Steven Universe, a children’s show airing on Cartoon Network, is the brainchild of Adventure Time alum Rebecca Sugar. It’s also one of the best shows on television. Lucky for me, there’s lots of Steven Universe to enjoy, so in no particular order, here are my top 5 episode picks. (Spoiler alert if you’re not caught up!)

1. Jail Break

'Jail Break' takes place after Steven and the Gems have been abducted by other Gems. The stakes are high: the town of Beach City has been evacuated, and Steven has watched Garnet get split in half by the rough and antagonistic Jasper. Steven has a black eye the entire episode, its permanence a visual reminder of the danger they’re in.

This episode reveals that powerful, level-headed Garnet is actually a fusion of two Gems: Ruby and Sapphire.

Their reunion is both poignant and seriously groundbreaking, as we actually see Sapphire kiss away Ruby’s tears of joy before the two Gems fuse again. We then get to enjoy a beautiful and triumphant song from Garnet’s voice actor Estelle as Garnet faces down Jasper. My favorite lines:

“Go ahead and try to hit me if you’re able

Can’t you see that my relationship is stable?

I know you think I’m not something you’re afraid of,

‘Cause you think that you see what I’m made of.

But I am even more than the two of them,

Everything they care about is what I am.

I am their fury, I am their patience, I am a conversation.”

All the technical talk of agender space rocks aside, I am overwhelmed with feeling at what I see on my screen: a black woman who is the personification of an intense and ongoing lesbian love story, whose power and strength are derived from that, singing about how her love is what strengthens and empowers her. Mega significant and cool.

2. Fusion Cuisine

In this episode, Steven’s best friend Connie has lied to her parents and told them that Steven has a nuclear family, which her parents now insist on meeting. In fact, Steven’s family consists of three space rocks and a homeless ex-rocker. Awkward.

To resolve this dilemma, the three Gems fuse into the massive Alexandrite. But Alexandrite is an unstable fusion, and during the dinner, the Gems separate. After Connie and Steven run off together to escape punishment, the Gems form Alexandrite just long enough to bring Steven back.

The Gems make it clear that fusion is serious magic, magic the Gems use only in life-or-death situations. Steven’s puppy eyes? A life-or-death situation. Steven’s disappeared? Definitely a life-or-death situation. The Gems dote on Steven, and each one of them desires to support and validate him as much as possible. It’s a recurring theme: they’re not human, they don’t always understand human customs, they don’t always even care, but for Steven, they make it happen. I can’t get enough of that.

I also appreciate this episode’s emphatic validation of the non-nuclear family. Even the serious and stern Maheswaran parents are impressed by Greg and the Gems’ parenting skills. It doesn’t matter that Steven’s family isn’t a traditional one; it only matters that his family acts out of sincere regard for their cherished child’s safety and well-being. Message much?

3. So Many Birthdays

Steven’s attempts to introduce the non-aging, almost-immortal Gems to the human concept of birthdays are fraught with hilarity at first. His attempts to tell jokes at his celebration for Pearl are particularly funny, as Pearl looks upon him with heartbreak in her eyes and a tremulous flutter in her voice: “Steven, are you telling lies?”

Also, there’s a picture of Garnet punching a shark in old-timey clothes. Truly great.

But the Gems just don’t grok Steven’s birthday thing, and Steven starts questioning whether or not he’s become too old for birthdays. In an ingenious twist, Steven’s gem reacts to his hopeless feelings of maturity: as he wanders through Beach City, his body gets older and older. When he returns to the Gems, Steven’s body is that of a helpless, dying old man.

In an attempt to return Steven to a childish state of mind, the Gems frantically mimic all the aspects of birthday celebrations that Steven tried to share with them, but nothing seems to help. Pearl is beside herself; her attempt to mimic Steven’s clown show is tragicomedy at its finest. At her wits’ end, Garnet just starts shaking Steven: “I thought… violence… would be the answer,” she whispers, her voice husky with sorrow.

I’m laughing, but also I’m crying. By the end of the episode, Steven has admitted his childish fear that he was wasting their time. This enables the Gems to reassure him of their love for him and his sweet and considerate nature, and by the end of the episode, Steven is back to normal. (Except for his giant, hairy man-legs. But they work it out.)

4. On The Run

This episode reveals that the Gems from Homeworld planned to use the Earth as a breeding ground. Amethyst comes from one such breeding ground, a place called The Kindergarten. Amethyst struggles to have any pride in herself, knowing that not only is she not a Homeworld Gem, she’s the result of the evil decisions of “bad Gems.” Doesn’t that make her a “bad Gem,” too?

Pearl and Amethyst often butt heads, because Pearl’s a neat freak and Amethyst is an aggressively messy slob. But in this episode, Amethyst fights Pearl for real, out of her own pain at Homeworld Gem Pearl’s perceived rejection of her and her own struggle over whether she can be good if the Kindergarten is so truly bad. Eventually it’s Pearl who calms her down, because it’s Pearl’s approval that Amethyst most desperately needs. Amethyst hugs her tightly after the emotional catharsis of their fight, showing how urgently she needed Pearl to approve of her existence and acknowledge the good in her heart.

My favorite part of Steven Universe is how often the characters validate each other’s emotions and experiences. In this episode, that validation extends from Pearl to Amethyst rather than any Gem to Steven. It’s deep subject matter, especially for an eleven minute kids’ show. And the insights into the history of Steven Universe’s world are crazy intriguing.

5. Tiger Millionaire

If there’s one thing I didn’t expect from Steven Universe, it was a funny and clever tribute to professional wrestling. It turns out that when Amethyst is sick of Garnet and Pearl laying down the law, she enters Beach City’s underground wrestling events as the Purple Puma, where no one is hedging her in with any rules. After Steven sees her sneak out one night, he joins her in the ring. When Garnet and Pearl find out, they try to stop it -- until they understand how important this outlet is for Amethyst through Steven’s impassioned plea for permission.

From heel-face turns like that of Steven’s wrestling persona “Tiger Millionaire, to Steven’s convoluted invention of backstories for himself and Amethyst, to the depiction of devoted fans like Lars, this episode is a cute and scarily accurate portrayal of the wrestling world. And once more, we see the Gems validating one another’s choices, apologizing for their mistakes, and supporting each other emotionally.

And it’s funny -- when Pearl tries to act like a rough-and-tumble member of the Notorious Order of Wrestling Haters, she gracefully death-drops and vogues. That’s what’s so great about Steven Universe: it’s insightful and poignant and charming, and it stays funny the whole time.

The next episode of Steven Universe, “Shirt Club,” airs on Cartoon Network on Thursday, April 16 at 5:30 PM. Did I miss any episodes? How would you rank your top 5 episodes of Steven Universe? Let me know in the comments.