“Let—ME—OOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT!”

First, let’s do what this episode does best, and set the mood. There are mystery episodes, and then there are horror episodes, and then there are lore episodes, and then there’s Mirror Gem.

As a viewpoint character, Steven thrives by knowing as little as we do about the world he lives in. It gives us a companion in our discoveries, someone who’s just as mystified or frightened as an outside observer, and we form a natural bond as fellow explorers. He’s no blank slate avatar for the viewer to project themselves onto, however, with a strong personality that has emerged and evolved over the past twenty-four episodes.

When he’s gifted with a magic mirror that gradually reveals a personality, he’s too innocent to think that it might be treacherous. But we’ve seen plenty of stories like this, so we know the lesson best summed up by Arthur Weasley in Chamber of Secrets: “Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain.”

The Mirror may seem friendly, but it’s unsettling to see sentience where we don’t expect it. As the pressure mounts, a rift forms between us and Steven. Like a team of teens splitting into groups in a slasher flick, it’s easy to judge Steven from the couch for falling for such an obvious ploy. Our well-tuned Bad Idea radars are reinforced by the Gems’ strong reaction, making it crystal clear that pulling the gem from The Mirror won’t end well. But red flags be damned, Steven does it anyway.

The joke’s on us. Without warning, we’re thrust right back into Steven’s point of view, because neither of us expects anything like Lapis Lazuli.

Mirror Gem has the single biggest twist of the series. It’s in good company for sure: everything changes when you realize Pearl was in love with Rose and that Garnet is a fusion and that Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond. But nothing fundamentally redirects the show more than the revelation that the Gems are not alone. What was once a story about a boy growing up with magical heroes becomes an adventure, an adventure with sides, and with this information we can never go back to just hanging out forever. There’s a looming threat, and a bigger story to be told.

I’m gonna cash in the points I’ve been saving up on my Snooty Card to make the following ridiculous observation: Mirror Gem is like the cartoon equivalent of Maurice Ravel’s Boléro, a piece that’s just one big crescendo. It starts as unassuming as can be, but with every minute the tension elevates without dialing back, ending not with a victory but an explosion. Watching Mirror Gem is like climbing a volcano. But with fart jokes.

We begin with Connie, herald of change. She introduces Steven to the concepts of school and summer vacation, and it’s a testament to the characters that this could have been an entire episode about the Gems trying their hand at traditional education, and it would’ve been great. Instead, Pearl takes the prompt of teaching to, in a dramatic dance reminiscent of Lars and the Cool Kids, summon The Mirror. Lapis’s theme plays as a music box piece.

The promise of learning about Gem culture may prime us for a lore episode, but The Mirror doesn’t seem to work, so we instead shift into Steven’s infectious excitement over his “summer break” as he encounters various Beach City citizens.

This is the ultimate form of the “Steven hangs out in Beach City” plot, with The Mirror’s sudden burst of intelligence the metaphorical car bomb in an unaware driver’s trunk. He thinks he’s having a fun day, but we know The Mirror has its own plans.

Even so, we’re eased into the artifact’s powers when Steven nearly dies impersonating Michael Jackson, and The Mirror’s initial “Nooooo!” is followed by Mayor Dewey sternly addressing Steven as “Car Wash Kid.” The waves of humor distract us at first, but the dread sets in as Steven has his first conversation with his “new friend” and Lapis’s theme repeats, adding her signature celesta. And just in case any of us are willing to give a Steven-like benefit of the doubt, when he asks what life is like for a mirror, it ominously replies “You work!”

A good amount of time is spent making fart noises during Mayor Dewey’s speech, until the night falls over Steven and The Mirror. The reflection of a laughing Steven multiplies as he finally realizes it can think, and he doesn’t see the problem with its argument against being shown to the Gems.

That whole second act hammers in the relationship between boy and object so efficiently that we’re actually only halfway done with the episode in terms of runtime; this is a tactic the Crewniverse will use time and again to add extra weight to big third acts, and every time I’m amazed at how well they manage their eleven minutes. Now that the table has been set at a brisk but pleasant pace, the plot slows down to show the gravity of Steven’s discovery in full detail.

We’ve only seen true fear in the Gems in So Many Birthdays, when they believe Steven is dying, so it says quite a bit that the above is their reaction to his proclamation that The Mirror is “like a person.” When Steven gently confronts his new friend’s silence, Lapis’s theme repeats, adding subtle chiptunes to connect it with Steven’s own signature instrument.

Garnet seems calm, but as she tries to talk Steven into giving her The Mirror, she threatens him for the first time in the series, pointing out she could just take it from him if she wanted to. Estelle’s authoritative voice is constantly interrupted by The Mirror screaming in protest using Steven’s voice. She reaches not only towards Steven, but towards us.

(I’m starting to get why the Centipeetle reacted so strongly to her gauntlets.)

After one last shot of Steven’s reflection, he knocks away Garnet’s hand, which knocks away her sunglasses. I mentioned in my review of Arcade Mania that I would’ve liked this to be the first time we see Garnet’s face, and since then I rewatched a good portion of the series with a friend where the former episode was skipped. And yeah, her reaction to the third eye in Mirror Gem was about what I’d expected: an audible wide-eyed gasp. Garnet, Steven’s strongest protector, is made into an intimidating and unearthly presence.

Steven’s fear, now compounded with his guilt over accidentally hitting Garnet and worry over getting punished, drives him from the house. When he hides and once again questions The Mirror, its response sends chills up my spine no matter how many times I’ve watched it. First, as Lars, it repeats “Away from home.” And then it forms a new sentence through echoing words, ending Garnet’s shout with a brand new T to give us the header quote. It shows an original image to boot: Steven removing the gem.

And then Steven reflects The Mirror.

Even at this point, knowing that something is different, I hadn’t predicted that the gem would unleash…well, a Gem. Lapis’s theme repeats, back to the original music box instrumentation, but slowed to a dirge.

Lapis Lazuli’s very existence is enough of a twist, but she ratchets up the mystery with every line. After thanking Steven, her first thought is confusion over why a Crystal Gem would release her, and Steven’s reaction is about the same as ours. His entire world is upside down, and after an episode full of him dominating a conversation, he’s at a total loss for words.

The Gems aren’t all on the same side—and the ones we’ve gotten to know for the entire series might not be the good ones. The situation may be cleared up soon, but within Mirror Gem this reveal is incredible, not only because of how monumental this shift would be, but because we’re convinced it might actually be possible in just eleven minutes.

When the Crystal Gems appear, Lapis’s mounting fury never hides how reasonable her questions are in regards to her imprisonment. As she wipes them out with ease, her theme repeats with strings and a roaring piano, only to calm back down when she offers to take Steven “home.”

Yet another bombshell: the Gems aren’t from around here. It’s been hinted at, with their immense ages and Pearl’s praise of Earth, but this is the moment where it’s made clear that we’re dealing with aliens. This isn’t fantasy, it’s sci-fi.

(Okay, it’s still fantasy, but it’s sci-fi also.)

We don’t know where “home” is, but Lapis’s desire to take Steven solidifies her good intentions as she parts the sea like Moses to liberate him. She’s not a cackling water witch and she doesn’t continue to fight the Crystal Gems, even though it’s obvious she could. She doesn’t kidnap Steven, or get angry when he doesn’t join her. This isn’t your everyday monster sealed in an object.

The last line is a joke from Garnet, an attempt similar to Rose’s Room to ease the episode’s tense atmosphere. It doesn’t quite work, but it doesn’t ruin the tone either, so I forgive it. What’s more, her line doesn’t actually close out the episode. Instead, the camera cuts to the horizon, and the show’s signature five-pointed star ending pauses over a twinkling little four-pointed sibling, up above the world so high.

Like a Diamond in the sky.



Future Vision!



It takes a flight over Jersey, but Steven and Lapis will blow raspberries together again.

If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn’t have inconsistencies…

I get that Steven can be oblivious, but he’s really never seen a TV show or watched a movie that has school in it?



We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

Few episodes can reliably stir such strong emotions; just as Steven and the Stevens will always fill me with joy, Mirror Gem will always give me goosebumps. Rare is the twist episode that remains just as entertaining to viewers who know the twist. It remains my favorite lore-focused episode in the series, putting it at #3 overall, but until we get to Hit the Diamond it’s gonna linger at #2.

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