(Continued)

In "Alone at Sea," the abuse gains a striking and somewhat eerie parallel to real situations of abuse. When Lapis and Steven are alone, Lapis's language indicates emotional trauma that is most likely caused by her past abuse:

"It's my fault. I'm the one to blame," she says about her relationship with Jasper. "I was always battling with Jasper.... I miss her."

Steven has seen Jasper abuse Lapis both physically and emotionally firsthand, and responds, "But she's horrible!"

"I'M horrible," Lapis cries, "I did horrible things."

The way Lapis speaks in this scene indicates not only that she feels bad about her relationship with Jasper, but also that Jasper manipulated Lapis into believing that she's a bad person and is unworthy of affection from others. It's not unheard of for victims of abuse in situations like these to miss their abusers, and even to return to them, so Lapis's situation resonated with a number of the show's adult fans who were able to relate.

The most important part of the episode comes in how Lapis handles Jasper later in the episode. Jasper calls Lapis a monster and says that the only way someone like Lapis can feel any solace is by agreeing to be in an abusive relationship with Jasper again. But Lapis finds the strength to stand up to Jasper and say something that, up until now, she hasn't been able to say: no. She recognizes that her relationship with Jasper is unhealthy, and though her relationship with herself isn't much better, Lapis is shown doing something that, for many victims of abuse, is incredibly difficult--walking away.

Luckily, not everyone will become a victim of abuse. But for those who are, options can feel limited, and situations can seem hopeless. This is why representation of these situations is so important; children will see how Lapis felt, see how much she hurt, and it may help them have the tools later in life to get out of unsafe or unhealthy situations. Lessons like this are important for children to learn because a lot of abuse victims don't even realize that they're being abused until it's too late. Laying out such a complex yet clearly abusive relationship in a children's show can help kids distinguish between healthy and unhealthy relationships and recognize that sometimes victims really do care about their abusers, but that doesn't make the abuse any less harmful.