Andraste

So, recently real life punched me in the face (in a way that I might get into in a locked post some time). It is going to keep punching me for at least the next two weeks.

Fortunately, this is the perfect time for a Steven Universe marathon, since the show will soon end its fifth season and its time to go back and watch everything and yell 'HOW DID I NOT NOTICE THAT FORESHADOWING???' all the time.

Because if Babylon 5 answered the question 'is it possible to take a five-volume science fiction novel and put it on TV?' in the affirmative, then Steven Universe is working hard on '... but what about a young adult science fantasy about growing up and realising your parents are just human even when they're aliens and also about political rebellion among shapeshifting space rocks? And what if it were delivered in eleven minute animated instalments and was also a musical sometimes because why not?'

Which is to say, if you like young adult science fantasy, big ensemble casts and plots that unfold across years so that you spend a lot of later episodes yelling 'IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW!' I would suggest giving it a shot. Early episodes require some tolerance for standard sitcom/cartoon tropes of the 'protagonist screws up and Learns A Lesson' variety, but there's a lot less of that once the plot really kicks in. Besides, the other thing it has in common with B5 is that even the lacklustre episodes are often important later. (Also, it is stuffed to the brim with cool female characters and may be the gayest show on television, if either of those things is a draw for you.)

Anyway, this left me wondering about all sorts of important show questions. We all know that 'when will Jasper return from the war?' and 'what is up with those Diamonds anyway?' will be answered eventually, but there's one question that's much more difficult: what are the best songs in Steven Universe? So here, have my top thirteen.

(I tried to cut it down to ten, but I just couldn't manage it, so thirteen it is.)

( Lots of embedded YouTube video. Mostly singing, some crying. )