Adventure Time Reviews: Season 5 (The Suitor/The Party’s Over, Isle de Señorita)

This episode begins with Peppermint Butler performing dark magic on Cinnamon Bun, to use him as a vessel for the demon he’s summoning. I’m… not surprised by this at all, actually. A Gumball Guardian shows up and tells Peppermint Butler that he needs to get Bubblegum to pick a suitor. She’s been spending way too much time in her lab lately and she needs to socialize. Bubblegum’s suitors are all lined up in her castle and apparently they’ve been waiting a long time, because they’re all, as Peppermint Butler so nicely put it, old bags. He sends them all away, except for one young-looking suitor named Braco. He decides to let Braco take a shot at courting Bubblegum.

They enter her lab and, as expected, the princess is not at all interested in being courted.

• Peppermint Butler: This is Braco.
• Braco: [Sweating] Son of Loghan, who was begat by Hobus.
• Princess Bubblegum: [Writing notes] Okay, yeah?
• Braco: I want to take you… on a date.
• Princess Bubblegum: [Shocked] Thank you, Braco. That’s very sweet, but no.
• Peppermint Butler: Princess this lab reeks like brown mist; it’s unhealthy. You’ve got to get outside and do some research on boys [Points to Braco].
• Princess Bubblegum: That is way out of line, Peps, and you guys are donking up my research! [Begins knocking stuff off her table] Hello! Donk, donk!

I like that Bubblegum says straight-up that this is out of line. I mean, yeah, Bubblegum probably is over-working herself and she probably should give herself a break. However, whether or not taking a break should involve “research on boys” is entirely up to her. Bubblegum doesn’t want to date, research or no research, and that’s her choice. I’m glad that she stands up for herself here.

Then this happens:

• Braco: Princess, I love you! I-I love you so much it hurts. [PB stands and goes near him] The pain it—Huh?.
• Princess Bubblegum: [Points some kind of laser pointer on Braco’s eye] Hmmm, what you’re feeling is called “infatuation.” The pain is the product of you overvaluing a projected, imaginary relationship with me.

That sounds like what Bo Burnham once said about his fans that think they’re in love with him, as if making that intelligent observation was supposed to make us not think we’re in love with him. Seriously, though, this exchange is something I’m going to come back to later.

Anyway, Braco insists that his feelings for Bubblegum are totally real and she agrees to go on a date with him, but only for research purposes. While on their date, Bubblegum is scanning Braco with some sort of device. He gives her a rose and the device responds. Bubblegum tells Braco she has what she needs “for now” and then goes back to her lab, to Braco’s disappointment. He does take some comfort in the fact that she said “for now”, however, as he thinks that means she’ll go out with him again another day. The next day, he tries his grandfather’s art of “peacocking”, appearing before Bubblegum in an obnoxious suit and hat. Of course, it doesn’t work.

Later, we see Bubblegum in her lab again, as Peppermint Butler lets Finn and Jake in. Bubblegum had wanted to see them because she wants them to get her a Soul Stone, which she needs for something she’s working on. Finn and Jake agree to go but on their way out they’re intercepted by Braco (Finn reacts strangely to Braco being a suitor of Bubblegum’s… is he jealous?). Braco wants them to let him get the Soul Stone, because he thinks Bubblegum will love him if he brings it to her. Finn tells him, “That road you’re on leads to nowhere,” but he also doesn’t stop Braco from going.

Braco does manage to get the Soul Stone, but during the quest he gets badly burned and barely escapes from some monsters. Still, he’s pleased with himself for getting it, and when he goes to see Bubblegum…

• Braco: [Covers PB’s eyes] Guess who.
• Princess Bubblegum: [sighs] Braco. Ehhh, what happened to you?
• Braco: Oh, look, can it be? [Pretends to grab the soul stone from PB’s hair] It’s a Soul Stone!
• Princess Bubblegum: Oh, yeah, sorry, but I don’t need that anymore. I just finished programming a proper simulation of a soul. In fact, this is much easier to manipulate than a real one.

Ouch! Don’t get me wrong, I’m on Bubblegum’s side for this episode and most episodes and Braco really shouldn’t have gotten the Soul Stone himself. Finn and Jake are more suited to the task and Braco shouldn’t have assumed that this would win Bubblegum over. Still, this is pretty cold.

So now Braco is getting hysterical, and he’s brought back to Peppermint Butler by a Gumball Guardian. Braco desperately wants Bubblegum to love him, so Peppermint Butler offers to help with Shadow Demon magic. To be set free, the demon must turn Braco into a “love magnet”, but it instead turns him into a hideous monster (apparently Peppermint Butler is into it, though). Braco once again goes to see Bubblegum in her lab, where she is activating her latest invention: P-Bot, a robot that looks exactly like her but actually has interest in dating. When Braco shows up and asks Bubblegum if she loves him now, she says that she does, but not in the way he wants. She loves Braco the same way she loves all of her Candy citizens, and not in a way that’s romantic. However, she knows how much Braco has been suffering over his infatuation with her, so she built P-Bot for him. Braco is satisfied and leaves with P-Bot. Peppermint Butler shows up and asks where Braco went, so Bubblegum explains that she made Braco a robot wife. Peppermint Butler slaps her and says she should have given Braco to him. New OTP: Braco/Peppermint Butler.

The theme of this episode is pretty much laid out when Bubblegum tells Braco that what he’s feeling is infatuation, not love.

Infatuation can be a really powerful thing, but it’s important to remember that it’s not exactly real. It’s usually not about who that person actually is, but rather about what we think that person is. We build up an idea of this person in our mind and of what we think a relationship with that person would be like, and then we project it onto the person, but the truth is we don’t know them. Think about celebrity crushes you’ve had, or crushes on fictional characters, or even crushes on people you’ve met but never really spoke to. Often what we feel for them will seem a lot bigger than it actually is, but when we think about it, what do we really know about them?

Braco is a perfect example of what happens when someone can’t tell the difference between infatuation and love. He acts like a donkus. He insists that he’s in love with Bubblegum but he doesn’t know anything about her. He tries again and again to impress her despite the fact that she shows absolutely no interest and is in fact clearly exasperated with him. And everything he does try is stupid.

Like when he goes to get the Soul Stone? That was stupid. There’s a reason Bubblegum asked Finn and Jake to go. It’s because they’re bad ass adventurers who do dangerous shit like this all the time. They’re good at it. Getting the Soul Stone would have been nothing for them. Not the case with Braco. He has no idea what he’s doing and he could have been killed, it’s a miracle that he wasn’t. I mean, yeah, I guess it was brave of him to go in the first place, but there’s a very fine line between bravery and foolishness. Even Finn knew that what Braco was trying to do wouldn’t work.

Most importantly, though, is that Braco’s affections are not returned. Bubblegum doesn’t feel the same way. There seems to be this belief that if someone doesn’t like you back, all you need to do is try harder, and eventually they’ll change their mind. This is a pretty dangerous belief to perpetuate, because really, if someone doesn’t like you back, there’s nothing to be done about it. It sucks, but chasing them isn’t going to help, if anything it will just scare them away or lead to resentment. If they’re not interested, well, end of story.

Braco isn’t a malicious character, he’s just clueless. He doesn’t know any better. That can still be just as dangerous, both to himself and to the person he’s chasing, though. He’s giving himself false hope and tearing himself apart over Bubblegum, and he’s also not being fair to her. He’s not thinking about what she wants and respecting her wishes, he’s treating her like a prize to be won. Again, there’s no malice in the character like with Ricardio in Lady & Peebles, nor is he as creepy as Ice King, but Braco’s motivations are not really any different from either of them. He’s treating Bubblegum more like a trophy than a person.

And in the end, Braco gets what he wants. He gets a version of Bubblegum that doesn’t really exist, one that’s happy to be what’s essentially a doll. Braco gets to have his idealized relationship with Bubblegum, and Bubblegum doesn’t have to be in a relationship that she didn’t want. It’s a bit of a creepy conclusion, but I kind of get what Bubblegum was trying to do. She couldn’t and wouldn’t be what Braco wanted, but he wasn’t going to be happy without it. At least this way she can end his suffering.

Infatuation is not inherently a bad thing, but it can become dangerous if someone doesn’t know how to tell the difference between it and an actual crush. Falling for an idea isn’t the same thing as falling for a person, but as long as you can differentiate between the two, it should be harmless.

Rating: 8.5/10

This one begins in Princess Bubblegum’s bedroom, as Ice King comes out from his hiding place and who knows how long he’s been there. I’m going to go through this opening scene slowly because wow.

• Ice King: Oh, boy [struggles a bit, stands up and stares at the still sleeping princess.] Oh, you’re so pretty when you sleep, let’s go back to Ice King’s house, [rips duck tape piece and places it over her mouth, but she awakes.] Hi, baby….

… I really think this fandom underestimates what a creep Ice King is.

• Princess Bubblegum: [Muffled scream as she hits him with a pillow and rips the tape from her mouth.] Ice King, what are you doing in my bedroom?!
• Ice King: Baby, I was trying to surprise you by moving you to my place while you sleep, then have you wake up to breakfast in bed, but now you’ve ruined the surprise, way to go.

what

• Princess Bubblegum: Do you think I like being kidnapped?! Is that what you think I want?!

Four for you, Bubblegum! You go, Bubblegum!

• Ice King: Okay, here we go, you’re the victim right? You know what, since day one I’ve been doing everything to make this relationship work and for what?!

Yes, Ice King, she is the victim. You were going to kidnap her. She is absolutely the victim here. And what relationship? You two don’t have a relationship. She has never wanted one with you.

• Princess Bubblegum: Banana Guards! [Two of them enter the room]
• Ice King: Babe, come on, we promised we wouldn’t make our problems public [The guard approach the Ice King.]

No you didn’t.

• Princess Bubblegum: [Exasperated] Take him out. [They drag him away, as Ice King protests.]
• Ice King: No, baby! What are you doing?! [Still being dragged, he whines] Baby bear! [Pulling loose from the guards, he runs back to the princess’ side on bended knee.] This is just so crazy, if you can honestly look into your heart and tell me you want me to leave, I’ll go!
• Princess Bubblegum: [Serious] Okay, leave.

Okay I laughed at this.

• Ice King: [Taken aback] Uh-what? D-did you look in your heart, like all around it?
• Princess Bubblegum: [Sternly] Yes.
• Ice King: I see. Then obviously you have got some heavy emotions stirring in you and you have said some very rash things. [Standing up he walks backwards towards the awaiting guards.] Guards! Take me away! [Lifting up both arms he falls sideways in the arms of the guards and do as requested.]

Can we just all agree that Ice King is creepy as hell? I know he’s really interesting and tragic and a lot of people like him for that, and I like him for that too, he’s one of my favorite characters on this show. But even so, I stand by my conviction that Ice King is a total fucking creep. It’s not just that he has no understanding of boundaries or consent, it’s that he can not see himself as in the wrong for any of these things. He’s either unable or unwilling, and I don’t know which is worse. He believes that he has a relationship with Bubblegum, he believes that she wants everything he does to her, he believes that when she reacts negatively it’s a problem with her and not with him, he believes that he’s the one who’s being treated unfairly, he believes that he’s the victim. Like Ice King as much as you want but can we also acknowledge how creepy and terrible this behavior is? (By the way, none of this is a criticism toward the writing or the writers, as this seems to be intentional on their part.)

I did laugh at that exchange between Finn and Ice King when they run into each other as Ice King’s leaving, though. I like how Finn is immediately ready to warn him away but Ice King interrupts him with, “I’m leaving!”

Ice King returns to his castle and wonders if he said the right thing with Bubblegum, he says he “can never tell with that girl”. That’s… I don’t… whatever. He decides that he needs to get away for a while, so he flies away from the Ice Kingdom and ends up on an island. He soon discovers that the island itself is alive. And it’s a woman.

Ice King and Isla de Señorita, as I suppose we’ll be calling her, start spending time with each other and they hit it off. Mostly, they bond by talking about their crappy relationships. Isla de Señorita is dating Party God, and he’s not a very good boyfriend. He spends most of his time partying (as his name suggests) and neglects his girlfriend, and he gets jealous and possessive if she spends time with other guys. Ice King tells Isla de Señorita about his imagined relationship with Bubblegum and how emotionally repressed she is. The part about Bubblegum being emotionally repressed? That’s true. But, you know, she’s not Ice King’s girlfriend. Anyway, Ice King convinces her to break up with Party God because he’s no good for her, and he’s actually completely right. Isla de Señorita agrees that she should break up with him but falters when it’s time to do so. Ice King then decides that he’s going to break up with Party God for her, and he flies after him.

When he catches up to Party God and tells him about how he’s been spending a lot of time with Isla de Señorita. Before he can continue, Party God becomes furious with the fact that Ice King has been with his girlfriend, despite Ice King explaining that it was all platonic. Party God attacks Ice King and the two fight for a while. Party God is much more powerful, since he’s a god and all, but Ice King eventually manages to outsmart him and… does he kill him? I mean at first I figured Ice King just knocked him out but considering how the rest of the episode goes I’m pretty sure Party God is actually dead. R.I.P?

Ice King, when he realizes Party God is dead “unconscious”, uses his body as a puppet to encourage Isla de Señorita to break up with her boyfriend. She does, and says that she wouldn’t have been able to do it without the help of her friend Ice King. He doesn’t seem to like being called her friend, and he mentions that he plans on breaking up with his girlfriend as well, but Isla de Señorita doesn’t really react. So, Ice King leaves and throws Party God’s body into space (lol), and then he “breaks up” with Bubblegum.

• [Back at the Candy Kingdom, Princess Bubblegum is in her science room. The Ice King burst through the window shattering the glass.]
• Princess Bubblegum: Fun cakes! [She stands up]
• Ice King: I’ve come to a decision, you ready to hear it? I’m breaking up with ya! You party too much, you never want to spend time with me and you only care about having fun and other people’s stereos! I’m just a big island you can come and go from as you please!

… Wrong relationship, Ice King. At least this was a relationship that actually existed, even if he got the people involved wrong, so… it’s a start?

• Princess Bubblegum: BANANA GUARDS!!
• Ice King: Banana Guard yourself, Princess!! [Flies away.] Ah, we’ll work it out.

Probably not.

What’s interesting to me about this episode is that the relationship advice that Ice King give Isla de Señorita is actually good advice. She’s in a bad relationship and she needs to get out of it, she can’t let Party God intimidate her and she needs to stop making excuses for him. Ice King understands that, but he’s so awful when it comes to his own relationships… or lack there of… you know what I mean.

Part of it may have been that Ice King wasn’t actually wearing his crown for most of the episode. At this point Ice King’s mind has been way too warped and will never go back to what it once was completely, but maybe removing the crown can still clear his head a little. Or maybe he’s just better at helping people with their problems than he is at dealing with his own. Self-awareness isn’t Ice King’s strong suit, so if the problem actually involves him in any way he’s no good. But if it’s something where he’s a complete outsider? Then he can be of use.

What I also like is that I don’t think Ice King’s advice to Isla de Señorita was just a way of getting her for himself. At least, I don’t think that’s what it was at first. I think he genuinely wanted to help her in the beginning, because he knew she was unhappy and in a bad place, but then he actually ended up falling for her (as he does with almost every woman). I think he still helped her mainly for selfless reasons, even though it was clear that in the end he was disappointed that he wasn’t getting more out of it.

Rating: 6.5/10

Adventure Time Reviews: Season 3 Overview

Well, this season was certainly interesting. And I’m now officially an Adventure Time fan.

I enjoyed this season more than the last two, as people have noticed. I mean, not that I disliked the first two at all, but this season resonated with me more and it made me really want to watch more. If I hadn’t promised myself I wouldn’t skip ahead in episodes, Season 3 would have been the point where I broke down and binge-watched the show in two days. It’s just that this season was the one that started giving me more of what I wanted. It’s the one that started telling me more about the characters who aren’t Finn and Jake, and it’s the one that started to tell more interesting stories, some of them being darker or more mature. I’m saying “started to” because it’s totally there yet, but it’s on its way.

Let’s just jump right into talking about the characters, since they were the most interesting thing about this season. Most of Finn’s development this season concerned his love life. His crush on Bubblegum was pushed to the forefront but never got anywhere, because it couldn’t actually go anywhere. Bubblegum is too old for him, and while she seemed to find his crush on her cute in early episodes, he’s getting too old for her to still think of it that way. Now it’s just uncomfortable for her, so she has to try to push him away. And now Finn has a new love interest in Flame Princess. She’s evil and destructive and unpredictable, but she’s also Finn’s age. As for Jake, we get a few hints that he has some history as a criminal, but aside from that there isn’t much that’s new to say about him.

Obviously, learning Ice King’s origin is the main thing this season has going for it. I’ll probably always remember Season 3 as “The Season Where Ice King Becomes Super Tragic” or something like that. I don’t think we’ve seen Ice King since learning his backstory, have we? I have a feeling seeing him again will be uncomfortable, not just for me but possibly for Finn and Jake too. I mean, I still think that having a sad backstory in no way absolves Ice King of any of the bad things he’s done or will do, but having a better understanding of who Ice King is and why he became that way does make things a bit awkward for our heroes, doesn’t it? Or at least it should make things awkward for Finn. I’m excited to see what happens with Ice King from here.

I’ve always had positive things to say about Princess Bubblegum and I still do. I think she might be my favorite character, actually. I know that she gets a lot of hate from fans for being a “sociopathic bitch”, but I have to say, giving Bubblegum crap for being a sociopath on a show that contains Ice King, Marceline, and Flame Princess is hypocritical if you ask me. Because seriously, Bubblegum is the only one I ever see/hear getting crap for this. People are always willing to excuse Ice King and Marceline because they’re “complex” and “tragic” but people never seem to want to extend the same courtesy to Bubblegum, she just gets written off as a bitch. And I think Bubblegum is complex! She’s sort of like a pink Hermione. Smart and generally kind, but fiercely protective of people she cares about (i.e. her kingdom) and if you get in her way or piss her off, she’s merciless. Plus, there’s the fact that most of the reasons people have given me for why they think Bubblegum is so awful sound like bullshit to me, but I could write a whole other post about that. In fact, I just might do that one of these days. Granted, I still have a lot of episodes to see. For all I know, Bubblegum does become a total asshole, but you know what? I think that would just make me like her more, because I’ve always had a love for female characters with a mean streak. Bring on Bubblegum the Bitch, I want to see more of that. (And now I have that Marina and the Diamonds song “Bubblegum Bitch” stuck in my head… we should make that Bubblegum’s theme song.)

In other news, I think I’m developing a crush on Marceline. I don’t understand how a cartoon character with noodle-limbs and dot eyes can be so hot, but Marceline makes it work. It… it’s not just me, right? (I was also sort of attracted to Prince Gumball in Fionna and Cake… again, it’s not just me, right?) I think it’s just Marceline’s attitude and character that makes her attractive to me. The odd thing about Marceline is that we’ve probably gotten more pieces of backstory on her than any other main character, yet I feel likes she’s the one I know the least. There’s a lot to cover when she’s been alive for a thousand years. I think it works, though. Marceline is sort of the enigmatic wildcard of the show. On the surface, we know what she’s like – mischievous, tough, skewed morality – but there’s still a lot of surprises in her personality. Well, there’s a lot of surprises for me, anyway. And there are still surprises for the characters, too. Every now and then Marceline shows some vulnerability and sentimentality, but then she goes right back to hissing and intimidating people, so no one knows what to make of it. Plus, even now that Finn and Jake are friends with her, they’re still sort of afraid of her. After all, she’s still a vampire and she’s still… Marceline. She’s not a bad person, but she’s exactly a good person either. She’s not even that nice, most of the time. No one is totally sure about her yet and… that’s kind of cool. And hot.

As for minor characters, Lumpy Space Princess is as hilarious and flawless as ever. I’m starting to really love Peppermint Butler too, he’s funny and adorable every moment that he’s on screen. Lemongrab has actually sort of grown on me. Sort of. I like Lady Rainicorn, but I find it weird that we hardly know her. She’s Bubblegum’s friend and Jake’s girlfriend, yet we know next to nothing about her. It’s odd. She’s in need of some development. I can’t say much about Flame Princess yet since she was just introduced, but I liked her in Incendium and I think her character could be really interesting.

This season is really the point of no return. If I wasn’t in love with the show in Seasons 1 and 2, I definitely am now. In fact, I’m a little pissed at myself for not having watched this show sooner. And for deciding to do this stupid review project so that I can’t just skip ahead and binge-watch. I mean, technically I could, but that would dishonest or whatever. Bleh.

The only issue I have with this season overall is the inconsistent tone of it. It’s a weird mix between the silly tone of early seasons and the more mature tones that other seasons supposedly have. They’ve proven that they can somehow mix these tones surprisingly well, but sometimes going from one episode to the next gave me mood whiplash. It’s just jarring to go from something like the end of Holly Jolly Secrets Part 2 to something like Marceline’s Closet. I don’t think they have to get rid of the silly tone completely, I think the show would lose some of its charm that way, but I think they need to find a balance between the two. I’m sure they can do it, they already have done it with some episodes, they just need to do that consistently. Does this make sense?

Anyway, I did still like this season a lot. Let’s see what Season 4 brings (good God, am I already on Season 4?! This is going by so fast).

Season Rating: 7.6

Best Episode: Fionna and Cake

Worst Episode: Still

Adventure Time Reviews: Season 2 Overview

I have a feeling Season 2 will be my least favorite season of Adventure Time. It’s not that it’s bad, I gave most episodes decent scores and I stand by those, but I definitely wasn’t as into this season as I was into the first, and it will probably be forgotten easily once I watch the next seasons.

By now, the eccentric novelty of this show has worn off. The first season was great because of how downright strange it was, but now I need something of more substance to keep me interested in the show, especially if I’m going to be writing about it. Season 2 had a few episodes that (somewhat) broke away from its usual insanity to have a more interesting story, like Susan Strong, Return to the Nightosphere and of course Mortal Folly and Mortal Recoil, and those are the ones I remember most. Everything else is just a blur.

At least we got to learn a bit more about Finn’s past in this season. We now know that Finn is the last human, at least as far as he and everyone else knows. I can’t help relating this to Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender, who was… well, the last Airbender. Except that Aang left the Airbenders when he was twelve, whereas Finn was raised by dogs since he was a baby and we don’t know if he ever came into contact with humans in that time, nor if he has any memory of his human parents. Aside from learning more about Finn’s past, certain aspects of his personality are coming to prominence more too. I’m starting to see just how black and white his view of the world is, there don’t seem to be many grey areas for Finn. This is a really interesting flaw for a hero to have.

And then there’s Jake. Yeah, Jake is sort of the Patrick of Adventure Time for me. I don’t dislike him, but there’s no doubt that he’s my least favorite main character, and even if I included side characters he’d probably still rank low. But Jake is likable enough and I enjoy his relationship with Finn. Jake’s relaxed personality and realism are a good balance for Finn’s energy and idealism, and it’s even more interesting to think that Jake probably wouldn’t be a hero if not for Finn’s influence. Not that I think he’d be a bad guy, but he’s a lot lazier and more selfish than Finn, so I can’t imagine him going out of his way to help anyone without Finn (unless peer pressure was involved).

As for Princess Bubblegum, Ice King, and Marceline, I don’t have anything to say about them that I haven’t said thousands of times already. I’m still very intrigued by all of them, they have a lot of potential, I just want to see more of them. The same goes for Lumpy Space Princess, Lady Rainicorn, Tree Trunks and Peppermint Butler (one of the good things about Season 2 is the introduction of this little weirdo). I like them, but I want to see more.

That brings me to the main complaint I have about Adventure Time (so far): we don’t see enough of anyone who isn’t named Finn or Jake. I get that Finn and Jake are the main characters, but I’m tired of every episode being about one or both of them. I wish they’d mix it up more. Other characters on the show are really intriguing, but they get the spotlight so rarely and when they do they’re always sharing it with Finn and/or Jake. I wish this show would have a few episodes without either of those two, or where those two play a smaller role. SpongeBob has some episodes that weren’t about SpongeBob. Futurama has plenty of episodes that aren’t about Fry. Even Avatar has a few episodes that aren’t about Aang.

There’s also the fact that I’ve pretty much said everything I have to say about Finn and Jake already and I’m dying for some new material or these reviews will get more repetitive than I’m afraid they already are.

Nothing against Finn and Jake, I’ve made it pretty clear that I love Finn, but this show could stand to mix things up with their characters once in a while.

So, what I want to see in Season 3: episodes where Finn and Jake aren’t the focus, more development and active roles for other characters (particularly the female ones), more drama-driven episodes (with some of the usual silliness mixed in) because this show seems to excel at that. Apparently Season 3 is where this show really takes off, so I’m looking forward to reviewing it.

As for Season 2, it was an enjoyable but forgettable ride, and I’m definitely ready to leave it behind.

Bring it on, Season 3.

Best Episode: Mortal Folly

Worst Episode: Slow Love

Season Rating: 7.5

Adventure Time Reviews: Season 2 (Death in Bloom/Susan Strong)

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