Crack the Whip

"Oh, good... You didn't need me at all..."

"Crack the Whip" is the 18th episode of the third season of Steven Universe and the 96th episode overall.

Official Synopsis
Amethyst is left in charge of Steven and Connie, and there will be no training while she's around!

Plot
Pearl and Garnet are getting on the Warp Pad while Steven tries to talk to them. They interrupt, telling Amethyst to "hold down the fort" as they were going back to the Great North to look for Jasper. Just then, Connie and Lion arrive, and Steven tells Pearl that she was supposed to be training with Connie that day. Pearl apologizes and says that they will do it next week when Jasper is not running loose, and Garnet says that that would be the best case scenario. Then they warp out.

After that, Steven, Amethyst, Connie, and Lion have fun around Beach City and sword fighting on the beach. Eventually, Steven and Amethyst go into the water, and Connie soon joins them after a little coaxing. While Steven and Connie splash each other, the ground starts to shake and the Orange Great North Monster climbs out of the water onto the beach, directly in front of Sour Cream. After the Gem shakes the water off, Sour Cream runs away. Amethyst then uses her whip to wrap her up and poof her. Then Steven bubbles her and sends her to the Burning Room.

Then the Green Great North Monster rises from the ocean with Jasper on her back. Jasper then reveals that she is collecting Corrupted Gems to form an army and asks where the rest of the Crystal Gems are. Steven starts to tell her they are not there (referring to Pearl and Garnet) but is cut off by Amethyst. Amethyst tells Steven and Connie to fight the Corrupted Gem while she takes on Jasper. Jasper and Amethyst proceed to fight while Jasper insults Amethyst, including questioning why Rose Quartz kept her around, and wears her down by spin dashing and kicking her. Steven and Connie continue to fight the Gem, but Steven shows concern for Amethyst since he sees her being beaten. Eventually, Jasper's crash helmet slams Amethyst into the ground, poofing her. Steven and Connie see this and go to get Amethyst back from Jasper. As they run toward her to attack, they fuse into Stevonnie and get her back. Jasper then expresses her disgust that Steven (who she still calls Rose) had fused with a human. She jumps on top of the retreating Corrupted Gem and rushes at Stevonnie, who jumps on top of Lion. Lion and the Gem Monster butt heads and Stevonnie rushes at Jasper, throwing their shield at her and hitting her in the head with Rose's Sword, which forces Jasper down at such a tremendous force that she poofs the Corrupted Gem.

Amethyst begins to reform. Her new outfit has only changed slightly, her top going from dark gray to white and her leggings staying the same. She reforms, ready to fight, looking around for Jasper. Amethyst looks ahead to see Stevonnie in control of the situation.

Jasper realizes she has been defeated and gets angry because a fusion once again beat her. After collecting the Green Corrupted Gem's gem, she walks back into the ocean, claiming she will be back. Stevonnie says "I guess she lives in the ocean", then turns around and unfuses, informing Amethyst that they defeated Jasper. Amethyst is surprised that they fused and were able to defeat Jasper. She then becomes depressed, realizing that they did not need her as Steven and Connie run back to the Beach House.

Characters

 * Steven
 * Connie
 * Amethyst
 * Pearl
 * Garnet
 * Rose Quartz (mentioned)
 * Lion
 * Jasper (antagonist)
 * Lars (depicted)
 * Sadie Miller
 * Peedee Fryman (non-speaking cameo)
 * Jenny Pizza (non-speaking cameo)
 * Kiki Pizza (non-speaking cameo)
 * Sour Cream (non-speaking cameo)
 * Stevonnie
 * Mayor Dewey (statue)
 * Green Great North Monster
 * Orange Great North Monster

Objects

 * Rose's Sword
 * Rose's Scabbard
 * Warp Pad
 * Pretty Hairstylist
 * Connie's Glow Bracelet

Locations

 * Beach City
 * Beach House
 * Big Donut
 * Fish Stew Pizza
 * Beach Citywalk Fries
 * Beach City Funland
 * The Great North (Mentioned)

Music

 * Duel of the Quartz Soldiers

Trivia

 * This episode's name was first revealed in the episode listing on the Cartoon Network website.
 * This episode marks the first time that Stevonnie engages in combat and fights using Rose's Sword and Shield, effectively combining Steven's and Connie's fighting styles.

Cultural References

 * "Crack the Whip" is an idiom referring to the disciplining of one's subordinates; "to use your authority to make someone else behave better or work harder".
 * "Crack the Whip" is also a simple outdoor children's game that involves physical coordination, and is usually played in small groups, either on grass or ice.
 * This is in reference to Steven and Connie having to coordinate themselves to become better at fighting
 * When Amethyst is surfing at the beach, she shouts, "Bungacowa!" similar to, "Cowabunga!" slang commonly used by surfers when expressing happiness and excitement.

Continuity

 * The monsters from the Great North reappear since their capture in "Gem Hunt".
 * The Ferris Wheel in "Greg the Babysitter" reappears in this episode.
 * This marks the second time Amethyst shouted, "Bungacowa!" The first time was in the episode, "Chille Tid".
 * While restocking inventory at the Big Donut, Sadie was humming the jingle for Pepe's Burgers, which was first heard in "Mr. Greg".
 * Amethyst once again does not bubble a Gem after poofing them, adding to the many consistent times when she has not been seen bubbling, until the episode "Earthlings" when she bubbles Jasper.
 * This is the second episode in which Lion is seen fighting since the events in "Ocean Gem".
 * Steven uses his floating power, which he first discovered he had in "Steven Floats", during his training session with Connie.
 * Connie mentions freezing up during her and Steven's encounter with the Corrupted Gem during her first official gem mission in "Gem Hunt".
 * Jasper reveals her reason for hunting Corrupted Gems in "Gem Hunt" was so she could tame them and force them to serve her, in order to use them to combat the Crystal Gems.
 * Before retreating, Jasper yells "It's always fusion!", referencing the fact that this is the third time a fusion gem overpowered her. The first time by Garnet in "Jail Break" and the second time by Alexandrite in "Super Watermelon Island".

Errors

 * In the close-up shot where Jasper says, "Then she had low standards", the stripes on her face are not present.
 * Amethyst's gem disappears from Stevonnie's hand when they block Jasper's crash helmet with their shield. It reappears in Stevonnie's hand a few moments later.
 * When the monster gem poofs Stevonnie's hair is the correct length, but when Amethyst looks at them, their hair is up to their shoulders.
 * Stevonnie was barefoot even though both Steven and Connie were wearing shoes.

Videos
Crack the Whip Crack the Whip pt-br:Crack the Whip Crack the Whip