All of Steven Universe season 3 is dropping every weeknight for the next few weeks, a massive Stevenbomb now into its second week. The “Summer of Steven” started last week and gave us six new episodes . This week started off with a new episode, “Restaurant Wars,” focused on Beach City hijinks between Fryman and Kofi. Next we enjoyed “Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service,” a super-charming episode that gave us lots of insight on the quieter Pizza twin.
“Monster Reunion” starts with Steven bemoaning MC Bear Bear’s... tear-tear. But it turns out that Steven’s healing spit is back, and with a smooch, he solves MC Bear Bear’s problem. Excited, he runs into the kitchen to tell the Gems -- and to ask them if he can heal one of the monsters in the bubble room. Garnet tries to tell him no, but no one can stand up to the puppy eyes.
The three Gems wait nervously as Steven lets out Centipeetle, then licks his hand and gives the corrupted Gem a whap. Centipeetle reforms and is more Gem-like than we’ve ever seen her, with brown skin and a black uniform and a wild tuft of blonde hair. Her face is still that of the Centipeetle, though, and she screams at him in a panic, clearly not remembering him. He tries giving her a kiss on the forehead, but it only causes Centipeetle more distress.
Garnet explains that it will take more than a kiss to heal this kind of damage from the Diamonds, because Centipeetle’s gem was not cracked, but corrupted. The corruption affects a Gem’s mind, not its body. She says it’s time for Centipeetle to go back in the bubble, but Steven urgently wants to help her, since he’s already done so much for her.
“Aw yeah! Corrupted roommate!” Amethyst yells. Pearl is in disbelief that they’ll really be allowing Steven to go through with this, and Garnet gently tells Steven that some Gems are beyond their help. But Steven is still determined to do his best.
He tries to communicate with Centipeetle and bring up some of their old memories. They share some chips and even sing together before Steven hauls out some crayons so they can communicate better. This tactic works really well, but Steven can’t read Gem, so Centipeetle communicates via little stick figure drawings. The story she tells in her drawings is horrifying. Here it is:
Centipeetle was a Homeworld captain in charge of a large crew and many ships. Commanded to go to Earth, she arrives and starts building. Then the Gem War happens, and Centipeetle slashes crew member after crew member out of her picture. Centipeetle was separated from her crew and ship, but still fought on alone. New orders to retreat arrived, and all the ships left in a hurry, leaving Centipeetle still on the ground. She saw a bright light....
Then Centipeetle starts sobbing, and when Steven asks where the light came from, Centipeetle draws three Diamonds. (Three, not four.) So the Diamonds doomed every Gem left on Earth to corruption by inflicting a superweapon meant to destroy any Gem on the ground. Holy smokes.
At this point, Centipeetle starts losing the self-possession and Gem-like form she’s gained. As she starts reverting back to Centipeetle form, Steven begs her for instructions on how he can help her. Centipeetle heads for the warp pad, but can’t use it due to her corruption, beating her fists against it in anguish. Steven teleports her to the closest place he knows, a thick forest with old Gem ships in it.
Centipeetle runs frantically through the forest, holding her head and screaming as she reverts further away from her Gem-like form. She heads directly for a ship and tears roots away from it with Steven’s help, then tries to activate the palm lock. Unfortunately, her hand has degenerated into a centipede leg. Steven uses his hand instead, and they enter the ship together, where Steven looks up and spots three other Centipeetles hanging out on the ceiling. Centipeetle runs to them and they all screech at each other happily.
That’s when Amethyst shows up and instantly turns into an Amethyst-peetle. “Can I hang with you dudes?”
“Amethyst, don’t make fun,” Pearl scolds.
Steven is devastated because he couldn’t help heal Centipeetle permanently. But Garnet says her crew has been waiting for years, not wanting to leave her behind. And they know this because Centipeetle told them. Garnet holds up a sheaf of papers covered in what Steven could only see as scribbles. This is the Gem written language, and it’s perfectly legible to the Gems.
They leave Centipeetle in peace, reunited with her crew at last, and Steven begs the Gems to teach him how to write in Gem. He wants to learn simple things: “Hi, how are you?” “Where’s the bathroom?” and, heartbreakingly, “I’m sorry.”
Any episode exploring the horror and tragedy of the Gem War packs a punch, and even though Centipeetle appears to be an enemy combatant whom the Gems had no problem keeping poofed, her backstory is a shocker. For the Diamonds to deploy such a weapon knowing full well the devastation they’d wreak on any of their own soldiers left behind betrays the kind of hardened ruthlessness that led to the war against Earth’s conquest in the first place.
Steven’s continued attempts to understand and aid Centipeetle were incredibly touching. The childish crayon art way of telling Centipeetle’s story worked really well, conveying Centipeetle’s anguish and fear without being as explicit as a “proper” flashback. It’s disturbing how little the Gems seemed inclined to help Centipeetle for her own sake, ultimately only allowing her to be helped (and her story to be told) because of the power of Steven’s puppy eyes.
Only time (and further Steven Universe episodes) can tell if Centipeetle and her crew can be helped, but if there’s a way to reverse the corruption through sheer power of love and empathy, odds are good Steven will find a way.
The "In Too Deep" Steven Universe special event for season 3 kicked off with “Watermelon Island” and “Gem Drill” back to back and ended with “Hit the Diamond.” Cartoon Network is delivering the "Summer of Steven" in the biggest Stevenbomb yet. Steven Universe will be airing new episodes every single weeknight for over a month, July 18 through Aug. 12, so make sure to check back with iDigitalTimes every weeknight after Steven Universe airs for recaps, analysis and news.
