Fusion Cuisine

"Hello. This... is Mom Universe. Yes. The children are playing swords. Sorry—playing with swords. They're bleeding. Oh no, they are dead. Don't call again."

"Fusion Cuisine" is the 32nd episode of the first season in Steven Universe, and the 32nd episode overall.

Synopsis
In an effort to win over Connie's parents, Steven convinces the Gems to fuse together and pretend to be his mother.

Plot
The episode starts out with Steven and Connie watching their favorite show, "Under the Knife". Connie exclaims about how cool it is and thanks Steven for letting her watch it at his house. Steven asks why Connie can't watch it at her house, and Connie says that her mom maintains that it doesn't represent a "real" emergency room. Just then, her mom calls, asking to speak to Steven's mom. Connie tells this to Steven and he responds that she cannot, since his mom gave up her physical form to give birth to Steven. Connie says she can't tell that to her mom, so they rush downstairs and ask Garnet to pretend to be Steven's mom. While on the phone, Garnet panics, (while sounding as stoic as ever), claiming that Steven and Connie were playing with swords and have killed each other. After briskly hanging up on Connie's mother, Garnet hands the phone back to Steven and calmly apologizes for panicking.

The next day, Steven calls Connie to see if she wants to see "the mid-season pre-finale of "Under the Knife", but Connie says she can't because her parents are upset and refuse to let Connie hang out with Steven until they've met both of his parents. Steven assumes that he's going to bring all of the Gems to the dinner, but Connie objects. Connie admits the fact that she told her parents that Steven lives in a nuclear family. Steven exclaims that the crystal gems aren't radioactive, but then Connie explains the meaning of a nuclear family. Steven then suggests that Connie could simply tell her parents about the Crystal Gems, but Connie is afraid that her parents would not let her hang out with him again if they were to know that she lied to them.

Steven struggles to choose one of the Gems to act as his mother because Garnet isn't a good conversationalist, Amethyst is too gross, and Pearl does not like eating (because of digestion). Steven proposes that the Gems fuse into one but all the gems (even Amethyst) quickly decline. Despite their quick refusal, after seeing how much this really means to Steven, they reluctantly accept.

That night, the Maheswarans are impatiently waiting for Steven and his parents. Steven shows up 20 minutes late with Greg and Alexandrite, a huge six armed fusion of Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. Greg introduces himself and then Alexandrite as his wife. Steven comes up with lies about how they met and what they do, much to the disapproval of Connie. After Alexandrite's much less than impeccable behavior at dinner, Connie asks to speak with Steven. Connie chastises Steven for bringing the giant Gem. After Steven realizes Connie still wears her glasses (despite her eyes being healed by him) he begins to suspect that Connie is ashamed of him and they both return to the table. When they get back outside, Alexandrite begins to destabilize over eating shrimp. The discord causes her to split back into Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. Garnet, upset at Amethyst and Pearl for putting their needs before Steven's, chides them and smacks them on the head. Mrs. Maheswaran admonishes Connie for lying to her, which causes Connie to run crying to the bus stop, with Steven going after her.

Connie and Steven decide to run away so they can be friends without having to worry about Connie's parents' disapproval. As they're leaving on a bus, the enraged Gems (fused back as Alexandrite) catch up to them and force them to return. The Gems angrily chastise Steven in front of the Maheswarans. Garnet harshly punishes Steven with no dinner for 1,000 years, but Pearl insists that they would never starve him, and instead takes away his TV privileges for 1,000 years. Greg then says they did it because they love him. The Maheswarans, impressed with the Gems' parental abilities, allow Connie to hang out with Steven. Steven, overjoyed, hugs Connie, and Mr. Maheswaran promptly separates them.

Characters

 * Steven
 * Connie
 * Mr. Maheswaran (debut)
 * Dr. Maheswaran (debut)
 * Amethyst
 * Pearl
 * Garnet
 * Greg
 * Rose Quartz (mentioned)
 * Alexandrite (debut)
 * Lion (cameo)
 * Ruby (debut, cameo)
 * Sapphire (debut, cameo)

Objects

 * Connie's Violin (first appearance)
 * Steven's Phone

Locations

 * Beach City
 * The Crab Shack (debut)
 * Beach House

Music

 * Alexandrite (soundtrack)

Trivia

 * This episode was originally named "Fusion Crime", but was changed to "Fusion Cuisine".
 * This is the first and only episode where all three (or four, considering Garnet) Gems fuse together, creating Alexandrite.
 * When Alexandrite un-fuses, for a split second two shapes that would then turn into Garnet can be seen. These shapes seem to correspond to Ruby and Sapphire, hinting at Garnet's true nature.
 * This is the first episode to feature Connie's parents.
 * Connie's parents appear again in "Winter Forecast."
 * This is the third episode in which a fusion is introduced.
 * The first and second were "Giant Woman" and "Coach Steven", respectively.
 * It is the first episode to have the same fusion formed twice in a single episode.
 * Garnet may not be good at socializing with strangers, as she panicked and told that Steven and Connie killed each other while sword fighting when she was talking to Connie's mom.
 * This is the first episode where Greg wears a different outfit.
 * It is revealed that Gems get their energy from their own gemstones, that's why none of them actually feel the need to eat or sleep.
 * It is also revealed that their human appearances are actually "constructs", meaning they CAN change their base form entirely, this has been shown when they shape shift.
 * Connie's last name is revealed in this episode, which is Maheswaran.
 * This episode reveals that Pearl hates eating because she is horrified by the process of digestion.
 * Despite of this, she likes the process of cooking food and preparing it, As referenced in "Serious Steven" when she prepares tea for the teacup ride and again in "So Many Birthdays" when she states she likes pie.
 * In the episode "Together Breakfast", Amethyst suggested "Let's order a pizza". Pearl agreed to this implying that she does like pizza, which is sometimes called a pie.
 * In a Twitter response to a fan, Matt Burnett explained that Pearl likes the PROCESS of pie (baking it) rather than the consumption of it.
 * Again in "Together Breakfast" Pearl seems to enjoy preparing the new breakfast meal with Steven and the other Crystal Gems which goes along with the above statement that while she dislikes eating, she does enjoy cooking food.
 * This is the first episode with a fusion that didn't feature a character singing a song influenced by the appearance of this fusion.
 * This is the second episode where Steven is punished by the Crystal Gems, being banned from TV for 1,000 years. The ban on TV is later lifted in "Joy Ride".
 * The first being "Mirror Gem" where he was grounded by Garnet at the end of the episode.
 * This is also the second episode where Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl are angry at Steven. The first being "Ocean Gem".
 * The promotional art shows Steven cooking the Crystal Gems, this is probably because of the episode's name (Fusion Cuisine is the art of mixing various plates into a single one).
 * The name is derived from the term Fusion Cuisine which is a cuisine that combines elements from different culinary traditions.
 * This is also the first and only time in which Connie's mom is referred as "Mrs. Maheswaran" rather than "Dr. Maheswaran", presumably because Steven was unaware of her occupation when he first met her.

Cultural References

 * Steven's GameCube from "House Guest" appears again, this time with two games beside the console. The blurred out games are what appear to be Animal Crossing and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
 * The TV show that Connie and Steven watch, "Under the Knife", may be a reference to the Nintendo DS game, Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2, as both are about operations.
 * Under the Knife also references CSI: Miami, in which the main character, the Doctor from Under the Knife and Lt. Horatio Caine from CSI: Miami, usually starts the episode by saying a one-liner followed suddenly by the opening theme song.
 * Under the Knife is a parody of General Hospital.
 * "The Crab Shack" could be a reference to the bar of the same name, from My Name is Earl.
 * The scene where Steven and Connie run away together on a bus is likely a reference to the ending scene of The Graduate.
 * The way that Garnet whacks Amethyst and Pearl to stop their bickering may be a reference to the slapstick comedy of the Three Stooges.

Errors

 * The description for this episode was paired with another episode on Watch Cartoon Network and On Demand.
 * When Connie's mother says that the Gems and Greg are responsible parents and guardians, Steven's star on his shirt is missing.
 * For the majority of the dinner shots, the Alexandrite gem that would be in Amethyst's gem location has a pentagonal facet, whereas Amethyst's gem has a hexagonal facet.
 * After Alexandrite appears, the arms belonging to Amethyst (purple) change places with Pearl's arms (teal).
 * The bag of chips Amethyst was eating disappears in one frame.
 * When the gems were defusing Amethyst's gem appears green rather than purple.Defused.png
 * When Garnet's right hand was crunching the fork that Amethyst's hand was about to put in Alexandrite's mouth, Sapphire's gemstone was missing. Instead, Garnet's gemstones were on Pearl's arms.

Videos
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