Three Gems and a Baby

"This isn't about Rose. From now on, everything has to be about Steven."

"Three Gems and a Baby" is the 10th episode of the fourth season of Steven Universe and 113th episode overall.

Official Synopsis
Greg tells Steven the story of his first winter with Steven.

Plot
Steven, Greg, and the Gems are all in Steven's room. Steven remarks that it's snowing hard outside, and tells his dad that he is glad that he is staying with them. Greg agrees, commenting that it is too cold to stay in his van during this blizzard. Steven says that he's never seen snow like this, and Garnet says that's not entirely true. When Steven asks what she's talking about, Pearl laughs about it, and says that it was fourteen years ago. Steven says that he's fourteen years, and Greg mentions that when it was snowing, Vidalia had gone out of town and let the two crash at her place.

As he's about to tell the story, Steven mentions their "arrangement". Greg says that he already has a song for this one and begins to sing "I Could Never Be Ready" as a flashback montage of Greg with Steven plays. While settling down, he sees a photo of young Sour Cream, Vidalia, and Yellowtail and looks on sadly, noticeably missing Rose. The Gems knock on Vidalia's door, and Greg finds out they brought presents. When Greg says that it was nice for them to stop by, Pearl says that they're only stopping by to drop off the presents. Garnet hands her gift to Steven, but Greg tells her that he may need help opening it. She says that it's just a box meant to look like a present. When it's opened, there's a razor inside. Greg snatches it quickly, saying that he doesn't think he'll need it yet. Garnet replies that he'll need it in the future. Amethyst hands her box to Steven, and when it's opened, there's a box of adult diapers. She says that he can just grow to fit them. She says that Steven can grow, but Greg doesn't think he can. Pearl says that maybe Steven can learn some things using her gift and hands Greg the gift, which is a dictionary. Greg mentions that maybe they could use it to look up the definition of a baby and that Steven can't use any of this stuff.

Greg then pulls out his keys to the van, letting the Gems know that the only thing Baby Steven is interested in is jangling keys. Once the Gems realize that, Amethyst playfully shakes the keys above Steven's head, Pearl notes how captivated he is by them, and Garnet says that next time, they should give him a big box of keys to play with, and everyone laughs in agreement. As they laugh, Steven's gem starts to glow, surprising both Greg and the Gems. Amethyst believes that Rose is trying to shapeshift back into her old self, Pearl tries to communicate with Rose through her gem, and Garnet believes that Rose is trapped in a fusion and is trying to unfuse.

With no idea what to do, Greg heads into Vidalia's kitchen and grabs a parenting book to help them figure something out. When he returns to the living room, Greg notices that the Gems have taken off with Baby Steven. Back in the present, Steven is shocked to find out that the Gems had kidnapped him as a baby. Garnet states that some of their actions were a bit regrettable, and Pearl states that at the time, they thought it would've been better to handle things their way. Back in the flashback, the Gems start up the van and drive off, with Greg chasing after them on foot. Amethyst notices that Greg looks mad and Pearl claims he'll thank them later. Garnet assures them that Greg was doing his best up until that point, but the situation had changed, and that Steven is clearly a Gem. Amethyst then tries to understand why Rose is still a baby, and then shapeshifts into a baby and has Garnet hold her in her arms. Amethyst thinks Rose is doing this just to be coddled, which she likes as well, but does not understand why she's been at this for months on end. Amethyst then shapeshifts back and forth from a baby to her normal form, showing that it's easy, only making Baby Steven laugh.

Amethyst realizes that it isn't working, to which Garnet replies that it's not shapeshifting, it's fusion. Garnet tells Steven that the reason he doesn't unfuse in front of Greg is because it's rude, and tells him that Greg isn't there, so it's okay for him to take a little break, and that she will too. Before Baby Steven's very eyes, Garnet unfuses, introducing him to Ruby and Sapphire. This frightens Steven by causing him to think that Garnet has vanished into thin air, and starts to cry. Ruby and Sapphire realize that it wasn't a practical idea to unfuse in front of him, and immediately fuse back into Garnet. She then assures Steven that he knows her and Ruby and Sapphire, and doesn't understand why it didn't work, prompting Pearl to pull over to the side of road.

Greg, not far behind the Gems in the freezing cold, continues to follow the trail of tire tracks the van left in the snow, where he realizes that he'll never catch up with them on foot. He then notices two kids playing and sledding in the snow with a dog sitting next to them. Greg tries to put two and two together and believes he can ride through the snow on their sled pulled by the dog. Back in the van, Steven is still crying, and Pearl tells everyone to calm down. She informs Garnet and Amethyst that Rose can't reform because her gemstone is stuck inside Steven, and tries to communicate with her again. Pearl tells Rose that she can let her out and they can be together again. She reaches for Rose's gem and tries to pull it out, but before she does, she notices Baby Steven giggling, and she stops, realizing that she couldn't do it because Rose wanted this so much, though she can't understand why. Pearl remembers that Rose always said that everything should grow, everything should change, and that it is so great how it comes so naturally to humans, but then claims that it's not natural for her or other Gems. Garnet then assures Pearl that it will be natural for Steven. Amethyst then asks what about Rose, to which Garnet replies that it isn't about Rose and that from now on, everything is about Steven.

Greg, being chased by the dog he tied to the sled, finally catches up with the Gems. Garnet lets him in the van, and Greg thanks them, but then remembers that the Gems took off in his van and stole Steven, and questions why. Garnet apologizes to him and tells him that they only did it because they thought they knew what Steven was, but they didn't. Greg forgives them and tells them that he doesn't know what Steven is either, and he never glowed when he was a kid, to which Pearl informs that they never were kids. Steven starts to giggle again and Greg tells the Gems that he's not sure how they're going to figure it out, but they have a better chance if they do it together.

Back in  the present, the tea kettle Pearl had put on starts to whistle. As Pearl goes to check on the tea, Steven claims that they were wrong about everything. Pearl reminds him that it was a really long time ago, Amethyst asks him to cut them some slack, Garnet informs him that they couldn't have known what to do, even her, and Greg tells him that he especially didn't know. Steven informs them that they were wrong about growing and changing and that it doesn't come naturally to them, and to look where they are now. Steven knows that they'll never stop missing Rose but believes she would've loved how they all turned out because he does, to which they all agree. Pearl then remembers the time a teenage girl tried to kidnap Steven, and Greg informs her that it was Steven's babysitter and that she was taking him to the park, and lets them know they really scared her when they threw a jungle gym at her, at which they all laugh, and the episode ends.

Characters

 * Steven
 * Greg Universe
 * Garnet
 * Amethyst
 * Pearl
 * Ruby (flashback, non-speaking)
 * Sapphire (flashback, non-speaking)
 * Rose Quartz (flashback, mentioned)
 * Vidalia (mentioned, pictured)
 * Yellowtail (flashback, pictured)
 * Sour Cream (flashback, pictured)
 * Buck Dewey (flashback, non-speaking)
 * Jenny Pizza (flashback, non-speaking)

Objects

 * Greg's Van
 * Greg's Guitar

Locations

 * Beach City
 * Beach House
 * Onion's House

Song

 * "I Could Never Be Ready"

Instrumental Song

 * "Young Gems"
 * "Future Vision"

Trivia

 * A massive blizzard really did strike the Delmarva Peninsula about 14 years prior to this episode's initial airing--the PDII Blizzard in February 2003, one of the largest ever to hit the U.S. East Coast.
 * Amethyst stated that she had shapeshifted into a toilet for a lengthy amount of time in the past.
 * At some point, Greg had hired a babysitter to watch Steven.
 * Unaware of who she was, the Crystal Gems apparently threw a jungle gym at her, believing she had kidnapped Steven while she was taking him to the park.
 * This episode's name was first revealed at the NYCC 2016 panel on October 6, 2016.
 * This is the last episode to be aired in 2016.

Cultural References

 * The episode's name is a reference to the 1987 film, Three Men and a Baby.
 * Pearl's gift, Webby's Dictionary, is a reference to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
 * There are numerous references to Christianity and Christmas in this episode regarding Steven.
 * Like Jesus Christ, Christianity's central figure, Steven is born in an unconventional way. Jesus was born through a virgin while Steven was born through an alien and human parent.
 * Steven is visited by the 3 Crystal Gems as a baby who bring him gifts the same way 3 wise men visited baby Jesus with gifts.
 * Baby Steven is taken into an unconventional place to be looked after, a van in his case, a manger in Jesus Christ's.
 * Greg is seen draped with a blue cloth while carrying Steven. A blue cloth is commonly associated with the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ's birth mother, as she holds Jesus.

Continuity

 * When Steven screams at Greg, he answers "I'm not that far away," like he did in "The Message".
 * Steven met Ruby and Sapphire prior to their proper introduction to him in "Jail Break", but, like the blizzard, had forgotten them due to infantile amnesia.
 * Greg twirls his keys and sings about his carabiner similar to the way he did in "Winter Forecast".
 * Garnet saying she made her present only look like she spent a lot of time wrapping it is similar to the way Connie tells Steven this in "Steven's Birthday".
 * Amethyst's regeneration prior to the events of "Gem Glow" makes its first appearance in the show. Its first overall appearance was in the extended intro.
 * Pearl is shown to be resentful towards Greg for being the reason Rose is gone in the flashback.
 * Amethyst is seen eating a teabag again, showing her penchant for them as revealed in "Onion Friend".
 * Even though Amethyst visited Vidalia's house in this episode, the gem was surprised to meet her old friend there years later in the events of "Onion Friend".
 * Garnet gives baby Steven a razor, saying how he'll need it in the future. This is apparently true, considering Steven is seen with a beard in his adult form in So Many Birthdays.

Errors

 * When present-Amethyst confirms to Steven that they did indeed kidnap him, her boot is colored white like it was in her previous regenerations.
 * When Amethyst shapeshifts into a baby, her gem has a pentagonal facet instead of hexagonal.
 * When Garnet is holding baby Steven in the van, one of her hands is colored incorrectly.
 * Out of the flashback, Amethyst's shirt is round at the bottom like her past form instead of her current torn one.
 * When Garnet hands over Steven to Amethyst, her right hand is missing her gem, also, the bottom of her arms (near the end of the screen) aren't outlined.
 * In the flashback, Steven's buttons move from one side of his body to the other.
 * There are several points where Steven has five buttons on his baby suit instead of four.
 * There is also one point where his baby suit had three buttons instead of four.

Videos
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