Fragments

Did You Know?

• The episode was watched by 0.525 million people during its original broadcast.
• Shamus Kelly of Den of Geek praised the episode's darkness and Steven's arc leading him to a full breakdown.
• Jourdain Searles of The A.V. Club gave the episode a score of A.

Plot

After crashing Greg's van, Steven is lectured by Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst, who try to get him to talk about his problems. During an outburst, he accidentally slows down time and flees. He goes to Jasper's campsite, where she pushes him to embrace his anger. After hesitating, Steven fights back, and Jasper trains him rigorously to hone his anger and aggression.

Training includes climbing a mountain while carrying boulders, trying to shatter them, sleeping outside, running very fast, and picking up fish from a pond. Steven glows pink and grows taller. After three days, he challenges Jasper to a rematch. During the fight, Steven becomes aggressive and laughs maniacally.

He traps Jasper in a barrier and shoots spikes at her, shattering her gemstone. Distressed, Steven returns home and ignores the Crystal Gems. He frantically reassembles Jasper's gem using the bottled essences of the Diamonds and his own tears. Jasper reforms, and when Steven tries to apologize, she kneels and says, "I bow to your strength, my Diamond."