Fusion Cuisine

"Fusion Cuisine" is the 32nd episode of the first season of Steven Universe, and the 32nd overall episode of the series.

Synopsis
In an effort to win over Connie's parents, Steven convinces the Gems to fuse together and pretend to be his mother.

Plot
The episode starts out with Steven and Connie watching their favorite show, "Under the Knife". Connie exclaims about how cool it is and thanks Steven for letting her watch it at his house. Steven asks why Connie can't watch it at her house, and Connie says that her mom maintains that it doesn't represent a real emergency room. Just then, her mom calls, asking to speak to Steven's mom. Connie tells this to Steven and he responds that she can't, since his mom gave up her physical form to give birth to Steven. Connie says she can't tell that to her mom, so they rush downstairs and asked Garnet to pretend to be Steven's mom. While on the phone, Garnet panics, claiming that Steven and Connie are playing with swords and have died. After briskly hanging up on Connie's mother, Garnet hands the phone back to Steven and apologizes for panicking.

The next day, Steven calls Connie to see if she wants to see "the mid-season pre-finale of 'Under the Knife'", but Connie says she can't because her parents are upset and refuse to let Connie hang out with Steven until they've met both of his parents. Steven assumes that he's going to bring all of the Gems to the dinner, but Connie objects. Connie admits the fact that she told her parents that Steven lives in a nuclear family. Steven suggests that Connie could simply tell her parents about the Crystal Gems, but Connie is afraid that her parents would not let her hang out with him again if they were to know that she lied to them.

Steven struggles to choose one of the Gems to act as his mother but Garnet isn't a good conversationalist, Amethyst is too gross, and Pearl does not like eating (because of digestion). Steven proposes that the Gems fuse into one but all the gems (even Amethyst) quickly decline. Despite their quick refusal, after seeing how much this really means to Steven, they reluctantly accept.

That night, the Maheswarans are impatiently waiting for Steven and his parents. Steven shows up 20 minutes late a with Greg and Alexandrite, a huge fusion of Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. Greg introduces himself and then Alexandrite as his wife. Steven comes up with lies about how they met and what do they do, much to the disapproval of Connie. After Alexandrite's much less than impeccable behavior at dinner, Connie asks to speak with Steven. Connie chastises Steven for bringing the giant Gem. Steven begins to suspect that Connie is ashamed of him and they both return to the table. When they get back outside, Alexandrite begins to destabilize over eating shrimp. The discord causes her to split back into Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. Garnet, upset at Amethyst and Pearl for putting their needs before Steven's, chides them and smacks them on the head. Mrs. Maheswaran admonishes Connie for lying to her, which causes Connie to run crying to the bus stop, with Steven going after her.

Connie and Steven decide to run away so they can be friends without having to worry about Connie's parents' disapproval. As they're leaving on a bus, the enraged Gems (fused back to Alexandrite) catch up to them and force them to return. In front of the Maheswarans, the Gems chastise Steven for running away. Garnet harshly punishes Steven with no dinner for 1,000 years, but Pearl insists that they would never starve him, and instead takes away his TV privileges for 1,000 years. The Maheswarans, impressed with the Gems' parental abilities, allow Connie gets to hang out with Steven. Steven, overjoyed, hugs Connie, and Mr. Maheswaran promptly separates them.

Characters

 * Steven
 * Connie
 * Mr. Maheswaran
 * Mrs. Maheswaran
 * Amethyst
 * Pearl
 * Garnet
 * Greg
 * Rose Quartz (Mentioned)
 * Alexandrite (Debut)
 * Lion (Non-Roaring Cameo)

Songs
None

Errors

 * When Connie's mother is saying that the gems and Greg are responsible parents and guardians, Steven's star on the shirt is missing.
 * For the majority of the dinner shots, the alexandrite gem that would be in Amethyst's gem location has a pentagonal facet, when Amethyst's gem has a hexagonal facet.
 * After the appearance of Alexandrite the arm belonging to Amethyst (purple) changes places with the arm of Pearl (the brown).
 * the bag of chips Amethyst was eating dissapper.

Cultural References

 * Steven's GameCube from the episode "House Guest" appears again, this time with two games beside the console. The blurred out games are what appear to be Animal Crossing and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
 * The TV show that Connie and Steven watch, Under the Knife, may be a reference to the Nintendo DS game, Trauma Center: Under the Knife, as both are about operations.
 * Under the Knife also references CSI: Miami, in which the main character, the Doctor from Under the Knife and Lt. Horatio Caine from CSI: Miami, usually starts the epsiode by saying a one-liner followed suddenly by the opening theme song.

Continuity

 * Connie is wearing the outfit she wore in her debut in "Bubble Buddies" at the beginning of the episode.

Trivia

 * This is the first episode where all three Gems fused together.
 * The episode was originally named "Fusion Crime" but has been changed to "Fusion Cuisine". The reasoning behind this change is currently unknown.
 * This is the first episode to feature Connie's parents.
 * This is the second episode that the Gems hangout with someone. The first episode was "Beach Party."
 * The description for this episode was paired with another episode on Watch Cartoon Network.
 * This is the third episode in which a fusion Gem is introduced. The first and second were "Giant Woman" and "Coach Steven", respectively.
 * The fusion name in this episode is Alexandrite.
 * Garnet may not be good at socializing with strangers, as she panicked when she was talking to Connie's Mom.
 * This is the first episode where Greg wears a different outfit.
 * This episode reveals that Pearl hates eating because she's horrified by the process of digestion, and Amethyst loves it because how weird it feels.
 * But in "So Many Birthdays", Pearl stated that she love pies. (This is maybe because to preserve Steven's feeling)
 * It could also be that Pearl simply enjoys the taste of pie, while disliking the process of eating. This is strengthened by the fact Garnet drank a soda in "Secret Team".
 * In the episode "Together Breakfast" when Amethyst said "Let's order a pizza" she agreed, which means she must like the taste of pizza.
 * It is revealed that Gems get their energy from their own gems. That's why none of them actually feel the need to eat or sleep.
 * It is also revealed that their human appearances are actually "constructs," meaning they CAN change their base form entirely, this has been shown when Amethyst shapeshifts.
 * Connie plays the violin.
 * It is revealed that Connie's Mother is a doctor.
 * Connie's last name is revealed in this episode, her last name is Maheswaran. (Meh-HAY-Shwar-en)
 * Connie's parents are really strict when it comes to their daughter and don't even mind showing it in public.
 * They are also rather protective of Connie being with Steven.
 * Due to the fact that there wasn't danger at all, Alexandrite's weapon was not seen.
 * This is the second time Steven hugs Connie, the first being in "An Indirect Kiss".
 * Connie wears three different outfits in this episode.

Transcript
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