Catch and Release

"Wait, wait, you-you need me! I'm the only one who knows about the--Cluster, you insufferable half-form traitor mega-clods!"

"Catch and Release" is the 18th episode of season 2, and the 70th episode overall.

Synopsis
We finally see inside Steven's Bathroom.

Plot
The episode begins with Steven in his bathroom getting ready to sleep. He brushes his teeth, washes his face, cotton-swabs his ear then polishes his gem to a shine. He goes to bed, and says good night to his plush toys, noticing an "ominous triangle" and says goodnight to the "triangle" as well. After glancing again, it goes missing. Suddenly, Peridot grabs him and takes him to the Galaxy Warp.

He asks Peridot what she wants. She says she wants to get off the planet and demands that Steven fix the Homeworld warp, since he managed to fix Lapis Lazuli's gem. Peridot explains that she no longer has any of her Flask Robonoids to fix warps for her as well as mentioning that she has not received any response from Yellow Diamond. Steven attempts to fix the Warp Pad the same way he fixed Lapis' gem, but it ultimately fails.

Peridot panics, and Steven apologizes for not fixing the warp. She mutters that she will die on Earth, and when Steven says Earth isn't that bad, she becomes distressed and ominously tells him that doesn't matter because Earth is "not going to be like anything soon". When the Crystal Gems warp to the Galaxy Warp, Peridot starts to run away.

The gems reunite with Steven and fight Peridot. After a short fight, they poof Peridot, but not before she tries to tell them that she is the only one who knows something. When she is poofed, all her limbs and fingers fall to the ground, with Garnet holding her gem intact, and sends her to the Burning Room. The gems wonder about Peridot's limbs, and Amethyst throws them into the ocean, saying "oops". Steven tells Garnet that Peridot was trying to say something important, but Garnet dismisses that as nothing more than desperate lies to get out of the fight. The gems return to the Crystal Temple.

Amethyst meets with Steven on his bed. She asks him what he's doing with Peridot's foot, and replies that he thinks the foot is lucky. Amethyst says that she's glad to have him back, and walks away. Steven tries to ask her something, but eventually chooses not to. Steven wonders why Peridot was scared, and what was she going to say. He simply wants to talk to her only for a bit more, and the gate to Rose's Room opens. He enters the room and asks to talk to Peridot. The room shows Peridot saying something before she was poofed back at the galaxy warp. He asks the room to show him the entrance to the Burning Room, and a crystal vein leading to the room appears. He slides down and lands in the room, then searches for Peridot's bubble.

He drops the bubble, and Peridot emerges, this time without robotic limbs. She tries to shoot Steven as she finishes what she was about to say before poofing, and realizes she's unarmed. Steven teases Peridot, and she demands to know where she is and why. She gets angry, and starts slapping Steven repeatedly. They have a cat fight, and Steven exclaims that he freed her. She asks why, and he explains that he wants to know what she was trying to say at the galaxy warp. She says that she knows everything there is to about the Cluster, explaining that that it is the only reason behind her visit to Earth, and now it will emerge and cause destruction. He asks her for more information, but she runs away, as Steven gives chase.

They emerge from the temple gate into the house, where the gems are in the kitchen. Peridot yells that she has escaped, then notices the gems staring at her. Steven tries to defend her, but she runs away. The gems corner Peridot to Steven's bathroom, as she locks the door behind her. Pearl muses if she should tell Peridot that that is the bathroom. Peridot examines the bathroom and notices a toilet. The gems demand Peridot to leave the room, as they hear flushing. Amethyst informs Peridot that flushing herself won't free her, as she has tried to do so before.

The gems wonder how Peridot managed to reform, and Steven admits that he freed her with the purpose of getting information from her. He found out that she knows something about the Cluster, and the gems are clueless as to what the Cluster even is. Garnet agrees that Peridot is more valuable in her form rather than bubbled, and peacefully tries to get Peridot to talk. After Peridot refuses, the gems get ready to break in and bubble her, but she responds that they won't get anything out of her if that happens. Pearl says that, unfortunately, they need Peridot in her form right now, to which Garnet says that it'll be tricky to get her to talk.

At the kitchen, Steven asks Pearl if they'll just let Peridot stay in his bathroom, to which she muses about keeping Peridot on a leash. The next morning, the gems contemplate on how to get Peridot to talk and what to eventually do with her. Steven gets to the bathroom, and asks Peridot if he could use it, to which she declines. He offers her robotic foot, and she snatches it as she hides back in the bathroom. Steven enters the bathroom afterwards. She asks if Steven has the rest of her limbs, to which he says "We kinda threw them away" as he gets ready for the day. He asks Peridot to pass him the toothbrush, and she asks him if it's a weapon, which he says no. She continually asks him whether or not various objects in the bathroom are weapons, and he replies only a rolled wet towel can be dangerous, which scares her. Steven tells her that she knows she's scared but he won't hurt her. He offers help to Peridot against the cluster, and although she doubts that he can do anything about it, she appreciates Steven's offer. He asks her to move away from the toilet for him to use, and as the star iris closes on Peridot's head, she asks, "for what?"

Characters

 * Steven
 * Peridot
 * Amethyst
 * Garnet
 * Pearl
 * Yellow Diamond (mentioned)
 * Lapis Lazuli (mentioned)
 * The Cluster (mentioned)
 * Worm Monster (gem only)
 * Ice Monster (gem only)

Objects

 * Warp Pad
 * Flask Robonoids (mentioned)
 * Chaaaaps (bubbled)
 * Limb Enhancers
 * Fish Stew Pizza box

Locations

 * Galaxy Warp
 * Beach City
 * Beach House
 * Steven's Bathroom
 * Crystal Temple
 * Rose's Room
 * Crystal Heart
 * The Burning Room

Instrumental Songs

 * "Peridot"
 * "Rose's Room"
 * "Little Peridot"
 * "Peridot and Steven"

Trivia

 * This episode was incorrectly listed as season 2, episode 17 on the Cartoon Network website; however, the correct episode number is season 2, episode 18.
 * Lauren Zuke said that this is one of her favorite episodes.
 * Like the episode suggests, this is the first time we see inside Steven's Bathroom.
 * The title of this episode showed up during MAGFest on January 2015, as part of a folder name on Rebecca Sugar's computer.
 * In the promo art, Steven can be seen talking to Rose Quartz and Pearl while Peridot looks on from within a restroom. Amethyst, who is walking with Garnet, greets Jenny on the staircase. This is similar to the school theme of the promo art of "Political Power", "The Test", "Open Book", "Maximum Capacity", and "Historical Friction".
 * Ben Levin teased that this episode introduces "the beginning of some stuff".
 * This episode further contributed to the implication that Steven can open Rose's Room if he states his request. This was also shown in the other two episodes with Steven entering Rose's Room, with his requests being : "I just wish I had a place for myself" ("Rose's Room") and "I wish I could give you a new ending" ("Open Book"), respectively.
 * This marks the first time a gem has been projected in Rose's room.
 * Peridot is revealed to have artificial limbs; she is actually no bigger than Ruby or Sapphire.
 * She calls them "limb enhancers".
 * She prefers them over actual limbs, as when she regenerates without having access to her limb enhancers she reverts back to using regular hands and feet.
 * It is also revealed, when she's poofed, that her gemstone does have facets, despite looking like it doesn't. This is because her facets are hidden underneath her skin.
 * Most, if not all of Peridot's offensive abilities seem to come from the limb enhancers. Without them she was only able to slap Steven.
 * Steven has red shower curtains with yellow stars and planets on them.
 * It is shown that as part of his nightly routine, Steven polishes his gem.
 * As of this episode, Peridot now lives with the Crystal Gems, refusing to leave Steven's bathroom.
 * Peridot is shown to be incredibly unfamiliar with Earth, assuming that Steven's bathroom is an "archaic think chamber", and that numerous bathroom objects (like a toothbrush and comb) are weapons, and doesn't get the meaning of a toilet.
 * Peri2.pngot acts surprised when she sees her reflection in the mirror, as if she's never seen one before, and spends some time making goofy faces.
 * Steven is shown to rarely comb his hair.
 * One of the only times Steven is shown using his comb is in "Steven and the Stevens", when he makes his hair look "fancy".CaR_91.png
 * Peridot has shown a couple of cat-like behaviors.
 * When realizing that her slap hurt Steven, her face resembled that of a cat.
 * When trying to run from the Crystal Gems while in Steven's room, she ran on all four of her limbs.
 * When she locks herself in the bathroom, she climbs around the room.
 * When Steven is twisting the towel and water comes out, she gets scared.
 * Garnet is shown to use her electrical powers as an offensive weapon for the first time.
 * This is the first episode where an Un-Corrupted Gem, as well as a Homeworld Gem, has been bubbled.
 * Garnet had never heard of the Cluster before, however Sapphire was nearby when Peridot was talking to Jasper about it. So either she didn't hear it over her singing or Garnet didn't receive that memory.
 * This is the first episode where Peridot isn't an antagonist.
 * This is the first time the star-iris closes on a Homeworld gem directly (specifically Peridot).
 * 1f0.png "World's Best Stephen" mug (with the wrong spelling of Steven's name) was Lauren Zuke's idea.

Cultural References

 * "Catch and release" is a fishing technique in which captured fish are unhooked and released back into the water.
 * This is most likely a reference to how Peridot was poofed and later restored during this episode.
 * Peridot says "stop talking", a line that the character Rigby from the Regular Show series (which Hilary Florido previously worked on) uses quite often under similar circumstances.
 * There was also a reference of the same show, They say "I've Gotta Use It" when they gotta use the toilet, and Steven said "I've have to use that."
 * A DVD case resembling the video game Animal Crossing can be seen next to The ominous triangle at the foot of Steven's bed.
 * Steven calls his "shirt" his banana pajamas. This could be a reference to the children's entertainment program and animated series "Bananas in Pajamas".
 * When Steven explains to Amethyst the reason he keeps Peridot's foot is for luck, it could be a reference to how a rabbit's foot is considered lucky in some cultures.
 * Peridot taunts the Crystal Gems by saying "You may have won the war, but the battle isn't over!" which is a spoonerism joke based around the idiom/expression of "Winning a battle, but losing the war" or visa versa.
 * A Gameboy can be seen atop a rack of magazines in Steven's bathroom.

Continuity

 * Peridot mentioned that she has gotten no response from Yellow Diamond which is reference to when she tried to contact her in "Cry for Help".
 * Steven's healing powers once again fail to work when he tries to fix the Homeworld warp for Peridot. This power first became inactive in "House Guest" when he failed to fix the Geode.
 * Steven complains of the Gems making him go to the bathroom outside, which is a reference to when Sapphire makes him pee outside in the episode "Keystone Motel".
 * Peridot tells Steven that she knew what he did for Lapis, referencing Steven healing Lapis Lazuli's cracked gem in "Ocean Gem".
 * In the episode, "The Message", Lapis claimed that she did not tell anyone about Steven. However, Peridot knew of his healing ability. When asked, Joe Johnston said that Lapis was interrogated prior to Steven waking up in "Jail Break".
 * Steven offers Peridot back her foot, which the Gems took at the end of "Friend Ship". Peridot calls that encounter "that other time you assaulted me".
 * Peridot attempts to use the same electric current trick to get out of Amethyst's rope that she used in "Keeping it Together", but Garnet cuts it off by absorbing it and sending it back, saying "not this time!".
 * This "arms race" began between Peridot and the Crystal Gems in "Jail Break" where Amethyst first used her whip to successfully subdue Peridot. Other encounters involving the Crystal Gems trying to subdue her with Amethyst whip were "Joy Ride" (but they had mistaken Steven for Peridot) and "Friend Ship".
 * The bubbled bag of Chaaaaps from "Monster Buddies" can be seen.
 * The Worm Monster's and Ice Monster's bubbled gems, from "Bubble Buddies" and "Monster Buddies" respectively, can also be seen.
 * Steven remembers Rose's Room has an exit to the Burning Room from "Together Breakfast".
 * Near the end of the episode as Steven's getting ready, Garnet can be heard discussing the events of "Keeping it Together"; specifically the cluster gem experiments.
 * Amethyst comments on how she enjoys going to the bathroom outside, continuing the trend from "Fusion Cuisine" where she talked about liking the feeling of "mush passing through (her) body".
 * Peridot continues her habit of using earth/dirt related insults. Besides the classic "clod" insult, and "megaclod", she calls Steven a "pebble", and she calls the Crystal Gems "dirtbombs".
 * Steven polishes his gem, like what Uncle Grandpa said in Say Uncle.

Errors

 * After Steven asks Amethyst for "nothing", he lies down and his buttons are not visible. In the next scene, he is on his back and they are not visible until he rolls to his side.
 * When Garnet throws Peridot down, her foot is back, but in the next scene it's gone.
 * When Peridot says "That's right, you dirtbombs" in the bathroom, we can see that her legs are floating over the sink.
 * Near the end of the episode, when Steven is talking to Peridot, you can see that Peridot had previously knocked over the cup and toothbrush sitting on the sink. However, in several shots it changes from standing to tipped during their conversation.
 * Directly before Peridot was poofed, she said, "I'm the only one who knows about the-". When she reformed, she picked up with, "-the Cluster, you insufferable half-formed traitor mega-clods!" When the two sentences are put together, there are two of the word "the", meaning Peridot's full sentence would have been, "I'm the only one who knows about the the Cluster, you insufferable half-formed traitor mega-clods!"
 * However, she may have been stuttering, which is why she said "the" twice.
 * When Peridot was in the bathroom, her hand reflection on the mirror was backwards.

Videos
Catch and Release