Friend Ship

"You're perfect. You're the perfect relationship, you're always together, I just...I wanted to be a part of that."

"Friend Ship" is an episode of season 2 of Steven Universe, and was aired as the final episode of the 3rd StevenBomb event. It is the 67th episode overall.

Synopsis
The Crystal Gems explore an ancient Gem spaceship.

Plot
The episode begins with Peridot trying to fix the Homeworld Warp at the Galaxy Warp. The Crystal Gems then warp to Peridot's location, and Pearl is enthusiastic that her plan worked perfectly. In response to Peridot questioning how they found her, Steven says that they are able to track her movement, and that he wouldn't tell her if she asked politely. he then makes a face at her. Peridot shoots an energy blast at the Crystal Gems. They all duck, and the blast hits a rock instead, causing it to fall on the gems. In quick response Steven summons his shield and stops the rock's fall. Pearl charges at Peridot against Garnet's order, however Peridot traps her in her tractor beam and launches her back, hitting Steven and disabling his shield. While Garnet holds the giant rock, Amethyst rolls to Peridot quickly, but misses and hits the broken galaxy warp. Peridot goes to a warp pad only to find it to be broken. Steven throws his shield at Peridot, which stuns her long enough to allow Garnet to throw her boulder at Amethyst for her to whip at Peridot. Peridot is launched by the impact, and Garnet and Pearl try to catch her. Pearl stumbles into Garnet, making them both fall. Peridot flies and falls onto one of the warp pads, taunts the gems the same way Steven did, and warps away.

The gems warp back to the Crystal Temple, all feeling down except for Pearl, who explains that they now at least know they can track Peridot accurately. She explains that she has wired up Peridot's escape pod to the warp pad and will light up every time Peridot uses the warp system, revealing her destination. Pearl is confident that with this, they will be able to catch Peridot eventually and end the problem, while addressing Garnet, who walks to her but ignores her. This prompts Amethyst to ask if there is something they should talk about. The escape pod lights up and Pearl projects a globe with Peridot's location. Pearl and Garnet walk over to the warp pad, while Steven mentions that at least Pearl is optimistic. Amethyst disagrees, saying that even if Pearl catches Peridot, Garnet will not forgive her for using her to fuse into Sardonyx.

The Crystal Gems warp to a derelict ancient gem warship. Pearl asserts that Peridot is running out of options and has cornered herself inside the ship. Steven is about to ask something, but Pearl interrupts him, assuming he wanted to know about the warship. She explains that long ago, gems used ancient gem vessels to fly to Earth before the warp system was built. The ships have not been used in a very long time, however, and using them to fly away is absolutely impossible. Garnet tells Pearl that they must move along, to which Pearl interrupts her and exclaims that there is a task at hand to catch Peridot and leads on, which prompts Steven and Amethyst to nervously look at each other.

They all enter the ancient ship, which is completely overgrown by wildlife. A small object lights up and projects a holographic screen on Peridot. She insults the gems' intelligence, and Pearl retorts by saying that she must be "dull as dirt" if she thinks she can use the vessel to fly away. After cleaning a vocal transmitter, Steven relays the messages to Peridot, which makes her laugh maniacally. She reveals that she is using the vessel in order to trap the gems rather than fly away, and the front door of the ship closes. Pearl realizes her mistake, and after an unsuccessful attempt, Peridot activates the vessel's internal defense systems. The system begins to fire lasers at the gems while Peridot repeatedly says "die!", but Steven summons a shield that is able to deflect all the lasers and covers all the gems. They run towards a tunnel to safety. Amethyst compliments a tired Steven, and he mentions that he summoned his shield three times today already. Suddenly, spikes appear out of the walls and floor, and the gems take haste. The gems run into Peridot at the end of the hallway and, against Garnet's command, Pearl charges and attacks Peridot, only to reveal that it is actually a hologram. Pearl becomes enraged and repeatedly cuts through the hologram. Garnet tells Pearl to stop, but she says that she must do something to make up for leading the gems into Peridot's trap.

The floor below them suddenly opens up into a deep pit. Steven falls more quickly than the others, but Amethyst saves him by whipping onto him on one end and onto a branch on another end using different whips, safely suspending them. Steven asks Garnet and Pearl if they are fine, who landed at the bottom of the pit. A horizontal door closes, trapping Garnet and Pearl in a small room. Amethyst and Steven descend to the bottom to reveal a floor level above the trap room. There is a screen that displays everything inside the trap room, and shows that Garnet and Pearl are trying to break out by trying to damage the walls. Pearl apologizes to Garnet, saying that things shouldn't have turned out the way they are. Garnet reassures Pearl that they will escape somehow, but Pearl clarifies that she wanted to catch Peridot in order to regain Garnet's trust and show that everything can go back to normal. Garnet tells her that this is not about Peridot, and catching her won't restore their relationship. Steven and Amethyst are happy that they are now both consulting with each other.

A floating gear system begins to turn, which make the walls of the trap room close in on each other. Pearl asks Garnet what she can do to be forgiven, but Garnet asserts that she can't forgive Pearl. She lied to Garnet, and she must learn that there are consequences to her actions. Pearl explains that she couldn't help herself. She tried to be strong like Garnet, but she couldn't, and she believes she is useless on her own and needs someone to tell her what to do. Amethyst jams the gear system using her whip, which stops the walls from moving. Pearl goes on to explain to Garnet than when she fuses with Garnet, she is able to feel like Garnet. She inherits Garnet's confidence, security and completeness. In Pearl's eyes, Garnet is perfect, since Ruby and Sapphire are in a perfect relationship and Pearl simply wanted to be a part of that. Garnet denies Pearl's statement and says she is not as strong as Pearl thinks she is. Garnet fell apart because Ruby and Sapphire had conflicting thoughts on Pearl's act of deception. Garnet explains that she has weaknesses too, but she chooses not to let them consume her, and she knows she must stay composed because of her effect on the team. There are times that Garnet looks up to Pearl's strength, and asserts that Pearl is her own gem. She is unique in her own way, and she must choose to be strong in her own way in order to move on in order to regain Garnet's trust. Pearl understands and says that she cannot give up anymore. Amethyst's whip snaps and the gear system continues to work, closing Garnet and Pearl in the room very closely. Garnet tells Pearl that there is only one way to get out of the room, and Pearl asks for her confirmation in agreeing to Garnet's plan, to which she agrees. Amethyst and Steven panic, but Sardonyx jumps up, apparently having drilled her way out of the room. Sardonyx quickly unfuses.

The gems corner Peridot in the ship's control room and demand that she surrenders. Peridot simply says that this is only the beginning of her escape, and blasts a hole in the ceiling of the ship. Peridot starts to slowly fly away from the ship while taunting the gems once more. Her ascension is halted by Steven, who jumps up and grabs on to Peridot's foot. She tries to drop Steven, but Amethyst and Pearl grab on to Steven, and Garnet grabs on to Pearl, preparing to pull the group to her. After failing to force Steven to release his grip, Peridot ejects her foot and flies away. Pearl and Steven sadly look into the sky where Peridot had flew off. Holding Peridot's smoking foot, Pearl regains her optimism and says that next time, they will get the rest of her. Garnet says that they went a step forward. Pearl and Garnet make up, and Amethyst lays down in relief, saying, "Finally", as the star iris closes over her smiling face, thus concluding the Sardonyx arc.

Characters

 * Steven
 * Garnet
 * Amethyst
 * Pearl
 * Peridot (antagonist)
 * Sardonyx (non-speaking cameo)
 * Ruby (mentioned)
 * Sapphire (mentioned)
 * Rose Quartz (mentioned)
 * Holo-Peridot (debut/semi-antagonist)

Objects

 * Ancient Gem Colony Ship
 * Escape Pod
 * Warp Pad

Locations

 * Beach City
 * Crystal Temple
 * Beach House
 * Galaxy Warp
 * Communication Hub (mentioned)
 * Gem Homeworld (mentioned)
 * South America
 * Ancient Gem Colony Ship

Music

 * "Peridot"
 * "Peridot's Escape"
 * "Strength and Forgiveness"

Trivia

 * This episode is represented in the promo art for the 3rd StevenBomb with a question mark.
 * This was also the promo art for "Chille Tid", which was the final episode of the second StevenBomb.
 * It is revealed that Homeworld Gems used to use ships to get to Earth before the Warp Pads were built.
 * Steven has become more efficient in battle. His shield had been summoned three times on three occasions, two of which were larger variants of his shield.
 * However, Steven can only summon his shield 3 times before feeling the effects of fatigue.
 * Pearl is also more active than usual in order to catch Peridot, mostly in her attempts to earn Garnet's trust back.
 * Pearl refers to herself as "A Pearl", implying that there is or were more than one, like Jasper did in "The Return". It was later confirmed in "Back to the Barn".
 * Peridot is revealed to be able to shoot energy blasts from her fingers, by shaping her fingers around her arm into a cannon and firing.
 * When Peridot first fires her arm cannon she seems shocked and the kickback was extreme, implying she doesn't use it often and how inexperienced in actual combat she is.
 * Amethyst and Pearl were unaware of Garnet unfusing in "Keystone Motel".
 * This is the debut of Holo-Peridot.
 * It is unknown if she was created by the ship or from Peridots gem like Holo-Pearl.
 * In this episode, the gloves on Sardonyx's upper arms are the same style as Garnet's gloves. In "Cry for Help", each has a separate piece covering the middle finger with nothing connecting the fingers to the rest of the glove. It's not yet known if this was intentional or an animation error.
 * Peridot's appearance at the Galaxy Warp indicates that the Crystal Gems' plan to destroy it with the shooting star failed.
 * Most likely, Pearl had been correct about the shooting star going off mid-warp and exploding forever in warp space.
 * Less likely, is that the Shooting Star was used to destroy in an alternate time-line.
 * Also likely is that the Gems simply decided to listen to Pearl and refrained from using it.
 * Even though Peridot lost one of her feet, she did not retreat to her gemstone to regenerate. This foreshadowed the fact this was one of her multiple Limb Enhancers which aren't actually part of her real physical form (Revealed later in Catch and Release).

Cultural References

 * Steven yelling, "I caught a Peridot!" might be a reference to catching Pokémon.
 * When Pearl first engages Peridot at the Galaxy Warp, Pearl is trapped in a bubble which completely stops her movement, is swung around, and is thrown backwards into Steven. Peridot being a technology-focused gem likely makes this a reference to the 2004 Disney•Pixar The Incredibles film villain, Syndrome, who similarly uses "zero-point energy" to create a field of quantum energy that inhibits the majority of a victim's bodily/physical movement.
 * More similarly, when Syndrome first uses the ability, he swings the film's protagonist around before throwing them into a rock.
 * The ships that Homeworld used to use to travel to planets such as Earth resemble the flying saucers commonly sighted by many people.
 * Based on the Earth hologram, the ancient colony ship is located in South America, presumably at the edge of the Amazon rainforest.
 * Steven and Peridot both make an akanbe face, a taunting expression commonly seen in anime.
 * Steven using his shield as a projectile closely mimics a similar move of Captain America.
 * This is also similar to the first move of Kung Lao's X-Ray in Mortal Kombat X, hitting right in the head.
 * The way Peridot escapes and taunts the Crystal Gems after blowing off her robotic foot may be a reference to Doctor Claw from Inspector Gadget, who is often handcuffed, only to escape and fly off, taunting the heroes and leaving behind an empty glove (sometimes rigged with explosives, as seen in the opening sequence).
 * The way that Peridot escaped and lost her left foot might also be a reference to "Gamera vs. Gyaos", were Gyaos also lost his left foot in order to escape Gamera.
 * Peridot's laser finger cannon has a strong resemblance to the Megaman's mega buster cannon, from the Megaman video game series.
 * The drill Sardonyx turns her weapon into is similar to the drill attacks seen in the anime Gurren Lagann.

Continuity

 * Peridot still thinks Steven isn't a human, but rather a species named "Steven".
 * Steven calls out "Good Morning", much like Uncle Grandpa does; a callback to the non-canon episode "Say Uncle".
 * In addition, the layout of the continents in the holographic world map created by Pearl resembles that seen in "Say Uncle".
 * Both the final episodes of the 2nd and 3rd StevenBombs were represented with a question mark.
 * Garnet is still upset at Pearl from "Cry for Help", but their conflict finds resolution by end of this episode, marking the end of the story arc.
 * Garnet refers to the events of Keystone Motel, in which Ruby and Sapphire unfuse.
 * Most of the Warp Pads at the Galaxy Warp are still inactive, and the Homeworld warp is still destroyed.
 * The Crystal Gems either seem to have decided against using the Shooting Star they almost used to destroy the Galaxy Warp in "Winter Forecast", or such an event happened in an alternate timeline, or the Shooting Star exploded while it was in warp.
 * Again, Pearl refers to herself as "a Pearl", suggesting Gems are all sorted into types.
 * Amethyst used the same attack in "Marble Madness" when she says "DESTROY".
 * When Garnet tells Pearl that she must understand what to do herself, not be told by Garnet, Rose or Steven, her mentioning Steven could be a reference to Steven giving Pearl confidence in "Coach Steven", and the fact that Pearl constantly sees Rose in him.
 * Peridot once again calls the gems "clods".
 * This is the second episode in which Pearl and Garnet fuse, the first being "Cry for Help".
 * Garnet saying she struggles to stay strong may reference to what Jamie said in "Historical Friction".
 * Steven saying "Foot Joke!" Is similar to when he said "Fusion Joke!" In "Cry for Help".

Errors

 * When Garnet gets mad at Pearl for attacking Holo-Peridot, Sapphire's gem is on the wrong hand.
 * When Sardonyx appears, her upper arms are gloved the same way as Garnet's instead of being backless, as seen in "Cry for Help".
 * When the Crystal Gems first arrive on the warp pad, Amethyst's gem is missing.
 * When Holo-Peridot first reforms after being attacked by Pearl, the lower portion of her legs and the tip of her feet have their colors switched.
 * When Steven taunts Peridot when they first get to the Galaxy Warp, his mouth is closed when he made a sound that should be made with an open mouth.
 * When Steven and Amethyst are jamming the gears, the screen projecting the contents of the room is actually showing the events prior to the room beginning to close in on Garnet and Pearl.
 * After Amethyst's whip snaps, the gears turn in the wrong direction.