Bismuth (Steven Universe)

"Bismuth (Steven Universe)"

"Bismuth" is the twentieth and twenty-first episode of the third season of American animated television series Steven Universe, which premiered on August 4, 2016 on Cartoon Network. It was written and storyboarded by Lamar Abrams, Colin Howard, Jeff Liu and Katie Mitroff. The episode was viewed by 2.153 million viewers.

In the episode Steven accidentally unbubbles a Gem within Lion's mane who reveals herself to be Bismuth, one of the original Crystal Gems.

Plot

The episode opens with Steven (Zach Callison) and the Gems playing video games but when Lion keeps chewing one of Steven's shirts he decides to put it where Lion can't get it, his mane. Once inside Steven falls from the tree, pops a bubble, releasing the Gem inside. Falling out of Lion's mane, Steven tells the Gems he's made a horrible mistake and goes back in to try to rebubble the Gem. However once inside Steven sees the Gem regenerate. After telling the Gems what happened and describing her to them, Garnet (Estelle) asks Steven to bring her out which he does. Pearl (Deedee Magno Hall) and Garnet immediately recognize the Gem as Bismuth (Uzo Aduba), one of the original Crystal Gems, thought lost during the Rebellion.

After explaining Rose's absence, why Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst (Michaela Dietz) are the only Crystal Gems left and reminiscing of the war, Bismuth takes the Gems to the Forge, her workshop where she reveals Bismuths where used by Homeworld for construction projects but, under Rose'e guidance, decided to make weapons outfitted for the entire Rebellion. After giving the Gems upgrades for their weapons, Bismuth and the group head back to the Temple where, as per tradition that before the Crystal Gems headed into battle, they spar. Steven, intimated by the intensity of the sparring, offers to show Bismuth some Earth traditions; badminton, card games, making pizzas and watching TV.

That night Bismuth asks if Steven will show her his own skills but he says that his weapons are mostly defensive, save for Rose's sword which Bismuth reveals she created. Bismuth tells Steven about how Rose made her see that she could be anything in life that she chose to which Steven says that he feels he'll never be able to live up to his mother's legacy. However, Bismuth tells him he doesn't have to be Rose, that he can be someone even better, he can be himself and declares he needs a better weapon.

Back at the Forge, Bismuth shows Steven a weapon she had been working on before she was bubbled: the Breaking Point, a drill-bit-like weapon capable of shattering a Gem. Steven argues that shattering a Gem would make them no different from Homeworld, something Bismuth denies. When she tries to take the Breaking Point back from Steven, he refuses and says it's not right to use it. Bismuth tells Steven that that is exactly what Rose said and believes that Steven is Rose, simply in a different form. When Steven tries to convince her that he isn't Rose, Bismuth refuses to believe "Rose", saying that she lied about everything, including Bismuth's existence. Bismuth then begins to fight Steven whilst raging about how "Rose" couldn't have valued the lives of her allies as she wasn't willing to use the Breaking Point and that Rose's ideology about freedom of identity was just talk.

When Bismuth almost crushes Steven under rock he throws it back to her and tells her it has to stop and continues to refuse to use the Breaking Point even when she tells him to shatter her. Bismuth then grabs the Breaking Point and attempts to use it, forcing Steven to run her through with Rose's sword. Bismuth solemnly tells "Rose" that "she" should have shattered her, that way she wouldn't have known how little she meant to Rose saying that she didn't even bother to tell the others that Bismuth even existed, choosing instead to bubble her away and lie to her friends, Bismuth's friends. When Steven says to Bismuth that he'll tell the others everything, she laughs and says that he "really is better than [Rose]". Bismuth then poofs and Steven bubbles her and destroys the Breaking Point. Upon returning to the Temple, the Gems sadly place the bubbled Bismuth in the Bubble Room. The episode closes with Steven sadly watching the stars joined by the Gems.

Broadcast and reception

"Bismuth" premiered on August 4, 2016 on Cartoon Network. Its initial American broadcast was viewed by approximately 2.153 million viewers. It received a Nielsen household rating of 0.56, meaning that it was seen by 0.56% of all households. This was the fifteenth episode of the "Steven's Summer Adventures" event, where a new episode aired every weekday for four weeks. The episode's reception was generally positive particularly toward Aduba's performance as Bismuth but did receive criticism for the perceived oversimplification of such heavy issues. Eric Thurm of The A.V. Club lauded the episode, giving it an A. Thurm felt there were great character moments in the episode and that the double length helped the audience bond with Bismuth. Furthermore, Thrum felt that the episode was "the opening of a floodgate" inot the experiences of the Gem War. Vrai Kaiser of The Mary Sue made particular emphasis on the episode's portrayal of the ethical turmoil of war and its inevitability as "a means of Steven finally having to draw a line in what he believes that isn’t a categorical win".