Original airdate: January 15th, 2015
Production code: 1026-034
In the temple, Pearl snaps her fingers as Steven and Amethyst dance together — or, attempt to. Amethyst isn't taking it seriously, and Steven, as a result, is too giggly to do so. There's a montage of him trying to dance with each of the Gems, and each of them displaying their type of dance for him, with him trying to imitate or at least replicate their moves. He's a little awkward and doesn't have the natural grace the Gems do. In the end, he ends up winded, and the Gems offer him reassurance, telling him that fusion is not something you get on the first try.
Pearl expresses doubt that Steven's half-human body is even capable of fusing. Amethyst says there's no telling what could happen with Steven. Garnet, as usual, expresses confidence that Steven will be successful.
Later, on the beach, Steven is sitting with Connie and telling her about the experience of trying to learn to Fusion Dance, but that he can't seem to get it. Ever supportive, Connie asks if writing the steps down will help. Steven tells her that he's not sure that's the problem, but that it's something else. Connie confesses that she likes to dance, and was really excited about a dance at her school, but ended up not going because she kept thinking about everyone staring at her. Steven points there's no one staring now (except him, as Connie notes). He clarifies that he meant he was asking her to dance. Connie accepts Steven's invitation and takes his hand. As the sun sets on the water, the two kids dance together, but as things go with kids their age, it goes from serious dancing to silly, playful dancing. Connie bumps into Steven by accident, and he begins to lose his balance. She lunges to catch him so he doesn't fall. As their foreheads touch and the pair laugh, blushing and drawing together, there's a pinkish glow from below them...
...and when Connie opens her eyes, she wonders why Steven's sandal is too small for her... his feet. A hand goes from a foot, up past an unexpectedly long leg, to a pair of jeans shorts-clad hips, to a narrower waist with Steven's pink rose quartz gem, to Steven's pink star shirt with Connie's pale turquoise dress over it, though they're both just belly-shirt height on the new body, which has flowing black hair and big dark eyes. After a moment the pair realizes what has happened:
The fusion rushes back to the house to tell the Gems what has happened. Pearl is amazed, but not in a good way.
...
Pearl: But this is unprecedented! A gem fusing with a human being? It's impossible!... or at the very least, inappropriate...
Amethyst thinks it's cool, and Garnet is speechless with delight at first. Amethyst rushes up to the new fusion, full of questions.
Pearl, still alarmed, tries to get them to separate, but the fusion calls Pearl out for being worried that Steven couldn't fuse, and demands to know if she's not proud of him. Pearl stammeringly says she is, and asks Garnet to back her up. But Garnet has her own ideas on how Steven and Connie should deal with being fused.
Stevonnie does just that: they use their new, tall, powerful body to run at top speed, do cartwheels, and do a cannonball off the clifftop into the sea. After coming out of the ocean, Stevonnie goes to the Big Donut, and orders two donuts. Lars stammers and can barely speak in Stevonnie's presence. At first, it looks like Sadie is jealous of Lars' attraction to the tall, attractive newcomer, but she offers them the donuts on the house, blushing and indicating she finds Stevonnie attractive as well.
Stevonnie has a momentary bit of awkward discomfort: Steven and Connie would each get one donut, but Stevonnie is both of them in the same body with both consciousnesses. One side of Stevonnie offers to end the fusion, but the other side says not to worry. Sour Cream approaches and offers Stevonnie a flyer inviting them to a rave with a bunch of friends from the internet and free glow sticks.
That evening, at the rave, Beach City's teen population are dancing. One teen seems to think himself as outclassing the others. Stevonnie, still barefoot, steps onto the floor and shows off their moves with an elaborately beautiful routine that results in everyone staring. Stevonnie becomes self-conscious because everyone has stopped dancing to stare at them. The sneering boy decides Stevonnie is the only person there worth dancing with and joins them on the floor. Connie's self-consciousness brings on a panic attack in Stevonnie, and they run off the floor wondering why it's not fun like they expected.
Stevonnie: ...but we are together, and it's not.
Stevonnie: ...I'm alone.
Kevin asks Stevonnie why they left him on the dance floor. Stevonnie says they don't feel like dancing anymore but Kevin is insistent, arrogantly declaring the two of them "angels walking among garbage people". Stevonnie is put off, insisting he doesn't even know them. They say they just don't like being alone here. Kevin insists that the cure to their loneliness is to come back and dance with him. Exasperated and irritated by his clueless and arrogant persistence, Stevonnie snatches his arm and drags him back to the dance floor, making one important clarification:
Stevonnie's dance routine this time is much angrier and less graceful. Kevin is taken aback and tells them to bring it back. But now that Steven and Connie are displeased and angry with Kevin, their fusion ends: Stevonnie vanishes in a puff and Steven and Connie end up sprawled on the dance floor. Kevin is weirded out that his hot dance partner was really two kids and takes his immediate leave. Steven and Connie, happy to be two individuals again, enjoy dancing together as Sour Cream showers the floor with glow sticks.
Cue abrupt Smash to Black.
Tropes:
- Alone in a Crowd: Stevonnie starts to feel lonely in the rave, because of Connie remembering that dancing with Steven was more fun.
- Ambiguous Gender: Stevonnie is a combination of both a boy and a girl, so it's up in the air what their sex is. The voice and character design suggests they may be female, but there's nothing definitive, and both guys and girls crush on them. Only Jerkass Kevin flat out says "girl" to Stevonnie. note
- An Aesop: Let yourself have fun without peer pressure. If you free yourself to just enjoy the present and nothing particularly eventful happens, at least you got to do what you wanted to do. And you never know when one of these days you may go to have fun and just enjoy the company of loved ones, expecting nothing, something wonderful might surprise you.
- Animation Bump: Nearly the entire episode is beautifully animated with very fluid movements.
- Armor-Piercing Question: As Pearl frets over Steven and Connie's unconventional fusion, Stevonnie needles her about being proud of Steven for having successfully fused with someone to begin with. Unable to think of a good response to this, Pearl instead tries to get Garnet to step in. Garnet, far from supporting Pearl, enthusiastically approves.
- Bishie Sparkle: Stevonnie sparkles occasionally, such as the scene at the Big Donut or when dancing.
- Blue with Shock: Kevin upper face turns blue after Stevonnie breaks into an unconventional dance just to placate his incessant advances.
- Breather Episode: A heartwarming, silly and normal episode that focuses on Steven's achievement and his relationship with Connie, then Stevonnie enjoying themself, right after the previous episode with Peridot and the foreshadowing of a major threat possibly returning to Earth (though Ian Jones-Quartey revealed
it was originally meant to air directly before "Warp Tour"). - Chekhov's Gun: Connie states on the beach that she wanted to go to a school dance, but didn't because she couldn't handle there being people looking at her. Once Stevonnie notices everyone looking at them at the rave, Connie's anxiety starts to set in.
- Continuity Nod:
- Connie leaves her glasses off when at the beach with Steven, Steven having healed her eyes back in "An Indirect Kiss".
- Stevonnie decides to go to the rave after Sour Cream mentions there will be glowsticks. Steven saved Connie's glowstick bracelet for her all the way back in her introductory episode.
- The rave takes place in the warehouse where the wrestling fights happened in "Tiger Millionaire".
- Much like Pearl and Amethyst in "Giant Woman", Steven and Connie's fusion fails once they lose focus, in this case due to the fact that dancing together is no longer fun since they're only one person, especially with Kevin bugging them. In the same episode, Garnet said that Steven would be great at fusion one day. And when he finally does a successful fusion with Connie, Garnet was proud of him, to the point of genuinely smiling.
- Dance of Romance: Steven asks Connie to dance with him, and she accepts. This leads to their fusion.
- Dance Party Ending: Stevonnie heads off to a rave, ends up defusing, then Steven and Connie dance around as Sour Cream throws out glowsticks.
- Dancing with Myself: Most of the rave-goers dance individually, but once Stevonnie gets on the floor, all of the others stop to stare in amazement.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?:
- After Stevonnie gets some donuts and realizes that they're eating alone, Steven and Connie have a conversation to the effect of "if you don't like it we can stop... no, it's fine...," which brings to mind a less family-friendly activity two young people have engaged in for the first time.
- Fusion continues to have more than a little bit of a sexual feel, especially Garnet and Pearl's demonstration. Hell, even Steven and Connie's dance is a smidge risque, what with Connie catching Steven as he falls into a dip, and leaning really close to him.
- Pearl and Garnet's attitudes about Steven and Connie's fusion sound very much like parents with more traditional and progressive views toward sex, respectively. Pearl finds it "at the very least, inappropriate", while Garnet merely wants to ensure that those involved are safe and enjoying themselves.
- Pearl and Garnet also sound like parents addressing their child exploring a non-binary gender identity. Pearl's comment on Stevonnie being 'inappropriate' is very similar to comments on children who are crossdressers, intergender, or transgender.
- Don't Think, Feel: While the Gems focus on the technical aspect of the Fusion Dance, namely the dancing itself, Steven realizes there's more to it and unintentionally figures it out when dancing with Connie for fun.
- Everybody Wants the Hermaphrodite: Both men and women are shown to be attracted to Stevonnie.
- Eye Cam: Stevonnie's first sight of their feet upon opening their eyes is an eye-shaped shot as if regaining consciousness.
- Favors for the Sexy: Sadie doesn't charge for the donuts Stevonnie bought. Stevonnie points out that this is a bad business practice.
- Foil: Kevin, to Stevonnie. He thinks he's the coolest teen around, while Stevonnie actually is but doesn't know it; Stevonnie demonstrates healthy communication and respect for consent, while Kevin illustrates the opposite. Appearance-wise, his skin, hair, and clothes are exactly the same colors as Stevonnie's. Even his name could be interpreted as the opposite of Stevonnie's: the beginning of "Connie" and the end of "Steven".
- Fusion Dance: The Gems try to teach Steven how to fuse, and he succeeds when he fuses with Connie into "Stevonnie".
- Good-Times Montage: Garnet tells Stevonnie to have fun, which is exactly what they do, running all around the beach and shore.
- Growling Gut: Shortly after Steven and Connie fuse for the first time, Stevonnie's stomach growls from hunger and prompts them to grab a snack at the Big Donut.
- Hate Sink: Kevin is introduced as a pushy creep who won't take no for an answer, and acts as a source of conflict to what was supposed to be Stevonnie's night of fun.
- Hallucinations: Stevonnie's stress on the dance floor manifests in seeing a blue landscape surrounding by black monoliths and geometric shapes, then getting enclosed in a disco-ball like sphere. Then Kevin walks toward Stevonnie, seeming to walk through the sphere, and the hallucination suddenly dissipates.
- How Do I Shot Web?: Steven has no idea how to fuse, and isn't even sure if it's possible. Steven eventually does it by accident with Connie.
- I Didn't Mean to Turn You On: Stevonnie buys some donuts from Lars and Sadie, making them very flustered without Stevonnie getting any idea why.
- Immediate Self-Contradiction: Connie says that she hates the thought of people staring at her while she dances. Steven says that nobody is watching her to encourage her to dance. Then the camera shows Steven staring at her, which Connie mentions.
- Innocent Fanservice Girl: Stevonnie walks around barefoot with only short-shorts and a belly-baring tank top (not to mention the wet hair and dancing), never once realizing why they're drawing so much attention.
- Interface Spoiler: Close captions reveal Stevonnie's name before it is ever used in-story.
- Jaw Drop: Lars and Sadie have their jaws agape as Stevonnie walks out of the store.
- Jerkass: Kevin starts to invade Stevonnie's personal space, making them uncomfortable, believes himself to be better than the others at the rave and insists that Stevonnie and him are made for each other without even knowing them.
- Last-Second Word Swap: Stevonnie nearly greets Sour Cream by name, but realizes that he won't recognize them.Stevonnie: Hey Sour...-faced stranger.
- Lonely Together: Played with. Stevonnie starts to get uneasy over all the eyes being on them, thanks to Connie's shyness, and Connie inside them wishes for Steven to be there. Steven then tells he's there but Connie says it's not the same.
- Love Bubbles:
- While Steven and Connie playfully dances in the beach.
- When Connie caught Steven after she bumped into him.
- As Stevonnie runs through the clifftop into the sea.
- Briefly when Stevonnie approached Lars and Sadie.
- Maligned Mixed Marriage: Pearl's fascinated disbelief at a gem fusing with a human quickly gives way to demanding they un-fuse immediately. When Stevonnie questions her attitude when she was trying to teach Steven to fuse, Pearl can't think of any response (that she'll say out loud) and drops the issue when Garnet starts actively celebrating Stevonnie.
- Mind Hive: Connie and Steven both seem to be active mentally in their fusion, to the point that you can actually tell which of the words Stevonnie says come from Steven, Connie, and both at once.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Kevin's invasive come-ons to Stevonnie instantly earn their enmity, but also distracts Stevonnie from the crowd, ending their panic attack.
- Not So Stoic: Garnet's reaction to Steven and Connie fusing is an excited voice and a huge grin. She then tells them to go and enjoy the experience.
- Oblivious to Love: Stevonnie doesn't seem to realise why people are acting weird around them.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In a lighthearted version, Garnet is practically giddy when Steven successfully fuses with Connie, encouraging Stevonnie to make the most of the experience.
- Performance Anxiety: Stevonnie freezes in place when several people stare at them, most likely due to Connie's shyness of dancing in front of other people.
- Portmanteau: Amethyst combines Steven's and Connie's name together for Stevonnie.
- Power Incontinence: Steven doesn't intentionally fuse with Connie. He just happened to stumble on the trick behind it while dancing with Connie.
- The Power of Love: As is the case with every successful use of his powers to date, Steven succeeds in Fusing when Connie lovingly protects Steven from falling while they're dancing.
- Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Garnet's manner of speaking when addressing Stevonnie for the first time:Garnet: Now. Go. Have. FUN!
- Puppy Love: Steven and Connie continue to show romantic interest in each other.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Kevin quickly makes his exit when he learns Stevonnie is actually two kids.
- Serendipity Shock: Steven and Connie undergo this when they accidentally fuse for the first time (since it's what Steven wanted). The main Crystal Gem trio is just as astonished at this revelation. (Especially Garnet.)
- Shout-Out:
- Sour Cream's DJ setup includes two Game Boy Pockets/Colors and a Game Boy Advance. Truth in Television; this is known as chiptune.
- One of the dances that Amethyst tries to teach Steven is The Macarena, which was a pop culture craze for a while after it came out.
- Sour Cream's DJ setup includes two Game Boy Pockets/Colors and a Game Boy Advance. Truth in Television; this is known as chiptune
- Silence Is Golden: Large stretches of the episode are spent with no dialogue, as Steven, Connie, and Stevonnie dance on or run around the shore.
- Smash to Black: The third episode in a row to cut straight to credits with an Iris Out.
- Source Music: The music Connie and Steven dance to comes out of Steven's phone. Oddly enough, the track's out-of-universe title is the same as that of the episode.
- Squee: The normally unemotive Garnet is very excited to see Stevonnie.
- Sucks at Dancing: Steven can't come close to following the other gems' lead at dancing. He and Connie's solo dancing is much better, though realistically amateur, but Steven almost trips when they dance together.
- Stunned Silence: The rest of the crowd stop dancing to stare in amazement at Stevonnie's acrobatics, which unfortunately nearly give Stevonnie a panic attack.
- Talking to Themself: Stevonnie sometimes talks like Steven and Connie are conversing to each other.
- This Is Wrong on So Many Levels!: Pearl is as unenthusiastic about Steven and Connie fusing as Garnet is absolutely excited.
- Totem Pole Trench: When Steven and Connie pop out after their fusion, Ronaldo assumes Stevonnie was just the two of them in a Full-Body Disguise. He even posted an artist's rendering on his blog.
- Wall Pin of Love:
- While showing Steven an example of a Fusion Dance, Garnet suggestively pins a madly blushing Pearl to the wall with both of her hands—then Pearl suddenly stops blushing and nonchalantly looks to Steven.
- Steven tries to imitate Garnet while dancing with Pearl, which just looks ridiculous because of the height difference.
- Kevin invades Stevonnie's space by boxing them against the wall with his body, though he only does it on one side.
- While showing Steven an example of a Fusion Dance, Garnet suggestively pins
- When She Smiles: Garnet breaks into a big, goofy grin when Steven manages to fuse with Connie, which is more outward emotion than she's ever demonstrated.
- Wrong Context Magic: No one thought that it would be possible for Steven to fuse with a human.
- "YEAH!" Shot: Parodied. At the end of their dance training, Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst all jump in the air and hang there. Steven tries to copy them... and falls right back down. While they're all still hanging in the air.
- Younger Than They Look: For all that Stevonnie looks like a late teenager/young adult, they have the mind you'd expect if you fuse two kids together.
- You Were Trying Too Hard: When Steven tries to fuse with Gems, he finds it hard to keep with their very complicated and distinct dancing styles. Later, when he's dancing with Connie, he's much more relaxed in mind and free-flowing in style, which eventually leads them to becoming Stevonnie.
- Your Size May Vary:
- Lars and Sadie are suddenly much closer to the same height when standing behind the counter.
- Stevonnie is generally portrayed as tall even for an adult, but as they leave the Big Donut, they're only a head taller than the door handle.
