Keep Beach City Weird (episode)


 * This article is about the episode. For the blog on Tumblr, see Keep Beach City Weird (blog).

"Keep Beach City Weird" is the 31st episode of the first season of Steven Universe, and the 31st overall episode of the series.

Official Synopsis
Steven gets caught up in Ronaldo's paranormal theories about the strange occurrences in Beach City.

Plot
Pearl rushes out one morning in response to Steven's cries only to find out that Steven was playing Steven Tag with Garnet and Amethyst. Garnet wins this round by throwing Amethyst up in the air and knocking her down to the sand meteorically.

Steven, while walking along the beach, is stopped by Ronaldo investigating "paranormal" activity (which is really just the holes from the drill parasites). Steven, intrigued by Ronaldo's activities, joins him on his quest. When they find rocks from the red eye and flowers from Rose's moss, Ronaldo points to paranormal explanations. Ronaldo reveals that Peedee isn't into paranormal events, which is why Ronaldo puts his trust in Steven, taking him at the top of the lighthouse and telling him his theories are about snake people (or "Sneople") taking over the world.

Steven rushes back home to tell the Gems about Ronaldo's theories. Pearl and Amethyst point out that all of the strange occurrences are actually the fault of the Crystal Gems. Steven, cognizant of the real origins of the "paranormal" events, tells Ronaldo the truth: Steven and the Gems are the source of all of Ronaldo's theories. Ronaldo stubbornly rejects Steven's explanation, saying one should not let any "minor facts" get in the way of what they want to be true. But when Ronaldo finishes making a cast from the crater on the beach, only to find it was Steven (again), his heart is crushed. He dejectedly shuffles off, consumed with existential gloom. Steven, upon searching Ronaldo's blog, finds that he has completely given up on it and is shutting it down permanently. Steven seeks Pearl's counsel, who bluntly tells Steven that humans create conspiracy theories because they live boring, insignificant lives and want to blame their lack of control on something they can fight.

Steven attempts to revitalize Ronaldo by pretending to be a snake person to scare Peedee and Ronaldo, but Ronaldo knocks Steven out with a potato. Steven wakes up in the lighthouse tied up by a maniacal Ronaldo with an unnerved Peedee at his side. When the incensed Gems come to rescue Steven, Ronaldo accuses them all of being snake people, attacks them in a golden suit of armor, and is promptly crushed effortlessly by the Gem Warriors. Steven frees himself from the rope and stops the fight admitting to Ronaldo that the "snake person" he captured was him in a costume. He tells the Gems that he was trying to inspire Ronaldo. Ronaldo begins having a nervous breakdown until Peedee, in an attempt to mollify his brother, offers him a new theory where Steven is just a "small piece of the puzzle." Ronaldo takes the bait and begins brainstorming excitedly, finally deciding the true faces of the conspiracy are "polymorphic sentient rocks" (interestingly enough, this is a pretty accurate description of what the Gems really are). Steven and Peedee are hesitant to "fix" Ronaldo just by giving him a new delusion, but ultimately decide maybe it's for the best if it makes him happy. The two kids and the Crystal Gems leave the lighthouse together while from inside Ronaldo can be heard gleefully shouting about how they're "here to hollow out the Earth! It's part of the great Diamond Authority! They’ll take on any form! You can read all about it... ON MY BLOG!"

Characters

 * Steven
 * Ronaldo (antagonist in the fight until the end)
 * Peedee Fryman
 * Garnet
 * Amethyst
 * Pearl
 * Jenny (Non-Speaking Cameo)
 * Mr. Fryman (Mentioned)
 * Drill Parasites (Mentioned)
 * Red Eye (Mentioned)
 * Magic Moss (Mentioned)

Songs

 * Steven Tag Song
 * Snerson Interrogation
 * Paronaldo Activity

Trivia

 * This episode's title is the third longest in the show. The first is "Steven the Sword Fighter" and the second is "Steven and the Stevens".
 * In a preview of this episode, Garnet is seen shape-shifted in the form of Steven chasing Amethyst, who is also in the form of Steven.
 * This will be the first time in the series that Garnet shape-shifts her whole body and the third time overall she shape-shifts, the first time being in "Steven and the Stevens" and the second time being in "Secret Team". She keeps her visor when shape-shifting her body.
 * This is Ronaldo's first major role.
 * This is the first and only episode where a human attempts to attack the gems.
 * When Ronaldo punches the palm of Pearl's hand he hurts it which could mean Gems have tough skin or at least on their hands.
 * It may also be due to the fact that the gems are capable of shape-shifting, and that the power can extend to density changes, making her hand literally harder than stone when he punched it.
 * It is shown that Gems aren't afraid of hurting humans for the safety of one of their own.
 * Ronaldo's new conspiracy theory regarding the "Diamond Authority" might have been foreshadowing and could possibly be true. He was correct in that Gems are essentially "polymorphic sentient rocks". As seen in "Jail Break", a gem named "Yellow Diamond" seemed to be a very high ranking Homeworld Gem. And, lastly, in "On the Run", it was revealed that Homeworld Gems planned to use Earth for something sinister, which could comply with his conjecture of the Diamond Authority being "here to hollow out the Earth".

Cultural References

 * "Sneople" is a play on the term "sheeple", a term used by conspiracy theorists when regarding the public whom they view as ignorant and sheep-like in obedience to higher powers.
 * The snake people conspiracy is an actual conspiracy in the real world. In 2013, the Public Policy Polling conducted a survey on 1,247 registered Americans to see what conspiracy theories they believed in. Four percent of them believed the earth was run by shape-shifting reptilian people.


 * The dollar-sneople theory is a reference to the conspiracy theories of the eye in the pyramid (known as the Eye of Providence) on the dollar bill being a hint to a secret society (the Illuminati) manipulating the government, or being its basis.


 * Posters scattered throughout the interior of the lighthouse are referencing various paranormal sightings and creatures.
 * Photos of:
 * Snake_people.pngot (the famous frame from the Patterson–Gimlin film)
 * A Mermaid
 * Crop circles
 * The Loch Ness Monster
 * StonehengeKbcwBG_(5).jpg
 * The Kraken
 * An alien
 * A psychic duck (a reference to the Pokémon Psyduck)
 * Spock (Leonard Nimoy) of Star Trek
 * An X-Files Poster
 * Various newspaper articles.

Continuity

 * There are also photos that reference various Gem Battles in Beach City from various episodes:
 * So Many Birthdays (Unknown man impersonates local boy)
 * Ocean Gem (Baffling Ocean drain)
 * Lion 2: The Movie (Strange creature near movie theater)
 * Remnants of past gem battles are seen strewn across Beach City. These include:
 * Holes made by the Drill Parasites (Arcade Mania)
 * Fragments of the Red Eye (Laser Light Cannon)
 * Flowers from Rose's Moss (Lars and The Cool Kids)
 * Inside the lighthouse is a photo of Steven's cat fingers that Ronaldo took in the episode "Cat Fingers".

Transcript
Click here to view the transcript.

Videos
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