Reformed

"Reformed" is the 8th episode of Season 2 in Steven Universe, and the 57th episode overall.

Synopsis
Steven, Amethyst, and Garnet chase after a monster that is on the loose inside the Temple.

Plot
The episode starts off with Steven taking a "Crying Breakfast Friends!" personality quiz. After getting his answer, he looks for Pearl and Greg, who are working on Greg's van, so he can ask them to take the quiz too. After they decline (due to not understanding the cartoon itself), Steven goes inside the beach house to find Amethyst making herself a meal. Amethyst asks Steven for some engine oil to put into it, which Steven tells her is outside. Steven then tries the personality quiz on Amethyst, and she gives him false answers. Steven wonders if she is taking this seriously and the two then go into the temple to find Garnet in Amethyst's room. Amethyst, being curious and slightly irritated, asks why Garnet is in her room. Garnet replies by saying that the corrupted Gem that Pearl saw is on the loose in Amethyst's room.

Garnet, Amethyst, and Steven then chase the corrupted gem which Steven dubbed "The Slinker" around the temple. Steven tries to ask Amethyst questions for the personality quiz again. Amethyst becomes defensive when Steven asks her personal questions regarding hidden feelings. It is at this point that Garnet spots the creature, attacks, but misses. Amethyst is upset at Garnet for "wrecking" her stuff, but before she can finish her sentence she is grabbed by the Slinker.

After tightly gripping Amethyst with its tentacle, it squeezes her like a snake and Amethyst is forced to retreat into her gem, which alarms Steven. Garnet comforts him by saying that Amethyst will be back before he knows it. Proving this true, Amethyst regenerates within a matter of seconds, but with legs where her arms usually would be. While Steven is amused, Garnet is displeased. The Gems continue their search.

After a while of searching, they find another tunnel made by the Slinker. When Steven comments on Amethyst's new form, saying he wished he had four legs too, Garnet notes that Pearl took her time and came out better. This makes Amethyst mad and when she stops to convey her distaste in Pearl, she is crushed by the Slinker, once again causing her to retreat into her gem. Garnet comforts Steven again and tells him that at least now Amethyst now gets a second chance to regenerate into a new form, hoping that she will take it more seriously this time around. When Amethyst comes back, she takes on an a form resembling an exaggerated parody of Pearl, and once more makes fun of her. Garnet again expresses her distaste, saying that it isn't funny. The Gems resume their search for the monster while Amethyst continues to poke fun at Pearl. Amethyst and Garnet get into an argument but are interrupted when Amethyst is grabbed by the Slinker and forced back into her gem for a third time. Still angry at Garnet for what she interpreted as Garnet calling her weak, Amethyst regenerates as a "monster" with an uneven body and bulging muscles on one arm and one leg. Garnet says that this form does not suit her and she should be more serious. Enraged, Amethyst runs away to find the Slinker.

When Garnet and Steven catch up to her, she is seen fighting the Slinker hands on. Unable to maintain her form, Amethyst's left arm loses its strength and falls to the floor distorted. Steven then makes the observation that Amethyst is upset and doesn't want to think about herself. It is at this point Amethyst is engulfed by the monster and Garnet punches it, forcing it to release Amethyst's gem from its mouth. Garnet and Steven return to the Beach House with Amethyst's gem, intending to find the monster after Amethyst regenerates.

Instead of immediately regenerating, Amethyst remains in her gem for four hours, which Pearl notes is the longest she's ever taken. When Amethyst finally does regenerate, it is shown that she put more thought into her regeneration and has no abnormalities. The other gems are very supportive of her new form and compliment her on it, Pearl saying that she likes it much better now that the shoulder strap that was bothering her is gone. Garnet says it's perfect, but Amethyst brushes the compliment off and claims that it's "just what feels right". Garnet says that's what makes it perfect and they then have a group hug, which Amethyst secretly enjoys.

Characters

 * Steven
 * Amethyst
 * Garnet
 * Pearl
 * Greg
 * The Slinker (debut/antagonist)

Objects

 * Gas Mask
 * Human Skull
 * Steven's Phone
 * Greg's Van
 * No Home Boys Series
 * Fione Summer Special Book

Locations

 * Beach City
 * Beach House
 * Crystal Temple
 * Amethyst's Room

Songs

 * TBA

Trivia

 * In honor of the episode, the Steven Crewniverse shared "Grape Popsicle Amethysts Gemstones" (prepared by Christy Cohen).
 * This is the second episode to have a one word title, the first being "Frybo".
 * Coincidentally, if you don't count the three episodes that were moved from Season 1, this is the fifth episode of Season 2 and Frybo was the fifth episode of Season 1.
 * This is the first time we see a Gem regenerate more than once.
 * It's revealed that when regenerating, Gems can customize their physical forms as they please.
 * This is shown in "Steven the Sword Fighter", when Pearl is choosing her physical form.
 * However, if regeneration is rushed, deformities may occur.
 * This is the second time Garnet uses her gauntlets as projectiles, with the first being in "Watermelon Steven".
 * It's shown that after Garnet performs this, she loses her hands and her gemstones move to the top of her wrists.
 * As of this episode, none of the Crystal Gems (besides Steven) are in their original forms.
 * When a Gem retreats to their gemstone, Steven refers to it as "poofing."
 * Amethyst's rapid regeneration would explain Ruby and Sapphire's appearances in "Jail Break".
 * If they had both taken two weeks to regenerate (like Pearl), the Gem Warship would have been in space for two weeks, which wouldn't make sense.
 * But it would make more sense that regeneration only takes hours, minutes or seconds and not necessarily weeks.
 * This is the third episode to have a Gem with a redesigned outfit following their regeneration, the first being "Steven the Sword Fighter" and the second being "Jail Break".
 * This is the first time where a Crystal Gem is "poofed" by a Gem Monster.
 * This is the second time the Crystal Gems have fought a Gem Monster without bubbling away its gemstone.
 * The first being the Tardigrade Gem Monster from "Love Letters".
 * Unlike the monster from "Love Letters", the reason it was not bubbled was because they could not beat it.
 * This episode sees Pearl admit that she had always found Amethyst's crooked shoulder straps irksome.
 * This is the fifth episode in which Amethyst blushes, the first being "An Indirect Kiss", the second being "Warp Tour", the third being "On the Run" and the fourth being "The Return".
 * This is the second episode where Amethyst verbally fights with Garnet, the first being in "Tiger Millionaire".
 * This is the first time Amethyst is shown fighting a Gem Monster without using her whip.
 * The Crying Breakfast Friends! characters that appear in the episode are correlated to the Crystal Gems and Greg. Steven indirectly describes both Pearl's and Greg's characteristics through Weeping Egg Cup and Pining Grapefruit, respectively. Afterwards, he directly describes Garnet through Spilled Milk.
 * It's not known when the first encounter with the Slinker occured, since there is no episode about it.
 * A hiatus started after "Reformed" aired.

Cultural References

 * A Mario coin block can be seen among the items in Amethyst's room.
 * A Gyroid very much resembling ones found in Animal Crossing also appears in the room.
 * A bottle of Lon Lon Milk from the Legend of Zelda can be seen on the kitchen shelf shortly before Amethyst reforms for the final time.
 * A pot of pansies that are similar to Animal Crossing can be seen.
 * The Wheel from the American television game show Wheel of Fortune can also be spotted in the room behind Steven after Amethyst's first regeneration.
 * The Slime monster from the Dragon Quest series can also be found to the left of Amethyst as she searches her pile of junk.

Continuity

 * Amethyst is shown to have kept the fashion magazine from "Beach Party," as it appears in her room.
 * She also appears to possess a copy of a The No Home Boys: The Mystery Train from "On the Run".
 * Steven recalls the events of "Steven the Sword Fighter."

Errors

 * In the beginning when Steven entered, a light switch was on the wall to his right. In the next scene, it wasn't there, then in the next scene, the light switch was there, but more to the right than before when it was in the middle.
 * When Amethyst was walking through the tunnel with her four legs, one of her legs were colored purple rather than black, and her right shoulder strap wasn't showing.

Transcript
View the episode's transcript here.