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Beautopia Review

Susan Strong returns, and the show recognizes how significant her reintroduction is to Finn and the audience by staging her appearance at the Treehouse as grand and important. Jake is distrusting of Susan, bringing up the events of her first episode, while Finn still holds on to the hope that Susan is human. Susan herself has developed, now speaking slightly more fluent English. We can already infer that the Hyoomans are mutated descendants of humans who sought shelter during the Mushroom War. We learn in this episode that those humans didn’t just live in a dirty sewer. They built an underground civilization called Beautopia. Beautopia, just like the humans led by Two Bread Tom and Hugo, shows its in humans’ nature to rebuild. Beautopia is even an island civilization of sorts. Unlike the islands and The Drift, Beautopia’s society was abandoned presumably hundreds of years ago. Susan has attempted freeing Beautopia from the Lub Glubs before, but meeting Finn has reignited her hope of restarting the civilization.

Jake’s prejudice towards the Hyoomans is on full display. He scares them with his shapeshifting for his amusem*nt, building on his desire to rule them like “angry gods” in “Susan Strong”. Susan almost drowning Finn works great as a reminder that Finn and Susan are not exactly the same. The episode really plays up the awkwardness between their relationship. Finn and Susan do feel a connection to each other and they want to be in each other's lives, but their lack of understanding of what the other person is keeps getting in the way. This scene and Susan’s surprise of Finn’s lack of gills is a wake up call for Finn at how different they are. Finn must be disappointed and starts to believe that she probably is a fish person. However, he still feels a connection to her. That and his heroic nature makes him determined to still help and trust Susan and defend her from Jake’s insults. In actuality, Susan’s surprise is that he is like her. Finn takes his hat off here and his hair has continued to grow back since “Mortal Folly”.

Finn, Jake, and Susan take a boat to Beautopia, a precursor to the Islands crew (minus BMO). We get a string of great Jake moments including a very catchy sea shanty. Jake’s smug reaction to Susan’s terror over a pool floaty is hilarious, and him struggling to breathe while being used as a paddle is even funnier. Another pool floaty coming out after an ominous buildup with horror movie music is also very funny. The true forms of the Lub Glubs have a very creepy design. The implication that they have existed for hundreds of years leads me to believe they were mutated from nuclear residue, eventually pushing out the humans. One of them chews on a human skull with a bunny hat, leading to many wild fan theories connecting it to Fionna.

Jake and Susan complete their arcs in this episode with Jake finally trusting in Susan and Finn once again inspiring Susan to overcome her fears. Finn tells Susan that humans and hyoomans have to stick together, staying consistent with Finn’s lesson in “Susan Strong” that everyone is the same or “wild animals”. Jake delaying throwing in the lantern is yet another hilarious moment. One of the Lub Glubs reminds Jake of his mother, like how a drawing of one reminded him of his father. Many interpret this as a subconscious memory of Warren Ampersand. It could be, but I don’t think the resemblance is quite strong enough.

The episode ends on a fantastic, quiet moment. Finn and Susan have yet another awkward moment, with Finn refusing to stay. Susan puts Finn’s hand under her hat, resulting in the two finally understanding each other. The episode does not confirm if Finn’s reaction was to him feeling gills or not. However, I think it can only be read as Finn realizing Susan is human, even without the context of later episodes. Susan puts Finn’s hand there as a response to Finn telling her he isn’t like her. Finn’s surprise only works if she is human because Finn was already convinced Susan was a hyooman. I like the reveal being more subtle and the show’s restraint at only giving us a tiny piece of the puzzle.

The dynamic of Finn, Jake, and Susan makes for a great episode with lots of nuanced interaction full of heart, tension, and hilarity. It makes for a worthy followup to one of season two’s best episodes.

Grade:A

From Bad to Worse Review

“From Bad to Worse” is a sequel to the first episode, and also borrows zombie apocalypse tropes. It may not be the most unique episode, but it's still enjoyable. This isn’t a retread of the series first episode, as this focuses on the zombie chase itself. I actually think this would have worked better as a direct continuation of “Slumber Party Panic”. Allowing the zombies to stay uncured at the end of the first episode and leading into a part two would have gotten rid of the very dumb and canonbreaking climax in “Slumber Party Panic”. Still, Cinnamon Bun eating the sample of zombie flesh is a funny catalyst.

In addition to Finn and Jake, LSP and Lady Rainicorn get to tag along for the story, providing some extra good moments. The worst part of the episode is the 45 second sequence of the four mixing chemicals in the same way multiple times. It’s not terrible, but why not make the antidote mixing more zany? Especially to tie into the wacky results of the antidotes. However, I do like the sequence of using the antiserum. Starchy getting snatched by a now winged zombie is funny. Always nice to see him pop in for a gag. LSP licking her antidote up for the luscious lips is also amusing. I like how the antidotes, including Jake and Lady’s, backfire and make the candy zombies stronger.

Jake stretching to keep the zombification from spreading is one of the most clever uses of his powers so far, and adds some great suspense and urgency. I love Finn reassuring himself. He’s clearly distraught over losing Jake (Jake death foreshadowing). We know how devastating the thought is for him (“Mystery Train”, “The New Frontier”). Finn forces those feelings down to focus on the task at hand. Even the usually much more mature Lady Rainicorn can’t do this, freeing Jake. Finn is left alone and his acceptance of failure is a big moment for such a relentless character.

Science the Rat works fine enough as a resolution. It was adequately foreshadowed. They didn’t let us forget about that rat. Jake being cured and immediately turned again is a hilariously f*cked up moment that presents an interesting conundrum. Finn covering himself in the antidote is very clever but probably should have injured him more. Seems that the antidote heals the zombie bites. Lady tells Jake that she loves being bitten by him (new zombie kink unlocked?). PB telling Finn to move out of the way is a funny way to end the episode, even if it doesn’t make sense for her to say that in such a celebratory tone.

Grade:B+

The Creeps Review

The main appeal in “The Creeps” are the interactions between Finn, Jake, Princess Bubblegum, BMO, Lumpy Space Princess, and Cinnamon Bun. It’s not a combination of characters we see much of. Like, apparently Cinnamon Bun has a crush on LSP. How cool is that? Him hitting on her is really funny and something I wish the series kept as a running joke. They also all have funny names for their alter egos, two of which refer to either farting or the lack thereof. I love everyone’s unique costumes, especially Princess Bubblegum’s. PB has a really nice swan shaped mask, a reference to her pet swan. LSP actually looks pretty for once in her red dress. Cinnamon Bun, the dumbest person in Ooo, wearing a top hat and monocle like he’s a scholar is hilarious. BMO looks cute, and Finn and Jake look rad, especially Finn’s wolf mask. The costumes, in addition to the haunted house plot, make this the closest Adventure Time has come to a strictly Halloween episode. Halloween doesn’t exist in Ooo, but they could’ve totally called it one like how “Holly Jolly Secrets” does for Christmas. The episode could have gone further with its cast selection. I like all the picks, but not including Marceline is a big missed opportunity. She loves pranks and her character fits the spooky atmosphere. Not sure why she’s never able to play supporting roles in the first half of the series unlike the rest of the cast. Tree Trunks would have also been a good addition.

The episode reuses the murder mystery plot from “Mystery Train”. They lampshade this, with Jake accusing Finn or pulling a prank like he did in that episode. It’s nice having the characters casually mention events from previous episodes, which is still rare for the series. I think the characters and atmosphere differentiate it from “Mystery Train” enough, and even elevates it to a better episode. This also foreshadows Jake’s knowledge of Finn’s initial attempt at a prank. I like how it sets up a “who’s pranking who” mystery. Jake and BMO go off on their own. They have a conversation that some people don’t think makes sense knowing the episode’s twist. I give the writers more credit than that. Jake asks BMO if Finn is pranking him, because for all he knows, Finn could have hijacked Jake’s hijacked prank. And Jake screaming at BMO’s capture is just for dramatic effect for Finn’s ears. I like BMO’s speech in this scene, which is a bit iconic. It’s always heartwarming when BMO tries to cheer up Finn and Jake, and he’ll use his philosophy here to console Jake again much later on.

We get a couple more great gags. Finn throwing PB off the railing is so wacky. Hearing the sound of a flushing toilet after LSP’s screams of agony is hysterical. I love her outburst where we find out why she and Brad broke up prior to “Trouble in Lumpy Space”. A “real ghost” appears, making Finn admit he was pulling a prank…up to this point. The melted Cinnamon Bun and BMO’s remains in the closet look very uneasy. Jake’s hijacked prank is very well done. He must have swapped the painting for the one with LSP in the darkness. Jake gets snagged by the ghost (more death foreshadowing), leaving only Finn left. He encounters a ghost lady, who has a fantastic and creepy design. He escapes, and sees the ocean waves crashing against the mansion outside. Seeing the ocean, his biggest fear, represents how traumatizing this whole experience is for Finn.

Jake, of course, was behind this. Lady Rainicorn was dressed as the ghost, and she talks about having sex with Jake in Korean. Sometimes I forget that she’s as much of a freak as Tree Trunks. I love LSP claiming she’s ready for Brad, even though that doesn’t come to fruition. I guess he’s moved on with Melissa. This is probably LSP’s funniest appearance in the series. Finn finds out that Jake wasn’t behind the ghost lady, leaving its identity a mystery for now. It’s not something that necessarily needs an explanation, as ghosts do exist in Ooo. I bought into the popular fan theory that she’s the ghost of Finn’s mom, which of course isn’t the case, but it was a cool idea. Finn puts his memory of her in his vault. He can suppress his traumatic memories at will!

Grade: A

Apple Thief Review

“Apple Thief” reestablishes Tree Trunks into the series after the mess that was “Crystals Have Power”. Unlike the season two episode, “Apple Thief” harkens back to “Tree Trunks” with the second of two Finn, Jake, and TT trio adventures and its a dynamic that proves just as enjoyable.

Jake cooks some deliciously drawn Korean food, inspired by Bert Youn’s (who co-boarded the episode) love for Korean cuisine. Bert is Korean and it’s always nice when staff members’ cultures are put into the series. I love seeing Lady Rainicorn’s traditions influence Jake. Finn is too young to appreciate the delicacy so he suggests Tree Trunks’ apple pie. I like Finn and Jake’s relationship with their grandmother-figure, feeling they can stop by anytime they want. Tree Trunks’ apple pies have been stolen so the three of them have to solve the case. Raggedy Princess is the first possible suspect, and it’s nice seeing her play a supporting role. The episode later hints that the ne’er-do-wells are the candy criminals. Raggedy Princess’s nervousness raises red flags, but she always acts nervous.

Jake’s past as a thief is confirmed, building on his actions in “City of Thieves”. He says he stopped doing it a while ago after learning it was wrong. My assumption is Lady Rainicorn showed him the error of his ways. Finn, Jake, and Tree Trunks visit the seedy Candy Tavern. Finn has to keep Tree Trunks out of trouble like he did in her debut episode. He even has to stop her from eating toilet paper, showing her sharp mental decline. Apples end up being a euphemism for drugs, and they get wrapped up in underground Candy Kingdom drug trade disputes. Princess Bubblegum definitely started cracking down hard on organized crime sometime after this episode, at least by the time she grows a massive surveillance apparatus in seasons four to six. Tree Trunks tells Finn that he can go home if he wants due to the danger, but that she must go through with finding her apples. While age has made her less capable, she still retains her spirit from her pirate days.

Jake uses his experience in criminal enterprise to track down the apple dealers. They are let in by Wormo, who is a hilarious character. He’s a giant worm that’s very stupid and speaks in a southern accent. Everything he says and does is funny, especially his nonsensical drug slang. Mr Pig is introduced here, voiced by Ron Lynch. He’s at his funniest in this episode, although he has his moments in later appearances. They snatch Mr Pig and leave, probably because the writers wanted to keep his character around as Pen has said. And we have no idea how long he’s been held captive or how many people he’s been forced to eat.

Mr Pig has a heightened sense of hearing for some reason, sensing scared apples in Tree Trunks’ pantry. Tree Trunks' senility shows and she turns herself in, thinking she stole her own apples. Two Banana Guards are called to the scene in their first speaking role. They are hysterical characters. Their voice comes from John DiMaggio doing an impression of Pendleton Ward’s performance as Lumpy Space Princess, and Tom Kenny mimicking it back.

Finn puts his detective skills to use and concludes the magpies are the true apple thief. It’s not a fantastic twist, but ties the episode together well enough. Tree Trunks breaks off her handcuffs, another hint to her wild past. It wouldn’t be a Tree Trunks episode without some sexual aggression, and she slaps one of the banana guards on the butt. She celebrates by making everyone some apple pie. Finn and Jake must be starving.

“Apple Thief” is unremarkable but a perfectly enjoyable episode.

Grade: B+

What Was Missing Review

Finn is revealed to regularly have alone time with the wad of Princess Bubblegum’s hair she gave him in “To Cut a Woman’s Hair”. It’s essentially a PG version of a guy still holding on to their ex’s underwear for personal use. The allegory is pushed forward with Finn checking to make sure he is alone. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t exactly shocking behavior for a thirteen year old boy, but it’s the first big sign that Finn’s crush is getting unhealthy after “Too Young”. It’s time to move on! Unlike “Wizard Battle”, I like the incorporation of Finn’s feelings, despite the arc feeling like there’s nowhere to go after “Too Young”. It’s not the main conflict in the episode, and serves to build to a climax in the season finale.

The Door Lord steals Finn’s gum, Jake’s blanket, and BMO’s controller. It’s hilarious that he only speaks in loud mumbles. He’s supposed to be related to Key-per from “The Enchiridion!”. The Door Lord steals a toy from a candy person and Finn reassures him “I’ll get your kid back, toy!”. The episode wasn’t originally written this way. Adam Muto misspoke when he was pitching the episode and they thought it was funny to keep it like that. Door Lord steals something from Bubblegum and attempts to steal Marceline’s bass axe. With Maja being in possession of Hambo, it makes sense for her bass axe to be her most important item. Finn, Jake, Princess Bubblegum, Marceline, and BMO have to team up to solve the riddle of the door. It’s great getting to see this group of characters together for the first time. It’s the entire main cast minus Ice King, and they get so few opportunities to all be together before Stakes. Their group dynamic is so fun too. The episode is set in Red Rock Pass, which is a really pretty setting to choose for a (mostly) bottle episode.

Marceline chastises Bubblegum for not executing the door lords, as they kept breaking out of jail. I’m not sure if PB is really above just killing them, considering all the f*cked up stuff she’s done in the past. But, killing might be a bridge too far for her. I know she committed robot genocide, but I argue she didn’t see them as sentient beings. Jake decides to pretend to be the jerk in the band. Since Jake doesn’t have a grand emotional arc, this is a funny role to put him in. Marceline starts singing “Just Your Problem”:

-“I’m gonna drink the red from your pretty pink face”. This pretty much gives the game away about PB and Marcy not being platonic. She’s singing about kissing and biting PB.

-PB calls it “distasteful”, causing Marceline to accuse her of just not liking her. This ties into PB not liking Marceline’s behavior when she got more and more consumed with her princess duties. Marceline became well aware of this by their first mission to the Glass Kingdom (“Oh c’mon, you love it.”).

-“Sorry I don’t treat you like a goddess. Is that what you want me to do?” She’s calling out PB’s god complex. Marceline assumes Bonnie thinks she’s better than her, like how she sings “you’re self-obsessed and all the rest” in Distant Lands.

-“Sorry I don’t treat you like you’re perfect, like all your little loyal subjects do. Sorry I’m not made of sugar. Am I not sweet enough for you?”. Marceline thinks Bubblegum demands absolute loyalty from everyone as she does with her citizens. She thinks PB would prefer Marceline to be a dum dum juiced moron that never questions her. We don’t know if Marceline is aware of the dum dum juice, but I like to think that she’s partially referring to that. It also relates to Marcy viewing PB as a dictator as she sings in “Woke Up”. She thinks PB wants her to turn down her edginess and be sweeter, like when she wasn’t taking the situation in the Glass Kingdom seriously, something I’m sure wasn’t an isolated incident.

-I’ll lump together “Is that why you always avoid me?” with the later line “I forgot what landed me on your blacklist.” Some people question why Marceline wonders this considering her singing “Woke Up” is the obvious answer. I think she’s partially referring to PB’s actions before their breakup. Bubblegum grew more distant as her responsibilities grew, something that confused and hurt Marceline. PB talks about this in “Varmints”. She’s also referring to PB being cold to Marceline for centuries after their breakup. Even when they were around each other in “Power Animal” and “Video Makers”, we don’t see them talking. Bubblegum was very dismissive of Marcy in “Go With Me”. This is partially Marceline’s fault, as she can be really rude and mean to Bonnie, as seen in this episode.

-“I shouldn’t have to justify what I do.” Marceline doubles down on acting the way she thinks people perceive her. If people think she’s a monster, it's less painful for her to embrace it. This is something she picked up on from thinking she scared her mother away.

-“I shouldn’t have to be the one who makes up with you so why do I want to…” Marceline thinks that since PB is the one who pushed her away, PB is the one who should take the initiative of making things right. There is some truth to this, but as we see in “Obsidian”, they are both more at fault than Marcy is willing to admit. The faces on the door glow brighter and Marceline gets closer to the truth. The truth is she wants to at least be friends with Princess Bubblegum again. That’s the real reason she joined the group here. Reconnecting to PB is something we’ll see her try to do in episodes like “Sky Witch”, “Princess Day”, and “Varmints”.

The song itself slaps. “Just Your Problem” is super popular, so much so that tons of non-fans know the song. A big reason being that it’s probably the most relatable Adventure Time song ever. A lot of people have friends and lovers that drifted away from them or became downright cold to them due to their differences. Rebecca Sugar even based the song off of her experience with a roommate. Princess Bubblegum’s face during this is also pretty telling. She was definitely having flashbacks to the last time Marceline humiliated her with a song. PB’s face turns to shock when Marceline is on the verge of revealing she wants to make up with her. I don’t blame Bonnie for not realizing this. Marceline’s general nastiness towards her, and of course what she said about her while singing “Woke Up”, would give PB the opposite impression.

Finn doesn’t fully grasp the tension between PB and Marcy, but is able to diffuse the awkwardness and get everyone (besides Jake) to have fun together. I also like how sweet Marceline is to BMO, gently calling him “baby”. I like PB’s quirky attempt at a science based song, which is more fitting for her than singing her heart out like Marceline and Finn. Her song fails and Marceline uses it to antagonize PB. She fixates on Bonnie’s failures as she feels insecure in her presence. The words “monster trash” are definitely echoing in her mind here. Marceline is still really nasty to PB. A lot of it feels like unwarranted bullying without the context of future episodes, but even with the context, it still feels that way to an extent. Spitting on PB is pretty inexcusable and Bubblegum is totally right to walk away after it. Their conflict boils down to Princess Bubblegum’s ego and Marceline’s insecurity clashing. I also like the detail of Shelby slithering back into Jake’s smashed viola.

As a final effort, Finn sings “My Best Friends in the World” after realizing the key to the door is the truth:

-“Am I a joke…?” Finn worries that Marceline doesn’t respect Finn, and perhaps only hangs around him because she enjoys messing with him. This is an understandable fear with episodes like “Henchman”. It’s still fundamentally untrue, squashed by the end of “Henchman” and in “Heat Signature”. There is no denying, however, that she loves trolling Finn. She likes messing with everyone, Finn’s young mind just makes him an easier target.

-“...your knight…?” This could be taken to mean Finn wonders if PB only keeps him around, and entertains his advancements, just to use his service to the kingdom. It’s true that Bubblegum employs Finn a lot, and isn’t above manipulating him for her benefit (“The Other Tarts”, “Too Old”, “James”), but she still genuinely enjoys his company whether they are working or just hanging out. He might also just be referring to this positively, as her knight in shining armor.

-“Do you look down on me because I’m younger?” All of Finn’s closest companions are older than him, and it makes sense that this weighs on him. Even Jake, who is often close to Finn’s level and acts as a best friend, also often acts as his parental guardian. This line applies most of all to Bubblegum, given how recent “Too Young” is. The events of that episode are still raw for Finn, and PB’s behavior to him after her age was restored came across as condescending and dismissive.

-“I just wanted us together and to play as a band. Last night was the most fun I’ve ever had.” Finn loves getting to finally hang out with everyone he loves together and feeling like part of a family.

-“Even liked it when the two of you would get mad at each other.” Finn prefers honesty between friends, and appreciates seeing their more vulnerable side as they are usually more closed off from their true emotions in front of him.

-“You are my best friends in the world. And that’s right, I’m talking about the two of you girls. And you Jake.” With his parents dead, the three of them are by far his closest companions. He’s even grown very close to Marceline in recent times. It’s kinda mean to exclude BMO, who’s right there, but BMO becomes more of a part of Finn’s family over time than he is here.

-“I’ll forget that I lost a piece of your hair. I’ll remember the pasta that we shared over there”. Very sweet line about how the wad of hair doesn’t really matter, the time he spends with PB and getting to be her friend is what’s meaningful to him. I like how the pasta has a double meaning. He obviously just shared pasta with her, but he also had a pasta dinner with Bubblegum when she gave him the hair.

Finn’s song is my favorite moment of the series so far, and one of the best scenes ever in the series. I thought “Just Your Problem” was Adventure Time’s best song up to now but it’s then immediately topped. I love everyone participating in the song, especially Marceline singing along with Finn for parts of it. Finn’s song causing even PB and Marcy to harmonize together is great symbolism for Finn helping to bring them back together. Even Jake finally breaks character, he’s too caught up in the moment! Rebecca Sugar drew on her feelings of being a young newcomer when she joined the Adventure Time staff to write this song. Worrying about how your friends see you and if they respect you is another very ubiquitous concern.

The group realizes that the Door Lord showed them that the real treasure is friendship. It’s very cheesy but the contents of the episode does enough to justify it. It’s cool how well the episode ties two themes into this episode: friendship and honesty. The quick cut from the Door Lord happily seeing they got the message to him being bruised and tied up is hilarious. They get their items back, including the famous rock shirt. It’s not at all PB’s style, going to show how much its pure sentimentality means to Bubblegum. The reveal that PB kept the shirt comes as a shock to Marceline. She realizes that Bonnie doesn’t see her as just her problem. Marceline blushing and PB revealing she wears the shirt all the time as pajamas are heavy hints to their romantic pairing. Their interactions in this episode are very queer-coded, even though they aren’t hitting us over the head with it like they do in season 7 onwards. The episode itself gives enough to figure out the broad strokes of Marceline and Bubblegum having a past and a falling out without giving the details, and it’ll be a long time until they are willing to explore it more at all. It’s revealed that Marceline only joined to hang out with them. Beyond reinforcing the theme of friendship, Marceline and PB now know that the other is interested in reforming a connection again, even if Marceline will have to be the one that ends up instigating it.

“What Was Missing” is a fan favorite for good reason. The two musical numbers are the biggest draw and they are incredible. Rebecca Sugar using her own personal experiences to write them makes them feel so raw and personal. It’s some of the most direct the series ever is about Marceline and especially Finn’s thoughts and feelings, with them explicitly singing them. It’s refreshing to get some clear cut insight as the show is usually much more guarded. I wouldn’t want the series to always be this direct, but it's nice to have moments like these every once in a while to help provide insight into their other appearances. The episode is essentially a precursor for Steven Universe. You could slot in Steven for Finn, Pearl for Bubblegum, and Amethyst for Marceline quite easily. I also really like PB in this one! Despite “What Was Missing” having not one, but two characters that are in love with Princess Bubblegum, she gets to shine. It’s definitely more Marceline-heavy, but I like PB standing up for herself, getting to see her side of the conflict, and the return of her quirks with her scientific song. PB and Marceline also have pretty great outfits here, and it’s definitely their most iconic looks besides their default outfits.

Rebecca Sugar has since stated that she wrote PB and Marcy as exes in this episode. She felt their interaction in “Go With Me” read that way. The episode does a great job extrapolating from that brief interaction. According to Rebecca Sugar, she pitched this idea to Adam Muto, who she boarded the episode with, and he approved. They ran this by Pen who also liked it. Cartoon Network forbade the crew from being explicit with it. They still did a good job making it as clear as they could with the restrictions and the fandom picked up on it. Rebecca Sugar wanted to include LGBTQ representation and felt that exploring it through the lens of two exes with a past was the best path to getting it in. Despite it only being subtextual, it was a big deal for 2011.

This episode stirred up quite the firestorm. It’s possibly not a coincidence that it would take almost two years for PB and Marcy to interact again. The Fredator associated Youtube channel Mathematical! posted recaps after the airing of Adventure Time episodes. After the airing of “What Was Missing”, their recap speculated on the possible romantic pairing between Princess Bubblegum and Marceline, interlaced with overtly romantic drawings of Marceline and Bubblegum from character designer and storyboard revisionist Natasha Allegri. As a result, Fredator fired Mathematical! producer Dan Rickmers, deleted the video, and cancelled the Youtube series. Times were different then, but that’s no excuse for such an overreaction. Fred Seibert offered the following explanation:

“Well, I completely screwed up. There’s been chatter on the internet recently about our latest Adventure Time “Mathematical!” video recap that we created, posted, and removed here at Federator. I figure it’s time to clear up the matter. In trying to get the show’s audience involved we got wrapped up by both fan conjecture and spicy fanart and went a little too far. Neither Cartoon Network nor the Adventure Time crew had anything to do with putting up or taking down our latest re-cap. The episode ”What was Missing” remains a terrific short and will be shown again and again just like any other Adventure Time episode. I let us goof in a staggering way and I’m deeply sorry it’s become such a distraction for so many people.” It’s a really weak reasoning as Mathematical! had always been a fan oriented show and that’s what the entire fandom was talking about. Still, I’d expect this from an executive. What was unexpected were Adam Muto’s comments:

“If it was just a fan video there would be no problem at all. The problem was that it was made by a production company actively involved with the show. The video took something that was a possible subtext and declared it, in effect, text and made it seem like the production was actively seeking out input on plot development. That's all there is to it.” Considering Sugar said that Adam Muto agreed with that interpretation, it would have been for the best if he just stayed out of the situation. That’s what Pen Ward did ("It’s hard to comment on that, because there were so many extreme positions taken on it all over the Internet, and it happened so quickly. I don’t really want to comment on it because of that, because there were so many extreme sides taken. It was a big hullaballoo.")

Now that we know Bubbline was in fact the crew’s intention, and it’s since been explicitly canonized, the situation is just even dumber. Dan Rickmer is definitely owed an apology. But what’s really important is the series no longer having to keep their relationship a big secret.

Grade: A+

Fionna and Cake Review

Mirroring the first episode of the series, “Fionna and Cake” throws us into a new world with absolutely no context. Watching this for the first time with no outside knowledge leaves viewers dumbfounded (definitely check out some reaction videos for this one in particular). Not just from the opening scene, but from Adventure Time’s very first variation on its intro. Natasha Allegri, the creator of Fionna and Cake, sings it. There’s some cool details, like a gingerbread version of Rebecca Sugar replacing the usual Gingerbread Muto, based on her storyboard partner. “Fionna and Cake” ends up being the perfect encapsulation of what makes Adventure Time so special, a feat possibly only matched by the series finale itself.

It’s super fun seeing alternate versions of the characters, a trend that started here. It’s gimmicky but who cares. The designs are pretty much all superb (thanks Nat!). My only criticism is the baffling decision to make Cake’s eyes white after Allegri’s original art got them right with blue eyes. The casting is just as good. Madeleine Martin (Fionna), Roz Ryan (Cake), Neil Patrick Harris (Prince Gumball), and Grey DeLisle (Ice Queen), make for the best guest voice cast of the series. They sound like the perfect genderswapped versions of the main characters, capturing the core of the regular characters while reflecting their subtle differences. Giving the characters similar but altered personalities really pushes this one over the edge. Fionna is as heroic as Finn, and gets uncomfortable being open about romance like he does. She’s a little more mature and takes situations a little more seriously, as girls mature faster than boys. Cake has the most distinguishing traits. She’s sassier and Jake’s laziness is replaced with a more unfiltered, provocative attitude (“tell Gumball you think he’s hot!”). We don’t see a ton of Prince Gumball, as it’s technically not him for most of it, but he’s the closest to his genderbent counterpart. He even has hints at a darker side, lying about the jelly kinders being alive. Ice Queen is just as creepy and perverted as Ice King, but is more outwardly sinister. When you sound more like Azula than Spongebob, that’s bound to happen. Even her ice magic created clouds are darker and more foreboding. It’s her best and most significant role to date. The characters are just as fun as the main cast are in seasons one and two. If the series was about this version of the world instead, it would still be a great series, and it would have been interesting to see how these characters would have developed differently.

Prince Gumball, like Princess Bubblegum, doesn’t view Fionna as a romantic interest. He invites Fionna to the ball as his “pal”. The age gap is just as much a roadblock as it is for Finn and PB. Ice Queen attacks Gumball with a slush beast. She has the ability to create water and foam, in addition to ice. Ice King lacks this ability, although he probably could conjure liquid water in a hotter environment. This could be tied to Ice Queen’s backstory as a water nymph, explored in Natasha Allegri’s dubiously canon Fionna and Cake comic miniseries. After Fionna seemingly defeats Ice Queen, Gumball flirts with Fionna and asks her out. Cake pushes her to pursue PG, more so than Jake ever does. Cake tags along on the date, as Jake does in “Burning Low” and “Ignition Point”.

They meet with Prince Gumball and Lord Monochromicorn. In addition to having a sick design, Monochromicorn speaks in morse code instead of Korean. I headcanon him as deaf. Too bad it’s his only appearance in the series. It’s funny that the series never acknowledges him as Gumball’s pet/best friend again, like how the PB/Lady dynamic was mostly dropped after “What Have You Done?”. Gumball gives Ice Queen a badass crystal sword. I love how it's just as cool as any of Finn’s swords. They really make sure to put these characters on equal footing to their counterparts. It’s hidden inside a bouquet of flowers, showing that Ice Queen knows what Fionna really likes. I like how it subverts the gender dynamics. Girls can like swords too! She also picks up Prince Gumball a few times which is cool! I did think to myself that there’s no way she has the upper body strength to do that, but realized neither does Finn at this age and I never questioned that! Fionna assures Gumball that she’s not thinking of butts after saying she’ll kick his in a race, meaning that she definitely likes his ass. I’m glad that Cake points out that they were the ones doing the actual work in the race.

It would be a huge missed opportunity to not get to see this version of the characters sing, especially when they have Neil Patrick Harris. It’s a simple song, but the best of the series so far. The background of the sky with the fireworks, as well as Fionna and Gumball’s hair blowing in the wind, make it truly beautiful. It’s reminiscent of “A Whole New World”. Unlike the scene in Aladdin, Fionna gets to fight during it! I love the blend of action and romance here, it would have sucked for a story about girl Finn to just be a straightforward date. No wonder these characters became so popular. It gave girls a great character to see themselves in and showed that girls can be just as badass as Finn.

Fionna returns to the treehouse after being asked to the ball as Gumball’s girlfriend. I like the detail that BMO still looks exactly the same, considering he’s genderfluid. Fionna straight up puts on Princess Serenity’s dress. It’s not my favorite Sailor Moon inspired outfit she ever wears, but it’s still gorgeous. There’s some new genderswaps at the ball, most notably Marshall Lee. He was originally going to have a few lines here, but they were cut for time. Rebecca Sugar begged Pendleton Ward to let her work Marshall into the story elsewhere, but he didn’t let up. If this was the only Fionna and Cake episode, I definitely would not have cut his lines. But, I think it’s for the best that they saved something that fans so desperately wanted for another episode. Lumpy Space Prince is there too and it’s funny that he looks exactly the same besides the mustache stubble. We’ve also got Cinnamon Bun with a green dress, a bow, and boobs. I assume CB would have the same name.

Trigger Warning (Sexual Assault, Feel Free to Skip the Next Two Paragraphs)

The next scene is really intense and I’m glad they somehow got it past the censors. Prince Gumball takes Fionna to his bedroom, locks the door, and starts undressing. It’s a mislead that he’s about to sexually assault her, which is so dark for this show. She backs away and is clearly uncomfortable. They really didn’t shy away from the intricacies of the different gender dynamic, and the danger that girls face from predators. If it were Finn and Princess Bubblegum, it would be just as predatory, but I don’t think Finn would have the exact same reaction. I think he would be shy and embarrassed, but not fearful.

Ice Queen reveals herself. It’s a great twist and I like that it sidesteps the problematic nature of Gumball dating Fionna. Fionna’s dress being torn in half is great symbolism for Fionna. She can be feminine and wear pretty dresses if she wants while still being a strong, badass warrior. Both sides are Fionna! Cake hears Fionna shouting “get it off me” from downstairs. She also senses that Fionna is in danger. This plays into both the instincts of a pet as well as the duty women feel to protect each other in situations like this. Fionna defeats Ice Queen and frees Gumball. This leaves Cake to find Fionna and Gumball alone in his room, with Fionna’s dress ripped off and his hand on her. Cake immediately jumping to the obvious conclusion is pretty reasonable, even if it is hypocritical that she spent the episode encouraging Fionna to go out with an adult.

Cake tries on Ice Queen’s tiara, which Fionna knocks off, saying she might “catch her crazy”. It’s interesting because it suggests that Ice King is aware of the effect the crown has on him on some level. Part of Ice King must also see himself as a villain, so there is some amount of self-awareness in him somewhere. I’m trying hard not to address the elephant in the room, but I do like to think Ice King is indeed the one who came up with the finer details and specific lines of dialogue, which is supported by the ending. The real Gumball asks Fionna for a date, which doesn’t make much sense, so I also think that’s just Ice King’s input. Fionna’s mini-speech about not needing a boyfriend and already knowing herself is a really nice ending to her arc in this story.

Seeing Fionna and Cake profess their love for the Ice King is really jarring on a first watch. (Lord Monochromicorn says “ice” in morse code here!) All of this being fanfiction from Ice King makes the character even more creepy and unsettling. He’s forcing a young boy to listen to his story of a girl version of himself falling in love with him. I don’t think he’s actually a pedophile (“Mortal Recoil”), I just think he’s a f*cking weirdo. He put a lot of innuendos in, like Fionna and Gumball emphasizing how large his ball will be and Cake’s tail sticking out at Mo-Chro, in addition to the sexual undertones of the bedroom scene. The episode tosses aside the whole “Land of Aaa” name, an early idea, with Ice King mentioning Ooo in the context of the story. It’s corny but I do wish they stuck with Aaa instead. A lot of the fandom uses it anyway. And yet another episode that ends with Finn and Jake frozen!

This is the most experimental the show has gotten and it’s cool to see them branch out. It’s also the first time Finn only gets a cameo, although his analogue is still the lead. Putting a twist on this world gives the episode license to tell a simple story focused on classic Adventure Time tropes: Finn’s crush on Bubblegum and thwarting the Ice King. Changing the genders of characters is a popular thing for fandoms to do (rule 63), so getting an actual episode with the concept is such a terrific gift for fans. This is one of those episodes that only Adventure Time would do. It paid off, being the highest viewed episode of the first three seasons, and spawning its own massive fandom and line of merchandise. The episode’s outline was much easier and more boring than it ended up being. It called for Fionna going on a date set in a restaurant and didn’t even include Ice Queen. Adam Muto and Rebecca Sugar, who storyboarded the episode, strayed away from the outline to make something much more interesting.

This episode being Ice King’s fanfiction is pretty ingenious. I understand the disappointment some people felt at breaking the world of a story they were invested in, but this is fixed later on anyway. It also cleverly ties into the backstory behind the episode and the themes of the series. Natasha Allegri, who was the lead character designer for the first two seasons, remaining on the series as a storyboard revisionist for season three, essentially created these characters as fanart, drawing them for fun and uploading them to 4chan. Just like the episode, her comics were a little more adult than the series. They’re hilarious and I consider most of them canon! Her comic of Fionna getting her period is a must read. Even the names of Fionna and Cake were suggested from 4chan anons! Pen liked the drawings enough to want to make it into an episode. There’s so many writers who have worked on the show with their own interpretations of Ooo and its inhabitants, and there’s even more fans with their own headcanons and personal versions of the series. Adventure Time can be whatever someone wants it to be. The series is a success because of all the different ideas brought to the table from a collaborative storyboard-driven show and because it can speak to so many different people. It’s great to have an episode celebrating that. “Fionna and Cake” was born from and is a celebration of fanfiction!

Grade: A+

Wizard Battle Review

This one has a great setup. I love how nerdy Finn is over the wizards. It’s also cool seeing a bunch of wizards from different episodes return, it really adds to the worldbuilding of Ooo. We have Naked Wizard from “Memories of Boom Boom Mountain”, Bufo from “Wizard”, Forest Wizard from “Storytelling”, and other wizards wearing the robes from “Wizard”. There’s a bunch of new wizards that make their debut who will reappear throughout the series, most notably Laser Wizard, Abracadaniel, Flame Lord, Grand Master Wizard, and Huntress Wizard. Huntress Wizard has one of the coolest designs of any character in Adventure Time. In terms of silent background characters (for now), only Jungle Princess can compete with how sick she looks. So much so that she built up quite a reputation in the fandom long before “Flute Spell”. Doctor Princess tries to enter the competition, disguised as Science Whyzard. Totally in line with Doctor Princess’s pattern of faking her identities. She has a psychological disorder or something, I swear! Grand Master Wizard disqualifies her for using science, setting up the conflict in “Wizards Only, Fools”. Considering the prize, this could suggest her sexuality is something other than straight. HW cheers at the idea of kissing Bubblegum, which is hard proof that she’s bi. I also think it's hilarious that the audience consists of only a handful of people that are filled by the most random characters possible like LSP, who’s on her phone, and Phil (him being moved to tears by Abracadaniel’s speech later is really funny).

Grand Master Wizard mentions eight schools of magic, which is a reference to Dungeons & Dragons. In D&D, they are abjuration, alteration, conjuration, divination, enchantment, illusion, invocation, and necromancy. Several of these are classes that Pep and Cadebra will take in “Wizard City”. The episode sets up the wizards’ strict isolation from outsiders. As Finn says, “only wizards allowed!” Ice King is a contestant. This builds on The Lich referring to him as an “ice wizard” in “Mortal Recoil”. It’s interesting which magic users can be considered a wizard in Ooo, seeing as Ice King’s magic comes from his crown. Finn and Jake are real dicks to him. Even before he says he’s going to cheat, they boo him and call him a loser.

This brings us to….Princess Bubblegum. Her being a prize is just yuck, especially in the context of seasons two and three usually just using her character as a plot device. It’s totally out of character for her, even putting aside her hatred of wizards. Even Pendleton Ward has said he regrets putting her in this role. Jesse Moynihan and Ako Castuera, who boarded this episode, also felt weird about it. Too bad this still made it through. But yeah, this makes even less sense with her portrayal later in “Wizards Only, Fools.” Jesse Monyihan and Kent Osborne argued she’s there as a diplomat. I don’t think that’s enough to excuse her absolute disdain for magic society. Like, she doesn’t give a f*ck about diplomacy with these guys in season five. Oh and I’m not even close to done complaining about PB in this one. Uhh, the straight women being mad about the prize, and Brain Wiz forfeiting because it's not an open mouth kiss was funny though.

Finn and Jake enter the battle dressed as wizards under Finn’s guise of saving PB from having to kiss Ice King. He really wants a chance at kissing Bubblegum again. He’s grown from his attitude towards smooching in “Go With Me”. Ice King testing how his breath smells by breathing on his hand is really funny. Ice King seems impressed, so maybe kissing him wouldn’t be so bad! Finn and Jake team up with Abracadaniel. He’s a really funny character, and I don’t think any of his future appearances are quite as funny. “Turn and push” is the funniest thing he ever says. Ice King battles the Flame Lord (our first “Frost & Fire”!) using nunchucks, referencing his ninja skills in “The Chamber of Frozen Blades”. I’m not sure why he doesn’t just use his ice weapons, which would be legal, but he’s crazy.

Abracadaniel beats Ice King and Finn forfeits, presumably just to get Jake to stop teasing him about wanting to kiss PB. He can live with that, as long as nobody else kisses her. I love Abracadaniel’s excitement making him want to kiss Princess Bubblegum after all. Finn’s high pitched scream at this is also really funny. It knocks him out, making Finn the winner. Kind of messed up that he betrayed Abracadaniel! He really is the series punching bag, alongside NEPTR. Jake’s teasing of Finn continues to be funny, but it leads to a big outburst from Finn, who says he’s sick of keeping his feelings hidden. This is strange, as he was totally open about his feelings with Jake in “Too Young”. Jake continues to encourage Finn’s pursuit of Bubblegum, pushing him to go kiss an adult woman.

Finn and Jake are exposed. Princess Bubblegum thanks Finn for going through the trouble to save her from kissing Ice King. I can’t imagine PB would have actually kissed Ice King though, even with how out of character she’s written in this episode. Anyway, she kisses Finn. Not her usual kiss on the cheek, but on the lips. This is a strong contender for my least favorite scene of the franchise. I don’t even think I need to get into the problem with an 18 year old (800+) kissing a 13 year old, but bad Adventure Time, bad! I hate that it hurts the kiss and meaning in “Too Young”. That was special and tragic partially because it was the one time Finn got to kiss her! In addition, it is completely contradictory of PB turning down Finn at the end of “Too Young”. That is supposed to be a big development for PB that will stay consistent in “Incendium”. I like that PB had a character flaw in the first two seasons with humoring Finn’s advancements, and how that eventually gets addressed in “Burning Low”. But, the development in “Too Young” was really important and I’m not sure why this one episode decided to ignore it. She slaps Finn for ruining the sanctity of wizard battle, something she shouldn’t care about respecting. She tells the wizards to get ready for next year. Despite the implication, I’m going to choose to believe she doesn’t participate in it again. The ending of Finn and Jake trying on the wizard glasses to look cool is cute and Ice King gets in a hilarious line to finish the episode on.

This episode has a lot of good jokes, and I like parts of it. Unfortunately, Princess Bubblegum just ruins this one for me. She shouldn’t have even been in the episode. Finn and Jake joining the competition to stop Ice King from cheating is enough of a motivation. More focus on cool wizard battles and Ice King being Ice King would have made this a great episode. Instead we get easily Princess Bubblegum’s worst portrayal in the series. She is written badly on multiple levels. As a PB stan, I can’t forgive that. We’re also at the point where I want the series to move on from Finn trying to get with Bonnie. I don’t mind Finn still having feelings for her. He isn’t even over her as late as “Breezy”. But there’s no real reason to be invested in Finn’s pursuits after “Too Young”. I just want the conflict to be wrapped up so the series can move on from something that’s finally gotten tired. Luckily, we are almost there!

Grade: C-

Still Review

“Still” is pretty overlooked, with it coming only a few episodes after the amazing feat that is “Hitman”. While “Still” isn’t nearly as funny (but still has a lot of great jokes), or even as good, it’s more committed to Ice King, Finn, and Jake interaction. Ice King freezes Finn and Jake, forcing unadulterated silly interactions between the three. Ice King wanting to be Finn and Jake’s friend is a pretty consistent goal of his from here on out, after being briefly surfaced in episodes like “What Have You Done?”.

Ice King’s been spying on Finn and Jake (as seen in “The Eyes”) enough to make some pretty accurate observations, like Finn’s favorite food being meatloaf, which is a consistent character trait. Ice King notes that Jake is afraid of real emotion, something expanded on in “Cloudy”. Finn goes into the astral plane to try to summon an astral beast. I assume this ability ties to his past life as a catalyst comet making him more in touch with spirituality, with his heightened senses from being frozen helping Finn to access it. This leaves the rest of the episode to explore Jake and Ice King’s relationship on their own. This is unique to this episode, as there’s unfortunately no episodes dedicated to just the two of them. Ice King dresses up as Finn, making for a fairly creepy outfit. He definitely dresses up as Finn sometimes when he’s alone in the Ice Kingdom. I’m sure he has fantasies of being Finn. Jake is having none of it. He’s easily irritated by Ice King, more so than Finn. In addition to just seeing him as a creepy weirdo, Jake still isn’t totally past Ice King’s murderous streak in the season one era, as he reminds him of earlier in the episode.

It’s always a treat seeing Ice King’s artistic side, and I love him going into detail of the meaning behind close up shots of penguins. The idea of Ice King as a professional photographer is just really funny. The exchange between Ice King and Jake about crushes is probably their funniest interaction in the series, with Ice King acting like a 13 year old at a sleepover. Ice King and Jake are both romantics, but both have wildly different perspectives on dating. Ice King views romance like a child, calling women “girls”, and thinking Jake’s feelings for Lady Rainicorn are a big secret. I also love Ice King acting like his “crush” on Bubblegum is a big revelation.

By the morning, Jake wants to rip Ice King’s f*cking throat out. Ice King saying he’s gonna “put his foot in it” (referring to the omelet), which is a very quotable Ice King line. Jake looks so uncomfortable when Ice King tells Jake that he’ll be inside of him (need I comment more on how that sounds?). Finn wakes up, but accidentally summons butterflies, due to his past life as one. Even Jake is able to manipulate the butterflies due to his enhanced brain sense. The butterflies smack Ice King with the steel sword Finn got in “Morituri Te Salutamus”. Ice King accidentally uses the freezing potion on the three of them, ending the episode very similarly to “Hitman”, with an unresolved ending. This episode could have even picked up on the end of “Hitman”, with Finn and Jake instead being frozen in ice. Maybe BMO will save them. Speaking of BMO, where the f*ck is he in this episode? Missed opportunity to have some Gunter and BMO interaction, something I’ve always wanted to see. Gunter added a lot of funny moments throughout this episode, and he finally gets to smash the unfreezing potion at the end. Ending on Gunter dancing is a pretty inspired choice.

“Still” is a pretty funny bottle episode (that also features bottles) and is funnier than anything done with the Ice King roommate arc in season 5

Grade: A-

The Monster Review

“The Monster” brings Lumpy Space Princess back to the forefront for the first time since the second episode of the series, after being relegated to only minor roles since. After back-to-back episodes developing the major supporting cast members, it’s only natural to continue that trend with LSP. Unlike Marceline, Ice King, and Princess Bubblegum, who just got some of their best episodes so far, I think “The Monster” is a missed opportunity.

The opening harkens back to the beginning of “Conquest of Cuteness”, with another cute Finn and Jake song, and is just delightful. Finn screaming “PIZZA” at a flock of birds is hysterical. Lumpy Space King and Queen return, sending Finn and Jake to find their missing daughter. They have a drastic redesign. Other characters like Huntress Wizard, Betty, and Fionna have gotten minor redesigns, but nothing as severe as these two (one?). Pendleton Ward thought their original look was just too gross. And yeah, I do somewhat prefer their new design, even though it upsets the nerd part of my brain that wants everything in this universe to be consistent.

Finn and Jake search the woods, figuring she’s there eating beans, referencing “Heat Signature”. They stumble upon some tiny villagers, who are suffering from the terrorism of a monster, but find LSP in its place. She begins telling her story. This section is from LSP’s POV, a first for the series, and a POV we’ll see a lot more of going forward. I love LSP countering her parents, who use the sandwiches to lure her into visiting more often, by saying they can have them delivered to her apartment. LSP thinking her homeless encampment is an apartment makes the line even funnier. She storms out at the suggestion that she should move back home. They have good reason to be worried considering her current living situation.

The timeline in this episode doesn’t really make any sense. Her parents say she’s been missing for days, which makes sense if they just mean they haven’t heard from her after her outburst, as we know she’s been living in the woods for longer than just days, something that even Finn and Jake reference. The scene adds up so far, since LSP is only visiting her parents here, this isn’t the backstory of her moving into the woods. But, when LSP storms out of her parents house, she says she’ll show her parents that she can make it on her own and that she is running away. But, isn’t that already what she’s been doing for a while? I can just chalk up that line to LSP being overlydramatic. But she then wanders hopelessly through the forest scared, hungry, and looking for shelter, like it’s her first time living there. Why doesn’t she just go back to her camp?

Lumpy Space Princess vomits a rainbow, beating the same gag in Gravity Falls by a year (which was certainly already written before this episode came out). She is taken in by a family of wolves, which makes for the best part of the episode. The wolves don’t talk, but LSP thinks she understands exactly what they are communicating, playing into her delusions. She has a low self-esteem, as later explored in “Be Sweet”, and thinks she belongs with other wild animals, as she feels she doesn’t belong with her peers. LSP of course has to start reading into drama among the wolves, which provides the best comedy in the episode. I love LSP thinking one of the wolves, Jessica, is cheating on another wolf, Tony. She accuses Jessica of cheating on Tony with her when she licks her. Step aside Bubbline, Lumpy Space Princess and Jessica is Adventure Time’s first sapphic relationship.

LSP is chased off and stumbles upon the village. They run away, mistaking her for the monster, and LSP starts eating their food. I like that the first incident is accidental, making LSP a little less villainous, instead of intentionally stealing from the beginning. Afterwards, she dresses up as the monster to steal their food.

She goes to apologize to the villagers at the advice of Finn and Jake. I like how they balance her portrayal. She feels legitimately guilty for her actions, but she still can’t help being rude. During her apology, she calls them fat and says she probably helped them lose weight, which is really funny. The villagers chase her off. Finn and Jake suggest they just let her go. They’ve been pretty easy on LSP in this episode, all things considered. They definitely would not have suggested letting her go if the person wasn’t one of their friends. Finn especially would have wanted them locked up, but it makes sense he is more sympathetic to his pal.

The conclusion is nice, with LSP deciding to give the villagers her parents’ sandwiches when she finds out they are also parents. I like LSP being so delusional that she thinks she saved the village, when really that was the least she could have done after her actions. The ending is super weird, with LSP coming back home. The show forgets about this, and still lives in the woods for the rest of the series. It’s easy to believe that LSP would run away again, but that still makes this development pointless. The same applies to her relationship with her parents, with LSP back to hating them in “The Prince Who Wanted Everything”. I don’t see why the writers thought this was a good development, when they rightfully prefer her living in Ooo so she can actually show up whenever they want.

“The Monster” has some good ideas and enjoyable moments, but was executed poorly. The continuity doesn’t make sense at any point. It’s structured weirdly too. The first third follows Finn and Jake, the second portion follows LSP running away and living with the wolves, and the last third focuses on the conflict between LSP and the villagers. None of these sections have time to be fleshed out. The episode should have followed LSP from the beginning, and given us the backstory to why she’s living in the woods (the episode itself can’t make up its mind if that is the story) and her running away in the first place. She could have gone through the tribulations with the wolves and the villagers, and then learn how to survive by herself in the woods, like we see her doing in season 2. Instead of moving back home, she could have come to some understanding with her parents by the end, with her agreeing to visit more and them accepting her lifestyle.

Grade: C

Too Young Review

“Too Young” finally follows up on the newly deaged Princess Bubblegum, something fans were dying to see after no glimpses of her in the past four episodes. This would have been a more thematically appropriate season premiere, but I do like the building anticipation for the followup. The question of how this new dynamic would alter the status quo of the series going forward hung over our heads. Turns out: not at all. At least not in an obvious way.

Even putting aside the romance aspect, it’s just great to see Finn finally hanging out with someone his own age, something we never get enough of. He’s always hanging out with his older brother, and his other best friends are hundreds of years older than him. As Finn says at the beginning, he can just be himself. I like Finn stepping out to get moral support from Jake. His encouragement of Finn’s pursuit of Bubblegum is finally appropriate! Finn is a little nervous, this is probably his first ever date. But, he is overall pretty comfortable, as there’s still a strong familiarity between Finn and PB. There’s also no puss*footing around between the two, they are very upfront with their feelings. PB already knows how Finn feels, and she basically tells Finn that he’s hot after he drinks her serum. He admits to not bathing, so it’s a good thing that BMO gets Finn on a bathing schedule by “Holly Jolly Secrets Part 1.” It’s interesting that Finn first asks if she’s trying to make herself 18 again. Part of him thinks this is all too good to be true.

Not really sure how much I need to introduce him, but Lemongrab! He’s probably the tenth most prominent character in the series, and one of the most well known characters, period. He wasn’t given much of a personality in the outline. Tom Herpich and especially Jesse Monyihan, the storyboarders for this episode, really created Lemongrab. They succeeded in making such a distinct character, and with Justin Roiland bringing him to life with some of the best voice acting of the series so far, he was basically guaranteed to become a recurring character. (I know there’s a massive elephant in the room that I’m avoiding, but it’s just not pertinent to this review. It will be addressed when I get to “Prismo the Wishmaster” and morals will be condemned!) Lemongrab’s very screamy, but he does it in such an alien way that he’s not annoying. He’s introduced with his iconic “unacceptable” catchphrase, which is pretty great and has been memed to death. He was originally going to be PB’s uncle (I assume it would have straight up been Gumbald, albeit in a very different incarnation, since he was mentioned in “Susan Strong”). I’m very glad they didn’t go that direction. They were dangerously close to ruining much of the direction they’ll take PB’s character in.

Lemongrab is now technically the rightful ruler due to PB’s deaging. I assume Bubblegum created Lemongrab with the intention of wanting an heir, and that stuck in Candy Kingdom law. Similarly to my take on “Hot Diggity Doom”, I don’t think Princess Bubblegum actually cares about the legal technicality, especially since she started creating the kingdom when she was a kid. She just wanted to delay the inevitable. She might also have more respect for the rules as a less jaded thirteen year old.

The flashback establishes that she created Lemongrab. It’s the first hint that PB created all the candy people, but it could still just be assumed that Lemongrab was an exception. The implications of PB creating life aren’t explored here, but this establishes a trait for her that will be explored a ton. We don’t know exactly when she created him, but it’s implied that it happened a long time ago, possibly hundreds of years ago. My theory is it happened before the flashbacks seen in “The Vault”. PB was used to making candy people dumb on purpose, probably straight up using dum dum juice. It’d make sense to not want her heir to be incompetent, so she’d need a different formula, especially since she isn’t using parts of the mother gum like she did with Gumbald, Lolly, and Chicle. This caused the experiment to “go wrong”. The reason I think it’s before “The Vault”, is because we see a young Peppermint Butler in it, who I don’t think was created with dum dum juice. She must have perfected the formula by then. Pep wasn’t intended to be an heir, as she’s still trying in “Goliad”, but she’ll eventually realize he fits the bill. Calling Lemongrab her “first” experiment to go wrong, is a straight up continuity error due to the Uncle Gumbald backstory. It’s also hard to believe that she didn’t have any other experiments go wrong. I think my theory could recontextualize the line to mean it’s the first one of her experiments with her new formula to go wrong, but it’s a little handwavey. As if this flashback didn’t already have enough interesting implications, we see that PB still has her memories. This raises the question of if she still has the same experiences, is her relationship with Finn still problematic? I argue that it isn’t. She behaves like a child in her new state. Her brain, just like the rest of her body, has less candy biomass, and is the brain of a child. She’s seeing her memories through the lens of a kid.

Finn and Bonnie try to solve their problems like kids would for once, with pranks. Their relationship is so pure and adorable. Bonnie cuddling up to Finn on the castle roof is one of the most wholesome moments ever in Adventure Time and Finn looks so incredibly happy. It really captures the innocence of a young child’s first romance, and it stands apart from the awkwardness that defines his relationship with Flame Princess and the maturity that comes with his dynamic with Huntress Wizard. At the same time, Lemongrab gets more defined as he tries to laugh and have fun with the pranks after Peppermint Butler’s explanation. He wants to fit in with others, but he just doesn’t see the world in a neurotypical way, so it comes off as forced and awkward, like his bobbing head laughter.

Peppermint Butler tells Lemongrab that food comes from Mars. It’s a weird lore detail that isn’t ever explained, but is referenced again. It’d make sense for a world of talking animals and talking food to get food from an outside source, but there’s plenty of examples of them eating food from Ooo. I’ll assume that industrialized food comes from Mars, and this is considered more civilized. Lemongrab eating the spiced food is a great sequence, and causes him too much pain for him to just laugh off.

Princess Bubblegum finally decides it's time to stop delaying what she knows is inevitable: becoming 18 again. Finn’s upset, but has the ability to recognize the greater good enough to swallow those feelings. This whole experience was more of a well needed break for PB, than a true commitment to a new permanent identity, just like a later arc she’ll have. But unlike later, she doesn’t change the way she conducts her life through learning from this ordeal. Many fans don’t think this episode works with PB’s portrayal in the rest of the series, but I disagree. She sacrifices her happiness for her people, which will be explored as a character flaw later down the line that ends up backfiring for her kingdom anyway. She views having fun as something mainly for children, and work as something that must consume adults. There is no middle ground for her. The pain this causes PB just makes her double down on work as a distraction. Some of that analysis is based on future episodes, but a lot of it can be taken away from just “Too Young”. It’s great to finally get an episode that focuses on fleshing out Princess Bubblegum’s deeper feelings and motivations. It’s really the only episode in the first three seasons with that accomplishment.

Princess Bubblegum says she needs her lab equipment to engineer more candy flesh, an even bigger hint that she created the candy people. I love the scene of her citizens giving PB parts of themselves. They recognize how selfless Bubblegum is, and sacrifice pieces of themselves like she does for them. Finn uses the power of love to catalyze the re-aging process. He gets to return Princess Bubblegum’s favor in “Mortal Folly” with the like-like sweater! It’s cheesy but it’s such a perfect resolution. Princess Bubblegum’s goodbye to Finn is heartbreaking, and it’s really tragic, especially after seeing how happy they were together. They hug and Finn has his first kiss. It’s a really special moment, and it really should be his only kiss with Princess Bubblegum. f*ck you “Wizard Battle” for taking away a little bit of what makes this moment so special and tragic.

Bubblegum turns back and is pretty cold to Finn, but I love the contrast of her just saying “‘scuse me Finn” and how much taller she is than Finn. She’s also cold to Lemongrab, calling him a butt, which is even more problematic given the fact she’s responsible for him. The next moment is soooo important. Finn comes on to PB, which I can’t even condemn him for this time given the circ*mstances, and PB immediately shuts him down. She takes the crush slightly more seriously than just innocent puppy love. I love how awkward Finn asking if she wants to hug more is, really highlighting how this relationship does not work with this age difference. She responds by not humoring him finally, saying “that was like 5 years ago” and “you really gotta move on.” People have criticized Bubblegum for being too cold to Finn. I do understand calling those comments, and her joking about the situation, insensitive. It comes across to Finn like the relationship they had means nothing to her now. I really don’t think it meant nothing to her, as we’ll see by her subtle changes in behavior and a line she has in “Burning Low.” But, I’m sure it was hurtful and confusing for Finn. I still can’t really blame PB for how she responded. She definitely could have been more sensitive about it, while still clearly turning him down. But, it’s an awkward situation. She was still trying to be kind about it, even if the joking manner came off as hurtful, and she’s very clear in her rejection which is good. She still doesn’t know the true extent of Finn’s feelings.

Season two’s cliffhanger being immediately reversed in one episode is a controversial decision. It’s the first example of one of the biggest criticisms leveled against the series, not committing to interesting status quo changes. Turning Bonnie back to 18 is a decision I 100% support. Yes, it’s sad how much of a more entertaining character young PB is compared to the regular state of her character so far. But, essentially replacing the most boring character of the main cast with an entirely different character would feel like such a lame solution to a problem the series has. Working on making her a more engaging character is the correct path. The path they take Bubblegum on is my favorite aspect of the series, so I’m glad this didn’t stick. It’s just unfortunate that it takes another season for that to happen. It makes reversing back to the status quo more questionable. Also, we can’t lose Hynden Walch! To be fair, restoring the status quo after only one episode is the aspect of this that’s more contentious. I wouldn’t have been opposed to seeing young PB in a few more episodes, but I don’t really see what more could have been done. I think “Too Young” fully explores everything interesting that can come out of this plotline: her relationship with Finn and how Princess Bubblegum acts differently at this age. This also isn’t entirely a reset. Not only does this episode color Princess Bubblegum’s character moving forward, it also sets a clear new dynamic for Finn and Bubblegum. She stops humoring his advancements (except for “Wizard Battle”, but again, f*ck that episode). It’s the first of many times “everything stays, but it still changes” is applicable. We’ll see how long that ends up being a good excuse moving forward though.

Finn calls Jake and he gives Finn some pretty bad advice if you take it as him still telling Finn to keep pursuing PB! To be fair, he doesn’t yet know that Bubblegum is an adult again. But Finn tells him that he got dumped. You could also interpret Jake’s advice as being persistent in finding love in general, not necessarily referring to Bubblegum specifically. His speech was intended to be important and to foreshadow the rest of the series, but I’m not sure if this really panned out. He does defeat a demon lord (whether it refers to Hunson, Ke-Oth, The Lich, or evil in general). Finn definitely warps through several worlds (“Puhoy”, “Crossover”, “Beyond the Grotto”, etc). Walking up the wizard steps could foreshadow Huntress Wizard, even though it’s unclear if they ever get in a committed relationship. The magic key and water world don’t really come to pass, unless you wanna say “President Porpoise is Missing!” I’m probably taking it too literally. I think it’s true meaning is to just be persistent in finding love despite all the obstacles. I think that’s what Jake’s means, so I like the speech. The episode ends with Finn looking at Bubblegum up above. It seems like Finn takes it as advice to keep pursuing PB specifically, as we see in upcoming episodes. A lot of fans took it this way, thinking Finn will just have to wait until he becomes 18 to get with PB. With him aging throughout the series, that does seem like a plausible endgame. But there’s obviously problematic implications with that. The series ends up going in a different direction and doesn’t make romance a central part of Finn’s final arc, so this speech really doesn’t end up feeling as important as it was set out to be.

This is a really iconic episode with a super memorable story and introduction of a major character, and it’s one of my favorites so far. It’s essentially a what if scenario, the one time we see what Finn and PB could be like as a couple. The one time Finn gets to live out his greatest desire. I’m not a Fubblegum shipper, but I’m glad the shippers get this episode. Shipping them outside this episode is weird, but I’m fully on board with their relationship here. I guess I’ll end with some controversy. You can’t tell me Princess Bubblegum didn’t have real feelings for Finn in this one. I totally interpret her as bi just because of this episode.

Grade: A

Hitman Review

“Hitman” starts by introducing the Breakfast Kingdom, one of my favorite kingdoms in the show, located in the Bad Lands. Similarly, Breakfast Princess has one of my favorite princess designs. The crew couldn’t decide whether to go with the drawing of Breakfast Princess or of what became Toast Princess, so they put them both in and made them sisters. Good solution! They’re eating breakfast in bed and it looks so relaxing. I love the oranges hanging in their bedroom. It’s just one scene and it left me dying for an episode set there. Ice King breaks in, which seems pretty routine for them. Breakfast Princess just calmly calls Finn. It’s funny how Finn and Jake immediately burst through the door. Finn accuses Ice King of using a love potion, a reference to “Ricardio the Heart Guy.” Finn and Jake view Ice King as more of a nuisance than a villain after the season two finale. They treat him like a misbehaving kid, grounding him instead of beating him up like we’re used to. Their argument over being grounded, with escalating punishments, is hilarious. Finn’s exaggerated smug expression when he threatens to increase the punishment to four weeks is the funniest Finn expression in the series. I love how Ice King takes the grounding seriously. Finn calls him “bubble butt”, and Ice King runs off with a shot of his big blueberry-looking buttcheeks.

I love Ice King throwing a temper tantrum back at his castle. Even in his anger, having to obey Finn and Jake’s punishment is just a given for him. He is fine with hitting them, as long as he stays grounded like he was told. He turns on his holographic computer, which has a pear logo. Ooo must have misinterpreted whatever records of Apple products they still have as a pear. That or Adventure Time takes place in the iCarly/Victorious universe. Ice King searches for a hitman online, wanting them to just literally hit Finn and Jake. He doesn’t know what a hitman is. No other episode portrays Ice King as stupid as this one. It’s an interesting revelation that Ooo has the internet, something that stays consistent. With how easy it is to find hitmen, the internet must be the wild west in Ooo. I can buy that as I doubt Ooo has an international body regulating the internet. Or Ice King just knows how to access the dark web. He hires Scorcher, another amazing new character design. Ice King is way out of depth interacting with someone like this.

Scorcher sets fire to the treehouse. Finn and Jake are making meat-filled sandwiches that look even better than the breakfast at the beginning. They got their meat from the fabled Meat Man, a character that we never see, which is probably for the best. Ice King puts out the fire, and I like how devastated Jake is at his sandwich being frozen in ice, and how angry Finn is at such a horrible tragedy Ice King brought upon Jake. Ice King still doesn’t understand that Scorcher is trying to kill Finn and Jake. He does not want them dead, he’s come a long way from his threats of murder in “Prisoners of Love”. Scorcher tries again while Finn and Jake are sleeping. Eating Meat Man’s meat is really weighing on Jake’s conscious. He has a guilt dream about it. Scorcher’s ability to transform into deadly smoke is really cool. He tries to suffocate Finn and Jake until Ice King again saves them.

Ice King pulls out a big cash money wad to pay Scorcher not to kill Finn and Jake. Scorcher burns it. He never asks for payment. He doesn’t give a sh*t about money, he does this for sport. He doesn’t speak, but you can tell he goes by a strict code. He made a signed contract with Ice King to not stop until Finn and Jake are dead. Ice King offers a talking reindeer head to hang, another amazing joke, this one much more random. Next he offers night-vision x-ray goggles “for when you have a lady houseguest”. The combination of both night-vision and x-ray is funny, as is Ice King using it to see women naked. Pretty sure you would only see their skeleton, but maybe that’d still be a turn-on for Ice King. He offers to let Scorcher kill his least favorite princesses instead. It makes sense LSP is one of them, as he didn’t like her lumps in “Loyalty to the King.” The picture of her looks derpy, she has more lumps than that! Scorcher views these attempts as nothing but insulting bribes. Ice King getting away by faking a leg cramp is another great joke.

Hiring a hitman hitman is a brilliantly funny concept. Blastronaut charges nearly a hundred dollars. No idea where Ice King gets his money from. I love how Blastronaut blasts through guns blazing and Scorcher just calmly defeats him with a single slice. He looks like the protagonist of an old arcade game. But, it turns out he’s just a tiny, naked goblin in a suit. Ice King still has no idea who he’s dealing with, and tries to pull the ol’ “look over there!” trick. Ice King proclaims that somebody got hit in the “boingloings”, Ooo terminology for balls. It took the writers a long time to get this line past Cartoon Network. They went from using the word “balls”, to “nuts”, to “cashews”, and finally settled on the funniest version of the line anyway. It’s a very funny behind-the scenes story, just as funny as the episode itself.

I love the look on Jake’s face as he stares outside the window, having an existential crisis. He decides to stop eating Meat Man. The running gag about Meat Man is great. It’s totally unnecessary as this episode is funny enough as is, but it adds yet another great element to this one. Ice King comes to warn Finn and Jake about Scorcher. It’s quite the sign of development that he’s willing to swallow his pride in order to protect them. I like how Ice King saying “I hired a guy to kill you by accident” is just framed as a kid confessing to their parents that they did something naughty. Jake’s sarcasm is great, “Good job. Good job, the Ice King.”

Scorcher chases Finn, Jake, and Ice King. It’s cool to see the three of them working together again. Scorcher almost kills Finn and Jake again, but Ice King blocks the attack. Even though it's his fault, Ice King saved their lives multiple times this episode. Scorcher is one of the strongest characters in the series, very few villains have managed that. Ice King proposes to freeze Finn and Jake to fake their death. They are having none of that idea, but it seems more like they think Ice King is too incompetent to not accidentally kill them, which is totally fair. I wouldn’t trust season 9 Ice King with my life. He freezes them anyway. It’s a good plan, and the first intelligent thing Ice King has done all-episode. I like Ice King aggressively hitting and kicking Finn and Jake while yelling “dead” to convince Scorcher. Convinced, he leaves. I would have liked a sequel episode where Scorcher finds out they are still alive because I really like him and he’s an actually intimidating threat. A sequel episode probably would have paled in comparison to this one though. It ends with Ice King sitting on Finn and Jake, finally being the one grounding them. Who knows how long he kept them like that. He probably got bored in a couple minutes and unfroze them, but it’s a great note to end on.

So, this one’s pretty great and memorable. It’s one of the funniest episodes, if not the funniest, in the series. It’s just nonstop jokes that all hit. Ice King has so many amazing lines (although the comedy isn’t limited to him). Even though I mentioned a lot of the jokes, there’s still plenty more great ones I didn’t (Ice King saying your eyeballs explode when you’re burned alive). There’s new amazing character designs, including an awesome villain. It’s also the first episode entirely from the point of view of a character other than Finn or Jake, and Ice King works wonders in that role.

Grade: A

Memory of a Memory Review

Finn and Jake rush to help Marceline at the calling of a wizard. It’s sweet that Finn and Jake run faster when they find out it’s their friend in peril. Finn and Jake show a lot of care for Marcy in this one. We’re at the point where they view Marceline as one of the most important people in their lives. This is really the last episode where Finn and Jake’s relationship with Marceline feels ever-evolving, this is basically the status quo of their dynamic for the rest of the series. The “wizard” knowing to turn to Finn and Jake, implies that Ash has done his research on the current state of Marcy’s life, and has probably been spying on her. Claiming he’s her spirit animal is absurd but funny. It’s an obvious hint that he’s lying, but it’s easy to believe that it could be true in this weird world.

Ash claims he can’t be the one to help Marcy because he has no arms. It’s a funny excuse that works to add more suspicion. Finn and Jake enter Marceline’s memories to erase a sleeping spell. It’s an exciting premise on the face of it, given we still know almost nothing of her backstory. We start at an early point in Marceline’s life, and move mostly in chronological order throughout. We see a destroyed city, our first brief look at the world five or so years after the mushroom bomb dropped. It also serves as confirmation that Marceline lived through the apocalypse. She looks two or three years older than in the “Simon & Marcy” flashbacks, but maybe two years younger then when Simon abandons her. Her age, and possession of Hambo, places it between “Simon & Marcy” and the second flashback in “Everything Stays”. So, where the f*ck is Simon? She’s running around all by herself. There’s a couple possible hand waves. Simon could be behind a tree taking a sh*t. He was at a period of his life where he had less control over the crown, so maybe he flew off on a crown-induced escapade, or purposefully distanced himself when he knew he was going to have an episode. He could also be searching for ways to summon Hunson Abadeer. It’s not exactly canon-shattering, but it's definitely a bit of a continuity error. The crew had some idea that there’s a deeper connection between Ice King and Marceline, as evidenced by hints in “Holly Jolly Secrets” and “Marceline’s Closet” this season, but this scene is clearly a result of them not really having the Simon and Marcy backstory planned yet. The most striking disconnect is little Marcy calling Hambo her “only friend”. In “Betty”, Marceline instead refers to Simon as her only friend during that period of her life. Marceline sews Hambo’s button eye back on, like Simon how sews a button back on Marcy’s overalls in “Simon Petrikov”. Simon must have taught her how to sew in the interceding years. She tells Hambo she’s hurting him because she loves him. This might be a coping mechanism she picked up on from Elise and/or Simon.

Finn and Jake pass by Marceline picking her nose, showing for the first time how gross she can be while by herself. Next we get to see the infamous fry eating incident, and they even got Martin Olson back for this short cameo. Marcy looks a few years older than in “Marcy & Hunson’s” flashback. I don’t think Marcy was with Hunson this whole time, it wouldn’t make sense for them to be on Earth together for a few years. This must have been one of Hunson’s infrequent awkward visits, possibly the first time they saw each other since their reunion in the previously mentioned episode. She may have even gotten the bass axe during this visit. It’s cool seeing Adventure Time already building on its pre established backstory, and they continue this trend in the next memory. Ash helps Marcy move into the treehouse, referencing “Evicted!”.

Next, probably a couple years later, we see Marceline clearly feeling checked out of her relationship. Ash comes home, revealing he sold Hambo to a witch (Maja) to get a new wand. Marceline dumps Ash, and Olivia Olson’s voice acting here is incredible, especially the “it’s over you psycho!”. Marceline dated Ash during a time when her self-esteem was at its lowest, feeling like a monster that didn’t deserve any better. Ash was probably a rebound after her relationship with Bubblegum, probably starting a relationship with him within a few decades of her breakup with PB. Ash and Marceline’s relationship is very uncomfortable to watch. The “Mar Mar” pet name makes me queasy. Ash still somehow manages to have one funny line, saying he didn’t ruin “all” of her life to defend himself. The episode just gives us tiny glimpses into a few parts of Marceline’s life. Later episodes make this up, but it would have been nice to get just another couple memories in this one. It’s funny in hindsight how we skip over all the biggest parts of Marceline’s past (Elise, Simon, the vampires, PB). If this was a later season episode, Simon and Bonnie definitely would have made appearances.

Finn and Jake jump into the memory core, which has an unbelievably cool design, with white silhouettes over the black background. Each of the memory balls has a corresponding symbol, and I’ll do my best guess to analyze the meaning behind many of them:

-A portal to the Nightosphere: a memory involving Hunson, possibly the events of “It Came From the Nightosphere”-A roll of yarn: the first memory Finn and Jake entered of Marceline sewing Hambo

-A weight: working out after her break up with PB or Ash

-Marceline’s high heels from “Evicted!” and “Henchman”

-A tree: the memory of Marceline moving into the treehouse

-A wolf: her dog Schwabl

-A snowman: Simon and the ice crown

-The shovel and/or grave: the death of Elise

-A hand: no idea, maybe meeting the tribe of humans in “Everything Stays”?

Finn and Jake return to the physical world, and Ash reveals he had Finn and Jake erase the memory of their breakup. Her memories of moving on from the breakup must have been altered by this too. Ash intends on bringing her back to his place. This is basically just a metaphor for date rape drugging and has to be the most traumatic thing Marceline has experienced in the present timeline of the series. Another sign of abuse is Ash’s negging, with the “that’s a relief” to Marcy saying she’s going to freshen up.

Jake tracks Ash and Marcy down with his rarely used super-scent. Jake bashing the shed to get Ash’s attention, only to find it's the house of a defenseless goblin, is the funniest joke of the episode. Finn runs in to tell Marceline the truth. Marcy says that Ash doesn’t like her hanging out with “mere mortals”. In addition to showcasing another red flag, controlling who she sees, it provides more context to the time of their relationship. It’s the second Marceline episode in a row where bad people from her past are shown to reinforce Marcy’s past ambivalence to the lives of mortals. She was probably part of the ghost gang from “Heat Signature” shortly before or after her breakup with Ash, more company that reinforced her low self-esteem.

Finn brings Marceline into his own memories, set inside his childhood home with Joshua and Margaret. We can see Jermaine in one of the pictures. There’s other dogs too, presumably from Joshua and Margaret’s extended family (maybe the grandmother mentioned in “Ignition Point” is one of them). Marceline sees baby Finn perform the “Buff Baby” dance. It’s second only to “Bacon Pancakes” in terms of viral sensation. It’s funny and cute, but a bit overrated. It also shows how young Finn was when he became obsessed with fighting evil. Finn looks a few years older than the flashback in “Memories of Boom Boom Mountain”, but a couple years younger than in “BMO”. Finn showing Marceline his memory of seeing her memory is such a clever solution, foreshadowed by the cleverly named title of the episode. She immediately seems to believe Finn, even before seeing the memory. This shows the trust she’s gained for Finn over the series, and that she has always known that Ash is a terrible person capable of evil. She has a muted reaction to this, but you can tell she is hurt inside.

They really go all the way with portraying Ash as a stereotypical misogynist, with him literally telling her to get back into the kitchen. He’s a loser who can’t even make his own sandwich. Marceline and Finn beat up Ash, which is a justified response to attempted sexual assault. He’s one of the most sociopathic characters in the series, and the most despised character among the fans. He has his own hatedom. He’s fun to hate, but he’s a good character that provided a great foil to Marceline while showing the reality of how some men behave towards women. Jake stomping him with a giant foot is a perfect ending. The episode follows the route of “It Came From the Nightosphere” in using Marceline as a way to explore trauma more specific to the experience of a young woman or teenage girl. It’s also really nice to get some good Marceline drama that’s not tied to Princess Bubblegum or a parental figure for once.

Grade: A

Morituri Te Salutamus Review

“Morituri Te Salutamus” is one of two episode titles with non-English speaking words in it, and the only episode title with no English words in it. The Latin terminology translates to “We who are about to die, salute you”. Adventure Time season 3 episode 2: We Who Are About to Die, Salute You. That’d be quite the mouthful. The Latin translation fits the Roman theming in this one much better. There’s lots of bits of Latin throughout the episode, such as “eludere” (evasion) and “non pugnant, Flamma” (be not repugnant to him). I like when Adventure Time incorporates different cultures, such as Korean, to expand the world. I don’t think any episode commits to playing with a particular culture as much as this one.

Finn and Jake enter a Roman colosseum. It's up for debate if the arena is a few hundred years old and was merely inspired by ancient Rome, or if this is literally remnants of a colosseum from 3,000ish years ago. The gladiator ghosts are gay, and there is evidence suggesting hom*osexuality was more socially accepted in ancient Rome. Their names are even taken from Roman warriors from history and fiction. The magical element to the arena was definitely added post-Mushroom War, and the implication at the end is the ghosts had a similar story to Finn and Jake, meaning they weren’t humans from Rome (plus one of them has two heads).

I like how Finn and Jake are smart enough to immediately realize the place is a trap, but are confident enough to still take it on. They’ve clearly earned that confidence (with a strong helping of plot armor) as they succeed where all the gladiator ghosts failed. I like the Fight King, he has a cool design that adds to the episode’s atmosphere. He’s missing an arm, of course his right one. We can piece together the backstory of this place, but Fight King’s role and purpose remains pretty mysterious. It’s the second episode in a row with a king character, and it’s pretty consistent that rulers in Ooo are titled princess or king, rather than prince.

Finn and Jake fight the first pair of gladiator ghosts. The fights throughout this one are pretty fun and dynamic. Finn is strangely not using the Root Sword, but the Steel Sword for the first time. It’s a cool design, even with it weirdly resembling the Night Sword. I love the easy to miss detail that the injuries on each ghost matches the weapon used by the other. One of them refers to the other as their love. The crew were able to sneak in same-sex romance under Cartoon Network’s radar (confirmed canon by Andy Ristanio) and I don’t think it's a coincidence that Rebecca Sugar co-boarded this episode. Along with the Roman theming, my favorite part of the episode is all the hints given to the gladiators’ backstory (like them constantly apologizing to each other and begging for forgiveness). There’s enough pieces to figure out the history, the episode doesn’t need to make it explicit.

Finn and Jake have been quibbling over Jake’s non commitment to following through with Finn’s plans. Jake just wants to have fun, he doesn’t take the adventures as seriously as Finn. Jake lets Finn do all the work, so he can stay underground singing songs and execute his nonsensical plan of forming a molten hula hoop for morale. I like how passive their conflict is, they never actually get mad at each other, even with Finn’s deceit later on. Jake sings “On a Tropical Island”, another highlight of the episode. It’s hard to truly enjoy the song in the episode itself, as it's broken into four different scenes. But, it's great listening to the entire thing outside the context of the episode. It still stands as the best Jake song of the series. This is the song that people should be asking John DiMaggio to sing at every panel, not “Bacon Pancakes” every f*cking time.

Finn is seemingly mind controlled by Fight King. Fight King has Finn fight Jake to the death, like he forced onto the gladiator couples. Add Finn stabbing the dummy Jake and trying to kill the real Jake onto the pile of Jake death foreshadowing. Jake’s confused reaction to his brother trying to kill him, in contrast to how easy going Finn was in his conflict with Jake, is heartbreaking. Finn tricks Fight King into giving him his sword, which seems to contain his soul. The sword’s rune reads “to fight is to live”, and apparently Fight King literally can’t live without it. Finn smashes it, killing Fight King and his power over the arena. Finn was faking being mind controlled. We saw Fight King’s sword magically alter Finn, so he must have just had the willpower to resist it. We’ll see another type of magic overcome Finn for real and cause him to act in a similar manner in Elements. The Gladiator Ghosts are a really tragic element of the story, so it’s nice to see them freed at the end, presumably going to a dead world. Missed opportunity to not have them cameo in “Together Again”.

This one’s story isn’t anything special, but the Roman theming, backstory, and song elevates it up from just a solid entry to a really good one.

Grade: A-

Conquest of Cuteness Review

“Conquest of Cuteness” is the least impactful and most mundane season premiere Adventure Time has ever put out. The last two season premieres weren’t part of some grand season arc either, but “It Came From the Nightosphere” pushed the series to new heights. “Slumber Party Panic” obviously introduced a lot of key components of the series, and we’re pretty close to its sequel episode. The plot of this season premiere, and the characters it introduces, don’t ever get further explored. This is as standalone as an episode gets for Adventure Time, even more standalone than most season three episodes. It could have aired during any part of the season. Adventure Time isn’t promising a big overarching story yet, so it’s not a big deal. But, after how good last season’s premiere was, and given the cliffhanger from “Mortal Recoil”, the season certainly could have had a stronger start. Judging it as a normal episode, it’s really good! Which is all it really needs to be at this part of the series.

The opening scene is very cute, I love it when episodes start with Finn and Jake just singing a silly little song. Pretty good introductory scene to the season, just reestablishing what our boys are all about. The everything burrito is a pretty well known iconography from the series, and is the first of many times we see Jake enjoying a bizarre combination of foods. We meet the Cute People. They’re impossible to take seriously, with Finn and Jake happily posing for BMO’s camera with them, ignoring their threats of evil.

Jake is worried about the Cuties, thinking they poisoned his burrito. As Finn comforts him, Jake tells him that he reminds him of Margaret. We haven’t seen Finn and Jake casually mention their parents much, but it’s nice to see that they’re on their minds. It’s also cool to see Jake viewing Finn as a source for comfort, as opposed to the other way around, for once. They are woken up by the intruding cute people, who are holding Jake’s sword from “Tree Trunks”. I like that Finn and Jake are now on the same page about the cute people being a nuisance, instead of arguing the entire episode. The cuties taunt them by pretending to be Margaret’s ghost. It was already obvious, but this is the first hard confirmation of at least one of their parent’s death. We’re getting just a little light shed on Finn and Jake’s early childhoods.

The cute people charge towards the treehouse in the morning, but all end up tripping over, exploding, or my favorite, getting picked up by a duck. I still think this sequence could be more creative and funny, then just most of them falling down and tripping. They are definitely the most incompetent villains Finn and Jake have ever faced, which works when we aren’t supposed to take them seriously. Finn and Jake watch Cute King’s scolding of his men, which results in them all crying, which is very funny. Finn decides they need to lose to them on purpose to get them to stop, which is not something I’m sure Finn would have done in season 1.

I love the transition of Finn saying he’ll call all their friends for an army to a shot of Jake sitting with BMO, Cinnamon Bun, Lumpy Space Princess, and a random duck. Only the dumbest of Finn and Jake’s friends bothered to come. You couldn’t pay Marceline and Bubblegum to give a sh*t about this. Cinnamon Bun is probably the only person in Ooo who could lose to the cute people, falling over before even any of the cuties manage to. This also gives us the first Cinnamon Bun and LSP interaction. The storyboarding does a good job tricking you into thinking the cute people have formed into a giant monster, only to reveal they are still only two feet tall. Finn dramatically pretending to die as he squirts ketchup everywhere is great, the Cuties too stupid to catch on. Not even Jake can take this sh*t seriously anymore, he just dances. Adding on to this delightfully bizarre and silly scene, Cinnamon Bun enjoys getting a faceful of ketchup while LSP can’t help but use this as an opportunity to make it about romance and drama, dying from a heartbreak. It’s topped off by Cute King’s iconic victory dance, causing Jake to burst out laughing, revealing their hoax.

Finn causes Cute King to become a true villain, sending him to use his cuteness to control others. Sending him to be Ice King’s problem is a good ending, and he doesn’t seem to mind!

This one has a very simple plot and I like not taking it seriously. I’m just along for the ride of nonstop silliness. There’s a lot of nice smaller moments throughout this one (I love Jake mistaking the blanket for a dead, bloody goat).

Grade: A-

Season Two Overall Review

In my season one review, I said that it’s not the show I think of when I think of Adventure Time, nor did it make me fall in love with the series. I thought it was good (gave it a B), but rough around the edges. Season two isn’t really an evolution of the series. It’s a much more polished and grounded version of the first season. I still don’t think it's fully found its footing, but the show is much more confident in its identity. The show takes its stories more seriously and they are more streamlined. The characters are less cartoony, with less exaggerated expressions. The climaxes feel like a natural progression of the plot, unlike my biggest criticism of season one: some of the climaxes came out of nowhere. The only exception this season being “Crystals Have Power”. Season one often felt like it was putting absurdity and randomness before the story. Season two takes an absurd concept, like Finn and Jake going to the underworld to retrieve the soul of a plant, or helping a pathetic slug find romance, and commits to telling a traditional three-act story with it. It really increases my investment in the episodes.

The stories are more creative. Season one often fell into a formula of Finn and Jake helping “minor character x” solve their problem, to mixed results. Season two’s main return to that well is in “Slow Love”, which falls flat. Season two focuses more on the main cast, and the adventures themselves. Finn and Jake go on adventures in much more interesting locations like in “The Other Tarts”, “Guardians of Sunshine”, and “Death in Bloom”. They break away from adventure episodes with more mundane and sitcom-y episodes in “The Eyes”, “Her Parents”, “Go With Me”, and “Video Makers” to great success. Finn and Jake are strong enough characters to not need a wacky plot to carry an episode. Oftentimes, the more mundane, slice-of life stories allow them to shine even more. The season excels at comedy. The humor comes more from how characters would react to a certain situation given their personality, than just non sequiturs that aren’t derived from the story, such as the three funniest episodes of the season, “The Eyes”, “Mystery Train”, and “Heat Signature”. On the other hand, there is an emphasis on raunchiness in episodes like “Storytelling”, “Slow Love”, and “Crystals Have Power”, which usually ended up being more off-putting and creepy than funny.

Season two gives hints to the true potential of Adventure Time in its best episodes. “Susan Strong” shows how building on the lore of the Land of Ooo can create intrigue and meaningfully impact the characters. “It Came From the Nightosphere” shows how a strong interpersonal character drama can elevate the series to new heights. “Mortal Folly” demonstrates that Adventure Time has the ability to tell a truly epic story that leaves you on the edge of your seat. The second half of the season is also much better than the first half. Almost all of the worst episodes are contained in the first half, whereas the second half only has “Belly of the Beast”. While “It Came From the Nightosphere” and “The Eyes” start the season on an unbelievably strong note, “Storytelling”, “Slow Love”, and “Crystals Have Power” are three of the worst episodes of the season. They come almost back to back, with “Power Animal” being the only good episode breaking them up. The second half has many more of the season’s best episodes, and the episodes in general are more interesting.

The season shows a clearer interest in continuity, despite being in the background. Marceline has a clear arc running through, “It Came From the Nightosphere” brings back minor characters and locations from season one, we get our first real sequel episode in “Crystals Have Power”, “Mortal Folly” builds on lore established in “His Hero” and contains references to other season one episodes, we get our first two parter, and our first season finale cliffhanger. I thought “Crystals Have Power” handled the continuity sloppily, but in general, it was done well. Season two casually drops important details of the world and characters such as Princess Bubblegum’s first name and the first mention of The Great Mushroom War in a way that feels really satisfying. “It Came From the Nightosphere”, “Susan Strong”, and “Mortal Folly” drop good bits of lore as well. The series feels like it's slowly opening up mysteries begging to be explored.

Finn is a little less juvenile and the show treats him a little more seriously. His hyperactivity is toned down, helping him feel a little more real and a little less like a cartoon character. While season one had Finn struggling to live up to his desire to be a great hero, “It Came From the Nightosphere” and especially “Mortal Folly” have Finn face his biggest foes yet. He approaches them with no hesitation or self doubt. As he enters his teen years, his feelings for Bubblegum continue to boil in “The Real You” and “Go With Me”, something that he struggles to accept, until he has a moment of clarity in “Mortal Recoil”. Jake gets more focus episodes this season in “Power Animal”, “Crystals Have Power”, “Her Parents”, and “The Limit”. He doesn’t have a consistent theme, each of these episodes focuses on a different aspect of his character. His love for romance is played up in episodes such as “Go With Me” and “Video Makers”. Jake is less lazy and plays a more active role in his adventures with Finn. Finn and Jake continue to be a great dynamic that still carries the series. Season two plays around with Finn and Jake being oblivious and downright stupid more often for comedy, and it works well, especially in “The Other Tarts”, “Death in Bloom'', and “Heat Signature”.

Ice King is again the most prominent character not named Finn or Jake. While there’s really only two true Ice King episodes in “Loyalty to the King” and “The Chamber of Frozen Blades”, he plays pivotal roles in “The Eyes”, “Mortal Folly”, and “Mortal Recoil”. We get to follow Ice King’s POV in act one of “Loyalty to the King” and in his own subplot in “The Chamber of Frozen Blades”. It was nice to see Ooo from a different character's perspective for just a little. This, along with seeing his sympathetic side in “The Eyes” shifts him further from being a villain. “Loyalty to the King” is the only episode where an evil Ice King scheme is the main conflict, and even then it’s nowhere near as bad as anything he did in season one. Ice King generally has more respect for Finn and Jake after last season's “When Wedding Bells” and “What Have You Done?”. The two part season finale pushes Ice King to stop seeing Finn and Jake as his enemies, and decreases Finn and Jake’s animosity for him, setting up their dynamic for next season.

Princess Bubblegum gets the short end of the stick. I didn’t mind her less active role in season one, partially because it being the first season gives it more leeway, but by season two I really expect the series to be exploring her a little more like they are with Ice King and Marceline. Outside of a gag here and there, her quirks aren’t played up as much as season one. There aren’t really any Princess Bubblegum centric episodes. The most she does is give Finn and Jake quests in “The Other Tarts” and “Mortal Folly” and be used as a plot device to explore Finn’s feelings in “The Real You”, “Go With Me” and “Mortal Recoil”. Bubblegum’s poor showing is easily season two’s biggest weakness.

Marceline has a pretty freaking great showing. While unlike PB and Ice King, her roles are pretty much entirely contained to her designated episodes, that’s pretty hard to complain about when she has three episodes pretty much entirely dedicated to her. That’s a big step up from season one, which only had two Marceline episodes, with her being absent for the middle portion of her introductory episode. All of her episodes are really illuminating for Marceline and push her character forward. Her appearances continue “Henchman’s” trajectory of Marceline becoming closer to Finn and Jake, with Jake slowly warming up to Marceline a little more in each appearance. Marceline gains back a bit more of her moral code by “Heat Signature” and realizes how important Finn and Jake have become to her. She has a great variety of episodes too. She has two episodes more focused on emotional drama in “It Came From the Nightosphere” and “Go With Me”, and one more focused on comedy in “Heat Signature”. “It Came From the Nightosphere”, in which Marceline is basically the star character, develops her more than any other episode in the first two seasons has developed a character besides Finn and Jake. It’s also easily the most emotional episode in seasons one and two. Her episodes are a great break away from the usual character dynamics and always prove to be among the season’s best. Season two is easily the best season for the relationship between Marceline and Finn and Jake, and she’s obviously the MVP of the season.

While season one had focus episodes for Lumpy Space Princess, Tree Trunks, and Lady Rainicorn, season two doesn’t spotlight Adventure Time’s secondary cast. However, it does a good job giving them supporting roles and cameos, which is a fine place to be in a show’s second season. After doing almost nothing in season one, BMO rises from obscurity in increasingly prominent roles in “Slow Love”, “Video Makers”, and “Guardians of Sunshine". He no longer feels like a prop. Finn and Jake are often at their dumbest this season, and BMO is at his most mature. He acts more like their parent in “Video Makers” and “Guardians of Sunshine”, the opposite of their dynamic for most of the show. It is weird that Lumpy Space Princess doesn’t have a major episode after season one’s “Trouble in Lumpy Space” considering LSP episodes are a staple for here on out. I would have liked one, but she provides great comedic relief from the sidelines in episodes such as “To Cut a Woman’s Hair”, “Video Makers”, and “Heat Signature”. Tree Trunks and Lady Rainicorn are mainly relegated to plot devices in one episode each, which is fine, even though I don’t like Tree Trunks’ portrayal in “Crystals Have Power”. Cinnamon Bun gets a funny role in “The Other Tarts” and ditto Gunter in “The Chamber of Frozen Blades”. Peppermint Butler’s dark side is established and stays consistent throughout three of his appearances, and he gets a great supporting role in “Death in Bloom”. Unlike last season, season two doesn’t introduce a lot of recurring characters. This makes sense, as season one is the introductory season after all. Susan Strong is the biggest character introduced in her titular episode. Hunson Abadeer enters as well, but he is only relevant in a couple more episodes. While season one technically had the first appearance of The Lich, season two deserves credit for properly establishing such an important character.

Season 2 is a moderate step up when it comes to its music. BMO’s song in “Video Makers” is very cute but not on the level of season one’s “Housing Hunting Song” and “Billy’s Song”. “Fries” is just as catchy as those two while being emotionally resonant. Finn’s song in “Susan Strong” makes for my favorite song of the first two seasons, being the catchiest and most interesting.

Pendleton Ward was awarded more creative freedom this season and worked on the story of each episode. Creator Pen Ward, and creative director Patrick McHale, being the two constants in the writers room all season, made the show more in line with the vision of the creators’. Kent Osborne joined the writing staff halfway through the season, after being hired as a storyboard artist in season one. Season 2 feels much more consistent with Adventure Time’s identity in large parts to Pen, Pat, and Kent, who would define the trajectory of the series for years to come. Steve Little (voice of Peppermint Butler), along with Merriwether Williams and Flapjack creator Thurop Van Orman (further infusing Adventure Time with Flapjack DNA), joined the writers staff for the first half of season 2. Williams is the only crew member who worked consistently in season one’s writing room to return. Mark Banker joined the crew during the season’s latter half. While not a defining voice of the series, he made his impact, working on the series through the end of season 3.

Season two had a more consistent team of storyboard artists. Kent Osborne and Somvilay Xayaphone had a great run of episodes, boarding seven total. While “Belly of the Beast” was middling, their work on “The Eyes”, “Loyalty to the King”, “Mystery Train”, and “Video Makers” resulted in some of the most fun episodes, with “The Eyes” and “Mystery Train” standing out as particularly hilarious. Adam Muto and Rebecca Sugar easily made for the best pairing. Not only did they not produce a single weak entry, they boarded the three best episodes in “It Came From the Nightosphere”, “Susan Strong”, and “Mortal Folly”. They know how to build on the world of the show and write genuine emotional moments for the characters that resonate. This makes Adam’s second MVP win in a row! Rebecca Sugar was promoted from her work as a storyboard revisionist in season one, and is highlighted as one of Adventure Time’s all time best storyboard artists. She wrote the two best songs of the season, and her music is infused in the DNA of the show itself. Ako Castuera joined the series full time, after only boarding season one's "Gut Grinder". Ako and Tom Herpich, despite having a poor working relationship and creative conflict, were a really good team that boarded six episodes. They boarded the season’s second worst episode in “Storytelling”, but were also behind two great Marceline episodes in “Go With Me” and “Heat Signature”, and two really fun Finn and Jake adventures in “The Other Tarts” and “Guardians of Sunshine”. Cole Sanchez was promoted to creative director and continued storyboarding with a decent episode in “Blood Under the Skin” and a mediocre episode in “Slow Love” with Benton Connor. These are the only two episodes of the series that Benton Connor ended up working on. Cole Sanchez moved to become partners with Jesse Moynihan. Cole and Jesse worked on five episodes. They got off on a rough start with “Crystals Have Power”, the only downright awful episode of the season, which also suffered from Jesse Moynihan not yet getting a feel for drawing the characters. Luckily, the rest of their episodes ranged from good to great. Other than Ako's and Tom's one-off gigs and Cole's two episodes, Adam and Kent are the only returning regular storyboard artists from season one. Season 2 really has a clean slate of boarders. Adam Muto, Kent Osborne, Cole Sanchez, Ako Castuera, Tom Herpich, Somvilay Xayaphone, Rebecca Sugar, and Jesse Moynihan's styles are embedded in the DNA of Adventure Time and the way they write the characters and approach executing stories have an ever-lasting influence on the franchise. Andy Ristanio joined the series as lead character designer, who would work on the show in various capacities for years to come. In many ways, season two is the first season of Adventure Time proper, written and produced by the people who shaped its identity.

Top Ten Title Cards:

10: The Real You

9: Guardians of Sunshine

8: The Chamber of Frozen Blades

7: Crystals Have Power

6: The Eyes

5: Go With Me

4: Slow Love

3: Mortal Folly

2: Storytelling

1: Death in Bloom

Episode Rankings:

26: Crystals Have Power (D-)

25: Storytelling ©

24: Belly of the Beast ©

23: Slow Love ©

22: Blood Under the Skin (B+)

21: Power Animal (B+)

20: The Limit (B+)

19: Her Parents (B+)

18: The Pods (B+)

17: To Cut a Woman’s Hair (B+)

16: The Chamber of Frozen Blades (B+)

15: The Silent King (B+)

14: The Real You (A-)

13: Death in Bloom (A-)

12: Mystery Train (A-)

11: The Other Tarts (A-)

10: Loyalty to the King (A-)

9: Video Makers (A-)

8: Heat Signature (A-)

7: Guardians of Sunshine (A-)

6: The Eyes (A)

5: Go With Me (A)

4: Mortal Recoil (A)

3: Susan Strong (A)

2: It Came From the Nightosphere (A)

1: Mortal Folly (A+)

D- (1/26)

C (3/26)

B+ (8/26)

A- (8/26)

A (5/26)

A+ (1/26)

Season Overall Grade: B+

Heat Signature Review

“Heat Signature” was clearly aired out of order. Not only was it released after the intended season finale, it should have come before “Video Makers”. Finn and Jake show Marceline the movie Heat Signature in this one, but intend on showing her Heat Signature 3 in “Video Makers”.

Finn and Jake go to Marceline’s house and it's great to finally see this trio hanging out for a whole episode now that Jake is over his fear. He even trusts her enough to let her bite him while his eyes are closed. Marceline has been portrayed as a loner, but here we find out that she at least has three ghost friends: Wendy, Booboo, and Georgy. It seems that Marcy hasn’t seen them in years, possibly centuries. They were in a gang in the underworld, which presumably means Marcy lived in The Land of the Dead for a while. Given Marceline’s age, I can buy that. It must have happened sometime after the flashbacks in “Everything Stays”. They were definitely a bad influence on Marcy. We don’t know much about Marceline’s life between getting bit and the start of the series, so it’s cool to have this detail.

Marceline pretends to turn Finn and Jake into vampires. Considering how Marcy feels about vampirism as seen in “Stakes”, she’d never actually turn them. But, she’s definitely not above using the idea for a prank. Yes, her turning was deeply traumatizing, but pranks and messing with people is her way of coping with trauma. This is another episode in which Finn and Jake are incredibly stupid, and it’s really funny. I can’t go over every moment, but it’s funny how easy it is to trick them and handwave their questions. Finn and Jake immediately think they are hungry for blood, which is really just them getting super into a role. It’s funny how calm they are about such a life-altering event, but it’s in line with their go with the flow lifestyle.

Marceline has Finn and Jake go through vampire initiation to gain their vamp powers. As they’ll learn in “Stakes”, that's not at all how it works. Finn and Jake thinking they have gained invisibility is the funniest and best part of the episode. I love them twirling around screaming “invisible” like absolute morons, and their quick acceptance of Marcy’s bullsh*t reason for Finn and Jake still being able to see each other. They use their new power to harass a homeless person. What is with Finn harassing LSP as she’s just trying to chill in her hobo camp this season? Jake wasn’t with Finn in “To Cut a Woman’s Hair”, so we see his reaction to LSP’s new status. Lumpy Space Princess says she’s doing fine on her own, which we’ll learn isn’t true next season. Finn and Jake knock down LSP’s can of beans, infuriating her. As funny as this is, it's one of her most sympathetic appearances. She’s a starving hobo and Finn and Jake ruined her dinner. Marceline scares LSP with her bass axe, causing her to faint. They were so horrible to her in this episode!

The ghosts take things too far. While Marcy is just messing with Finn and Jake, the ghosts are downright bullying them. Marcy takes offense at Booboo calling them morons (although they do have a point). She’s grown a degree of affection for her boys, beyond just seeing them as her play things. Finn has softened her up a little, she wouldn’t go as far in her games as she did in “Evicted!”. Glob knows the f*cked up pranks Marceline must have pulled with her gang back in the day. The ghosts still have some influence over Marceline. While she tells them to stop kicking Finn and Jake, she doesn’t reveal she’s pulling a prank even when Finn and Jake’s lives are put in danger. When Marcy tells her ghost friends to stop trying to kill Finn and Jake, Booboo replies “they’re gonna die someday”. They view the lives of mortals as meaningless. Marceline shared this attitude, seeing countless people die over hundreds of years. She was apathetic to the glass people in “Obsidian”, “they’re glass, they break, who cares?” And she almost killed Jake in “Evicted!”. Her friendship with Finn and Jake has made her realize that mortals' lives do have meaning.

The ghosts invite Finn and Jake to a party so they can suck their brains out. Their chant is actually a backwards message: “Farewell Pat. Goodluck in New York. Come back soon.” This refers to Patrick McHale, who stepped down as creative director after season two. Marceline comes to apologize. She can’t save them, as vampires can’t beat ghosts. I wonder what the third creature in the rock, paper, scissors analogy is, assuming the analogy is one to one. Maybe werewolves? Still, it shows that Marceline recognizes Finn and Jake as her real friends, unlike the ghosts. This completes the arc of Finn and Jake becoming true friends with Marcy that started in “Henchman”.

Watching Heat Signature is what saves Finn and Jake, as the ghosts are fans. It’s also a pre-war movie. The three ghosts never return, but that’s probably for the best, Marcy is better off without them. It would have been cool if they showed up in a flashback, though.

“Heat Signature” isn’t as emotional or complex as the season’s previous two Marceline episodes, but it's a very funny one with some good insight into Marcy.

Grade: A-

Mortal Recoil Review

The beginning of this episode is delightfully morbid. After last episode’s ending, the title card of the characters looking into a grave is hilarious. We know they aren’t going to kill off Bubblegum, but like what if? The opening scene continues this, with the intensity of rushing Princess Bubblegum into the hospital while the doctors make funny candy puns.

“Mortal Recoil” not only picks up on the cliffhanger from the previous episode, but also continues the character dynamics from it. I can’t blame Finn for refusing to listen to Ice King’s warning about PB. Not only is he rightfully furious at him for his actions in “Mortal Folly”, but since when has Ice King provided anything useful? The princesses give Finn a new backpack, which makes him losing his original one a little pointless. It would have been cool if there was something to differentiate the new one. Finn has his most emotionally honest moment yet as he tells Bubblegum his feelings. It’s growth from his portrayal in “Go With Me”, but after the intensity of last episode, and Finn witnessing PB’s brush with death, it makes sense he’d want to be so honest with her. I think this two-parter intensified Finn’s crush, as we see how intense it is in season three. We don’t know if Princess Bubblegum heard Finn’s confession. I don’t think she did, as “Burning Low” shows she didn’t know just how strong his feelings for her were.

Peppermint Butler feeling The Lich’s presence makes sense, and adds to Pep’s mystique. Jake also notices something is wrong. I like Jake’s song to cheer up PB, but it tortures The Lich. Maybe music is a weakness to The Lich, just as it is to his master, GOLB? The Lich is still super creepy and unsettling in the form of PB. They abandoned The Lich’s original form, but I love how The Lich constantly gets new forms across his appearances. Finn brings Bubblegum a bunch of materials to make a bomb, hilariously assuming its “lady stuff”. I love the idea of Finn interpreting PB’s possession-induced behavior as lady stuff. Nothing to see here, it’s just her time of the month! Jake shows Finn that something is really wrong. I’m glad the episode wasn’t just Jake trying to prove that something is wrong while Finn misses all the signs and thinks Jake is crazy. I like Finn refusing to peep on PB in the bathroom, calling it “pervy”. Truly a gentleman.

The Lich creates a makeshift well of power in the bathtub, producing the mutagenic substance released from the mushroom bomb. He doesn’t have access to residue from the green catalyst comet, so maybe he was able to add his comet essence to it through his green fire. Ice King tells Finn that The Lich is possessing Bubblegum. Unlike earlier, Finn’s dismissal of Ice King isn’t so justified. It’s pretty obvious that Ice King is correct. Ice King’s wizard eyes are first revealed, further explaining why he is so crazy. The comments Ice King makes implying he is only worried about Bonnie’s looks instead of her wellbeing are funny, like not wanting her to be “physically unattractive”. He still thinks he is marrying PB after last episode, referring to her as his “wife” and “future wife”.

Finn tries to save Bubblegum with his sweater, feeling defeated when his feelings for her can’t restore her. The sweater having “like like” power is just in Finn’s head. He is forced to team up with Ice King for the first time, and this is Ice King’s first moment of heroism in the series. Ice King freezes PB and Finn recognizes that he did good.“Mortal Folly” moved past Ice King as the show’s main villain and “Mortal Recoil” causes Finn to stop seeing him as his arch nemesis, although still an enemy. Unfortunately, Princess Bubblegum falls over and breaks into pieces. I love everyone’s reactions, especially Ice King not wanting to be at fault for her death. This episode does such a great job balancing morbidity with comedy.

PB is once again rushed to the hospital. The doctors don’t have enough gum to work with to maintain her current age. She lost a lot of candy biomass that she works to maintain. “Too Young” shows that any candy material can restore her, not just gum. We know why Princess Bubblegum doesn’t immediately go for that, but the doctors must not be aware of the whole process. I guess the whopping love hug wouldn’t be possible while PB is unconscious. The doctors resort to constructing a thirteen year old body for Bonnie. Ice King leaves due to PB’s age. It’s nice to know that Ice King isn’t a pedophile. Unfortunately, this doesn’t remain a consistent trait. He writes a fanfic where the female version of another thirteen year old professes his love for him (and yes, Ice King definitely added that part in, that wasn’t Prismo) and calls Flame Princess “okay” in “I Remember You”. He also previously kidnapped LSP for marriage in “Prisoners of Love”.

Princess Bubblegum, now Finn’s age, hugs him and a new romance blooms. It’s a great status quo change to end the season, raising questions on how this will affect the series dynamics going forward. The episode ends revealing the snail is now possessed by The Lich. Despite the happy ending, this is a way to show that conflict still awaits. The snail will continue to appear in every episode, and now always with green pupils signifying his possession by The Lich. This creates lingering tension in the background for two seasons to come. Princess Bubblegum’s brush with death and possession by the embodiment of evil is a turning point for her character that colors her actions going forward. These events understandably traumatized her.

This was Adventure Time’s first two-parter and it succeeded! Each episode still tells its own story, but elements are carried throughout both parts. This could have worked as the series finale. The four main characters play big parts, Ice King gets a sort of redemption, Finn faces his biggest threat yet and finally becomes the world-saving hero he has dreamed of, and Finn finally gets with Bubblegum. I do wonder if this was written to work as the last episode in case they didn’t get renewed. Would they have even bothered with deaging Bubblegum if they knew they’d get a third season (that’s assuming that they didn’t know)? My guess is they still would have. I’m glad this isn’t the last episode, but it works as a great cap to this era of the series.

Due to Cartoon Network incompetence, “Heat Signature” was aired after and it’s still listed that way on streaming. It was thankfully fixed for the dvd. Still, “Mortal Recoil” is essentially the season finale and was intended as such. It’s the first time the show made sure to have a proper finale, creating a trend for the rest of the show.

Grade: A