That was actually a rhetorical question. I pretty much just write this blog for myself. Anyway...
None of you may be aware of this, but Steven Universe is one of the best cartoons on TV right now. The brainchild of Rebecca Sugar, formerly a writer, storyboard artist, and songwriter on the Cartoon Network mega-hit Adventure Time, Steven Universe follows the adventures of our titular hero, a twelve-year-old boy and member of the Crystal Gems: a group of interdimensional warriors powered by magical gemstones. Episodes typically focus on Steven going on missions with his sister gems - Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl - or simply interacting with the other citizens in his hometown of Beach City, all the while dealing with ancient relics, mystic artifacts, feral monsters, and Steven's own developing magical abilities.
The series is fairly straightforward in its "magical boy" premise, but excels due to strong character writing, tight animation, a gorgeous score, frequent humor, and at times, handling surprisingly complex themes and big emotions rather well. It's a fun and exciting series and I recommend you all check it out if you like cartoons. Of course, that brings up the question "Where do I start?" The obvious answer is start at episode 1 and go from there, but if you want to know what the best of the best are, I'm here to tell you, and if you don't want to know what the best of the best are, then why are you reading this blog? So, without further adieu, here they are, the Top 10 Best Episodes of Steven Universe's first season.
10) Giant Woman
"Giant Woman" is a pretty light episode of SU, especially when compared to some later ones in the list. But it's a fun early adventure, sets up an important bit of gem mythology, and is an avenue for character exploration among main cast.
The episode begins with Steven learning about gem fusion, in which two gems combine their magical and physical traits into one super-being. It's only used in the event of an emergency and requires the two to be in sync, which is why the bickering Amethyst and Pearl never combine into their fusion form, Opal, anymore. Nevertheless, upon learning about the spectacle of fusion, Steven is determined to see a giant woman by day's end, even while he, Amethyst, and Pearl are on a mission to recover a magical beetle from the top of a tower.
"Giant Woman" is the first time the spotlight is put on Amethyst and Pearl and their relationship. Their contrasting natures are front and center, with Pearl's uptight, analytical temperament clashing with Amethyst's laid-back, rambunctious personality. The episode makes it clear that neither come out wholly right or wrong, with both going out of their way to get under the other's skin as they climb the mountain. Steven, meanwhile, is charged with "keeping the harmony" by Garnet, and while his endeavors to get the two to form Opal are obviously for his own interests, he's also trying to get two members of his family to keep from fighting. And he's doing it through song.
The song (coincidentally called "Giant Woman") is the first big musical number the series has had. There have been little ditties and tunes before now (The Cookie Cat Jingle, Greg's demo tape), but "Giant Woman" set the bar for songs in the show. The ukulele hook is simple but catchy, the lyrics are worth a laugh, and Zach Callison does a great job with the vocals (spoiler alert: everyone on this show can sing). Add that to the great score (I especially like what plays during Amethyst and Pearl's fusion dance, Amalgam, a blend of classical piano and synth beats that match the characters perfectly) and you end up with not only a solid episode, but one that sets up important plot points for the future.
9) Bubble Buddies
Like I said, a big part of the show is seeing Steven interact with the Beach City Regulars. The main two he spends time with are his dad, Greg, and his friend, Connie, and while both are great, it really seems like Connie has had the most development of the two. She's an interesting and fun character and a great counterpoint to Steven, so how perfect is it that her first spot on the list is her debut episode? You'd almost think I planned this or something.
The episode begins with Steven awkwardly trying to introduce himself to Connie and to strike up a conversation, but he keeps getting tripped up by his own nervousness. However, the perfect meet-cute falls into his lap when the latest in a string of earthquakes causes a rockslide that nearly kills Connie. Steven saves her by instinctively (and accidentally) making a force-field bubble around the two of them. It works, but Steven finds that he doesn't know how to turn it off. Unable to get back to the gems for help, Steven and Connie travel up and down the Beach City Boardwalk, looking for a way to break the bubble and finding that nothing works. Eventually, after a heart-to-heart where we learn how the two first saw each other at a parade, the bubble pops on its own, just in time for them to face the source of the mysterious quakes, a giant worm monster.
While the animation in this episode isn't top notch, what sells it is the character stuff. Despite being radically different people, Steven and Connie have a wonderful dynamic together based off their mutual insecurities. Steven, who routinely travels to other dimensions and fights giant monsters, thinks he's too weird to hang out with someone as well-adjusted and intelligent as Connie. Connie, a booksmart overachiever who doesn't stay in one place too long because of her father's work, thinks she's too boring for Steven. Their friendship feels sweet and natural, and their personalities are able to come through in this episode without slowing down the plot.
Add to all of that some well-executed slapstick and Steven saving the day by outwitting the monster, and you've got a pretty strong early episode of the show.
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So here's the thing about Steven: he's not fully a Crystal Gem. His mother, Rose Quartz, was, but she gave up her physical form to bring him into the world. His father, the very human Greg Universe, is still around, living in his van and running the local car wash. And he's another great character to add to the Beach City Regulars.
What I love about Greg are his earnestness and his insecurities. Greg is nervous and unsure about being a father, much less the father of a magical twelve-year-old. He loves Steven very much and loves hanging around with him, but feels his son is best off living with the gems in their temple on the beach. The gems, in turn, mostly view Greg as well meaning but useless, another weak human who can't (and for his own safety shouldn't) keep up with their escapades. While Greg has had some solid episodes about him, Steven, and the gems ("Laser Light Cannon", "Space Race", season 2's "Story for Steven"), "The Message" turned out to be his finest hour. Well, his finest eleven minutes or so.
The episode begins with a jam session between the Universe men that gets interrupted by the activation of a wailing stone, an ancient piece of gem technology used to send and receive messages. However, the message comes out as...well, a wail. A loud, irritating wail that the crystal gems don't know how to shut off. While they wonder who's sending the message (although the episode foreshadows the answer pretty hard), Steven comes up with an idea: have his dad fix it. Greg's career as a one-man band meant he had to know everything about producing music, including mixing and editing audio. Greg is similarly excited by the idea of being useful for once, and so he rigs his equipment up to the stone just right, starts mixing...and shorts out the car battery that was powering his gear. With the experiment a failure, the gems leave with a mix of pity and disappointment. A dejected Greg sings about his disappointment.
But, once again, Steven has an epiphany: the message isn't in audio format, it's video. With the help of the gems, Greg hooks up the wailing stone to his portable TV and the message is finally decoded: a dire warning to Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl that the homeworld gems are returning to Earth with a vengeance, armed with technology far more advanced than their own. While Amethyst and Pearl begin panicking, Garnet insists they celebrate the small victory of receiving the message and congratulates Greg on a job well done.
The episode really does belong to Greg Universe, and actor Tom Schrapling does an outstanding job delivering his excitement at showing off his mad audio skills and his sadness at having failed so hard in front of the people he has so much respect for. Callison similarly steps up, nailing Steven's own excitement for getting his dad involved in the adventure (his first epiphany results in the very funny exclamation, "My daddy-o knows audio!"). Combine that with the return of an important character and a set-up for the explosive season finale, and you've got a funny and heartfelt episode.
What I love about Greg are his earnestness and his insecurities. Greg is nervous and unsure about being a father, much less the father of a magical twelve-year-old. He loves Steven very much and loves hanging around with him, but feels his son is best off living with the gems in their temple on the beach. The gems, in turn, mostly view Greg as well meaning but useless, another weak human who can't (and for his own safety shouldn't) keep up with their escapades. While Greg has had some solid episodes about him, Steven, and the gems ("Laser Light Cannon", "Space Race", season 2's "Story for Steven"), "The Message" turned out to be his finest hour. Well, his finest eleven minutes or so.
The episode begins with a jam session between the Universe men that gets interrupted by the activation of a wailing stone, an ancient piece of gem technology used to send and receive messages. However, the message comes out as...well, a wail. A loud, irritating wail that the crystal gems don't know how to shut off. While they wonder who's sending the message (although the episode foreshadows the answer pretty hard), Steven comes up with an idea: have his dad fix it. Greg's career as a one-man band meant he had to know everything about producing music, including mixing and editing audio. Greg is similarly excited by the idea of being useful for once, and so he rigs his equipment up to the stone just right, starts mixing...and shorts out the car battery that was powering his gear. With the experiment a failure, the gems leave with a mix of pity and disappointment. A dejected Greg sings about his disappointment.
But, once again, Steven has an epiphany: the message isn't in audio format, it's video. With the help of the gems, Greg hooks up the wailing stone to his portable TV and the message is finally decoded: a dire warning to Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl that the homeworld gems are returning to Earth with a vengeance, armed with technology far more advanced than their own. While Amethyst and Pearl begin panicking, Garnet insists they celebrate the small victory of receiving the message and congratulates Greg on a job well done.
The episode really does belong to Greg Universe, and actor Tom Schrapling does an outstanding job delivering his excitement at showing off his mad audio skills and his sadness at having failed so hard in front of the people he has so much respect for. Callison similarly steps up, nailing Steven's own excitement for getting his dad involved in the adventure (his first epiphany results in the very funny exclamation, "My daddy-o knows audio!"). Combine that with the return of an important character and a set-up for the explosive season finale, and you've got a funny and heartfelt episode.
7) Maximum Capacity
One of the elements that hangs heavy over SU is the absence of Rose Quartz. Because the show is from Steven's perspective, everything we know about Rose is secondhand information from the crystal gems and Greg, and they all loved her. She was fierce and courageous warrior and a caring and selfless friend. Her absence has scarred those close to her and "Maximum Capacity" is one of the episodes where this is felt the strongest.
A few days before January 1st, Greg decides that his New Years Resolution will be to finally clean out his overstuffed storage unit that's been collecting junk for twelve years. Steven brings in Amethyst to help, since she also has hoarder tendencies and has managed her accumulated junk quite well. However, not long after the work begins, Amethyst strikes gold and uncovers Greg's old tapes of their favorite sitcom, Li'l Butler. It isn't long before the two begin a VHS binge-watch that overtakes them, culminating in Greg missing the New Years celebration he'd promised to go to with Steven. Greg realizes his mistake too late and tries to leave while Amethyst tries to get him to stay and continue the binge. The argument builds and builds, until it reaches a devastating breaking point that makes Amethyst run away in tears.
"Maximum Capacity" is a study in grief, with Greg's s storage unit acting as an unsubtle metaphor about his and Amethyst's feelings about Rose; rather than dealing with their own emotional baggage, they've put it out of their minds and let it build up until it comes pouring out in a messy, damaging way. Only by letting the others help them with their baggage are they able to truly deal with it. Despite his beach bum persona, Greg is mature enough to realize when a job needs doing. It ends up being Amethyst who holds him back by enabling his immature instincts, and it's here that we find out that she resents Greg for taking Rose away from her in what turned out to be her final years. This is pretty heavy stuff for a kids show, but as always, Steven Universe handles it spot on, with honesty and empathy, and even gives us a heartwarming conclusion. That's impressive feat to accomplish in just over eleven minutes.
6) So Many Birthdays
Steven Universe is a fun show and is pretty light most of the time, but it can get pretty heavy too. More often than not it means adult themes or high emotions, but on rare occasions it can get downright terrifying. Episodes like "Frybo" and "Horror Club" have dipped into scary imagery with surprisingly effective results, but the best of these exercises came in "So Many Birthdays".
Steven learns that the crystal gems are immortal, having been on Earth for thousands of years prior to his joining them. He also learns that gem culture doesn't really celebrate birthdays. Undeterred, Steven vows to give Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl their own birthday celebration, but finds that the gems aren't as enthralled by piñatas, party clowns, and mini-carts as he is. Worse yet, Steven begins to worry that he himself has outgrown such childish things. As Steven wanders the boardwalk in existential confusion, he begins to age, going from twelve-year-old to teenager to adult to old man in less than an hour. When the gems find out, they panic, struggling to make Steven feel young again in the hopes that it'll get him back to normal.
An earlier episode, "Cat Fingers", explored gem shapeshifting power and showed Steven struggling with them there, and while "Cat Fingers" definitely brought the scary in it's final minutes (imagine Akira, but with more fur), "So Many Birthdays" took things to another level. Seeing Steven turn into Methuselah is one thing, but seeing the gems' efforts to bring him back is another. It is downright heart-wrenching to see Amethyst lashing out at her friends, to see Garnet break her stoicism out of fear, to see Pearl with desperate tears in her eyes as she tries and fails to mimic Steven's party clown routine. I get the sense that there was supposed to be actual humor to this sequence (and to be fair, Garnet has a funny line near the end), but mostly you just feel empathy for the gems, who are watching a member of their family die and don't know how to save him.
"So Many Birthdays" demonstrates the danger that Steven's magical abilities pose to himself and how scary that really is. As far as we know, Steven is the first and only gem/human hybrid, and in a lot of ways the gems are in unknown territory with him. When that fear comes to the surface, it's turns out to be pretty effective.
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5) Rose's Scabbard
Pearl was my favorite of the gems when the show started. That has since changed, but she's still a strong character. Pearl is the straight-laced, prim and proper one of the group, often trying to be the ideal warrior for the gems and the perfect mother-figure for Steven and falling short in both categories, often due to her own pride, insecurities, or short-sightedness. Still, she has love for the gems and for Steven, and will fight for them and fight with them at a moment's notice.
"Rose's Scabbard" is another episode about Steven's late mother, but this time filter's it through Pearl's lens. After the titular scabbard is found by Lion (side note: Steven has a magical pet lion who used to belong to Rose and who none of the other gems knew about before Steven took ownership of him), Pearl starts telling Steven about being his mother's confidant, the only one who knew all of her secrets. She decides to let Steven in on these secrets, only to discover that he's already learned about them through his interactions with Lion. What's more, Steven knows that Lion actually has the sword that goes in the scabbard (additional side not: Lion has a pocket dimension in his mane that has some of Rose's stuff in it). Pearl doesn't take the fact that Rose kept secrets from her well, throwing a tantrum in front of the other gems and Steven before running away in tears. Steven follows after her, which leads to a pretty touching heart-to-heart about Pearl's relationship with Rose and with Steven.
There's a lot to read into with the episode: the nature of Steven having Rose's gem, whether Steven is in some way a reincarnation of his mother, the possible lesbian subtext to Pearl's devotion to Rose, the question of how many secrets Rose kept and where exactly Lion came from in the first place. Mostly, however, this episode does for Pearl what "Maximum Capacity" did for Amethyst: let's them explore their grief. While Amethyst avoided her emotional pain through fun and leisure, Pearl tried to do the logical thing: accept the loss of her friend, celebrate their time together, and move on. However, once more, Pearl's emotions get the better of her and she can't help feeling betrayed by Rose and saddened by her loss all over again. It's only through letting Steven see her pain and help her is she able to get through it.
Pearl is a character with a lot of contradictions; she's intelligent and analytical, but prone to emotional outbursts. She's sweet and nurturing to Steven, but condescending and dismissive to most everyone else. She's designed like a ballerina, but fights like a samurai. There's a lot to Pearl, and not all of it's pretty, but she's a compelling, interesting, and even likable character all the same.
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4) Alone Together
It's another Steven and Connie episode, and really, you can't get more Steven and Connie this one.
The episode starts with the gems trying to teach Steven to fuse with them. Fusion is activated through dancing together, and requires not only physical synchronicity, but emotional as well. However, Steven just can't seem to get it to work with the gems. After the lesson ends, he goes to the beach with Connie to talk about his issues. Connie reveals she's never danced with anyone, and Steven invites her to dance with him, because he is a sweetheart and they are god damn adorable together. You might be able to guess what happens next.
Yep, Steven and Connie fuse. Their new form, dubbed 'Stevonnie' by Amethyst, is given instructions from Garnet: they are an experience, and they should make it a good one. Stevonnie spends their night running free in Beach City before getting invited to a rave by one of the local teenagers. They go, but find that it's not all its cracked up to be when they not only draw stares from everyone in attendance, but get repeatedly hit on by a self-important douchebag.
Everything about this episode is on point. The animation of the dancing is sharp and creative and really highlights each individual character. The music is clever and catchy and very emotionally effecting (my personal favorite is the euphoric Twilight Run). AJ Michalka does a great job voicing Stevonnie; her deeper register works for our androgynous lead and she's able to sell it when Steven and Connie are having a conversation through their shared form. It all comes together to make an already interesting premise stronger and more effective.
A lot of recent SU episodes have focused on smaller-scale conflicts; less life-or-death struggles, and more emotional difficulties of everyday life - just augmented with magic. "Alone Together" is a prime example of how effective these episodes can be. There's no MacGuffin that needs finding, no monster that needs defeating, no magical gizmo that's being misused; it's just an examination of what fusion means to someone who's new to it, and it works. Stevonnie has fun together, sure, but they also argue with themselves, suffer each other's anxieties, and ultimately realize that they're better off as separate people. It's a smaller episode, but it's an emotionally satisfying one all the same.
3) The Return/Jailbreak
You may have noticed that I haven't talked about Garnet much up until now. That's because, while Garnet is my favorite of the crystal gems, she works best when she's not in the spotlight. Garnet's leading characteristic is her stoicism, but underneath that is wisdom, warmth, love, and tremendous strength. She doesn't speak often, but when she does, it means something (or it's just funny. Garnet get's the best dialogue). Contrarily, episodes that focus on her like "Arcade Mania", "Garnet's Universe", and "Future Vision" aren't always the best ones. However, she got her finest moment in the explosive two-part season finale of SU, and boy was it something to behold.
After the crystal gem's long-distance confrontations with her, the homeworld gem scientist Peridot comes to Earth, bringing with her the captive Lapis Lazuli (who we'll get to later) and her escort/bodyguard, Jasper. Before they land, Beach City is evacuated, including Steven, who rides with Greg in his van. Greg tells him the full story of how the gems originally came to Earth to plunder it for resources, until Rose Quartz and her fellow rebels fought against the homeworld and were branded traitors. Those precious few that survived only did so because of Rose's shield, and were abandoned on our world as a result. Steven realizes that the crystal gems need him like they needed Rose and demands Greg let him return. Greg says no at first, and you can really feel his desperation at not wanting to see his son run into danger after already losing the woman he loved. Eventually, however, Greg relents, and Steven returns to the beach in time to see the homeworlders make landfall.
Initially, Jasper is dismissive of our ragtag bunch, but soon realizes that Rose's gem is among them and mistakenly believes that Steven is Rose in disguise. When Garnet tries to protect him, Japer uses her advanced weaponry to dissipate her, leaving behind only her gems. "The Return" ends with Jasper knocking Steven out.
As Part 2 begins, Steven wakes up in a prison cell aboard Peridot's ship. He quickly learns that while the energy wall in front of him is designed to stop gems, the half-human Steven can slip through unharmed. He soon finds three more prisoners on the ship: Ruby, a stranger who runs away as soon as she's free; Lapis, who refuses Steven's help out of fear of Jasper and Peridot; and Sapphire, who quickly leads Steven to find Ruby. The two reunite, come together, and start fusing, ultimately forming...Garnet! Yep, Garnet's a fusion, a theory that had been bounced around by SU fans for a while but is confirmed here. And yes, she is the result of a same-sex coupling. There's no ambiguity about that here.
Garnet sends Steven to free Amethyst and Pearl while she has a rematch with Jasper. But she doesn't just fight her. She fights her IN SONG. And it is GLORIOUS.
Everything about "Stronger Than You" is perfect. The beat? Energetic and effortlessly cool. The vocals? Estelle absolutely kills it. The lyrics? A powerful testament to Garnet's euphoria at being back together. "Stronger Than You" is the best song in Steven Universe, bar none, and given the songs we've already heard, that's saying something.
One might think this would be enough to end an episode on, but we don't stop there. After Garnet's fight causes the ship to crash back on Beach City, Jasper decides she needs to fuse in order to win, and finds Lapis before she can flee. Despite Steven's protests, Lapis agrees to fuse with Jasper, forming the giant Malachite...until Lapis uses her water powers to drag both her and Jasper to the bottom of the ocean and keep them there.
"The Return" and "Jailbreak" are about as epic as Steven Universe gets. It's the continuation of a conflict that could very well end with the destruction of the planet, it effectively demonstrates the power and the threat of modern gem technology and how ineffective our heroes are against it, and it features one of the few honest-to-goodness fight scenes we've ever seen on the show. What's more, it remembers to include strong character bits, including the revelation of Garnet's origins and strong moments for Greg and Lapis, who I really hope we see more of soon. Jasper and Peridot make for effective villains, acting as dark mirrors to Garnet's strength and Pearl's intellect, and the episode makes it clear that their threat is far from finished.
These episodes took Steven Universe to a whole other level, and are as fitting a season finale as we could have asked for. That, plus that song is REALLY that good.
2) On the Run
Remember when I said Pearl was my favorite of the gems right off the bat? Well Amethyst was my least favorite. This isn't to say that I didn't like the character, but she was the most straightforward and simple of our three leads. Pearl was someone who had high aspirations that she couldn't entirely meet, Garnet was mysterious and stoic and played things close to the chest, and Amethyst was the wild child, the playmate, the energetic rascal who got under people's nerves but was ultimately well-meaning and harmless. I got the sense that we'd learn more about her as the series progressed, and boy did Steven Universe deliver on that front.
As the gems begin their efforts to sabotage Peridot's evaluation of Earth, Steven gets his first brief lesson about the homeworld gem conflict, how the homeworlders wanted to do something bad to Earth and how our trio of heroines can't live with their own kind anymore. Steven equates this to The No-Home Boys, a children's book series that's basically a mash-up of The Hardy Boys and The Boxcar Children. Amethyst, clearly uncomfortable with the discussion of the homeworlder's work on Earth, suggests she and Steven leave the temple and become hobos themselves, which Steven thinks will be a fun adventure. Do their escapades begin with a song? You bet it does!
However, shortly after hopping aboard a train to ride the rails of Hobohemia, Steven finds the wayfarer lifestyle isn't all its cracked up to be and decides he wants to go home. Amethyst, contrarily, decides to show Steven her home. It turns out Amethyst isn't from the homeworld like Garnet and Pearl, but was actually made on Earth in a so-called 'kindergarten'. Pearl shows up soon after to scold Amethyst for bringing Steven to a place with such a dark history. Amethyst does not take it well.
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1) Mirror Gem/Ocean Gem
"The Return" and "Jailbreak" were the finale of SU's inaugural season, but it's story really started with the midseason two-parter, "Mirror Gem" and "Ocean Gem". These two episodes did more than just shine a light on a character, feature a new magic trick or mystical MacGuffin, or just see Steven go on a mission. "Mirror Gem" and "Ocean Gem" were game-changers, turning Steven Universe from a fun little adventure story into a grander serial, taking the mythology and mystery built up over the last twenty-four episodes and turning it into a bigger, grander story. It was the next level of Steven Universe, and that's why it's number one.
Part one begins with the rather troubling revelation that the reason we never see Steven go to school is that he doesn't go and indeed may never have been. This calls into question Greg and the gems as parents, but we'll put that aside from now and focus on the plot. Pearl takes it upon herself to educate Steven on gem history, using a magic hand mirror that can record anything it sees. However, the mirror is old and worn out and the gem powering it is cracked, and it doesn't work. Pearl gives up and Steven decides to take the mirror and go enjoy his new summer vacation.
However, Steven learns that not only is the mirror functional, but has a consciousness, and spends the day conversing with him using recorded images of his interactions with the Beach City regulars. When Steven decides to show the gems, the mirror is reluctant, and refuses to work in the gems' presence. Steven convinces it to talk to him in front of the gems, which makes them unusually nervous. Garnet tries to take the mirror, but it makes it clear it doesn't want to go and Steven doesn't give it up, running out of the temple with it. As Steven hides from the crystal gems, the mirror tells him to remove the gem on the back of the mirror. Steven does, releasing the captured Lapis Lazuli, who thanks Steven for his help, but attacks the crystal gems for keeping her prisoner in the mirror. She invites Steven to return to the homeworld with her, but when Steven doesn't say yes, Lapis leaves him and disappears into the ocean.
Part two starts the next morning, where said ocean has disappeared and Lapis, with her water-controlling powers, is clearly responsible. The Beach City Regulars demand answers, since the local economy depends on tourists visiting the beach in summer, and Steven takes it upon himself to talk to Lapis and sort this mess out. The crystal gems say they'll go with him, with Greg, Connie, and Lion also coming along to help out in any way they can.
As they make their way through what was once the Atlantic, Pearl explains to Steven that this isn't the first time they've fought gems. In fact, every monster they've fought so far has been a gem who's lost control of their physical form, and it's Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl who deal with them and keep them under wraps until they can get sorted out. This adds a new layer to the show's mythology, especially after having seen "On the Run". Are the monsters flawed or incomplete gems that were grown out of the kindergarten? Are they capable of being reformed or doomed to madness forever? Are the crystal gems really helping them by keeping them locked in bubbles in the depths of the temple? These questions run through Steven's mind as they get nearer to Lapis.
Team crystal gem finally reaches Lapis, who's turned the ocean into a tower into space. Lapis creates water duplicates of the gems to fight them and it's actually pretty intense. Seeing our heroines getting outmatched is one thing, but seeing Steven, Connie, and even Greg join the fight is another. It all culminates in a deciding moment when Steven activates his gem weapon in earnest for the first time, and decides to go up the ocean tower and see Lapis.
Lapis tells Steven that his friends don't really care about other gems, they only care about the Earth. She also reveals that she's just trying to go home, using the ocean to create a path to the homeworld (a plan which she recognizes won't work) because her gem is cracked and she can't go herself. Steven reveals he has healing powers (an earlier episode revealed Steven inherited his mother's healing tears in the form of healing saliva) and fixes Lapis' gem. Lapis thanks Steven, grows a literal pair of water-wings, and flies off into the stars. The tower falls to pieces, the ocean returns to normal, and the team goes back home, with the crystal gems wondering what Lapis' departure will mean for them in the future.
Lapis Lazuli's arrival sets up a lot of important elements that would become important as the series went on: mainly the gem civil war and the adversarial relationship between the crystal gems and others of their species. It also was a showcase for some great action. Seeing our heroes fight their aquatic doppelgängers was something special, especially with the rare sight of seeing the humans get involved. There's also humor to be found in this two-parter, like seeing Mayor Bill Dewey's desperate attempt to refill the ocean with a garden hose, or local teenager Lars' obsession with scoring with summer babes (much to the annoyance of his friend and admirer Sadie). The best, of course, comes from Garnet.
However, what I love most about "Mirror Gem" and "Ocean Gem" is how it ends. As entertaining as the fight is, it doesn't solve anything. It just gets people (and vans) hurt. The conflict ends when Steven reaches out to Lapis as a friend. He doesn't antagonize her, he doesn't chastise her, he empathizes with her. He understands her desire to go home and explains that his home needs the ocean to survive. This is where Steven Universe really excels; problems aren't always solved through action or violence. More often than not, real progress is achieved by working together, by leaning on family and friends, and yes, by coming to a common understanding with enemies. Steven's greatest strength isn't a magic shield or shapeshifting powers or healing spit; it's his ability to make friends and to make people be friends. And that's something you don't see very often.
"Mirror Gem" and "Ocean Gem" had everything you could want in a Steven Universe story: humor, heart, action, strong character beats, interesting mythology, great animation, gorgeous artwork, and a beautiful score. True, there wasn't a song in these episodes, but there was enough going on that one wasn't necessary. "Mirror Gem" and "Ocean Gem" have the best this show has to offer, and that's why it's the number one episode of Steven Universe.
So that's my list. If you have any ideas to voice, other episodes you like, or any questions, feel free to voice them in the comments. If you'd like to get more into Steven Universe, track down the episodes and start watching. I highly recommend them. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.
One of the elements that hangs heavy over SU is the absence of Rose Quartz. Because the show is from Steven's perspective, everything we know about Rose is secondhand information from the crystal gems and Greg, and they all loved her. She was fierce and courageous warrior and a caring and selfless friend. Her absence has scarred those close to her and "Maximum Capacity" is one of the episodes where this is felt the strongest.
A few days before January 1st, Greg decides that his New Years Resolution will be to finally clean out his overstuffed storage unit that's been collecting junk for twelve years. Steven brings in Amethyst to help, since she also has hoarder tendencies and has managed her accumulated junk quite well. However, not long after the work begins, Amethyst strikes gold and uncovers Greg's old tapes of their favorite sitcom, Li'l Butler. It isn't long before the two begin a VHS binge-watch that overtakes them, culminating in Greg missing the New Years celebration he'd promised to go to with Steven. Greg realizes his mistake too late and tries to leave while Amethyst tries to get him to stay and continue the binge. The argument builds and builds, until it reaches a devastating breaking point that makes Amethyst run away in tears.
"Maximum Capacity" is a study in grief, with Greg's s storage unit acting as an unsubtle metaphor about his and Amethyst's feelings about Rose; rather than dealing with their own emotional baggage, they've put it out of their minds and let it build up until it comes pouring out in a messy, damaging way. Only by letting the others help them with their baggage are they able to truly deal with it. Despite his beach bum persona, Greg is mature enough to realize when a job needs doing. It ends up being Amethyst who holds him back by enabling his immature instincts, and it's here that we find out that she resents Greg for taking Rose away from her in what turned out to be her final years. This is pretty heavy stuff for a kids show, but as always, Steven Universe handles it spot on, with honesty and empathy, and even gives us a heartwarming conclusion. That's impressive feat to accomplish in just over eleven minutes.
Steven Universe is a fun show and is pretty light most of the time, but it can get pretty heavy too. More often than not it means adult themes or high emotions, but on rare occasions it can get downright terrifying. Episodes like "Frybo" and "Horror Club" have dipped into scary imagery with surprisingly effective results, but the best of these exercises came in "So Many Birthdays".
Steven learns that the crystal gems are immortal, having been on Earth for thousands of years prior to his joining them. He also learns that gem culture doesn't really celebrate birthdays. Undeterred, Steven vows to give Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl their own birthday celebration, but finds that the gems aren't as enthralled by piñatas, party clowns, and mini-carts as he is. Worse yet, Steven begins to worry that he himself has outgrown such childish things. As Steven wanders the boardwalk in existential confusion, he begins to age, going from twelve-year-old to teenager to adult to old man in less than an hour. When the gems find out, they panic, struggling to make Steven feel young again in the hopes that it'll get him back to normal.
An earlier episode, "Cat Fingers", explored gem shapeshifting power and showed Steven struggling with them there, and while "Cat Fingers" definitely brought the scary in it's final minutes (imagine Akira, but with more fur), "So Many Birthdays" took things to another level. Seeing Steven turn into Methuselah is one thing, but seeing the gems' efforts to bring him back is another. It is downright heart-wrenching to see Amethyst lashing out at her friends, to see Garnet break her stoicism out of fear, to see Pearl with desperate tears in her eyes as she tries and fails to mimic Steven's party clown routine. I get the sense that there was supposed to be actual humor to this sequence (and to be fair, Garnet has a funny line near the end), but mostly you just feel empathy for the gems, who are watching a member of their family die and don't know how to save him.
"So Many Birthdays" demonstrates the danger that Steven's magical abilities pose to himself and how scary that really is. As far as we know, Steven is the first and only gem/human hybrid, and in a lot of ways the gems are in unknown territory with him. When that fear comes to the surface, it's turns out to be pretty effective.
Pearl was my favorite of the gems when the show started. That has since changed, but she's still a strong character. Pearl is the straight-laced, prim and proper one of the group, often trying to be the ideal warrior for the gems and the perfect mother-figure for Steven and falling short in both categories, often due to her own pride, insecurities, or short-sightedness. Still, she has love for the gems and for Steven, and will fight for them and fight with them at a moment's notice.
"Rose's Scabbard" is another episode about Steven's late mother, but this time filter's it through Pearl's lens. After the titular scabbard is found by Lion (side note: Steven has a magical pet lion who used to belong to Rose and who none of the other gems knew about before Steven took ownership of him), Pearl starts telling Steven about being his mother's confidant, the only one who knew all of her secrets. She decides to let Steven in on these secrets, only to discover that he's already learned about them through his interactions with Lion. What's more, Steven knows that Lion actually has the sword that goes in the scabbard (additional side not: Lion has a pocket dimension in his mane that has some of Rose's stuff in it). Pearl doesn't take the fact that Rose kept secrets from her well, throwing a tantrum in front of the other gems and Steven before running away in tears. Steven follows after her, which leads to a pretty touching heart-to-heart about Pearl's relationship with Rose and with Steven.
There's a lot to read into with the episode: the nature of Steven having Rose's gem, whether Steven is in some way a reincarnation of his mother, the possible lesbian subtext to Pearl's devotion to Rose, the question of how many secrets Rose kept and where exactly Lion came from in the first place. Mostly, however, this episode does for Pearl what "Maximum Capacity" did for Amethyst: let's them explore their grief. While Amethyst avoided her emotional pain through fun and leisure, Pearl tried to do the logical thing: accept the loss of her friend, celebrate their time together, and move on. However, once more, Pearl's emotions get the better of her and she can't help feeling betrayed by Rose and saddened by her loss all over again. It's only through letting Steven see her pain and help her is she able to get through it.
Pearl is a character with a lot of contradictions; she's intelligent and analytical, but prone to emotional outbursts. She's sweet and nurturing to Steven, but condescending and dismissive to most everyone else. She's designed like a ballerina, but fights like a samurai. There's a lot to Pearl, and not all of it's pretty, but she's a compelling, interesting, and even likable character all the same.
It's another Steven and Connie episode, and really, you can't get more Steven and Connie this one.
The episode starts with the gems trying to teach Steven to fuse with them. Fusion is activated through dancing together, and requires not only physical synchronicity, but emotional as well. However, Steven just can't seem to get it to work with the gems. After the lesson ends, he goes to the beach with Connie to talk about his issues. Connie reveals she's never danced with anyone, and Steven invites her to dance with him, because he is a sweetheart and they are god damn adorable together. You might be able to guess what happens next.
Yep, Steven and Connie fuse. Their new form, dubbed 'Stevonnie' by Amethyst, is given instructions from Garnet: they are an experience, and they should make it a good one. Stevonnie spends their night running free in Beach City before getting invited to a rave by one of the local teenagers. They go, but find that it's not all its cracked up to be when they not only draw stares from everyone in attendance, but get repeatedly hit on by a self-important douchebag.
Everything about this episode is on point. The animation of the dancing is sharp and creative and really highlights each individual character. The music is clever and catchy and very emotionally effecting (my personal favorite is the euphoric Twilight Run). AJ Michalka does a great job voicing Stevonnie; her deeper register works for our androgynous lead and she's able to sell it when Steven and Connie are having a conversation through their shared form. It all comes together to make an already interesting premise stronger and more effective.
A lot of recent SU episodes have focused on smaller-scale conflicts; less life-or-death struggles, and more emotional difficulties of everyday life - just augmented with magic. "Alone Together" is a prime example of how effective these episodes can be. There's no MacGuffin that needs finding, no monster that needs defeating, no magical gizmo that's being misused; it's just an examination of what fusion means to someone who's new to it, and it works. Stevonnie has fun together, sure, but they also argue with themselves, suffer each other's anxieties, and ultimately realize that they're better off as separate people. It's a smaller episode, but it's an emotionally satisfying one all the same.
You may have noticed that I haven't talked about Garnet much up until now. That's because, while Garnet is my favorite of the crystal gems, she works best when she's not in the spotlight. Garnet's leading characteristic is her stoicism, but underneath that is wisdom, warmth, love, and tremendous strength. She doesn't speak often, but when she does, it means something (or it's just funny. Garnet get's the best dialogue). Contrarily, episodes that focus on her like "Arcade Mania", "Garnet's Universe", and "Future Vision" aren't always the best ones. However, she got her finest moment in the explosive two-part season finale of SU, and boy was it something to behold.
After the crystal gem's long-distance confrontations with her, the homeworld gem scientist Peridot comes to Earth, bringing with her the captive Lapis Lazuli (who we'll get to later) and her escort/bodyguard, Jasper. Before they land, Beach City is evacuated, including Steven, who rides with Greg in his van. Greg tells him the full story of how the gems originally came to Earth to plunder it for resources, until Rose Quartz and her fellow rebels fought against the homeworld and were branded traitors. Those precious few that survived only did so because of Rose's shield, and were abandoned on our world as a result. Steven realizes that the crystal gems need him like they needed Rose and demands Greg let him return. Greg says no at first, and you can really feel his desperation at not wanting to see his son run into danger after already losing the woman he loved. Eventually, however, Greg relents, and Steven returns to the beach in time to see the homeworlders make landfall.
Initially, Jasper is dismissive of our ragtag bunch, but soon realizes that Rose's gem is among them and mistakenly believes that Steven is Rose in disguise. When Garnet tries to protect him, Japer uses her advanced weaponry to dissipate her, leaving behind only her gems. "The Return" ends with Jasper knocking Steven out.
As Part 2 begins, Steven wakes up in a prison cell aboard Peridot's ship. He quickly learns that while the energy wall in front of him is designed to stop gems, the half-human Steven can slip through unharmed. He soon finds three more prisoners on the ship: Ruby, a stranger who runs away as soon as she's free; Lapis, who refuses Steven's help out of fear of Jasper and Peridot; and Sapphire, who quickly leads Steven to find Ruby. The two reunite, come together, and start fusing, ultimately forming...Garnet! Yep, Garnet's a fusion, a theory that had been bounced around by SU fans for a while but is confirmed here. And yes, she is the result of a same-sex coupling. There's no ambiguity about that here.
Garnet sends Steven to free Amethyst and Pearl while she has a rematch with Jasper. But she doesn't just fight her. She fights her IN SONG. And it is GLORIOUS.
Everything about "Stronger Than You" is perfect. The beat? Energetic and effortlessly cool. The vocals? Estelle absolutely kills it. The lyrics? A powerful testament to Garnet's euphoria at being back together. "Stronger Than You" is the best song in Steven Universe, bar none, and given the songs we've already heard, that's saying something.
One might think this would be enough to end an episode on, but we don't stop there. After Garnet's fight causes the ship to crash back on Beach City, Jasper decides she needs to fuse in order to win, and finds Lapis before she can flee. Despite Steven's protests, Lapis agrees to fuse with Jasper, forming the giant Malachite...until Lapis uses her water powers to drag both her and Jasper to the bottom of the ocean and keep them there.
"The Return" and "Jailbreak" are about as epic as Steven Universe gets. It's the continuation of a conflict that could very well end with the destruction of the planet, it effectively demonstrates the power and the threat of modern gem technology and how ineffective our heroes are against it, and it features one of the few honest-to-goodness fight scenes we've ever seen on the show. What's more, it remembers to include strong character bits, including the revelation of Garnet's origins and strong moments for Greg and Lapis, who I really hope we see more of soon. Jasper and Peridot make for effective villains, acting as dark mirrors to Garnet's strength and Pearl's intellect, and the episode makes it clear that their threat is far from finished.
These episodes took Steven Universe to a whole other level, and are as fitting a season finale as we could have asked for. That, plus that song is REALLY that good.
Remember when I said Pearl was my favorite of the gems right off the bat? Well Amethyst was my least favorite. This isn't to say that I didn't like the character, but she was the most straightforward and simple of our three leads. Pearl was someone who had high aspirations that she couldn't entirely meet, Garnet was mysterious and stoic and played things close to the chest, and Amethyst was the wild child, the playmate, the energetic rascal who got under people's nerves but was ultimately well-meaning and harmless. I got the sense that we'd learn more about her as the series progressed, and boy did Steven Universe deliver on that front.
As the gems begin their efforts to sabotage Peridot's evaluation of Earth, Steven gets his first brief lesson about the homeworld gem conflict, how the homeworlders wanted to do something bad to Earth and how our trio of heroines can't live with their own kind anymore. Steven equates this to The No-Home Boys, a children's book series that's basically a mash-up of The Hardy Boys and The Boxcar Children. Amethyst, clearly uncomfortable with the discussion of the homeworlder's work on Earth, suggests she and Steven leave the temple and become hobos themselves, which Steven thinks will be a fun adventure. Do their escapades begin with a song? You bet it does!
However, shortly after hopping aboard a train to ride the rails of Hobohemia, Steven finds the wayfarer lifestyle isn't all its cracked up to be and decides he wants to go home. Amethyst, contrarily, decides to show Steven her home. It turns out Amethyst isn't from the homeworld like Garnet and Pearl, but was actually made on Earth in a so-called 'kindergarten'. Pearl shows up soon after to scold Amethyst for bringing Steven to a place with such a dark history. Amethyst does not take it well.
In one instant, every negative feeling, every moment of self-hatred and pent-up anger, comes erupting out of Amethyst as she fights against Pearl to make her leave. They stop soon enough, but by then the damage is done and all of Amethyst's doubts and fears have come to light. In the end, it's not Steven, but Pearl who reaches out to her sister gem, reassuring her that she never saw the kindergarten as a part of who Amethyst is, and that regardless of their fights, she still loves her no matter what.
Like I said, this is Amethyst's time to shine and she makes the most of it. Michaela Dietz can voice Amethyst's banter with ease and does a great job in her first real solo singing role on the show, but she really shines in the final act. Her performance is positively gut-wrenching as Amethyst reveals how much she hates being reminded of her origins. Likewise, Deedee Magno Hall brings a level of warmth and empathy to Pearl that we don't really see too often, and Callison plays up the distress of Steven seeing his family fight. It's a showcase for the actors and they do not miss a beat going to such emotional places.
Amethyst has always often felt like the outside among the gems. She's the most human of them; she eats food and sleeps despite not needing to do either, she's more bemused by Earthlings whereas the others are dismissive of them, and she's the most outwardly flawed - immature, impulsive, stubborn, and chaotic. "On the Run" gets to the roots of who Amethyst is, both literally and figuratively, and sheds a new light on her in a very powerful, very effecting episode.
"The Return" and "Jailbreak" were the finale of SU's inaugural season, but it's story really started with the midseason two-parter, "Mirror Gem" and "Ocean Gem". These two episodes did more than just shine a light on a character, feature a new magic trick or mystical MacGuffin, or just see Steven go on a mission. "Mirror Gem" and "Ocean Gem" were game-changers, turning Steven Universe from a fun little adventure story into a grander serial, taking the mythology and mystery built up over the last twenty-four episodes and turning it into a bigger, grander story. It was the next level of Steven Universe, and that's why it's number one.
Part one begins with the rather troubling revelation that the reason we never see Steven go to school is that he doesn't go and indeed may never have been. This calls into question Greg and the gems as parents, but we'll put that aside from now and focus on the plot. Pearl takes it upon herself to educate Steven on gem history, using a magic hand mirror that can record anything it sees. However, the mirror is old and worn out and the gem powering it is cracked, and it doesn't work. Pearl gives up and Steven decides to take the mirror and go enjoy his new summer vacation.
However, Steven learns that not only is the mirror functional, but has a consciousness, and spends the day conversing with him using recorded images of his interactions with the Beach City regulars. When Steven decides to show the gems, the mirror is reluctant, and refuses to work in the gems' presence. Steven convinces it to talk to him in front of the gems, which makes them unusually nervous. Garnet tries to take the mirror, but it makes it clear it doesn't want to go and Steven doesn't give it up, running out of the temple with it. As Steven hides from the crystal gems, the mirror tells him to remove the gem on the back of the mirror. Steven does, releasing the captured Lapis Lazuli, who thanks Steven for his help, but attacks the crystal gems for keeping her prisoner in the mirror. She invites Steven to return to the homeworld with her, but when Steven doesn't say yes, Lapis leaves him and disappears into the ocean.
Part two starts the next morning, where said ocean has disappeared and Lapis, with her water-controlling powers, is clearly responsible. The Beach City Regulars demand answers, since the local economy depends on tourists visiting the beach in summer, and Steven takes it upon himself to talk to Lapis and sort this mess out. The crystal gems say they'll go with him, with Greg, Connie, and Lion also coming along to help out in any way they can.
As they make their way through what was once the Atlantic, Pearl explains to Steven that this isn't the first time they've fought gems. In fact, every monster they've fought so far has been a gem who's lost control of their physical form, and it's Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl who deal with them and keep them under wraps until they can get sorted out. This adds a new layer to the show's mythology, especially after having seen "On the Run". Are the monsters flawed or incomplete gems that were grown out of the kindergarten? Are they capable of being reformed or doomed to madness forever? Are the crystal gems really helping them by keeping them locked in bubbles in the depths of the temple? These questions run through Steven's mind as they get nearer to Lapis.
Team crystal gem finally reaches Lapis, who's turned the ocean into a tower into space. Lapis creates water duplicates of the gems to fight them and it's actually pretty intense. Seeing our heroines getting outmatched is one thing, but seeing Steven, Connie, and even Greg join the fight is another. It all culminates in a deciding moment when Steven activates his gem weapon in earnest for the first time, and decides to go up the ocean tower and see Lapis.
Lapis tells Steven that his friends don't really care about other gems, they only care about the Earth. She also reveals that she's just trying to go home, using the ocean to create a path to the homeworld (a plan which she recognizes won't work) because her gem is cracked and she can't go herself. Steven reveals he has healing powers (an earlier episode revealed Steven inherited his mother's healing tears in the form of healing saliva) and fixes Lapis' gem. Lapis thanks Steven, grows a literal pair of water-wings, and flies off into the stars. The tower falls to pieces, the ocean returns to normal, and the team goes back home, with the crystal gems wondering what Lapis' departure will mean for them in the future.
Lapis Lazuli's arrival sets up a lot of important elements that would become important as the series went on: mainly the gem civil war and the adversarial relationship between the crystal gems and others of their species. It also was a showcase for some great action. Seeing our heroes fight their aquatic doppelgängers was something special, especially with the rare sight of seeing the humans get involved. There's also humor to be found in this two-parter, like seeing Mayor Bill Dewey's desperate attempt to refill the ocean with a garden hose, or local teenager Lars' obsession with scoring with summer babes (much to the annoyance of his friend and admirer Sadie). The best, of course, comes from Garnet.
However, what I love most about "Mirror Gem" and "Ocean Gem" is how it ends. As entertaining as the fight is, it doesn't solve anything. It just gets people (and vans) hurt. The conflict ends when Steven reaches out to Lapis as a friend. He doesn't antagonize her, he doesn't chastise her, he empathizes with her. He understands her desire to go home and explains that his home needs the ocean to survive. This is where Steven Universe really excels; problems aren't always solved through action or violence. More often than not, real progress is achieved by working together, by leaning on family and friends, and yes, by coming to a common understanding with enemies. Steven's greatest strength isn't a magic shield or shapeshifting powers or healing spit; it's his ability to make friends and to make people be friends. And that's something you don't see very often.
"Mirror Gem" and "Ocean Gem" had everything you could want in a Steven Universe story: humor, heart, action, strong character beats, interesting mythology, great animation, gorgeous artwork, and a beautiful score. True, there wasn't a song in these episodes, but there was enough going on that one wasn't necessary. "Mirror Gem" and "Ocean Gem" have the best this show has to offer, and that's why it's the number one episode of Steven Universe.
So that's my list. If you have any ideas to voice, other episodes you like, or any questions, feel free to voice them in the comments. If you'd like to get more into Steven Universe, track down the episodes and start watching. I highly recommend them. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.
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