Monster Buddies

"Monster Buddies" is the 23rd episode of the first season of Steven Universe, and the 23rd overall episode of the series.

Synopsis
Steven accidentally releases a monster from a Gem bubble and attempts to tame its wild, violent instincts.

Plot
The Gems and Steven were first shown fighting an Ice Monster in a snowy mountain while trying to acquire a powerful artifact called the Shooting Star. Garnet slammed the Ice Monster into a wall, causing the ice ceiling to fall bit by bit. The rocks begin to fall on Amethyst and Garnet bubbled Steven, warping him back to the Temple. He breaks out of the bubble, accidentally popping the bubble containing the Centipeetle 's gem as well. The Centipeetle reforms small in size, and is scared, so Steven tries to tell the Centipeetle to relax. However, the Crystal Gems come back and see the Centipeetle. They think that it is a threat, with Garnet almost about the kill it, but Steven tells them that it didn't harm him at all, and that he will try to train the Centipeetle. Garnet allows it, although Pearl still thinks that it is dangerous. Garnet tells Steven that he can tame the Centipeetle.

On the beach, the Gems have secured the Centipeetle to a rock with chains and have summoned their weapons in case the Centipeetle did any harm. Steven wanted the Gems to go inside the house. Pearl objected but Garnet insisted that Steven can do it. They went inside and the Centipeetle broke free from the chains. Steven begins trying to calm the Centipeedle by feeding it some Chaaaaps brand potato chips. This was working well until a seagull flew down and bit Steven's hand, trying to eat the chips from it. The Centipeedle spit acid at the seagull to protect Steven, causing the seagull to fly away scared. Steven eagerly runs up to the house, wanting to show the Gems the Centipeedle's new "trick". Every time Steven squawks like a seagull the Centipeedle spits a stream of acid. One stream almost hits Garnet, another melts a picture of Pearl off of the refrigerator, and still another knocks a sandwich out of Amethyst's hand and melts it, much to her dismay. Steven suggests that the Centipeedle could help them on missions, but Pearl immediately dismisses this idea. However, Garnet thinks that the creature's acid venom could be the only way to continue through the ice cavern without causing a cave in.

The Gems and Steven eventually make their way through the cavern to the room containing the Shooting Star. Pearl explains that the Shooting Star is far too hot to touch with bare skin and that Garnet should use her gauntlets. Garnet summons her gauntlets, and the sight of them causes the Centipeedle to get frightened and spew acid all over the ceiling, causing large amounts of ice and rock to fall. Pearl says she knew bringing the creature was a bad idea and knocks it into the wall hard with her spear, accidentally causing a large stalactite to loosen from the ceiling. Garnet and Amethyst continue to attack the Centipeedle as Steven tries to convince them to stop. Amethyst accidentally pulls the Centipeedle directly into herself, Garnet and Pearl, knocking the three over. As the Centipeedle is about to attack them, Steven approaches it, crying, and asks it to stop. He tells it that it doesn't need to fight or be a monster anymore, he then hugs the Centipeedle, calming it down. The stalactite breaks from the ceiling and falls straight for Steven, but the Centipeedle pushes him out of the way, sacrificing itself to save Steven. Garnet comforts Steven, telling him that he did a good job raising the Centipeedle, and that his mother would be proud of him. She explains that Rose Quartz once used her powers to try to heal the monsters, but was unable to do so.

Steven begins to feel discouraged, but Pearl tells him that maybe one day, when he gains more control of his powers, he may be able to do things even his mother could not. Steven then bubbles the Centipeedle's gem, and vows to fully heal it someday. He transports the gem back to the Temple, along with the bag of Chaaaaps chips, and the episode ends with two star shaped irises closing on the bubbles containing the gem and the chips.

Characters

 * Steven
 * Centipeetle Mother
 * Garnet
 * Amethyst
 * Pearl
 * Lion
 * Ice Monster
 * Rose Quartz (Mentioned)

Production Notes
Songs
 * Monster Buddy
 * Monster Spelunkin'
 * Fight, Flight, or Love

Continuity

 * The Centipeetle Mother from "Gem Glow" returns for a second appearance in this episode.
 * The Burning Room is shown for a second time since the episode "Together Breakfast".

Errors

 * When Steven arrives at The Burning Room the bubble of the Centipeetle Mother is not there.
 * Garnet's gauntlets are shown wet although she never put her hands in the liquid containing the Shooting Star.


 * When Steven embraces the Centipeetle Mother, he is hugging her head, but when the camera changes he is seen hugging her mane.
 * When Amethyst uses her whip to attack the Centipeetle Mother, she pulls it into herself, Pearl and Garnet resulting in them all landing on their butts. Amethyst lands on the right of Garnet, and Pearl is on the opposite side, but when the scene changes, they have switched sides and Amethyst is upside-down. The Centipeetle has also moved further away. Vlcsnap-2014-10-11-15h51m54s49.png

Trivia

 * This episode reveals 4 secrets:
 * Gems can bubble other objects, aside from Gems, and teleport it to the Crystal Temple.
 * Garnet bubbled Steven (who is also half human) to the Crystal Temple.
 * Steven learns to bubble Gems as of this episode and is shown to be able to bubble other objects such as a bag of chips.
 * This marks the first time Steven bubbled an object. He displays this new power once more in the episode "Secret Team", when he, Pearl, and Amethyst gather the gem shards.
 * When a Crystal Gem ejects a bubble, it is teleported to The Burning Room in the Crystal Temple.
 * Rose Quartz has tried to tame Monsters before, just like Steven did in this episode, but has failed at "healing" them.
 * This marks the first episode where a "villain" is reformed. This will be expanded on in "Ocean Gem".
 * As of this episode, Amethyst and Sugilite are the only Gems who have not been shown bubbling away a gemstone.
 * It appears that all gems have different colored bubbles when bubbling a gem or an item.
 * Like Pearl in the episode "Steven the Sword Fighter", the Centipeetle Mother goes through many past forms while regenerating such as a humanoid, a large centipede-like form seen in the episode "Gem Glow", and a much smaller centipede form which is used for most of this episode.
 * This is the fifth episode not to end with a single star-shaped iris as 2 star-shaped irises closes at the chips and the Centipeetle, The first four were "Giant Woman", "Lion 2: The Movie", "Coach Steven", and "Steven and the Stevens".
 * So far, this is the second episode to end with more than one star-shaped iris. This first happened at "Coach Steven".
 * It is shown briefly that the interdimensional door leading to The Burning Room is about a corner from the floor of the room and is located on a precipe around the edge of the room.
 * Amethyst, when the Centipeetle attacks her sandwich, says "Mi torta!", which is a kind of Mexican sandwich.
 * If translated literally from Spanish to English it says "My Cake!"
 * This is the third time Garnet speaks more than a few words. The first is "So Many Birthdays", the second is "Beach Party".
 * This is the second episode overall that Steven discovers a power.
 * In one moment of the Centipeedle's awakening, you can see a humanoid figure emerge before turning into a Centipeedle, which is possible proof that it was once a gem.

Transcript
Click here for the transcript.