“ |
I wanted everybody to stay the same, but they just didn't. |
” |
—Andy DeMayo |
"Gem Harvest" is a 22-minute special episode. It takes up the production slots of the 8th and 9th episodes of the fourth season of Steven Universe, and the 111th and 112th episodes overall.
Official Synopsis[]
Steven's autumn visit to the barn brings a new stranger into his life.[2]
Plot[]
Steven knocks on the barn door and waits to be greeted by Lapis and Peridot to begin the sleepover. Earning no response, Steven tries to pull the rope attached to the alien mask with antlers, which falls apart after being tugged. Steven then notices a field of corn and walks through it to soon be presented with some established farmland. After walking further into the farmland, the two hoses watering the crops burst, startling Steven and getting Lapis and Peridot to notice him. Lapis apologizes for spraying him accidentally and is glad Steven could make it. Peridot comes in on a tractor, asking what Steven thinks of their "experiment". Steven expresses his amazement and asks why they started farming stuff. Peridot explains that she has all of the skills required for growing Gems, so she decided to use those skills to grow something else. She believes the vegetables will grow into sentient beings after some time. Steven tells them that is not how vegetables work, leading to their disappointment. Peridot misses the "pitter-patter of full-sized Gem soldiers" while Lapis mentions the silence in the area without company. They both walk off to disassemble the tractor. Steven gets the idea to create a living vegetable for Lapis and Peridot.
The next day, Peridot shows Steven the sentient pumpkin that grew overnight and believes it is her and Lapis' creation. The pumpkin, however, is bound to Steven as he is the true creator. Steven attempts to make excuses as Lapis and Peridot grow more suspicious of the behavior. Steven eventually comes clean and leads to a depressive episode. Steven gets the idea to create a jack-o-lantern to address their concerns. Steven begins to carve a pumpkin, putting the sentient pumpkin into a state of distress, eventually making it run to Lapis and Peridot to be cared for by them. A plane lands on the grounds of the barn, and Steven, Lapis, and Peridot check it out. The pilot is distraught to see the farm in its current state. Peridot and Lapis confront the man, who analyzes the strange constructions and the appearances of the Gems and concludes them to be hippies who contaminated the barn. Lapis uses her hydrokinesis and Peridot uses her attack drones to attack the man. Steven reasons the attack to a non-hostile level. During it, it is found out the man wants them out of "[his] barn."
Greg, Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst receive Steven, Lapis, and Peridot's message and arrive shortly after. Lapis puts the man down, who recognizes Greg. The man attempts to encourage Greg, who recognizes him as well, to chase off "these freeloaders" who are using some "hippie mind tricks." Greg explains that he let them into the barn which outrages the man further. Steven asks who the man is, and Greg introduces him as his cousin, Andy DeMayo. Andy, shocked to hear Steven is Greg's son, is baffled by these changes and gives Steven a big hug. He also asks Greg why he was never told about this, which Greg responds he could not because he has not seen Andy in years. Andy mentions that it was Greg's fault for that since he drove off in his van two decades ago. Andy tries to guess which one of the Gems is the wife, but Greg reveals that Rose Quartz is "no longer with [them]." Greg mentions how the Gems with him are like her family, which is what led to Greg offering the barn to them.
Andy argues that the barn is for the DeMayos instead, which leads to Steven questioning what a "DeMayo" is. Greg reveals he and Steven are the "Universes" now, which infuriates Andy even more. Steven expresses his disbelief that "Universe" is not a real last name. Greg refutes this, explaining that he had his surname changed. Andy is further upset after Greg mentions that the Gems are "alien refugees from space." Not wanting illegal immigrants on his land, Andy tells Lapis and Peridot to leave. The increasing hostility prompts Steven to cool the heat and come to a resolution with Andy. Steven mentions the longevity of their stay on the barn and how much it means to them. Andy argues that his family spent time here together as well via tradition for many years. Steven proposes a traditional meal to eat together and have a good time, so Andy will have to admit that the Gems are family. Andy accepts and walks away to get the junk out of his plane. Steven hopes the proposal will go well, but Greg lets Steven know how Andy tends to be consistent with his traditions and does not change his mind often. The Gems begin to talk about their impression on Andy, the majority expressing doubt and mistrust. Garnet suggests, however, to get on Andy's good side, believing they should do so because he is part of Steven's family. The Gems gather around as she asks Steven what they should do for "family".
The Gems begin to harvest the crops, making Andy feel uneasy with their unorthodox methods. After harvesting, Andy points out the feast appears to consist entirely of vegetables and concludes the Gems are vegetarians. Steven reasons that vegetables grown by the family nourish the body and soul. Pearl and Peridot create an "oven-cooktop combo" with a plane engine which makes Andy furious. He is mad about how the engine of his parents' legendary plane has been used to create "this abomination." He breaks down to incoherent ranting on how people like the Gems take anything they want because nothing belongs to anyone. Andy walks off to try and calm down. Steven speaks to his father about the options for protien, asking if there will be 100 turkey dinners as is their tradition. Greg says that they only have the one and takes off after Andy. Meanwhile, the Gems talk among themselves again, and Steven suggests they will need the ultimate party to turn this around.
Garnet, Pearl, Lapis, and Peridot drive off, leaving Andy, Greg, Steven, and Amethyst to keep each other company as they work on the food. Steven is impressed when Andy peels the potatoes as one slice of skin, and he explains that he has been peeling a lot of potatoes in his day when assigned to kitchen duty. Greg asks how aunt Deb has been, his sudden interest in the family after 20 years apart making Andy annoyed. After Steven summons his shield to serve as a bowl to heat the carrot slices, Andy sees the oven at work and realizes recycling used pieces of another product was not so bad. He explains how he has traveled all over the world in his plane and describes the experience of flying, mentioning that there is not much for him on the ground nowadays.
Garnet, Pearl, Peridot, and Lapis come back with a wedding cake, a helium balloon, and a tombstone with "R.I.P. Andy" engraved onto it. Acknowledging that Andy is a very traditional person, they explain they wanted to cover as many celebrations that exist in human culture as they could. Despite the initial awkwardness of the situation, Andy laughs in amusement. Afterward, he asks where he will be sitting at the table where the feast will be hosted.
The feast begins, and since all tradition Andy is familiar with is thrown out the window, he decides to eat dessert before dinner. He cuts a slice of the wedding cake and, to show his manners, passes it to Peridot, which causes the rest of the group to mimic Andy until it is handed back to him. Andy asks if they do not like cake, which Steven replies to that Gems do not need to eat, but notes Amethyst as the exception. Amethyst proceeds to guzzle down all 100 Turkey dinners that Steven was told did not exist, much to Steven's chagrin. The table starts to converse as Andy watches over, who gets more uncomfortable by the second, even being interrupted by Pearl at one point when the topic was "saving the Earth." The group then begins to thank each other for their contributions that led to their current situation. Andy is not thanked, however, so Peridot thanks him for helping to bring everyone together. Andy stands up and tells the Gems he has renounced his ownership of the barn before flying off in his plane.
Steven and Lapis begin to give chase. Steven asks Andy if something is wrong. Andy replies that the problem is the abnormality of Steven "a mile in the sky, hangin' off a floatin' lady." Steven then asks why Andy left. Andy replies that he was the only one who did not. He stayed behind trying to keep his family together and counteract the changes they experienced. Eventually, Steven asks Lapis to throw him onto the plane. Steven tells Lapis that he will meet her back at the barn as Andy struggles to maintain the plane's balance. Steven proceeds to explain to Andy that while he loves the Gems, he is also a human, expressing his interest in knowing that part of his family. The plane begins to lose control, making Steven fall off. Steven tries to think happy thoughts so he can activate his floating ability. It does not activate, but Andy swoops down to rescue Steven in time. Andy is furious at Steven for a moment for what he did but is glad that he is okay.
He reflects on how things have changed so much and his decisions to keep everything the same. He also reflects on how, with his plane, he could have visited everyone and gotten to know Steven earlier. He comes to terms that he should have adjusted to the changes in his life. Steven replies he is not too late to get to know him and his Gem family. They return to the barn and are greeted by the Gems.
Pearl begins to apologize, but Andy says not to worry and asks if there are any leftovers from the feast. As the Gems depart to get that organized, Greg and Andy reconcile, glad to be back together again. The pumpkin pet runs over, and Andy asks if it has any leftovers. The pumpkin coughs up the groom figurine from the wedding cake, causing Steven, Greg, and Andy to laugh for a bit until Andy mentions how grotesque that was.
Features[]
Characters[]
- Steven
- Lapis Lazuli
- Peridot
- Pumpkin (debut)
- Andy DeMayo (debut)
- Greg Universe
- Garnet
- Pearl
- Amethyst
- Rose Quartz (mentioned)
- Aunt Deb (mentioned)
- Greg's Uncle (mentioned)
- Greg and Andy's Grandfather (mentioned)
Objects[]
- "Little Green Man" mask & antlers
- Andy's Plane
- Peridot's Attack Drones
- Greg's Van
- The Mirror (mentioned)
Locations[]
- The Barn
- Farmland
Music[]
Instrumental Songs[]
Trivia[]
- Greg reveals that he legally changed his last name to Universe.[3]
- Greg's birth name, DeMayo, is the same as Nick DeMayo's, an animation director of the show as well as this episode.
- It is revealed that Rose and Greg were never formally married.[4]
Cultural References[]
- The "Little Green Man" mask with antlers is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the nature god Cernunnos.
- Andy's criticism of Greg's lending of the barn to the Gems being like "some kind of candy-givin'-out holiday" is a nod to Halloween, which no characters have been seen celebrating even though jack-o-lanterns still exist.
- Since Andy may be of Jewish origin, as his last name is Sepphardic Jewish, it is possible he does not celebrate Halloween for religious reasons.
- Andy's description of families getting together once a year to eat is a nod to Thanksgiving, which no characters have been seen celebrating in the series.
- Upon being told that the Gems are an alien race, Andy assumed that Greg meant they are illegal immigrants, who are sometimes referred to as illegal aliens.
- This is technically a correct assumption, as Pearl revealed that they are not legal citizens in "Last One Out of Beach City".
- Andy's plane resembles a 1916 Bristol F.2 Fighter biplane.
- Andy's voice actor, Dave Willis, is well known for voicing the character Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Coincidentally, Tom Scharpling (voice of Greg) has also voiced a character from an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. This makes Gem Harvest the actors’ second time working together in a show.
Continuity[]
- In "Marble Madness", Priyanka Maheswaran says that she does not believe that Universe is Steven's real last name, which is proven to be somewhat true, as Greg's original family name was DeMayo.
- Steven's ability to grow sentient plants returns from "Watermelon Steven".
- Peridot giving thanks for the barn shows she is still continuing the lesson she learned from Steven in "Log Date 7 15 2".
- The Rebellion, the events of "Gem Drill", and the events of Lapis being trapped in the Mirror are mentioned during the table's argument.
Errors[]
- When Greg explains that the gems are like his family to Andy, Amethyst disappears from Peridot's side and reappears next to Garnet on the next scene.
- Right before Amethyst burps fire, Greg is animated with two mouths; one is a smile, the other is neutral.
Transcript
View the episode's transcript here.
Gallery
Videos[]
References
- ↑ http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-150-thursday-cable-originals-network-finals-11-17-2016.html
- ↑ http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/video/steven-universe/gem-harvest-episode.html
- ↑ Steven: You're telling me Universe isn't a real last name?!
Greg: It is a real name. I had it changed. - ↑ Andy: What do you mean you weren't "technically married?!"
Greg: Look, Andy... ~ Greg Universe