Cry for Help (Steven Universe)

"Cry for Help" is the eleventh episode of the second season of American animated television series Steven Universe, which premiered on July 13, 2015 on Cartoon Network and was watched by 1.714 million viewers. The episode was written and storyboarded by Joe Johnston and Jeff Liu.

The episode follows Steven and the Gems attempting to destroy a Gem communication hub when TV broadcasts are disrupted by signals emitted by Peridot from the tower. In order to demolish the tower, Garnet and Pearl fuse into Sardonyx, leaving Amethyst in dismay. However, as the tower keeps getting fixed, Steven and Amethyst are shocked to see who's really behind the repairs.

Plot

While Steven (Zach Callison) & Amethyst (Michaela Dietz) were watching the fictional cartoon Crying Breakfast Friends, a transmission from Peridot (Shelby Rabara) interrupts the show asking for help from her superior, Yellow Diamond. Garnet (Estelle) correctly deduces that the signal is coming from the Communication Hub.

The Crystal Gems travel to the Communication Hub on the back of Steven's pet lion (while Steven stays in Lion's mane), as the Warp Pad was destroyed when Sugilite (Nicki Minaj) damaged it while in her rampage the first time they destroyed the Hub. They find that the hub had been rebuilt with what was left of its remains the last time it was destroyed. Steven suggests forming Sugilite, however Garnet says that last time was a disaster and asks Pearl (Deedee Magno) to fuse with her as they need to be more careful.

Garnet and Pearl perform a fusion dance in order to form Sardonyx (Alexia Khadime). Sardonyx opens like a radio host, and she makes a big show of how excited she is to be fused. After this, she forms Pearl's spear, but then she remembers her fusion weapon, and fuses Garnet's gauntlets onto the top of Pearl's spear, forming her warhammer. She then starts taking out the individual pillars until she finally gets to the top, taking out the last pillar and safely disabling the Hub. She then makes an exit line and defuses.

Garnet and Pearl dance together in excitement and happiness after defusing, and they are joined by Steven. They are happy to express their victory, and share congratulatory words. Pearl wonders why they don't do that more often, as Amethyst sulks from a distance. Back at their home, Steven and Garnet are watching Crying Breakfast Friends when the television receives static, and they all leave for the Communication Hub yet again.

Garnet and Pearl fuse again to form Sardonyx. While they are busy disassembling the Communication Hub, Amethyst begins to sing the song "Tower of Mistakes", expressing her sadness and blaming herself for Sugilite's actions.

Later, Steven and Amethyst, along with Lion, arrive at the Communication Hub for surveillance. They know that Peridot had come back to repair the hub twice, and they can only assume that she will return to repair the hub again. Both of them spot Peridot's escape pod approaching the hub at a high velocity. They are confused as to how Peridot has access to her escape pod, since they had taken it into the temple, therefore rendering Peridot helpless to retrieve it.

The pod begins to reassemble the Communication Hub and the rider gets out to see the structural integrity. After focusing in using his telescope, Steven sees that it is actually Pearl who has rebuilt the hub. The next day as Steven and Amethyst discuss Pearl's deception, the TV begins to static. Pearl exclaims that Peridot had repaired the Communication Hub, urging Garnet to destroy it. Garnet is frustrated that her future vision does not reveal them capturing Peridot, unaware of Pearl's deception. The Crystal Gems then depart for the hub again.

As Pearl is eager to keep fusing with Garnet into Sardonyx, Amethyst realizes her motives for rebuilding the hub, and at the last minute she stops Pearl and Garnet from fusing. Steven hesitantly states that he and Amethyst saw Pearl repairing the hub, and suggests that she confess to Garnet. Realizing her plan is revealed, Pearl apologizes to Garnet and tells her that it's just fun to be Sardonyx with her. Garnet throws Pearl to the ground, realizing why she could not see them apprehending Peridot in her future vision. Garnet angrily chastises Pearl for her deception. Pearl tries to explain herself, but Garnet angrily rebukes her. Amethyst comes to her defense, saying that fusing with her is their one chance to feel stronger. Garnet furiously refutes her argument, stating that Pearl's selfish actions in light of Peridot's potential threat were in vain. Pearl tries to explain further, but Garnet cuts her off. Garnet asks Amethyst to fuse with her, in order to "just get this over with" and finish the mission. Sugilite proceeds to destroy the Communication Hub in a single punch while Pearl looks on in horror.

Later, Steven and Amethyst are back home watching Crying Breakfast Friends. Pearl enters the house and walks towards the temple gate, and Garnet warps back from the pad and walks towards the door. They silently walk past each other, with Pearl visibly saddened. Garnet's anger drives her to ultimately sever interaction with her. Amethyst and Steven notice them, as Amethyst wistfully remarks how the situation could resolve itself like "the way things worked out in cartoons". Steven agrees as he shuts off the television.

Production

Episodes of Steven Universe are written and storyboarded by a single team. "Cry for Help" was written by Joe Johnston and Jeff Liu, while Ki-Yong Bae and Jin-Hee Park provided animation direction, and Jasmin Lai served as art director.

Sugilite's tower-smashing punch was inspired by the "Twister-Sock Punch" from Popeye and Donkey Kong's "Giant Punch" from Super Smash Bros.^[1] Pearl and Garnet's fusion dance was inspired by the choreography of K-pop artist Sunmi. The storyboards were timed to the track "Full Moon".^[2]

Music

The episode features the song "Tower of Mistakes". The song was written by Jeff Liu and features vocals by Michaela Dietz as Amethyst.^[3]

Broadcast and reception

"Cry for Help" premiered on Cartoon Network on July 13, 2015. Its initial American broadcast was viewed by approximately 1.714 million viewers. It received a Nielsen household rating of 0.4, meaning that it was seen by 0.4% of all households.^[4] The episode was the first in a "StevenBomb", which refers to a programming schedule in which one new episode of Steven Universe airs daily during the regular work week.

The episode received positive attention from critics, particularly for the emotional maturity of the story. Also highlighted was the introduction of Sardonyx and Amethyst's character development. Eric Thurm of The A.V. Club said that the confrontation between Garnet and Pearl was "maybe the single most complex moment of the show to date", calling it "rich, complicated, heartbreaking, and simply human".^[5] Vrai Kaiser of The Mary Sue opined that "that Steven Universe has reached that level of writing complexity in a relatively short time span is nothing short of astounding".^[6]

References

External links

• Cry for Help at the Internet Movie Database