Bismuth (Steven Universe)

Plot

Steven (Zach Callison) and the Gems are playing video games but Steven loses. He then sees that Lion keeps trying to chew on one of his shirts. He tells Lion to stop but he does not obey. As a result, Steven decides to put it in Lion's mane so he would not get it. After Steven puts the shirt on a tree branch, the tree branch suddenly breaks and falls and accidentally pops a bubbled Gem that was under the tree. He tries to rebubble the Gem but it regenerates. The Gem, Bismuth (Uzo Aduba), is then shown, along with the episode's title card. Steven falls out of Lion's mane and tells the Gems what happened and describes the Gem to Garnet (Estelle), who tells him to bring her out. When Steven pulls out the Gem to show the Gems, Amethyst (Michaela Dietz) and Steven do not recognize her but Garnet and Pearl (Deedee Magno Hall) do. They then introduce her to Steven and Amethyst, telling them that she was one of the original Crystal Gems, who was lost during the Gem War.

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

That night, Bismuth asks if Steven will show her his own skills, but he explains his weapons are for defense, save for Rose's sword, which Bismuth reveals she created. Bismuth also reveals that Rose's sword is specifically designed to compromise a Gem's physical form, causing them to poof and leaving them vulnerable to bubbling. Bismuth tells Steven about how Rose made her see that she could be anything in life that she chose to be, 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. Upon being given the Breaking Point, Steven rejects it, claiming 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 in disguise. 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 continued existence. Bismuth then begins to fight Steven whilst raging about how Rose didn't value 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 a rock, he throws it back at her and tells her 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 through Steven that she should have shattered her, that way she wouldn't have known how little she meant to Rose, because Rose didn't tell the others that she bubbled her. When Steven says to Bismuth that he'll tell the others everything, she laughs and says that he "really is better than Rose". After Bismuth retreats into her gem, Steven bubbles her and destroys the Breaking Point. Upon returning to his house, Steven explains what happened to the Gems and they 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.

This episode received a great deal of praise, particularly toward Aduba's performance as Bismuth. 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, Thurm felt that the episode was "the opening of a floodgate" into 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".

Online reviewer Mark Oshiro, however, took exception to many aspects of the story - that Bismuth was not permitted the character growth given to characters like Peridot and Lapis Lazuli; that Bismuth was coded as black based on her hair and voice actor, and then associated with tropes attributed to aggressive black women; and that the episode lacks criticism of Rose Quartz's original decision to confine Bismuth away without informing her friends and comrades.