The episode begins with Princess Bubblegum asking Finn and Jake to take care of her Princess Plant while she’s away at the Science Conference in Veggie Village. The first thing I noticed in this episode is that Bubblegum is wearing a different dress. She was also wearing different clothes in The Real You. It appears that, like Marceline, Bubblegum is one of few cartoon characters who changes her outfit. I like the dress she’s wearing in this episode, it’s cute. Anyway, she tells Finn and Jake she’ll be back “on the Morrow”, and then takes off on her giant eagle-like bird to the Conference (doesn’t she normally ride Lady to get places?). It turns out Finn and Jake are horrible at taking care of the plant, and by the time they say good night to it, it’s dead. (I like how suddenly this realization hits them.) Finn suggests they go to the Land of the Dead to retrieve the soul of the Princess Plant before Bubblegum returns from the Conference. Peppermint Butler appears and informs Finn and Jake that he can open a portal to the Underworld for them. He’ll do so for a small price that he says they can discuss later. Oh no. Finn, Jake, don’t take the deal. Ask what his price is straight up first. Seriously, it’s never good when someone says that they’ll tell you the price of a deal later. They’re planning shit that you’re not going to like. Of course, Finn and Jake take the deal (YOU IDIOTS) and with a request from Peppermint Butler to say hello to Death for him, enter the Underworld. Unfortunately, they also cut off Peppermint Butler’s warning not to drink the water.
Okay, so I really love stories that involve exploring the Underworld/Hell/any kind of afterlife. It doesn’t matter how many times I see it, it’s always immensely enjoyable. I like how the Adventure Time version of the Land of the Dead doesn’t seem to be based on any one version. It takes bits from the Greek Underworld (which contrary to popular belief is not the same thing as the Christian Hell please stop thinking that they are), but it also has its own unique flair. I also like how they do this with Death himself, taking bits from myths but also making him their own, but we’ll get to him later. Let’s focus on the Land of the Dead for now, as the journey through it takes up the bulk of the episode. When they first enter the Land of the Dead, we get a sweeping view of it, and in appearance it’s much like the Asphodel Meadow of the Greek Underworld. Not so much fire and brimstone and filled with the screams of tortured souls, more drab and grey and littered with bones. Creepy and unhappy, but not outwardly evil or tortuous. In Greek mythology, Asphodel Meadow was the place where most souls went when they died, it was the place for “ordinary” souls who were neither distinctly good nor distinctly evil. Souls that were distinctly good or distinctly evil were sent to Elysium (or the Isles of the Blessed, under a certain condition) or the Fields of Punishment respectively. I don’t know how the Adventure Time Underworld works, but what we see of it looks like how Asphodel Meadow is usually described. I wonder if it’s where all of the dead end up, or if there are other sections of it. Or if there’s a Heaven for good souls.
Anyway, there’s a Gate Guardian who admits people to the Land of the Dead, and Finn and Jake must get past him first. The Gate Guardian resembles a giant, skeletal bird. I was hoping for a design more like Cerberus, but you know, I guess skeletal birds are okay too. He asks Finn and Jake how they died, to which they reply “because we’re awesome”. Unsurprisingly, the Gate Guardian doesn’t buy this. He tells them to step out of line, but Finn and Jake ignore him and go through the entrance anyway. I love how ineffective the Gate Guardian is at stopping them. Seriously, dude, you’re really bad at your job. Next, Finn and Jake encounter skeletons who are very excited to see live flesh, which they haven’t seen in years. They’re too excited, in fact. They try to eat Finn and Jake. After trying to fight the skeletons in vain (did Finn ever replace his old gold sword after he lost it?), Finn and Jake manage to shake them off just long enough to take cover in a hole. Though disappointed that getting the Princess Plant is not as easy as they had hoped, Finn is at least comforted by the fact that Bubblegum won’t return until tomorrow. Except, he’s not quite right about that. Jake tells him that when Bubblegum said she’d be back “on the Morrow”, she was referring to her bird, which is called a Morrow. Bubblegum will really be back much sooner than Finn thought.
After this realization, Finn and Jake rush out of the hole and mange to sneak past the skeletons, coming to their final obstacle before Death’s castle, which is a river. A talking skull urges Jake to drink from the river, and he does so despite Finn’s weariness. The water of the river causes Jake to forget who he is, just like the River Lethe in the Greek Underworld. Finn drags Jake to Death’s castle anyway, where Death is outside gardening. Finn tells Death that he’s not leaving without the soul of the Princess Plant and Jake’s memory. Death’s reaction is interesting: “Another one. Be gone, mortal!” I’m going to take this as a reference to Orpheus. Since Finn makes it clear he isn’t going anywhere, Death challenges him to a musical battle for the Princess Plant and Jake’s memory. Obviously, this is a reference to old stories where if you beat the Devil in a fiddle contest, he would let you go. Unfortunately for Finn, Jake is the one with musical talent, not him. Finn picks an instrument that he thinks he’ll be able to play (sleigh bells) while Death plays the drums. Death’s performance is a death metal show (get it, death metal? How punny) complete with lights and fire, Finn is just stomping around ringing his bells. They allow Jake to be the judge of the contest, and Jake, still without his memories, chooses Death as the winner. Since Finn lost the battle, he must also now lose his life. Before he dies, Finn informs Death that Peppermint Butler says hi. Apparently, Peppermint Butler is an old friend of Death’s, so Death allows Finn and Jake to leave with the Princess Plant (Death also restores Jake’s memory… with a kiss. Pretty sure that’s not what the Kiss of Death normally does).
Finn and Jake make it back just on time to meet Bubblegum, who doesn’t seem to suspect anything and is happy to see her Princess Plant alive and well. She eats a flower from the plant, to Finn and Jake’s surprise, and it causes her hairstyle to magically change. Um, where can I get a plant like this? Peppermint Butler is there to greet Finn and Jake as well, and he tells them the price of the deal was their flesh. Finn and Jake think he’s joking. He isn’t joking.
Peppermint Butler. Oh, boy. I knew a lot of people loved this character, but until now I never got to see much of him. I can see why he’s so well-liked. There’s always something fun about a character who looks cute and innocent and jovial being a twisted sociopath.
Most of what I loved about this episode has to do with the Land of the Dead itself. I just really love this place. But if there’s one thing I have to nitpick, it’s that I was a little disappointed in the designs of the inhabitants of the place. The Gate Guardian design was okay, but all of those skeletons in the Land of the Dead? They’re… they’re just skeletons. When you die you just become a skeleton? Really? I was hoping for something a bit more imaginative. Even Death himself looked lackluster. Adventure Time usually has such great designs for monsters and such, you’d think and episode taking place in the Land of the Dead would show more of that creativity. It looks like all of it went into the scenery.
Though I’m not crazy about his design, I did like this version of Death. He’s not really evil or even all that vicious, he’s just doing his job. If anything, it kind of seems like he’s bored. I like this interpretation because I’ve never totally understood why Death/the Grim Reaper or things of that sort are always shown to be bad guys. They’re not the ones that kill you, they’re just the ones that bring you to the afterlife once you’re already dead.
Overall, this is a great episode. I love getting to explore new lands and dimensions in this show, they always have such wonderful designs, and I loved all of the references to various myths. On top of that, this episode is really funny. It even has one of the very few fart jokes that I actually laughed at!
Rating: 9/10
This episode has a great beginning, a so-so middle, and an absolutely amazing ending.
It begins with Bubblegum asking Finn and Jake for a favor, not exactly an uncommon way for episodes to begin. This time, she’s asked them to rip out some taffy-tree stumps from the ground, and she also inadvertently brings up the fact that Finn is the only known Human living in Ooo. She immediately feels awkward, but Finn says he isn’t really bothered by this, but when he thinks about it too deeply he gets “all soul-searchy and weird”. Bubblegum leaves, and Finn and Jake get to work, Finn in somewhat of a funk from what Bubblegum said. Among the tree stumps, they find a metal hatch leading underground. Being the adventurers that they are, Finn and Jake hop down. They find an underground cave that looks rather like an old junkyard. And in it, they find a group of creatures that wear animal-themed hats on their heads, who appear to be scared of everything including their own shadows. Closer inspection of a particular muscular woman reveals that they look a lot like Humans. Finn is ecstatic, thinking he may have finally found a tribe of Humans. This is great. I love this. Finn’s excitement about finding Humans is heartbreaking, both because it’s then that you really realize how lonely he must have felt and how important it is to find people like him, and because I’m sure that these aren’t really Humans.
After this comes the so-so part of the episode. It’s not good or bad, it’s just okay. He encourages the woman (who they call Susan) to come to the surface with him, wanting to teach her everything about the world above since she and her tribe seem to have no knowledge of it. Everything scares Susan at first, but she quickly becomes accustomed to Ooo and appears to like it. Later that night, Finn gives her candy, which Susan loves, so Finn decides to take her to the Candy Kingdom. Jake thinks this is a bad idea, that maybe Susan likes candy too much, but Finn ignores him. At the Candy Kingdom, Susan attempts to eat Peppermint Butler when they come across him. Finn stops her, saying that she can’t eat the ones that talk. Susan, who still doesn’t fully understand English, takes this to mean that everything and everyone besides Peppermint Butler is okay to eat. She runs to inform the rest of her tribe about the Candy Kingdom, leaving Finn torn about what to do. He can’t let Susan and the tribe eat the Candy Kingdom, but he doesn’t want to fight his people either. This is where things start to pick up again. Finn warns Bubblegum about Susan and her tribe, and they try to make the Candy People look intimidating to scare off the tribe, but there’s no hiding the cuteness of the Candy People. They then try to intimidate the tribe (which has now returned) with shadows, but Susan is no longer afraid of shadows and she explains to the rest of the tribe that they’re harmless. They continue their attack, when young Marshmallow Kids, who think they can take on the tribe, are accidentally set on fire, and they set the tribe on fire in turn.
The tribe remove their burning hats, revealing that underneath their hats they are mutated creatures with gills and fins. Shocked and disappointed, Finn realizes that they weren’t Humans after all. The tribe runs back to their underground dwelling, all except Susan who managed to avoid the fire and so did not need to remove her hat. Finn asks Susan is she’s a Human, but she doesn’t answer. She runs away looking scared and confused. Finn asks Jake if he thinks Susan was a Human or just another wild animal, to which Jake replies, “We’re all wild animals, brother.” Finn says in a quiet voice, “Yeah, I guess we are, brother,” and the episode ends there.
I’ve known for a while that Adventure Time gets more dramatic in later seasons, to rather mixed reactions from the fandom. Obviously I can’t really have an opinion on that until I get to it, but I look forward to seeing the more drama-heavy parts of the show, partly because I think I’ll enjoy it and partly because I’m wondering how a show this silly can be dramatic and serious. After seeing Susan Strong, and particularly its ending, though? I think quiet drama is something this show will be able to do really well. If more stuff like this is what’s coming, I can’t wait to see it.
I like that we don’t find out whether or not Susan is Human. It’s probably safe to guess that she’s one of the mutants, but we don’t know for sure. And man, poor Finn. How alone he must feel, to know that he may very well be the last of his kind. Of course, Finn isn’t really alone. He has friends, and Jake is like a brother to him, but it’s not the same as having other Humans around. The dilemma Finn faces near the end of the episode because of this is interesting. Is it more important to protect the Candy People, who he knows and loves, or is it more important to protect his own people, who he doesn’t really know much about? Is there any way to protect both?
I think the middle part of the episode could have been more interesting. It’s kind of cute that Susan is so afraid of everything considering she’s so buff she could probably snap Finn like a twig, but there isn’t actually much of interest that happens until they get to the Candy Kingdom. It’s not a big deal since it’s only a small part of an eleven-minute episode, but between such a great beginning and an even greater ending, it’s a bit of a disappointment.
I definitely still loved this episode, though. I’m really interested to see where things will go from here, if we’ll find out more about what happened to the Humans and if they really did all die out, or if it will be left a mystery. The ending of this episode is probably my favorite moment of the show so far, I loved how mysterious and melancholy it is.
Rating: 9/10
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