Steven Universe: Greg the Babysitter
July 29, 2016 4:12 PM - Season 3, Episode 16 - Subscribe
Greg tells the story of how he got his job at the the carwash.
BABY SOUR CREAM
Rose learns What Babies Are
Weary Vidalia is Tired of Your Shit, Greg
Origin of Greg's cutoffs
Greg really did have a magnificent mane. I often wonder if Steven could kiss the top of his head and cure his baldness and what hijinks/heart-wrenching soul-searching might ensue. You know there would be both.
Still unclear: who owns the car wash? How did Greg come to?
No Amethyst/Vidalia friendship yet.
No Yellowtail yet.
On Reddit someone speculated who the 12-year-old hamster-grieving sitter might be. I'm gonna guess---Jamie? That will be my headcanon. He was in the DRAMA ZONE
Where was Vidalia's family? She had a house to herself. Who owned it?
posted by emjaybee at 6:17 PM on July 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
Rose learns What Babies Are
Weary Vidalia is Tired of Your Shit, Greg
Origin of Greg's cutoffs
Greg really did have a magnificent mane. I often wonder if Steven could kiss the top of his head and cure his baldness and what hijinks/heart-wrenching soul-searching might ensue. You know there would be both.
Still unclear: who owns the car wash? How did Greg come to?
No Amethyst/Vidalia friendship yet.
No Yellowtail yet.
On Reddit someone speculated who the 12-year-old hamster-grieving sitter might be. I'm gonna guess---Jamie? That will be my headcanon. He was in the DRAMA ZONE
Where was Vidalia's family? She had a house to herself. Who owned it?
posted by emjaybee at 6:17 PM on July 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
BABY SOUR CREAM
This is the role Brian Posehn was destined for.
posted by Peccable at 6:47 PM on July 29, 2016 [5 favorites]
This is the role Brian Posehn was destined for.
posted by Peccable at 6:47 PM on July 29, 2016 [5 favorites]
I liked getting to see a tiny bit of Rose in action today. I know we'll probably never get to see it but I would love to see the Pre-Steven CGs cut loose on a mission. Maybe Greg tagged along once? It is interesting about Vidalia's living situation. Maybe she inherited the house recently? There doesn't seem to be much in the way of condos/apartments in beach city. You just have houses for everyone and then Greg in his van.
I was expecting Vidalia's work uniform to be for the car wash, but instead it's a mystery.
A shame we didn't see Young Fryman or Young Barb, or even Young Dewey. Trying to think who would be in the age group to be 12 when Sour Cream was a baby. They'd probably be around 30 in the present day. I figure Jaime to be early 20s, so I'm not sure! There's not a whole lot of youngish adults in the show, just older folks, various teens, and ageless gems. I have to imagine it's someone in particular and not just a throwaway joke.
I guess Let Me Drive My Van Into Your Heart was Greg's last album, written shortly before (or after) Steven's birth.
Rose is very interested in babies and the way humans develop. We still don't really know her motivation for making Steven. I doubt they thought Homeworld would ever return. Does she know Homeworld is running out of resources? Is this her way of finding a way forward for Gemkind? Does she just want to experience a human life via Steven?
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 7:08 PM on July 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
I was expecting Vidalia's work uniform to be for the car wash, but instead it's a mystery.
A shame we didn't see Young Fryman or Young Barb, or even Young Dewey. Trying to think who would be in the age group to be 12 when Sour Cream was a baby. They'd probably be around 30 in the present day. I figure Jaime to be early 20s, so I'm not sure! There's not a whole lot of youngish adults in the show, just older folks, various teens, and ageless gems. I have to imagine it's someone in particular and not just a throwaway joke.
I guess Let Me Drive My Van Into Your Heart was Greg's last album, written shortly before (or after) Steven's birth.
Rose is very interested in babies and the way humans develop. We still don't really know her motivation for making Steven. I doubt they thought Homeworld would ever return. Does she know Homeworld is running out of resources? Is this her way of finding a way forward for Gemkind? Does she just want to experience a human life via Steven?
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 7:08 PM on July 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
We still don't really know her motivation for making Steven.
I see rose as the series's final villain. She detaches from Steven and with the power he created (somehow) she plans to destroy homeworld, to save Earth and countless other worlds. The gems and beach city team up to stop her and she's shattered by the power. Steven is left a regular human.
posted by FallowKing at 8:54 PM on July 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
I see rose as the series's final villain. She detaches from Steven and with the power he created (somehow) she plans to destroy homeworld, to save Earth and countless other worlds. The gems and beach city team up to stop her and she's shattered by the power. Steven is left a regular human.
posted by FallowKing at 8:54 PM on July 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
Man, every time Rose shows up, I find her more and more creepy.
posted by dipping_sauce at 9:04 PM on July 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by dipping_sauce at 9:04 PM on July 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
I don't find Rose creepy or a villain but she is a goddess and they want what they want and do what it takes.
She did seem physically smaller in this ep and I didn't like that. I like when she's huge. Why didn't she just float up to get them in the first place?
Is Greg's perma-burn the scars of a lifetime spent wearing that t-shirt uniform in the sun?
I think the reason Rose made Steven was revealed in her monologue. Rose said she thought the ability to grow up and change and invent herself was a super power. She always had an affinity for organic things, empathy, love, kindness, all things we think about being in the same bucket with life as opposed to cold hard gems. She wanted to experience the real grimy heartbeat life that she saw and felt in tune with and she found a way. She told Steven in that video that whenever he loves being alive, that's her, loving being alive. It's sadly kind of ironic that Steven does not seem to have the ability to grow up or the opportunity to invent himself. It seems that even he was "made for a purpose" just like all gems. Everything he discovers is something Rose already had.
posted by bleep at 9:27 PM on July 29, 2016 [5 favorites]
She did seem physically smaller in this ep and I didn't like that. I like when she's huge. Why didn't she just float up to get them in the first place?
Is Greg's perma-burn the scars of a lifetime spent wearing that t-shirt uniform in the sun?
I think the reason Rose made Steven was revealed in her monologue. Rose said she thought the ability to grow up and change and invent herself was a super power. She always had an affinity for organic things, empathy, love, kindness, all things we think about being in the same bucket with life as opposed to cold hard gems. She wanted to experience the real grimy heartbeat life that she saw and felt in tune with and she found a way. She told Steven in that video that whenever he loves being alive, that's her, loving being alive. It's sadly kind of ironic that Steven does not seem to have the ability to grow up or the opportunity to invent himself. It seems that even he was "made for a purpose" just like all gems. Everything he discovers is something Rose already had.
posted by bleep at 9:27 PM on July 29, 2016 [5 favorites]
Re: Vidalia's house, that's Marty the sleezy manager's baby so he must have set them up.
posted by bleep at 9:37 PM on July 29, 2016
posted by bleep at 9:37 PM on July 29, 2016
Re: Vidalia's house, that's Marty the sleezy manager's baby so he must have set them up.
He does seem the generous type. He gave Greg a cheque for $10m when he didn't have to and misappropriated a sponsor's resources to benefit his son's music career.
posted by FallowKing at 9:50 PM on July 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
He does seem the generous type. He gave Greg a cheque for $10m when he didn't have to and misappropriated a sponsor's resources to benefit his son's music career.
posted by FallowKing at 9:50 PM on July 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
I don't get an evil vibe from Rose, but again, she is an alien, and damn secretive sometimes. The Crewniverse has been very coy about giving us hints as to why she kept so many secrets, but it seems like there may be answers coming, for SPOILER is certainly one of them.
Why did Rose decide to have Steven? It was probably a combination of things:
posted by JHarris at 12:28 AM on July 30, 2016 [7 favorites]
Why did Rose decide to have Steven? It was probably a combination of things:
- She wanted to fully experience love with Greg, as a human would.
- Love for what Steven would be, a true fusion between human and gem.
- She saw how Pearl developed when freed of servitude, and wondered if the same was possible for herself. She saw regenerating into a human as a way to ultimately escape Homeworld's predestination. It's not enough to just pretend, or become biologically human, humanity's power lies in growing up, so she'd have to do it right.
- And, finally... I think Rose saw that Homeworld would return eventually. Maybe Garnet's future vision gave her some insight into what would happen. Her armies are long gone, shattered or corrupted. She decided to play the long shot, reforming into a new being which might have greater power, and an entirely different way of looking at the conflict.
- Finally, I think Rose foresaw there would come a time when Homeworld would deplete itself. When your species' method of reproduction ruins the very soil, without any method of replenishment, there's only so far that that process can be taken. For gems to continue as a race, an alternate method had to be found. I think some of the weird plants that Rose has left behind (the brambles in her sanctuary, the moss at the edge of town) might be the result of her experimenting with things like that. Remember, the brambles blossomed into flowers with gemstones in the center. Steven could be the ultimate result of that.
posted by JHarris at 12:28 AM on July 30, 2016 [7 favorites]
He does seem the generous type. He gave Greg a cheque for $10m when he didn't have to
He said he was legally obligated to give it to him. It wasn't a generous act. And notice that Vidalia lives in that same house to this day, where she's being supported by Yellowtail. I don't think she's getting an awful lot from Marty.
posted by JHarris at 12:30 AM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
He said he was legally obligated to give it to him. It wasn't a generous act. And notice that Vidalia lives in that same house to this day, where she's being supported by Yellowtail. I don't think she's getting an awful lot from Marty.
posted by JHarris at 12:30 AM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
It's sadly kind of ironic that Steven does not seem to have the ability to grow up or the opportunity to invent himself. It seems that even he was "made for a purpose" just like all gems. Everything he discovers is something Rose already had.
Not true....
posted by JHarris at 12:35 AM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Not true....
- His saliva, while not strong enough to undo corruption, does seem able to hold it back for a while, which Pearl confirmed was better than Rose could ever do.
- We have never gotten an indication that Rose had any telepathic powers.
- Steven is highly resistant to anti-gem weapons and security measures, as seen back in Jailbreak. Rose would have been poofed if Jasper had caught her unawares.
posted by JHarris at 12:35 AM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Notices from freeze-framing:
posted by JHarris at 12:52 AM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
- Beach City Fries was established in 1979, has three sizes of fries: X, XL and XXL, and has the same "OPEN" sign the Big Donut has now.
- The arcade apparently doesn't change their games very often. They had Punch Buddy and Meat Beat Mania machines even back then!
posted by JHarris at 12:52 AM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
This promo image also shows baby Buck and the baby Pizzas.
posted by painquale at 3:14 AM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by painquale at 3:14 AM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
I liked the way that baby Sour Cream imitated his mom's posture and movements after she tried to feed him.
posted by painquale at 3:28 AM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by painquale at 3:28 AM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Someone's gone and voiced the tweets from Peridot's Twitter feed.
posted by JHarris at 6:05 AM on July 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 6:05 AM on July 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
So... Greg's tan / burn line is never consistent with his attire. In this episode, we saw him burn everywhere except a spot covered by a slice of pizza, but recovered just fine. Clearly a better explanation is required. Theory: Greg was exposed to a great deal of UV light at once for some reason, leaving his body permanently altered.
posted by pwnguin at 4:47 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by pwnguin at 4:47 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Greg's modern-day burn line is permanent, and dates to some time around Steven's birth as near as we can figure.
posted by JHarris at 3:32 AM on August 1, 2016
posted by JHarris at 3:32 AM on August 1, 2016
Maybe because he spent a lot of time outdoors between the car wash and building Steven's Room at the Temple?
posted by angeline at 10:20 AM on August 1, 2016
posted by angeline at 10:20 AM on August 1, 2016
Mayor Dewey is also perma-burned. Basically, it just seems like light guys get farmer tans when they live at the beach all the time. The tan lines probably just follow the shirt/pants combo they wear the most.
Not everything is Gem-related. Sometimes a tan line is just a tan line.
posted by delicious-luncheon at 10:58 AM on August 1, 2016 [3 favorites]
Not everything is Gem-related. Sometimes a tan line is just a tan line.
posted by delicious-luncheon at 10:58 AM on August 1, 2016 [3 favorites]
Er, Mayor Dewey is? I hadn't noticed.
In particular, Greg doesn't have his burnlines in the videotape they made for Steven.
posted by JHarris at 1:39 PM on August 1, 2016
In particular, Greg doesn't have his burnlines in the videotape they made for Steven.
posted by JHarris at 1:39 PM on August 1, 2016
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the clothes Greg is wearing in the video match his tan/burn lines exactly? I wouldn't be surprised if there is a surprising and dark reason for those lines.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 2:19 PM on August 1, 2016
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 2:19 PM on August 1, 2016
Well, fortunately for him Greg has a son who can magically cure the skin cancer he gets from constantly getting sunburned! Tan away, Greg!
posted by emjaybee at 3:18 PM on August 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by emjaybee at 3:18 PM on August 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
I thought the reason for the tan line was revealed in the episode. Greg spent the next 14+ years wearing that t-shirt uniform in the sun, for Steven.
posted by bleep at 12:29 AM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by bleep at 12:29 AM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
I don't think that creates a permanent sunburn though, and in the pictures in Steven's Birthday, aren't the tan lines visible? I'll have to check later, but that would seem to pin them down to a specific time.
posted by JHarris at 5:42 AM on August 2, 2016
posted by JHarris at 5:42 AM on August 2, 2016
He's still wearing cutoffs in this episode, though, so it doesn't account for the tan lines on his legs. My money's on pwnguin's theory.
posted by Shmuel510 at 9:49 AM on August 2, 2016
posted by Shmuel510 at 9:49 AM on August 2, 2016
soundcloud for ben levin, including the song for this episode
posted by eustatic at 4:24 PM on August 25, 2016
posted by eustatic at 4:24 PM on August 25, 2016
Hmm. I'm rethinking my tanline stance these days. Currently Greg wears his A-shirt/Jean shorts combo most of the time, and his tanlines don't seem to follow that at all. So if they were just tanlines, then it would probably encompass his whole arm and the part of his chest exposed by his shirt too...but they are basically static. So, I think I stand corrected. Something is clearly up there.
posted by delicious-luncheon at 8:35 AM on August 26, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by delicious-luncheon at 8:35 AM on August 26, 2016 [1 favorite]
@ 4:50 "you better pray your space goddess' magic can bring people back from the dead"
posted by eustatic at 3:43 PM on June 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by eustatic at 3:43 PM on June 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
Heh. Baby Sour Cream's voice is the same as Teenage Sour Cream's, even if all he's saying is "urhh."
posted by duffell at 6:07 PM on August 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by duffell at 6:07 PM on August 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
Coming back to this episode after GIGANTIC SPOILERS (A Single Pale Rose and later episodes), this is one story that deepens a bit after you find out more about Rose Quartz. Particularly her line about how she sees growing up as a wonderful power, the ability to decide for yourself what you are. Especially when you get to Steven Universe Future, and some of Rose's darker pre-history becomes known.
posted by JHarris at 7:54 PM on February 2, 2020
posted by JHarris at 7:54 PM on February 2, 2020
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Just kidding! Flashback episodes really do a lot to fill in the gaps of just how Greg and Rose existed together. And more Vidalia is always good. It seems like, if they wanted, the Crewniverse could do an entire other show just centered around Beach City in the 80s, it so full of story ideas.
posted by JHarris at 4:50 PM on July 29, 2016 [2 favorites]