Nightmare Hospital

"Nightmare Hospital" is the 16th episode of Season 2 in Steven Universe, and is the 68th episode overall.

Synopsis
Steven and Connie sneak into a hospital to recover Rose's Sword.

Plot
The episode begins with Lion carrying Steven and Connie to the Maheswaran Residence right after Connie's weekly sword training with Pearl. Connie then "assumes her secret identity" in order to not get in trouble with her parents. Steven asks if Connie will sword train the following week at the same time as she did in their present week. Connie agrees, and says that it's a shame that she can't practice more at home. In response, Steven grabs his mom's sword from Lion and offers it to Connie, starting a medieval-take "-eth" joke. While she open's the door to her house, Connie tries to decline his offer, stating that the sword is too important. As they walk inside, Steven counters her statement by saying that the sword's importance is the reason she should "have-eth" it, and that she could have all week to practice with it. They both laugh at the "-eth" joke, and Connie finally accepts the sword.

Connie hears the garage door open and realizes that her mother is home. She exclaims that she needs to hide the sword from her mother or she will take it away. Steven tries to find Lion, but finds out that he already left. As Mrs. Maheshawaran enters the room, she finds Connie calmly practicing the violin with a nervous Steven by her side on the couch. Connie greets her mother, and she sternly greets her and Steven. As she walks up to the upright sword which is disguised as a coat hanger, Mrs. Maheshawaran says that she had a rough day at the hospital and doesn't want any more surprises. She explains that there was a very strange case, terrifying Connie and Steven, but assures that she can't share the details because of an agreement. She finally realizes that they never got a coat hanger and finds out that it is, in fact, Rose's sword. She is shocked to find it, and asks Connie where she got it. She lies and says that she found it outside and wanted to show it to Steven. After scolding Connie, she tells her that she cannot play with swords. She gets a phone call from the hospital telling that she is needed. She tells Connie that after her work is done, she will discuss her punishment with her father, and departs. She brings the sword with her. Connie apologizes to Steven for letting her mother take away his sword. Steven suggests that they reason with her, but Connie explains that she never backs off from a rule or punishment, so they need to get the sword back themselves.

They teleport to the hospital on Lion's back. Connie says that they should leave Lion behind, and Steven gives Lion some Lion Lickers to keep him in place. After teasing Lion's behavior, they enter the hospital. The lights are all down, and after hearing a faint growl, they hold each others' hands and quickly run through the hall undetected. They spot Dr. Maheshawaran from across the hall and they hide as she passes by them. She enters her patient's room, and after a phone call for information on the patient, begins to monitor their heart rate. After a quick conversation about the hospital and her mother's job, Connie spots Rose's sword laying in the corner of the room. Dr. Maheshawaran determines that, despite being able to move and make faint noises, the patient has no heartbeat, but attributes it to cheap hospital equipment, throwing away the stethoscope and running out the room to get a new one. Steven and Connie quietly enter the patient's room, and after stopping in terror over the patient's erratic movement, finally grab the sword and get to the door. Dr. Maheshawaran enters the room and is shocked to see Connie trying to reclaim Rose's sword, taking it back.

They hear a crashing noise outside the hallway, and they run out to see what's going on. Mrs. maheshawaran spots a humanoid figure and assumes it is one of the other doctors, but after shining a flashlight, determines that it is one of her patients and tries to get it back to its room. Steven identifies the strange humanoid as a gem mutant, and as it charges at them, they rush back into the room. The patient in the room suddenly begins to make very aggressive movements in bed, and Mrs. Maheshawaran tries to cover them up. Steven explains to Connie that the being banging the door to the room is a gem mutant. Connie tries to convince her mother to give her back the sword, but she refuses. The patient bursts out of the curtains, revealing itself to be another gem mutant, and grabs Connie. Steven rushes in with his shield and saves Connie while holding back the mutant. Mrs. Maheshawaran observes that the patients are beyond reason, and Connie keeps trying to convince her to give her back the sword, but she still refuses.

Characters

 * Steven
 * Connie
 * Lion
 * Rose Quartz (mentioned)
 * Peridot (mentioned)
 * Malachite (mentioned)
 * Dr. Maheswaran
 * Mr. Maheswaran (pictured and mentioned)
 * Cluster Gems

Objects

 * Rose's Sword
 * Rose's Scabbard
 * Lion Lickers

Locations

 * Maheswaran Residence
 * Hospital (debut)

Music

 * Gem Shards

Trivia

 * This is the first episode where Dr. Maheswaran and Lion are in the same place as each other.
 * This is also the first time where Lion teleports in front of her.
 * This is the first episode where one of Connie's parents touch one of the Crystal Gems's objects.
 * It turns out Gem experiments were able to be found by humans, as 2 gem experiments were found on the side of a road.
 * This is the second time that Garnet, Amethyst nor Pearl appear in an episode, with the first being "Horror Club".
 * This is the first episode not confirmed to be located in Beach City.

Cultural References

 * Connie's "secret identity" in wearing glasses but not needing them is similar to the Clark Kent secret identity for Superman.
 * One of the room's placards said "Dr. Gero, Patient 20". This is a direct reference to the character Dr.Gero a.k.a. Android 20 from Dragon Ball Z.

Continuity

 * Connie has a "secret identity" because she doesn't need her glasses anymore, since Steven healed her eyes in "An Indirect Kiss", although she still wears them because her parents (and her optometrist) are not aware of that.
 * Connie is still practicing sword training with Pearl, as of "Sworn to the Sword".
 * This episode reveals that it has been almost a year since "An Indirect Kiss".

Errors

 * TBA