Say Uncle

"Good Morning!"

"Say Uncle" is the 3rd episode of the second season of Steven Universe, and the 55th episode overall.

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

Official 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 was 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 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 U.G.R.V. 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 very strange events. Amethyst eats Pizza Steve after he walks in (dressed like Steven). Garnet gets annoyed and smashes the ground, which 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 understand and 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 (eaten)
 * Belly Bag
 * Giant Realistic Flying Tiger
 * Garnet (antagonist, until the end)
 * Amethyst (antagonist, until the end)
 * Pearl (antagonist, until the end)
 * Lion
 * Lars
 * Sadie (non-speaking cameo)
 * Rose Quartz (pictured by Uncle Grandpa)
 * Greg Universe (mentioned)
 * Blue Crab (cameo)
 * Hopper (pictured)
 * Tiny Miracle (pictured)
 * Hot Dog Person (in Plot Hole)

Locations

 * Beach City
 * U.G.R.V.
 * Plot Hole

Objects

 * Cookie Cat (flashback)
 * Greg's Van (mentioned)
 * Doomtastic Death Ray of Dastardly Destruction
 * Beezooka
 * Snake Shooter

Instrumental Songs

 * "Steven's Shield" (shortened)
 * "Good Morning (SU Remix)"

Production Notes

 * It seems likely that "Say Uncle" was planned to air during season 1 (despite having a season 2 production code), before "The Return" and "Jail Break", but ended up airing during Season 2 because of the StevenBomb schedule adjustments.
 * Open Book, Shirt Club, Say Uncle and Story for Steven were originally planned to air between Rose's Scabbard and The Message.

Trivia

 * In honor of the crossover, CN Studios held an ice cream social at the episode's premiere.
 * Before the airing of the episode, Steven Universe Story Writer Matt Burnett stated via his Twitter that the crossover was to be canonical.
 * He also stated via his Twitter that Pizza Steve and Steven were to permanently switch shows after this episode.
 * He later confirmed both of these tweets as an elaborate April Fools' Day joke; the crossover wasn't to be part of the canon of the show nor was Pizza Steve going to replace Steven.
 * The episode itself made reference to these tweets by having Uncle Grandpa himself saying "Don't worry bro, none of this is canon!" before firing his head out of cannon leaving a trail of gun smoke spelling out the letters "April Fools!" and by Pizza Steve dressing up as Steven.
 * In fact, this is also the first and only non-canon Steven Universe episode.
 * Uncle Grandpa sinks a ship that Lars and Sadie are on. This is a visual pun based on the Lars/Sadie relationship pairing, or "ship" within the fandom. Additionally, Uncle Grandpa uses a head-cannon to do this (a pun on "headcanon").
 * 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 was posted on a Tumblr blog purporting to be Mr. Gus' before the episode's release.
 * There are multiple moments in this episode where the fourth wall is broken.
 * Garnet says, "I'm ready for this episode to end", and breaks the white void around the Gems. This may be a reference to the saying "breaking the fourth wall."
 * When the Gems chase Uncle Grandpa, Amethyst trips on the "Run Away" subtitle.
 * Uncle Grandpa says that the episode isn't canon.
 * Uncle Grandpa asked Belly Bag to open a "plot hole" bringing them in the white space.
 * Mr. Gus made a "gemsona", a fan-made gem based on oneself, which is what Steven Universe fans in the real world 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.
 * Mr. Gus mentioned the multiverse, which is the representation of all TV shows existing in different universes.
 * A lot of the writing for Pearl in this episode is an exaggeration of her character, including her maternal caring for Steven, her anger towards Amethyst, and worrying about current situations they get in.
 * On Ronaldo's blog Keep Beach City Weird, he rants about a crossover between the Crying Breakfast Friends and "Interdimensional Family Friend." Using this as a fictional example of the real Steven Universe - Uncle Grandpa crossover, Ronaldo's reactions match many of those of the community including skepticism at the announcement and events within the episode. The Interdimensional Family Friend character is a reference to Uncle Grandpa.
 * The title is a reference to the expression "say 'uncle!'".
 * The ending theme in this episode is different to match the synthetic sounds used in Uncle Grandpa's theme song.

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. Hopper's move resembles one of Yoshi's 3 Custom Specials, a move called Lick.
 * Uncle Grandpa's introduction by emerging from a clam-shell is likely 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 & Mandy, Mac from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Juniper Lee from The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, the titular characters from SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron (which wasn't actually made for CN, but rather sister station TBS, and predated the What-A-Cartoon project that spawned Dexter's Lab and the PPG), Flapjack from The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, Finn from Adventure Time, the titular characters of Ed, Edd n' Eddy, and Clarence from Clarence.
 * This could also possibly be hinting there would be a crossover between Clarence and Uncle Grandpa.
 * Mr. Gus also makes reference to the "multiverse", which is comprised of all the universes between Classic and Modern Cartoon Network franchises.
 * When Uncle Grandpa is leaving, he tells Steven and the Crystal Gems to "see with eyes unclouded by hate". This could be a reference to the Studio Ghibli film, Princess Mononoke, where the same phrase is stressed throughout the movie.
 * During the montage, Uncle Grandpa dressed up as Robin Hood.
 * 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 the Gems are about to deal the final blow on Uncle Grandpa, they yelled "FINISH HIM!!!". This is a reference to the Mortal Kombat games when a player depletes the opponents health and are about to apply the finishing blow.Say Uncle Compare.png
 * The moment when Belly Bag explains Uncle Grandpa is everyone's uncle and grandpa and the Gems' heads fly in space is similar to a moment in the Uncle Grandpa episode "Belly Bros".
 * The bees Uncle Grandpa fired at Steven look nearly identical to the Pokémon, Beedrill.

Continuity
(It should be noted that due to the episode being non-canon, any actual connection to other episodes is highly questionable.)
 * The bees 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" to fight Lapis' water clones.
 * 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.
 * Steven's Shield 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".
 * Say Uncle is referenced in the short The Grampies, where Uncle Grandpa wins the award for "Best Steven Universe episode".

Errors

 * Amethyst's gem is colored white after summoning her weapon.
 * In the "Gem Glow" flashback, Garnet's outer and inner star colors are reversed.
 * If you look closely while Amethyst is hissing at Uncle Grandpa, her shirt flashes light-blue for a split second.
 * Steven's mouth is moving when his head is orbiting Earth, despite his silence.
 * Before Mr. Gus enters the room, Steven and Uncle Grandpa are in front of a sofa. Once Mr. Gus enters the scene, the sofa is replaced with a TV and a wood burning stove. This may or may be not intentional.
 * The set in the U.G.R.V. changes many more times.
 * In one scene, Amethyst is seen wearing Pizza Steve's glasses, in the other, it was gone, but in the next scene, she's wearing them again.
 * When the Gems have a 'Gem huddle' you can very slightly see Amethyst's gem but in the scene before her head is put on backwards so her gem would be on backwards as well.
 * When Steven tells the Gems to stop bullying Uncle Grandpa, his lower body is not visible under the table.

Videos
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