“I am made of love, and it’s stronger than you.”

Considering the
musicality of Steven Universe, the
absence of any songs from acclaimed singer Estelle throughout its first season was striking. Well, that’s not entirely true: she leads the theme song, to ensure that every single episode of the series begins with Garnet singing the word “We.”
And that’s my favorite little hint.

Yes, Garnet’s a
fusion, and it’s a testament to the world Steven
Universe built in its first season that this revelation was guessable, but no less powerful in execution than a less expected twist. Enough breadcrumbs about her true nature are sprinkled in throughout the season to gratify theorists (see: her two gems, her expert knowledge of fusion, her keytar), but for unaware viewers who are somehow unspoiled about what’s now common enough knowledge to be the cover of a children’s book, the twist is made apparent in the very beginning of Jailbreak through the stark flashback of Garnet’s gems breaking apart and the introduction of Ruby, who resembles her fusion with her hair and color far more than Sapphire with her lips and hidden eyes. Steven’s surprise is not necessarily meant to be your own, and that’s okay.

While Steven gets to meet both halves of Garnet individually, we get much more of everyone’s favorite eternal flame, already fully realized by Charlyne Yi. She and Steven are a terrific odd couple storming the brig for the Crystal Gems and whoever this Sapphire is (at this point only the youngest viewers haven’t guessed the twist, I’d imagine—our still-unnamed Ruby says Sapphire’s name in a Garnet-style shot of the lower half of her face, and even tries and fails to envision the future); both are determined to save their friends(/lovers), but where Steven is curious and wonderstruck, Ruby is impatient and desperate. She’s around just long enough to make a strong impression: that of a single-minded dynamo, combining the bullheadedness of a Gryffindor with the frustration of Daffy Duck. But between her attitude and the show’s desire to introduce her separately from Sapphire, she inevitably bails on Steven as soon as they meet Lapis Lazuli.

We’ve seen Lapis twice since Ocean Gem, but she and Steven haven’t actually talked again until now, and our future angsty teen is justifiably wallowing in despair: after thousands of years longing for her home, she’s still reeling over the knowledge that home no longer exists. She was brave enough to stand up for Steven in The Return and lie about him to protect him prior to that encounter, but as we saw in The Message, she’s thoroughly defeated. This continues the episode’s trend of Gems opposing Steven’s core values; in this case, his unwavering optimism.

Jailbreak’s cinematography stands out among its generally fantastic peers (Rebecca Sugar reunites the Sugar/Liu/Johnston storyboarding trio responsible for Lion 3), and this scene is one such example. The yellow light of the prison barrier is used to its fullest, switching between portraying both characters with a bar of gold between them and Steven’s perspective of Lapis’s sickly, muted blue—and unlike his interactions with Ruby and Sapphire, Steven’s closeups aren’t tinted by Lapis’s point of view, because she’s not one of them quite yet. Between the Mirror, Greg’s television, and the prison light, Lapis is forced to communicate from behind obfuscating screens throughout the first season, which makes her eventual integration with the team (more or less) such a refreshing contrast.

While we’re on details like this, there’s also matter of the gems themselves. The placement of a Gem’s gem has always been subtly indicative of their nature, but Jailbreak’s camera highlights them into the forefront. Ruby’s angry shrug reveals the gem on her palm usually hidden by a clenched fist, showing how she’s only half of the whole that is Garnet. Lapis is introduced with a shot of her gem, followed by her face, emphasizing her character’s intense desire to go back. And when the hard-nosed Jasper is convincing Lapis to fuse, her gem is so prominent that the top and bottom of her face are cut off frame.

Oh, and there’s that really neat transition of Jasper to Peridot.

But back to Steven’s adventure: after evading Peridot and Jasper and first hearing the term “cluster” (soon to be followed by our first “clod”!), we meet Garnet’s other half. Sapphire’s song begins the episode and is heard like a siren call throughout his search, so it’s satisfying to meet her this early in the finale. She proves to be a calm, confident counterpart to Ruby, seemingly sharing no similarities save a desire to reunite. Oh, and she somehow knows Steven’s name.

Before we get much more of a grip on our new Gem, she whisks Steven to the central room and to Ruby. Their brief conversation speaks volumes about Ruby’s self-worth, Sapphire’s empathy, and their mutual devotion, and Sapphire kissing Ruby’s tears away before getting swept off her feet is our first solid indication that these aren’t just good friends. Their “fusion dance” is as simple as swirling around in joy, and the score melts into bass as Garnet returns.

There are many things to love about this scene, but my favorite is that we finally see Garnet’s full face in a situation that isn’t inherently frightening. Our most distant Crystal Gem has opened up to Steven in a way she’s been working on for the better part of Season 1B, and it turns out her three eyes aren’t really all that strange after all. 

As Steven runs off to help Amethyst and Pearl, he passes Garnet the torch, and yeah, here’s the second act in its entirety.

Stronger Than You speaks for itself, and if you’re anything like me you’ve seen this sequence a thousand times already. But beyond Estelle’s voice, Sugar’s lyrics, and Aivi and Surasshu’s score, it’s worth noting that the visual storytelling here is incredible. It’s great to see Garnet in an actual fight after a season of lopsided victories versus massive opponents; her only big losses are in Steven’s imagination and against Jasper’s unknown technology. She’s obviously confident, wearing a constant grin (and, sure, singing the whole time), but I love how Jasper gets plenty of good punches in. This is a villain we need to take seriously, and a rout would take all the bite out of her future appearances.

The choreography perfectly matches the spirit of these fighters: Garnet is limber and cunning despite her power, not even summoning her gloves until she acrobatically disarms her opponent, while Jasper is a cavewoman whose only strategy is pummeling her foe with her fists, head, and Sonic spin dashes. Perhaps Garnet is tough enough to withstand such an onslaught punch for punch, but instead she wins the duel by coordinating Ruby’s drive with Sapphire’s restraint.

This dichotomy reinforces the link between Stronger Than You and its sister song, Strong in the Real Way, the twin theses of the series: strength in Steven’s Universe is about how we treat ourselves and others, because that takes much more work than just hitting the gym. Stronger Than You is ruined if Garnet is physically stronger than Jasper, because the whole point is that physicality is irrelevant to strength.

…but wait, that was just the middle. Jailbreak has a strange structure, with a third act that follows the climax instead of containing it. This is hardly a typical case of falling action, however, as Jasper is defeated for a second time by the most unlikely Gem imaginable in a harrowing conclusion.

One of the cooler tricks of Season 1B is depicting Lapis’s sorrow and fear in a way that makes us forget that she’s the most powerful being alive on a planet made of water. Jasper’s forceful fusion is tough to watch, considering fusion’s various connotations (Kimberly Brooks is great throughout, but her line of the night is Jasper’s wolfish “Just say yes…”), and Malachite is the terrifying consequence.

Stronger Than You deservedly consumes most of the musical praise for Jailbreak, but the one-two punch of Collusion and especially Malachite is spine-chillingly brilliant. Both employ Lapis’s theme, but while the former combines it with Jasper’s, the latter takes a cue from the simmering tidal wave of her darker theme in Mirror Gem as her half shackles Malachite, only for her piano to storm in as the abomination is dragged into the sea. Even so, Malachite’s discordant two-chord motif is strong enough to stand out even during the Lapis-fest, and will continue to unnerve whenever she darkens our screen.

Also like Mirror Gem is a final moment of levity from Garnet to ease such a sudden ending, but it’s not over yet! Steven’s ringing phone heralds the next step in his journey, and the first Steven Bomb wisely included this denouement as a conclusion to the weeklong finale.

There are so many amazing details to applaud—the hand ship’s escape pod is flicked away like a marble!—on top of Jailbreak’s obvious strengths. This is an unbelievably solid eleven minutes, packed with action and emotion and satisfaction in the way any good finale should provide. And in case all of the preceding events weren’t enough to clue you in that this is something big, the ending credits, at long last, contain lyrics.

Future Vision!

• Lots of cool parallels exist between Jailbreak and the finale of the show’s next fifty-odd episode chunk, Bubbled: the direct continuation of a defeat, a quiet space title card leading into a space setting, and especially a disgruntled ruby’s “Great! This is just perfect!”

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

The Return and Jailbreak are essentially tied in my book, with the former edging ahead by a hair. This top six is gonna be pretty solid until Peridot joins the crew.

Top Ten

1. Steven and the Stevens
2. Mirror Gem
3. Lion 3: Straight to Video
4. Alone Together
5. The Return
6. Jailbreak
7. Rose’s Scabbard
8. Coach Steven
9. Giant Woman
10. Winter Forecast

Love ‘em

• Laser Light Cannon
• Bubble Buddies
• Tiger Millionaire
• Lion 2 The Movie
• Rose’s Room
• An Indirect Kiss
• Ocean Gem
• Space Race
• Garnet’s Universe
• Warp Tour
• The Test
• Future Vision
• On the Run
• Maximum Capacity
• Marble Madness
• The Message
• Political Power

Like ‘em

• Gem Glow
• Frybo
• Arcade Mania
• So Many Birthdays
• Lars and the Cool Kids
• Onion Trade
• Steven the Sword Fighter
• Beach Party
• Monster Buddies
• Keep Beach City Weird
• Watermelon Steven

Enh

• Cheeseburger Backpack
• Together Breakfast
• Cat Fingers
• Serious Steven
• Steven’s Lion
• Joking Victim
• Secret Team

No Thanks!

4. Horror Club
3. Fusion Cuisine
2. House Guest
1. Island Adventure