“ |
You're right, Jasper. I have been holding back! |
” |
—Steven |
"Fragments" is the 16th episode of Steven Universe Future.
Official Synopsis[]
Steven heads to the woods to train with a powerful mentor.
Plot[]
After crashing Greg's van during the previous episode, as Bismuth tries to fix it on the beach, Steven looks down with shame and regret from the balcony of his house while heading back inside. He is then lectured by Pearl about his powers. This sets him off and he glows pink, blocks Pearl with a barrier, tries to turn back to normal, and insists that he needs space as he'll be in his room. Amethyst suggests that Steven come down and talk to them about his problems, but Garnet says that Steven's trying to avoid a serious discussion, Steven once again turns pink and shouts "No I'm not!" as the entire living room cracks. Garnet tells him to calm down, as Amethyst tells him to chill, then Pearl mentions the need to do something before someone gets hurt. After Garnet tells him to not let the power control him, Steven struggles to keep his powers under control, as he shouts, "LEAVE ME ALONE!". With this furious outburst, Steven realizes that he has once again slowed down time, and uses this opportunity to leave.
Steven tells Jasper that her cave is the one place that no one would think to look for him. While at her hideout, Steven talks to Jasper about how he isn't able to go home, but she ignores that and believes he's here for a rematch. Steven tries to reason with Jasper and issues the problems he has with his powers, but she believes that his friends are the problem, thinking that they're afraid of his power, and why they're holding him back. Jasper believes the best way to deal with anger and power is by channeling it, rather than trying to suppress it as Steven does. With no one left to fight, Jasper uses her anger and power out on the trees in the forest, destroying them completely. She trains Steven to do the same, who turns pink again before he manages to punch a tree hard enough for it to crack but kisses it to heal the damage, much to Jasper's disgust and frustration, as she notices the grass has grown back as well. She demands that Steven show her the power he displayed earlier; and once he refuses, Jasper comes rushing towards him until Steven reverts to his pink form, creating a barrier in front of him, but is still knocked back. Fed up with Jasper's self-efficacy, Steven creates a giant hexagonal barrier and sends it towards her, who is satisfied with the results, and shatters it with a single punch. He claims that he feels better unleashing his rage, and he asks Jasper if she can continue training him to control his powers, and she accepts on the condition that they fight once more in due time.
The next day, as their training begins, Jasper climbs up a mountain carrying two boulders with her, while Steven follows her, carrying multiple boulders tied behind his back. Next, Steven goes pink, and creates more giant hexagonal barriers, and sends them towards Jasper for target punching. Then, Jasper rushes into one of the boulders she carried up with her, smashing it into pieces. Steven attempts to do the same, but with no success, face-planting right onto it. Letting his guard down, Jasper drops one of the boulders right on top of him, but he manages to save himself at the last second when turning pink and using his diamond barrier as a shield, protecting him. More boulders are aimed towards Steven but dodge them with no warning. And when Steven needs to sleep, he has to sleep outside. The next three days follow similar routines to Jasper and Steven's training, testing each other's power, and living in the wilderness. Throughout this time, still in his pink form, Steven grows facial hair, his hair resembles a pompadour, and he is currently above Jasper's height, who is impressed at how Steven was able to manifest.
Later that day, thunder starts rumbling, and Steven, remaining in his pink form, is waiting outside of the cave, as Jasper returns with more boulders. Steven is done with the training he's done so far, and claims that he is ready for their rematch. Jasper is pleased with this, and the two begin to fight. As Steven lands the first punch to Jasper's face, she summons her helmet, now upgraded with horns on each side, and punches him back. Jasper is frustrated that Steven is still holding back, and as she pushes him to the limit by calling him weak and pathetic, Steven gets back up and furiously boasts to her, "I'M NOT!!".
The fight resumes, and as Steven shows to have the upper hand, he maniacally laughs as if he's enjoying the fight as much as Jasper is. Once she's surrounded by his hexagonal barriers and unable to move, Steven unleashes a giant wall made of the hexagonal barriers with spikes to it, admitting he was holding back as Jasper said he was, and sends it right towards her with brute force. The scene immediately cuts to black as it zooms in on Jasper's shocked expression, the giant wall of spikes coming towards her.
The storm gets stronger and it is now raining. Inside the house, where the Gems are waiting for him, a frantic Steven, fully normal again, rushes inside, all the way to the bathroom. Pearl shouts out to him how they've been worried and unable to contact him, but Steven doesn't respond or stop to talk. He turns on the faucet for the bathtub, and uses the remaining Diamond aura potions to heal Jasper, who was shattered into Gem Shards by the impact he caused. Steven puts the pieces of Jasper's gem back together, and as he cries, he uses his tears as the pink aura to heal it, along with the other aura potions. Successfully, Jasper has reformed, and Steven apologizes for being out of control with his powers. However, Jasper steps out of the tub, and bows down to his strength, calling Steven, "My Diamond" much to his horror.
The events of "Homeworld Bound' pick up directly after this.
Features[]
Characters[]
- Steven Universe
- Jasper
- Garnet
- Amethyst
- Pearl
- Bismuth (cameo; non-speaking)
- Greg Universe (cameo; non-speaking)
Objects[]
Locations[]
Music[]
Instrumentals[]
- "Pink Steven" (remix)
- "Jasper"
- "Three Day Montage"
- "Steven VS Jasper Rematch"
Trivia[]
- This episode was based on an episode idea Ian Jones-Quartey had for the original series.[2]
- Jasper calls Steven by his name for the first time, as opposed to referring to him as his mother.
- This is the first episode where a Gem is shown to be shattered.
- This episode reveals that shattered Gems can be restored.
- This also implies that the power of the four Diamonds can not only restore Corrupted Gems but also restore shattered Gems when their pieces are put back together.
- It is also revealed in this episode that even after shattering and restoration, a Gem's remnant defects caused by corruption will remain permanent.
- Interestingly, following her reformation, Jasper displayed signs of lasting damage to her physical form, exhibited by her broken left horn, making her the second Gem to display such a phenomenon after Pink Pearl.
- This episode reveals that shattered Gems can be restored.
- Jasper gets another new form due to Steven accidentally shattering her.
- Her new form with inverted colors on her chest could be a reference to Jasper and Steven's inverted roles: Jasper is Steven's mentor at first, but at the end of the episode, Steven is claimed to be her superior.
- This episode was nominated for the Creative Arts Short Form Emmy Award 2020. Other nominated episodes are "What is Love?" (Forky Asks a Question) and "Santa’s Dead (Spoiler Alert) Holiday Murder Thing Special" (Robot Chicken).[3]
Cultural References[]
- Steven's GameCube can be seen in the background on the shelf when Garnet is talking to Steven.
Continuity[]
- Greg's Van was damaged by Steven after he crashed it back in "Mr. Universe".
- The frog mug that Steven cracks at the beginning of the episode is the same one that Greg gave to him at the end of "Growing Pains". It was also used by Connie in "Gem Hunt".
- After training with Jasper, Steven appears to have aged, referring to the fact he appears his mental age. After shattering Jasper, he returns to his current form.
- Although Jasper threatened to shatter Steven in "Alone at Sea" and attempted to shatter Amethyst after poofing her in "Crack the Whip", she is shattered by Steven unintentionally.
- When Jasper agrees to train Steven only if he fights her and she agrees, Steven is pleasantly surprised. Reflecting on the episode "Little Homeschool" when Steven agrees to fight Jasper and she is the one to be surprised.
- Steven is seen catching a fish even though he became vegetarian before the events of "Snow Day", though this could be because he's a pescetarian.
- Several shots in the ending scenes are direct parallels to the opening scene in "Little Homeschool".
Errors[]
- After Garnet says Steven is trying to avoid a serious discussion, Steven's feet aren't glowing pink while the rest of his body is.
- After Amethyst, Pearl, and Garnet try to calm Steven down, his body stops glowing while hearing his Diamond powers warbling right before he shouts "LEAVE ME ALONE!" as to start his slow motion power.
- When Steven cries into the bathtub, his jacket's sleeves are the color of his jeans.
- Before Steven uses the hexagon walls to shatter Jasper, his shirt shows a pentagon instead of a star.
Transcript
View the episode's transcript here.