Earthlings

"Earth… is a prison. And I got out because I’m better than this place. I only came back to finish you off. You can’t manipulate me, Rose Quartz!... I’ve been fighting since I broke free from the Earth’s crust! Because of what you did to my colony, because of what you did to my planet, because of what you did to my Diamond! My Diamond... Your Diamond... Pink Diamond!"

"Earthlings" is the 23rd episode of the third season of Steven Universe and the 101st episode overall.

Synopsis
Amethyst tries to enact revenge with a showdown in the Kindergarten.

Plot
Steven, Amethyst, and Peridot hide behind a rock face while observing Jasper interact with a corrupted gem. Peridot suggests they head back to the temple and get reinforcements, to which Steven agrees. They realize that while they were talking that Amethyst was sneaking up to attack Jasper. Jasper is bullying the caged corrupted gem, telling it that "we all get what we deserve," before turning around and saying, "right, Amethyst?" Amethyst is shocked and falls off a rock face before jumping up for a rematch. Jasper equips her weapon and is seemingly pushed back by Amethyst's new upgraded whips. The more Amethyst attacks, the more she realizes that Jasper is unaffected. Amethyst uses her spin dash technique while on fire to attack Jasper to no avail. Jasper easily kicks Amethyst away, who lands near Steven. As Jasper advances, Steven knocks down a Kindergarten injector using his shield throw, which separates Jasper from him and Amethyst.

Amethyst claims she can't win, but Steven gives her a pep talk by saying they're unique and that they have each other. They hug and fuse for the first time. Jasper angrily questions who the fusion is supposed to be, to which they respond by saying that a rose quartz and an amethyst make a Smoky Quartz, while also fusing Steven's shield and Amethyst's whip to form their yo-yo. Jasper is quickly irritated, thinking that fusion is the only tactic the Crystal Gems have. Smokey Quartz casually counters that they has a lot of tricks then attacks Jasper with their yo-yo, pushing her back. Jasper uses her spin dash, but Smoky Quartz dodges. Jasper's attack breaks the cliff face where her corrupted gem army was held captive, which results in the corrupted gems fleeing. Jasper runs over to the last gem in her army and fuses with it, forming a corrupted fusion. As Jasper's new fusion advances, Smoky Quartz spins their yo-yo to create a wind blast. Since the corrupted fusion isn't blown away, Smoky pulls out two more yo-yo's and creates a tornado. Jasper unfuses from the corrupted gem, but tries to stay together, believing that they can beat the Crystal Gems. The tornado subsides and the pair fall to the ground, unfused.

The corrupted gem runs away, which prompts Jasper to lament that no one she fuses with ever wants to stay with her, followed by her laughing bitterly then noticing the change in her arm. Smoky Quartz sees that Jasper's arm is starting to corrupt, so Steven unfuses and offers to help Jasper, who declines. Jasper states that Rose would only take gems who are at their lowest point, so that they can be made to feel like they mean something. She even points out Peridot, who she thinks was stripped of her status and her limb enhancers. She asks why she would side with Rose, and Peridot says that being on Earth, she has learned things about herself, and Earth can set you free. Jasper still doesn't accept any of this and yells at Steven that he can't manipulate her. Steven, on the other hand, tells her he just wants to help. As Jasper gets more furious and becomes more corrupted, she is yelling about how she's been fighting because of what Rose did to her colony, her planet, and her diamond. Steven assumes Jasper is talking about Yellow Diamond, but the latter erratically corrects him before becoming fully corrupted, screaming that it was Pink Diamond. Jasper becomes fully corrupted and advances quickly on the Crystal Gems. However, Peridot pierces Jasper with a metal rod that was used to cage the corrupted gems, poofing her. Amethyst then bubbles Jasper and the trio head home. Amethyst says she doesn't want to do anything for a month, before groaning at the sight of Lapis, Garnet, and Pearl who have bubbled the newly returned Ruby Squad.

Characters

 * Steven
 * Amethyst
 * Peridot
 * Smoky Quartz (debut)
 * Jasper (antagonist)
 * Snow Monster
 * Unknown Quartz Fusion (debut)
 * Rose Quartz (mentioned)
 * Pink Diamond (mentioned)
 * Yellow Diamond (mentioned)
 * Corrupted Gems
 * Cluster Gem (cameo)
 * Water Bear (cameo)
 * Garnet (non speaking, cameo)
 * Pearl (non speaking, cameo)
 * Lapis Lazuli (non speaking, cameo)
 * Ruby (Doc) (non speaking, cameo)
 * Ruby (Eyeball) (non speaking, cameo)
 * Ruby (Army) (non speaking, cameo)
 * Ruby (Navy) (non speaking, cameo)
 * Ruby (Leggy) (non speaking, cameo)
 * Malachite (indirectly mentioned)

Objects

 * Injectors
 * Roaming Eye

Locations

 * Beta Kindergarten
 * The Barn
 * Crystal Temple (mentioned)

Songs

 * TBA

Instrumental Songs

 * Jasper

Trivia

 * This episode's name was first revealed in the episode listing on the Cartoon Network website. The episode was originally named "Earthlings Part 2".
 * This episode reveals that Steven can fuse with Full-Gems, and is the first time he has done so.
 * It is also implied that if a normal Gem fuses with a Corrupted Gem, that gem will also become Corrupted.
 * This episode is the only one so far to have the title screen with the Beta Kindergarten as background.
 * This episode shows Amethyst bubbling a Gem on-screen for the first time.
 * This episode shows Peridot poofing a Gem on-screen for the first time.
 * This episode confirms that the North Monsters were quartz gems and to a greater extent, different varieties of Jaspers.
 * Most of the gems that Jasper captured were quartz gems that looked similar to the Great North Monsters. However she did also capture at least one artificial fusion and one water bear.


 * This is the first onscreen transformation from a non-corrupted gem to a corrupted gem.
 * Whether or not all Gems become corrupted like Jasper did is yet to be seen.


 * Before bubbling Jasper, Amethyst called her "sis" (short term for 'sister'), referring to the fact that both of them are quartz type gems that were made on Earth.
 * This episode shows that though Jasper wears the yellow diamond insignia, she still owes allegiance to Pink Diamond for whom she was made.
 * This episode also shows that Jasper was made on earth and only returned to avenge what Rose Quartz did to Pink Diamond.
 * This episode reveals that Rose Quartz and Jasper both formerly served Pink Diamond.

Cultural References

 * Smoky Quartz's yo-yo attack may be a reference to one of Ness's attacks in Earthbound.
 * Jasper's fusion with the Snow Monster resembles the Deathclaw from the Fallout series.

Continuity

 * This episode continues from where "Beta" left off.
 * Jasper doesn't want to get beaten by yet another fusion, referring back to the events of "Jail Break", "Super Watermelon Island", and "Crack the Whip."
 * Jasper remarks about how her fusion partners never wanted to stay together, referring to Malachite.
 * The Water Bear from "Love Letters" makes a cameo.
 * A Cluster Gem, which debuted in "Nightmare Hospital", appears, fleeing from the Beta Kindergarten after most of the cages break.

Errors

 * When Smoky Quartz announces their name, the whip was studded with amethysts instead of smoky quartzes.
 * During Jasper's corruption, one frame had her lips missing.
 * When Jasper and the Snow Monster fuse, the Monster's gemstone appears round, despite it regularly having a hexagonal shape.
 * When Jasper and the Snow Monster were falling from the sky, Jasper's right arm turns yellow for a few frames, and then returns back to the red color.
 * When Steven, Amethyst, and Peridot first see the Rubies, Lapis' waist gap between her top and her skirt is miscolored.

Videos
Earthlings Earthlings, Part 2 Earthlings pt-br:Earthlings Earthlings