Original Airdate: January 30, 2017
Written & Storyboarded by: Seo Kim & Somvilay Xayaphone
Whipple the Happy Dragon is easily the weakest of the Islands bunch, but that isn’t really saying much considering that I pretty much enjoy every entry from this miniseries for individual reasons. Whipple suffers a bit from feeling directionless at times and focusing on a pretty uninteresting side character, but it still has a lot of fun along the way, along with its fair share of poignant moments, which is to be expected from Islands.
This episode has a lot of nice, small moments that aren’t particularly hilarious, but are just so likable that I can’t really resist. Love Jake’s method of turning super small to figure out directions, the shared “woo” between boat members, Jake’s spidey-like stretch powers that help him form a hammock, and so much more. I like how, even when headed into the unknown where possible dangers lie ahead, the miniseries still takes its time by showing Finn, Jake, and Susan take advantage of the nice experience at hand. I honestly don’t think I’d like this miniseries as much if it was completely dramatic and devoid of these little moments, because that’s not what Adventure Time is. AT is a show that’s filled with drama and devastating scenarios, but masked by the cute and colorful characters at the helm. And that’s really what makes this one a nice breath of fresh air.
I similarly enjoy how Finn is willing to put his important trip aside to save the life of a dragon that he’s never met, even though Susan and Jake are technically right that the pirates aren’t really immoral for hunting the sea creature, unless there’s some sort of Ooo/worldwide law forbidding it. Still, I love how the excursion is more important in Finn’s eyes. This is where the gang meets up with Whipple, a somewhat good-natured, but entirely obnoxious dragon. Whipple’s an alright character, albeit not very interesting. I do like how he’s written in such a way where he’s annoying to the main cast, but not to audience. His main flaw comes from the fact that, aside from being “annoying”, he’s not really that funny or interesting and the episode doesn’t really end up doing much with his character. Granted, the humor surrounding Whipple’s character is funny enough to carry his story through. Whipple’s biggest strength is his relatability, at least from my perspective; I think we all have that one friend that isn’t necessarily mean or toxic but just so God damn annoying that you need the opportunity to tune them out before reaching potential insanity. This is exactly what Finn, Susan, and Jake do, until BMO finally reveals himself and tells Whipple to fuck off. Part of what I love about BMO’s character is that he can be as big of an asshole as possible without it ever coming across as unlikable. He essentially embodies a child, and children in general are pretty outspoken, so it often comes off as more naive than anything. I really crack up at his freakout scene, that promptly leads to the destruction of their boat at the hands of Whipple. Though, I do find it odd that Finn and Jake are completely cool with BMO after this goes down. Feel like the little guy should have been reprimanded just a bit.
Whipple takes a slight detour, as Jake begins to get possessed by hallucinogenic jellyfish that make him envision Joshua and Margaret in distress. I didn’t really think it added a ton to this episode, but upon simultaneous viewings, I feel like it may possess more meaning than I gave it credit. When Susan is possessed, she briefly envisions Frieda, of whom we meet later. Frieda was someone that Susan had the chance to help, but ended up destroying their friendship in the process. I wonder if Jake somehow is under the impression that he could have helped Joshua and Margaret before they died. The circumstances of their death is still unknown, but I wonder if Jake subconsciously feels responsible for whatever way it actually went down. His fear of letting Joshua down could also relate to the responsibilities that were foisted upon him after his father’s death, and Jake desires to make his poppa as proud as possible, even after his passing. But, this is all stuff Jake doesn’t like dealing with, which promptly makes him want to turn back. Jake’s rather defensive towards Finn in this episode, but I think it’s understandable. Finn hasn’t really been honest about his feelings and why this trip is so important to him to begin with, so it’s no wonder that Jake kind of dismisses it as a waste of time. The safety and well-being of himself and his brother likely matters more to Jake than a “cool trip” that Finn can have part in. And, to be honest, I don’t think Jake really gives a fuck if he gets Susan there or not. He’s cool with her, but her own soul-searchy journey isn’t really his responsibility. Finally, after all this pressure, Finn cracks.
Look, I’m really happy in Ooo. I love our mom and dad. But I don’t know squat about humans. If I don’t see this through, part of me will always be stuck to that boom-boom leaf where mom and dad found me. Still alone.
It’s a beautiful sentiment, and one where Finn quite eloquently states his place in the world. He is happy, but there are questions and uncertainty surrounding him. He likely could continue to live a normal life, slaying monsters and kicking back with his bro, but there are unresolved conflicts living inside of him that will never truly go away. This is his one possible chance for a resolution: to learn about himself and his culture, and he doesn’t want to sacrifice that for another day of being a minority. I get how the concern of Jake and others is that Finn simply wants to find people more like him in place of his friends and family, but this makes it quite obvious that Finn has no intention of doing so. He simply wants to put his wildly inquisitive mind at ease.
Whipple returns to the scene, as Finn responds to him with the brilliant line of, “sorry we said you were annoying… or, sorry for not telling you that you were annoying earlier?” Kinda brings up a humorously interesting point: is it our job to tell annoying people that they are annoying? Regardless, Whipple does decide to help out the gang, though it only further leads them into the unknown.
Couple other things I dig about Whipple: Susan’s addition to the main cast feels kind of nice. We rarely get to see this chick, so it’s cool to have her bonding and working off of Finn and Jake for an extended period of time. Also, it’s a small moment, but I love how Jake refers to himself as “the bad boy” when introducing himself to Whipple. I guess Jake would be the rebel of his friend group, if there ever was one. Otherwise, Whipple the Happy Dragon is an enjoyable entry. It certainly has the weakest story of its sister episodes, but it’s thoroughly funny and entertaining throughout, and Finn’s introspective moment is easily enough to justify Whipple‘s existence.
Adventure Time Reviewed 