The Trial

"I want to know what she thinks we're going to do with her, because I want to do something worse."

"The Trial" is the 2nd episode of the fifth season of Steven Universe and the 130th episode overall.

Official Synopsis
Steven goes on trial.

Plot
Steven is standing in a vacant room on the Gem Homeworld awaiting his punishment for "shattering Pink Diamond". A fraught blue Zircon enters, rushing to come up with a defense as Steven's defending attorney for the upcoming court case, to no avail. The trial begins shortly after that.

Steven waits for the trial to begin in the trial room with Zircon. A yellow Zircon teleports in as the prosecutor. Yellow and Blue Pearl introduce Yellow and Blue Diamond.

The Zircons do the pleasantries and then proceed to the case. Yellow Diamond appears very apathetic, and Blue Diamond looks attentive and melancholic. As Blue Pearl illustrates the scene and Yellow Pearl transcribes their speech, the yellow Zircon makes her case and brings in Lars as evidence of human incompetence. She then impetuously bubbles his head to quiet him. She then brings in an "eyewitness", Eyeball. She testifies against Steven and angrily calls him a "war criminal", saying that he is Rose Quartz, bringing up his healing and shield, just before she was thrown into space, much to the blue Zircon's dismay. The yellow Zircon ends her case, and the blue Zircon begins.

She gets off to a bumpy start, until Steven interrupts, declaring himself guilty. Blue Diamond elevates his platform to her eye level, and then asks Steven how she did "it" (shattering Pink Diamond); Steven stumbles, clearly not knowing what happened, since he is not Rose Quartz. After mentioning the Breaking Point, Blue loses her composure, exclaiming that Rose used a sword. After releasing an energy wave causing everyone to tear up (except the partially bubbled Lars), Yellow Diamond comforts Blue Diamond, and the court takes a recess. The blue Zircon confronts Steven, who admits that he had no idea what really happened. Zircon eventually realizes that Blue Diamond wants Steven to explain how he shattered Pink Diamond because the official records describe a scenario that doesn't make any sense.

Steven and his lawyer return to the court. Starting off shaky, the blue Zircon gradually picks up speed, eventually intriguing both Diamonds. She first restates the details in the official records: Pink Diamond had been shattered from the front by Rose after stepping out of her palanquin. After asking for Blue Diamond's Palanquin to demonstrate, Zircon asks how Rose was able to get so close considering that she was at that point a known threat, adding that there were no other Rose Quartzes in Pink Diamond's entourage. Zircon further questions why none of Pink's Agates, Sapphires, or even her Pearl saw Rose coming. Zircon argues that her Agates would have attempted to intercept Rose, her Sapphires would have predicted the attack, and her Pearl would have cried out an alarm. Blue Zircon then declares that the murderer had to have been someone who was close to Pink, whose presence would not have alarmed her entourage, and who had the authority to cover up the crime.

On a roll, the Blue Zircon concludes that it is highly possible that the person that shattered Pink Diamond could in fact be one the Diamonds, shocking Blue Diamond and infuriating Yellow. In the face of Yellow's displeasure, Zircon hurriedly asks the Diamonds to disregard her accusation, but Yellow poofs both Zircons before being stopped by Blue Diamond. Steven and Lars manage to slink aside as Yellow and Blue Diamond begin to quarrel while their Pearls remain silent. Both enter Blue Diamond's Palanquin and attempt to escape; after briefly struggling with the controls, Steven manages to steer the palanquin out of the building. Yellow Diamond blasts a diamond-shaped hole in the wall near them, threatening Steven as he and Lars plummet into the depths of Homeworld. The episode ends with the screen turning black, leaving their whereabouts unknown.

Characters

 * Steven
 * Lars Barriga
 * Yellow Diamond
 * Blue Diamond
 * Yellow Pearl
 * Blue Pearl
 * Zircon (Defense) (debut)
 * Zircon (Prosecuting) (debut)
 * Ruby (Eyeball)
 * Pink Diamond (mentioned)
 * Rose Quartz (mentioned)
 * Pink Diamond's Pearl (mentioned)
 * Sapphires (mentioned)
 * Agates (mentioned)

Objects

 * Blue Diamond's Palanquin
 * Pink Diamond's Palanquin (mentioned)
 * Breaking Point (mentioned)
 * Rose's Sword (mentioned)

Locations

 * Gem Homeworld
 * Trial Room

Instrumental Songs

 * "Blue Diamond"
 * "Yellow Diamond"

Trivia

 * It is likely Navy brought Eyeball back after she reclaimed their squad's ship.
 * This episode implies that Rose Quartz was not the one who shattered Pink Diamond, but rather someone else, specifically another Diamond. According to the defending Zircon's theory, it was impossible for Rose Quartz to have been able to get close enough to Pink Diamond to shatter her, given the fact that at that time Rose was a recognized war criminal and Pink Diamond was in the company of several Agates, Sapphires, and her Pearl. Because of this, Zircon reasons that whoever did it must have been someone whom Pink Diamond held much trust in and had the authority to have it covered it up by framing Rose Quartz.
 * This episode marks the first time a Gem is poofed by a Diamond onscreen. It is also the first time a Diamond is shown to have combat abilities.
 * This episode marks the first time that a Gem on Homeworld is seen producing a bubble; in this case, it was the yellow prosecuting Zircon bubbling Lars' head.

Cultural References

 * Steven being on trial is very similar to Green Lantern being on trial from the Justice League episode, In Blackest Night.

Continuity

 * This episode marks the very first appearance of Homeworld.
 * This episode takes place shortly after "Stuck Together".
 * Eyeball mentions Steven healing her and throwing her into space in "Bubbled".
 * Steven assumes that the Breaking Point, an invention of Bismuth, was used to shatter Pink Diamond, but according to Blue Diamond, he is apparently wrong.
 * Steven and the defending Zircon mention Pink Diamond's palanquin from "Steven's Dream".
 * The prosecuting Zircon addresses the Diamonds with plenty of positive adjectives before saying "My Diamond", something that Holly Blue Agate did in "That Will Be All".
 * Blue Diamond's palanquin, which first appeared in "The Answer" and later in "Steven's Dream", reappears in this episode.

Errors

 * Note: Time is displayed in [mm:ss]; [00:00] refers to the point after the title card is displayed and before the episode's start.

Design

 * [08:51] While the Prosecuting Zircon has been confirmed to be a Yellow Zircon, she appears green even when standing in yellow lighting.