Original airdate: February 19th, 2015
Production code: 1026-043
Steven and Connie are curled up by the fire in Steven's room, roasting marshmallows while Connie dorks out about the many ingredients in the white puffballs, including hooves, collagen and sugar. Their fun is interrupted, however, when they receive a call from Connie's mother telling her that a huge storm is moving in, and that she has to return home this very moment to prevent her from getting snowed out.
The Crystal Gems walk in and Steven explains the situation, briefly hoping that maybe it won't snow after all, and Connie will be able to stay. Garnet says, emphatically, that it most definitely will snow. Then she kisses Steven on the forehead, and urges him to do the "right thing".
The two kids head off to Greg to get a ride to Connie's house, but Steven does his best to procrastinate (or "kill time") by making him change into various clothes, eventually settling on a ridiculous disco outfit. Finally the three of them set off, only for the van to skid on the icy road and get stuck in a snow bank. Greg, determined to be viewed as a responsible parent, insists that they get out of the car and walk to Connie's house, despite the terrible weather. Hours later and they arrive, freezing, with a sneezing Connie, to a pair of extremely angry Maheswarans. Though they do grudgingly allow the two Universes to stay the night, both storm out of the room, leaving a disappointed Greg and a sad Steven, who realizes that he may have jeopardized the chance to see his best friend ever again.
But then, he sees a strange, glowing, hypnotic pattern on the back of Greg's outfit...
...and the next thing he knows, he's back in the van just as it crashes.
Though disoriented and confused, Steven immediately orders his dad to let them stay in the car. So they do, and have an enjoyable time of it, even sharing a delicious dinner. However, Connie's father calls, telling her he's 'almost to Beach City' and to 'get her shoes on'. This is not a good thing, because it turns out that Mr. Maheswaran is terrible at driving in the snow; despite Connie's frantic warnings, he appears from around a corner, loses control and crashes right into the van!
...except suddenly Steven finds himself back at the car wash, in the middle of a snowball fight with Connie.
Now more than a little scared, he freaks out, flinging away his dad's keys, and screaming about how "bad things" will happen if they leave Beach City. Though the Maheswaran parents don't believe his rantings, Connie trusts Steven (even when he throws away her phone), and allows herself to be dragged back to Steven's house.
There they find the Crystal Gems sitting on the Warp Pad, a glowing shooting star hovering in the middle of them. Pearl expresses fear about the delicate operation they're about to perform; send the shooting star, and only the shooting star, to the Galaxy Warp, destroying it completely. If successful, they might completely block off the Homeworld gems. If unsuccessful, the Star could infinitely explode within the warp...
That's the moment Steven makes his presence known. A flustered Pearl freaks out, and despite the other Gems' warnings, drops the star. It explodes, totally obliterating the temple...
...but Steven finds himself staring up into the face of Garnet, a moment after her kiss.
It turns out that she briefly gave her Future Vision abilities to him, and nothing that he just saw actually happened. The boy realizes what he must do, and hurriedly drags Connie to Greg's van. They leave right away, and arrive at the Maheswaran household safely, and are welcomed to stay the night in order to avoid the storm. Later, when everyone else is asleep, Connie sneaks out to the living room where Steven is curled up on the couch. Together, the two of them watch the snow falling outside.
Tropes:
- Accidental Tickle Torture: When Garnet kisses Steven on the forehead giving him his Temporary Future Vision, Steven states it tickles.
- All According to Plan: Garnet really needed the kids to stay away from the temple that night. She'd probably watched all the visions herself before sharing them with Steven.
- All Just a Dream: Everything from when Garnet kissed Steven's forehead until the last two minutes turned out to be a vision that her kiss granted him.
- As You Know: The Gems explain to each other what the Shooting Star is and what they're doing with for the benefit of the audience.
- Attack! Attack... Retreat! Retreat!: Mr. Maheswaran's confidence in driving through the snow takes a sudden drop when his car pulls a 270 and goes on a collision course with Greg's van.Mr. Maheswaran: I got it. I got it. I—oh, oh! I don't got it! I don't have anything!
- Bait-and-Switch Comment:Greg: (wearing a ridiculous 70s outfit with platform shoes and shoulder pads) OK, how about this one?
Steven: I can't lie... that is the best outfit I have ever seen. - Bland-Name Product: Steven says he wants to show Connie a TubeTube video.
- Brick Joke:
- Greg initially chooses a cherry-themed sweater to impress Connie's parents, which Steven suggests may not be the best choice. When they make it there at the end, Connie's father compliments the sweater, proving Greg right.
- After Steven advises camping out in the van instead of walking, Connie says her parents are all about safety. Her mom says the exact same thing when advising Greg and Steven to stay over instead of driving back through the snow.
- Call-Back: In "Future Vision", Garnet explains how her future vision works: she sees multiple possible outcomes for a situation, and chooses the right one. Steven experiences this first hand after she kisses his forehead.
- Continuity Nod:
- Steven is still not allowed to watch TV, having been grounded from doing so for 1000 years in "Fusion Cuisine".
- Steven tells Connie about Garnet's future vision.
- Greg asks about wearing the turtleneck he wore when meeting with Connie's parents in "Fusion Cuisine". Steven says he'll make them think it's his only fancy shirt, but Greg admits it is.
- In the "stay in the van" path, Greg makes egg sandwiches using the waffle iron he brandished when Steven woke him up in "Laser Light Cannon".
- The Gems are trying to use the Shooting Star from "Monster Buddies" to destroy the Galaxy Warp and prevent the Homeworld Gems from reaching Earth.
- Costume-Test Montage: Steven has Greg try out a variety of outfits to waste time, with the last one being a disco outfit. To indicate the passage of time, Steven and Connie assemble a snowman piece by piece.
- Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The Gems try to warp the Shooting Star to the Galaxy Warp to blow it up, even though it could blow them up if they set it off early, they could accidentally warps themselves with it, or it could explode mid-warp and cause some sort of Negative Space Wedgie. Steven interrupting in the third vision causes the first one to happen, killing everyone.
- Distinction Without a Difference: Steven's response to Connie asking if Steven is procrastinating.Connie: Steven, are you procrastinating?
Steven: Nah, just killing time. - Fish Eyes: Steven's eyes look in opposite direction for a split-second when Connie throws a snowball at his head.
- Friendly Tickle Torture: When Garnet kisses Steven on the forehead, it sparkles and he says that it tickles. Later we find out that when doing so, Garnet grants Steven the temporary ability to see into the future in order to make the right choice in taking Connie home.
- Godzilla Threshold: The plan to use the Shooting Star to permanently destroy the Galaxy Warp is clearly one of desperation. If they screw up it could detonate inside the warp forever, and it might not keep the Homeworld Gems from finding an alternate route. As Steven demonstrates, the slightest slip in concentration would also be pretty bad for Beach City.
- Gratuitous Japanese: Connie says "itadakimasu", a phrase used in Japan before eating a meal, when Greg makes egg sandwiches in his van.
- "Groundhog Day" Loop: Steven keeps re-experiencing the trip to take Connie home, going further back each time, which turns out to be a result of Garnet's Future Vision.
- Idiot Ball: Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl could have teleported the Shooting Star to the Galaxy Warp from any Warp Pad, but still chose the one in front of the temple, which was the most likely to be disturbed and get someone else killed if they messed up.
- Just in Time: Mr. Maheswaran calls Connie on the phone to let him know he's going to pick her up at Steven house right before he passes Connie in Greg's van on the road (or would have if he hadn't crashed).
- Mental Time Travel: Steven appears to have his mind travel back whenever he fails, going further back with each jump. In fact, none of these events happened at all, they were just projections in his head.
- Mind Screw: Things quickly start getting weirder, with Steven experiencing various scenes over again with his memories intact. It's revealed at the end that Garnet gave him a glimpse of the future by kissing him on the forehead.
- Mood Whiplash: At first it seems like a Breather Episode, but then Steven is somehow in a "Groundhog Day" Loop that keeps getting worse with each interation.
- Moral Luck: In the end of the last vision, Steven walks in on the Crystal Gems, distracting them enough to fumble the Shooting Star and destroy everything. Steven takes it as another sign he had to get Connie home, but all he really did was walk into his own home while someone else was doing something incredibly dangerous without warning.
- Morton's Fork: Steven's visions have bad outcomes no matter what he does, until he finally wakes up from the vision and makes the right choice to begin with.
- Mundane Luxury: Since Greg lives in his van, he doesn't have very high standards for furniture.Mr. Maheswaran: I'll make up the couch.
Greg: A couch? Oh-la-la! Chateau Maheswaran! - Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Steven's future visions are a series of screw ups.
- In the first, Steven procrastinates so he can spend more time with Connie. This causes Greg to wipe out on the icy roads, forcing them to walk Connie home, making her parents mad and possibly getting her sick.
- In the next, Steven instead convinces Greg to stay in the van. This results in Connie's father trying to drive out to them and crashing into the van.
- In the final vision, Steven tries to avoid going to Connie's altogether. He runs home and ends up interrupting the Gems as they're attempting to warp the Shooting Star to the Galaxy Warp, causing them to lose focus and drop it. The resulting explosion kills all of them.
- Power Copying: Garnet temporarily grants Steven her seer powers.
- Reactive Continuous Scream: When Greg's van loses traction on the ice, Connie, Greg, and Steven all start screaming in unison, pausing whenever the windshield is covered with snow, and resuming whenever it's cleared by the windshield wipers.
- Seers: Garnet gives Steven a taste of her Future Vision.
- Serial Escalation: The scenarios keep getting worse. The first just ends with Connie getting a cold, Greg's van getting stuck in place, and Steven and Greg looking irresponsible to her parents. The second has Connie's father crash into Greg's van because he can't drive well in the snow. The last ends with the Shooting Star exploding, destroying the temple and presumably killing Steven, Connie and the Gems along with it.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Steven uses the knowledge from the visions to get Connie home safely.
- Ship Tease: There's a lot of Steven/Connie shipping in this episode, especially in the first few minutes and at the end.
- Smash to Black: A peaceful one. The episode ends without an Iris Out, shifting from the snowfall outside the window straight to the credits.
- Snowed-In: In the first vision, Steven and Greg end up at Connie's house late at night without a car, and her dad begrudgingly lets them stay over. In the second, Steven, Connie, and Greg get snowed in and end up staying in the van. At the end, Steven and Greg are invited to stay at Connie's house rather than try to make it back home in the storm, this time on much friendlier terms.
- Sweet and Sour Grapes: Steven wants to spend more time with Connie, but seeing all the different paths makes him realize getting her safely home is more important. When Steven makes sure they leave immediately, Connie's parents let Steven and Greg stay over for the night, even letting them watch the snow together like Steven wanted.
- Toilet Humor: When Connie says marshmallows are made from "animal by-products" Steven at first thinks she means poop.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl's attempt to blow up the Galaxy Warp with the Shooting Star is implied to have gone undisturbed in the actual timeline, but we're given no idea how it went. Them, the temple, and the warp system remaining unharmed would suggest they were successful, but we eventually see the Galaxy Warp again, inexplicably still in tact (beside the main dais Garnet already smashed).
- You Have to Believe Me!: After the first two visions, Steven throws away his dad's keys and Connie's phone while manically insisting that Connie stay in Beach City, because if she leaves "Bad things are gonna happen. I've seen it. Bad things! Several bad things!" Despite clearly thinking he sounds crazy, Connie goes along with it.
