Tiger Millionaire (episode)

"I'm not going to say anything, but I expect you to understand that was wrong."

"Tiger Millionaire" is the 9th episode of the first season in Steven Universe, and the 9th episode of the series overall.

Synopsis
Steven joins Amethyst in an underground wrestling league.

Plot
The episode begins with the Gems returning to the temple. Pearl is seen yelling at Amethyst for being too "childish" on their mission. Steven is covered in gunk from a blood polyp, which he considers fun at first, but it eventually hardens and prevents him from moving. He then asks for help, but the others are busy arguing and ignore him for the rest of the evening. Later, Steven remains covered in the gunk overnight and falls asleep standing in the kitchen. He is woken by Amethyst leaving the house. He falls over with surprise, breaking the blood polyp shell and setting himself free. Steven follows Amethyst from the house to a wrestling match. He looks through the window and sees Amethyst enter the ring, shape-shifting into her wrestling persona, the "Purple Puma". Ronaldo meets Amethyst in the ring dressed as the "Loch Ness Bloggster" and tries to fight her, but she takes him down easily. After the fight ends, Amethyst leaves the building and returns to her previous form. Steven jumps on Amethyst, and Amethyst reflexively flips him forward onto the ground. She is shocked to see Steven there, and Steven asks if she is secretly a wrestler. Amethyst reveals that she is indeed a secret wrestler, and this excites Steven. She tells him that she participates in matches because in the ring, she can do whatever she wants and everybody loves it. Steven asks if he can join in, and she says that he can become her tag-mate if he agrees not to tell Pearl and Garnet. Later that night, Steven dresses up as a tiger and calls himself "Tiger Millionaire". He and Amethyst return to the match and fight a new contender. At first Steven is little help to Amethyst in the matches. But after he distracts an opponent with a fake bribery and uses his suitcase to knock him out, Steven becomes a strong asset to her and a popular heel.

After dozens of victories, Steven drops several drinks on the floor meant for the crowd. Lars, without knowing Tiger Millionaire's true identity, asks him to sign his drink. Steven knocks his drink to the floor, hurting Lars' feelings. Immediately afterwards, Steven begins to regret his decision as the crowd looks on, disappointed. Garnet and Pearl discover Amethyst and Steven's nighttime occupation when they find the flyers Steven created to advertise the final match. After scolding them, Garnet demands them to return to the temple. Amethyst refuses, and she begins fighting with Garnet. Steven interrupts and tells the crowd Purple Puma's "backstory", helping Garnet and Pearl understand Amethyst's reasons for wrestling. The audience begins chanting for a fight between the two groups. Garnet replies "no", saying she and Pearl are "The Notorious Order of Wrestling Haters". The four pretend to fight in order to please the crowd; Garnet and Pearl let Tiger and Puma win, ending the match. Garnet, who has been dubbed as "Captain Square", and Amethyst apologize to each other. Steven and Amethyst claim the tag team medals while Sadie states that she is confused by what just happened and turns to Lars, who softly states, "I love you, Tiger Millionaire", while dramatically shedding a tear.

Characters

 * Steven (Tiger Millionaire)
 * Amethyst (Purple Puma)
 * Lars
 * Sadie
 * Mr. Smiley
 * Loch Ness Bloggster (Ronaldo Fryman)
 * Concrete Heat
 * Chunk Truck
 * Dashing Danny Doober
 * Handsome Hank Hackleschmidt
 * Pearl
 * Garnet

Objects

 * Margarine
 * Jungle Bucks
 * Wall Street Newspaper Prop
 * Giant Cellphone Prop
 * Tag Team Belt
 * Tiger Millionaire's Suitcase

Locations

 * Beach City
 * Abandoned Warehouse (debut)
 * Crystal Temple
 * Beach House

Music

 * "Purple Puma and Tiger Millionaire"

Trivia

 * Steven's voice actor, Zach Callison, stated in a Comic Con interview that this is his favorite episode of season one.

Cultural References

 * The character may be a reference to the professional wrestler, Ted "Million Dollar Man" DiBiase, who was known for flaunting his wealth, being a jerk, and stuffing dollar bills in his opponents' mouths after they lost.
 * Additionally, his outfit bears resemblance to that of "Irwin R. Schyster", Ted DiBiase's partner in a tag team.

Continuity

 * Amethyst has transformed into Purple Puma before in "Cat Fingers" and transforms into him again in "Ocean Gem", "Maximum Capacity", and 'Log Date 7 15 2.
 * This is one of the first episodes to hint at the fact that Sadie has feelings for Lars, which is not revealed until "Island Adventure". After Lars becomes a fan of Tiger Millionaire, she appears to have gotten bored of wrestling after attending multiple matches and only smiles when she sees Lars happy.

Errors

 * Throughout the match, Lars is seated next to Sadie and behind a dark skinned man with beard and sunglasses. However, when Steven offers the bribe to Handsome Hank, Lars is seated between a man and a red-haired woman.

El Tigre Millonario pt-br:Tigre Milionário Tiger Millionaire