History Recap / StevenUniverseS1E1GemGlow

'Gem Glow' is the series premiere of WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse, first airing on November 4, 2013.

JustForFun/{{The one w|ith}}here it all began.

* OhNoNotAgain: Amethyst splits the Big Donut's trash bin in half [[WhipItGood with her whip]], then Lars walks in.

Steven is extremely upset because [[SeriousBusiness they stopped making his favorite snack]], Cookie Cat. Lars, one of the teens working at the Big Donut, theorizes (rather coldly) that the product was discontinued because of cutthroat competition from Lion Lickers (a product Steven despises because "they hardly look like lions"). Sadie, the other, nicer employee, gives him the empty Cookie Cat mini-fridge as a keepsake. When he gets home, he finds it invaded by centipede monsters, but the other Crystal Gems deal with them, though Garnet warns that their mother must be near.

Steven describes his sadness over the discontinuing of Cookie Cats and while wrestling a baby centipeetle away from the fridge, finds the freezer full of them! It turns out that on hearing that Steven's favorite snack was going away forever, the Gems felt obliged to do something about it. Amethyst stole the last few Cookie Cats for Steven (though Pearl went back and paid for them). Overjoyed by the gems' display of affection for him, Steven's gem starts to glow, and when Steven sings the Cookie Cat jingle, he manifests a shield not unlike ComicBook/CaptainAmerica's. It ricochets around the room before embedding in a TV. The Gems impart their individual wisdom to Steven on how to call his weapon. Pearl describes fractals and mathematical calculations in real time. Amethyst says she doesn't try at all; her weapon just shows when she wants it. Garnet describes becoming one with the cosmic forces of the universe. All of this kind of boggles Steven and leaves him no closer to unlocking his own method of summoning his gem weapon. He ends up believing that eating Cookie Cats is what does it.

The house is then attacked by the giant Mother Centipeetle, and it traps the Gems on the beach. Steven tries to help but the shield won't reappear. He even tries scarfing every last one of the Cookie Cats the Gems brought him in hopes of re-manifesting his shield. When the monster destroys the fridge, Steven [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge angrily uses it to attack the Centipeetle]] and accidentally electrocutes the monster, giving the gems a chance to finish it off. [[HeartDrive Only a gemstone is left behind.]]

The episode ends with Steven congratulated by the other gems and reassured that someday, he'll fully manifest his power. Steven is tearful that not only are his Cookie Cats gone, but so is his only keepsake. To top that off, he has a sick tummy from having eaten too many.

!!Tropes

-->'''Steven''': So I'm supposed to try really hard, and not try at all, at the same time?\\
'''Garnet''': Yes.

* CasualDangerDialog: The Gems chat with Steven while killing a bunch of acid-shooting centipeetles that have invaded the house, topped off by Pearl giving one a NeckSnap without pausing.
* ChekhovsGun: There is a glowing pink circlet in the fridge that turns out to be important in the episode "Bubble Buddies".

** Pearl compares use of a gem's power to a meticulously planned dance, and uses petals falling from a tree as an example of something that seems random but is actually brought about by innumerable factors working together.
** Amethyst says practicing isn't fun and that her gem weapon just shows up whenever she needs it too without trying. She demonstrates by pulling out her whip with one hand for some random property damage, all while munching on a doughnut with the other hand.

* HighVoltageDeath: Steven uses the broken freezer to shock the mother centipeetle. This doesn't kill it directly, but lets the gems finish it off.
* ImprovisedWeapon: Steven beans the mother centipeetle with a broken freezer... [[HighVoltageDeath while it's still plugged in.]]

* MoodWhiplash: The Cookie Cat jingle as one, helped by the cheerful way Steven sings it.

* NeckSnap: Pearl snaps a centipeetle's neck while [[CasualDangerDialogue calmly talking to Steven no less]].
* OffhandBackhand: Courtesy of Garnet to a baby centipeetle.

-->'''Lars''': ''(gasps in shock)'' AGAIN?!?!
* PowersInTheFirstEpisode: This is the first time Steven's ever summoned his shield or been able to use any of his powers for that matter.
* PowerUpFood: Steven's gem twice started glowing after he ate a Cookie Cat, [[FalseCause so he assumed the ice cream was what let him use his power]]. He finds out he was wrong when eating a bunch at once does nothing. It's heavily implied what actually brought it about was ThePowerOfLove: first the Gems doing something nice for him by getting the Cookie Cats and then when they tell him he's a Crystal Gem whether or not he has his powers.

* ToiletHumor:

* VomitDiscretionShot: The very last scene of the episode is Steven puking after commenting about how much Cookie Cats he ate in order to activate his newfound Gem powers. Not only does he obscure his face on a dirt hill, the episode {{Iris Out}}s right there.

The house is then attacked by the giant Mother Centipeetle, and it traps the Gems on the beach. Steven tries to help but the shield won't reappear. He even tries scarfing every last one of the Cookie Cats the Gems brought him in hopes of re-manifesting his shield. When the monster destroys the fridge, Steven [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge angrily uses it to attack the Centipeetle]] and accidentally electrocutes the monster, giving the gems a chance to finish it off. [[HeartDrive Only a gemstone is left behind]].

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Steven, who later in the series is a staunch ActualPacifist, is here seen whaling on the Centipeetle with a broken fridge.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The Cookie Cat jingle. '''Major Spoiler:''' [[spoiler: It's actually telling the story of Rose Quartz / Pink Diamond. She, like all Gems, "came to this planet from outer space"; she and the Crystal Gems are "refugee[s] from an interstellar war" that Rose/Pink started to free Earth from colonisation by the Gems, and Rose/Pink "left [her] family behind" - that is, she left her fellow Diamonds, letting them think she was dead, to start a new life on Earth.]]

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Steven's behaviour in early episodes. Most of it is down to immaturity, before his CharacterDevelopment kicks in; what's ''really'' weird is to see Steven ''actively trying to injure the Centipeetle with a broken fridge'', given his ActualPacifist philosophy in later episodes, as well as his relationship with Centi in later episodes.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The Cookie Cat jingle. ''Major Spoiler:'' [[spoiler: It's actually telling the story of Rose Quartz / Pink Diamond. She, like all Gems, "came to this planet from outer space"; she and the Crystal Gems are "refugee[s] from an interstellar war" that Rose/Pink started to free Earth from colonisation by the Gems, and Rose/Pink "left [her] family behind" - that is, she left her fellow Diamonds, letting them think she was dead, to start a new life on Earth.]]

* PowerupFood: Steven's gem twice started glowing after he ate a Cookie Cat, [[FalseCause so he assumed the ice cream was what let him use his power]]. He finds out he was wrong when eating a bunch at once does nothing. It's heavily implied what actually brought it about was ThePowerOfLove: first the Gems doing something nice for him by getting the Cookie Cats and then when they tell him he's a Crystal Gem whether or not he has his powers.

The house is then attacked by the giant Mother Centipeetle, and it traps the Gems on the beach. Steven tries to help but the shield won't reappear. He even tries scarfing every last one of the Cookie Cats the Gems brought him in hopes of re-manifesting his shield. When the monster destroys the fridge, Steven [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge angrily uses it to attack the Centipeetle]] and accidentally electrocutes the monster, giving the gems a chance to finish it off. [[PlotCoupon Only a gemstone is left behind]].

* TitleThemeDrop: An instrumental version of "We Are the Crystal Gems" plays when Steven summons his shield.

* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** The Cookie Cat theme song basically describes the backstory of the Crystal Gems.
** Connie's glowing bracelet can be seen in the back of the freezer.

** We find out just what the centipeetles were doing in the temple in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E14MonsterReunion Monster Reunion]]''.

** We find out just what the centipeetles were doing in the temple in ''[[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StevenUniverseS3E14MonsterReunion Monster Reunion]]''.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The Cookie Cat theme song basically describes the backstory of the Crystal Gems.

We begin our series by seeing that Steven is extremely upset because [[SeriousBusiness they stopped making his favorite snack]], Cookie Cat. Lars, one of the teens working at the Big Donut, theorizes (rather coldly) that the product was discontinued because of cutthroat competition from Lion Lickers (a product Steven despises because "they hardly look like lions"). Sadie, the other, nicer employee, gives him the empty Cookie Cat mini-fridge as a keepsake. When he gets home, he finds it invaded by centipede monsters, but the other Crystal Gems deal with them, though Garnet warns that their mother must be near.

* Foreshadowing: The Cookie Cat theme song basically describes the backstory of the Crystal Gems.