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Recap / Steven Universe S2E18 "Friend Ship"

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Original airdate: July 17th, 2015

Production code: 1031-068


The Gems find Peridot at the Galaxy Warp. They prepare to attack her, but the overeager and desperate for forgiveness Pearl ruins it, resulting in Peridot getting away. They are later able to track her to an old, abandoned gem ship. They assume Peridot is using it to get away, but she actually has something different in mind. She knew the gems were tracking her (because Steven told her), and lured them to the ship to make use of its old but still somewhat functional traps. Nice job breaking it, Steven.

The group attempt to make their way through the ship and to Peridot, but on their way there, Garnet and Pearl fall down a trapdoor into a small room (Amethyst saves herself and Steven with her whip). Garnet and Pearl are fine for the moment, but that won't be for long, as The Walls Are Closing In. While attempting to fight the deathtrap (with Steven and Amethyst helping by using her whip to halt the mechanism behind it for a while), Garnet and Pearl have a heart-to-heart about what happened.

Pearl apologizes for her mistakes, saying that she only did it because she wanted Garnet to forgive her. She reveals that she deceived Garnet to keep fusing because she is extremely insecure, and believes that as "just a Pearl" she'll never live up to Garnet's power, confidence, and composure. Fusing into Sardonyx is the only way she gets to feel that confidence.

Garnet responds that there is nothing Pearl can do to make Garnet forgive her for what she's done, and tells her that Garnet isn't the paragon of strength that Pearl thinks she is. The turmoil that Pearl caused by tricking Garnet caused Ruby and Sapphire to have their greatest argument in millennia. Garnet has problems and insecurities too, she just hides them better. In fact, sometimes she looks up to Pearl for strength.

After that, Amethyst's whip breaks, and the walls begin closing in again. There is only one way out, but Garnet and Pearl need to both agree on it. Cue the triumphant return of Sardonyx, drilling her way out of the room. The Crystal Gems then make it to Peridot, who immediately tries to bug out. Steven manages to hang on to her foot, but she detaches it and flies away, now with only one foot.


Tropes:

  • An Arm and a Leg: Peridot detaches her foot to get away from the Crystal Gems at the end of the episode.
  • Arm Cannon: Peridot reveals she can turn her fingers into one. The recoil knocks her on her butt the first time she fires it.
  • Badass Boast: Pearl is full of them, though the last one she makes at the end of the episode proves to have teeth.
  • Bait-and-Switch Comment:
    Peridot: You really think this is the end!?
    (Peridot forms her blaster and aims it at the Crystal Gems.)
    Peridot: Hahahaha... this, this is only the beginning... of my escape!
    (Peridot points her blaster upward to blow an exit to fly through)
  • Batman Gambit: After the Gems reveal that they had a secret technique to track her every move, Peridot successfully lures them into a trap by expecting them to come after her.
  • Book Ends: To the start of Steven Bomb 3, with Garnet and Pearl fusing to form Sardonyx for all the right reasons.
  • Call-Back:
    • Peridot starts the episode trying to fix the smashed up Galaxy Warp.
    • Pearl is extremely eager to make up for the events of "Cry for Help".
    • Garnet uses the events of Keystone Motel as an example of how she's not completely made of stone.
    • There's something disturbingly familiar about the way Steven greets Peridot.
    • Pearl is using Peridot's escape pod to track her through the Warp.
    • Pearl shows a desire to be stronger, like her insecurity in "Coach Steven".
    • Garnet and Pearl form Sardonyx again.
    • The way Steven threw his shield is reminiscent of a time he hurled a boogie-board the same way in Beach Party, down to the shot structure.
  • Continuity Nod:
    • Garnet and Steven mention the events of "Keystone Motel". Steven literally nods when Amethyst asks if it's true.
    • Pearl calls herself "just a Pearl", just like Jasper did in "The Return". This lends additional weight to the theory that Pearl is just one of many similar Pearls.
    • The four color diamond shown on ancient Gem sites, most recently in "Sworn to the Sword", can be seen by the pit trap.
    • Peridot still thinks "Steven" is the name of a species.
  • Durable Deathtrap: Played With. The spikes, The Walls Are Closing In trap, and lasers do still work after thousands of years, but likewise overgrowth and decay has rendered the ship largely non-functional. It takes Peridot a couple of tries to even find a working trap for the first try, and she loses track of the Gems halfway through the episode since the ship's internal sensors are barely working.
  • Explaining Your Powers to the Enemy: Steven tells Peridot that they found a way to track her (though he doesn't explain how). Peridot uses this information to lead them into a trap.
  • Eyelid Pull Taunt: Steven does this to Peridot. She copies the gesture on her way out.
  • Facepalm: Garnet's reaction to Pearl blindly attacking Peridot's hologram even when it became obvious to her it's a hologram.
  • Flying Saucer: The ancient space ship featured in the episode greatly resembles one.
  • Forgiveness: Garnet finally makes peace with Pearl over the events of "Cry for Help". She hasn't Easily Forgiven her for tricking her to fuse, but it was enough to come into a better understanding.
  • Forgot About His Powers:
    • Just like in "Keeping it Together", none of the Gems use their shapeshifting ability to transform into something that can fly and allow them to chase after Peridot, nor did Garnet or Pearl try their extending arms and Sword Beam, respectively. Matt Burnett acknowledged as much on Twitter.
      Q: Hey matt weren't there like tons of ways they could have stopped peridot from escaping? Like shapeshifting or using their spear?
      A: Yeah, probably, but we got like 100 episodes to fill, man.
    • When Steven grabs onto Peridot by the leg, she doesn't use her left hand's Tractor Beam or electricity, she just flicks him in the face.
  • Freeze-Frame Bonus: When Peridot is knocked over and offscreen by the recoil from her Arm Cannon, she very briefly makes a hilariously dumbfounded expression.
  • Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Pearl reasons that she tricks Garnet into fusing with her because Garnet is the strongest in the group, emotionally, and she could feel some confidence in her life. Garnet shoots down this excuse and admits that she's Not So Above It All thanks to her own flaws, especially the ones Pearl unwittingly exploited that caused her two halves to split once again.
  • I Just Want to Be Badass: Pearl admits that she feels more confident when fused with Garnet, which is the reason she lied to her.
  • Lame Pun Reaction: Peridot's reaction to Garnet's Pre Ass Kicking One Liner is this.
    Garnet: Peridot, your flight's been canceled!—
    Peridot: (Exasperated) No...
  • Leaning on the Fourth Wall: At one point, Steven tells Peridot to have a great weekend. Since this episode premiered on a Friday, as the last day of Stevenbomb 3, he's accidentally telling the audience as well.
  • Leeroy Jenkins: Pearl as a result of her overeagerness to make up to Garnet.
  • Life-or-Limb Decision: Peridot sacrifices one of her feet in order to escape from the Crystal Gems.
  • Little "No": Pearl's reaction to Peridot trapping them.
  • Living Crashpad: Pearl collides with Steven after getting tossed by Peridot and ends up on top of him.
  • Lured into a Trap: Once Peridot knows the Crystal Gems can track her, she lures them to an old gem space ship whose internal defenses she turns against them. She then pulls a smaller scale trap by putting a Hologram of herself on top of a Trap Door, which Pearl keeps attacking even after realizing is fake.
  • Man Bites Man: While Steven is hanging off Peridot's leg, he bites her foot, though she seems just slightly annoyed.
  • Must Make Amends: Deconstructed. Pearl's desire to make up for deceiving Garnet by catching Peridot only causes more problems, and Garnet states that it wouldn't have made a difference in whether or not she forgives her.
  • New Powers as the Plot Demands:
    • Peridot shows she can use a Tractor Beam and has an Arm Cannon. Peridot's briefly dumbfounded reaction after firing the Arm Cannon implies that she's never used her arm-enhancements that way before and was a bit shocked at how powerful it was.
    • Sardonyx reveals she can turn her hammer into a drill, exactly what she needed to escape the room she was trapped in.
  • Nice Guy: Steven tells Peridot "good morning" when the Gems first encounter her, and then follows up with a "have a nice weekend!" after she escapes.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
    • Pearl's eagerness to make up for what she did in "Cry For Help" allows Peridot to slip away from them at the Galaxy Warp.
    • Steven brags to Peridot that they can track her, which convinces her to set a trap at the ship.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Peridot accidentally forced Garnet and Pearl to overcome their conflict and make up.
  • No OSHA Compliance: Even if it was some kind of defense system, it seems kind of odd for an active spaceship to have some of the stuff that Peridot attacks the Crystal Gems with, especially the contracting room that Garnet and Pearl were trapped in.
  • Not So Above It All:
    • Peridot is a lot more expressive in this episode. She mimics Steven's Eyelid Pull Taunt and even devolves into Angrish at one point.
    • Garnet admits that, despite having the strength of a good leader, she has her own insecurities as the other Crystal Gems, but has a better time at keeping them in check.
  • Poke the Poodle: The gems are a bit baffled when Steven tells Peridot "Have a great weekend!" but all he manages to amend it to is "I... hope her weekend is... not so great?"
  • Ragnarök Proofing: The Gem spaceship, while not flight capable, and with many of the systems non-functional, is still in pretty good shape for how long it's been there. Gems are The Ageless, so they would prefer tech that requires minimal upkeep over long periods.
  • Rapid-Fire Interrupting: Pearl is so enthusiastic to catch Peridot at the galaxy warp that she keeps cutting off everyone else's taunts with her own.
    Garnet: Peridot! We're here to—
    Pearl: And you'll never get away with this!
    Peridot: Don't you Gems have anything better to do than annoy me?
    Amethyst: Nope! We're gonna—
    Pearl: Prepare to be annoyed!
  • Schizo Tech: The Walls Are Closing In trap is a particularly odd example, given it's apparently operated by wireless clockwork. More generally, the advanced starship has lasers mixed with traps that one might expect in Indiana Jones.
  • Screens Are Cameras: Peridot face on the big screen looks downward at the Crystal Gems at its base, which wouldn't require the camera and screen Peridot is looking at to be at a low angle.
  • Shout-Out: Steven says "Good mornin'!" to Peridot.
  • Talk to the Fist: Peridot seems to think that Talking Is a Free Action when she's trying to escape. Steven shuts her up by grabbing onto her leg and tries to drag her down.
  • This Is a Drill: Sardonyx transforms her hammer into one in order to escape.
  • Throwing Your Shield Always Works: Steven at one point tosses his shield at Peridot. It just bounces off her face, but points for his aim.
  • Took a Level in Badass:
    • Steven manages to use three shields in one day, two large and one small, when he previously collapsed from summoning one large shield back in "The Return".
    • Peridot actually fights the Gems this time. She even lured them into a death trap to try and finish them off.
  • Vagueness Is Coming: Though it goes unremarked upon, Peridot mentions that Earth has an "expiration date", one she doesn't plan on sticking around to be there for.
  • The Walls Are Closing In: Garnet and Pearl end up in one of these.
  • Worldbuilding: We learn that Gems used spaceships like the one in the episode to come to Earth before the Warp Pads were built.
  • Wrong Genre Savvy: Pearl thought Peridot was trying in vain to repair the ship and fly off. She actually converted the whole thing into a giant Death Trap that they walked right into.
  • You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Garnet tells Pearl this when they're trapped together.

 
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Garnet and Pearl reconcile

After spending a few episodes with Garnet being angry at Pearl for abusing their fusion as Sardonyx, the two gems reconcile, with each of them complimenting one another.

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