Say Uncle

"Say Uncle" is the 4th episode in season two of Steven Universe, and the 53rd episode overall.

The episode was announced at Cartoon Network's Upfront Slate for 2015-2016. It is a crossover between Steven Universe and Uncle Grandpa, another series made by Cartoon Network.

Synopsis
A long-lost relative of Steven's comes to town to aid him in unlocking the power of his mother's gem.

Plot
Steven is sitting on the shore of the beach trying to practice summoning his shield. Failing, he summons his bubble instead. When he wishes there were someone to help him summon his shield, a variety of different sea animals appear and a giant clam arises from the sky. The clam opens, revealing what seems to be the form of Rose Quartz. But under closer inspection, it turns out to be Uncle Grandpa. Uncle Grandpa sees that Steven is having trouble summoning his weapon, so he offers to help him. After probing Steven's gem and after asking a few questions, Uncle Grandpa decides that the best way to activate his powers is by assaulting Steven with an array of weapons including rocket launchers, snakes, bees, and vaporizers. However, Steven is either only able to summon his bubble or is injured by the weapon. Pearl then walks out of the temple to see Amethyst amused by Uncle Grandpa testing these various weapons on Steven. Pearl is shocked when she sees Uncle Grandpa aiming a large, futuristic vaporizer at Steven. He fires the weapon at Steven and a giant ball of smoke engulfs them both. The smoke clears only to find that Steven summoned his bubble once more and not his shield.

The Crystal Gems find out what is going on and are introduced to Uncle Grandpa and learn how he relates to Steven through a sequence of their heads orbiting the earth. The Gems, who are disoriented and unnerved by Uncle Grandpa, attack him after concluding he must be a super powerful, reality-warping entity who is a danger not only to Steven and the planet Earth but to all of space. Uncle Grandpa and Steven are able to escape using a 'plot hole' provided by Belly-Bag which then allows them to regroup in the UG RV. Steven then meets Pizza Steve, Giant Realistic Flying Tiger, and Mr. Gus. Mr. Gus has extensive knowledge about Steven Universe and his adventures. Unable to think of a plan, they decide to wait until "something happens". A giant Belly-Bag attached to a giant Uncle Grandpa then ends up sucking the two inside of it. Meanwhile, Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst are lost within the Plot Hole. Pearl has become erratic and unhinged by the strange events. Amethyst eats Pizza Steve after he walks in (dressed like Steven). Garnet gets annoyed and smashes breaks through the Plot Hole, allowing the gems to escape.

They arrive back at the beach to find Steven, Uncle Grandpa, Lion, and Giant Realistic Flying Tiger enjoying tea on the sand, at a loss for what to do. The Gems proceed to attack him, only for Steven to intervene, suddenly being able to summon his shield. Steven was able to reason with the Gems, explaining how just because Uncle Grandpa is weird and unknowable, that does not mean the Gems should fear and attack him. The Gems apologize before Uncle Grandpa bids them farewell as he goes through his checklist of kids to help (all of which are characters from different Cartoon Network shows) as he makes his way to Clarence from Clarence to help.

Characters

 * Steven
 * Uncle Grandpa
 * Mr. Gus
 * Pizza Steve
 * Belly Bag
 * Giant Realistic Flying Tiger
 * Garnet
 * Amethyst
 * Pearl
 * Lion
 * Lars (Cameo)
 * Sadie (Non-speaking Cameo)
 * Rose Quartz (referenced by Uncle Grandpa)
 * Greg Universe (Mentioned)
 * Hopper (On Video Game)
 * Tiny Miracle (On Video Game)
 * Hot Dog Person (in wormhole)

Locations

 * Beach City
 * UG RV
 * Plot Hole (white background/nothingness)

Objects

 * Cookie Cat (flashback)
 * Greg's Van (Mentioned)
 * Pizza Steve's shades

Songs

 * Steven's Shield (instrumental)

Trivia

 * This is the first Steven Universe crossover.
 * In honor of the crossover, CN Studios held an ice cream social at the episode's premiere.
 * Steven Universe Story Writer Matt Burnett confirmed via his twitter that the episode "Say Uncle" is canonical. He also confirmed via twitter that Pizza Steve and Steven are to permanently switch shows after this episode. He later confirmed both of these tweets as an April Fools Day joke.
 * As did Uncle Grandpa in the very episode itself saying "Don't worry bro, none of this is canon!"
 * Matt Burnett also stated that it was Steven Universe 's staffs' idea for the crossover.
 * Garnet is in her pre-regeneration form.
 * It is also shown that Pearl is in her post-regeneration outfit, which could mean "Say Uncle" takes place somewhere between "Steven the Sword Fighter" and "The Return", showing this episode was meant to premiere in Season 1 despite airing in Season 2.
 * Amethyst eats Pizza Steve, an Uncle Grandpa character known for his large ego and getting on Mr. Gus' nerves.
 * This is the first episode in which Steven attacks the Crystal Gems.
 * Uncle Grandpa sinks a ship that Lars and Sadie are on. This a visual pun based off of the Lars/Sadie pairing, or "ship" within the fandom.
 * When Uncle Grandpa's head is flying toward the ship, the words "April Fools" can be made out in the smoke trail. The episode premiered on the day after April Fools Day was a hint that the episode was a April Fools Day joke.
 * Mr. Gus appears to be a fan of Steven Universe and has clear insight into how Steven is able to access his shield.
 * He also draws a gemsona - a fan term for a fan made Gem based on oneself - named Mr. Gusite.
 * Mr. Gusite actually exists within Tumblr.
 * There are multiple moments in this episode where the Fourth Wall is broken.
 * Garnet broke the white space around her and the gems and said "I'm ready for this episode to end."
 * The gems were chasing Uncle Grandpa and Amethyst tripped on the "Run Away" sign.
 * When Amethyst tripped over the sign, she had tripped over the letter, "Y," and then loudly exclaimed, "Why?!"
 * Uncle Grandpa said that this episode wasn't canon.
 * Uncle Grandpa asked Belly Bag to open a 'plot hole' bringing them in the white space.
 * Mr. Gus made a gemsona which is what Steven Universe fans commonly do.
 * Uncle Grandpa said he saw Steven's predicament with his shield before, during the first episode where he was trying to talk to him through an advertisement of his own show.
 * Pearl said Steven was "her baby" after seeing Pizza Steve, implying the full-extent of her maternal instincts when it comes to Steven.

Cultural References

 * During the scene when the Crystal Gems are speaking with Uncle Grandpa and Steven at the beach, there is a scene where Steven and Uncle Grandpa are playing an in-universe variation of Super Smash Bros. on Steven's GameCube.
 * Uncle Grandpa's introduction by emerging from a clam-shell may be based on the painting "The Birth of Venus" by Sandro Botticelli.
 * A number of Cartoon Network characters are listed by Uncle Grandpa including: Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup from The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter and Dee-Dee from Dexter's Laboratory, Billy and Mandy from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Mac from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Juniper Lee from The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, the titular characters of SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron (which wasn't actually made for CN, but rather sister station TBS, and for syndication), Flapjack from The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, Finn from Adventure Time, the titular characters of Ed, Edd n' Eddy, and Clarence from Clarence.
 * The last kid who needs "help" is Clarence from Clarence, possibly a reference to Clarence's week of premieres which occurred the week after this episode aired.
 * During the montage, Uncle Grandpa dressed up as Robin Hood.
 * When the Crystal Gems were attacking Uncle Grandpa, they said the memetic line, "Finish Him!" from the Mortal Kombat series.
 * Lars and Sadie sinking with the ship is a reference to Titanic and possibly to the fan theory that they will have a romantic relationship.
 * When Uncle Grandpa knocks on Steven's gem, this is a reference to Dorothy knocking on the Tinman in The Wizard of Oz.
 * When Uncle Grandpa is leaving, he tells Steven and the Crystal Gems to "see with eyes unclouded with hate." This could be a reference to the Studio Ghibli film, Princess Mononoke, where the same phrase is stressed throughout the movie.

Continuity

 * The wasps seen in "Future Vision" make a return.
 * Hopper from "Garnet's Universe" make a cameo as one of the two characters in the Super Smash Bros.-esque video game Steven and Uncle Grandpa are playing.
 * The way the Crystal Gems summon their weapons to fight against Uncle Grandpa is the same way they summon them in "Ocean Gem".
 * Uncle Grandpa plays a flashback to "Gem Glow" when Steven was trying to recreate the event that first activated his gem. He can be seen breaking the fourth wall by attempting to make contact with Steven from his own show's corner-screen advertisement.
 * Belly Bag's explanation about Uncle Grandpa scene is similar with a scene in "Belly Bros".
 * This episode likely takes place some time after The Test, as in that episode, Pearl mentioned that "[Steven's] pulled out Rose's shield twice."
 * Steven's Shield (Instrumental) is replayed after Steven re-summons his shield.
 * In a very obscure/hard to spot call back, the moment where Uncle Grandpa arrives in the clam dressed as Rose is actually a reference to Laser Light Cannon, in which Steven asks Greg if Rose's cannon was in a "cave-dungeon" (Rose's Armory), a cloud base (Rose's Room), or a "clam at the bottom of the ocean".
 * This episode marks the fourth time Steven has summoned his shield; the first being in Gem Glow, the second being in Ocean Gem, and the third being in The Return.

Errors

 * Amethyst's gem is colored white after summoning her weapon.
 * Before Mr. Gus enters the room, SU & UG are infront of a sofa. Once Gus enters the scene, the sofa is replaced with a TV and a wood burning stove.
 * The set in UG RV changes MANY more times.
 * This could all be resolved due to the fact that Uncle Grandpa was present in the room.
 * Amethyst is seen wearing Pizza Steve's shades in one scene,it disappears in the next scene,and reappears in another scene.

Transcript
View the episode's transcript here.

Videos
 pt-br: