Original Airdate: April 23, 2012
Written & Storyboarded by: Bert Youn & Somvilay Xayaphone
Interesting how we got a bit of a taste of the cons of long-term relationships last episode, while this episode heavily focuses on some of the issues involving infatuation when it comes to partners who become acquainted very early on. And while I’ve seen a bunch of people really voice their general distaste for the last episode, this is one I’d consider pretty bottom-of-the-barrel. It’s the first Tree Trunks-centric episode that completely retcons her ability to hold an episode on her own, and pretty much stays consistent from this point on. I do still really like Tree Trunks, there’s a part of me that will always have a soft spot for her. But it’s entirely difficult for me to argue that she really isn’t able to carry a story on her own, much like LSP, and her connection to Mr. Pig only really emphasizes those issues to me.
TT and Mr. Pig work fine as a couple overall, I suppose. I’m not really the biggest Mr. Pig fan; I think his voice actor is very talented and has played some very funny roles, but they never really give Mr. Pig much to work with. He doesn’t really have a clear character besides the fact that he’s quirky and slightly reserved. His connection with Tree Trunks doesn’t really make him any more interesting, and there’s plenty of moments of him in this episode that just feel completely dry and humorless. The only real laugh I got out of him was his brief line about returning to eating criminals, which is a pretty silly callback to Apple Thief. Besides that, his character doesn’t do much for me, so it’s a bit difficult to be able to put him in center-stage and not feel generally uninterested in the situation at hand.
While Finn and Jake we’re pretty heavily involved in the last story and really rounded out the melodrama surrounding them, they just don’t do much that’s noteworthy in this one. They try and mend the situation, but ultimately are pretty much what drive the main conflict, which also isn’t a very compelling one. They work as the mediator between the two characters in trying to mend their relationship, and while they give in to the characters’ desires by the end of the episode, I can’t help but feel that we were slightly cheated out of a decent lesson when it comes to romance. I mean, I get it, Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig shouldn’t have to hide their love in front of the eyes of others for approval, but they were legitimately invading the privacy of bystanders and taking attention away from other people. From practically ruining PB’s concert to making out in a mother’s baby carriage, they were doing some pretty shitty stuff that should’ve been addressed, and I would’ve liked it a lot better if they maybe set boundaries by the end of it that still worked for the relationship. The notion that everyone was just generally wrong for being pissed off by Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig wasn’t really a well-crafted resolution. Granted though, some of the Candy People did act like legitimate dickholes, and that only really brings down the episode further for me. I mean, being uncomfortable is one thing, but there’s a lot of other obnoxious moments with the Candy People screaming and wailing at the sight of TT and Mr. P, and their brief moment of celebration when the two are being separated. It really see’s both sides of the situation, but arguably in the worst way possible that just really makes me dislike both parties in this scenario.
And then there’s the song, which really just goes on for waaaay too long in my opinion. It’s a full two minutes out of the episode, and it just feels so obvious and generic to me. It’s not even that catchy or visually interesting, it just drags on and on, and when you think it’s about done, it keeps on going and going. One of my least favorite songs in the entire series without a doubt, and just drives the episode to a complete halt. You pretty much know where it’s gonna go from the first lyric, so there’s no point in drawing it out unless they just wanted to kill time.
I can’t really think of anything particularly funny in this one either. There’s the scene where Finn is replicating the sounds PB is producing through her xylophone, which is pretty amusing. Then there’s also the movie clip with the Gingerbread actor ordering people to look at different cups, but that’s about it. It feels pretty humorless, and there’s not even different aims at anti-humor or visual gags that feel new or unique.
It’s just a misfire in my opinion. I’m not really sure what I was supposed to get out of this one, but whatever it was, it just didn’t happen. There’s an intended message of allowing yourself to do what makes you happy, but it’s squandered by the two main characters consistently invading the privacy of other people in their actions. I just didn’t buy into Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig’s love at all; it seemed like very tradition infatuation, and the direction that their relationship takes later on only furthers my belief that these feelings were very much exaggerated. It’s one that feels very lifeless for a romantic tale, and one that doesn’t utilize any of the characters to their best advantages. I’m usually fairly forgiving with a lot of episodes that seem to be very unpopular in the fandom, but this one in particular just kinda rubs me the wrong way. Certainly not one of my favorites.
Also, what was up with that sequence at the beginning with Finn and Jake rolling on the grass and Lady Rainicorn who appears and disappears out of nowhere? I like to believe she kept on rolling for like, a whole week.
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