On his way to meet Bill and Algy on a camping trip, Rupert discovers a pass in the mountains that leads to a hidden kingdom called Tourmaline Valley, inhabited by a race of elf-like people called Gemlins. In a palace made of crystal and covered everywhere in precious gemstones, he meets quite the Odd Couple — Lazuli (pronounced La-ZOO-lee) and a large, incredibly strong, unstoppable soldier, who's fiercely attached to Lazuli despite the former treating him terribly and taking everything out on him, named Jasper. No, seriously. The duo are twice attacked by a trio of Gemlins named Tiara, Malachite, and Quartz (no, seriously). "Prince" Lazuli assures Rupert the rebels are not a threat and begs him to take the red gem he found and leave the valley.
Rupert, however, grows suspicious about his new friends and decides to stick around and dig deeper. After investigating, he learns the pink-clad girl who leads the rebels is actually the ruler of the land (no, seriously) and that they're trying to stop a plan to harvest gems from the ground before it destroys the entire land. No, SERIOUSLY.
This episode provides examples of:
- Bad Vibrations: Tourmaline Valley is regularly struck by earth tremors. Lazuli's insatiable mining for gems turns out to be the cause.Tiara: These mountains are so riddled with tunnels, they're ready to collapse!
- Cave Behind the Falls: The passage to Tourmaline Valley starts here.
- Chandelier Swing: Rupert does this during the climactic battle.
- Clashing Cousins: That's putting it VERY mildly...
- Collapsing Lair: Lazuli's palace becomes this.
- Competition Freak: Bill and Algy insist on turning a simple walk to a campsite into a race.Rupert: I never thought of camping as a competitive sport.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?:
- As usual, Lazuli and Jasper resemble a case of domestic abuse.
- There's also something... intriguing about a woman fighting to get her authority back from an abusive, tyrannical man...
- Dumb Muscle: Lazuli has Jasper convinced he is this trope. Tiara wants Jasper to think otherwise.
- Easily Forgiven: Tiara has no plans to punish Jasper for the role played in enslaving her people and endangering her kingdom.
- Foreshadowing:
- Lazuli is set up like a campy, funny, eccentric ruler and the innocent victim under attack from the villains. Then you see how he treats Jasper...
- When Jasper captures Tiara, the things she says to Lazuli ("You will regret this, Lazuli!"/"You must stop work on this preposterous palace!"/"Your greed will be the end of you, Lazuli, mark my words!") sound like someone yelling at a subordinate, not a prisoner lashing out at their ruler.
- Giving Them the Strip: Rupert loses his scarf in a struggle with Jasper.
- Greed: Nothing matters to Lazuli but getting more gemstones.
- Green Aesop: Against destructive mining.
- Heel–Face Turn: Jasper eventually realizes he's on the wrong side and swears loyalty to Pink Diamond... sorry, Princess Tiara.
- Irony: Rupert refuses to take one of Bill's shortcuts because they always lead them where they’re not trying to go. Only Rupert follows the established route to the campsite, and only he ends up finding an adventurous detour.
- Large and in Charge: Lazuli and Jasper are significantly bigger than all the other Gemlins.
- Light Is Not Good: Lazuli's opulent crystal palace is stunningly gorgeous... and will be the doom of the kingdom if it's not destroyed.
- List Song: Lazuli sings a list of gemstones, starting with "Amethyst, garnet, aquamarine..."
- Made of Indestructium: No matter how hard Jasper tried, he couldn't destroy the hardalite gem. He finally tried flinging it out of the valley, where Rupert found it.
- Master Archer: The Gemlins all attack using bows and arrows.
- Mineral Macguffin: The hardalite gem — if struck on Lazuli's crystachord (a crystal pipe organ), it would shatter his entire crystal palace.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Rupert and Tiara have to strike a certain note on the crystachord to destroy the palace, but they can’t figure out which one. Lazuli tries to stop them. No points for guessing who ends up hitting the right note.
- Odd Name Out: Tiara among the Gemlins.
- One-Man Army: Jasper. None of the other Gemlins stand a chance against him.
- Outside-Context Problem: Rupert becomes this for Lazuli.
- Plot Twist: At first, it looks like Rupert's met the prince of the land who's busy defending himself from criminals. It turns out the rebels attacking the palace are the heroes, and the alleged ruler is the villain.
- Princesses Prefer Pink: Naturally, the rebel-leader/royal Gemlin leader wears pink.
- Princesses Rule: Gender neutral example — not only does Tiara, the highest-ranking ruler of the Gemlins, have the title of "Princess," but Lazuli, when he steals the throne, uses the title "Prince," not "King."
- Pronouncing My Name for You: Yes, LAZ-a-lee and la-ZOO-lee are both 100% correct, 100% acceptable ways to pronounce “lazuli.”
- Rightful King Returns: Rupert helps put the rightful ruler of Tourmaline Valley back on the throne.
- Rock Theme Naming: All the Gemlins save their ruler are named after minerals.
- Short Cuts Make Long Delays: Cited by Rupert as the reason why he refuses to deviate from the path to the campsite... only to end up being delayed longer than either of his friends.
- The Smurfette Principle: Tiara is the only female Gemlin we see.
- Spanner in the Works: Rupert finding the hardalite gem was the beginning of Lazuli's undoing.
- Stockholm Syndrome: Jasper is ruthlessly devoted to Lazuli despite how horribly the latter treats him, truly believing he's nothing without Lazuli guiding him.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: Lazuli began putting all the Gemlins to work in the mines after he stole the throne.
- The Usurper: Lazuli forced Jasper to help him take over the kingdom rightfully ruled by his cousin.
- Wham Line:Lazuli: Did you put the princess to work, Jasper?Jasper: Yes, sire.Rupert: (eavesdropping) Princess...?
- You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: Rupert addresses the real Gemlin ruler as "Princess" out of respect, but when they get caught by Lazuli and Jasper at the crystachord, he simply shouts, "Play, Tiara, play!"
- You Meddling Kids:Lazuli: Find that sneaky little bear!
