I was kind of surprised by that too. You'd think Pearl could just keep one in her gem.

Man, I love Steven Floats! It's such a relaxing episode - low stakes, Steven being his enthusiastic self, that wonderful "fresh" slow-mo, one-phrase summaries that reintroduce Beach City residents perfectly… Plus, a reference to that baseball pitch that hit a bird!

Yeah, I kept wondering if it would turn out that Vanessa had killed him or contributed to his death somehow. I agree that the Verbis Diablo part was unclear, but like you said it seems like it was present-day Vanessa reacting to the visions she had then. Lucifer and Dracula must have been so relieved when they found…

Definitely all conjecture for now, though I think the 'corruption ray/bomb' theory is more likely, since the corrupted gems we've seen aren't actually damaged, it's just that their forms are monstrous.

The storyboarders (Lamar Abrams and Katie Mitroff) have been with the show for a long time, actually. Lamar is the only storyboarder credited for both Onion Trade and Beach Party, so those are good examples of his style, while Katie's done episodes like Steven's Birthday and Alone Together. In Steven's Birthday, I…

Like Steven's! I think it's just how Lamar and Katie draw them.

There's a theory that Homeworld deployed some sort of weapon that led to the corruption of gems on Earth after they left, so maybe the flash was hinting at that. I think Greg mentioned in The Return that Rose was 'only able to save a few of her closest friends' or something.

I'm really itching to spend some more time with Beach City's residents. We haven't seen them since Sadie's Song, right? Like 9 episodes ago?

The Crewniverse really does know what we want before we do…

Didn't know about the "phantom limb" theory - thanks!

Yes please! He already knows what she looks like because of her message in Cry for Help (and he referenced her appearance in his latest KBCW blog post). I really hope it happens!

Oh man, now I wish they'd had a segment with Peridot discovering food!

From the 'melded to your body' comment, I wonder if Peridot's limb enhancers were something attached to her body ever since she was created - as in, she had never experienced not having them before. Maybe that would explain why she ran around on all fours so much immediately after re-forming?

That was great to see! I wonder if they got Opal's voice actress in just to do that grunt when she was stretching…

Yeah, and Pearl used to have more see-through elements on her outfit, which she's gotten rid of in her most recent form.

That was hilarious. Poor Greg!

This episode really showcased SU's signature mix of humor and heart! They really used the flashback structure from the recordings to full advantage in order to pick out specific moments highlighting Peridot's realization of Earth's value; it's more realistic for it to have happened over a longer time, so it feels…

Nope! And now I never want to!

We've also got Ruby firebending, Sapphire ice-bending (and flying), Garnet lightning-bending, and Pearl air-bending (those clouds in Sworn to the Sword).

Definitely - the Crewniverse did a great job of building the arc of Peridot becoming more and more desperate while still escaping the CGs after each encounter because of factors like unseen abilities (handcopter, detachable foot) or poor teamwork (Pearl's overeagerness). Once the CG's had seen all her tricks and were…