Amethyst is getting more and more obsessed with Jasper, so Steven tries to distract her. It doesn’t work out as he hopes.

Steven: Visiting Peridot and Lapis will be so much fun!

Amethyst: Yeah, cause when I think fun, I think Lapis.

Steven: I wonder what they’re up to.

Amethyst: Maybe they drove each other crazy and burnt the barn down.

Steven: Woah. They sure did something to the barn!

It seems Lapis has finally grown accustomed to Peridot (I imagine it’s partly because she rescued her that one time and partly bonding over the Canadian TV show).  They’re still odd roomies, but they’ve figured out how to communicate and cooperate, and that’s what counts.

Peridot: You see I have this idea: What if we made music, but instead of sound, we used things!

Amethyst: That’s dumb.

Steven: Guys, that’s art!

Peridot: Art? That sounds ridiculous!

Lapis: I’ve been calling it meepmorp.

Peridot: This piece is called “Wow, thanks”. It represents the struggles of intercommunication. The tape is the ribbon that binds our experience on Earth together. It has no functional purpose! It just makes me feel bad!

Peridot puts a lot of thought in her “meepmorp”, where Lapis just seems to put together things she likes without considering the implications, yet somehow it works.

But Amethyst remains unimpressed.

Steven: Isn’t this great?

Amethyst: No.

Steven: Look at all this cool stuff they’re doing!

Amethyst: This is all nothing! They’re out here playing with garbage.

Steven: But you love playing with garbage!

Amethyst: Not anymore. Who has time for any of that when Jasper is out there?

Then Steven tells Peridot about the situation with Jasper (and why Amethyst’s so intent on beating her), largely to excuse her rude behavior.  And Peridot being Peridot, she tries to logic Amethyst’s insecurities away.

Peridot: I mean, seriously, amethyst and jasper are two completely different quartzes. Sure, you’re both from Earth, but your Kindergartens are completely different.

Steven: What? Hold on, what?

Amethyst: We’re both from Earth?

Peridot: Well, sure! Amethyst, you’re from the Prime Kindergarten in Facet 5. She’s from the Beta Kindergarten in Facet 9! Have you seen that place?

Amethyst: No!

Peridot: Oh. Well maybe you should! So you can see how the other half was made – poorly! No, seriously, let’s go. You’ll get a kick out of this!

So the three of them make a sudden field trip to see Jasper’s “birthplace”, which doesn’t seem like a great idea when Jasper herself is still at large, but oh well.

Peridot: This place has got the right growing conditions in a pinch, I guess. But it’s too small! It was obviously a total rush job. […] Halfway through the rebellion, Homeworld scrambled to generate extra soldiers on the ground. […] I tell you, it really makes you appreciate the Prime Kindergarten, Amethyst. Your Kindergarten was so thought-through! Sure, you might’ve spent extra time in the ground, but everything else is stacked in your favor! Great location, great holes, even spacing, consistent depth…a real Kindergartener gets it right!

Peridot finds all sorts of things to criticize about the Beta Kindergarten, so she looks for Jasper’s hole to see what she can criticize about it.

Peridot: Actually I uh, I’ve never seen an exit hole this perfect.

Amethyst: Ugh, so it is true.

Steven: Amethyst, that doesn’t matter. Who you are isn’t about where you came from, it’s who you wanna be! It’s what you worked hard for. It’s what you care about! That’s what really matters.

Amethyst: Yeah, yeah, you’re right! It’s about who I wanna be! And I wanna be the Gem that beats Jasper into the dirt!

She’s always struggled to understand who she’s “supposed” to be, and now Jasper’s offered an answer – Homeworld’s answer.  And when faced with her inability to protect what she loves, Amethyst is inclined to buy into that value system.

Then they discover some exit holes that have been dug out…

…and fashioned into cages for corrupted Gems.

Turns out Jasper decided to turn her Kindergarten into her HQ, the sort of impulse one might expect from Amethyst, too.  Just, y’know, without the whole “caging other Gems” thing.

Next time: A rematch…