“ |
You two should spend some time apart. |
” |
—Alexandrite |
"Super Watermelon Island" is the 1st episode of the third season of Steven Universe and the 79th episode overall.
Official Synopsis
Steven finds out what happened to all those sentient watermelons he created.[2]
Plot
A Watermelon Steven wakes up on Mask Island and is surprised to see itself and all of its surroundings. A watermelon dog appears and guides the Watermelon Steven to a village. It is surprised to see how so many Watermelon Stevens managed to relocate to and colonize a remote island where they managed to build an entire village, complete with its own culture. A tremor urges the village to gather around a large statue and choose someone to perform a ritual, which ends up being the "new" Watermelon Steven. They decorate it, carry it to the edge of a cliff, and have it gaze off into the scenic ocean when Malachite suddenly appears. She recognizes the Watermelon Steven as Steven himself and eats it as a sacrifice, abruptly waking up the real Steven.
Steven is with the Crystal Gems outside of the Barn. Peridot panics from the recent tremors, claiming the cause is from the Cluster emerging to gain its physical form. She explains the process of the Cluster's growth: slight tremors and noticeable shaking of the ground, which eventually become full-scale earthquakes. After that, the Cluster will form and destroy the planet from the inside. She urges everyone to start drilling, but Steven states that it is not the Cluster, but rather Malachite resurfacing, surprising the Gems. He explains that he was in control of a Watermelon Steven and witnessed Malachite as if he was there. Garnet notes that Lapis must be losing control over the fusion. Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet decides to go to the island while Peridot and Steven stay behind, as it is too dangerous for them to fight.
Steven fills Peridot in about Malachite and how Jasper is constantly struggling to control the fusion against Lapis. Peridot says that she had a tough time with Jasper back in the Gem Warship. Steven wants to help the others, so Peridot suggests he disobey Garnet's order, reasoning that, as a Crystal Gem, it is in his nature to rebel. Steven gets the idea to fall back asleep and assume direct control of another Watermelon Steven to help out in the fight. A Watermelon Steven on Mask Island falls over and is now being controlled by Steven. The Crystal Gems arrive on the island and fuse together to form Alexandrite. Malachite breaks free from Lapis' water chains and Jasper expresses surprise over Lapis' perseverance in keeping her trapped at the bottom of the ocean. She notices Alexandrite and convinces Lapis to help her fight, stating that they might as well make the most of Malachite's abilities if they are going to remain fused.
Malachite and Alexandrite begin to battle with the former gaining the upper hand after a short period. Steven sees the fight and attempts to recruit support. He rushes to a cave where all the Watermelon Stevens are hiding out in terror. Steven attempts to build up their morale and successfully convinces them to take up arms and help fight Malachite. As the battle rages on, Malachite gives a speech to Alexandrite on what she believes fusion really is. She now understands a fusion's capabilities and sees power and dominance in a fusion, and therefore, no longer denounces it as a cheap war tactic. She encases Alexandrite in ice and almost forces her to unfuse, but an army of Watermelon Stevens, armed with spears, artillery, and gliders attack Malachite, distracting her long enough for Alexandrite to break free and continue the battle.
Alexandrite manages to pull Malachite in towards herself with Sugilite's flail, launch her up in the air with Sardonyx's hammer, and finish her off with Opal's bow. The force of the arrow pierces through Malachite, causing her to unfuse into Lapis and Jasper, and they both fall into Alexandrite's hands. Exhausted, Alexandrite unfuses. Steven runs towards Pearl and gives her a hug; she figures out that the Watermelon Steven is Steven himself, and the Gems thank him and the other Watermelon Stevens for their help. Suddenly, there is an earthquake and everyone braces themselves as parts of the island crack apart. Amethyst grabs Lapis in time, but the fault tilts the island just enough to cause Jasper to slide down and fall into the fissure. Garnet notes that the earthquake must mean the Cluster is finally beginning to take form and urges Steven to get in the drill with Peridot and destroy the Cluster on their own, seeing as how the warp pad is destroyed and they will not make it back in time. As he slowly wakes up, the Gems cheer him on and wish him the best.
Features
Characters
- Steven
- Watermelon Stevens
- Garnet
- Amethyst
- Pearl
- Peridot
- Malachite (antagonist)
- Lapis Lazuli (non-speaking)
- Jasper (non-speaking)
- Alexandrite
- The Cluster (mentioned)
- Watermelon Dog
- Watermelon Horses
- Watermelon Chickens
Objects
Locations
Music
Instrumental Songs
- "Watermelon Steven"
- "Collaboration / Malachite VS Alexandrite: Part 1"
- "Malachite VS Alexandrite: Part 2"
Trivia
- This episode's name was first revealed in the episode listing on the Cartoon Network website.[3]
- In this episode, it is revealed that Alexandrite can breathe fire. This most likely stems from Ruby's fire abilities. She is also able to use the weapons of the other fusions, such as Opal's bow, Sugilite's flail, and Sardonyx's hammer. It is currently unknown if she has access to Sapphire's ice abilities and future vision, or if she has her own unique fusion weapon.
- The sound effect that is played during Sugilite's formation and when she summons her flail in "Coach Steven", as well as when Sardonyx summons her war hammer in "Cry for Help" is heard when Alexandrite switches from Sugilite's flail to Sardonyx's war hammer.
- Jasper appears to clench her fist right before she falls into the fissure meaning she may have regained consciousness, or it might be an animation error.
Cultural References
- The opening sequence is an echo of the opening of the first episode of Lost, including the shot of palm trees with the camera straight up, and the unexpected dog.
- On Mask Island, the Watermelon Stevens' have a statue parodying the "Christ the Redeemer" statue statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Steven spawns inside a Watermelon Steven, similar to how Agent Smith spawns inside people in The Matrix films.
- Steven falling asleep to gain control of a watermelon avatar which looks like him, then giving a speech to a primitive tribe to inspire them to fight back against an alien enemy may be a plot reference to James Cameron's Avatar.
- The method that the Watermelon Stevens use to select 'Steven' greatly resembles the game "Noes Goes".
- Steven Universe's gender-equality themes are exhibited: a female warrior Melon leaves her husband and child to fight Malachite; a female Melon deals a blow to Malachite's eye which helps bring her down.
- The Watermelon Stevens attack Malachite like the Lilliputians from Gulliver's Travels.
- The flying Melons may refer to the Ewok flight scene in Return of the Jedi.
- Alexandrite opening her second mouth after breaking out of Malachite's ice hands is a possible reference to Eva Unit 01 going berserk from the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion.
- The shot of Alexandrite stepping into the water resembles a shot from Neon Genesis Evangelion of Evangelion Unit-02 stepping on a bridge, also causing water to splash up.
- The scene when Steven is running away from the battle while Malachite attacks Alexandrite with her helmet may be a possible reference to the opening of the first episode of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny.
- Malachite's defeat by Opal's bow resembles Zelda's Final Smash from Super Smash Bros..
- The shot in which Malachite tells Alexandrite that she is out of her depth is similar to a shot of Rubirules during his fight with Alpha in the fifteenth episode of Terrain of Magical Expertise, "Truth. Tears. Ambition.". Their poses are identical, they are both speaking to their opponents, and they both have elements behind them, with water for Malachite and fire for Rubirules.
- The Watermelon Stevens' practice of sacrificing members of their tribe to Malachite may be a reference to the ancient Israelites' practice of sacrificing children to the god Moloch.
- It also may be a reference to the myth of Perseus.
Continuity
- The Mask Island from "Island Adventure" is visited again.
- The Mask Island warp pad is destroyed during the fight between Malachite and Alexandrite. When the earthquakes start, Garnet mentions that they will not be able to make it back in time. At the end of "Gem Drill", the Gems can be seen arriving at the barn warp pad. While it is not explicitly stated, it can be assumed that they used another warp pad several hours away from Mask Island.
- The statue the Watermelon village is built around seems to be based on Baby Melon, who sacrificed himself for the Crystal Gems. In fact, this seems to be the reason why the Watermelon Stevens' community makes frequent sacrifices in a similar manner to Baby Melon: with their arms open wide.
Errors
- Note: Time is displayed in [mm:ss]; [00:00] refers to the point after the title card is displayed and before the episode's start.
Plot
- [00:20] At the beginning of the episode, when Steven is looking at his reflection in the stream, there are small rocks in the stream. When he stops looking, the rocks disappear.
- [02:58] When Steven wakes up and Peridot asks "Did you feel that?", the chalkboard at the barn is displaying the "Cluster Emerges / Bye Bye Earth" side. In the next shot, the chalkboard is displaying the reverse side.
- [03:47] Amethyst's sandwich disappears after Garnet tells them to go to the nearest Warp Pad.
- [05:15] When Steven is watching the Gems fuse, he is standing on sand, but in the next shot, he is standing on grass.
- [06:15] When Malachite rises from the water after Alexandrite uses her fire breath, Malachite raises ten water droplets. However, when she freezes the droplets and sends them to Alexandrite, there are only nine.
- [06:22] When Alexandrite first fires Opal's bow, the arrow splits into nine arrows. However, when the arrows hit Malachite's ice wall, there are only seven arrows.
- [08:20] When the Watermelon Steven punches Malachite's eye, the Watermelon Steven on Malachite's right upper eye disappears.
- [08:50] When Alexandrite pulls Malachite towards her using Sugilite's flail, the head of the flail is gone.
- [09:08] When Malachite is knocked into the air by Sardonyx's hammer, the scene zooms out to Alexandrite preparing to fire an arrow at her with Opal's bow. From here, it cuts to Alexandrite saying, "You two should spend some time apart," and then cuts back to the same scene as before. However, Malachite is no longer visible in the sky during this portion.
- [09:58] In one scene, after Malachite has de-fused, Lapis and Jasper are passed out to the left and right of where the Crystal Gems stand. In another shot, moments later, as the Crystal Gems laugh at the Watermelon Stevens for blushing, Jasper and Lapis do not appear.
Design
- [05:00] When Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl are looking at Malachite struggle in her chains from a distance, the patterns on her back are missing. Immediately after Garnet says, "Let's put an end to this," and the camera zooms on Lapis' gem, the patterns reappear.
- [06:09] [06:40] [07:47] [08:27] Alexandrite's second mouth is colored the same as the rest of her skin in multiple scenes.
- [06:28] When Malachite rises into the air from behind the ice wall she created, the skin color of her middle section changes.
- [06:32] [06:33] When Malachite charges onto Alexandrite, the patterns on two of her four lower arms change.
- [07:27] [08:31] Alexandrite's neck is miscolored in some close-ups.
- [07:34] After Malachite throws Alexandrite to the ocean, the patterns on her upper left arm move to her right.
- [10:07] When Jasper's unconscious body is sliding away, the color of her right forearm is incorrect.
Animation
- [05:07] Pearl's right thumb momentarily disappears when performing the fusion dance.
- [06:12] When Alexandrite lands on the water after freeing herself from Malachite's water hand, in a frame, Pearl's gem is missing from her forehead.
- [08:50] In a frame, when Alexandrite pulls Malachite toward her, the patterns on Malachite's face are missing.
- [09:31] When Alexandrite de-fuses, Sapphire's gemstone drifts to the right of Amethyst's and Ruby's drifts to the left but in the next shot they are right next to each other forming Garnet.
Transcript
View the episode's transcript here.