Original Airdate: November 6, 2025
Written & Storyboarded by: Charmaine Verhagen, Maya Petersen, Kris Mukai & Hanna K. Nyström
Shipping has always been kind of an intrinsic element of the F&C world. The first three episodes featuring Fionna and Cake were mainly designed around showcasing the most prominent pairings in the series and letting them run rampant. So to see that the series is still very much interested in playing around with these pairings, while combining them with the dissection of fairytale tropes, is quite a fitting pair. Even if I still have some qualms about the presentation itself.
Let’s tackle the Fionna and Cake stuff first. I’m slightly more optimistic about some character work within Fionna-World this week, even if the story beats still are not doing it for me. I just still can’t really get behind the more grounded elements of this world no matter how hard I try, and think that’s just going to be kind of a constant every time we spend an extended bit of time in this realm. So rather than continue to emphasize my qualms with the direction of the series, I’m gonna focus more on what is working up to this point. I actually like how much of a loser Fionna is! I was worried that, with her arc somewhat completed in the previous season, all of the parts that made her unique in the past would kind of be watered down. There’s been glimpses of her struggling to change in the first two episodes, and while this direction has kind of been teased for a while, I had worried she was maybe a little too conscientious. It’s hard to pull off the notion of a character being selfish when she’s constantly thinking about the others around her, but she’s pretty self-destructive here. She self medicates by binge drinking, throws herself onto Hunter, and is actively resentful of somebody who she doesn’t even know.
Breaking through the idyllic 90’s sitcom backdrop, Fionna’s struggle to actually find stability in her life is quite well done. I remember everyone kind of wincing at the fact when Muto revealed that these characters were somewhere in their late 20s, because the expectation has always been that once you get to that point in your life, you should pretty much have it figured out. Fionna’s role has consistently proven that there’s no amount of guaranteed reprieve for the work that you’ve put in and the suffering you’ve endured, which is a sad truth that she’d rather bury underneath the desire for any type of connection at all. Once again, Madeleine Martin breathes a lot of life into this character, really selling the emotional scenes where she’s at her absolute lowest. It’s additionally sad to see that she seemingly is still traumatized from her experience with the Winter King. There’s a brief flash of his face when she tries to kiss Hunter, and it’s not really explored in much more detail than that. Just a glimpse of how much it’s still lingering in her subconscious, something the season has not shied away from. Also, fans have been speculating that Hunter is trans. There’s a shot of him taking his shirt off, with a scar shown around his chest area. Could just be a wound, but very cool inclusion to see if not, and once again very subtle. It’s nice that this series has been continuing to advocate for the LGTBQIA+ community amidst a world that has grown increasingly oppressive. (UPDATE: The night after this episode aired, Hunter’s voice actor confirmed that the scars are indeed from top surgery)
It’s additionally neat to see how Fionna’s “soul connection” with Phelix is crushed in a way that both connects it back to her Ooo counterpart and also somewhat shatters it. Finn and FP have a bit of a tumultuous relationship back in the original series and it’s no exception here, with Fionna mistaking her connection with Phelix as some sort of prophetic love bond, instead of a stepping stone for moving on to something more healthy. Finn and Fionna both yearn for their former partner and don’t see the potential red flags that come with pursuing something that they probably should’ve left in the past, but the dynamics have changed a bit where the emotional maturity seems much more of a fault on DJ Flame’s side rather than Fionna. I mean, he invited his ex to his concert only to make out with his current girlfriend on stage, with Fennel finally debuting by name (and finally getting a win! Nice flip flop of Finn’s connection to Fern). It’s referenced back in Ooo when Flame Princess mentions that she herself has a new relationship, showing that this is a romance that just simply wasn’t meant to last in all corners of the multiverse. Was gonna wait to talk about her in the Ooo segments, but holy shit, it’s Flame Princess! So wonderful to see her again after years of being absent, even if it ends up just being a notion of debunking true love’s kiss. I think the series has been pretty smart in showing that, even with connections that span across universes, there are subtle dynamics that set them apart. While I’m convinced that Fionna and Phelix’s relationship was purely a mismatch of contrasting wants and needs, Flame Princess shares a poignant moment and acknowledges that she did love Finn. I feel like it would be a bit of a disservice to show this relationship only as a missed opportunity, but the episode very cleverly sprinkles in this impactful moment to remind us that what we were watching for so many years wasn’t entirely surface level.
Granted, I do feel somewhat like it continues to be a disservice to Flame Princess how much her role has been squandered throughout the years. DJ Flame seems pretty one-dimensional, and I’m not sure I really see them trying to do anything to flesh him out further. Of course, I could be wrong, but with so many different characters to explore I somewhat doubt he’ll really get any true time to shine. Not that I really want to see him take on a bigger role, I don’t really like the character that much. But with so many iterations of Ooo’s citizens getting their own loving portrayal in Fionna-World, it seems kind of sad to see FP’s role demoted so egregiously to further add tension in Fionna’s life. And as much as I liked FP’s sweet new fire suit, to have her show up so many years only to reinstate her relationship with Finn is somewhat of a bummer, despite how much I liked the scene itself. It just is kind of sad to me how much promise this character started out with, only to be overshadowed by nearly every other major cast member in the series and even ones who began more in the background, like Huntress Wizard. Poor FP.
Additionally, I actually quite like Cake’s whole arc that the season has been playing with! I enjoy how much Cake has additionally filled Finn’s shoes this season; Finn’s role in the original series was always that he was the only one of his kind contrasted by a world of colorfully odd characters that he struggled to truly relate to. With Cake, she’s the odd one out now, trying desperately to connect to a normal world and not knowing how to. I mentioned in the previous season that I didn’t really think Cake needed to have an arc and that I’d be fine if she was really just there for comic relief, but I think this is a legitimately interesting way to explore the addition to magic in this world. Namely because I’m really not sure how this works. Is it going to be normal for a human man to be dating a magic cat? What are the ethics of this? With all of the ways that this season has ruthlessly been demolishing fairytale tropes, I would not be surprised if this ended in heartbreak for her, but genuinely this is one of the parts of the season where I’m not certain exactly what it’s trying to say or where it’s going. Like last season, I kinda get the gist with where they’re heading with Fionna’s character, and what lessons she has to learn to feel more comfortable in her skin. With Cake, it’s kind of a mystery, and it’s neat “will they, won’t they” that comes with a plethora of different predicaments.
Some other bits I liked in this section: Gary’s little gushing over Marshall singing was funny, as was Ellis P.’s fairly useless attempt at helping the team. I continue to enjoy the special title sequences that play around with different styles, this one feeling sort of like a Little Golden Book story. I initially just saw the transition into Fionna-World as a comparison point for the more fantastical things that were happening prior, but I’m pretty sure this is portraying the exact moment when Simon was zapped of his magic mind. It’s cool how these characters have backstories and whole lives that kind of just happened despite the fact that they just suddenly incarnated into the bodies of late teenagers. Also, Cake origin story! I love how it all started with a sandwich – once again, these characters can only be so strong outside of their universal traits.
Over in Ooo, we’re treated to a return of all the princesses we’ve come to know, including newer entries like See-Through Princess and a deepcut like Cotton Candy Princess. It did my heart good to see so many classics back again, with several getting their own moments grandeur. Wildberry Princess reminding us that she’s bent on carnage and taking out a Banana Guard, Hot Dog Princess trying to get freaky with it, Breakfast Princess still being prissy, and even LSP being up to her usual antics. Although there is a human stand-in for her that we check in with regularly, I truly missed LSP (or LSQ now?)! I also like how tertiary characters like Embryo Princess, Emerald Princess, and Engagement Ring Princess get their moment in the limelight by reminding us of their connection to the Enchiridion’s power. Granted, I would be shocked if they got anything to do outside of a line or two, but having background entities that have been in the series for so long actually have a role in plot development is quite nice. Simon, PB, and Marcy all continue to provide enjoyment in these sections. Simon’s pretty much the only voice of reason among this gaggle of insane princesses who are either just trying to get it on with someone on their deathbed or have no idea what to do. I think this could’ve easily dumbed down Peebs a little too much, but she’s grappled with magic in the past at the expense of her own scientific pride. I’m sure she doesn’t really buy into the idea that “true love’s kiss” is really what is going to help Finn, but her desperation and lack of understanding about the mystical world are quite clear, once again sold perfectly by Hynden Walch’s performance. It’s a bit of a bummer that John DiMaggio isn’t around, even for his smaller parts of a Banana Guard and Muscle Princess. I would guess that they asked him to come back in some capacity, and I wonder if he turned it down either because of a busy schedule or out of a lack of interest in being delegated to bit parts.
Baked into the C-plot is some cosmic junk, bringing a glitchy Prismo, Scarab, and Cosmic Owl back to the forefront. Kumail Nanjiani is once again back as Prismo, which is delightful to see. Again, while I thought Sean Rohani did a fine job last season, it just feels so right to have Nanjiani back in the driver’s seat. I like the little portions in the Time Room, along with the vague explanation of how the mystical world works. It’ll be interesting to see if the Sean Rohani character last episode ends up being some new cosmic being that exists beyond the multiverse; loving the idea of expanding this world even bigger than it already is. I couldn’t get into Scrabby much last season, but I do like his dynamic with Prismo, and it’s nice to see that now that he’s not the primary antagonist of the series, he’s allowed to soak up goofier moments and feel less tryhard. Cosmic Owl is next to suffer a fated recast, though this makes sense with the death of his original voice actor, M. Emmet Walsh. The new voice actor is fine, though I find Walsh’s inflections to be way funnier. I like the lingering tension built around whose croak dream he would be apart of, even if I was nearly certain that it wouldn’t be Finn or Huntress Wizard. To have it be Big D was fun twist, with the implication that we’re gonna be seeing some changes in the exploration of FarmWorld this season. I really didn’t expect Peanut to get any kind of bigger role after last season, so watching him be propped up as a new antagonist is certainly fun. The dream sequence itself is mostly straightforward; I was gonna note how there is also a wolf in this dream as there was previously in The Hare and the Sprout, though this instance appears to be a lot more literal than metaphorical.
And then there’s Huntress Wizard, who is pretty insignificant in the overall story because of her current state. Save for a separate dream sequence that once again incorporates Dream Warrior, once again seemingly confirming that he is the same person as Spirit Warrior. Similar to his role in Who Would Win, he offers cryptic advice ala The Man from Another Place from Twin Peaks (along with more Cheers references that I continue to groan at). I imagine HW will be exploring this advice more as the season continues on, but I couldn’t help but feel these ambiguous offerings also pertained to Fionna’s journey. “Follow the beet to the roots,” i.e. Fionna followed the “beat” of both her heart and DJ Flame’s set pieces to discover the root of her problems, namely her desire for instant gratification. Additionally, “a broken tool seeks the flame,” speaks to Fionna’s inherent sense of brokenness and her desire for a spark to keep her going. This is probably all a stretch, but as I’ve said before, it’s always fun to play around with the different theories and meanings you can derive from each mystery.
One brief aside about this episode: there was a lot of discourse about the frame of PB and Marceline on the balcony when the trailer for this season dropped. A lot of people pointed out how close their eyes were drawn together and used it as a statement to how much the show’s individual style has been butchered over time. While I think there’s an argument to be made for the show’s art design evolving from the beginning of the series to now, the instance that people pointed out is literally just how Kris Mukai draws the characters. The pupils being so close together bleeds through her entire section of the episode (from the 3:20 mark to about the 8:50 mark), but they don’t really look like that in any other portion. So there, everyone can stop complaining about this now! Let’s protect the individual contributions of board artists bleeding through instead of it feeling like one homogenized visual experience. (EDIT: THINK these were actually instances of Hanna K’s style, as opposed to Mukai. Still!)
This one is alright, I think a lot of it does depend on how much you enjoy the Fionna-World stuff, and at the risk of beating a dead horse, I am not super into it. But I think it would be to the detriment of this blog if I didn’t at least try to engage with what these segments are trying to accomplish, and as is, I think they’re doing a decent job at it. There’s plenty I do like in this, it just so happens that the direction of these episodes so far has not particularly been my cup of tea. It just wouldn’t be fair to the talented staff who do continue to put a lot into each episode if I was to dismiss it entirely. As is, I continue to be drawn more into the parts of the show that engrossed me to begin with, while feeling more distant to the human elements. But biases aside, I have to give credit where credit is due to the parts that are succeeding and managing to catch my attention as the season progresses.
This week’s artist shoutout is Elle Michalka, who designed the special opening for this episode. Michalka has worked as an art director for several of AT‘s sister shows, including Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, and The Midnight Gospel, as well as Pendleton Ward’s recent pilot Mystery Cuddlers. Michalka’s visual design is gorgeous, and it was a great call to utilize her for the style the intro was going for. Michalka’s designed several other pieces that pay homage to Little Golden Book, like Steven Universe‘s The Tale of Steven and the storybook sequence for the movie. You can check out her portfolio here.
Adventure Time Reviewed 