Oh man, I loved these two episodes, I was glued to the screen. A little while back, I'd posted over on deviantArt this image where I imagined Centipeetle as Gem, since the logic was all there (the monsters have Gems, the Gems can change form, the Centipeetle was scared, the other Gems had to have gone somewhere), so, I was thrilled to be correct, but I didn't expect a reveal of it so soon even if it were true (WHICH IT IS!) Though these episodes left me with more questions. - Now with the way the dialog went, I too, am unsure of what 'good' is in this situations. Why was Pearl okay with using another Gem as a teaching tool? And her convo with Garnet at the end 'What does this mean for us?' Is there something you three aren't telling us? Why did you originally come to Earth? Why did Lapis feel the need to admit that she didn't believe in Earth? How did she end up in the mirror. What's home like? - I guess at this point, I imagine there was conflict among the Gems about how they should treat humans and the Earth, to the point they started fighting. So, yeah, Bolt, interplanetary war? Sounds about right.
PokeMaster, I was not surprise in the slightest that 'home' was in space. Pearl is always saying stuff like 'a haven for Gems on Earth', indicating that they came from elsewhere. I kind of figured they'd be able to teleport home... if it still existed. Which apparently it does. Pearl's so proud of their cultural heritage, but I always got the impression it was all but gone from her speeches.
I liked Lapis, it was obvious she was a misunderstood villain rather than an evil villain, which is what Steven said of Centpeetle in Monster Buddies. She just wanted off the planet (don't we all, at some point). I don't know that the fight was particularly epic, I mean it was good, and showed off Steven's defensive powers at the end. Steven's a pretty forgiving (or overly trusting) guy, Lapis did just try to drown him.
Got to agree that Garnet jumping out of the van was one of the funniest parts.