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Not wrong! It's that adverse childhood experiences or childhood trauma can have a lasting impact on how your body responds to stress. This can affect your social, emotional, and physical development.

Priyanka Maheswaran


"Growing Pains" is the 14th episode of Steven Universe Future.

Official Synopsis[]

Steven sees a doctor for the first time.[2]

Plot[]

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The episode begins with an emotionally hungover Steven, who is eating ice cream, watching a preview of a Dogcopter movie (which is ironically about Dogcopter getting married), where he laments how everyone is getting married except him and glows pink in frustration. He calls the Gems on his phone but cannot reach them due to them doing a field trip for Little Homeschool. He skips calling Connie and calls Greg, who manages to answer to Steven's delight, but Greg is managing Sadie on tour and reveals that the tour has been extended, before losing the call when they go through a tunnel.

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While going to the fridge, Steven notices Connie's glow bracelet and glows pink again and his body suddenly swells up, causing him to accidentally rip the freezer door off. As Connie calls him, Steven at first decides to let her message go to voicemail, but his hand suddenly swells up so big that he accidentally accepts her call. On video, Connie expresses her worry for him as she sees his face and body begin to swell up, but Steven responds to her concern about it not being a big deal. She suggests he go to see her mother at the hospital for a checkup. Steven remains reluctant, not wanting to waste Connie's mother's time, but eventually agrees on Connie's insistance that he see a medical professional for his glowing and swelling.

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As it turns out, Dr. Priyanka Maheswaran had a cancellation, and agrees to see Steven and figure out what is going on. Connie assures Steven everything will be alright, and she exits the room while on the phone. Dr. Maheswaran checks his temperature and then his heartbeat after he turns pink, getting a sound from his gem. As she takes his blood pressure, his right arm swells and breaks the cuff, concluding his blood pressure is high. She asks about his general practitioner, and Steven states that he never went to the doctor until now. Her surprise accidentally provokes him to glow and swell up, and she manages to calm him before running more tests.

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After taking an x-ray, Dr. Maheswaran first shows Steven a human skeleton on an x-ray as an example, then shows Steven the x-rays of the other Gems (revealing only their gemstone shows up on the scan except for Amethyst whose x-ray also shows food in her stomach) but, since Steven has a human body, his x-ray does reveal a human skeleton albeit with the gem visible on the navel. His x-ray, however, shows numerous unusual fractures on his bones across his body. Despite "miraculous recoveries", she wonders if he has suffered emotional trauma in addition to the physical trauma his body has survived.

Steven's Trauma GIF

Steven recalls past events such as his favorite ice cream being canceled, being attacked by a corrupted Gem, nearly drowning with Connie, nearly turning into a lump of cats, aging quickly, Amethyst's near-death and Pearl's first poofing, Garnet being destabilized, and being captured as a prisoner, but he considers those as the "early parts". Dr. Maheswaran shows surprise and concludes despite everything he's been through during his childhood, his body is responding to minor threats as major ones from the incredible stress he has dealt with through his life, and every threat is being reacted to by his body as if his life was in danger. As Steven recalls more past stressful events throughout his life, he expresses concern as to why his body is reacting like it is now. Dr. Maheswaran suggests a couple of possibilities, such as him losing his personal relationships, particularly those in his support system; however, she notes that Steven particularly has reacted when an experience didn't go so well for him and asks if anything like that has happened recently. As he thinks about his proposal to Connie backfiring, Steven starts to glow pink again and grow exponentially.

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As Connie comes into the room, she witnesses Steven's glowing pink and growing out of control and her mother demands to know what is going on. When Connie realizes that Steven's rejected proposal the other day was the doing of this and that their presence is making Steven's condition worse, Steven continues to grow more and becomes even more stressed when he learns Connie never told her mother about what happened (in "Together Forever"), and persuades them to leave when shouting, "I... Can't... BE AROUND YOU RIGHT NOW!" The entire room is damaged as Greg arrives at the last second.

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Greg rushes into the room and explains Connie called him about Steven's condition. Before Connie and Priyanka leave to give Steven the space he needs, he thanks Connie softly; Connie acknowledges this and promises to be there for Steven when he's ready to talk to her again. Greg apologizes for not knowing what Steven has been through, but Steven assures him that it wasn't his fault. Steven reveals his failed proposal to Connie to Greg, and he begins weeping as he doesn't know how to deal with all of this stress. Greg assures him that he'll be there when he needs him and is able to calm him down and get him back to normal size.

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Back at the house, Steven and Greg talk about how making mistakes is okay and normal to most people, which makes Steven realize that his future is for him to decide. Steven begins to show concern for pulling his father away from his tour, however Greg waves off the concern. He suggests Steven gets some rest and tells him to take care of his problems one at a time, putting Steven a bit more at ease.

Features[]

Characters[]

Objects[]

Locations[]

Music[]

Instrumental Songs[]

Trivia[]

  • When the Gems are given x-rays, only their gemstones are seen. This is due to the fact that their bodies are made of light being projected by their gemstone (the only permanently-physical part of their body.)
  • In the Dogcopter 6 trailer, Drew's name might be a nod to Drew Green, who also storyboarded on this episode.
Growing Pains 100

Steven's medical chart.

  • Steven's birthday being on August 15th is finally shown in the show on Steven's hospital chart.
    • His birthday on August 15th, while not mentioned or shown on-screen until this episode, has been mentioned by the Crewniverse before, and Steven shares a birthday with Rebecca Sugar's brother Steven Sugar (the namesake and inspiration for the character).
    • The chart also lists Steven's height as 5 feet 6 inches, and his weight as 145 pounds.

Cultural References[]

  • Steven referring to his issues as "third-era problems" is a play on the phrase "first-world problems" with Era 3.

Continuity[]

  • Steven's ringtone from "Full Disclosure" plays before Connie videocalls Steven.
  • During Steven's medicinal examination 'Quartz Cutie-pie DeMayo Diamond' can be seen under Steven's middle name on Priyanka's clipboard. This name was mentioned by Steven in "Together Forever".
  • The mug that Steven drinks from at the end of the episode was seen previously in "Gem Hunt", where Connie also used it.
  • In explaining his mental trauma, Steven recalls the events of numerous past episodes, clips of which appear on-screen.

Errors[]

  • When Priyanka was listening to Steven's heartbeat his gem appeared to have a hexagonal facet instead of its usual pentagonal facet.
  • During Steven's traumatic flashbacks, some events in the episodes are not shown in the correct order they were released in.
    • The events of "An Indirect Kiss" were shown before "Steven the Sword Fighter", and most of the events that occurred in "Change Your Mind" are shown before the events that occurred in "Together Alone".

Transcript

View the episode's transcript here.

Gallery

New Gallery

Click to view the gallery for Growing Pains.

Video[]

References

ve Episode List
Pilot Pilot
Season 1 A: Gem GlowLaser Light CannonCheeseburger BackpackTogether BreakfastFryboCat FingersBubble BuddiesSerious StevenTiger MillionaireSteven's LionArcade ManiaGiant WomanSo Many BirthdaysLars and the Cool KidsOnion TradeSteven the Sword FighterLion 2: The MovieBeach PartyRose's RoomCoach StevenJoking VictimSteven and the StevensMonster BuddiesAn Indirect KissMirror Gem/Ocean Gem

B: House GuestSpace RaceSecret TeamIsland AdventureKeep Beach City WeirdFusion CuisineGarnet's UniverseWatermelon StevenLion 3: Straight to VideoWarp TourAlone TogetherThe TestFuture VisionOn the RunHorror ClubWinter ForecastMaximum CapacityMarble MadnessRose's ScabbardOpen BookShirt ClubStory for StevenThe MessagePolitical PowerThe Return/Jail Break

Season 2 Full DisclosureJoy RideSay UncleLove LettersReformedSworn to the SwordRising Tides, Crashing SkiesKeeping It TogetherWe Need to TalkChille TidCry for HelpKeystone MotelOnion FriendHistorical FrictionFriend ShipNightmare HospitalSadie's SongCatch and ReleaseWhen It RainsBack to the BarnToo FarThe AnswerSteven's BirthdayIt Could've Been Great/Message ReceivedLog Date 7 15 2
Season 3 Super Watermelon Island/Gem DrillSame Old WorldBarn MatesHit the DiamondSteven FloatsDrop Beat DadMr. GregToo Short to RideThe New LarsBeach City DriftRestaurant WarsKiki's Pizza Delivery ServiceMonster ReunionAlone at SeaGreg the BabysitterGem HuntCrack the WhipSteven vs. AmethystBismuthBetaEarthlingsBack to the MoonBubbled
Season 4 Kindergarten KidKnow Your FusionBuddy's BookMindful EducationFuture Boy ZoltronLast One Out of Beach CityOnion GangGem HarvestThree Gems and a BabySteven's DreamAdventures in Light DistortionGem HeistThe ZooThat Will Be AllThe New Crystal GemsStorm in the RoomRocknaldoTiger PhilanthropistRoom for RubyLion 4: Alternate EndingDoug OutThe Good LarsAre You My Dad?I Am My Mom
Season 5 Stuck TogetherThe TrialOff ColorsLars' HeadDewey WinsGemcationRaising the BarnBack to the KindergartenSadie KillerKevin PartyLars of the StarsJungle MoonYour Mother and MineThe Big ShowPool HoppingLetters to LarsCan't Go BackA Single Pale RoseNow We're Only Falling ApartWhat's Your Problem?The QuestionMade of HonorReunitedLegs From Here to HomeworldFamiliarTogether AloneEscapismChange Your Mind
Film Steven Universe: The Movie
Steven Universe Future Little HomeschoolGuidanceRose BudsVolleyballBluebirdA Very Special EpisodeSnow DayWhy So Blue?Little GraduationPrickly PairIn DreamsBismuth CasualTogether ForeverGrowing PainsMr. UniverseFragmentsHomeworld BoundEverything's FineI Am My MonsterThe Future
Shorts Lion Loves to Fit in a BoxThe Classroom Gems: What Are Gems?We Are the Crystal GemsThe Classroom Gems: How Are Gems Made?UnboxingThe Classroom Gems: FusionCooking with LionGem KaraokeSteven ReactsVideo ChatSteven's Song Time
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