History Recap / StevenUniverseS3E9TooShortToRide

* FreezeFrameBonus: Peridot's online bio lists her as "leader of the Crystal Gems", which she tried to pass herself off as in in [[CallBack "Hit The Diamond."]]

* AntiVillain: Peridot's stated reason for why she has no powers outside of what her limb-enhancers gave her is that she is an "Era-2 Peridot" and was made during a time where Homeworld's resources were running low. This explanation carries with it the implication that Homeworld is basically starving for resources that they need to propagate their race, and while this doesn't in any way excuse their actions during the rebellion or for seeding the Cluster on Earth (as Peridot was created ''long'' after that), it does go a long way to explaining their aggressive imperialism and warlike tendencies, at least in the present. However, Yellow Diamond actions in "Message Received" become even more heartless in hindsight.

* CatSmile: Peridot has a w-smile while using her powers to win the ring toss.

** Greg bought the tablet with the remains of the royalty check he had gotten two episodes ago.

* NotCheatingUnlessYouGetCaught: The first time they go to the Ring Toss game, Amethyst uses her shapeshifting powers to drop a ring onto a milk bottle. Later, after Peridot realizes she has a power to move things with her mind, she uses this to drop ten rings onto milk bottles so that she can win the alien doll she wants. Mr. Smiley was either distracted or had fallen asleep before he could catch them doing this, so he trusts that they won fairly. In their defense, Mr. Smiley outright admits the game was rigged.

* SinkOrSwimMentor: Amethyst tosses away Peridot's tablet, ''accidentally'' causing Peridot to activate a new power to catch it.

* IgnoredEpiphany: Peridot ignores Amethyst's encouragement, largely because she's too afraid to try and see if she's as good without gem powers.

* ExospeakGag: Peridot is impressed with the "speed-powered transportation circuit" (a roller coaster).

** Peridot uses her newly discovered [[ExtraOreDinary telekinesis]] to win the doll she wants. Steven excitedly [[DiscussedTrope rattles off]] a list of mundane things she can use her power for.

* TripleShifter: Mr. Smiley "happily" claims that Funland is so [[{{Pun}} "funderstaffed"]], he hasn't seen a bed in ''six days''. He does seem to catch catnaps though, which explains why he's still relatively functional.

* MundaneUtility: Steven and Amethyst use their shapeshifting to increase their height enough to ride the roller-coaster. Amethyst later uses hers to cheat at the bottle toss (though to be fair, Mr. Smiley outright admits it's rigged). Peridot later uses her newly discovered [[ExtraOreDinary telekinesis]] to win the doll she wants. Steven excitedly [[DiscussedTrope rattles off]] a list of mundane things she can use her MagnetismManipulation for.

* NotCheatingUnlessYouGetCaught: The first time they go to the Ring Toss game, Amethyst uses her shapeshifting powers to drop a ring onto a milk bottle. Later, after Peridot realizes she has a power to move things with her mind, she uses this to drop ten rings onto milk bottles so that she can win the alien doll she wants. Mr. Smiley was either distracted or had fallen asleep before he could catch them doing this. In their defense, Mr. Smiley outright admits the game was rigged.

* RememberedICouldFly: Amethyst and Steven use their shapeshifting to grow taller in order to ride a roller coaster.
* TheReveal: Both external and internal; Peridot reveals that resources are so scarce on Homeworld that they've had to cut corners when making new Gems, like creating Peridots without the usual array of Gem powers and instead giving them high-tech prosthetics like Peridot's "limb enhancers". This explains Homeworld's renewed interest in Earth after thousands of years of isolation: with resources running low, they're now forced to activate projects long left dormant.

* SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud: Peridot does this as she dramatically sticks her tablet to her arm.
* ShoutOut: Among the applications Peridot scrolls through on her tablet is ''VideoGame/NekoAtsume''.
* ShownTheirWork: Peridot apparently has powers of magnetic manipulation. Real life peridots (and peridotite) have magnetic properties, so this makes sense, as she explained in "Gem Drill" that she's made of the same stuff.
* SinkOrSwimMentor: Amethyst does this by accident, by tossing away Peridot's tablet. It works in activating Peridot's power.

* ThrowTheDogABone: Two for Peridot at the end of the episode: she discovers her ExtraOreDinary powers, ''and'', with those powers, finally wins that green alien doll she wanted!

* TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening: Downplayed. Peridot's telekinesis is triggered by Amethyst attempting to throw her new tablet into the sea.

* UnwinnableByDesign: The ring toss game is apparently this, given Mr. Smiley's reaction when Amethyst wins by cheating while he's distracted by Onion.

* WhamEpisode: It's much more subdued in-universe, but the revelation ([[IKnewIt or confirmation]]) that Homeworld is resource-strapped puts all of their and Peridot's actions in a new light. Particularly, Peridot's ''remote'' investigation of the Cluster and her actions during "It Could Have Been Great" and "Message Received", as well as all her comments on Gem form efficiency, all have a more serious subtext now. In addition, Peridot obtains a new superpower: [[ExtraOreDinary ferrokinesis]].

* AntiVillain: Possibly confirmed by Peridot; her stated reason for why she has no powers outside of what her limb-enhancers gave her is that she is an "Era-2 Peridot" and was made during a time where Homeworld's resources were running low. This explanation carries with it the implication that Homeworld is basically starving for resources that they need to propagate their race, and while this doesn't in any way excuse their actions during the rebellion or for seeding the Cluster on Earth (as Peridot was created ''long'' after that), it does go a long way to explaining their aggressive imperialism and warlike tendencies, at least in the present. Averted for Yellow Diamond specifically, however, whose actions in "Message Received" become even more heartless in hindsight.

* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems like Steven and Amethyst will be able to unlock Peridot's shapeshifting, but she gains ExtraOreDinary powers instead.

* BlackComedy: Onion trying to set the rollercoaster on fire, with the implication he's done this before.

* CatSmile: Peridot when she uses her powers to win the ring toss.

* CharacterDevelopment: Amethyst has matured enough to perceptively ask Peridot what's really upsetting her about shapeshifting when she starts passive-aggressively deriding the ability. She's also become empathetic enough to give Peridot a YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre speech that seems to draw from her own experiences over her insecurities. She ''hasn't'' matured enough to consider why she maybe shouldn't grab Peridot's beloved comfort object and throw it towards the ocean.

** Steven once again gives Peridot technology to replace her limb enhancers. She's gotten more sincere about saying "Wow, thanks!"

* ExtraOreDinary: Peridot discovers she can move metal with telekinesis when she unlocks it to catch her tablet that Amethyst tried throwing into the ocean.

* TheInsomniac: Mr. Smiley "happily" claims that Funland is so [[{{Pun}} "funderstaffed"]], he hasn't seen a bed in ''six days''. He does seem to catch catnaps though, which explains why he's still relatively functional.

* LittleGreenMen: Peridot falls in love with a rather large doll version of this (it's roughly equal to her in size) that's a prize at the bottle toss. This is what initiates the main plot of the episode, which is trying to help Peridot unlock her shapeshifting.
* LookBehindYou: Amethyst uses this to get Mr. Smiley away from the bottle toss game so she can use her shapeshifting to cheat and ring one of the bottles by claiming that "Onion is trying to burn down the roller coaster". Mr. Smiley claims he won't fall for that [[NoodleIncident again]], only to look and see that Onion is indeed apparently trying to burn down the roller coaster with a pair of flaming cotton candy cones.

* LoveBubbles: Peridot receiving the LittleGreenMen doll from Mr. Smiley has these in the scene.
* MagnetismManipulation: Steven refers to Peridot's telekinesis as "metal powers," and real life Peridotite has strong magnetic properties compared to other rocks, meaning that Peridot's power is most likely this.

* WhamEpisode: It's much more subdued in-universe, but the revelation ([[IKnewIt or confirmation]]) that Homeworld is resource-strapped puts all of their and Peridot's actions in a new light. Particularly, Peridot's ''remote'' investigation of the Cluster and her actions during "It Could Have Been Great" and "Message Received", as well as all her comments on Gem form efficiency, all have a more serious subtext now.

* CharacterDevelopment: Amethyst has matured enough to perceptively ask Peridot what's really upsetting her about shapeshifting when she starts passive-aggressively deriding the ability. She's also become empathetic enough to give Peridot a YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre speech that seems to draw from her own experiences over her insecurities.

* LookBehindYou: Amethyst uses this to get Mr. Smiley away from the bottle toss game so she can use her shapeshifting to cheat and ring one of the bottles by claiming that "Onion is trying to burn down the roller coaster". Mr. Smiley claims he won't fall for that [[NoodleIncident again]], only to look and see that Onion is indeed apparently trying to burn down the roller coaster with a pair of torches.

** Later, since the ''only'' reason Amethyst and Steven can't get on the ride is their height, he lets them on without comment when they come back taller.

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Mr. Smiley doesn't notice Peridot's tablet floating above her head after she's won the ring toss. Of course, he is pretty sleep-deprived.

* HeightAngst: Peridot claims she doesn't have to grow because her size is her rarity and importance.

* CerebusCallBack: Ever since [[BreakTheHaughty losing her limb enhancers]], a lot of humor has come from Peridot's short stature, physical weakness, and general lack of power without her machines. In this episode, Amethyst and Steven shapeshifting makes Peridot feels inadequate, because she can't do it and has a very serious explanation as to why: Homeworld ran low on resources, so they started making Gems less powerful and more dependent on technology -- so much that Peridot desperately tries to keep her tablet because "It's all that I am!" There's also a good chance the Ruby Squad [[DumbMuscle are so unintelligent]] because they're also "Era 2" gems, except lacking in brains instead of brawn.

* TheReveal: Both external and internal; Peridot reveals that resources are so scarce on Homeworld that they've had to cut corners when making new Gems, like creating Peridots without the usual array of Gem powers and instead giving them high-tech prosthetics like Peridot's "limb enhancers". It also explains Homeworld's renewed interest in Earth after thousands of years of isolation: with resources running low, they're now forced to activate projects long left dormant.

* TheReveal: Both external and internal; Peridot reveals that resources are so scarce on Homeworld that they've had to cut corners when making new Gems, like creating Peridots without the usual array of Gem powers and instead giving them high-tech prosthetics like Peridot's "limb enhancers".

* NotCheatingUnlessYouGetCaught: The first time they go to the Ring Toss game, Amethyst uses her shapeshifting powers to drop a ring onto a milk bottle. Later, after Peridot realizes she has a power to move things with her mind, she uses this to drop ten rings onto milk bottles so that she can win the alien doll she wants. Mr. Smiley was either distracted or had fallen asleep before he could catch them doing this.

* PetTheDog: Amethyst tries to win the alien doll for Peridot by cheating; subverted when Mr. Smiley only gives her the finger puppet.

* CharacterDevelopment: Amethyst has matured enough to perceptively ask Peridot what's really upsetting her about shapeshifting when she starts passive-aggressively deriding the ability. She's also become empathic enough to give Peridot a YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre speech that seems to draw from her own experiences over her insecurities.

* AntiVillain: Possibly confirmed by Peridot; her stated reason for why she has no powers outside of what her limb-enhancers gave her is that she is an "Era-2 Peridot" and was made during a time where Homeworld's resources were running low. This explanation carries with it the implication that Homeworld is basically starving for resources that they need to propagate their race, and while this doesn't in any way excuse their actions during the rebellion or for seeding the Cluster on Earth (as Peridot was created ''long'' after that leaving it ambiguous if it was a problem at the time), it does go a long way to explaining their aggressive imperialism and warlike tendencies, at least in present. Averted for Yellow Diamond in specific, whose actions in "Message Received" become even more heartless in hindsight.

* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems like Steven and Amethyst will be able to unlock Peridot's shapeshifting, but she gains MindOverMatter powers instead.

** Steven shapeshifts his finger into a cat, like in "Cat Fingers", he then remembers what happened and immediately places his hand in the water.
** Steven uses shapeshifting to make himself taller, same way he did in "Steven's Birthday".

* MindOverMatter: Peridot discovers she has telekinesis when she unlocks it to catch her tablet when Amethyst tries throwing it into the ocean.

* MundaneObjectAmazement: Peridot is fascinated by the tablet computer Steven gives her, including the ability to look up cat videos on [[BlandNameProduct TubeTube]]. She also is amazed by the Steven Universe equivalent of Twitter as described by Steven, and is shown posting on it several times during the episode.
* MundaneUtility: Steven and Amethyst use their shapeshifting to increase their height enough to ride the roller-coaster. Amethyst later uses hers to cheat at the bottle toss (though to be fair, Mr. Smiley outright admits it's rigged). Peridot later uses her newly discovered [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]] to win the doll she wants. Steven excitedly [[DiscussedTrope rattles off]] a list of mundane things she can use her MagnetismManipulation for.
* NewSuperpower: Peridot realizes she has MindOverMatter powers.

* ThrowTheDogABone: Two for Peridot at the end of the episode: she discovers her MindOverMatter powers, ''and'', with those powers, finally wins that green alien doll she wanted!

* AntiVillain: Possibly confirmed by Peridot; her stated reason for why she has no powers outside of what her limb-enhancers gave her is that she is an "Era-2 Peridot" and was made during a time where Homeworld's resources were running low. This explanation carries with it the implication that Homeworld is basically starving for resources that they need to propagate their race, and while this doesn't in any way excuse their actions during the rebellion or for seeding the Cluster on Earth (as Peridot was created ''long'' after that leaving it ambiguous if it was a problem at the time), it does go a long way to explaining their aggressive imperialism and warlike tendencies, at least in present. Averted for Yellow Diamond in specific, who's actions in "Message Received" become even more heartless in hindsight.