Catch and Release

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

Catch and Release
Season	2
Episode	18
Overall	70
Broadcast Information
Airdate	September 24, 2015
Production Code	1031-070
Viewers	1.386
Credits
Written and Storyboarded by	Hilary Florido Jesse Zuke
Directed by	Ki-Yong Bae & Sue Hong Kim (animation) Jasmin Lai (art) Kat Morris (supervising) Ian Jones-Quartey (co-executive producer)
Episode Guide
Previous	"Sadie's Song"
Next	"When It Rains"

"Catch and Release" is the 18^th episode of the second season of Steven Universe and the 70^th episode overall.

Official 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. He goes to bed and says goodnight to his plush toys, noticing an "ominous triangle" and says goodnight to the "triangle" as well. After glancing over again, it goes missing. Brushing this off, he begins to fall asleep. Suddenly, Peridot grabs him and takes him to the Galaxy Warp.

Steven 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 it 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. Garnet then 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 he 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 finds and drops the bubble, and Peridot emerges – this time without her 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 catfight, 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 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 in triumph that she has escaped, but only 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, and Amethyst shrugs. Peridot examines the bathroom and notices the toilet. The Gems demand Peridot 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 prepare 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 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 up her robotic foot, and she snatches it as she hides back in the bathroom, leaving the door unlocked. Steven enters the bathroom, and Peridot asks if Steven has the rest of her limbs, to which he replies "We kinda threw them away" as he gets ready for the day. He asks Peridot to pass him his toothbrush, and she asks him if it's a weapon, to which he says no. She continually asks him whether or not various objects in the bathroom are weapons. He says that only a rolled-up wet towel could be dangerous, which scares her. Steven tells Peridot that he knows she's scared, but he won't hurt her. He offers help to her 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?".

Features

Characters

• Steven Universe
• Peridot
• Amethyst
• Garnet
• Pearl
• Connie Maheswaran (pictured)
• Yellow Diamond (mentioned)
• Lapis Lazuli (mentioned)
• The Cluster (mentioned)
• Pebbles (mentioned)
• Orange Spodumene (gem only)
• Larimar (gem only)

Objects

• Warp Pad
• Flask Robonoids (mentioned)
• Chaaaaps (bubbled)
• Limb Enhancers
• Fish Stew Pizza box
• Steven's Mug

Locations

• Galaxy Warp
• Beach City
  • Beach House
    • Steven's Bathroom (debut)
  • Crystal Temple
    • Rose's Room
    • Crystal Heart
    • The Burning Room

Music

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.
• Jesse Zuke said that this is one of their favorite episodes.
• The title of this episode showed up during MAGFest in 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.

  

• Steven admits to rarely combing 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."

    

    Peridot's cat-face.

• Peridot has shown a couple of cat-like behaviors.
  • When realizing that her slap hurt Steven, her face resembled that of a cat.
    • The same face appeared when she ran from the Crystal Gems.
  • When trying to run from the Crystal Gems while in Steven's Room, she ran on all four of her limbs.
  • When she locked herself in the bathroom, she climbed around the room.
  • When Steven is twisting the towel around, she gets scared.
• Garnet is shown to use her electrical powers as an offensive weapon for the first time.
• Garnet had never heard of the Cluster before, although 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.

Instead of Steven, his cup says "World's Best Stephen."

• The "World's Best Stephen" mug (with the wrong spelling of Steven's name) was Jesse Zuke's idea.
• Peridot utilizes all her combat techniques during her fight with the Crystal Gems: Her blaster, her helicopter fingers, and her electric attack.
• Despite her criticism of Fish Stew Pizza, Amethyst is seen devouring an entire box of their pizza.
• There is a window above the toilet in Steven's bathroom, but neither Peridot nor the Crystal Gems mention it as a possible escape route.

Cultural References

• "Catch and release" is a fishing technique in which captured fish is 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.
• 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 vice versa.
• A Game Boy can be seen atop a rack of magazines in Steven's bathroom.
• Steven's mug that says "World's Best Stephen" is a reference to the souvenirs in gift shops that come in many names, but many times don't have the desired spelling.

Continuity

• Peridot mentioned that she has gotten no response from Yellow Diamond which is a 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.
• When Amethyst tells Steven to pee outside since Peridot is locked in his bathroom, 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's 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.
  • Orange Spodumene's and Larimar'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, as Uncle Grandpa told him to do in "Say Uncle".
• A pillar that was knocked over by one of Peridot's plasma balls in the Galaxy Warp in "Friend Ship" is still broken.
• Amethyst drops Peridot's Limb Enhancers in the ocean. This may be a reference to "Laser Light Cannon" when Amethyst says that Greg had probably, broke, lost, or dropped the light cannon in the ocean.
• A statue of Cookie Cat's head can be seen on Steven's bedside table, referencing "Gem Glow".

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 Garnet poofs Peridot, in the first few frames her knee can be seen still attached to her artificial lower-leg.
• 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 Cluster, you insufferable half-formed traitor mega-clods!"
  • However, she may have been stuttering, which is why she said "the" twice.
• When Peridot is looking at the reflection of her hand in the mirror, one of her fingers is not colored in for one frame.
• When Peridot was in the bathroom, her hand reflection on the mirror was backward.
• When Peridot keeps smacking Steven in The Burning Room, she grunts and talks at the same time.
• After Peridot tells the Gems, "Look! Over there! Another planet to betray!!" when the camera pans back, Pearl and Garnet change sizes.
• In the scene when Peridot is in the bathroom lifting the toilet seat up, her right arm is longer than her left arm.

Transcript

View the episode's transcript here.

Gallery

Click to view the gallery for Catch and Release.

Videos

CN - New Thursdays - Week of September 24th (Promo)-1442538310

Preview

Steven Universe Peridot Kidnaps Steven To Fix The Warp Pad Catch & Release Cartoon Network

Peridot Unbubbled I Steven Universe I Cartoon Network

Steven Universe Peridot Tries To Flush Herself Down The Toilet Catch & Release Cartoon Network