserve it. Peridot and Lapis both believed they deserved better than what happened to them, but not Jasper.

That's a lot to take in. This revelation has caused a lot of confusion amongst the ranks of the fans as Jasper has always seemed many things; arrogant, haughty, stubborn, cruel, and brutish being amongst them...But self hating?
I'm going to do my best today to convince you that the idea is less farfetched than you might think. Steven Universe is a show in which continuity and context play heavy roles in its storytelling. Based on this new information we can go back into all the scenes that Jasper has been in and compare them to what we now know about her. Are you ready? Some of the things written here may very well change the way you look at this character.
"But wait!" I hear you saying. "I've never seen Jasper bemoan herself like, say...Amethyst does." And you'd be correct in that. Of all the gems to show their vulnerabilities...their weaknesses, much like Sugar said, Jasper is not amongst them. You see, these characters are very well constructed analogies to actual people which means they're always going to be very nuanced and complicated much as people are. Gems hide things about themselves from others much like people do. We've seen Amethyst use self depreciating humor to cover her rampant insecurities and self loathing. We've seen Peridot use her adorable narcissism to compensate for the fact that she's afraid of the unknown and fearful of her own perceived inadequacies as a gem. We've seen Lapis bury all of her depression and anger behind a veil of moody apathy. The list goes on. Knowing all of this its easy then to see how Jasper has so cleverly hidden her own darkness behind a wall; possibly the greatest wall any of the characters on the show have erected to hide their true selves from the outside world.
Today I am going to tap my way through that wall so that hopefully by the time I'm done you will be able to see who and what Jasper really is.
The Cornerstone: Born to Kill
Lets begin with what we most recently learned about Jasper; where she came from. In Beta its revealed that Jasper was born on the Earth in a Kindergarten that Peridot at least considered to be very slapdash in nature:

This place has got the right growing conditions in a pinch...I guess. But its too small! It was obviously a total rush job.

A quartz warrior born on the Earth who loathes herself for her "defective" origins...sounds familiar right? Yeah, its obvious that during this arc that Jasper was used as a foil for Amethyst to great effect. Much as Steven and Jasper refute it, Amethyst shares a lot of similarities with her "sis" and later I'll use those similarities to be able to infer a few things about Jasper that are more overtly stated with Amethyst.
But for now lets focus on the nature of Jasper's birth. Something that is very important when talking about this is the timing of her emergence.

Halfway through the rebellion Homeworld scrambled to produce extra soldiers on the ground.

So we can see that Jasper's entire existence is based solely upon the necessities of war. This is important because it means that unlike most normal villains or the CGs for that matter, Jasper has never known a time when she didn't have someone to be fighting. She's not someone who, by virtue of a long line of continuous decisions eventually fell to darkness. Jasper never got a chance to choose her morality:

Fighting IS my life! Its what I was made for!
They say you popped out of the ground with your helmet on!

Jasper has been on the warpath from the second she first gained consciousness. To people like Steven whose normal life experience is "peace and love on the planet Earth", Jasper's experience is a whole other world apart. Her "normal" is the fires of combat and all the hatred that comes with it. This has obviously had a profound effect on Jasper; someone whose only point for existing was to help win a war that was lost anyway. We know now that gems emerge from the ground as fully physically mature beings but we also know that gems can take a long time to mature mentally. Take for example Amethyst, a gem who is thousands of years old but still often acts with all the maturity of a bratty teenager in all the time we've known her.
I say this to illustrate a point; if Jasper's first memories are of fighting, killing, and losing then this has set the tone for her mental development for the rest of her life since then. One could go as far as to say that she is analogous to a child soldier. She is not someone who chose a violent life but had a violent life thrust upon her in a system where that violence was rewarded as being her proper function. Its easy then to see how it is she came to be so brutal. Brutality, cruelty, mercilessness...its all she's ever known and she, in turn, has built a facade to reflect all these things back out at a world that punishes weakness.
Speaking of weakness, there is the matter of Earth itself. We learned that Jasper came right out of terra firma but we also know that despite this she seems to despise the planet that birthed her.

I was there, you know. At the first war for this garbage planet.
To come out misshapen, to reshape yourself outside your purpose, and to defend this worthless, ruined planet is a disgrace!
Earth… is a prison. And I got out because I’m better than this place.

Jasper's right about at least one thing. Earth IS a prison, its HER prison. After the war ended Jasper could have returned to Homeworld and tried to move on with her life but instead she's stuck fighting the first war forever in her mind which means that her purpose and her self worth is tied to the Earth. The reasons she came back are very clearly stated.

Neither of you saw Rose Quartz? What a shame. I hoped to meet her. I was looking forward to beating her into the ground.

Try as she might she can't escape Earth because it was here that she was handed her greatest disgrace. Jasper is obsessed with repaying what was done to her. Destroying Rose and whats left of her armies is the only way she thinks she can expunge the disgrace both on herself and on Earth.
It obviously doesn't seem from Jasper's words that she's at all sentimental about this planet. This is true up until the climactic moment of Earthlings where what she says about Earth is very...interesting.

I’ve been fighting since I broke free from the Earth’s crust! Because of what you did to my colony! Because of what you did to my planet!

In a fit of rage when we see the wall that Jasper has built start to crack and crumble she very clearly claims the Earth as hers and that she is a product of this planet. Earlier in the conversation she asserted that she was better than the planet but we can see from both her own words and Sugar's that this is merely part of her facade. She's trying to convince herself that she's better than Earth and its inhabitants. She has to be because if she's not then that means she's no better than them and if that's true then her entire reason for living, for fighting...is all a lie.
Something that Peridot says in Gem Drill may confirm this idea a bit more.

But it's hard...Not to have some feelings for where you came from.

Despite Jasper's proclamations about Earth and how she hates it and how its worthless...its all just turned out to be another reflection of the raging storm of hatred within her. She hates the Earth because she hates what happened to her here and simultaneously hates herself for what she failed to do here. One needs only to look at her actions in Earthlings to see that.
Firstly, Jasper has returned to where she came from and has decided to use it as a base to build her own army to contest Rose's. In some twisted way is that not a form of sentimentality?
Secondly, she has turned the exit holes of her birthplace into cages. A powerful symbol of how she herself is trapped by her own hatred upon this planet.
Thirdly, she stands there speaking to a corrupted gem monster who she knows can't speak back to her. Knowing what happens to her at the end of the episode...is this not perhaps a subversion of the wall she has built around her inner self? She's speaking to someone who she will soon look like and tells them that they are a disgrace, that they are an embarrassment and that they are weak...Is Jasper talking to a mirror here? She of course denies being anything like the monster but we know its only a front; her arrogance a cover for the knowledge that somewhere deep inside her is the same monster from the same planet.
But this brings up an interesting point (also my next one). So often in the show Jasper's actions and Jasper's words seem to be at odds with each other. Jasper does not seem to be a fan of practicing what she preaches.
The Curtain: A Brazen Hypocrite
Its no secret that Jasper is a pretty big hypocrite. But what does this say about her in the end? Her famous lines about fusion being cheap and an embarrassment directly precede her fusing with Lapis to form Malachite. We run into this dilemma where it seems like Jasper refuses to acknowledge that she herself is doing things that "goes against the Diamond order." If she despises fusion then what does that say about how she views herself?
Quite a lot actually. The thing is, Jasper is unhesitant to admonish fusion both before and after she fuses.

Sorry, but there's only room for one abomination on this measly planet!

Even as Malachite she considers herself an abomination and this tells us something about Jasper. She's completely willing to personally betray all of the principles she holds dear in order to achieve her goal of destroying the Crystal Gems. She has zero respect for herself, all that matters in the end is her goal. Jasper is willing to completely desecrate her own self image in order to achieve her ends. That in itself is a clear flag indicating a hatred both inside and out. She already failed once, what dignity does she have left besides that which she desperately tells herself that she has in comparison with the ones she fights?
But that's not even the end of this long, twisting journey into Jasper's self hatred. Despite being a fusion completely based on hatred, Malachite was somehow able to stay fused for months of in show time. We've seen fusions desync and fall apart in the show before...So what forces conspired to keep Lapis and Jasper together under the ocean?
While some have speculated that it was Lapis' own willpower that was able to accomplish this, I think the real answer is more complicated and tremendously more sad. We get to see a hint of what kept Malachite together in Alone at Sea.

Lets be Malachite again!
Why...would you want that?!
I was wrong about fusion. You made me understand!

Inside that fusion Jasper experienced something that made her want to be Malachite again...and it wasn't just power.

I liked taking everything out on you...I needed to! I hated you!
I'm the only one who can handle your kind of power!

Fusion is a metaphysical form of existence that is built upon a mutual understanding between gems. As we saw in the Sardonyx arc, that understanding doesn't always have to be the most benevolent...but then what was Malachite's existence built on? Hate.
Lapis obviously took all the rage of her hate out on Jasper, she said so herself...but Jasper never responded in kind. She only spoke wistfully, near in awe at what she had experienced as Malachite. It's because Malachite validated the way she feels about herself. For once Jasper found someone that hates her with as much passion as she hates herself...and that hatred gave her the power she needed to reach her goal. Of course she wanted Malachite back, of course she would miss her as much as Lapis missed her, she finally had a connection with someone that made her feel like she wasn't lying to herself!
Jasper isn't a hypocrite who is out of touch with reality due to her own inflated sense of self, rather its the opposite. Jasper is a hypocrite who doesn't seem to care whether she stands up to her own code or not. Any sense of honor or righteousness has long been stripped from her. All there is is the mission; the one thing that will validate her continued existence. What's the loss of her dignity compared to the loss of her identity?
Its that contorted and destroyed sense of identity that has led to her final downfall. It crumbled when Jasper finally stood face to face with her innermost demons.
The Battlements: A Demon Confronted
This wall that Jasper has built around her focuses on reflecting the feelings she has about herself onto her enemies. She cannot afford to appear weak, cannot afford to show vulnerability. This is how she differs from many of the other characters in the show; she holds on to her pride until the bitter end. Even in the Beta Kindergarten, her desperation is palpable.

I will NOT be beaten by another fusion!

She's so desperate in fact that she somehow manages to sync a fusion with a corrupted gem trapped in a cage. Jasper's at the end of her rope here...she has literally become a cornered animal in these final moments.
And what of her final fusion with the corrupted quartz gem? We see if very briefly but its appearance is quite distinguished.
Horns? Hooves? Claws? Those are some pretty standard features of classic western demon imagery. This is both a literal and figuratively transformative moment for Jasper; she has finally become on the outside what she bears on the inside...a demon, a monster.
Does anyone else fine it intriguing that both Amethyst and Jasper's moments of complete self destruction both happened in the Kindergarten where they were born? One might even consider Earthlings to be Jasper's On The Run. The two episodes bear striking similarities when compared. Jasper doesn't say much about how she feels by the end of Earthlings but we can infer from the way Amethyst felt in On the Run what's going through Jasper's head as she's slowly corrupting from the inside out and refuses to let anyone try to help her.

I'm not going to let you stand there and remind me of everything I hate about myself!

If there's one thing Jasper hates, its weakness. Weakness in others, weakness in herself. She swiped at Steven because accepting help from him would make her weak. It would mean, in her mind, that she was no better than the Crystal Gems and she says so herself.

I see how you do it now Rose, you want Gems after they're worthless, you wait until after they've lost, because when you're at the bottom, you'll follow anyone, that makes you feel like less of a failure.

The sad, sad thing about this is that she speaks from experience. We now know that Rose Quartz shattered Jasper's matriarch, Pink Diamond, and then somehow ended up in the employ of Yellow Diamond. Its not hard to put two and two together. Earthlings wasn't the first time that Jasper hit the bottom...which is exactly why she wont rest until those that did it to her are paid back in full. She blames Rose for her failure of an existence...in other words...

I NEVER ASKED TO BE MADE!

But that wasn't the worst thing Rose could have done to her. No, the worst comes right at the end when Jasper is finally losing it all.

I’ve been fighting since I broke free from the Earth’s crust! Because of what you did to my colony, because of what you did to my planet, because of what you did to my Diamond!
Yellow Diamond?
Wh-Wha? My Diamond!...Your Diamond!...Pink Diamond!

In this moment Jasper finally faces her demons; the object of all her hatred in the form of who she thinks is Rose Quartz...and that person has no idea what she's talking about. It leaves her speechless but you can feel the unbridled rage in her voice as she screams her last uncorrupted words vainly into the sky. She's lost it all; her body, her mind, and now the one person who remembers the wrong that had been done to her had completely forgotten.
It had to feel like mockery. It had to feel like going insane. And according to Sugar, it destroyed her completely.

She went back to Earth to face her demons, and she lost. She’s consumed by her own self pity.

Conclusion: Unlike many of us previously thought, Jasper is not an open and shut case of bigotry. Much like the Crewniverse promised, she's a complicated, multi layered character whose place in SU's world is as much a consequence of forces outside of her control as it is within her control. Somewhere deep down inside that gem, past the giant wall she built to protect what little of her own sense of self remained after the war, Steven at least knows that there is a vulnerable, insecure person that needs help...if only he knew how to give it to her.
But hey, you know what they say about how the Crystal Gems always save the day, right?
Vote Here <--- on who you think had the better analysis. Was it Submission 1 or Submission 2?
Theory Category Results
Jennite [+1] (Submission 1) of Team Peridot def. Subzero008 [+2] (Submission 2) of Team Pearl This brings our scoreboard to...

Team Pearl	Team Peridot
II	II

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