“The Star” Review

Original Airdate: September 21, 2023

Written & Storyboarded by: Iggy Craig, Graham Falk, Jacob Winkler & Sonja Von Marensdorff

And we’re back!! Was a bit burnt out by Fionna and Cake but the time I got to the sixth episode review, so I figured instead of forcing myself to muster up the inspiration to get through those last few episodes, I’d take time away to do other stuff and eventually return back. Since then, we’ve also gotten some exciting news – the show has been renewed for a second season! Of course, that means I continue to be trapped in a reality where I’m stuck reviewing Adventure Time episodes for the rest of my life, but hey, at least we’ll get to see more of sexy adult Finn probably!! In all seriousness, I do pretty much plan on continuing this gig as long as I have to drive to do it. I definitely don’t have the same passion as I used to – I started this project about 8 years ago now and I could churn out reviews like crazy, now it takes me weeks to complete just one! But I love AT and it will always have a special place in my heart, so it’s always a treat to get to return to it time and time again. And hey, this blog has actually never had more views! I was shocked to see that last year performed better than it ever did during the show’s original run, which is really, really cool to see. Thank you to all the devoted readers over the years, you are appreciated endlessly!

My gushing aside, let’s get to the real MEAT here. The Star takes us through yet another alternate reality of Ooo, and serves as the unofficial spiritual successor to Stakes. I mean unofficial pretty loosely, because they even brought back the tarot naming conventions with “The Star.” I’m not really a tarot expert or anything, but just scanning over explanations online, I can only assume the reversed meaning most directly correlates with Marcy’s portrayal. On The Tarot Guide, specifically with love in mind, the reverse description reads:

“The Star reversed indicates loneliness and lack of faith in the universe’s plan for you. You may be feeling like you will never meet the right person for you. You may feel that you are becoming cynical about love.”

A large chunk of this is an exploration of Marceline and Bubblegum’s relationship through multiple different iterations, and displaying that, regardless of intent, the passion they share for each other is relatively unchanging. Though Fionna and Cake’s world finds their incarnations in the least toxic of situations, the vampire world features a different type of dependency. Bubblegum has devoted her life to bringing down Marceline and the Vampire King, while Marceline views PB more as a playmate than an actual person. Despite claiming to have zero feelings of affection towards her adversary, PB sure has devoted much of her life around the downfall of said opponent. Even more so than the Vampire King, apparently! Marceline claims that Bubblegum shouldn’t be underestimated, but really, I think she probably could take her out more easily than she lets on. The reason their rivalry spans across so many meetings between the two (enough for Marceline to know that PB’s first name is “Bonnibel”) is because Marcy is restraining herself just a bit in the spirit of fun.

While the Stakes miniseries tackles Marceline’s struggle with feeling as if she can never truly grow as a person, The Star plays with a version of Marceline that never developed out of her childhood worldview. The way she interacts with both PB and the Vampire King prove how infantile her version of connections are, in a way that I don’t think that pain described in the tarot reading is even felt in a conscious way by herself. She only knows how “human” connectedness works from the perspective of a seven-year-old mind, which was likely instantly warped when meeting with the VK. The Vampire King returns once more in this one, with Billy Brown reprising his role. With the amount of tertiary characters that got recasted this season, it’s pretty cool to see they got Brown back, even for such a small role. I do wish he got a biiit more to do, only because Stakes provided us with hints of a really cool character, somewhat squashed it, and then never really did anything with him again. He gets a few neat moments here (namely the scene where VK tries to allure a vulnerable Cake) but is mostly around to drive forward how much Marceline’s motivations have shifted without Simon around.

The episode admittedly has a bit too much fun with Bubblegum and Marceline’s dynamic that it slightly overshadows Simon and Marcy’s connection to each other, but I kind of prefer it that way. There’s a few moments that reinforce how much Simon’s presence had an impact on Marceline’s life, but I didn’t need the whole episode to be devoted around that. We already know that from everything we’ve seen in the series up to this point and it simply serves as an important reminder for Simon when he’s at his lowest, especially considering that he initially figured that Marceline would be fine without him in the flashback shown at the beginning of the season. Although, it was even a bit on-the-nose to have Simon call VK a bad dad, but I like how much of a dork Simon is so I’ll let it pass.

Gary and Marshall continue to be very cute and the entire blood drive event parallel was quite fun. Once again, we’re treated to a lot of different genderbent cameos, this time with a special Jesse Moynihan theme! You’ve got lookalikes of Xergiok, Bandit Princess, Ron James, Magic Man, Maja, Crabbit, Samantha, Tiny Manticore, and even some deep cuts like Gridface Princess, Bella Nocce, and the demon guard. Moynihan’s presence on the show is surely missed, so this is a great little tribute to him (P.S. check out his project Jesus 2 if you haven’t yet!) Along with some other character additions like Eberhardt, Ricardio, and Caroll (did you expect Steve Wolfhard to not bring her back as a genderbent character?) And of course, you have the big reveal of Hunson Abadeer’s counterpart, aptly just as dancey and cruel as her male stand-in. She’s also kind of a baddie! I had to look up who actually voiced her and was surprised to see it’s Erica Luttrell, who portrayed Elise back in Obsidian. A great casting choice, especially since she’s essentially just portraying different versions of Marcy’s mom. Also a nice touch – Tom Kenny voices the male version of Maja, who was portrayed in the original series by his wife, Jilly Talley. Granted, Kenny only has one line of “well!” and I’m sure they just had him do it because he was already in the booth, but I’d imagine at least ONE staff member made the connection.

We’re also treated to some alternate versions of other recurring characters in the vampire world – namely Huntress and Martin. It’s pretty cool how Huntress’s human form is marked only by the lack of there being any source of magic for her with the sun being covered up – though I’d imagine the sun isn’t the only thing that makes her a magic user. It also curious that her name is just “Huntress”; at this point I’m wondering if it’s just a Doctor Princess-esque surname for all of her incarnations. Martin returns once again in a much nobler light. I was kind of wondering what the real purpose was of showing that Martin and baby Finn (who stowed away from baby world) were able to bond together in Martin’s current state. Similar to what I said about Simon and Marcy, we already know that Martin’s capable of showing love under the right circumstances. However, I think this kind of works hand-in-hand with what is being shown between Bubblegum and Marceline: that Martin and Finn have a connection pretty much across all (or most) universes where they coincide. Even in this case, across several universes! It’s interesting to think that such a tumultuous relationship that we’ve come to know is somewhat bound by a strong connections across the multiverse.

We also have the titular alternate reality versions of Bubblegum and Marceline, whose dynamic I’ve spoken heavily about, though not their individual roles. Honestly, while I love how their relationship plays out and parallels the interactions between Marshall and Gary, I don’t love these depictions of the characters that much. I think Bubblegum’s characterization is a little too standard in playing into post-apocalyptic survivalist tropes – it just doesn’t really feel engaging to me when it’s an archetype that I’ve seen across so many different pieces of media, and even then, it’s not an archetype I love in general. I don’t really have a problem with Marceline’s depiction and how it plays into a more childlike version of herself, but I dunno, I don’t really think I like Olivia Olson’s delivery here? It’s a bit too… theatrical? I can’t really articulate what does and doesn’t work for me about the performance, and maybe it’s more so the dialogue that was given to her, but something about it just didn’t jibe with me. Which I know I’m probably gonna get shit for because I’m pretty sure this is the one episode that everyone really got into, but it’s nothing like, awful to me. Like I said, I still really like their dynamic and I do think there’s interesting things to explore with their individual portrayals, namely that Bubblegum still needs to be validated by her own accomplishments and is still vulnerable to deep insecurities beyond her gruff exterior. I just wasn’t swayed by the anime vampire dresses. Sue me!

Oh yeah, and Fionna and Cake are here too! Remember them? I feel bad for anyone that comes to this blog wanting me to whip up paragraphs upon paragraphs of Fionna and Cake’s character journeys, but like, I just don’t have all that much to say! As I’ve mentioned, I don’t think anything with them is especially bad (except for some moments we’ll be exploring in the next episode), but their arcs just kind of speak for themselves and there’s not a ton I feel that is needed to be said that wouldn’t be just reiterating what the episode is showing. You have Fionna feeling guilty in her inability to be able to make a difference through her actions, even when they are out of goodwill, and Cake’s fight for wanting her own autonomy in her new self-sufficient form. It’s all fine stuff, it’s just never something I feel the need to dig deeper into/what I’m particularly drawn to with this season as a whole. Which sounds kind of harsh for a show that’s primarily about them, but I do think each episode comes with its own unique sense of individuality and explores the nature of multiple worlds in a super intriguing way that I don’t really mind that I’m not drawn to them as much! Just be grateful if you’re not a Scarab fan, because I have even less to say about him.

I do mostly dig this one overall, even purely from an aesthetic perspective. It’s got a really great, bleak look to it all, especially in the background department. Which, you think would get less interesting when hopping over the human world, but DAMN, I love the way Hana Abadeer’s stain glass tower looks and really meshes with the gothic tone that the episode is going for. In general, it serves up some very bleak imagery (that the next episode also really excels with) such as vampire world Simon’s lifeless body and, what might be my favorite shot in the entire season, the dead body of Billy with the words “turn back” written on a rock. Quite haunting atmosphere throughout, though I will say, most of the wall writings in this one feel a little lackluster. I live in Philadelphia, so I’m used to seeing super soul-crushing things on bar bathroom walls that could easily rival any graffiti included in a post-apocalyptic landscape. But, as desolate as it feels, the world is also equally as invigorating. The high-adrenaline vampire fight sequences are great, with some really great boarded action, cool Cake transformations, and a solid score to boot. This is probably my favorite of the episodes Amanda Jones scored this season. The track “Vampire World,” which was released as part of the official soundtrack, perfectly captures the frantic energy of the scene it’s in and feels like it encompasses a lot of the spirit of what Tim Kiefer brought to the table in the original series.

The Star is another solid one from the season, and though I don’t think I loved it as much as most people did, there’s no denying that it’s a decent amount of fun. Like the few before it, I really enjoy how it plays with the concept of the multiverse, not showing us entirely different versions of the characters we know, but playing around with what makes them tick across pretty much every realm. I was initially kind of opposed to the idea of having all of these major characters show up throughout the season, because I wanted the franchise to evolve out of needing them to tell stories. But I think exploring these different looks into their lives are insightful not only for themselves as individuals, but for the scope of the world as a whole.

This episode’s little staff tidbit comes from Derek Ballard, who whipped up some concept designs for vampires and Marceline’s second outfit in this episode, which can be seen here. Ballard boarded a few episodes during the run of the original series (Breezy and Nemesis) and also created some of my favorite title cards in the entire show for Betty, Wake Up, Breezy, and Nemesis. It’s great to see another alum back, and even greater that one of his designs did make it into the episode! Sorry I was dissing on the anime dresses earlier!

Favorite line: “How could you bring a child into this world?”

“The Winter King”

Original Airdate: September 14, 2023

Written & Storyboarded by: Jim Campbell, Lucyola Langi, Iggy Craig, Graham Falk & Nicole Rodriguez

Of all the Fionna and Cake episodes, The Winter King is probably the most popular of the bunch. For good reasons – it’s a ton of fun! Almost deceptively fun because there’s a ton going on beneath the surface. It’s always interesting when we get to see the perspective of someone else under the crown’s influence along with the additional information we can gather about its power. Despite that sounding like a mostly bleak concept, The Winter King makes for a thoroughly entertaining exploration while still proving that there’s really no “good” relationship with the crown.

This one has a subplot that takes up the other half of it, so I’ll go ahead and cover all the Winter King stuff and then talk about the Gary and Marshall Lee stuff. The Winter King returns after his brief dream debut in Fionna Campbell, and I wonder if his presence accounts for the fact that Fionna and Cake naturally have more of a connection to the multiverse in their subconscious because they are Prismo’s creation. The connection between the Winter King can be made because they are stored in Simon’s brain, but the way that the Winter King is able to present himself, even without Simon being able to perceive his presence, is because of their thinly veiled ties to the macrocosm. But it’s also interesting because the Winter King scene in Fionna’s dream is clearly a different design and voice entirely, making me wonder if there is indeed another Winter King lurking in the multiverse or if it’s a result of Fionna’s own projections of what she personally wants to see from him. Generally, those projections seem to be true at first, as the Winter King presents himself as a noble hero figure that is not plagued by the powers of the crown. At first, this seemed like a cool way to explore the possibility that the crown may not be limited to only causing suffering to its host. This contradicts the already established idea that magic users inherently struggle with levels of madness and sadness, and when it derives from one of the most magical items in the universe, it’s hard to believe that the crown’s power could be subverted in such a drastic way. One that, of course, makes Simon feel instantly inferior. It’s difficult to watch him struggle with the idea that his suffering with the crown is the fault of his own, but hard to not get swept up by the charisma of Winter King’s character at the same time. Brian David Gilbert does such a great job at instilling an immediate charm into the character that feels both convincing while simultaneously being cartoonishly over-the-top.

Even in the midst of his glamour, there’s clear signs that Winter King may not be the generous hero that he paints himself to be. For starters, he never really offers direct answers as to how he overcame the debilitating powers of the crown, only alluding to overly-simplified non-answers that really don’t enlighten Simon to the possibility of solutions. Most notably, of course, is Winter King’s deflection when it comes to discussing Betty. Despite WK’s life mirroring Simon’s up until the point he gained independence from the crown’s power, he barely acknowledges Betty’s presence, referring to her only as “the dead one.” I do wonder if this is part of WK’s method of deflecting his pain and sorrows outward instead of stomaching those emotions on a conscious level or if this additionally can be factored into Simon’s later inflections about his own relationship (spoilers for future episodes, so skip ahead to the next paragraph if you need). Simon later has to confront the idea that he may have been putting his relationship on a pedestal in way that made him avoidant to the possibility of self-reflection. It seems that Winter King may have taken what is generally a reasonable level of self-centeredness and has let that engulf him to the point where he isn’t interested in even exploring parts of his past self. That is, with the exception of Marceline, who now has an ice version of her child likeness. Considering it is a more childlike interpretation, I’d guess that Marceline must have rebelled or abandoned Simon at some point and he created an ice version companion that wouldn’t/couldn’t betray him, especially because if she does, she’s ice. It’s fucked up, and even more fucked up that she ends up MELTING by the end of it.

But Winter King does offer a chance to explain himself to Simon… through song! A guest animated song sequence, no less! The Smallbu Animation team returns to the show once more, this time boasting their most impressive effort. I really enjoy their contributions for Beyond the Grotto and Ketchup, but they were either permitted a lot more freedom, were compensated more graciously, or simply have evolved as a studio over time, because MAN is this whole sequence gorgeous. It boasts the usual Smallbu hallmark of having jittery, pencil thin line art, but it’s the colors and the choreography that really elevate it to masterful levels. The painterly, Christmas-like backdrops look especially gorgeous, incorporating these really lush textures and beautiful details, like the reflections of house lights and character outlines off the icy lake. It’s worth giving additional kudos to Nicole Rodriguez who boarded the entire sequence; there’s so many great camera angles that Rodriguez incorporates in, such as the entire sled segment or Winter King’s skate tricks. The whole thing feels conscientiously planned out, with SmallBu’s animation complementing the boards to the best of their abilities. The song sequence is additionally phenomenal, written by Pat McHale and performed elegantly by Brian David Gilbert. Had no idea we’d be getting more than one McHale song this season, let alone two in the same episode! In an interview, Adam Muto referred to this episode as being similar in tone to a Rankin-Bass special, and I think that really checks out – the overly hammy characters, the expositional musical numbers, and the sparkly Christmas imagery. Could see it being factored in as a pseudo-Christmas special for the franchise as a whole.

But a Rankin-Bass special isn’t complete without a comical villain, and that’s where the Candy Queen comes into play. I don’t know if I’ve seen ANY Adventure Time character blow up as quickly as she has in terms of popularity. I guess you could throw Huntress Wizard as well, though she had multiple appearances to help build on her underground popularity. As far as one-off characters go, Candy Queen is easily one of the most of the franchise’s most beloved, though we’ll see if that popularity lasts the test of time. As for me, I quite like her as well! It should be a given, but I often kind of forget just how impressive Hynden Walch is as a voice actor. Up until Candy Queen starts singing, I truly was not sure if it was Walch performing or if they got someone else for the part. Walch clearly has a blast with the role, mirroring Tom Kenny’s performance as Ice King to a seamless degree while still making it her own thing. I know she played Harley Quinn in some Batman animated iteration years ago, and I figured her performance in that would be very similar to what she brought to the table here. But when I looked it up, I think she even channels something pretty different for Harley Quinn as well! This was really a defining moment in recognizing how much her energy can really take on a life of its own without even changing her voice that drastically.

The Candy Queen’s character is equally a blast. I love the persona flip, along with the added bonus that PB possessing the powers of the crown perhaps makes her even more crazy than Simon was. PB’s character already has an established struggle with harming others under the guise of authority or for scientific research, and her counterpart has that same mad-brain that allows her to conduct schemes and machinery that Ice King could never even fathom to complete. It is interesting to see the slight differences between how their crazy operates; I wonder if it’s part of the crown’s nature to anchor onto the negative aspects of the individual wearer and cause them to flare severely. Like, we’ve seen what Simon’s like when he’s under stress – dude just drinks beer and sloshes around in a self-pitying stupor. It’s really not that different than how Ice King operates on a day-to-day basis, outside of the sheer madness element. It seems Candy Queen as a character is still continuously desperate for the need to control others and have her kingdom thriving, as it seemingly is. Though, it does make me wonder one thing – I kinda figured that the crown didn’t MAKE Ice King desperately horny for women, but rather that he somehow misinterpreted down the lines that he needed to rescue his “princess.” Candy Queen seems similarly obsessed with IK in the way IK was for her, but would this mean that the crown inherently causes this type of desperation in its user? I guess you could argue that Winter King projected his individual madness onto PB as opposed to the crown’s magic itself. Also, maybe Winter King is just that hot. Also, also, I totally believe that Winter King is willingly kidnapped by Candy Queen all the time because he’s a sick narcissistic fuck. He probably loves all the attention and getting rescued every single week.

McHale’s second song for the episode Baked with Love is additionally superb. Might honestly be the better song over Winter Wonder World? It lacks the gorgeous supporting animation, but once again, Hynden kills it on the vocal front and adds so much energy that makes the already catchy melody really pop. I additionally love the unsettling inclusion of the wide-mouthed Banana Guards and all of the additions to the dilapidated Candy Kingdom. In general, this is another great episode from a visual perspective, but that’s almost redundant to say at this point in the season. I love all of the unique new designs for inhabitants of both the Ice and Candy Kingdoms like the Ice Clops and the monstrous versions of candy citizens. From the Ice Kingdom’s perspective, they didn’t really need to reinvent the wheel with its inhabitants since the kingdom is really only relegated to animal life and the occasional cryptid, so it’s nice to see all of these luxurified citizens added to the equation. I thought for sure the Ice Scouts were supposed to be some riff on the rollerblading characters we saw iterations of in the first two episodes, but I’m not sure that’s the case. They’re very cute, regardless! There’s also that really fucked up looking hairless penguin that I want to know more about.

Fionna and Cake also get some fun stuff to do. Well, Fionna mostly – there’s a bit of Cake’s resentment towards her continuing to build which eventually comes to a boiling point in the eighth episode, but we’ll get to that when the time comes. I like Fionna’s little journey in this one, getting really into the thrills of taking on a hero role, but being forced to confront her own actions when she realizes that it’s not all just a simulation. It’s a good exploration of putting her own selfishness in place and letting her naturally begin to make more decisions that are conscious to the feelings of others from this point on. But really, it is just fun watching her act in a way that is very similar to how Finn perceives adventuring to be in his own life. A lot of what goes on here is very much like a Dungeon Train scenario, in how much Fionna is enthralled by battling miscellaneous bosses in an effort to quell her own suffering. And like that episode, it’s also got great loot (so nice seeing a new sword, the ice sword design is sleek!) and is just funny to watch Fionna get so enmeshed in murdering Candy People. Love when she gets wide-eyed about “action stuff,” it’s probably the most she feels like Finn’s counterpart all season.

Of course, her fun takes a turn when she inadvertently removes the magic from the Winter King’s crown, similar to how Cake did this with a Hot Dog Knight back in Cake the Cat. It’s probably the most morbid onscreen death we’ve seen so far from the franchise (though not all that different from Old Man Prismo’s death) and it makes me wonder why the same thing didn’t happen when the crown’s power was removed from Simon back in Betty. I think the obvious answer is that it’s just for dramatic effect, and really not any particular way I can personally theorize around it. But it works, and as I mentioned earlier, the shot of the melted Marcy child is wild. The twist that reveals PB was under the Winter King’s spell the entire time was certainly a surprise, and I love Simon feeling vindicated that he isn’t simply weak for falling under the control of the crown. There’s really no way out of it unless that energy is projected onto another person – at least, that’s what we know for now. Didn’t mention it earlier but I also love Simon’s general affection and support for Candy Queen despite her insanity, it’s so sweet that he empathizes with her.

Alright, so we got all that out of the way, now it’s GaryLee (I think that’s the name of their ship?) time babies!! In a nutshell, I think that they’re very charming together. I don’t think any of the stuff with Fionna and Cake has been bad so far this season, but I’ve struggled to find a focal point in really caring about the human world that they’re leaving behind. That is until this episode – I think Gary and Marshall Lee hitting it off not only helps bring to light Fionna’s selfishness in wanting the world to be altered in her vision, but is also just very genuinely endearing on its own. So much of the original series, and even Distant Lands, has focused on the somewhat tumultuous aspects of Marceline and Bubblegum’s relationship. It’s nice to have a glimpse into their relationship that is fully committed to showing what makes them work. That’s not to say that the series has never emphasized these elements, because I think Obsidian and even episodes like Varmints or Broke His Crown do just that, but The Winter King breaks it down into very simplistic terms. At the beginning, it plays into their polar opposite personalities, being Gary’s by-the-book attitude and Marshall Lee’s laidback, often anarchistic nature. But soon, this blossoms into a mutually beneficial sharing of worldviews. Marshall values Gary’s commitment to bringing his own dreams to life while Marshall’s spontaneity helps Gary get out of his own desire for monotony. I especially like how the conflict that comes from this, being Marshall calling the Lemoncarbs without letting Gary know, doesn’t instigate drama between the two and instead is used for a quiet moment of open communication. I also really love how their part in the episode wraps up with Gary conceiving of Slumber Party Panic‘s plot through a vision of his pastry menschen. The continued sprinkled bits of ideas that aspects of the multiverse exist merely as ideas in the minds of “lower” beings is really cool to me, I would love to see that expanded on with the other cosmic characters at some point in a future series.

The episode caps off with a baby world version of Ooo, which seems like the team picked the gimmickiest idea they could think of for an alternate universe and decided to tack it onto an episode just for fun. It’s cute, though it somewhat bothers me that there’s a baby version of the Lich just hanging out in the open. I kinda like that idea that the Lich would exist as just himself in every single universe that he’s in and is not impacted by the conditions of said universe, but I guess that a whole baby universe wouldn’t really be able to exist in that case! Might’ve just made more sense to leave him out of the equation. The episode caps off with Simon comforting Fionna over all the fucked up things they just witnessed as the two continue to develop their friendship. I mentioned that I’m still getting a feel for the newer board artists, but Lucyola Langi has the most immediately recognizable style in my eyes. She boards the last six or so minutes of the episode and those massive pupils are what really make her touch identifiable and definitely instills a lot of inherent cuteness in the characters. Also, noticed a classic Falk monobrow when Gary throws a shirt on the bed around the 7 minute mark.

The Winter King is easily one of the strongest of the season; it’s fun, has an interesting exploration of the crown’s power, great character moments, beautiful animation, terrific songs, and great voice work to boot. Like I said before, it’s easy to see why this one caught everyone’s eye, and I think the joy of the experience can’t be understated. It’s been a while since Adventure Time has been able to let its silliness unfold properly, either because its wrapped up in more serious stories or has struggled to recapture the weirdness of the past. The Winter King doesn’t lean too, too far on the odd spectrum, but it shows that both the fun and intrigue of the series can coexist in one outing, which is balance that AT has become so recognized for. And in general, I commend the season for managing to have a continuing story while still allowing each episode to have its own self-contained feel. It’s something that I feel serialized shows have really struggled with, and even AT did to an extent towards its original run. It’s part of why I think Fionna and Cake works so well, because each episode is able to be looked at and remembered for its own unique attributes.

Another Steve Wolfhard tidbit! Wolfhard created an outline for characters that would appear in the baby universe, mainly basing them off season one characters, which can be seen here. Some of them made it in, like the baby Jiggler, baby Ricardio, baby Magic Man and other recurring and major characters (baby Lady is especially cute!). Though it would’ve been cool to see some of the rarely seen denizens of Ooo make it in, like baby Gut Grinder or baby Head Marauder. Side note: Wolfhard was the supervising director for this episode, and I love whenever you can tell that he chimed in with a drawing. The shot where the main Lemoncarb cracks her knuckles has Wolfhard written all over it, wrinkles and all.

Favorite line: “Nonsense! You looked ugly.”

“Destiny” Review

Original Airdate: September 14, 2023

Written & Storyboarded by: Jacob Winkler, Sonja von Marensdorff, Hanna K. Nyström & Anna Syvertsson

One of the promises of Fionna and Cake that I was perhaps the most skeptical about was the incorporation of multiverse elements. The multiverse has become a staple of pop culture in recent years and it’s growing a bit tiresome seeing every genre of content trying to adopt it for storytelling opportunities. It’s easy to see the appeal of the concept, because it does allow for generally limitless storytelling that doesn’t have to be grounded in any sense of logic or reality. But in most examples, it’s utilized for gimmicks more than anything. Even in stuff I like, such as the Spider-Verse movies, it’s a concept that very easily defaults to cameo opportunities from other parts of the franchise or absurdist additions that don’t really add anything outside of being comical. I didn’t want Fionna and Cake to default to hopping from one world to next, visiting a Steven Universe world or meeting a Lego version of Finn. However, it isn’t entirely fair to harp on Adventure Time for necessarily jumping on the bandwagon when the multiverse was apart of its lore far before it became a hot topic – they even beat Rick & Morty to the punch! It’s additionally very reassuring that they incorporate it into Fionna and Cake in a way that feels very meaningful and is actually one of the stronger elements of the season as a whole.

The cold open for Destiny is pretty cool. I like how much Farmworld Finn’s presence is set up in this one. Farmworld prior to the ruling of “The Snowman” felt like an early modern countryside of simple folk that didn’t interact with supernatural elements at all. This beginning paints a similar reality, with the implication that the citizens remained skeptical and on the opposing side of magic, only now it’s evolved into a dystopian, anarchistic landscape. More on that in a bit.

Jumping right into where last episode left off, Simon reveals his plans to help make Fionna and Cake’s world magic again by finding the crown and performing the GOLB ritual once more. It’s clear to see that the events of last episode have put Simon in a state of rejection of his own self, as he seems no longer willing to accept his current place in life. Once again channeling into the themes of addiction, Simon craves his previous life being under the power of the crown, even if it means that he’ll be out of his mind. At least he’ll be numb to whatever pain he’s currently experiencing and won’t have to deal with his issues on a conscious level. Simon justifying using the crown to save Fionna and Cake also isn’t that different from how he used the crown to save Marceline. I have a feeling that, more than just Simon’s own nobility, the power of the crown is tempting enough for Simon that he’s able to make those justifications. Of course, he would never use it if it meant Marceline would be in any real danger, hence him leaving her at the beginning of Everything Stays, but he’s willing to take those chances most of the time because he’s allured to its magic abilities. The same can be said here – with how much he feels purposeless in his own skin, it’s not hard to reel him back in. Even though he knows it’s bad for him and that it will completely change him as a person, it’s a reality he’s willing to accept because at least it will benefit the lives of others. It’s a noble act in theory, but does have a layer of self-centeredness behind it. Simon’s not really thinking about the lives he may hurt if he does start using the crown again, including Marceline, who would end up being left in the dark to a decision being made behind the scenes. Nor is he really thinking about the other lives it would impact in Fionna and Cake’s world, something that Fionna herself is guilty of.

I like all the continued banter between Fionna, Cake and Simon. I mentioned before, but I’m a sucker for all of the cat gags this season has churned out, and Cake bringing Fionna the dead mouse thinking that she loves it is right up my alley. Fionna and Simon’s relationship becomes a lot more fun with Destiny as well. They didn’t really get a ton of time to work off of each other last episode because so much was being thrown at the viewer, so seeing them both work off of each other was nice. I like how she kinda treats Simon like a cringey stepdad that doesn’t understand social cues. Like when he won’t shut the fuck up about Greek mythology at a stranger’s dinner table and Fionna comes back at him with, “dude, what are you talking about?” Simon gets his own bit of sass in though, when Fionna mistakes him for a doctor. He’s an antiquarian, dammit! It’s all fun stuff, and appreciate any time the episode takes to slow it down a bit. There’s some nice moments where Fionna and Cake also banter around at the beginning while looking for loot to steal. The slow pacing of the season up to this point has kind of felt drawn out, but I like that we do get these small moments to breathe in the midst of the ball rolling. Helps it stay with that Adventure Time feel. Oh yeah, also, Scarab’s back again! He does some stuff in this one, but it’s mostly not noteworthy. A bunch of people online were all horned up over his human design, which was fine. He also tinkers around with Prismo’s Time Room and I like the oozing, pink plasma that seems to control synthetic channels to the multiverse. That’s pretty much all I have to say about Scarab in this episode.

The exploration of the Mad Max evolved Farmworld is a blast. I love the designs of the citizens, mostly based on concept art by Michael DeForge, Steve Wolfhard and Delfina Pérez Adán, who previously provided animation work for Distant Lands. I also like all the bits of absurdity sprinkled in; the longshot of the boy on stilts stealing the tire for the car that merges with a much larger vehicle was great, and I like how there’s bits like the chicken man that don’t even make sense in-universe. Like, what got him into this position? Also, this is the first time I’m realizing that the human who notices Cake’s powers is a Farmworld version of Chet! That’s gotta be the most casually sprinkled in cameo of the season. Though, with every episode, I feel like there’s another one that I missed, so we’ll see if I’m still saying that by the end of it. We’re soon reintroduced into The Destiny Gang, whom I was delighted to see again! They really don’t get too much to do that’s funny or interesting and mostly just drive forward the conflict of the episode, though they get a few funny lines in, namely, “he died doing what he loved – trying to ride alligator like horse!”

Most of the episode is more focused on Big Destiny’s kin, introducing us to Little Destiny, who probably has the only design I don’t like out of these gaggle of characters. I dunno, whenever Adventure Time constructs characters using more realistic anatomy and detailed facial features it doesn’t really work a whole lot for me. It kinda reminds me of that lamp from Friends Forever – I think it’s the pronounced lips more than anything. In general, I’m not too captivated by Little Destiny’s role in the episode and her connection to a certain blonde boy, who we’re introduced to shortly after this season’s umpteenth Choose Goose appearance thus far. We’re also treated to a weird little jab from Big Destiny’s other child about wanting to cut Fionna’s nose off, but somebody beating him to the punch. Is this factoring in that dumb theory Pen Ward himself had early on in the series about Ooo’s humans being mutated by having no nose and beaded eyes?? Adam was a pretty vocal critic of this theory back on the commentary of the early seasons, so it might have been a nod to that little debacle. Or even just implying that Farmworld citizens have big ass noses in general.

The aforementioned blonde boy leads our crew to what is believed to be Farmworld Simon, but we get something so much more beautiful: Repressed Adult Farmer Finn™!! This is where my inner fanboy is able to come out and thrive – I LOVE this version of Finn. Going back to my first statement about how the season utilizes the multiverse to the best of its abilities, I like how much ongoing commitment there is to showing that these versions of the main characters essentially are the main characters, just under a different set of circumstances. It’s kind of playing off of what the original series did with Fern, who was just a carbon copy of Finn that was launched in an entirely different direction because of situational experiences. Only this seems to play around with the idea that the nature of our characters is relatively the same throughout each universe, but the nurturing differs almost entirely. Farmworld Finn was given a second chance by Prismo at the end of Crossover, but it’s clear that this wasn’t necessarily a happy ending for him. The impact of the crown left him with psychological scars, as the Finn we see here is far from the almost cluelessly joyful Finn we saw only episodes earlier.

Even outside of a psychological perspective, Farmworld Finn has appears to have chosen (or fallen into) a more traditional path by having lots of children and playing the role of a strong, stoic provider. Lots of people have noted that the 12 or so year time skip would mean that Finn had to have gotten someone pregnant when he was 16 or 17. I don’t think this is that crazy for a world that seems riddled in early modern culture and on top of that, we already know Finn is a horny devil. This is true across every part of the multiverse, especially when he has a dose of trauma under his belt. But yeah, I love his design and all his dialogue is crafted so perfectly. He gets to throw out great antiquated lines like, “I don’t truck with magic,” and, “be gone at first light.” It also can’t be understated how great Jeremy Shada’s performance is – I almost didn’t recognize him at first! Having Shada deepen his voice to sound gruffer is something that could easily feel forced but I think he pulls it off tremendously. He’s old enough at this point that he can channel more baritone inflections without it feeling beyond his scope. When he snaps at Simon for wanting to seek out the crown, the anger in his voice is really felt. And even beyond a speaking role, FW Finn has some really great silent moments where you truly get to experience his life in a nutshell; I love the way he notices how concerned his children are after he lashes out and quickly collects himself to not upset them further, and later when he quietly stares into the fireplace, troubled by the insanity of his past. It’s both a great way to help explore his trauma while also tying back into the delusions that Simon is convincing himself of. Though Ice King probably never brought a level of damage akin to what “The Snowman” did, the impact of the crown and the general madness that it causes is played with a level of absoluteness here, in a way the season would continue to support.

Speaking of Finn’s kids, the names “Jay” and “Bonnie” return after being introduced in Puhoy! This was a nice little detail that may even build on the concept that the Pillow World was, indeed, part of the multiverse. It makes me wonder just how many instances there are in the series where the potential of a wormhole opening is implied – I think Puhoy is a key-in for the most notable example. Farmworld Bonnie is especially cute, which also makes me wonder if there is a Farmworld equivalent to Bubblegum. I like to think that there may not be, or if there is, Finn may have never even crossed paths with her. Finn just named his child that because somewhere in his being he knew he liked that name, which is a concept I think is neat. He also has a gaggle of additional unnamed children, some of which possess features similar to Huntress Wizard’s human forms seen throughout the season (green eyes, red hair). I don’t know how down I am with the continued exploration of Finn and HW’s relationship to the point where she is his soulmate across multiple universes. I liked how the show ended not really focusing on who Finn “ended up” with, because having him settle down at 17 always felt a lil weird. I guess if I really want to tie up the continuity I established with FW Finn getting a girl pregnant at an early age, maybe he met up with her in a similar way to their Ooo counterparts’ meeting in Flute Spell, only they actually consummated it. I guess her role as Finn’s wife is still up in the air because she seemingly passed away in Farmworld, but I think the hints speak for themselves. Even with how much Farmworld Finn has lost, it’s sweet that FW Jake is still kicking. I have no idea how this ancient pooch has lasted so long – it’s possible that Finn got him later on in his childhood as opposed to having him early on, so he’d be around 15 or so now. I think he probably just lives a chill ass countryside life and gets fed well with lots of pets, which is enough to make my god damn heart melt.

Jay is the most prominent of the Mertens family in this episode, and I’m mostly lukewarm on his presence. He’s involved in this star-crossed lovers’ romance with Little Destiny, which I guess adds a level of stakes for the episode? I dunno, I feel like they already had a decent amount of tension going with the fact that they have the Destiny Gang wanting to abolish magic and Scarab after them at the same time. I’m not really sure how their relationship adds to the episode or the season as a whole – I guess they claim their own destiny (no pun intended) in a way that supports what Fionna, Cake, and Simon are also striving for. Still, I don’t find them super engaging as characters and their bits are pretty standard Romeo & Juliet fodder. They even have Cake working off of them by kind of making fun of their whole shtick, but it’s played pretty straight otherwise. Still, it was all worth it to see Farmworld Finn break out a fuckin’ flamethrower arm and set Destiny Gang members on fire. Man does not fuck around! The breakneck pace of the last few minutes are solid: Cake trying to stretch out but still struggling to use her powers is fun; I love Big Destiny’s lashy, perfect eyes when he has his glasses broken; the final confrontation between Scarab and Farmworld Finn is greatly executed, with an impactful curb stomp that had plenty of people questioning whether FW Finn was killed. I don’t really think that’s what they’re going for, but who knows. I feel like the way the rest of the season pans out leaves me believing this probably isn’t the case and it’d be lame as hell if Finn in ANY universe was taken out in such an unceremonious way. This farm boy needs to go down in flames! Also, I didn’t know where else to add this in, but does anyone have any thoughts about Simon mentioning that the crown smells like freshly cut grass? I guess it could just be a throwaway line, but it felt too random to be that. Haven’t seen any theories otherwise, though.

That blabbering aside, I dig Destiny. It works with the multiverse concept to the best of its ability by helping expand the show’s characters beyond just the conditions of Ooo. A looong time ago in my review of Finn the Human, I criticized the episode for not really capturing the spirit of Finn to the best of its abilities, but Destiny makes it pretty clear that… that’s the point. Finn, and all of these characters, are subject to change based on their surrounding environments, leaving us with fragments of the same characters that have their own unique perspective on life. It’s still the soul-shape of Finn in his Farmworld counterpart’s body (that hilariously hushed “math” proves it), but with a lifetime full of different experiences that allowed him to grow in his own unique way. I also enjoy the idea of focusing on one universe per episode as opposed to having them hop from world to world – it allows for the art direction to really thrive when the environment is able to commit to one core theme. And sprinkled in are some solid bits from Simon, Fionna, and Cake, but did you really expect me not to make this entire review centered around Finn at this point? I never claimed to be nonpartisan.

Fionna and Cake brought back a lot of AT veterans for some freelance work, including Charmaine Verhagen! Verhagen co-boarded Wheels and worked on the series as a storyboard revisionist starting around season 8. Verhagen did some concept art for Destiny character designs, but they didn’t end up making it into the actual episode. A shame, because I really like the withered Jakes she whipped up! You can check out her concept art here.

Favorite line: “Now you two should kiss.”

“Prismo the Wishmaster” Review

Original Airdate: September 7, 2023

Written & Storyboarded by: Iggy Craig, Graham Falk, Jim Campbell & Lucyola Langi

I’m glad I took some time to let these episodes sit a bit before jumping in to review them, because there’s A LOT that Prismo the Wishmaster dishes out. The entirety of this episode essentially acts as an answer to one of Adventure Time‘s most unusual questions after the events of the episode Fionna and Cake and Fionna. I previously lambasted that episode as the worst in the series, because it seemed like it was just throwing shit at the fan to try to mystify Fionna and Cake at a point in the series where it felt like they really had no place anymore. Turns out, Fionna and Cake and Fionna was actually setting up an idea that the crew played around with for a while but never really had the time or place to explain it in full detail. According to Adam Muto in an interview with Inverse, Prismo’s introduction in season five naturally came with the idea that he would be the true creator of Fionna & Cake. I do admire the current place AT is at where they can just come back later on and address unopened doors in the past, while continuing to plant seeds for the future. And Prismo the Wishmaster is just that – AT at perhaps its most convoluted, chock full of answers to questions and questions raised from those answers. Not that that’s a bad thing, of course.

The episode begins with a neat little cold opening taking place in The Drift from BMO, which also doubles down on this season’s personal goal of having as many Cheers references as they can possibly squeeze in. This one’s mostly just for gag purposes, though it may show that even a cosmic being like Kheirosiphon craves the mundane and simplistic life that Simon and Fionna so vehemently reject. Or maybe it was just to feature an alien version of Norm, which I’m also okay with. This is also the moment we’re introduced to Scarab – the main antagonist for the season. He’s a character that I have pretty lukewarm views on overall; I think Scarab at the very least boasts a cool design and presence in the general worldbuilding of the series. I like his crystal scythe and his little Tamagotchi-esque captor eggs, and I think it’s cool to have some kind of understanding of how cosmic crimes (or what seems to be cosmic misdemeanors in this case) are addressed from an authoritative level. As a character, Scarab’s not really anything to write home about. AT in general has been kind of struggling with villains since the last season of the OG series and I think it just boils down to them never being funny or intimidating enough. Aside from The Lich and rare instances of genuinely threatening baddies (Ricardio’s presence in Lady & Peebles comes to mind or Hierophant in May I Come In?), Adventure Time villains are kind of supposed to be lame. The idea is always taking a concept that should make for a terrifying villain in any other fantasy series but making them super humanized and pretty mundane. Like, Kee-Oth is a demon that belongs to this super distorted underworld-type dimension but he also takes Pilates classes. Or Hunson Abadeer, the literal ruler of the Nightosphere, who uses karate moves when he’s pissed off at his daughter and vocalizes those exact karate moves when he uses them. There are other villains, such as Lemongrab or Dr. Gross, that have interesting pieces of psychological baggage that make them more engaging, on top of being funny as well. But Scarab just doesn’t really get any committed character depth and isn’t given anything particularly funny to say or do, so he just kind of ends up being a foil. I don’t really totally fault the crew for not taking the time to flesh out this character when there is already so much else going on, but I also wonder why they chose to include him in the first place. I like how his role further explores the presence of cosmic beings in the universe, but any other time he shows up is just kind of a reminder of the stakes of the situation at hand.

But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself – after the detour in The Drift, we once again see a depressed Prismo shirking his duties in the Time Room. Similar to Choose Goose, it is really funny how committed the staff is to including Wyatt across multiple different iterations. Though, unlike CG, I think Wyatt’s inclusion is much less overdone and it is funny to also see those parallels painted as to how he ended up (and stayed) within the First Dead World (who knows what type of cosmic crimes he committed on his own to get there??) It’s also pretty clear that Prismo gave up caring about the consequences that came with making wishes a long time ago, and honestly, why should he? Wyatt probably would’ve wished for Tree Trunks to rub his shoulders for all of eternity or something, it’s not really the type of wishes that require him to be extra careful and caution. And also, you get the clear idea that not really any other person who has entered that Time Room in years has had any kind of concern or interest in Prismo’s life. Honestly, Jake might’ve been the only non-cosmic being to ever show interest or compassion for Prismo, so it really adds to how much he’s sunk into desolation. Also worth noting is that Prismo has a new voice actor as of this episode, making for another point where I’m just going to divulge into production notes that all of y’all have probably heard already! Prismo’s original voice actor, Kumail Nanjiani, did not return to the role because of a representative of his passing on Nanjiani’s behalf without his knowledge. It is sad because Nanjiani’s reaction on social media shows how legitimately bummed he was by this and how even with how big he’s become, he has a special place for Prismo in his heart. Nanjiani brought so much natural charisma to the character, it’s a performance that will be truly missed. Though it’s not all in vain, because Sean Rohani, who voices Prismo in Fionna and Cake, does a pretty great job taking over! It definitely took some getting used to – I thin even if you sound very much like the actor that you’re replacing, there’s still an adjustment period to the new performance and inflections that impacted my immersion slightly on a first watch. However, watching it again and having seen the whole season by this point, it’s much less noticeable and easier to appreciate what Rohani brings to the table. Also, as many people have mentioned, Prismo being depressed definitely supports Rohani being a bit raspier than Nanjiani was in the role.

I love the little black-and-white sequence that results from Wyatt’s wish. I like that the design of it didn’t immediately jump to rubberhose as a main inspiration point and instead just uses weird, more stylistic interpretations of 20’s designs. Graham Falk boarded the entire sequence, which really gives him a chance to shine with his more expressive style. The animation for the scene was done by Nick Cross, who seems to have been the main source for in-house animation during the entirety of Fionna and Cake. Cross animated the intro for F&C as well and it’s delightful to see energy that he instills to knock an already well-boarded segment out of the park. This is the man who animated the entirety of the Highway Man scene in Over the Garden Wall, after all! It’s also cool because Cross’s work with Falk dates all the way back to when Cross was a storyboard artist on The Untalkative Bunny, so things have really come full circle here.

I mentioned that Cake the Cat felt like it was plodding a bit and held on certain bits that felt like they could’ve been used for other space. Prismo the Wishmaster is definitely an episode the earns its 24 minute runtime and not even because every second is jam-packed with knowledge overload. It does have some little moments of Prismo interacting with Fionna, Cake, and Simon, while still managing to sprinkle in some dialogue that establishes Prismo as the true creator of F&C (more on that in a bit!) We get a few good glimpses as well into what Ooo’s inhabitants are currently up to, though it’s not especially juicy. Kind of odd that Finn has had extensive changes since we last saw him while Huntress Wizard looks exactly the same as she did 10+ years ago in-universe (they even use her pre-Flute Spell model sheet). In fact, everyone in these clips looks like they could use a little time gap update. You mean to tell me Susan is still wearing her same pre-memory jog outfit? I can’t imagine that smells even remotely decently, but good to see her and Frieda are still traveling together. One clear change is that Pep appears to be advancing through wizard school with his pal Blaine. The most jarring change of all, however, is when we see a brief clip of Lemongrab later on, with a… very noticeable voice actor replacement. Justin Roiland has been outed as a big ol’ creep since F&C went into production, but my guess is this news didn’t break until the scene was fully animated or at the very least in the process of final animation taking place. Jinx Monsoon, who provides the voice for genderbent Lemongrab 1, does her best imitation of LG but it REALLY falls flat. Can’t really blame her or the staff for this as it was clearly a last minute decision that had to be made, but man, if Prismo’s voice change altered my immersion slightly, this nuked it on a first watch.

As the episode moves along and we get into Prismo’s introduction to Fionna and Cake, the puzzle pieces start to come together about his connection with the two, along with Simon. Prismo being the true creator of Fionna and Cake is something I’m still kind of grappling with. I think I was much more negative to the idea off the bat, grew a bit more positive to it, and now I’m kind of in neutral territory. I think the main reason it put me off to begin with is that it doesn’t really fully mesh with the timeline that Adventure Time has set up. Fionna and Cake, the episode, takes place two full seasons before Prismo is introduced in Finn the Human, and I wasn’t really satisfied with the theories to combat this, such as how Prismo is omnipresent and seems to exist outside of time. We know that the Time Room itself exists outside of time, but the way that Prismo interacts with Ooo, along with Finn and Jake, seems to at least exist in a linear way with how Ooo perceives time. Even Prismo himself seems to be mourning Jake’s death in a process that meshes with Ooo’s general timeline, so it wasn’t a theory I was willing to roll with. I think the easiest justification for this is that Adventure Time episodes, outside of clear continuity points, don’t really need to be seen as entirely linear storytelling. They’ve even broken this on occasions, with BMO Noire and Princess Potluck occurring on the same day but being a full season apart, or the flashback in Joshua and Margaret Investigations happening without a clear framing device. So, I’m pretty much fine with accepting that this as part of Adventure Time‘s lore and don’t believe it truly accounts to discontinuity. However, I feel generally mixed about Prismo’s role as the true author. This kind of feels similar to a development like Orgalorg, where the execution of the concept is fun, but the concept itself sort of overly mystifies a relatively simple idea. I liked that Fionna and Cake stories were something that came from Ice King’s obsession for Finn and Jake and that it was actually something he was good at! Ice King couldn’t really constructively do anything worthwhile in his condition, but it was cool to see that Fionna and Cake was the one thing that he actually seemed to pour his heart into and that he gradually accrued a fanbase over time. It’s somewhat of a bummer to me that this small accomplishment was taken away from him, though it depends on how you view creative ideas a whole anyway. I do love the construct that creativity comes from a magic source and is channeled further by peons in an almost spiritual experience, so I don’t reject the mysticism of it entirely. There’s also the implication with how the stories are told that Ice King DOES have some control over the direction on how they are told and that he’s adding his own unique spin to them. It is additionally confusing that Fionna is the central protagonist in all of these stories – wouldn’t it make more sense for Prismo to center them around Jake? Maybe he’s taking their relationship, and Ooo as a whole, and looking at it at a glance, but it’s just strange because Prismo and Finn have never had a very developed relationship. There’s even that dumb line that they included in Hoots where Prismo doesn’t even immediately remember who Finn is – this is the kid you based an entire fanfiction off of?? Though I guess it’s more the fault of that episode than this, so generally speaking, I’m still a bit polarized with my sentiments for this development, though not totally opposed to how it presents itself in the series mythos.

Additionally, some of the lore about wishes being made is cool, namely that wishes only occasionally add to the multiverse and create entirely new dimensions, which supports that Shelby wishing for his GF to have a pony did not in fact create an entire alternate wish universe (a damn shame). Also, this is where we get the hilarious Flapjack cameo, which at this point, I’m all for. I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m pretty opposed to any Adventure Time crossover opportunities and I wouldn’t be into the idea of this explored further (as Adam Muto mentioned was an original episode idea), but fuck it, if the multiverse is being explored in detail, I’m fine with a cute little cameo homage to Adventure Time‘s granddaddy. Also super sweet that they chose an episode and clip that was boarded by Pen Ward himself. We also get the neat little tidbit that Beyond the Grotto‘s dimension hopping was created by a wish (possibly the Sea Lard’s?) It really only opens up for the possibilities that other instances of guest animation and unique reality jumps, like Pillow World, also factored in multiverse theorem.

It does seem like Ice King’s individual achievements are slowly whittling away from him, though again, I’m kind of fine with this in how it plays into this specific series. Ice King and the crown have been used for a number of different allegories throughout the franchise’s run, and while I’m bummed that the events of Skyhooks II never really further elaborated on Ice King’s existence as an independent being, Fionna and Cake is clearly going for a different take on it. Addiction is a theme that Simon & Marcy briefly toyed around with when dealing with the crown, and it’s the main thematic push that Fionna and Cake often deals with. Simon being left to look at old memories of himself while everyone in the room praises how funny and cool he used to be when he wore the crown feels like an alcoholic being knocked at for becoming sober. Simon knows that the crown was something that completely disconnected him from his humanity, but you really can’t blame him for becoming increasingly pro-magic as the episode continues when everyone around him is making him feel like he doesn’t have worth in his current state. They’re harsh sentiments from Fionna and Cake, though you can’t really blame them entirely either. Simon spends most of the episode at his absolute worst, defaulting to self-blame and general apathy to everything and everyone around him. Almost to the point where you think, yeah, maybe he would be better off as Ice King! He was out of it and often tortured by the powers of the crown, but at least he was often aided by a clueless joy that took away from any of the pain he is currently experiencing. Of course, this is only looking at one side of it, and only further aids the addiction comparison.

The general interactions between the four central characters of this episode are lots of fun. I like Prismo’s growing understanding of Fionna and Cake’s ability to comprehend things outside of the traits he has already given them, such as Fionna’s difficulty wearing shorts and her opinionated responses to the information being divulged to her. I also love Cake’s experimenting with different shapeshifting abilities that often feel like a child’s wobbly sketches as opposed to fully articulated formations. As mentioned, Simon’s general “fuck this” attitude and him chugging beers with Prismo was quite funny, and I loved how unsentimental the foundation of Fionna and Simon’s relationship is. The implication that she’s going to level with him and then smacks him is great, though it does lead to a genuinely somber speech from Fionna. Again, Madeleine Martin (incorrectly referred to her as board artist “Madeleine Flores” in my Fionna Campbell review – my bad!) does a great job at breathing life into the character and makes her entire situation feel dire, as it is.

It’s always fun going on a little detour of the Time Room and its surroundings, as Is That You? established. I like all the added bits of worldbuilding, like the clock titans that help to communicate the construct of time across the multiverse. This seems like an addition that would be important later on, but it ends up just being a cool little tidbit that helps expand the world – even maybe something that could be elaborated on later on! Speaking of which, Prismo’s boss is name-dropped once more after being mentioned in Crossover (didn’t even mention that “crossover” is the official term for overarching pieces of the multiverse, neat!) I won’t go into this now because there’s more little bits we get later on and I don’t want to spoil anything in case someone is reading these episode-by-episode, but I’ll share with y’all my own headcanon about the boss once we get to the end of the season. The whole exploration of the Time Room is a visual treat, expanding on the spiraling cyberspace-esque backgrounds that first appeared in Is That You? The original series didn’t really have the budget for especially rich backgrounds, so Prismo’s Time Room was limited to mainly flat colors and gradients, but we get some cool textural additions to these landscapes that really help it pop. The entire episode is just a treat from the color front – I love the black light colors that emerge when Prismo begins presenting F&C‘s world to them. The whole episode in general is illuminated by great color choices, I implore you to check out the great color script from background paint supervisor Carolyn Ramirez here. Speaking of staff contributions, I’m starting to recognize new board artist styles a bit more with this episode! I believe Jim Campbell’s contributions chime in when Prismo begins to attempt to hide Fionna, Cake, and Simon from Scarab; his take on Prismo is especially notable, giving him a much rounder head that looks similar to Jesse Moynihan’s take on Prismo in Crossover. Lucyola Langi appears to take over once Fionna and Cake try to escape the Time Room entirely until the end of the episode – her style is notable in just how large the pupils are on each character, perhaps most apparent when Fionna pleads her case to Simon and when F&C ponder how the time remote must work. Kudos to Digamma-F-Wau in the comments for help bringing light to some of these production notes!

Other miscellaneous highlights from this episode include the introduction of Prismo’s Pickle Room; I like how Prismo’s special pickles started from just a one-time gag to now escalate where he has an entire section of his cosmic home dedicated to his pickle storage. I like all the small cameos of cosmic criminals on Scarab’s crystal, including Martin (who is pushing that TV-14 rating with the middle finger inclusion). Any mentions of primordial lore were rad, like the implication that Prismo was chosen to be Wishmaster instead of it just being conceived with his creation. And I think it was easily the funniest portion of the episode when a butt-naked Simon was beamed in, only slightly annoyed at the inconvenience of Prismo summoning him.

Like I mentioned, it’s still one that I’m grappling with from a revelation perspective, but the episode itself is tons of fun. It really gets the ball rolling and kicks the season into full gear, with this being the last bit of set up that moves things forward. Again, it’s always fun that Adventure Time can manage to provide clarity on certain arcs and plot points that feel like they’ve been lost to the wayside, while also committing to making things more convoluted and rich for interpretation in the process. For the most part, that’s kind of how the season operates – digging deeper into certain elements of expansion while also committing to leaving doors open by the end of it. It’s one of the hallmarks of the series that I truly love and I think Prismo the Wishmaster plays around with that in a great way that never bogs down the experience. It’s an episode that easily could’ve been weighed down with its heavy dosage of exposition, but in typical AT fashion, it has the most fun with it that it can.

I’ve kind of exhausted all the production notes I had for this one throughout the blog, so we’ll skip over the footer tidbit this time.

Favorite line: “This is the multiverse, a huge web of all the different realities elegantly connected like an anthill or a camp counselor relationship chart.”

“Fionna and Cake and Fionna” Review

Original Airdate: July 19, 2017

Written & Storyboarded by: Aleks Sennwald & Hanna K. Nyström

I don’t think a single episode of Adventure Time strikes me as more bizarre than Fionna and Cake and Fionna. A bold statement to say the least, but it’s not because the episode is filled with weird gags and non-sequiturs, akin to King Worm. This is the type of episode that really makes me wonder, “who thought this was a good idea?” With all of the controversial misfires that AT dished out over the years, such as Finn gaining his arm back and Betty’s introduction being quickly glossed over, I’ve been able to accept everything for what it was even if it wasn’t perfect, or good, at the very least. However, the decision to build on the lore behind Fionna and Cake is one that I typically ignore all together just because of how ridiculous and pointless it is.

The big revelation within this episode is that Fionna and Cake were apparently apart of some super old television show before the Mushroom War. So, all of this time, the Land of Ooo has comprised of coincidental duplicates of the entire Fionna and Cake cast? How… does that make any sense? It’s absolutely jarring information that (nearly) ruins the fabric of the AT world itself. Even worse is that it’s treated so casually, almost as if this is information isn’t Earth shattering in the slightest, and just a simple piece of expository dialogue to drive the episode home with. I’m guessing that this information was going to be utilized for later Fionna and Cake entries, but the show got cancelled and then nothing else ever came from this story at all. I don’t know if that’s a blessing or a curse, really, because as much as I feel like this plot point needs further explanation, I just don’t care in the slightest about Fionna and Cake or their role in this world at all anymore. The concept started out as a fun crackpipe idea that Natasha Allegri came up with, but has gotten so lost in the weeds that it doesn’t even know what it wants to be anymore. The world of Fionna and Cake simply isn’t that interesting – it’s just a watered-down and less characterized version of Ooo. The first two F&C episodes were satirical but loving jabs at the nature of fanfiction in general, the third and fourth entries seemed so straightforward and less committed to being parodies that there really wasn’t anything of substance within either, and this one feels like a desperate attempt to keep Fionna and Cake relevant in the world of Adventure Time through the most convoluted way possible. It’s pretty apparent that the staff really doesn’t know what to do with these characters anymore, but they clearly feel obligated to keep churning out an annual entry.

It doesn’t help that the episode is pretty boring on its own. My favorite bits of this episode are at the beginning – I love Finn, Jake, and BMO’s raft ride! After some of the craziest adventures they’ve ever been through, it’s really neat to see the boys back to having fun and enjoying each other’s company. Ice King’s book reading is similarly enjoyable, just for the fact that he actually had a decent turnout of people interested in listening to his stories. I really disliked that Bad Little Boy uncharacteristically portrayed Ice King’s writing as incoherent, because it’s actually one of his strong suits. As goofy as the subject matter is, he actually manages to churn out semi-decent tales with a committed story structure, and it’s nice to see that the folks of Ooo are captivated by these stories. The ol’ coot deserves it! As for the good stuff, the list pretty much ends there. Once the Fionna impersonator introduces herself, the episode slows down entirely while feeling like it’s accomplishing nothing at the same time. The Fionna impersonator really isn’t that interesting… you know from the beginning that she isn’t actually Fionna, so it ends up being a game of waiting for the revelation to come to the forefront. That element alone isn’t always poorly executed, but again, the fact that fake Fionna has little to no character at all makes it a pretty drab experience. I don’t know why they didn’t choose the more fun route of turning her into an obsession stalker, since it would’ve been cool to see Ice King work off of that type of personality. Speaking of which, Ice King isn’t at his A-game in this one. They don’t really give him any humorous material to work with; the closest moment he gets to being funny is when he incorrectly comes to the conclusion that the fake Fionna must be a mummy, but even then, it doesn’t do much for me. After coming off of the heels of Elements, this is probably the weakest IK episode in a long, long time.

The actual Fionna and Cake segments are equally as pointless. Cake remains to be the only likable character in the F&C world, as Fionna continues to feel like a hollow and lifeless version of her counterpart. The story meanders for a good while, until the eventual twist that the mummy was actually the Queen of Ooo, which is a slightly obscure cameo, but it’s a pretty lame climax. The joke is essentially, “here’s this character all of you know, except as a lady!” which feels incredibly cheap and repetitive. A lot of Fionna and Cake stories are boring and forgettable, but this is definitely the most unremarkable of the five.

This episode tries to make up for being pretty joyless by leaving the audience with a few things to chew on, mainly the concept of Fionna and Cake being real that I had mentioned, and the fact that ideas for Fionna and Cake are beamed into Ice King’s head at night. I guess this could possibly mean that Ice King’s crown somehow picks up the signal of past Fionna and Cake episodes, or vice versa, with his mind projecting the ideas out to Ooo’s television signals, but again, I just could care less. I know that’s kind of an arrogant thing to say, mainly because I write this blog with the intention of putting as much care and passion in as possible, but I’ve gotten to a point where I’ve realized that Fionna and Cake really add nothing to the series beyond their initial episode. As I’ve mentioned, it was a enjoyably bizarre idea for the first entry, but it’s not a concept that lends itself to multiple different independent episodes centered around the idea. This episode would be atrocious for completely disregarding what made Fionna and Cake unique to begin with, but I’m not angry at it for the main reason that I’m not invested in this concept at all to begin with. Fionna and Cake outlived their usefulness long ago, and I’m eternally grateful that this is the last F&C episode ever produced.

Favorite line: “Yes, let’s never do anything boring ever ag… Time for Ice King’s boring book reading!”

“Five Short Tables” Review

Original Airdate: May 26, 2016

Written & Storyboarded by: Kris Mukai & Aleks Sennwald

Within the past 10 or so episodes, Adventure Time has been consistently churning out some really big and profound episodes. With that in mind, the obligatory Graybles/Fionna & Cake episodes likely feel more like a chore to the staff than a passion project by this point in time, which makes sense, since they chose to combine them. Both series are pretty hit-or-miss; while the Graybles episodes tend to get better, or at least more innovative as they go along, the F&C episodes only seems to get more lackluster and less fun as they go along. I can firmly state that Five Short Tables is nowhere near as awful as The Prince Who Wanted Everything turned out to be, though this one still fails to offer anything new or interesting to the series, and mostly just plays out as a dull, inoffensive use of 11 minutes.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but there just really isn’t a very strong presence among the F&C cast. They’re all essentially carbon copies of their counterparts with diminished charisma and character traits. After Bad Little Boy, Fionna essentially just began to take on the role of “token nice girl” and she doesn’t really offer anything else beyond that. Cake is really the only character who stands on her own as a unique adaptation of Jake, though I often wonder if I’d even think this way if it wasn’t for Roz Ryan portraying her. I will tell you with utter honesty, there’s nothing quite as soothing as hearing Ryan utter the word “flapjack” again. I have trouble believing that this wasn’t an intentional move on the staff’s part. I also think Cake’s interest in expressive pancake art is charmingly silly, though not really enough to keep me captivated throughout the episode’s run.

I will say that the one character who did at least become a trifle more interesting is Gumball. While he sadly isn’t portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris in this episode (though Keith Ferguson at least gave it his all), we actually see a decent amount into Gumball’s psyche as Butterscotch Butler, the butterscotch Scottish butler, mentally eviscerates him using his fears against him. Not only does it give us an interesting look into Gumball’s insecurities and fears, but these can be easily seen as aspects of PB’s mentality as well, of which I have no doubt came into play because Ice King was snooping on her diary. How else would he know these dirty deeds?

The next few entries are pretty blah. I’m pretty sure a lot of people enjoy the scenes between Turtle Prince and Flame Prince for the added Yaoi, but aside from that, there’s really nothing there that’s particularly entertaining. I remember a whole bunch of people were upset that Flame Prince wasn’t voiced by Dante Basco (which was the headcanon at the time), but holy shit, I had no idea he was voiced by Hannibal Buress until I looked it up! I’m a big fan of The Eric Andre Show. In the next table, we’re treated to a story in which Marshall Lee attempts to feed Lumpy Space Prince his medicine. It’s pretty unfunny, it doesn’t really have an interesting narrative at the helm, and I just don’t really care about the antics between these two pretty non-compelling characters. There are two things worth mentioning: it’s pretty obvious that this is the third board that Kris Mukai worked on for this season when looking at Marshall Lee’s demon-wolf hybrid. I have to say that Mukai’s boarding is a big strength for the episode; Fionna and Cake is big on allusions to anime, and I think Mukai’s drawings and expressions (along with her board partner Aleks Sennwald) really help to carry those allusions forward. The other thing worth noting is that LSP is not voiced by Peter Serafinowicz in this episode, of which isn’t too much of a distraction, because I feel like it effectively distinguishes the authoring styles of both Ice King and Lumpy Space Princess.

The final story starts out pretty creatively, as we’re literally treated to a fanfiction, within a fanfiction, within a fanfiction, within a fanfiction. It’s an idea so ludicrous that only AT could pull it off, and is truly one of the few highlights of this episode that is both pretty funny and legitimately complex. It was cool to hear Grey DeLisle reprise her role as Ice Queen once more, though again, Ice Queen doesn’t offer too much to the actual story and her segment stops almost as quickly as it starts. It is a silly idea that Ice King is the initial creator of the Graybles, and the ending with the distressed Cuber got a legitimate laugh out of me. It’s sad to think that this is actually Cuber’s last episode in the series. While the Graybles episodes were never some of my favorites (aside from the thoroughly ambitious Graybles 1000+), Cuber was always the strongest and most delightful part of any Graybles episode, thanks to Emo Philips, who really brought his character to life.

Five Short Tables is pretty forgettable. I obviously don’t know what goes on inside the AT writing room, but if I had to guess, I’d say that the F&C episodes come simply out of the pressure of audience expectations and are never entirely what the crew wants to spend their time working on. I can’t say for certain, but I’ll at least say that Aleks Sennwald and Kris Mukai put enough effort into the visual and creative appeal of this episode that I can’t really get mad at it for being lazy, because there’s clear effort put into this one. The truth of the matter is that Fionna and Cake just don’t really have a ton to work with outside of their first appearance and the Graybles stories never fully land. It’s a crossover of two concepts that work together fine, but don’t really standout as anything slightly remarkable.

Thank you for joining me this week for the AT review bomb! With only 50 episodes left, we’re nearing the end. Be on the lookout for The Music Hole later this week, followed by the usual weekly Friday reviews, and then we resume with daily reviews as we move into the winter.

Favorite line: “The purple thing had a tablespoon of syrup.”

 

“The Prince Who Wanted Everything” Review

Original Airdate: June 26, 2014

Written & Storyboarded by: Adam Muto, Emily Partridge, Kent Osborne & Bert Youn

Blecch. The Prince Who Wanted Everything is the first stinker of the Fionna & Cake series, and a pretty blatant example of how these experimental episodes don’t really have much of a reason to keep being produced aside from a feeling of obligation based on fan reactions. The first was done strictly as a surreal passion project; I don’t think anyone on the AT crew knew how popular it would be, but as Fionna & Cake was met with practically universal praise, it only made sense for another F&C episode to be created. Two seasons later came Bad Little Boy, which was also well-received and a mostly solid outing, but kind of showcases the problem with Fionna and Cake episodes in general: the characters are basically carbon copies. Fionna has some interesting insecurities that were touched on in her first episode, but every episode that follows has her simply take on the role of Finn-Lite. She’s a good-hearted, laidback hero, and that’s about it. And the other characters, Gumball, Marshall Lee, Flame Prince, and so on are never given enough attention outside of their star episodes to actually have any selection of interesting character traits besides being slightly modified from their counterparts. Cake, on the other hand, is the only character who actually has a stand out presence in all of these entries, yet she’s often only given a small amount of screen time so the “Character of the Week” can hog all of the attention. And this episode’s star character is Lumpy Space Prince: a deeply unfunny gender-swapped version of Lumpy Space Princess that does absolutely nothing insightful or interesting, aside from being another chance to reinforce LSP’s vanity once more, as if that wasn’t already emphasized enough. Cut Rebecca Sugar – who was practically the mom of Fionna and Cake – out of the mix and you don’t really have a competent entry.

This episode notably starts up with Ice King tied up. Why is it notable? Because it’s freaking Ice King, you guys! We haven’t seen him in what feels like forever, and it’s a shame, because I feel as though he gets the least amount of screentime in season six. It makes sense, as this entire season mostly steps away from the main cast to delve into the lives of some of the lesser known citizens of Ooo, though Ice King doesn’t even get a fair chance to have an actual role in this episode. He’s simply a blank slate at the hands of his kidnapper, Lumpy Space Princess, and isn’t really given anything interesting to do aside from obliging to read LSP’s passion project. Could’ve been a much more enjoyable scenario if Ice King was argumentative about the way LSP wrote for his characters, or that he didn’t agree with where the story went, but he uncharacteristically goes along with it without saying a thing. Pretty lame.

The story itself poses an interesting concept, at least from my initial impressions. Lumpy Space Prince’s tale of running away from his parents and stumbling into Aaa (or Ooo… whatever is cannon at this point in time) could perhaps reference LSPrincess’s first experiences in Ooo and how she came across Finn and Jake, albeit highly exaggerated. Though, the way it’s executed is simply done in a way that we’ve seen so many times in other LSP episodes. Most of this episode just seems to retread the general idea that Gotcha! revolved around, which is that both Lumpy Space Princess and Prince misunderstand the type of people Finn/Fionna and Jake/Cake are and come to respect their simplicity and approaches to life by the end of the episode. The entire episode basically revolves around Lumpy Space Prince trying to understand how to live as a peasant but is constantly blindsided by his own pretentiousness. And God, how many times have we all seen the story of a rich snob who is enlightened by the simplicity of middle-class charm? It’s so overdone, and it isn’t carried out any more interestingly here.

Lumpy Space Prince’s voice actor (at the Princess’s request, of course), Peter Serafinowicz, certainly boasts a competent performance, but again, I don’t think he’s really given much to work with. Lumpy Space Prince is at his funniest through his expressions; his anime influenced “Handsome Face” is pretty amusing, even if it is a bit overused by the episode’s end. Regardless, it provides for some welcomed diversity among the typically expressive dotted eyes in the AT world. But again, Lumpy Space Prince’s primary character trait is his vanity, and it simply isn’t fun or interesting to watch him. He also has the displeasure of singing one of the show’s worst songs, period. “That’s All I Need” has a pretty awful melody, terrible lyrics, and a less-than-satisfactory performance from Serafinowicz. Feel bad making such a superficial comment about his singing voice, but some actors are simply not meant for said performance. And if the song was actually catchy, funny, or added something to the plot, I could forgive it, yet it does none of those things. Aside from some cool cameos of characters we haven’t seen before in this universe (namely Magic Ma’am), it just feels like it’s there to take up time.

Fionna and Cake are simply in this episode to be observers. Cake has some funny one-liners, as she constantly breaks the fourth wall, but Fionna really just does not do ANYTHING. Aside from giving an unintentional piece of advice to Lumpy Space Prince, Fionna just stands there and occasionally has a line or two. Sad to see she’s given such a boring role after her emotive and passionate presence in the past two F&C episodes. The one cool thing is that she actually is using the Wish Star Sword that she acquired within the Fionna & Cake comic series. Pretty awesome to see that something in the comics was actually adapted into the series, and it’s pretty much just there as a subtle Easter egg for any readers of said series. Also, Fionna’s model got updated to where it seems as though she’s matured more in her stance and body weight, and it looks somewhat off-putting to me. I dunno, the more realistic her anatomy gets, the more awkward and stiff it looks when you pair it with her really simplistic dotted eyes and lack of nose. Just looks kind of wonky to me.

I guess the ending where Lumpy Space Prince discovers that his indifference to his parents’ disapproval of his behavior is a bit of an introspective moment for LSPrincess, but it only makes me wonder what the point an episode like The Monster has in the grand scheme of things if LSP never truly grows as a character. I understand if the writing staff just wanted to keep her stagnant in her developmental process and never learn or grow as all of the other main characters do, but if you have an episode like The Monster where it seems as though she actually DOES learn something, than the episode merely feels like discontinuity. I can understand if her decision to move back into the woods was based on her stubbornness and belief that she can make it on her own, but it seems as though she merely goes back to thinking her parents are monsters who simply want the worst for herself. Nice to see she’s embracing herself and her own behavior, but silly that she’d view her parents this way after realizing how much they care for her in the past.

And, as the story ends, the book reveals itself as a simple method for LSP to find a man who is exactly like her. Yes, Lumpy Space Princess loves herself and thinks she is the greatest person imaginable. We get it. LSP is at her best in episodes like Bad Timing or the upcoming Be Sweet, where her self-obsessed behavior is shown to be a mere facade that covers up her insanity based insecurities. Episodes like The Prince Who Wanted Everything feel like a rehash of everything we’ve already seen and know about the character. It’s like one of the lesser SpongeBob SquarePants episodes that focuses entirely on Mr. Krab’s absolute greed. We get that he’s greedy, it’s literally his archetype. We don’t need entire episodes centered around this one-note joke about a character’s personality. It makes them seem less two-dimensional and entirely more shallow. Lumpy Space Princess may perhaps be the most one-dimensional of the main cast, though she at least proves herself to be at her most interesting when her narcissism plays a role in her absolute mental instability, or the rare example where she’s actually able to benefit others through her repugnant attitude (such as the Elements miniseries). Yet, this episode doesn’t do justice to her character or the Fionna and Cake series in general. With a whopping four writers at the helm of this one, I’d expect more of a successful outing.

Favorite line: “Y’all seeing those big floaty faces?”

“Bad Little Boy” Review

Original Airdate: February 18, 2013

Written & Storyboarded by: Cole Sanchez & Rebecca Sugar

Bad Little Boy is perhaps the last enjoyable episode in the Fionna and Cake saga. That’s not to say the later episodes don’t have their redeemable moments, but I think this is the last one I’d consider to be legitimately “good,” or at least enjoyable. Not to say that this one isn’t without it’s problems, though.

I really enjoy the silly beginning with Ice King’s purposely terrible Fionna and Cake vs. Dr. Prince escapade, though I really am not sure if this works with the overall continuity of Ice King as the author of Fionna and Cake. I mean, it seems like something Ice King would write, yet the story told in Fionna and Cake was a legitimately captivating and well-written story, ludicrous ending aside. And then you have Five Short Tables where, enjoyability factor aside, was also a very well-written, coherent story from the Ice King. So I’m not really sure I’m fully behind the idea of the IK being a shitty writer, because again, it’s been contradicted both in the past and the future. But bitching aside, this was a fun beginning, and I do really love how Ice King is just casually reading to a group of captured princesses. Honestly, rewatching these episodes, I’ve really never realized how fucking bad Wildberry Princess has it. I mean, I think she’s gotta be the most frequently captured princess in the entire series. And Ice King doesn’t even like her that much! Poor chick has to deal with silver fox trauma almost everyday.

The reactions to Ice King’s awful tale is where Marceline comes in, and I think it’s really cute that she was just chillin’ around the castle and spying on him. This is the first post-I Remember You interaction between the two, and it’s heartening to know that she already is comfortable enough with being around him that she doesn’t mind dropping by every now and then. And I appreciate how this episode is just them hanging out without any mention of their past history together. It’s nice to just see them shoot the shit for once.

Once Marceline’s story starts, it is nice to once again see Fionna, Cake, and Prince Gumball. Despite my feelings on the F&C episodes as a whole, I do appreciate these characters and the dynamic they share with each other. For instance, I like how Fionna is actually the one who’s kind of fed up with Gumball. The first episode established her as a strong female character WHO DON’T NEED NO MAN, and I’m glad this episode followed up with also showing off her general annoyance with Gumball’s prissiness. Also, this is sadly the last time we get to hear that lovely Neil Patrick Harris voice portray Gumball. This is why celebrity guest voices never work for recurring characters (looking at you, Lena Dunham.)

Speaking of celebrity voice actors, Donald Glover portrays Marshall Lee in this episode, and man, is it spot on! I recall back to that terrific fan-animated video featuring Marshall Lee and I remember thinking, “I hope the actual Marshall Lee sounds like that.” And I’m sure it wasn’t intentional, but Glover captures that exact tone and deliverance perfectly, while also adding a bit of experience and flare to his performance. Lee as a character is very enjoyable as well; he’s basically Marceline as a playful douche, but one that’s a lot of fun in that regard. I enjoy his carefree dickishness (“I know you’re gonna say yes to me, so let’s just go.”) and I think it makes a lot of sense that Marceline would portray herself as a carefree badass. Obviously she’s a lot more caring and sensitive than she puts on, but we’re still at a point in the series where she hasn’t completely sacrificed her laidback facade.

Good Little Girl/Bad Little Boy are sadly Rebecca Sugar’s last original songs during her time on the show (yeah, yeah, I know we still have Everything Stays, but that was long after she left the series) and it definitely hits on all that Sugar charm that makes her tunes so catchy and enjoyable. I’m not one of those people who thinks that Sugar leaving the show was some catastrophic event that ruined the series, but damn, did the show suffer song wise after her departure. I can count on one hand all of the AT songs I enjoy post season 5.2, while I can count all the songs I don’t like on one hand from the first five seasons. A shame, really.  Nevertheless, Good Little Girl is an enjoyable vocal and visual entry. I like all the genderbent characters that attend the concert, including new visitors, such as Ms. Pig and the female Marauaders. I also crack up at the fact that Lumpy Space Prince’s voice is identical to his female counterpart, which is later acknowledged, but I think it works best here. Also, I can’t get enough of Cake shaking her rump and singing about her hot potatoes. That was priceless.

The dynamic between Fionna, Marshall, and Cake works great as well. Again, I think Fionna is a little more mature and level-headed than our boy Finn, so it’s cool to see her fuck around with Marshall and not really fall for any of his bullshit, whereas Marceline usually leaves Finn hopelessly confused. Even strengthening her maturity is the idea that Fionna will allow Marshall to mess with her as much as possible, but once he messes with Cake, she don’t fuck around. This then transitions into the next song, where Marshall captures Cake and lays down some hardcore bars with his skeleton bros in a graveyard. This song isn’t quite as enjoyable or memorable as Good Little Girl, but it is nice for the show to utilize Glover to his fullest potential by giving him a chance to rap at all. And a pretty solid one, at that! Weird Al Yankovic still has yet to put out anything tolerably enjoyable during his time as Banana Man.

This conflict leads to some pretty gruesome shit where Marshall gets stabbed, which, even though it’s fake, is still pretty explicit for the show to feature. I do appreciate how the big emotional scene is just kind of treated as total bullshit and Fionna once again has the upper hand on the maturity scale, but it is kind of weird to see this coming from Marceline’s perspective. I love the idea that Marshall thinks Fionna is, “the realest person [he] has ever met,” which could easily be attributed toward Marcy’s perception of Finn, though the idea that Marshall Lee kinda puts on this attitude that Fionna is infatuated with him is… kind of strange, right? I assume Marceline doesn’t think this way about Finn, but why would she insert a quasi-romance between the two if it didn’t even cross her mind? Probably reading way too far into it, but it just is somewhat odd writing that I’m not sure I can ever really understand fully. I actually think I would’ve liked it better if the entire story was from Ice King’s perspective and it turns out he was reading to Marceline the entire time.

However, the story ends, and Ice King is visibly disappointed with the turnout. Again, not sure I understand why, as it seems almost completely identical to the first F&C story, but I’ll let it slide. I do enjoy him kicking everyone out and taking time to praise his Fionna and Cake ice shrines, even if I still believe this one would’ve made more sense before Mystery Dungeon.

Overall though, I think this one is decent. I think there’s some definite lulls; as much as I enjoy the beginning scene with the IK, it makes the actual F&C story seem a lot more frantically paced. I mean, the actual story doesn’t start till about three and a half minutes in, and while it does contain plenty of enjoyable moments, it just feels like it’s on fast forward. I do genuinely enjoy Marshall Lee and his interactions with Fionna and Cake, so a bit more time and focus on the actual story would’ve been much appreciated. This is a particularly nice looking episode, however. The backgrounds are great! Love the lighting in the concert sequence, the eeriness of the graveyard, and the sunrise that befalls Marshall, Fionna, and Cake. It all visually looks really impressive. Aside from the visuals, interactions, and a good chunk of funny moments, this episode doesn’t really live up to its predecessor, and the entire F&C saga kinda dies after this one. Sad to see that such  highly regarded element of the series only has two good episodes out of five, but Fionna and Cake is simply a concept that doesn’t have a ton of room to grow outside of the first episode. But, for now, I’ll enjoy the tasty remnants of this one, and prepare for the bad taste that The Prince Who Wanted Everything will eventually leave me with.

Favorite line: “Wildberry, don’t pretend; I know you like the silver foxes.”

“Fionna and Cake” Review

Original Airdate: September 5, 2011

Written & Storyboarded by: Adam Muto & Rebecca Sugar

A bit of background for this episode: the characters of Fionna and Cake were created by storyboard revisionist Natasha Allegri (as I’m writing this, it’s actually her birthday. Happy birthday, Natasha!). Allegri put the characters in several different humorous comic strips, and Pendleton Ward liked ‘em so much he said, “fuck it, why not make a whole episode around these two characters?”

That’s where Fionna and Cake comes in, the show’s first big experimental challenge. The thing about Fionna and Cake as characters is that it would’ve been so easy to just make them carbon copies of Finn and Jake. Adam Muto and Rebecca Sugar took it one step beyond that. Fionna and Cake become fully defined characters in the course of 11 minutes, and the Land of Aaa feels like its own entirely realized world, despite it being fictitious. That’s what works so greatly about Fionna and Cake; it is just like fanfiction, and can take characters, relationships, areas, and so on wherever it pleases. This episode is pure, illuminating enticement, from brilliantly using characters we all know and love and slightly altering them to giving us a legitimately well devised plot that would work entirely in a standard episode of the show.

As I mentioned, Fionna and Cake themselves are gender swaps of Finn and Jake that take on almost entirely different roles, but still retain attributes of the boys that inspired their creation. Fionna is very independent and even more mature than Finn, but maintains her love of adventure and excitement. This also works with her gender swap as well: she’s much less interested in what society stereotypes in terms of how women should be portrayed and more interested in what she loves to do, that being swinging swords and fighting bad guys. In addition, Cake’s possibly the most defined of the Fionna and Cake cast, and the most different from her male counterpart. Cake’s loyalty to Fionna and her relationship advice pose similarities to Jake, but she’s much more outspoken, sassy, and spunky. When it comes to others, there are minor differences, Gumball’s very proper demeanor and Ice Queen’s downright villainous persona, but part of the fun is just the way the two main leads work off of these characters. This episode captures pretty much all the AT typicalities: Fionna’s crush on Gumball, Ice Queen’s desire to marry Gumball, Cake and Lord Monochromicorn’s interest in each other (there’s an exclusive vinyl of the two that I’d give anything to have, but alas, I am a broke college student), and so on.

What really works beyond anything else in this episode is just how naturally it flows. A lot of the time with experimental episodes of television, I find myself in a brief moment of disbelief, no matter how good said episode might be, of whether it connects to the world of the series enough or has a chance of succeeding by pushing the boundaries so drastically. Right off the bat, Fionna and Cake takes you right into the action. It doesn’t take the time to introduce individually to everyone because, as I continuously mention, we already know these characters in a way. The idea that we’re able to so easily adjust to something that’s so wildly different, yet exactly the same, from the standard episode of Adventure Time is so delightfully pleasurable and only helps the viewer enjoy every bit of the journey a little bit more.

Aside from that, it’s just generally a really fun episode. There’s plenty of great jokes, primarily from Cake (love the bit with her and Monochromicorn out of breath). The song Gumball sings to Fionna is a catchy and sweet homage to Aladdin that gives the entire episode a big, sweeping cinematic feel. And, as I mentioned, just the general interactions between the characters. I really love the honesty of Fionna during her time with Gumball (“dude, that was like, the stupidest thing ever”) and just the fun of seeing all of the various gender swaps. A character like Marshall Lee, who became so popular off of less than five seconds of screen time, shows how enjoyable it is to be able to see pre-existing characters who you still don’t know a single thing about. They can be anything you want them to be in that sense, and you’re able to allow the mind to create whatever canon you please. Although, I think Lady Cinnamon Bun deserves more love. Was her inaudible dialogue with Gumball simply not enough? Also fitting is the addition of Gingerbread Rebecca taking Gingerbread Muto’s spot in the opening theme, especially considering the two worked together on the episode. Even little things, like the lack of change for BMO and Ice Queen’s penguins, are really nice touches that are so subtle that they may be overlooked.

The scene when faux Gumball brings her to his room is straight out of a horror movie, even dealing with the uncertainty of Fionna when it comes to intimacy. Finn is awkward and hesitant when it comes to his relationship with the Princess, but I always believe his reaction would be slightly different in this scenario. Maybe I’m just reading way too much into a brief moment, but I really think that Finn would look at this instance with shyness, but acceptance, whereas Fionna expresses briefly that she’s most likely uncomfortable.

Of course, she’s made even more uncomfortable when Gumball is revealed to be the Ice Queen. This whole sequence is some of the best animation in the entire series. It’s a thrilling battle between good and evil, equipped with just the right balance between the two that Ice Queen actually comes across as a threatening villain. It’s slick, smooth, and flowing, right down to the moment when Fionna smashes Ice Queen’s head in with her frozen hands. Once defeated, the scene when Cake runs in and attacks Gumball when she see’s Fionna’s ripped dress is another moment of significance. I could totally see Jake walking in and acting like Finn’s weird uncle and just giving him a simple thumbs up or a wink, but the gender swap allows for some interesting views of cultural differences that apply to our real world as well.

Finally, the ending reveal that the entire episode was a mere story from Ice King’s fanfiction. This pissed a lot of people off, but honestly, that makes it all the more interesting to me. Not only that Ice King wrote a surprisingly coherent piece of work outside of the ending, but it’s just really fascinating to view the entire story from Ice King’s perspective. His depictions of the characters are especially intriguing, right down to the fact that he wrote Ice Queen as a straight up villain. It almost makes you wonder if he believes this of himself, and Fionna’s line of “be careful! You might catch her crazy!” makes me question if deep down, Ice King subconsciously does know truths about himself that he wouldn’t consciously realize otherwise. There’s also the really creepy notion that Fionna is kissing Ice King in the cover, so I don’t know what to make of that, besides the more endearing version that Ice King simply likes the idea of Finn and Jake worshiping himself, rather than resenting him. That’s the fun part with future Fionna and Cake episodes. They are all told from a certain person’s perception (albeit the most recent one) and it leaves more room for analysis and allows us to unintentionally explore the author’s psyche.

All in all, I really love this one. It takes full advantage of the opportunity at hand, and goes one step beyond by giving us one of the most beautifully crafted episodes to date. This is truly my favorite of the Fionna and Cake saga. There are a couple of other goodies, but I think this one particularly crafted so much from so little. It’s an episode I never truly get tired of watching. Terrific character explorations, nice animation, terrific writing, lovely music (all thanks to a sweet hammered dulcimer), and genuine fun: it’s simply Adventure Time in its truest, most passionate format.

Favorite line: “Why are y’all breathless if we’re the ones running?”