The Message

"Everything here is so advanced, I can't even understand it. Please Steven, don't put up a fight, it will only lead to devastation!"

"The Message" is the 49th episode of the first season in Steven Universe, and the 49th episode overall.

Synopsis
Steven and the Gems try to retrieve a message from the Wailing Stone.

Plot
Steven listens to Greg's new song for his new album, "Water Witch", which is based on the ocean incident. In the song, Greg portrays Lapis Lazuli as a villain and Steven corrects him, saying that Lapis just wanted to go home. They then hear a screeching noise coming from the house.

Steven rushes over to see the noise coming from the Wailing Stone. After several attempts to turn off the stone, and eventually muffling it, the Gems believe that someone is sending a message. With all of the other stones previously gathered, they conclude that another one of their own is sending a message to them from space. However, the audio is distorted, making the otherwise advanced message to be unclear. Hearing this, Steven tells them that his dad may be able to help with this.

Greg tries to receive the message with his audio equipment, but the technology is too advanced for the equipment and overloads the van. The Gems frustratingly decide to return to the house. This leaves Greg in distraught as he just wants the Gems to have some faith in him, so he sings a song about his feelings. He and Steven then theorize that the message from the stone is not audio, but video, and convince the Gems to give Greg another chance.

With the help of the Gems, who restart the van, Steven connects the wailing stone to a TV. The message is finally clear, with the sender revealed to be none other than Lapis.

In the message, a distressed Lapis states that the Gem Homeworld is very different now, more advanced, than when she first resided. To make matters worse, another Gem is on her way to Earth, even knowing who Steven is, and she's not alone. By the end of the message, she warns them not to put up a fight, believing that it will only lead to devastation. Amethyst and Pearl panic, believing Peridot is going to attack Earth, but Garnet remains seemingly calm, only stating that they accomplished in receiving the message. Garnet shakes Greg's hand and, much to his delight, thanks him for his help in decoding the message. The episode ends with Greg and Steven playing with a voice modulator.

Characters

 * Steven
 * Garnet
 * Amethyst
 * Pearl
 * Lapis Lazuli (pictured/video)
 * Greg Universe
 * Peridot (mentioned)

Locations

 * Beach City
 * Beach House


 * Gem Homeworld (mentioned)

Objects

 * Greg's Van
 * Wailing Stone
 * Lubitz Cardioid Condenser 680

Songs

 * Lapis Lazuli
 * Wailing Stone

Instrumental Songs

 * Mirror Gem

Trivia

 * This is the second episode to have the word "The" in the title, the first being "The Test", the third being "The Return" and the fourth one being "The Answer".
 * It is revealed that there is more than one Wailing Stone and the Gems have collected all the ones on Earth.
 * It is hinted that Amethyst has used cars before, but says she has never done it with a key.
 * This implies she has previously hot-wired a car.
 * It is revealed that Lapis Lazuli did make it to Homeworld, but it's now more advanced than it was thousands of years ago.
 * Lapis also claimed that she didn't tell the Homeworld Gems about Steven or the Crystal Gems.
 * It is revealed that the Wailing Stone's audio messages can be converted to video via the proper equipment.
 * Lapis Lazuli tells the Crystal Gems that a Gem who knows Steven's name is leading other Gems to Earth, referring to Peridot.
 * Lapis Lazuli doesn't show her wings in the video-message. This might be because she can summon her wings at will and didn't need them at the time.
 * In "The Return" and "Jail Break", she is seen without her wings until she tries to escape Jasper.
 * This is the first episode where a song ("Lapis Lazuli") is played that is dedicated to Lapis Lazuli.
 * This is the second time Greg successfully helped the Gems out. The first being in "House Guest", where he patched the Geode with duct tape when the Gems couldn't seal it.
 * Third if you count "Laser Light Cannon" (which was a joint effort between him and Steven).
 * The ending theme is the same as the one heard in "Winter Forecast", but this time there is static at the end of the song.
 * The sound emitted by the Wailing Stone was loud enough to pop a bubble from the inside.
 * Before Greg's car battery explodes, you can hear Rebecca Sugar's voice.
 * Amethyst said Gregory when talking to Greg which may imply that Gregory is his full name.

Continuity

 * The Wailing Stone was shown from  "Rose's Room".
 * Clips from "Mirror Gem" and "Ocean Gem" are shown during Steven's song.
 * The events of "Ocean Gem" are mentioned by Greg, along with the album cover he made from being inspired by those events.
 * The first track of the album is "Lapis Lazuli".
 * Garnet was able to conduct electricity and withstand its power passing through her body.
 * This was previously demonstrated in "Arcade Mania".

Cultural References

 * Greg's comment that "video killed the audio star" is a reference to the song "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles.
 * It is seen from inside the van that Greg possesses many records, one showing the cover of Queen's "News of the World" album.
 * The way that the Wailing Stone played when Steven opened his mouth was similar to a scene in the movie, "Lilo and Stitch".
 * The 'a-Bloo Hoo Hoo' pedal Greg uses in his first attempt to refine the signal is a spoof of ' Blue Voodoo' audio equipment.
 * The transmission of the audio message by a Wailing Stone is somewhat similar to the transmission of a real-world "Numbers Station". A Numbers Station is a strange type of shortwave radio station characterized by unusual broadcasts of a message usually as an encrypted data either by strains of numbers or in the case of "The Message", a loud noise packed with encrypted data inside that is near or impossible to decipher. Most of the messages carried out by Number Stations are actual commands or homing signals from the sender to another, and is used in espionage.
 * Specifically, the noise emitted by the Wailing Stone resembles the sound of a Backwards Music Station. A Backwards Music Station is a distinct type of Numbers station characterized by a distorted whale-like noise and irregular distorted static, although not true to its name. Both noises from the Wailing Stone and a real life Backwards Music Station emit a hidden audio message that could not be deciphered easily.

Errors

 * When Pearl bubbles the wailing stone, the bubble looks like a Rose Quartz bubble instead of a Pearl bubble.
 * When Garnet adjusts her visor after saying that they got the message, Ruby's gem is missing.
 * Before Greg hands Steven the artwork of Lapis, the spine of the notebook is on the left (in the viewer's perspective), but when Steven holds it, the spine is on the right. When Greg takes it back, it's on the left again.
 * Steven is shown using a left-handed guitar instead of his usual right-handed guitar (or ukelele).
 * While Greg is singing "Wailing Stone (song)", his left eye is smaller than his right eye.
 * After Greg stands up while his is singing "Wailing Stone" his hair is long and in the next scene his hair is short.

Video
El Mensaje pt-br:A Mensagem The Message The Message