Review: Steven Universe “Too Short To Ride”

I suppose we could just draw everyone bigger…

Spoilers Below

Peridot is hanging out at Steven’s house completely bored. Steven pops in with a tablet for her. Apparently, Greg purchased it for himself then decided he didn’t really want it. (I guess he didn’t spend ALL of his money in the last episode.) Once Peridot finds out what a tablet can do, she goes nuts. She even makes a velcro bracelet to attach the tablet to her arm.

Amethyst shows up, ready for an outing with Steven. It turns out that they were planning on taking Peridot to the local amusement park, Funland. At the amusement park, the three friends try to get on the roller coaster. However, all of them are too short to ride. Amethyst and Steven use their gem power to shape-shift into taller versions of themselves. But Peridot is unable to shape-shift. She insists that Amethyst and Steven ride the coaster without her.

After the ride, the group walks around looking for a ride they aren’t too short to get on. Before they can find one, Peridot falls in love with an alien doll at one of the game booths. Steven, Amethyst, and Peridot play the ring toss game to try to win the big prize but fail. Amethyst distracts Mr. Smiley so she can extend her arm to place the ring on the bottle to win the alien for Peridot. Unfortunately, all one ring wins is a tiny alien finger puppet.

Dejected, Peridot complains about the park. Amethyst tries to get to the root of Peridot’s bad mood. Thinking that the shape-shifting is the problem, Amethyst, with Steven’s help, tries to teach Peridot how to transform. It turns out that Peridot doesn’t have any powers. Sulking, she buries her face in her tablet instead of talking to Amethyst. Frustrated, Amethyst grabs the table and throws it into the ocean. Well, almost. Peridot, apparently, has powers to control metal, saving the tablet from a watery grave. Excited, Peridot uses her newfound powers to place ten rings around the necks of ten bottles, winning the large alien doll she so wanted. A win for the Shorty Squad!

It isn’t unusual to see Peridot in a bad mood. She’s usually mad or sulking or something. This time, though, we actually get a reason for her attitude. Peridot feels like she is less than the other Gems (and Steven) because she doesn’t have any powers. But she doesn’t have any powers because she doesn’t have any reason to use them. It isn’t until something she loves, the tablet, is in danger that her powers surface. Much like Steven, it seems like her powers are based on her emotions. With such terrible emotions, she is powerless. Maybe now we’ll see her in a better mood. And maybe she’ll actually get to grow her newfound powers.