Steven Universe: Too Short To Ride
July 20, 2016 6:10 PM - Season 3, Episode 9 - Subscribe

Steven and Amethyst take Peridot to Funland!
posted by Small Dollar (15 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Lack of fusion w/ Amethyst: I am dissapoint
Metalbending powers: ????? seems good????
Homeworld exposition: Good, but need more
Mr. Smiley: That man is gonna die, somebody help him
Throwing tablet into sea: What? No! Bad Amethyst!
Catfinger returns/Steven's shapeshifting in general: Boy you need to work on this some more come on.
posted by emjaybee at 7:15 PM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


And the last piece of the geek matrix: "overcompensating as a result of perceiving yourself as inadequate" comes crashing into place for Peridot.

Also: "We're lying..." "I did land the ring, I also do NOT Steal Steven's clothes when he's not looking!"

"Find cute roommates in your area" "I'm all set thanks"

Personally I'm hoping for a Steven/Peridot fusion. First, because drama, so much delicious drama; second, because I think Steven's intuitive/empathetic personality and Peridot's analytical/intellectual personality might make something really well balanced and interesting.
posted by Grimgrin at 7:56 PM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


Peridot's Twitter is amazing

(yeah it's officially hers!)
posted by divabat at 7:57 PM on July 20, 2016 [6 favorites]


Now Peridot can make new floating fingers out of pieces of chalk or carrot sticks or whatever.
posted by painquale at 11:45 PM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


It's looking as if her power only works on metal, as with Magneto (Cerebro). She could use other bits of metal for fingers though.

Let's pause for a moment in recognition of the efforts of Mr. Smiley, an amazingly hard worker. And I'm sure dealing with Onion is like half his job.
posted by JHarris at 1:22 AM on July 21, 2016 [2 favorites]


The reveals about Homeworld gems seem like they are going to be SO IMPORTANT. Like, is this what is driving the relentless expansionism, trying to find new worlds where original-strength gems can be made? Was Rose Quartz trying to find new ways to make powerful gems, by making organic-gem hybrids?

Also the repression Peridot feels makes me wonder if there is more going on than we think. Like, maybe it is true at face value that most new gems have no powers, or only very limited powers. Or maybe they are told that they have no powers, and discouraged from exploring those powers by social taboos against fusion, and from an encouragement to develop dependency on technological "enhancements." That repression may be part of a regime of social and political control. This may also explain how a small group of rebel gems defeated Homeworld, by simply discovering and developing their natural powers. The homeworld army is going to be made up of gems that find inter-type fusion "yucky", and which cannot harness powers like flying, telekinesis, shapeshifting, etc.
posted by rustcrumb at 10:03 AM on July 21, 2016 [3 favorites]


Ohhhhhh man though whoever Peridot fuses with, that's going to be a formidable team. It almost doesn't even matter who - any combination of Peridot and her metallokinesis with another Crystal Gem seems like it would have the power to be lethal. I'm giddy just imagining the possibilities.
posted by angeline at 12:02 PM on July 21, 2016 [1 favorite]


Oh I also just remembered that Peridot also reveals a taboo against shapeshifting, that it goes against one's "proper" form. So we know that there are taboos against inter-type fusion and against shapeshifting, and there is indoctrination that newer gems are not capable of using powers, which is clearly at least a little false since Peridot does have some metal-telekinesis similar to Lapis's hydrokinesis.

I'm guessing Peridot's power is not just super magnetism because her tablet still works afterwords?
posted by rustcrumb at 12:05 PM on July 21, 2016


Also, she moves the bottle-toss rings, which I guess COULD be metal, but are definitely made of plastic at every carnival I've ever been to.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 1:15 PM on July 21, 2016


I found it very interesting how, in many other shows, Amethyst would have been portrayed as "right" about Peridot not needing the tablet, but Steven Universe (the show) goes for the more nuanced approach of "we love you for who you are and assistive technology is also a great thing" - and Steven (the character), with his great strength of empathy, gets this intuitively and has been repeatedly shown to be sensitive and helpful about Peridot's needs in a way that the other characters aren't (tape recorder, paint cans, tablet). I hope and expect that at some point Pearl will build/repair something for Peridot as an indication of developing a better understanding and connection with her.
posted by NMcCoy at 4:08 PM on July 21, 2016 [5 favorites]


"Hydrokinesis" is the movement of water, which anyone can do. It's properly, I'd think, "hydro-telekinesis, or tele-hydrokinesis."

(Sorry, it's been a bee in the ol' bonnet for a while now.)
posted by JHarris at 8:51 PM on July 21, 2016 [1 favorite]


Amethyst was going to throw away Peridot's most valued possession, because of course she would do that. This show focuses a lot on Pearl's neuroses and emotional problems, but Amethyst strikes me as the Crystal Gem with the most wildly dangerous feelings. Her backstory with the Kindergarten leaves her very sensitive to feelings of being excluded. As she demonstrated in the Little Butler incident, it doesn't take much to make Amethyst feel rejected, and she invariably reacts to that feeling with immense cruelty. Peridot ignoring her was, to put it mildly, strategically unsound.

I feel like at some point the Crystal Gems are going to need to address this, because it has the potential to cause big problems at a time when group cohesion is more important than ever.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 8:56 PM on July 21, 2016 [3 favorites]


It feels like so far this is a run of "Steven spends quality time with everyone" in the lead-up to something big. Like he has a task to do, to repair relationships (Greg and Pearl) or highlight strengths (Peridot) as well as be comfortable with who he is, the fusion of Rose and his Dad.

I could be mistaken. But it has a beginning-of-the-end feel to it. Bittersweet.
posted by tracicle at 10:33 PM on July 21, 2016


"why was this documented?"
posted by bigendian at 4:21 PM on August 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


You know, for whatever reason, I'd never registered Peridot's diamond-shaped head ornamentation as hair until Mr. Smiley smooshed it down.
posted by duffell at 10:19 AM on August 3, 2017 [1 favorite]


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