Steven Universe Creator Rebecca Sugar on What’s Ahead in the Next ‘Steven Bomb’

The Gems are back in town! The second season of Steven Universe returns with five all-new episodes—otherwise known as a “Steven Bomb—with one airing each day this week (6/5c, Cartoon Network).

The last time the Cartoon Network series delivered a “Steven Bomb” the results were explosive. Not only was Beach City attacked by Homeworld Gems, but it was revealed that Garnet is actually a fusion. In preparation for Steven Universe‘s return, we spoke with creator Rebecca Sugar about what’s in store for Steven, how the Gems are faring, and what we can expect from this upcoming “Steven Bomb.”

What can we expect in these next episodes?

What’s exciting about the show right now is that Steven has just become aware of so much. That really changes his view of the world and what’s happening around him. We don’t have to worry about teaching him things the way we used to. He’s good at [using] his powers and he has a growing understanding of who he is. This is where he’s really putting that into practice.

How about the Gems? What’s in store for them?

They need to figure out what’s going on with the Homeworld Gems that are currently stuck on Earth and get ready for that. It’s a threat they’re not used to, and they already didn’t know how to prepare for it. But now they’re in it.

We’ve seen how Pearl is coping with Rose’s loss. How are Amethyst and Garnet dealing with no longer having their leader?

Everyone had a very different, very extreme reaction. You’re going to see how they all interacted when they were together. That sheds a little light on how they’ve changed and become very different people because they’re now with Steven and they can’t rely on, or look to, someone as powerful as Rose.

In the flashbacks, we’ve seen what Greg used to be like and his relationship with Rose.

Greg it a total romantic, but he’s not prepared for what this [human-Gem relationship] really means. There’s this sort of complicated aspect to gems that he doesn’t really know going into this. [Greg and Rose] were together for a while before Steven came into the picture. It’s not an instantaneous thing the way their relationship works. The other thing is that Steven, because he is maturing, is ready to hear a little more from Greg about things that aren’t as easy to understand, about how the Gems are and how they were. They’re not sheltering him as much.

Now that Steven is a little more aware, what will be his biggest challenge going forward?

He’s starting to realize that his opinion about things is really relevant, and he’s standing up for himself in a way he didn’t used to. He’s never really thought that he could become an authority the way he does now—especially when it comes to human-Gem relations. But he’s realizing that as the embodiment of that what he has to say is something that everyone should pay attention to.

Connie has had the most exposure to Gem powers, even fusing with Steven. Will she have a hand in exploring Steven’s Gem heritage?

Connie is pretty committed to participating and that’s going to come up a lot. She’s going through a little bit of what Steven was going through, getting indoctrinated into this culture. In a way, it’s a bigger leap for her because she’s completely human. She’s really going out on a limb to understand it. Actually, she and Greg have so much in common, in that they give up a lot of what would be a normal life to try and participate in this thing that is so huge with these people who are not human.

How does the rest of Beach City feel about the Gems?

Generally they’ve been pretty detached [but] they definitely had to notice that a giant hand crashed into the city—and they did. The [residents] can try their best to clean up and get back to their normal lives, but it leaves an impact. The Gems’ priority is to keep them safe, not keep them informed. But I think it’s getting to the point where people are seriously asking questions.

We’ve had glimpses into the townspeople’s lives—like Buck Dewey and his dad. Will we explore that more?

Eventually we go pretty deep into that, but not particularly soon. In this “bomb” we check in with the town as sort of like a character. But we really focus in on Connie and Greg, the people that are really close to Gems and what’s happening with them physically.

The last Steven Bomb ended with the big reveal about Garnet. How has your experience with the show been since then?

I’ve been waiting to do that since before the pilot. I was just biding my time and now I’m finally living in this post-Ruby and Sapphire world, where everyone finally knows them. I really wanted people to see them because it has everything to do with how I think about Garnet and has everything to do with who she is. She is her own entity completely.

Will we get a chance to meet Ruby and Sapphire again?

Garnet wants to stay together so it’s going to take a lot to see them again. It’s a double-edged sword, in the sense that seeing Ruby and Sapphire again means that Garnet has split. But one of the exciting things is that now that Steven knows, he’s really curious about it. He wants to know what it means. He does understand because he’s fused, but he still cares so much about Garnet. So he’s going to bother her for more information.

Garnet is a living embodiment of a relationship, but relationships also have their ups and downs. Will we ever see that between Ruby and Sapphire? Or does it not apply because they’re not human?

Oh, that definitely applies. Their relationship is very complicated. Any relationship that’s gone on for that long would have to be. There will definitely be a lot more about how she is, which has to everything to do with how I feel about good relationships. We’ll see her get tested.

Music plays a big part on the show. Will we ever get a soundtrack for the show?

I would love that. I can’t say for sure, I don’t totally know. But there’s definitely some coming up soon that I worked on with Jeff Liu in this next bomb that I’m really proud of.

Steven Universe, Monday, June 15-Friday, June 19, 6/5c, Cartoon Network