| “ |
I wanted everybody to stay the same, but they didn't. |
” |
| —Andy DeMayo | ||
"Gem Harvest" is the 8th & 9th episode of the fourth season of Steven Universe and the 111th & 112th episode overall. It is a 22-minute special episode.
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 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" to his approval.
Steven asks why they started farming stuff. Peridot explains that she has all of the skills required for growing Gems, so she started to use those skills to grow something else. She, however, 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 flies over, 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 "my barn".
Greg, Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst got Steven, Lapis, and Peridot's message and came as a result. Lapis puts the man down, who recognizes Greg who does the same. The man attempts to encourage Greg to chase off "these freeloaders" who are using some "hippy mind tricks." Greg explains that they let them into the barn which outrages the man further. Steven asks who the man is, and Greg tells the group that he is his cousin, Andy. Andy, shocked to hear Steven is Greg's son, is baffled by these changes and gives Steven a big hug. He also asks Greg how he was never told about this, which Greg responds he couldn't because he hasn't seen Andy in years. Andy mentions that it was Greg's fault for that since two decades ago, the family drove off in their van with Greg. Andy tries to guess which one of the Gems were the wife, but Greg reveals that Rose Quartz is "no longer with us". 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 led to Steven questioning what a "DeMayo" is. Greg reveals he and Steven are the "Universes" now, which infuriates Andy even more. Steven asks if Universe isn't a real last name, but is told it is since Greg decided to have it changed. Andy is then sick of the Gems' company after Greg mentions they are "alien refugees from space". Not supporting the fact that the Gems are basically illegal immigrants living on his land, Andy tells Lapis and Peridot to leave. Sparking hostility from the two again triggered 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 as they spend time together here. Andy argues that his family did the same 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 to the 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 won't change his mind often. The Gems begin to talk about their impression on Andy, the majority having a distaste before Garnet suggests to get on his good side by asking Steven what they should do for "family".
The Gems begin to harvest the crops, many of which their methods humans are not capable of made Andy contemplate his feelings for the situation. After harvesting, Andy points out if the feast is only with a bunch of vegetables and concludes the Gems are vegetarians. Steven reasons that by mentioning its purifying effect on the body and soul. Pearl and Peridot create an "oven-cooktop combo" with the plane's engine which makes Andy so angry, his face blushes. He is mad about how the engine of his "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. The Gems negotiate again, and Steven offers to make 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 amused when Andy could peel 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, which sparked annoyance in Andy since he can't compress 20 years into one sentence. After Steven summons his shield to serve as a bowl to heat the carrot slices, Andy sees the mechanism in work and realizes recycling used pieces of another product is not so bad. He also explains how he has been traveling the world in his plane and how it is up there alone with no company, much like he doesn't have much on the ground either.
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. They explain they wanted to cover as many celebrations that exist in human culture. This makes Andy so unconscious about the situation that he gives up being angry and starts laughing. Afterward, he asks where he should be sitting on 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 by taking a slice of the wedding cake. He shows some manners, however, and 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 don't like cake, which Steven replies they don't need to eat, but notes Amethyst loves to.
The table starts to converse as Andy watches over, getting 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 wasn't thanked, though, so Peridot came up with a sentimental reason. Andy stands up and tells the Gems he has renounced his ownership of the barn and walks off to fly 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 hanging off a floating lady". Steven then asks why Andy left. Andy replies that he didn't but everyone else did. He stayed behind trying to keep things how they used to be. Andy and Lapis take to the border of the troposphere, and Steven asks Lapis to throw him to the plane and come back later. Steven's weight results in an imbalance for the plane. Steven begins to reason once more and say how he loves the Gems but is also a human too, leaving him no excuse not to be interested in Andy's family and to join it as well. The plane begins to lose control, making Steven fall off. Steven tries to think happy thoughts so he can activate his floating ability. It did not activate, but Andy swooped down to rescue Steven in time. Andy is extremely angry at Steven for a moment for what they did that could've had a grave consequence, but is glad that he is okay.
He reflects on how things changed so much and his decisions to keep everything the same. He also reflects on how with his plane, he could visit anywhere and get to know Steven earlier. He comes to terms that he should have changed to not conflict with the flow of the river. Steven says he is not too late and is there with the Gems if Andy wants them to be. They return to the barn to be greeted by the Gems with Pearl attempting to apologize. Andy says to not worry and asks if there are any leftovers from the feast. The Gems depart to get that organized, and Greg and Andy resolve themselves, glad to be back together again.
The pumpkin pet runs over, and Andy asks if there are 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)
- Andy's Grandfather (mentioned)
Objects
- The "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][4]
- Greg's birth name, DeMayo, is similar to Nick DeMayo's, an animation director in the show as well as this episode.
- It is revealed that Rose and Greg were never formally married.[5][6]
Cultural References
- The "Little Green Man" mask with antlers is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the nature god Cernunnos, also known as The Green Man, Lord of All Growing Things as appropriate for a harvest holiday.
- Andy's criticism of the Gem's occupation of the barn of being "like some sort candy-giving holiday" is a nod to Halloween, which is not celebrated in the series.
- Despite Halloween not being a tradition, jack-o-lanterns seem to still exist.
- Andy's description of families getting together once a year to eat is a nod to Thanksgiving, which is not celebrated in the series.
- Upon being told that the Gems are an alien race, Andy assumed that Greg meant they were 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.
Continuity
- Second appearance of the "Little Green Man" mask with antlers which refers to the nature god Cernunnos or The Green Man. The first was in "Beta" as Steve & Amethyst approach The Barn.
- In "Marble Madness", Dr. 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's 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.
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
- ↑ You're telling me Universe isn't a real last name? ~ Steven Universe
- ↑ It is a real name. I had it changed. ~ Greg Universe
- ↑ What do you mean you weren't "technically married?" ~ Andy DeMayo
- ↑ Look, Andy... ~ Greg Universe