Shirt Club

"Shirt Club" is the 6th episode of the second season in Steven Universe, and the 55th episode overall.

Synopsis
Steven and Buck Dewey make T-shirts together.

Plot
The episode starts off with Steven drawing flyers for Greg's guitar lessons. He then calls for the Crystal Gems to see what they think. They appear on the couch right under his room, apparently assembling a stool. The Crystal Gems don't quite understand his drawing and the meaning of "rock". Garnet suggests that Steven replace the lighting bolts around Greg's guitar with rocks, to represent the "power of rock." Steven goes to the Big Donut to put up his flyer as Buck Dewey orders a caprese salad. Not understanding the joke and eager to impress one of the "cool kids" Lars quickly rushes to the kitchen as Sadie states that they don't even have vegetables in the store. Buck sees Steven's flyer and asks about it. Steven explains by taping one on Buck's shirt as an advertisement, which inspires Buck to make it into a t-shirt.

They go to the Abandoned Warehouse, where Mayor Dewey is assembling inventory. There, the mayor is excited to see his son get back into the family business. However, Buck explains they're making T-Shirts for Steven's flyers, not election campaigns. Spotting an old drawing by Buck, Steven discovers that he used to help Mayor Dewey with his elections. Buck, embarrassed, quickly discards the old picture and asks Mayor Dewey to leave. Buck and Steven start making T-Shirts while the mayor walks off in dismay.

Eventually, after wasting plenty of ink, Steven and Buck finish the T-Shirts. Buck decides to deliver the shirts in the most radical way possible. Mystified, Steven follows him into town.

Above the boardwalk on top of the Funland Arcade, Steven quickly learns how Buck plans to deliver the t-shirts. As a spotter, Steven identifies oblivious town residents for t-shirts, while Buck uses a t-shirt launcher to fire them. While many town members are mystified by the appearance of the t-shirts, Lars is the first to spot the duo overhead. Soon, Buck and Steven are satisfied with their deliveries and go to Fish Stew Pizza for a break.

At Fish Stew Pizza, Buck mentions that the shirts will be great for a laugh. Confused, Steven watches as Jenny shows off her new shirt, calling it hilarious. Buck insists that the only important thing is that people are talking about the shirts. Steven goes to see Greg and realizes that no one has actually sat down for a lesson with him yet. Angry, Steven returns to the abandoned warehouse to find Buck making more shirts. They argue, with Buck mentioning how he will continue to make the shirts as long as the trend persists before leaving to join his father at a bench commemoration.

A dejected Steven returns to the temple and asks the Gems for help. They decline to help him on the basis that the problem not a serious situation that would warrant the intervention of the Crystal Gems, and Garnet suggest that Steven needs to learn how to work this kind of personal matter out on his own - which gains the enthusiastic approval of Pearl and Amethyst. Steven seemingly comes up with an idea and cryptically states that he will take care of it and leaves, leaving the Crystal Gems skeptical but relieved.

Steven returns to the Funland Arcade roof with his t-shirt cannon. As Mayor Dewey attempts to give a speech at the bench commemoration, Steven fires t-shirts at the small crowd. Seeing the flying projectiles, Mayor Dewey's bodyguards quickly desert him and he is shot by with a T-Shirt. The rest of the crowd dissolves into chaos as Steven takes aim and continues firing. Eventually, Buck picks one up to see that the shirt is the same picture he drew for his dad when he was little. The rest of the crowd slowly returns and examines the new T-Shirt. Jenny calls the shirt way funnier than the Guitar Dad shirt, and Buck sheds a single tear. Satisfied, Steven leaves the scene.

Back at the car wash, Steven gives Greg the last Guitar Dad shirt. Buck shows up to apologize, and Steven accepts. Greg asks if Buck is going to take a picture, but Buck replies that he wants to take a lesson as he opens his jacket to show his Guitar Dad shirt.

Characters

 * Steven
 * Buck Dewey (antagonist to Steven)
 * Lars
 * Sadie
 * Garnet
 * Pearl
 * Amethyst
 * Greg
 * Mayor Bill Dewey
 * Sour Cream
 * Ronaldo Fryman
 * Jenny
 * Kiki

Objects

 * Dog-Nut (pictured)
 * Nut-Dog (pictured)
 * Lion Lickers
 * Sadie Lunches
 * Greg's Guitar
 * T-shirt Cannon
 * Steven's Flyers
 * Buck's Flyers
 * Guitar Dad T-shirts

Locations

 * Beach City
 * Big Donut
 * Abandoned Warehouse
 * Crystal Temple
 * Beach House
 * Funland Arcade
 * Fish Stew Pizza
 * It's A Wash

Production Notes

 * While originally the 49th episode of Season 1, it was added to Season 2's rotation, due to StevenBomb premiering Season 2 prematurely.
 * This explains why Garnet appears in her pre-regeneration outfit in the episode.

Songs
TBA

Trivia

 * In honor of the episode, the Steven Crewniverse shared a Caprese Salad (referencing Buck Dewey's request).
 * This is Buck Dewey's third major role, the first being "Lars and the Cool Kids" and the second being "Joy Ride."
 * However it is the first episode to feature one of the "cool kids" as a main character individually rather than the whole group.
 * It's discovered that Greg wants to start giving guitar lessons, as seen in Steven's flyers.
 * Buck Dewey is the only one to visit him with the actual intention of getting lessons, the rest just wanted pictures with him after Steven's shirt got popular.
 * Mayor Dewey accumulated screen-printing technology from years of campaigning.
 * It is shown that when he was little, Buck Dewey used to draw campaign designs for his father's elections.
 * As a result of helping his dad's campaign, Buck Dewey is an expert t-shirt printer.
 * It's revealed that Mayor Dewey tries to be "hip" around his son, but fails at every attempt.
 * He is also very supportive of his son's artistic endeavors and doesn't mind him rejecting the idea of following in his father's footsteps.
 * Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl were trying to assemble high stools but eventually messed it up.
 * However, Garnet's high stool is the only one which was perfectly built.
 * The promo art for this episode depicts Steven and Buck Dewey wearing each others' shirts.
 * This episode reveals Greg's phone number is 555-0182.


 * The way Steven entered the building and opened the guitar case mirrors the actions of many snipers in popular movies.
 * This is the second time we see Buck cry, the first time being in "Joy Ride."

Cultural References

 * The title of this episode could be a reference to Fight Club, both the 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk and the 1999 R-rated film.
 * One of Mayor Dewey's "hip" phrases is "Peace in the Middle East". The line is a reference to American President Jimmy Carter, who was heavily involved in Middle Eastern peace negotiations during and after his presidency.
 * Two banners in the warehouse say "Read My Lips: No New Faxes." This is a reference to a quote by American President George H. W. Bush, "Read my lips; no new taxes." The quote was made infamous in hindsight during his presidency; he ultimately raised existing taxes, and added what could arguably be considered a new tax.
 * The scene where Steven fires the t-shirt cannon from the top of the Funland Arcade is a reference to Charles Whitman, the infamous clock tower sniper.
 * When Mayor Dewey finds Buck Dewey's old drawing, he mentions the fact that Buck couldn't wait to show all his Montessori friends. Montessori schools, established in many places worldwide, introduce an alternative educational approach designed to teach children who have difficulty learning in a typical, regimented classroom environment.
 * Steven's line "Oh I'll make them understand,  I'll make them ALL understand!" Is a line that is frequently used by mad scientists in various media.

Continuity

 * The episode happens before the events of "The Return," since Garnet is seen in her old design.
 * The episode was one of several shifted due to StevenBomb.
 * This is the second episode to have the word "club" in the name, the first being "Horror Club".
 * Lars is still obsessed with getting Buck Dewey's friendship and approval, continuing the trend from "Lars and the Cool Kids". This is shown when Lars promises to make him a salad, despite being a donuts store and not having any vegetables at all and accepting his shirt after he noticed that Buck was launching them.
 * The T-Shirt Cannon from "Laser Light Cannon" is used again in this episode.
 * Steven is once again seen wearing the sunglasses he wore in "Coach Steven".
 * Mayor Dewey's bodyguards once again abandon him the first chance they get, first seen in "Political Power" when they revolted against him in the lynch mob.
 * The warehouse that Mayor Dewey used to store his campaigning inventory is the same warehouse that appeared in "Tiger Millionaire" and "Alone Together".

Errors

 * After Steven talked to the Crystal Gems about helping him, Pearl appears to be floating when she sits down.
 * When Steven was coloring and showing the gems his flyer, it was white. When he was posting it in the Big-Donuts, it was blue, and when he taped it on Buck, it was white again.
 * The stools & instructions seen in the scene where Steven enters his house to ask the Gems for help change upon Steven's departure.1011010.JPG202022.JPG

Transcript
View the episode's transcript here.

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