Original Airdate: November 19, 2012
Written & Storyboarded by: Steve Wolfhard & Tom Herpich
We’re back with another Graybles episode! As I’ve mentioned before, Graybles focused episodes are far from my favorite AT excerpts, but nevertheless are always fun and charming little expeditions throughout the everyday lives of Ooo’s civilians. This episode is also significant in being Steve Wolfhard’s first board as a full time storyboard artist. This is also Wolfhard and Tom Herpich’s first board together, and they would eventually become one of my favorite teams in the entire series, as well as the longest running partnership to date.
The first grayble, which revolves around Finn and Jake, is much like their first grayble together, as it’s consistently occurring in the background of other graybles and closes the entire sequence. It’s not as spontaneous or epic as their high-five challenge, but it’s certainly cute and inventive. I love Jake reading waaay too deeply into the book of nursery rhymes, which could and/or could not be a reference to others reading way too deeply into children’s cartoons like AT, but it makes for a silly idea regardless. The entire segment feels like a return to the carefree enjoyment of the Land of Ooo after four episodes of heavy drama. I know people really wanted Adventure Time to be this really heavily serialized show after the Lich came back into play, but it’s nice to watch a completely stress-free hangout session of the boys sticking their thumbs in various items. My favorite (and the cutest of all) was Jake sticking his thumb in the belly of a now very noticeably pregnant Lady. D’awww!
Next up is Marceline’s story, which, after only seeing her once in a blue moon during season four, it’s nice to get to spend time with her 3 out of the 4 past episodes (even though the last two she was in technically wasn’t our beloved Marcy). Again, this scene is cute. It’s nothing particularly funny or spectacular, though the obvious “rock giant” pun did get a guilty snicker out of me. The one gripe I have with this one is that, if Marcy was flying above the clouds on the rock giant’s hand, then how the fuck didn’t she interact with the sun at all? It’s pretty obvious that this was an afterthought, as the sky did appear sunny in the previews of the episode. I assume that someone noticed and quickly made the sky dark and cloudy before the premiere of the episode, which is slightly less distracting than if the sky was just completely sunny. All I can say about this slight inconsistency is, “at least it isn’t Princess Day.”
The Tree Trunks short really steals the show for me, with a hilarious innuendo that I’m actually quite surprised got past the censors. Though, I think it’s subtle enough that even children who are too young to understand the joke will able to have enough fun with it anyways. It’s also nice to see TT in a scenario that’s well fitting for her. Dream of Love was perhaps her most pitiful episode to date, and made it clear that, while I do very much enjoy her character, she really struggles to hold up an entire episode on her own. Thus, it’s nice to include her in the Graybles format, in a story short that incorporates her character well and doesn’t overdo her slow and sometimes meandering personality. Also, Shelby returns! After going the entire fourth season without appearing, it’s nice to see the little guy back in the spotlight, and he does start gradually appearing more from Season Five onward. His high-pitched Pendleton Ward voice is always welcomed, and he really helps drive the main joke of the grayble to a hilarious conclusion. And, despite my disdain for the OG Cinnamon Bun, I think him hopping up and down in Tree Trunks’ stockings was actually pretty funny. Wonderful!
Ice King’s story is also a comedic high point for the episode. Though I think the Ice King legitimately dating his foot is a bit too sad and insane for even the IK, there’s a good amount of funny gags with this one that I don’t mind the ludicrousy of it. There’s also some terrifically grotesque close ups of the IK’s feet and hands, complete with bulging veins and liver spots. It’s also surprisingly sweet to once again see Ice King’s view of marriage, this time he points out, “That means I get the remote control three days a week and you get it four!” It caps off with a perfect ending as well, as Ice King begins to develop feelings for his seductive looking right foot. Man, I didn’t think I’d ever find a character from this show more fascinated with feet than Jake is.
BMO’s tale returns to the interactions between she and Football, and it’s nothing that new. It’s basically everything that was already established by their first grayble, and nothing really more interesting from there. Though, I do like how far BMO is willing to go with her imagination. The fact that she repeatedly splashes herself with tea and begins short-circuiting is both somewhat concerning and hilarious. BMO doesn’t give a shit if she explodes completely, as long as she captures the perspective of being a living child.
And of course, we close out with Cuber’s big revelation of the overarching theme! I enjoy how this one fucks with everyone’s perception equally, and again, manages to avoid directly mentioning the bird being flipped. I thought it was a perfect ending that caught me pretty off guard, and definitely urged me to be more alert for plot twists when the next Graybles episode came along.
So yeah, not much to say with this one. It’s not great nor bad, just a cute selection of stories revolving around the delightful citizens of Ooo. Much like the first Graybles episode, there isn’t anything that particularly noteworthy, but still a fun and enjoyable entry that is still an entirely pleasant sit-through.
Adventure Time Reviewed 