Another Fionna and Cake episode! YAAAAAAASSSSSSSS!!
Like the last one, this has Ice King reading his weird Fionna and Cake stories to some unwilling participants, this time to four princesses in cages. The story he tells them involves himself saving Fionna and Cake from Doctor Prince and Fionna asking to be Ice King’s best friend. The story is interrupted by the princesses who say that the story is terrible. Ice King defends his story by saying that it has everything that could possibly want: action, adventure, and “hot older guys” (he points out Wildberry Princess in particular for having a thing for Silver Foxes, though she just looks horrified). The princesses suggest that the story would be better if it were more realistic, or if there was some romance added in to it. That’s when Marceline suddenly appears. She’s apparently been hanging around invisibly for a couple of hours. She opens the cages that the princesses are held in and says that she has a way better story for them, which they all want to hear.
Marceline’s story starts off with Fionna complaining about how the missions Prince Gumball gives her are often boring, when suddenly Gumball himself comes in with a plate of pink cream puffs. He says that he baked them as a reward for Fionna’s last mission, but she declines the gift. Suddenly a noise startles them and a blur passes by, stealing all of the cream puffs. Another noise is heard on the roof and Fionna wants to investigate. She, Gumball and Cake go outside (Cake is in her hat and Gumball has an umbrella because neither of them wanted to go out in the rain… Gumball is also on Fionna’s back for some reason) and find Marshal Lee on the roof. Marshal Lee is Marceline’s genderbent counterpart. He says hello to a flustered Fionna and says an exaggerated hello to an annoyed Gumball. After being taunted and having a cream puff thrown in his face, Gumball decides to go back inside, telling Fionna to do the same if she wants some more polite company. Marshal Lee then invites Fionna to a party thrown by Lumpy Space Prince in the woods, and off they go.
When they get there, Lumpy Space Prince (who has the exact same voice as his female counterpart) has Marshal Lee perform a song. He and Fionna sing together, and these are their lyrics.
Marshall Lee: Good little girl, Always picking a fight with me. You know that I’m bad, But you’re spending the night with me. |
What… do you want… from my world? You’re a good little girl. |
Fionna: Bad little boy. That’s what you’re acting like. I really don’t buy That you’re that kind of guy. |
And… if you are… Why do you want to hang out with me? |
Marshall Lee: Don’t you know I’m a villain? Every night, I’m out killing Sending everyone running like children? |
I know why you’re mad at me. I got demon eyes… and they’re looking right through your anatomy, Into your deepest fears. |
Baby, I’m not from here, I’m from the Nightosphere. To me, you’re clear… transparent. You’ve got a thing for me, girl. It’s apparent |
Hm. Fionna tells Marshal Lee that he isn’t so bad, and Marshal Lee replies “Not so bad? I’m the son of a demon… and the Vampire King. It’s not something I have to try at. You on the other hand…”. Fionna says that she isn’t trying to be bad, she’s just hanging out with Marshal Lee because they’re friends. Marshal Lee wonders if it’s the same as her friendship with Gumball and Fionna says it’s different. The two then start to fight playfully but Cake breaks it up when it seems as though Marshal Lee is taking things a bit too far. Marshal Lee pushes Cake away and this angers Fionna. She takes Cake in her arms and leaves the party while Marshal Lee follows, telling her that he was kidding and she should lighten up, to which Fionna replies, “Look, I don’t care if you’re being a jerk to me… but nobody messes with Cake.” So Marshal Lee grabs Cake and takes off with her, telling Fionna to come and get her.
Marshal Lee takes Cake to a graveyard where he summons an army of undead for Fionna to fight. While she’s fighting them, Marshal Lee reiterates (in a rap) that he is bad. Disgusted, Cake enlarges herself and begins to fight him. Fionna eventually defeats that skeletons and pulls Cake away from Marshal Lee, which causes him to fall over onto a spear sticking out of the ground. To make matters worse, the sun starts to come up. Cake stretches herself over him so he won’t burn, but things aren’t looking good for him. He wants Fionna to admit she loves him before he dies, which just confuses her because seriously, why is he insisting on this now, after everything that he did?! Fionna is apparently of the same mind: “I-I get that you flirt with me all the time, and it’s funny or whatever, but you’re doing that now?! [Fionna’s voice begins to break and starts to tear up.] What are you trying to do to my head? You think I’ve got some little crush on you? Well, for however long we’ve got left… FOR ONCE, DROP IT, YOU FREAK!” I love Fionna. Marshal Lee then reveals that he wasn’t really stabbed, his shirt was just filled with cream puffs. So Fionna punches him in the face. Good call. Marceline’s story ends here, and the princesses all agree that this was a much better story, to Ice King’s annoyance.
So, it’s pretty clear what this episode is trying to do. Marshal Lee is the archetypical “bad boys” and Fionna is interested in him because of that.
First, let’s talk about this “bad boy” thing. This belief that girls are into bad boy is a common one, but the thing is, it’s not really true in the way people think it is.
I always feel a little uncomfortable when people say things like “girls love bad boys” or “girls always go for jerks” and not just because it’s a generalization. I don’t like the condescending tone it’s almost always said in, like we girls are just too silly to know what’s good for us. I don’t like how more often than not the ones perpetuating this idea are petulant “nice guys” who aren’t actually that nice themselves but need something to blame for why they can’t get laid. I don’t like how people are implicitly putting the blame on girls for “going for jerks” instead of putting the blame on the guys who are acting like jerks. I don’t like how it manipulates girls into thinking that guys being jerks is what they’re supposed to find attractive, and how it allows guys to think that being jerks to girls is fine because it’s what they want anyway. There’s just a lot that’s wrong with this mentality, so I don’t really like the constant perpetuation of it.
Do girls like bad boys? Some of us, sure, but like I said, it’s not in the way that most people think. It’s not that we actually like bad boys, we just like the fantasy of a bad boy. That’s a very important distinction and one that seems to go over people’s heads a lot. That’s why the whole bad boy appeal applies almost exclusively to fictional characters. Most of us know deep down that we wouldn’t want someone like this in real life (those who haven’t will hopefully figure it out), but that doesn’t mean we don’t like the idea of it. You’ll notice that villains and antagonists in stories tend to have a lot of fangirls, but how many girls do you know in real life who honestly are attracted to bad people? It’s important to realize that what’s attractive in a fictional character is not the same as what’s attractive in a real person. An appealing fantasy is not necessarily a desirable reality.
So why is the bad boy an appealing fantasy at all? Well, there’s a couple of reasons, and it can vary from person to person, but here are some of the more common reasons.
- The “I Can Change Him” Mentality. This is exactly what it sounds like. It’s the idea that even if the guy in question is horrible, you can be the one that fixes him. You can be the one that makes him come out of his shell, you can be the one that gets him to see the light, you can be the one that changes his view of the world, you can be the one that makes him reform. He’ll change just for you, because he loves you that much. It’s a stupid mentality, yes, and one that would be extremely dangerous in real life. But it does make for a nice fantasy. The idea of being the center of someone’s world and the one special thing in it is a powerful and romantic one, but it’s not something that’s applicable to reality, and deep down we know that. We know it won’t happened this way and we probably wouldn’t really want this anyway, but it is nice to fantasize about.
- The Draco in Leather Pants. You’ve probably seen the term “Draco in Leather Pants” before, especially if you’re familiar with TV Tropes. This trope got its name from Harry Potter fan fiction. A few years back, it was extremely popular for HP fan fic writers to romanticize and woobie-fy Draco Malfoy (maybe it’s still popular, I haven’t red HP fan fic in a while). It was also popular to make him him wear leather pants for some reason, hence the name. Anyway, the trope refers to a character who, in canon, is antagonistic or evil, but has been given an inappropriate amount of sympathy from fans, who interpret them as “not all bad”. They’ve come up with all kinds of reasons to feel sorry for the character and explain away their bad behavior, whether or not these reasons have any basis in canon, and basically think that the character really is a good person deep down. This usually goes hand-in-hand with the I Can Change Him Mentality, it’s this idea that the bad boy isn’t really bad, just tragic and tortured (“tragic/tortured” is also attractive to a lot of girls for similar reasons as the bad boy archetype), and they just need someone to guide them to the light.
- Forbidden Fruit Angle. Once again, this is exactly what it sounds like. There’s a certain thrill to guys who are dangerous and even a bit intimidating (remember: in fantasy, not reality!), and this comes out in interesting ways in fandom culture. Just like there’s a thrill in doing something that’s forbidden, there’s a thrill in being with someone who’s supposed to be bad for you. It’s rebellious and dangerous and exciting, but, it bears repeating, it’s not applicable to real life.
Obviously a lot of this also depends on how the character is written but generally these are the more common reasons. Now let’s take a look at Fionna’s relationship with Marshal Lee.
Marshal Lee is clearly playing the role of the bad boy and even refers to himself as such. Gumball, though he doesn’t have a huge role in the episode, is cast as the nice guy – not in the Nice Guy (TM) sense but like a guy who’s actually nice. The thing is, though, Fionna just isn’t interested in Gumball that way. He doesn’t excite her, and for someone as adventurous and active as her that’s hard to get around. Nice isn’t always enough. Marshal Lee, on the other hand, is not nice at all, but he is exciting. He’s not the sort of boy who will bake you cream puffs, he’s the sort of boy who will take you on wild adventures, and right now that’s what Fionna wants. She wants the danger and thrill, but she also wants to think that Marshal Lee can be more than what he is. She’s convinced that he’s not all bad, but he’s given her no reason to think so and actually insists that she’s wrong. Of course, Fionna eventually learns that Marshal Lee is bad news and a relationship with him really isn’t what she thought it would be.
Basically, the episode got it down perfectly. There is a certain charm and allure to guys like Marshal Lee, but they’re not the kind of guy you’d want to be with in the long run.
Bless this show.
Also, can we just get a Fionna and Cake spin-off? I would watch the hell out of a show about them being awesome and spreading positive messages to girls.
Rating: 10/10
This episode begins with Finn and Flame Princess hanging out inside the Tree Fort. Jake is making tea on the stove, when suddenly Flame King appears from the fire and starts to whisper to Flame Princess that she’s evil. Then he realizes that Finn and Jake are there and that he was mistaken in thinking that Flame Princess was alone, so he leaves. Flame Princess tells Finn that her father has been doing this to her for a while, and she’s worried that she really is evil as he says. Finn reassures her that she isn’t, but she’s still not totally convinced. So he suggests they find a dungeon, since going through them always help to clear his head.
They find a dungeon and since this is Flame Princess’ first time in one, Finn does his best to show her the ropes. He gets a torch, even though Flame Princess points out that she’s made out of fire so the torch is pointless. The two of them soon come across a skeleton, who Flame Princess is keen on burning, but Finn stops her. He tells her violence should only be used as a last resort, and they should first try other methods of getting past it. He incapacitates the skeleton by intimidating it and then forcing it to do the splits. The skeleton points out a treasure chest in the corner, but when they investigate they find that it is locked. They continue on and eventually do find a key, so Finn insists they go back to the chest despite Flame Princess’ protests. The key doesn’t work. Finn isn’t discouraged but Flame Princess is starting to get bored.
Have you ever shown someone a game you love only to have them find it boring or just not get it? Or made someone listen to a song you love and they don’t like it? Or shown someone a video or movie you thought was hilarious but they don’t laugh once? And the whole time you’re telling them that it’s about to get great, that the good part is coming up, that you swear it’s awesome, damn it, but you’re slowly realizing that this was a huge mistake. This episode reminds me of situations like that.
Anyway, Flame Princess and Finn keep going and they come to a vault with a keyhole. Finn had Flame Princess open it with the key and a winged skeleton comes flying out and attacks Flame Princess, demanding that she take its place in the vault. Flame Princess burns it and the vault. Finn chastises her for doing so but she tells him that he keeps forcing her to do things his way and it’s boring. So Finn agrees to let Flame Princess do things her way from here on out. Flame Princess’ way involves burning everything. Finn is uncomfortable with this but doesn’t say anything. At one point, Flame Princess is attacking a large skeleton that has Finn trapped in its arms. Burning the skeleton would hurt Finn as well, so she uses his tactic to defeat it. Finn is relieved and tells Flame Princess that he was afraid she would burn him, but she says that she would never do that to her boyfriend.
Later, after they’ve exited the dungeon, the two are trying to open the chest they’d seen earlier with a bunch of keys they found inside the dungeon.
- Flame Princess: Ha, thanks Finn. That was a really awesome experience.
- Finn: Dungeons totes clear your head, right?
- Flame Princess: [Agreeing] I forget how good it feels to destroy stuff.
- Finn: [Confused] Uhhhh…..
- Flame Princess: I mean, like evil stuff.
- Finn: Oh yeah, cool.
- Flame Princess: We should go again sometimes. Do you know any other dungeons?
- Finn: Maybe next time we should just go to like… a farmer’s market.
- Flame Princess: And burn it.
They finally find the key to open the chest and inside it is… I actually don’t know what it is. Maybe we’ll find out, maybe we won’t, who knows with this show.
Flame Princess needs more episodes.
What’s funny to me about this episode is that Finn seems disturbed by Flame Princess’ violence, but Finn can be violent himself. He loves to fight and he has no qualms about killing when it’s necessary, like with monsters or anything evil. Flame Princess loves to destroy stuff, evil stuff in particular, yet something about her methods is more off-putting.
Part of it may just be that Finn has never doubted that he’s good and that what he’s doing is good, Flame Princess can’t say the same. She doesn’t want to be evil but she’s not totally sure that she isn’t, and as much as Finn says otherwise he doesn’t seem sure about her himself. Flame Princess also probably doesn’t completely understand the differences between good and evil yet. When she got out of the Fire Kingdom, one of the first things she did was try to burn down an innocent village. That obviously wasn’t good, but I don’t think she knew that at the time. She was just thinking about what she needed and wanted. Finn seems to have influenced her a bit, as she’s now more concerned about good and evil, but she’s still confused, and she’s not the same type of person Finn is.
Another part of it is that Flame Princess is a lot more volatile and less disciplined than Finn is. I mean, Finn isn’t exactly the most levelheaded individual and he can definitely be impulsive, but he does try to find nonviolent solutions to things when he can. If it’s not necessary for him to use violence he’ll avoid it, and he spends a lot of time thinking about what’s right and what’s wrong. Flame Princess doesn’t care. If something poses a threat, her first reaction is to burn it. She revels in it and she isn’t exactly concerned about who gets caught in the crossfire (pun not intended). Her violence is more chaotic and less controlled than Finn’s.
So, what does this mean for her? Can she really be good?
Rating: 7.5/10