Bismuth (episode)

"You didn't even tell them. You bubbled me away, and you didn't ever tell your friends — my friends."

"Bismuth" is the 20th & 21st episode of the third season of Steven Universe and the 98th & 99th episode overall. It is a 22-minute special episode.

Synopsis
An item from the Gems' past is discovered inside of Lion's mane.

Plot
Steven finds Bismuth's gem inside Lion, in which afterward they are reunited with the rest of the remaining Crystal Gems. Bismuth acts very friendly with Garnet and Pearl because she knew them during the war. It is revealed that Bismuth has a forge on Earth, and that is where she made all of the material weapons for the rebellion including Rose's Sword. She gives Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl extensions for their current weapons.

Later, Bismuth, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl are seen "training" outside while Steven is watching. Bismuth asks Steven to join in and Steven replies by saying that it's too intense, and he then shows Bismuth some of his rituals.

Later in the episode, Bismuth takes Steven back to the forge to show him the Breaking Point, a weapon that shatters gems on impact and Steven finds out that Bismuth was bubbled inside Lion because she was going to try to shatter Homeworld gems with the Breaking Point. It was revealed that Rose did not think it was right, and she had ended up bubbling Bismuth without telling the other Crystal Gems about it. Steven showed the same point of view, and this angered Bismuth. After a showdown between the two of them, Steven ended up having to poof Bismuth and bubble her. Steven then reveals all that happened to Bismuth to the Crystal Gems.

Characters

 * Steven
 * Bismuth (debut) (antagonist)
 * Garnet
 * Amethyst (also as Purple Puma)
 * Pearl
 * Lion
 * Rose Quartz (mentioned, pictured)
 * Ruby (mentioned)
 * Sapphire (indirectly mentioned)
 * Unknown Crystal Gems:
 * "Crazy Lace" (mentioned)
 * "Biggs" (mentioned)
 * "Snowflake" (mentioned)
 * The Great Diamond Authority (mentioned)
 * Nephrite pilot (mentioned)

Objects

 * Rose's Sword
 * Rose's Scabbard
 * Breaking Point
 * Warp Pad
 * Garnet's Spiked Knuckle Attachment (first appearance)
 * Pearl's Trident Blade Attachment (first appearance)
 * Amethyst's Spiked Flail Attachment (first appearance)

Locations

 * Beach City
 * Beach House
 * Lion's Dimension
 * Gem Battlefield
 * The Forge
 * Gem Homeworld (mentioned)

Music

 * TBA

Trivia

 * This episode has a unique title card, appearing after the first minute within the episode, instead of at the beginning like they usually do and also features two of the shows characters.
 * Despite only being the 98th overall episode, it is marketed as the 100th episode by Cartoon Network.
 * According to Matt Burnett, Cartoon Network considers it the 99th and 100th episode due to counting all of the digital shorts as a single episode and "Bismuth" as two separate episodes.
 * It is revealed that Bismuths are the builders of Gem structures, such as spires, arenas, and temples.
 * It is revealed that Bismuth created Rose's Sword and every other material Gem Weapon and armor used by the Crystal Gems.
 * It is also revealed that physical enhancements can modify summoned Gem weapons.
 * Bismuth was poofed roughly 5,300 years before the show, which is around the start of the Bronze Age.
 * This is the first time Steven has poofed a non-corrupted Gem.
 * This episode confirms that Gems can speak in airless (or at least oxygen-less) environments such as Lion's Mane Dimension, where Bismuth was capable of speaking to Steven while he could only hold his breath as usual.
 * This implies that while there is no oxygen in Lion's Dimension, there is another type of gaseous substance, as the sound is unable to travel through the vacuum.

Cultural References

 * Steven's drink use is similar to the famous "Coca-Cola" brand of cola.
 * After the commercial break, as in animes like Sailor Moon R or Yu Yu Hakusho, there were eyecatchers with chibi versions of the Crystal Gems going to a Warp Pad.
 * Due to the size and the characters on the blade, the large sword blade seen on the wall of the forge may be a reference to Omegamon's Grey Sword from Digimon.
 * The Breaking Point has a similar appearance and function to the Big O's piston punch from the anime The Big O.

Continuity

 * The unknown bubbled object first seen in "Lion 3: Straight to Video" is revealed to be Bismuth.
 * The Lonely Blade movie from "Steven the Sword Fighter" returned.
 * Pearl now understands that movies don't have to make sense since "Steven the Sword Fighter".
 * The Corrupting Light is indirectly mentioned by Garnet as Homeworld's "final attack".
 * Pearl mentions Rose protecting her and Garnet from the attack, something first mentioned by Greg in "The Return".
 * Steven indirectly mentions Peridot's redemption when he says that most gems he meets always try to kill him, and it takes forever before he becomes friends with them.

Errors

 * When Bismuth blocks Pearl's attack, her pants are missing.
 * When Steven first pops the bubble Bismuth is trapped in, the gem is facing towards him with the notch on the top left. In the next frame with Bismuth's gem, the notch is on the bottom left. Then when Steven goes back into Lion's mane Bismuth's gem is facing away from him with the notch on the bottom right.
 * When the Gems stare at Bismuth's bubbled gem, the bottom half of Garnet's bodysuit is reversed.