Steven Universe has officially come off of hiatus for the third time this summer, and today’s Steven Universe episode, the not-at-all-chillingly-titled “Cry For Help,” is the first episode of Stevenbomb 3.0. Stevenbomb 3.0 will give us five new episodes all at once in the “bomb” format Cartoon Network’s so fond of using this summer. With the recent news that Steven Universe has been confirmed for a third season, the timing for Stevenbomb 3.0 couldn’t be better.
Last Stevenbomb, we got more revelations than we were even ready for: the depths of Pearl’s trauma from the Gem War, Connie’s gift for the sword, body horror to rival Cat Fingers with the emotional punch of On The Run, radiant Rose’s magnificent fusion with Pearl to form Rainbow Quartz, the rocky start to alien Rose and human Greg’s real relationship, and Lapis’s monstrous fusion with Jasper slowly taking over the both of them.
This Stevenbomb promises to have a cohesive 5-episode story arc. San Diego Comic-Con revealed more than its share of spoilers, and I can’t wait to see them play out.
“Cry For Help” begins with Steven watching TV with Amethyst. Then the television shorts out. Amethyst kicks the TV a few times only to see Peridot’s flickering image appear on screen. Peridot is transmitting on all channels on Earth, informing Yellow Diamond of her location and the fact that both her escort and her informant are gone. She begs for assistance, and the message begins to loop.
Connie calls Steven at once and confirms that the message has appeared on her TV as well. Pearl wonders where she could be transmitting from, and Garnet takes them all to the only location where it’s possible: the Gem Communication Hub, which Peridot has in part repaired.
Steven suggests they smash it with Sugilite. However, Garnet feels that precision and care is called for, so she invites Pearl to fuse with her instead. Pearl is overwhelmed with tearful joy at the invitation. Thus, Pearl and Garnet perform their fusion dance (is Pearl grinding up on Garnet? Thanks, God) and become Janelle Monae: alias, Sardonyx.
With the cheerful and vibrant tones of a radio announcer, Sardonyx scoops Steven up into her hands and laughs with delight, smooshing Steven joyfully. Sardonyx’s weapon is an impressive warhammer forged from Garnet’s fists and Pearl’s staff. Sardonyx is so into herself that she narrates her flowing leaps from structure beam to structure beam: intelligent, accurate, elegant, controlled, surgical, graceful, powerful…
Amethyst looks an equal cross between miserable and annoyed as Sardonyx disables the Communication Hub. Considering Amethyst’s feelings of sibling inferiority to Homeworld-born, elegant Pearl, this can’t end well.
Their mission complete, Garnet and Pearl unfuse. Garnet spins Pearl in breathless delight and Steven launches forward to hug them. But Amethyst is notably left aside, and slumps down unhappily.
The next scene shows Steven sitting in Garnet’s lap watching TV. Amethyst is quiet and moody. Soon enough, Peridot is back on the TV: the signal is back, meaning the Communication Hub has been repaired. The Crystal Gems head back to the site of the Hub, and Garnet and Pearl form Sardonyx once more. Sardonyx is full of delight, and herself. But Amethyst turns away and begins to sing forlornly:
“I forgot how great it felt to be us. Guess I got carried away. I had to use you to make me feel strong, but I don’t care about that now. I see a tower built out of my mistakes and it all comes crashing down. Is there something I can do, is there something I can do, is there something I can do, can I make it up to you?”
Instead of lashing out over her perceived inferiority, Amethyst has taken Garnet’s preference to fuse with Pearl for this task more personally, more to heart, and as a deeper comment on her fittingness for that partnership. As Amethyst greatly looks up to and respects Garnet, and actively seeks her good opinion, it’s a painful song to hear. But it’s a positive sign that Amethyst is at least looking for constructive ways to seek approval, rather than flitting through forms like a Rolodex.
Later that evening, Steven takes Amethyst back out to the Hub, hoping to catch Peridot in the act of fixing the Communication Hub. After some waiting, they see Peridot’s escape pod flitting about. And after some more waiting, they realize that it’s not Peridot inside that pod, which has been stored inside the Crystal Gem Temple anyway -- it’s Pearl, who darts around repairing the Hub which she and Garnet had destroyed as Sardonyx earlier that day.
Pearl… et tu, Pearl? We’ve seen that Pearl can be deeply self-involved, unconscious of the possible harm she causes to others as she nurses her own pain, but this is a new chapter in the story of Pearl’s neuroses. Not even the episode with Steven and the spaceship felt like it would be this hard to come back from.
The next day, Steven and Amethyst try to figure out why Pearl would do such a thing as the transmission flickers back onto their television. “It’s Peridot! She must have fixed the Communication Hub again!” Pearl cries, looking a little strung-out. Garnet sucks her teeth, annoyed that her Future Vision seems to be failing.
Just as Garnet and Pearl begin their Fusion Dance, Amethyst and Steven push Pearl to tell Garnet the truth. Garnet drops Pearl in anger, furious at being tricked. In a surprising demonstration of growing maturity, Amethyst speaks up in defense of Pearl: “We’re so much weaker than you! Fusing with you is our one chance to feel stronger.”
Garnet isn’t having it. She tells Amethyst to fuse with her and form Sugilite. Wordless and furious, Sugilite annihilates the Communication Hub in one massive blow, rendering it irreparable.
Back at the Crystal Gem’s home, Pearl and Garnet pass each other wordlessly, Garnet cold with rage and Pearl looking both guilty and sad. Amethyst and Steven watch TV quietly: “Man, it sure would be nice if things worked out the way they do in cartoons,” she muses.
“Yeah,” says Steven, “it would.” End of episode. Thank goodness we have another four episodes to work things out, but talk about a downer note. Oh, Pearl. I’m rooting for you: you’re better than this, and you’ll make it up to the team, hopefully not with the grand gestures of total self-sacrifice you tried to nurture in your child soldier Connie.
Now the famed Yellow Diamond is that much closer to appearing on screen, thanks to Pearl’s work. But I did enjoy seeing Amethyst react to emotional hurt and disappointment with more constructive maturity; it’s rare from Amethyst, but important. And I may be almost as in love with Sardonyx as Sardonyx is with herself.
To check out past recaps, just click here for all of our previous Steven Universe coverage. Steven Universe will be on every night this week on Cartoon Network at 6PM, so make sure to follow us on Twitter for more Steven Universe recaps and other news. See you tomorrow!
