Too Short to Ride

"No, give it up for the shorty squad."

"Too Short to Ride" is the 9th episode of the third season of Steven Universe and the 87th episode overall.

Official Synopsis
Steven and Amethyst take a trip to Funland but run into trouble when their friend is too short to ride the rollercoasters.

Plot
The episode opens with Steven extending to Peridot a present wrapped in green paper with a green ribbon attached to it. Peridot expresses her gratitude with her now typical declaration of "wow, thanks", and she fails to realize that Steven's gift is a tablet. After a brief explanation from him, however, she comes to understand the nature of his gift, remarking in glee about how the touch sensitive nature of the tablet reminds her of her old finger screens. Steven is gladdened by Peridot's happiness, stating that she now has full access to the world-wide web. She scoffs, boasting that her old finger screens had the ability to search and retrieve information from multiple star systems, a declaration which Steven accepts as being impressive. He proceeds to open TubeTube which he jokingly considers superior.

Peridot is grateful for Steven's gift, however; she would prefer if it came attached to her body, the way her former limb enhancers did. Shortly after her remark, she dashes to the closet under Steven's staircase. After creating a considerable mess, she reveals to him her self-proclaimed innovation: a holder for her tablet made from two pieces of Velcro that she found in Steven's old shoes. One piece is attached to her wrist, and the other to her tablet, making operation of said tablet similar to using a smart-watch. Amethyst enters the scene and sits on the couch, Peridot asking whether or not she likes her invention. Amethyst says only that she looks like a square, a statement which Peridot proceeds to correct, telling her that the tablet is, in fact, rectangular. After a somewhat awkward exchange between the two, Amethyst asks her friends if they're ready to go hang out. Peridot, being new to human social customs, expresses initial confusion, before arriving at the conclusion that hanging out is a "friend thing" to do.

The three walk in to Funland, only to discover new rules. Steven and Amethyst are measured by height, and are not tall enough, but when it is Peridot's turn, it looks like she is tall enough because of her hair, but Mr. Smiley notices this, and says that the group has to do some more growing before they can ride. This angers Peridot, saying that she does not have to grow because her height is perfect, and that she demands entry, and calls Mr. Smiley a clod. After Mr. Smiley threatens them with another lifetime ban, the three walk away, as Amethyst says "Shorty squad, out." The three are disappointed that they cannot ride, but Amethyst gets the idea of shape-shifting so they are tall enough to ride, and Steven follows with this. Peridot tries to shape-shift, but exudes herself, saying that she is a bit rusty. She tells Steven and Amethyst to quickly go on the ride without her, so they can quickly come back. The two come back with their original height, Amethyst saying that the ride was 'so good', and Steven asking what they should do next. The three go to the House of Mirrors, and Steven and Amethyst enjoy this, but Peridot doesn't seem to.

Later, when walking on the walkway, Peridot spots a Plush Alien, and is determined to get it, but Steven says that she has to win it first. The three all try the ring toss together as the 'Shorty Squad', but do not win. The three trick Mr. Smiley by telling him that Onion is trying to light the rollercoaster on fire, which Mr. Smiley says he isn't falling for again, but Onion actually is about to burn down the rollercoaster, and runs to stop him. While Mr. Smiley is gone, Amethyst cheats by shape-shifting her arm long enough to put the ring around the bottle. When Mr. Smiley comes back, Amethyst tries to get Peridot to lie about getting a ring around a bottle, and reveals that she 'doesn't' try on Steven's clothes when he's not looking. Mr. Smiley gives Peridot a miniature finger version of the toy that she expected to get, and Mr. Smiley tells them that she has to get ten rings around a bottle to win the larger Plush Alien. This disappoints Peridot, and later, the three sit on the bench, and Steven is eating a corn dog, along with Amethyst eating four, and Peridot simply on her tablet trying to get rid of a "cute roommates in your area" advertisement.

Peridot says that they should call Funland "Shape-shift Land", because that this is all that happens there. Amethyst asks Peridot what wrong with shape-shifting, and she admits that she cannot do it. Steven says that he couldn't use his powers, but then the Gems helped him out. Steven and Amethyst agree to help Peridot learn to use her powers too.

Later, on the shore, Steven and Amethyst shape-shift their tongues to reach their elbow. Amethyst then shape-shifts into a cat, and Steven shape-shifts a cat finger, screams, and touches the water, making it go away. Amethyst then shape-shifts into a ball, and Steven shape-shifts his arms longer to catch her, and throws Amethyst at Peridot, who falls on the ground. The two then attempt to pick up Peridot, and stretch her, hoping that her physical form will help her to manually shape-shift, but to no avail. Peridot, sadly, walks by the shore, giving up.

She then explains that Homeworld is currently low on resources and, due to this, they are unable to create Gems with standard Gem abilities, and give Era 2 Peridot "technological enhancements" because they don't have powers. Amethyst explains to Peridot that she hasn't been having fun because she's always been focusing on what she could be, instead of accepting what she already is. Peridot is typing on her tablet as Amethyst says this, so she throws her tablet up in the air so she will listen. Peridot, however, stops the tablet from falling in the air by using her new found ability. Steven is shocked, and yells "Metal powers!", and explains all the things she can do with it. Peridot explains that she knows what she can do, and goes back into Funland with Steven and Amethyst and wins the Plush Alien by using her powers to put 10 rings onto the bottles. Amethyst and Steven cheer Peridot on, but Peridot corrects Amethyst, saying "No, Give it up for the Shorty Squad".

Characters

 * Steven
 * Amethyst
 * Peridot
 * Harold Smiley
 * Onion
 * Greg (mentioned)
 * Buck Dewey
 * Peedee Fryman
 * Jenny Pizza
 * Lapis Lazuli (referenced)

Objects

 * Peridot's Tablet
 * Alien-themed prizes
 * Metal rings

Locations

 * Beach City
 * Beach House
 * Beach City Funland

Music

 * TBA

Trivia

 * To promote the new episode, Cartoon Network's twitter account sent out a series of tweets as Peridot.
 * Lauren Zuke promoted another Twitter account called PERIDOT, which also sent out a series of tweets as Peridot while the episode aired on the West Coast.
 * This episode's name was first revealed in the episode listing on the Cartoon Network website.
 * Peridot first discovers her ability to levitate metallic objects in this episode.
 * Steven shows a much easier ability to use his stretching powers though he can't fully transform.
 * According to Peridot, Homeworld is running low on resources.
 * This episode shows that Steven is no longer banned from Beach City Funland, although it is unknown when and why this ban was lifted.
 * It is revealed that Peridot steals Steven's clothes when he's not looking.

Cultural References

 * Peridot's tablet has several apps, with most of them serving as references to popular apps in the real world.
 * Tube Tube is a reference to the popular video uploading website "YouTube".
 * On one of Peridot's apps, she's sending a Cheep, which is referencing sending a Tweet on the popular social media site "Twitter".
 * On one of Peridot's apps, is the symbol of the popular game franchise "The Sims".
 * On one of Peridot's apps, is a symbol of a cat, which is a clear, recognizable reference to the game, "Neko Atsume".
 * An icon next to that of TubeTube resembles the icon of the blogging site "Tumblr", but with a purple background instead of blue.
 * The symbols for Facebook, Vine, Tinder and Instagram are also clearly visible.
 * The pop-up advertisement on Peridot's tablet for "cute roommates in [her] area" is a reference to infamous real-life versions of a more mature nature.
 * Peridot's pose when she shows her "innovation" is possibly based on either Kamen Rider Ichigō/Nigō or Kamen Rider V3's henshin pose. Her pose may also be based from several Super Sentai poses where in they would do an introductory pose to introduce themselves to the show's weekly antagonist.

Continuity

 * When an ad for roommates appears in Peridot's tablet she says, "I'm set". This is due to the fact that she's already Lapis' roommate down at the barn.
 * Peridot says "Wow, thanks!" in a formulaic manner once Steven gifts her the tablet, just like she has done in "Log Date 7 15 2" and "Gem Drill".
 * Steven's cat fingers, from "Cat Fingers" make a return, and just like in their debut episode they also disappear when exposed to water.
 * Peridot mentions her finger screens which were previously shown in "Warp Tour", "Marble Madness", "The Return", "JailBreak", "Keeping It Together", and "Friend Ship".

Errors

 * When Steven is inviting Peridot to hang out with him and Amethyst, the black stars on Amethyst's pants are missing.

Videos
Too Short to Ride