“That’s okay! I don’t know anything all the time!”

It’s, like, his whole life.

A common complaint about Steven is that, in his own words, he “never asks follow-up questions.” Indeed, many of the show’s “mysteries” are just things Steven hasn’t openly wondered about. Bismuth would’ve arrived ages earlier if Steven had asked anyone about the weird bubbled gem in Lion’s mane, and we might know the contents of the unmentioned treasure box as well. While the Crystal Gems might keep mum about the more painful details, and Pearl was physically unable to talk about major aspects of the past, they’d surely be able to answer basic lore questions, like what the massive fusion whose likeness encases the Temple was called (it’s Obsidian, by the way).

But if it was that easy, this would be a pretty boring show. And beyond Steven Universe existing in a medium that requires certain suspensions of disbelief for its pacing and tension to work, I can easily forgive Steven’s gaps in curiosity as the normal behavior of a kid his age. He’s not watching a cartoon and thirsty for worldbuilding, he’s living in that world and getting by just fine. How many of you circa age thirteen (mental age a bit younger) were burning with questions about what your parents did before you were born? And if you’re in that group, how would that curiosity be affected by living in a world where literal magic exists to distract you?

Regardless, this occasionally frustrating trait gets a full reversal in Marble Madness that neatly sets up Season 1′s endgame. Suddenly Steven has questions galore, and it’s the Gems whose knowledge is stunted by lack of curiosity. We haven’t seen a “Steven isn’t taken seriously” plot since Future Vision, and while Marble Madness is a low-key variant (Steven never gets upset at his treatment, the Gems aren’t too condescending) it’s vital to keep this plot point alive as the finale approaches.

Marble Madness isn’t so much a set-up episode as it is a pivot. It certainly has all the pros and cons of a table setter, ratcheting up tension and preparing the viewer for the season’s endgame without providing much internal resolution; the inversion of the star wipe ending practically screams “But wait, there’s more!” Still, a good portion of its runtime is devoted to callbacks to preceding episodes in a way that doesn’t prepare us for the future, but acknowledges how we got to this point.

It isn’t just the references to Warp Tour, which are plentiful. Peridot’s return is bound to draw comparisons on its own, but we also follow the same multi-location structure as the Crystal Gems hunt down Peridot’s robonoids, visiting Mask Island, Lion’s desert, and finally Kindergarten. Kindergarten, of course, harks back to On the Run, and after a brief recap of the area (courtesy of Pearl, cue another “of course”) we quietly see how uncomfortable Amethyst gets upon realizing its connection to the invaders.

Peridot brings up the Red Eye from all the way back in Laser Light Cannon (an episode we’re primed to think about right after Maximum Capacity, by the way), as well as the Crying Breakfast Friends sticker that brings us back to Space Race. Steven’s love of funky flow from Bubble Buddies makes a return, and his newfound love of books, prompted by Fusion Cuisine’s TV Ban and shown in On the Run and Maximum Capacity, makes up the episode’s entire subplot.

A more refined and intense version of the callback/set-up pivot episode is coming soon in The Return, but Marble Madness acquits itself well enough. Still, between the weight of its pivotal role and its attempt to make room for its own plot, it buckles a bit. Again, there’s no real resolution within the episode itself: Steven’s arc is about wanting to know more in spite of the Gems wanting to punch their way through the problem, but he doesn’t actually get the satisfaction of learning anything by the end. The Crystal Gems already knew Peridot was connected to the robonoids, and while we now vaguely know that Kindergarten is involved (something eagle-eared viewers already heard in Warp Tour, mind you) there are zero details beyond this. Really, Peridot learns way more than Steven does: Gems are still on Earth (which sets up this season’s endgame), humans are still on Earth (which sets up Season 4′s endgame), and there’s a single group responsible for breaking all her stuff and putting bizarre icons on warp pads.

In terms of looking ahead, this is wonderful. We’ve seen the Crystal Gems worried before, but now we know just how out of their depth they really are compared to Homeworld. Throughout the episode (and the series), the camera looks up at the Gems and down on Steven when they converse, given their relative sizes; even when they’re confused, the Gems are the authority here. Peridot looming over everyone ramps up this effect to a frightening degree, even when she’s complaining about bureaucratic jargon—and retroactively the scene is even stronger considering Peridot’s own issues with height.

Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl don’t know anything about this new Homeworld threat, and while Steven may be able to relate, uncertainty a scary thing in such a dangerous situation. I love that Garnet and Pearl are far more upset than Amethyst during the hunts, given their firsthand experience (and Pearl’s unease with not knowing stuff, cue Rose’s Scabbard). The Gems have been on edge since Warp Tour, but it’s about to accelerate to outright panic, and this is an important step in that direction.

Buuuuut in terms of Marble Madness on its own, this conclusion is disappointing. This may be the point, as it leaves us itching for more, but any lesson about the importance of inquisitiveness is undermined by the Crystal Gems failing to gain information, Steven ostensibly causing more harm than good by revealing that Gems remain on Earth, and Garnet chastising his “pretty bad idea.”

This isn’t to say I dislike Marble Madness. I’m thrilled we go back down to Kindergarten, and get our first taste of what will later become the eerie Gem Shard theme in Keeping It Together. I love confirming that Peridot is just a flunkie, even in her visually spectacular Andross form, and I’m all in on her thematic connection to robotic hands—particularly the way her robonoid transforms into one by rearranging its legs. The fraying Gems are depicted outstandingly, between Pearl’s aforementioned ranting and Garnet’s terse frustration. And Steven gets to be doofy without devolving into Annoying Steven, which was a real possibility in an episode where his inelegance endangers the team.

But best of all, we get Connie’s subplot. As a librarian and veteran bookseller, I’m all about booktalking. For those not in The Biz (god I’m cool), booktalking isn’t simply talking about books (although I mean I also love that) but pitching a book to a potential reader in a way that excites, but doesn’t spoil. A good booktalk is one that’s adapted to the listener and takes their values into account, and a good librarian or bookseller can pick up on what books make a good fit.

Connie’s a hell of a booktalker, and her rich description of The Unfamiliar Familiar—Book 1 of The Spirit Morph Saga—reveals the crew’s love of His Dark Materials: Lisa’s name is interchangeable with Lyra, and familiars bear a strong resemblance to Phillip Pullman’s daemons (down to Archimicarus’s absurd name evoking Lyra’s own Pantalaimon). There’s also hints of A Wrinkle in Time, another favorite of Connie’s, in Lisa’s missing father, although honestly that’s also getting into Subtle Knife territory.

Beyond the introduction, Connie’s exuberance over her favorite book series hits me where I live. It’s not much different from her regular exuberance (if Grace Rolek’s read on a post-explosion “I love hanging out at your place” is any indication), but seeing it transform into trepidation as she hopes against hope that Steven likes it as much as she does, and frustration when he doesn’t get basic elements of reading a series, confirms that she’s One Of Us.

As with the main plot, Connie’s book adventures don’t actually resolve here; again, this episode is beholden to the future at the expense of the present. This crew can usually do enough in eleven minutes to get a sense of completion even when there’s obviously more to come, and no matter how great certain elements of Marble Madness is, when a episode that isn’t a two-parter lacks closure at its ending it can be really

Future Vision!

Dr. Maheswaran is half right: “Steven Universe” is Steven’s real name, but Gem Harvest teaches us that Greg changed his own surname from the way cooler “De Mayo.”



Steven’s real name, but teaches us that Greg changed his own surname from the way cooler “De Mayo.” Mentioned briefly above, but Steven’s list of humans comes roaring back out of nowhere to set up Aquamarine and Topaz’s string of kidnappings that consume the end of Season 4. It’s so distant and so specific that I Am My Mom spares time for a straight flashback to Marble Madness; this is a J.K. Rowling-level Chekhov’s Minor Detail, and I love it.

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

Connie. Buddy. You can’t read from the middle of the book and pretend you’ve just started.



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



Again, I like this one a lot, but its flawed conclusion on a structural level harms it more than episodes like Maximum Capacity, whose conclusions I found flawed on a story level. As part of a binge, Marble Madness is great. But on its own, it needs to end at least one of its two plots, and no amount of book love can push it into the Top Ten.

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4. Horror Club

3. Fusion Cuisine

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