Three Gems and a Baby

“	This isn't about Rose. From now on, everything has to be about Steven.	”
—Garnet

Three Gems and a Baby
Season	4
Episode	10
Overall	113
Broadcast Information
Airdate	December 1, 2016
Production Code	TBA
Viewers	1.286
Credits
Written and Storyboarded by	Lamar Abrams Katie Mitroff
Directed by	Byung Ki Lee (animation) Ricky Cometa (art) Joe Johnston (supervising)
Episode Guide
Previous	"Gem Harvest"
Next	"Steven's Dream"

"Three Gems and a Baby" is the 10^th episode of the fourth season of Steven Universe and the 113^th episode overall.

Official Synopsis

Greg tells Steven the story of his first winter with Steven.

Plot

Steven, Greg, and the Gems are all in Steven's room. Steven remarks that it is snowing hard outside, and tells his dad that he is glad that he is staying with them. Greg agrees, commenting that it is too cold to stay in his van during this blizzard. Steven says that he has never seen snow like this, and Garnet says that is not entirely true. When Steven asks what she is talking about, Pearl laughs about it, and says that it was fourteen years ago. Steven says that he is fourteen years, and Greg mentions that when it was snowing, Vidalia had gone out of town and let the two crash at her place. As he is about to tell the story, Steven mentions their "arrangement". Greg says that he already has a song for this one and begins to sing "I Could Never Be (Ready)" as a flashback montage of Greg with Steven plays.

While settling down on the couch, he sees a photo of young Sour Cream, Vidalia, and Yellowtail and looks on sadly, noticeably missing Rose. The Gems knock on Vidalia's door, and Greg finds out they brought presents. When Greg asks if they would like something to drink or eat, Pearl says that they are only stopping by to drop off the presents. Garnet hands her gift to Steven, but Greg tells her that he may need help opening it. She says that it is just a box meant to look like a present. When it is opened, there is a razor inside. Greg snatches it quickly, saying that he does not think Steven will need it yet. Garnet replies that he will need it in the future. Amethyst opens her gift, revealing a box of adult diapers. She says that Steven can grow to fit them, but Greg does not think he can. Pearl says that her gift will be necessary for Steven as she hands it to Greg. He opens it and finds a dictionary. Greg mentions that maybe they could use it to look up the definition of a baby and that Steven cannot use any of this stuff.

Greg then pulls out the keys to his van, letting the Gems know that the only thing baby Steven is interested in is jangling keys. Once the Gems realize that, Amethyst playfully shakes the keys above Steven's head. Pearl notes how captivated he is by them, and Garnet says that next time, they should give him a big box of keys to play with. As everyone laughs in agreement, Steven's gem starts to glow, surprising both Greg and the Gems. Amethyst believes that Rose is trying to shapeshift back into her old self, Pearl tries to communicate with Rose through her gem, and Garnet believes that Rose is trapped in a fusion and is trying to unfuse. With no idea what to do, Greg heads into Vidalia's kitchen and grabs a parenting book to help them figure something out. When he returns to the living room, Greg notices that the Gems have taken off with baby Steven.

Back in the present, Steven is shocked to find out that the Gems had kidnapped him as a baby. Garnet states that some of their actions were a bit regrettable, and Pearl states that at the time, they thought it would have been better to handle things their way. Back in the flashback, the Gems start up the van and drive off, with Greg chasing after them on foot. Amethyst notices that Greg looks mad and Pearl claims he will thank them later. Garnet assures them that Greg was doing his best up until that point, but the situation has changed, and that Steven is clearly a Gem. Amethyst then tries to understand why Rose is still a baby, and then shapeshifts into a baby and has Garnet hold her in her arms. Amethyst thinks Rose is doing this just to be coddled, which she likes as well, but does not understand why she has been at this for months on end. Amethyst then shapeshifts back and forth from a baby to her normal form, showing that it is easy, only making baby Steven laugh.

Amethyst realizes that it is not working, to which Garnet replies that it is not shapeshifting, but rather fusion. Garnet tells Steven that the reason he does not unfuse in front of Greg is that it is rude, and tells him that Greg is not here, so it is okay for him to take a little break, and that she will too. Before baby Steven's very eyes, Garnet unfuses, introducing him to Ruby and Sapphire. This frightens Steven by causing him to think that Garnet has vanished into thin air, and he starts to cry. Ruby and Sapphire realize that it was not a practical idea to unfuse in front of him, and immediately fuse back into Garnet. She then assures Steven that he knows her and Ruby and Sapphire, and does not understand why it did not work, prompting Pearl to pull over to the side of the road.

Greg, not far behind the Gems in the freezing cold, continues to follow the trail of tire tracks the van left in the snow. He then notices two kids playing and sledding in the snow with a dog sitting next to them. Greg tries to put two and two together and believes he can ride through the snow on their sled pulled by the dog. Back in the van, Steven is still crying, and Pearl tells everyone to calm down. She informs Garnet and Amethyst that Rose cannot reform because her gemstone is stuck inside Steven, and tries to communicate with her again. Pearl tells Rose that she can let her out and they can be together again. She reaches for Rose's gem and tries to pull it out, but before she does, she notices baby Steven giggling and she stops. Pearl breaks down, realizing that she cannot do it because Rose wanted this so much, though she cannot understand why. She remembers that Rose always said that everything should grow, everything should change, and that it is so great how it comes so naturally to humans, but then claims that it is not natural for her or other Gems. Garnet then assures Pearl that it will be natural for Steven. Amethyst then asks what about Rose, to which Garnet replies that it is not about Rose and that from now on, everything is about Steven.

Greg, being chased by the dog he tied to the sled, finally catches up with the Gems. Garnet lets him in the van, and Greg thanks her, but then remembers that the Gems took off in his van and stole Steven, and questions why. Garnet apologizes to him and tells him that they only did it because they thought they knew what Steven was, but they did not. Greg forgives them, telling them that he does not know what Steven is either, and he never glowed when he was a kid, to which Pearl informs that they never were kids. Steven starts to giggle again, and Greg tells the Gems that he is not sure how they are going to figure it out, but they have a better chance if they do it together.

Back in the present, the tea kettle Pearl had put on starts to whistle. As Pearl goes to check on the tea, Steven claims that they were wrong about everything. Pearl reminds him that it was a really long time ago, Amethyst asks him to cut them some slack, Garnet informs him that they could not have known what to do, even herself, and Greg tells him that he especially did not know. Steven informs them that they were wrong about how growing does not come naturally to Gems, referring to the changes they have experienced that have made them who they are now. Steven knows that they will never stop missing Rose but believes she would have loved how they all turned out because he does, to which they all agree. Pearl then recalls the time a teenage girl tried to kidnap Steven. Greg informs her that it was Steven's babysitter and that she was taking him to the park, letting them know they scared her when they threw a jungle gym at her. They all laugh as the episode ends.

Features

Characters

• Steven
• Greg Universe
• Garnet
• Amethyst
• Pearl
• Ruby (flashback, non-speaking)
• Sapphire (flashback, non-speaking)
• Rose Quartz (flashback, mentioned)
• Vidalia (mentioned, pictured)
• Yellowtail (flashback, pictured)
• Sour Cream (flashback, pictured)
• Buck Dewey (flashback, non-speaking)
• Jenny Pizza (flashback, non-speaking)
• Steven's Babysitter (mentioned)

Objects

• Greg's Van
• Greg's Guitar
• Babies, Huh? (debut)

Locations

• Beach City
  • Crystal Temple
    • Beach House
  • Onion's House

Music

Songs

• "I Could Never Be (Ready)"

Instrumental Songs

• "Young Gems"
• "Future Vision "

Trivia

• A massive blizzard really did strike the Delmarva Peninsula about 14 years prior to this episode's initial airing--the PDII Blizzard in February 2003, one of the largest ever to hit the U.S. East Coast.
• This episode's name was first revealed at the NYCC 2016 panel on October 6, 2016.
• This was the last episode aired in 2016.

Cultural References

• The episode's name is a reference to the 1987 film, Three Men and a Baby.
• Pearl's gift, Webby's Dictionary, is a reference to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
• There are numerous references to Christianity and Christmas in this episode regarding Steven, though whether or not the references were intentional is unknown.
  • Like Jesus Christ, Christianity's central figure, Steven is born in an unconventional way. Jesus was born through a virgin while Steven was born through an alien and human parent.
  • Steven is visited by the three Crystal Gems as a baby who bring him gifts the same way three wise men visited baby Jesus with gifts.
  • Baby Steven is taken into an unconventional place to be looked after, a van in his case, a manger in Jesus Christ's.
  • Greg is seen draped with a blue cloth while carrying Steven. A blue cloth is commonly associated with the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ's birth mother, as she holds Jesus.

Continuity

• When Steven yells at Greg, he answers "I'm not that far away," like he did in "The Message".
• Steven met Ruby and Sapphire before their proper introduction to him in "Jail Break", but, like the blizzard, had forgotten them due to infantile amnesia.
• Greg twirls his keys and sings about his carabiner similar to the way he did in "Winter Forecast".
• Garnet saying she made her present only look like she spent much time wrapping it is similar to the way Connie tells Steven this in "Steven's Birthday".
• Amethyst's regeneration before the events of "Gem Glow" makes its first appearance in the show. Its first overall appearance was in the extended intro.
• Pearl is shown to be resentful towards Greg for being the reason Rose is gone in the flashback.
• Amethyst is seen eating a teabag again, showing her penchant for them as revealed in "Onion Friend".
• Even though Amethyst visited Vidalia's house in this episode, the gem was surprised to meet her old friend there years later in the events of "Onion Friend".
• Garnet gives baby Steven a razor, saying how he will need it in the future. This is apparently true, considering Steven starts growing facial hair as seen in "Steven's Birthday".
• This episode takes place less than a year after the events of "Steven's Birthday", as Steven says that he's still 14 years old.
• In "Change Your Mind", White Diamond assumes that Pink Diamond will re-form if her gemstone is removed from Steven's body, just as Pearl does in this episode. "Change Your Mind" reveals that Steven's actual nature is closer to Garnet's guess: his human and Gem components can think and act independently, and they re-create him when they fuse. However, Steven's Gem component has a personality distinct from Rose/Pink's, and his human component is similarly distinct from Greg.

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

• [08:10] When Pearl picks up baby Steven, the white blanket in Amethyst's lap disappears.

Design

• [00:08] During all the scenes that take place in the present, the hem at the bottom of Amethyst's shirt is round instead of torn.
• [02:39] [03:17] [08:06] [09:41] The number and position of the buttons on Steven's baby suit changes several times throughout the flashback. The buttons are initially seen on the right side, and there appear to be at most five.
• [05:55] When present-Amethyst confirms to Steven that they did indeed kidnap him, her boot is colored white as it was in her previous regenerations.
• [06:36] When Amethyst shapeshifts into a baby, her gem has a pentagonal facet instead of hexagonal.
• [TBA] When Garnet unfuses, Ruby's gem was on the back of her left hand.
• [06:39] Amethyst's right shoe is missing when Garnet is holding her.
• [06:40] When Garnet is holding baby Amethyst, her middle finger on her left hand is not covered with her glove.
• [07:11] When Garnet is holding baby Steven in the van, her right glove is covering the wrong finger.
• [07:22] When Garnet hands over Steven to Amethyst, her right hand is missing her gem. Additionally, the bottom of her right arm (near the end of the screen) is not outlined.
• [09:05] When Garnet says, "This isn't about Rose," her right shoulder pad is colored incorrectly.
• [10:08] When Greg says, "Honestly, I'm not sure if I do, either. I never glowed when I was a kid." Steven's suit is not unbuttoned and his gem isn't exposed.

Transcript

View the episode's transcript here.

Gallery

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Videos

Steven Universe Three Gems and a Baby Cartoon Network

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Steven Universe Three Gems and A Baby Carton Network