okay, so, here’s how i think whatever happens in Message Received even happens in the first place:

as far as we know, it seems like Peridot’s previous cries for help haven’t been too successful. let’s say that the gem technology left on Earth isn’t strong enough to send a full message all the way to Homeworld.

but - what about the Moon? perhaps there’s some tech on there that’s powerful enough to send a message? as far as we know, in It Could’ve Been Great, the Crystal Gems go to the Moon for who knows what. their only choice is to take Peridot with them, because, I mean, it probably wouldn’t be the best idea to leave her alone. who knows what she could get up to…

let’s say that when the Gems get to the moon, they go to investigate something and while they’re distracted, Peridot goes off on her own and finds a communication device of some sort, which she would use to send the message that is probably received in the following episode



perhaps the Gems find out about this when it’s too late to prevent it from getting sent, or perhaps they never find out about the message until Message Received.

who knows?

