In the ninth episode of the third season of Steven Universe, Amethyst and Steven take Peridot to her first experience at an amusement park. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Steven Universe.Â
Things that most of you are aware of by now: that I like character development and I love themes of friendship and loyalty. GUESS WHAT THIS EPISODE HAS BOTH OF THEM. There have been a number of times over seasons 2 and 3 where I’ve gotten a chance to reflect on how far this show has come in relatively little time, and “Too Short to Ride” has provided me with another. While Amethyst and Steven are still learning how to integrate Peridot in their lives, gone is the conflict. The tension. The animosity. The bitter edge that used to line all of the Crystal Gems’ interactions with Peridot. What we see from Amethyst is acceptance, the kind that she was given as she grew into her place within the Crystal Gems.
And from Steven, Peridot gets PURE LOVE. After Greg rejects a tablet he got, Steven figures that Peridot is the best recipient of the gift. It’s a brilliant idea; it gets her closer to technology, which she was designed to interact with back on the Homeworld. (More on that in a sec.) Plus, the idea of Peridot on Twitter and YouTube is hilarious. Given that unboxing short from season two, it’s clear the show is willing to get a bit meta, and now I want an episode entirely made up of video blogs from Peridot. IT’S BEAUTIFUL, MAKE IT HAPPEN. But for a while, this episode moved away from the tablet being an important part of this episode; it was just something Peridot had while a different conflict was introduced.
Peridot has no powers.
Or at least she was told she didn’t. I loved that casual reveal that the Homeworld is running low on resources, which means gems are created in different ways than they used to be. Peridot is one of those gems; her version of the Peridot type has no powers but enhanced technology. Thus, her day at Funland isn’t really fun at all, at least not when Steven’s and Amethyst’s shape-shifting ability allows them to participate in things that Peridot cannot. She’s too short for the rollercoaster; the funhouse mirrors remind her of her lack of ability; and she can’t win ring toss like Amethyst can.
There’s a lot here I liked, but watching Amethyst interact with Peridot in such a genuine manner was definitely my favorite part. Look at the way she asked Peridot to be honest about what she was going through! Or how sincerely she tries to help Peridot learn to shape shift. Seeing Amethyst do things that are thoughtful and selfless is my JAM, y’all. It’s so satisfying! Plus, I believe Amethyst understands Periodot in an unspoken way. Both of them were constructed for a specific purpose, and it’s difficult to deal with the feelings of inadequacy that come from it. Amethyst wanted Peridot to understand that Crystal Gems are utterly unlike the Homeworld gems; they accept people as they are, and they encourage the potential they see inside others.
Which is why it initially felt so weird to me that Amethyst was so against that tablet. The show isn’t exactly explicit on whether or not Amethyst did that on purpose to trigger a response in Peridot, but regardless? It worked. Like Steven, Peridot needed a highly emotional motivation to activate TELEKINESIS. SHE CAN CONTROL OBJECTS REMOTELY. AND SHE GOT HER ALIEN PLUSHIE TOY, AND EVERYTHING IS PERFECT.
Seriously, I adore this show so much.
The video for “Too Short to Ride” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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