“Cheers” Review

Original Airdate: September 28, 2023

Written & Storyboarded by: Anna Syvertsson, Hanna K. Nyström, Jim Campbell & Jackie Files

Finale time! Seeing the reaction to this finale was pretty intriguing to me – I don’t think I’ve ever seen the fandom react so negatively to an Adventure Time season finale to date. A lot of the criticism I witnessed was targeted at the Casper and Nova sections detracting from the actual story elements, Simon and Betty’s resolution feeling unsatisfactory, and the Fionna and Cake bits throwing some genuinely baffling curveballs. I have no idea if the contemporary consensus for Cheers is still this negative, but it was interesting to see such a drastic shift in goodwill after the first 8 episodes of the season were so beloved. While I agree with some of the critiques that people raised, I was left with mostly positive feelings post-finale. Granted, I’ve been doing AT finales for like, 14 years now. Expecting to be a little disappointed is part of the game!

We’re immediately thrown back into the Casper and Nova world, with a firsthand perspective of how they perceive their artificial world. Looooove the backgrounds Louie Zong whipped up for these segements. Really highlights Zong’s talent and ability to capture multiple sensibilities; his previous efforts in Casper & Nova feel like low-poly Nintendo 64 gameplay, while the backgrounds here are much more reminiscent of the fully rendered artwork from that time period. Don’t exactly love the 2-D designs for Casper, Nova, and the foes they face. The harsh black shadows work with the 3-D elements, but it looks relatively dated in a less aesthetically pleasing way when it comes to the general AT style. If it wasn’t already obvious by the previous episode, the Casper and Nova bits increasingly become apparent as an allegorical comparison to Simon and Betty’s relationship. I’ll admit, I think some sections of it, especially in the 2-D sections, go on a bit longer than is necessary, but I do think it serves as a fine exploration of Simon’s desires to follow his own instincts instead of looking toward resources outside himself. The finale isn’t exactly gracious to Simon – it paints him in a bit of a selfish light, resorting back to childish black-and-white scenarios that require Beth, someone with significantly less life experience, to put him in his place. I think it’s really what paints Simon as innately human; he’s spent the entirety of the season chasing after the highs and lows of his experience while ignoring the nuance between those moments that make them less absolute. All Simon has been able to see when reflecting on his relationship with Betty is this perfect, glossy romance that even we, Adventure Time fans, have bought into for years. It’s a romantic tragedy that has really only been presented with those incredible peaks and valleys, and only up until recent have we been able to see the subtle imperfections in their dynamic.

I think this was definitely something they needed to tread lightly, because going too strong on this thematically could’ve devalued Simon and Betty’s connection a bit too significantly. But I think they strike a good balance of reiterating that Simon and Betty’s love WAS true, just not perfect. I don’t think this is a complete curveball either, as elements of this imbalance were touched on in Temple of Mars when Betty laments how her own choices played out in their relationship. In general, I think most relationships ultimately play out with one partner sacrificing more than the other. So while there is a level of guilt that plays out in Simon’s head, I think, more than anything, it’s an important lesson he learns about no longer chasing after his own fantasies. In fact, he even grapples with the idea that, had he decided to join Betty on her own excursion, it may have led to an entirely different outcome that would’ve benefited them both in the long-run. This sounds like something that would only lead to more self-loathing and pain for Simon, but it’s ultimately what sets him free. Seeing the truth of his situation means that he’s no longer stuck romanticizing the past or even further becoming enmeshed with his ego. The fantasy sequence at the bus stop does get me a bit misty eyed; I think it’s quite beautiful to watch both Simon and Betty accepting the mess of their own relationship while acknowledging their true, deep love for each other. It’s hard to say whether this is truly the real Betty, a vision aided by GOLB, a hallucination from Simon, or a little bit all of the above, but it effectively sends Simon into a healing mindset where he realizes his own self-worth. After a call to Fionna from the GOLB realm (that I GUESS has cell service??) Simon fumbles one final time with his addiction to the crown’s allure, before ultimately tossing it into GOLB’s void.

Meanwhile, in Fionna’s world, we’re treated to a big battle between Scarab and the townsfolk of Fionna world, which have fun moments mixed into a mostly underwhelming mess. I liked seeing all of the various cosmic criminals released from Scarab’s Tamagotchi eggs, especially the Brooklyn-coded dude who seems like his only crime was not saying hello to Scarab in passing. The overtly gruesome death of Perry, the living island of insight, is mildly amusing, though I feel it’s a bit of a retread of the little buddy gag from The Pit. Cake shouting “Terry!” did get a chuckle out of me. Marshall and Gary get their fair share of funny moments; I love Gary murmuring “he’s hot” when observing Scarab, and Marshall’s “power of love” song immediately failing was great, especially because it’s a direct subversion to the climax of Obsidian. Cake’s kaiju monster morph is additionally fun – this is another episode that Steve Wolfhard served as the supervising director for, and you can tell he chimed in with a lot of very comical drawings and poses (he even got to see his own creation, Pawn Swan, come to life!). Oh! And I’ve been having trouble all season denoting which segments Hanna K. boarded, but this was the first time it was apparent to me: believe she handled the entire second portion of the episode, from about the 6 minute mark to the 12 minute mark. I really only deciphered this because of how Beth is drawn – Hanna loved having Jake’s ears hang off of his head and swoop up a bit, which is the same way Beth is portrayed here. So as long as Hanna keeps drawing dogs, I’ll be able to point out her boards in a jiffy. (EDIT: I was wrong – Hanna boarded the latter half of the episode. Ugh.)

I do also like how Fionna’s arc is ultimately wrapped up, as well as how it parallels Simon’s. Fionna and Simon were both on complete opposite ends of the spectrum: Fionna was heavily involved with her own self-cherishment, while Simon was bludgeoned by self-loathing. Yet, both were overly invested in their own plights and unable to see the reality and worth of the world around them and the part they play in making it a better place. Given the option to design her world however she wants it, Fionna opts to selflessly contribute to the happiness of those around her, giving them what they want and in turn making herself feel more fulfilled. Again, very similar to how Simon pushes away from his own hyperfixation toward self-annihilation and chooses a path that is instead focused on bettering the world of everyone involved. It’s a decision that leads to potentially the most chaotic choice that GOLB has made since her inception: letting Simon survive instead of becoming wiped from all of existence. It’s a decision that’s so out of the blue that it transforms GOLB into something that we don’t ever get to see in detail. Is Betty back to her human self? I’d guess probably not, and it’d be even more bleak if human Betty was just chillin’ out there in an endless void. But I do believe these choices have led to an unprecedented change in how GOLB operates, which is eventually alluded to in the end credits’ sequence. Simon is set free and we get a few more fun glimpses into the multiverse as he returns to Ooo, including the Water Park Prank universe being canonized (I do seriously love how the guest animator episodes are now just confirmed to be different parts of the cosmos entirely) and a universe where Magwood still possesses her jewels, possibly hinting at a crownless universe. And that fuckin’ snail clearly can’t stay away, because even though we saw his lifeless shell in previous episodes, he’s back kickin’ it once more! Here’s to hundreds of more obligatory snail cameos as the franchise continues onward.

That’s about where the good stuff ends for this one, save for a few parts in the ending montage, but I’ll get into that in a bit. AT has kind of steered clear of big battle territory in the past, much to the dismay of a lot of fans who wanted to see more combat and high-stakes scenarios being thrown into the series, but aside from the thematic elements, the tension in Fionna World once again meanders. Most of the stuff with Scarab goes on way too long, to the point where they defeat him multiple times, only for him to get back up again. I think it’s pretty safe to say at this point that Scarab may be the weakest addition to this entire season, really only feeling like a foil and never proving himself to be funny, intimidating, or insightful enough to carry his own. I do like how, ultimately, Prismo’s Boss is left in secret, as I feel it would maybe be too much to try to tack on at this point in the game. Most of the battle between Scarab and the denizens of Fionna World are middling enough, but things get extra lame when we’re reintroduced to a lot of the supporting players of the season, recruited by Prismo. It’s a pretty weak way to shoehorn these characters in at the last minute, and unlike the inclusion of Shermy and Beth, I don’t think Jay, Little Destiny, Baby Finn, and the Marc Maron squirrel are fun enough to justify their roles. Genuinely, if it weren’t for the Marc Maron squirrel fulfilling Fionna’s giantess fantasy (and the fantasy of some of you FREAKS out there), the other ragtag players don’t really do much to help. Baby Finn was really only there because I guess it would’ve been too morbid to leave him to die in the vampire universe. I guess it is funny that Jay now takes care of an infantile version of his father. Speaking of which, following the defeat of Scarab, Jay and Little Destiny decide to stay in Fionna World permanently. Uhhhhh, sure??? A lot of people were kinda pissed off that Jay just ditches his family life back on Farmworld, which like, whatever, I guess you could argue they’re rebellious teenagers that aren’t fully grasping the severity of their choices? But I think it’s just an objectively dumb way to wrap up their arc. If the series wasn’t renewed, I think it would just leave somewhat of a bad taste in my mouth that there’s no level of acknowledgement about what these two left behind in their homeworld. But since the series has been renewed, I’m equally uninterested in seeing where this goes. I don’t really care about these characters enough to see their choices fleshed out for potentially an entire season, and it seems inevitable that they’ll now have to explore these decisions in some way. Unless they just Choose Goose it and unceremoniously say they moved back home or something. Either way, it’s an incredibly tone deaf conclusion to their journey.

No disrespect to the artist who performed the song in the ending montage, but man, I really do not like it. It feels very… non-Pixar animated film electro-poppy end credits esque? I don’t know if that’s actually a thing, but that’s what it registers in my soul. A little too cheesy for my liking, especially with how uncharacteristically neat everything is tied up for an AT outing. But I get it, they probably weren’t sure if they were gonna get renewed and wanted to mesh everything together in a nice way. They just didn’t consider that I am a cynical almost 30 something year old man and they should be making this show for ME. Can’t wait to rant and bitch about the BMO pre-school show when it doesn’t have any type of pathos I can connect to. There’s a few moments I dig: I like Prismo and Scarab paling around in the Timeroom together, with Scarab playing into his edgy teenage sensibilities by creating a gothic fanfic. It’s cool that Simon educating Astrid creates somewhat of a paradox, making her the true author of the Casper and Nova sequences – very cute! Loved seeing Minerva once more, along with the somewhat unsentimental cap to Simon’s journey. We see him having fun and exploring, but I think the advice Minerva gives is pretty sound and doesn’t just wipe away the turmoil he’s experienced up to this point. Also, wonder if him moving means he’s going to join Fionna World for future seasons. Would be pretty weird if he wasn’t apart of it at all now, so we’ll just have to see what that implies! The episode caps off shortly after, with Fionna nurturing her now slightly magic world, along with a post credits scene much different than the one we saw in Distant Lands. A yellow square and red pyramid merge together, possibly symbolizing Simon and Betty’s relationship, along with the order of Prismo’s Timeroom and the chaos of GOLB realm. The combination creates an apple with a bow tied around it, perhaps playing into GOLBetty’s transformation once yin and yang came together. Some other people have speculated that the apple is a dedication to Polly Lou Livingston’s passing, which, d’awww, I like that as well.

But yeah, for the most part, it’s a pretty middling finale. I do think I lean maybe a bit more positive than other people do? That is to say, I think the bad parts of this episode are probably worse than most of the season has been up to this point. But the good aspects, namely Simon and his interactions with GOLBetty, are really great. Simon’s arc has really carried most of the season in a very strong way, but I will give credit that Fionna’s role isn’t terrible. I think it capped off in a relatively satisfying way, and while I’m critical about a lot of what occurs in Fionna World, I do think Fionna and Cake’s inclusion was at least miles better than what I was expecting from the series during a first announcement, even if most of their journey boils down to being relatively generic. But I’ll get into that more in the season review, which I’m hoping to get out before the end of the year (hopefully!). I also wanna churn out at least one bonus post of an idea I’ve been kicking around for a while, but it took me a whole year to review just 10 episodes, so no promises! As always, thanks for reading up to this point, and stay tuned for more stuff down the line!

Favorite line: “Hey Beth, I was a prisoner in my own head!”