That’s not to say this isn’t an important episode for Peridot as well. The fact that the victory comes not from Pearl winning the fight (since she really, really doesn’t) but from the support of her loved ones is both a nice detour from the expected cliché and a way of hammering home how Earth’s Gems are different than Homeworld’s. A very punchable face, perhaps the most so since a certain Mass Effect reporter. Peridot’s function in this episode is mostly to highlight how the Crystal Gems have solidified their bonds with one another (accordingly, the popcorn gallery gets some absolutely golden jokes), and to give face to all of the anxieties and feelings of worthlessness that Pearl has been battling in force since Rose’s death. ![]() ![]() ![]() And it is a Pearl episode, as much as Peridot’s flashy reactions fight to steal the scenes. Part of that successful execution can be chalked up to the duo of Joe Johnston and Jeff Liu, who last headed up “Friend Ship.” This duo has quite the hand in Pearl episodes (they also headed “Cry for Help” and “Sworn to the Sword”) so it’s nice to see them stepping in here to see the fruits of her arc during the last Steven Bomb. The minute Steven’s eyes light up at the thought of giant robots, the conflict wraps itself in the equivalent of a fuzzy blanket-both Gems are too fond of Steven to really go for each other’s throats under his watch, and so we get to have a plot that acknowledges the benefits of lighthearted competition without allowing that competition to imply an inherent superiority about either participant (a nice change from the all or nothing approach the subject often gets). The robots allow for some more bombastic visual gags than you would get with just the Gems on their own, and the general atmosphere has the affectionate goofiness that crops up whenever this show decides to start doing genre nods (in fact, this episode feels reference dense in general, up to and including finally letting Peridot just directly quote a Zim line). This is the balance of shows where magic and the power of kind feelings are pretty well guaranteed to save the day, and part of the show’s strength is that it is well aware of how to play its tone and upgrade it into bite-sized eleven minute chunks of relationship growth.Īll of this is a roundabout way of saying that nothing in this episode is especially surprising, but it’s pulled off with such flair that it’s almost impossible to care. Sure, fans might champ at the bit for more action and information with the giant scary fusion in the Earth’s core or even the giant scary fusion lurking about in the ocean, but it’s the character moments that stick long term. But as the show sinks its heels further and further into the dirt in its clear willingness to put aside narrative progression in the name of relationship studies, it mostly serves to highlight how well the Crewniverse know their format. This episode is technically something of a detour, out and out halting the progression of the main plot thread and explicitly confirming some fan theories that’ve been in place for quite some time now heck, it even starts by reiterating information that we already heard Peridot tell Steven last week. When Pearl and Peridot butt heads over who should be in charge of the building project, Steven suggests the most logical solution-giant robot Olympics. The Recap: The Gems determine that they’ll need to get to the Cluster before it emerges.
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