“Back to the Kindergarten” is the 8th episode of the fifth season of Steven Universe and the 136th episode overall.[2]
Official synopsis
Steven, Amethyst, and Peridot try to improve the kindergarten.[3]
Conspiracy
Steven is doing his morning routine at the sink, considering he let Peridot live in his bathroom after Lapis left Earth. He and Amethyst decide to visit her. When they get to the bathroom, they find Peridot still upset after what happened. To make her feel better, Amethyst suggests visiting the Prime Kindergarten after meeting the gems that were created in the same place, adding that she can explain the intricate details that are there. They use the train to get to the kindergarten, much to Peridot’s displeasure, saying that using the Warp Pad is much more convenient.
At Kindergarten, Peridot shows Amethyst which hole belongs to which “Famethyst” gem. Remembering how she used to be a real nursery tech, Peridot realizes that life doesn’t begin in this place, but instead ends as the gems to be created drain the life around. This effectively makes the whole concept of doing reintroduction in a place like Kindergarten impossible. Then, to their surprise, they find a “flower” and everyone thinks that life can grow again in the nursery school. Therefore, they start planting sunflowers as a team and leave Kindergarten in the hope that the results will be satisfactory.
The next morning, Peridot temporarily leaves the bathroom for Steven to shower and talks to Amethyst about the recently planted garden. Once he comes out, Peridot makes him quickly get ready and head back to the Kindergarten, expecting that the whole plan to revive the Kindergarten went off without a hitch.
However, the three find that the sunflowers have completely dried up and one turns to dust when Peridot picks it up. She is now depressed and disgusted with the nursery for causing the land around her to be lifeless to the point where plant life cannot survive. Amethyst tries to calm her down, but Peridot is sure that everything is already ruined and there’s nothing she can do to change it. Steven tries to cheer her up by telling her that the flower they saw earlier is still alive. In a fit of desperation, Peridot stomps on the flower, but then feels bad for her action.
Suddenly, the flower is revealed to be part of a damaged gem that flies out of the ground and swallows Peridot. He retreats underground and Amethyst follows him with her whip. To save Peridot, she and Steven form Smoky Quartz to make the monster bubble and bubble.
On the train back to the Temple, the trio are disappointed as they realize that life really cannot be returned to kindergarten. Peridot exclaims that she wanted to do this to get over the fact that Lapis left her and took the Barn, only to find that the attempt to revive the Kindergarten is futile. As they walk through the countryside, they see a large patch of ground with sunflowers and suggest that they should try gardening again in a different location, as Peridot has really gotten into the gardening process. The episode ends as three hugs.
Details
This is the first time Smoky Quartz has bubbled a gem.
Peridot reveals new knowledge about the nursery: the hairstyle of the gem that emerges is based on the formation of iron deposits, and the gem’s full “name” and number are marked from top to bottom on the rock base.
Cultural references
Similar to “Back to the Barn” and “Back to the Moon”, this episode’s title could be a reference to Back to the Future.
Additionally, it seems to specifically echo the episode “Back to the Barn” in the title. While “Back to the Barn” represents Peridot’s first contact with the barn, “Back to the Kindergarten” represents her first instance without him after Lapis took him.
The lone flower on Flower Monster appears to refer to the Silent Princess, a flower previously thought to be extinct, from the video game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, as both have a similar design and appear to grow against what appears to be The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was released on March 3rd, 2017, which would have been too late in the animation process to be an intentional reference, so it was most likely a coincidence.
Continuity
Peridot is still depressed after Lapis left in “Raising the Barn”.
Amethyst mentioned the Amethyst Guardians from “That’ll Be All”.
Steven, Amethyst and Peridot took the same route to kindergarten from “On the Run”.
Peridot returns to life in the Beach House bathroom, as she did earlier in “Catch and Release” and “When It Rains”.
When Steven is getting ready in the bathroom (in both the sink and the shower), three split screens will appear like in “Catch and Release”.
When Steven and Amethyst form Smoky Quartz, a sound effect is heard during the formation of Garnet and Amethyst Sugilite from “Coach Steven”.
Mistakes
When Peridot is hunched over in the bathtub, her left hand is incorrectly drawn as a right hand with the thumb on the wrong side.
The functions of the play and pause buttons on the Peridot tablet are reversed.
When Peridot says “Hey, thanks for doing this with me.” her right eye pupil becomes transparent to the frame.
When Amethyst rushes to Peridot’s aid after she is attacked by a corrupted gem, she has her whip, but in another shot she is seen summoning it again.
When Amethyst says “Yeah, we have subtext”, her left arm is the color of her hair.