Review: Steven Universe “Are You My Dad?”

Mysteries solved.

Spoilers Below

The episode starts off with Steven waiting for Jamie the mail guy to show up with a package he ordered but strangely he doesn’t show up. Steven comes across sour cream who tells him that he made a “Missing Persons” report and is hanging posters of his little brother Onion who’s been gone for a few days and asks Steven on his behalf to see if he can hang one at the donut shop since it’s closed and Lars & Sadie are nowhere to be found. Puzzled by all this, Steven shows up and encounters Sadie’s mother and Jamie’s boss Barb who says Sadie never came home and she lost contact with Jamie after she sent him to drop off his package. Steven starts to realize something isn’t right and while searching at the arcade, he encounters a tiny blue-skinned short girl with a teardrop-shaped gem under her left eye asking the question “Are you, my Dad?” Steven quickly recognizes the girl as a Gem and answers “no” and she quickly flies away with watery fairy wings.

Steven returns telling the Gems & Connie about his encounter with this small gem asking about a “Dad” and they are wondering what she’s talking about as Steven is seemingly the only known gem/human hybrid. Garnet decides they should split up in 3 teams to get to the bottom of this. As Steven & Connie proceed to investigate, they finally encounter the small blue gem once more in a forest who continues to keep asking about “my dad” but when Steven says Connie’s name out loud, the blue gem quickly recognizes her name and summons a large yellow gem fusion named Topaz to capture Connie.

Topaz’s bizarre method of capture involves separating and trapping people in the middle of their fusion and not only do they have Onion but also Jamie, Lars, Sadie and now Connie strategically trapped and using them as human shields which look downright terrifying. As the blue gem mocks the people they trapped with a gleeful sadism, Steven tries to stop them but he’s at a disadvantage due to how powerful the Gem’s technology is as it repels Steven away knocking him into a tree saying All we need is My Dad and we’re out of here”. The episode ends in cliffhanger fashion as Steven overhears seconds before he’s out cold that the Gem’s name is “Aquamarine”.

Our Take

In many respects, this relatively new gem Aquamarine is eerily similar to Peridot before she joined Steven’s merry band of Gems but much more arrogant and speaks with an English accent. The Topaz twins, on the other hand, seem like large brutes equal to a quartz soldier, they don’t talk or express emotion, which gives off an intimidating presence but now that Steven knows what he’s up against, how will he and the Gems free his friends and what the hell is up with Aquamarine talking about “My Dad”?