Tag: Jackie Files

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“The Insect That Sang” Review

Adventure Time Reviewed

Original Airdate: December 11, 2025

Written & Storyboarded by: Graham Falk, Iggy Craig, Jackie Files & Sonja von Marensdorff

Holy moly, we made it! The moment everyone’s been waiting for: the fundraiser!!! So much of this season has been designed around this one plot point that a lot people have pinned as a lackluster motivation, but I always kind of figured that it would play out as a red herring. It’s a very generic 90’s sitcom dilemma, which the season has alluded to time and time again, but here, we actually get to see the fundraiser play out in real time. It’s about underwhelming as you’d expect. I’ve also been fairly forgiving with the pacing this season, as I felt that the consistent complaints about nothing happening in Fionna-World were hyperbolic at best, with most of the action being carried across in meaningful, albeit less exciting character moments. Here, I feel like we speed-run through important character moments in both the Fionna-World segments and the cosmic bits, while still feeling like this episode is jam packed with fodder that doesn’t really add to the experience or story in any meaningful way.


Let’s jump around a bit and start with the cosmic stuff. It’s great to see Orbo again, as well as the other gods (y’all know my affinity for God Lard). Fionna and Huntress are judged by Orbo for their crime of killing the Cosmic Owl, which leads me to believe that the Citadel is indeed no longer functional after the events of Escape From the Citadel. Ratted out by, of course, Scarab. I really didn’t like Scarab as a main antagonist last season, but I enjoy the little inclusion of him as more of a secondary villain. He’s just such a hammy little stick in the mud that it’s hard not to get behind his obsessive tendencies towards law and order and his dramatic patterns of speech. Most of the trial itself is very funny, with some great lines from Fionna herself: “I’ve seen like, five episodes of Night Court,” “call my fake dad!” and “eyewitness accounts are wrong like, 70% of the time.” There’s a brief clip of Rumble Jaw that Scarab flips onto in the Time Room, which was the fake project that the AT team whipped up to disguise that Distant Lands was in the works. My boy Party God gets to join in the fun! There’s also a brief “Jesus” mention from Orbo, which we’ve seen in the Fionna-World segments, but never beyond that world. I’m probably the only one who cares about something like that, but the implication of there being a Jesus in this world is way too funny/intriguing to me. Brief aside, if you are also into that concept, check Jesse Moynihan’s recent pilot. It’s a completely bonkers exploration of a dystopian future, and if you love the more heady bits of Adventure Time, I think this will be right up your alley.

Anywho, back to the episode in question, as much as I am delighted to see more of the cosmos, there’s just as much that frustrates me with the trial itself. Fionna throwing Finn under the bus is probably her most controversial move to date (among others later in the episode) and I don’t really think it works for me. I’ll commend the team for really pushing their main character towards unhealthy levels of recklessness and I get that a lot of this episode is supposed to show her at her breaking point, but I think the execution is pretty wonky. One, because I don’t think she’s a good liar to begin with. She comes up with a handful of different fabrications that Orbo and the other gods aren’t really buying into and don’t make any sense, so I think it’s a bit gimmicky that they would even believe this at all given that she hasn’t told them the truth once and they decide to montage over the sequence where she actually explains how Finn killed Cosmic Owl. Second, I could understand this more if she panics in the moment and just blurts out that Finn did it right away, later apologizing to Huntress for her moment of weakness. You can kind of get a sense of her panic here, but I think it feels a lot more calculated. She comes up with it on the spot, really sells it, and then backs her decision up to Huntress Wizard later on. I don’t know, I’ve defended the season up to this point on making her kind of an asshole, but I think this is pushing it a bit much just for the sake of finally getting Finn involved in the action and paralleling Cosmic Owl’s previous actions with his brother. It didn’t feel like an earned moment of weakness for me personally, especially with everything she went through and experienced in The Bird in the Clock, and I think Huntress Wizard being so uncharacteristically nonchalant about it after they return to Fionna-World added to it feeling poorly executed. Speaking of which, I really didn’t like Prismo’s inclusion either. I thought it was kind of tasteless to have this sort of gag where he’s drunk and really depressed about his friend dying. With how well last season quietly handled Prismo’s grief, I thought it was a really lame move to play up his sadness in a pretty comical degree.


Onto the fundraiser itself, Cake takes the lead in putting everything together in Fionna’s absence, and I think she’s solidified herself as my favorite character in this series. Which honestly isn’t surprising, I’ve always felt that way about Cake in the original episodes. But beyond her ability to just be very funny, Cake probably has the best arc in this season as well. I continue to love the exploration of her character as she struggles with her identity and fawns over M-Cron in the process. I love the commitment of having her and a human character paired together, something that really has revved up the alt-right community online for some reason. There’s been a lot of people claiming that this pairing is disgusting because it’s between a human and a cat, but I dunno y’all, have you seen this show before? Finn symbolically fucked a crab in Breezy, having cross-species relationships is nothing new. I think it’s both hilarious and very sweet how much they’ve committed to this idea, and while I initially thought that the obvious set up for this couple is that Cake would come to the realization that it wouldn’t work out, I hope that doesn’t happen! I think their connection has been very convincingly sweet, and I’d be bummed if they don’t end up getting a happy ending.

We get to watch the acts of Boys Night, and boy, is it laaame. Besides that Marshmallow Kid once again killing it and Marc Maron squirrel delighting me with his presence, I did cringe a little bit at some of the set pieces. Namely Marshall’s song, which I thought was laughably bad. It goes without saying that most of the character drama hasn’t really worked for me up to this point outside of Fionna and Cake’s journey, so trying to play this off as a powerful moment for a character who has had a pretty hackneyed plight all season just flops completely. I know there’s people online that would literally die for this character, but I’m sorry, both Marshall and Gary are such weak links for me. It doesn’t help that we have another dynamic included that I’m less than invested in, being Simone and Marshall reuniting. I once again don’t really care about this connection and think it’s even less than intriguing that Simone is just a totally rational human being who can be communicated with at any point. I kinda figured that snaggle tooth we saw her with in The Cat Who Tipped the Box indicated that she was a bit gone mentally, similar to her other worldly counterpart. I hate to keep making comparisons between Ooo’s world and Fionna-World, because I don’t think that these characters need to be entirely like their counterparts. But when they take these alternate versions and really don’t give them any characteristics aside from being generic and nice, it just feels like I’m watching a washed down version of the original series to begin with.


It additionally doesn’t help that Fionna’s connection with Phelix finally comes to a breaking point where the two share a kiss directly in front of Fennel. Once again, I’ve come to the defense of this storyline throughout the season because it felt more like an internal struggle for Fionna and less like it would play out in the traditional teenage romance drama. But nah, here it is pretty much just the latter. It’s funny how much the season has been playing around with mocking sitcoms and trashy 90s shows while pretty much playing into those tropes and storylines without any degree of irony. We’ve gotten about a dozen dunks at Cheers, but is this really writing that feels above that territory at times? I also really can’t stand Phelix at this point, he’s such a nothing burger of a character. We barely see anything from his perspective so I cannot get any kind of indication of who he is supposed to be besides the fact that he’s kind of an airhead. This series seems so against villainizing any of the human characters in any degree, but in doing so, it makes nothing about Phelix feel consistent. I guess he’s emotionally immature? Or a fuckboy? But the show simultaneously wants you to like him and find him charming? It’s such a poor character journey, and I’ve purposefully kept my mouth shut about it in hopes that it wouldn’t boil over into such trashy fodder. But here we are. I will give kudos that I like the continued bit of trauma Fionna experiences when getting close to anyone as a result of her experience with the Winter King last season.

I don’t hate the idea of Fionna being at her breaking point either and destroying the Sweet Spot, but once again, I think it plays out a bit over the top. She’s borderline devious in how she destroys everything, I think it’s a lot harder to feel for her when her pain isn’t demonstrated in a particularly relatable light. I think, had she gone off and got drunk similar to The Lion of Embers, came back and tearfully destroyed the Sweet Spot, it probably would’ve paid off a lot more successfully. But when she’s this much of a loose canon it comes off a bit ridiculous, and I think it all happens much too quickly. Granted, you have a season entirely revolving around her failing mental state, I just don’t think this level of cartoonish exploding is necessarily earned or executed with the level of pathos that it should be.


And man, what the fuck is even going on with Huntress Wizard? She’s had like, maybe half an episode the entire season dedicated to her arc and has been meandering around all the while. I’ve argued that this is the inverse of last season, where Fionna and Cake are the main players while the third team member is becoming accustomed to their world, but I really don’t think the balance was this uneven last season. HW has occupied such a tertiary role that it’s almost comical hearing her say “I have to find the heart” at least three times every episode. I really feel like this season has lost the mark with her, and it feels all but too late at this point for her to have a successful resolution. I’ll eat my words if necessary, but so much of this season has failed to make her a compelling tritagonist to the point where I almost forgot to mention her at all in this write-up.

I’ve mostly been ragging on this one but I’ll give it the benefit that it’s quite funny. The Lemoncarbs trapping Phelix is great, as are their sick dance moves. Cake consistently provides for some great visual humor, with really great expressions to boot. Hana Abadeer’s quick exit at the beginning additionally got me good, which makes it even harder to root for her son when she’s such a darn fun villain to begin with. I liked seeing all the little Tamagotchi boys once again, proving that these trapped deities only really have future job security when it comes to, well, security. And, over in the brief Ooo bits, having a very somber death being executed with PB’s Ball Blam Burglerber was classic AT goodness, as was her random expression of German dialogue. But I don’t think the more humorous bits in this one are enough to make me feel less tired than I already do. I like a lot of the ideas this episode has on paper, but in motion, I just think it misses the mark. I’m not sure if it’s just the season weighing heavily on my shoulders, but this episode in particular just rubbed me the wrong way. I’m just getting so tired of this trite world and its generic characters and the gimmicky, forced way that drama comes about. There’s still two episodes left to really wow me, but after eight episodes of all three main stories failing to come together in a meaningful way for me, I’m left with one pitiful sentiment: I just do not care anymore.


On a brighter note, the guest sequence is very fun! Directed by Jonni Peppers, an indie animator I’ve been fond of for quite sometime. She made an entire feature length animated film on YouTube only using funds from her Patreon, which is a super impressive feat. You can check out her portfolio here, and I’d additionally recommend checking out her film Barber Westchester.

Favorite line: “Call my fake dad!”

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“The Bird in the Clock” Review

Adventure Time Reviewed

Original Airdate: November 27, 2025

Written & Storyboarded by: Jackie Files, Iggy Craig, Jacob Winkler & Graham Falk

Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!

I always love AT‘s dream episodes, as they usually allow for some of the most freeform opportunities to explore trippy visuals and hidden symbolism. It’s something that’s been crucial to the series since its very early days, with the Cosmic Owl’s presence being reinstated time and time again. It’s only fitting that the conclusion to this character’s role in the series is given a proper send-off, in yet another really fun excursion.


Before we get into the main story, there’s another guest-directed opening, spearheaded once again by Graham Falk. It really bummed me out that last episode broke up the momentum with the special sequences, so I’m glad to see they’re back once again. So far, I think Falk’s sections are my absolute favorite of the bunch. I love his malleable, cartoony style that somehow additionally meshes so well with the cosmic side of the series. I would’ve never expected Cosmic Owl to have a dedicated backstory, yet here we are. The story of the brothers and their cosmic crimes is fun, with some clear inspiration points in mind. Twins are commonplace in mythology, along with trickery going hand-in-hand, with the Maya Hero Twins feeling like a potential point. I also get big Adam and Eve vibes with the etheric pizza being a stand-in for the forbidden fruit, and the brothers simultaneously being cast out as a result (wouldn’t be the first biblical reference this season). Of course, this is done in the most Adventure Time-y way possible, mixing very comic novelties with genuine mythos. Also, so glad to see my boy God Lard back once again. It’s like the team read all of my complaints about the season so far and retroactively put him in the episode, just to shut me up a little. Really nice to hear Sean Rohani back again as well, narrating the entirety of the opening. It’s so sweet how they found a way to incorporate both Rohani and Nanjiani in meaningful ways, never feeling like Rohani really had to compromise too heavily as a result. We also have the return of the Citadel Guardians after a loooong absence from the series, and it seems like there’s even more to come with them in the future. Oh, we are so back!

Let’s get to the stuff I really like: the dream section. There’s a few different ways to tackle this, so I’ll jump on Fionna’s stuff first. It’s really cool how much Fionna’s fears range from average human psyche biz to absolute dimensional horror. We get a brief interlude into Marshall Lee and (possibly?) DJ Flame’s dreamscapes and they’re entirely connected to pretty standard neuroses and fantasies that come with being human. Fionna is both tied to her fear of being loser as well as the trauma she’s experienced throughout the multiverse. This season has been really smart at making this a quiet backdrop for her character; I’ve always liked how much repression is a common theme in the series. So many of these characters don’t deal with their trauma on a conscious level, and that’s kind of the basis of the original series in general. Everyone is carelessly trying to figure out how to act and survive in the aftermath of a world-altering shift that is rarely ever dealt with head-on. So, to have Fionna have these subconscious glimpses into her guilt and fear, without necessarily pathologizing it, is very cleverly executed.


Cake’s little tangent with her fear of being “wrong” is similarly well-executed, and it doesn’t treat itself too seriously. It reminds me a lot of Jake’s explored fears in Come Along With Me, where it doesn’t attempt to make them too complex, but there is something potent to be said about what was explored. Here, it’s very similar, where we’re treated to a warped sitcom setting in which Cake meets her babies. It was so cool to finally get some inclusion of the pups – or in this case, kittens – in this world, and it did not disappoint. Really sad to see how Cake is somewhat ashamed of them, as they very much remind her of the parts of herself that she’s less than comfortable with. Cake’s plight is really unique, because on the one hand, she asked for this! But in typical AT fashion, the happy endings that we’re often treated to aren’t so clear cut. There’s still consequences to be dealt with even amidst a character receiving what they wanted, and it continues to be engaging to watch her try to find comfort in her own skin despite her wishes being granted. It was hilarious to see Ms. Cupcake show up unceremoniously to schmooze M-Cron – a fear that apparently exists in all corners of the multiverse. If I had one petty complaint, I wish we didn’t get the quick flash of magical Ms. Cupcake’s design. Feel like it was included just as a way to identify her fully, but like, seasoned AT viewers already know who this is! Sullied the joke just a slight bit for me.

As we explore deeper into the Finn-Mind, we’re treated to the return of Farmworld Finn. It’s great that they found a way to incorporate him once again without having to utilize multiverse hopping, though I’m somewhat certain this isn’t the last we’ve seen of him. We deal with elements that the previous season left open, like the loss of Jay and Little Destiny, who we see at the beginning of the episode looking very… normal! I’m still not entirely convinced the cameo last episode was supposed to be Fionna-World versions of them? Like, I could still totally see the possibility that a board artist included a rough sketch of them in, and it was an oversight on the part of the overseas studio to translate them model-specific. But at this point, if I was this team, I would just roll with the punches and say it is a Fionna-World version of them. Increase the number of questions about how this world works and never answer ’em! One of my gripes with the way last season ended is I thought Jay and Little D leaving their home to join Fionna-World felt a bit selfish and drastic, and it was kind of written off as a happy ending. Here, I still don’t think they’re really dealing with the implications of this? Farmworld Finn is, at the very least, happy that his son is alive and well, but it’s kind of brushed over pretty fast in service of exploring other ideas and topics. I don’t think the season has the capacity at this point to wrap up Jay and Little Destiny’s arcs in a successful way, so I’m not really gonna be persecute the team too much for not fleshing it out further. I moreso blame Cheers (the finale of last season – I totally get that it’s confusing I refer to the episode and the TV series the same exact way) for including such a large curveball in the first place. Regardless, I love FarmWorld Finn, so having him in any capacity is great. Jeremy Shada once again does a great job of carrying out his more baritone inflections without them feeling silly, and having FF dedicate himself to helping his otherworldly counterpart is quite sweet, given their history.

We get the most Finn content we’ve had all season, and man, is it great to see my boy back in action. I will admit, it slightly bums me out how surface level we’ve seen him throughout the entirety of this spin-off. With so many other characters taking the forefront, and Finn taking the back seat, the series hasn’t really allowed him the same level of introspection that other characters have been dedicated to. We mostly get boneheaded Finn, who has thrown himself into danger at the chagrin of his beloved and aimlessly has adventure-brain even in the midst of being comatose. But don’t get me wrong, I love this sweet, dumb boy. His segments definitely made for the most fun parts of the episode and it did harken back to some of his goofier moments in the original series. The repetition of “who are you?” had me laughing out loud, as well as the insistence that Fionna is his “girl-Jake.” So it’s really not a loss, I don’t think this is out-of-character for Finn and I’m just happy to see him in any capacity. I just know that boy is hurting a lot and I long for some kind of exploration of how he’s dealing with what he’s going through. But now’s not the time unfortunately, and I can only hope we get more of his perspective in future seasons and projects. I did additionally love how he’s sporting his bro’s sword after it’s been absent from the show for a whopping 14 years! It was additionally brutal to watch him die over and over again, but there was a bit of a dark glee I found in just how relentlessly it was executed. Namely the clock woodsman that axes him to bits. Woof! This season has been doing a great job of playing into the suspense of his situation. We know he’s not gonna die because we see him in Together Again, but – oh, they made him rapidly age in the previous episode. But maybe he only looks like he’s old and – oh, they literally show his Together Again design in the dream sequence. Again, I doubt we’re going to see Finn die by the end of this, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t buy into the stakes more and more as time goes on.

The dreamscape itself is great, with some really excellent backgrounds and characters that all nod to time running out. Really great designs, including the elevated clock bears, and the sheer amount of clocks and numbers that arise in the background. Also, notable is the amount of dates and times that felt very meta to me? Could be reading into this too much, but the February 10 date on the calendar and the 12:03 timestamp are connected to two individual episode airdates: The Red Throne and All the Little People, respectively. Considering how much Fionna has been headstrong in trying to win back DJ Flame and willing to manipulate her surroundings to do so, I would not be surprised if these were intentional connections that reference back to her main arc. There’s a few blink-and-you’ll-miss details, like FarmWorld Finn’s face morphing into his Ooo counterpart at points (which feels like it could be an animation error? Who knows!) Cuber’s little commentary excerpt was hilarious – I like to imagine that he’s still out there in the distant future just watching over everything and having a ball. A great little Phil cameo in the box Huntress Wizard was searching in, feels like forever since we’ve seen him as well! Along with some classic backwards talking ala Twin Peaks and backdropped by the auditorium we previously saw in Orb.


Oh yeah, and we FINALLY get to see Fionna and Finn interact with each other! This would definitely be a bit more special if it wasn’t teased to death in the initial promos and trailers, but it’s still pretty great. Despite what I said about Finn being boneheaded, I do like how he’s the one that kind of serves as a guru to Fionna. Of course, his methodology is simple and easily misconstrued as we see later, but Finn is a pretty simple guy with a noble heart. He’s someone that so seamlessly follows his values in a way that makes it look easy, something that Fionna struggles to accomplish in her own life. Granted, it hasn’t proven to be a perfect method for him. His desire for thrills and adventure is ultimately what led him into such a predicament, something that also ends up corrupting Fionna by the end, but it’s his intrinsic goodness and trust in the world around him that is so admirable. Even if his message does get bungled by the episode’s end, I do think his words are true for him, no matter how simple they are.

Huntress Wizard also plays a supporting role in this episode, with a lot of the big developments happening literally at her hands. The craziest thing that’s happened all season is the murder of the Cosmic Owl, which I have to imagine will have big cosmic consequences by season’s end. The return of these otherworldly elements is great because I think you could argue cosmos is a large part of Fionna and Cake‘s DNA as well. So much of the first season was exploring the Time Room and the other entities and deities surrounding it, so having it be a consistent part of the series is great and definitely one of the aspects I’m most interested in seeing more of. Back to HW, I like her role in the episode, even if I feel like her presence this season is less than fleshed out efficiently. We lost some time with her throughout episodes three and four, and last episode was much more of a fun expedition as opposed to a character journey. Here, it’s very much the same, except her relationship with Finn is sort of tacked on by the end of it. We’ve gotten some glimpses of Huntress Wizard’s solitude throughout the season, but her arc has kind of taken the backburner. Last season, I really liked how each episode in the multiverse explored part of Simon’s character that maybe he wasn’t even totally well aware of through fun and creative ways. Here, I don’t think Huntress Wizard’s journey thus far has really pertained to her individual arc of learning to trust others and be more open about her feelings, so it feel somewhat overt for Fionna to blurt out HW’s resistance to being open to Finn as a way of trying to shoehorn in the lessons she has to learn. Season one had Fionna carefully realize Simon’s dilemma over the course of several episodes, and it made sense by the end of Jerry why she would conceal the crown from him. Here, I don’t really think it’s earned that Fionna recognizes HW’s resistance to showing affection, because it doesn’t feel like these characters have worked off of each other enough. I dunno, at the very least I found it to be unsubtle, and would’ve preferred Fionna simply noticing HW’s reaction to Finn rather than vocally addressing it.


We also have a little taste of both Ooo and Fionna-World on the side. I’m really glad the whole Hana Abadeer drama isn’t played up as much as I was expecting last episode. I really pictured everyone being pissy at Fionna, which would last several episodes, but everyone just kind of accepts it here. Almost a bit too uncharacteristically? Like, I sort of feel like Marshall should be pissed at Fionna for involving his mom in his life when he clearly has no desire to do so. I guess he is kind of a pushover, but given how much he can’t stand Hana, I felt like there maybe should’ve been a bit more resistance, though I’m not really complaining. I really like HW and Hunter’s meeting and how HW kinda just wrecks him for no reason. It’s a big deal that is treated so casually by HW herself, and I continue to enjoy how bluntly standoffish she is. We get more DJ Flame tension, everyone’s favorite part of this season! In all fairness, it’s kept brief and done pretty well as an execution of the ever-so confusing “follow your heart” advice (more fairytale woo-hoo!) It’s funny to see how negatively people react to watching her chase after Flame, because it does remind me so much of how pissed at Finn everyone was during the course of season five. I don’t mind this exploration of Fionna, because I think it ultimately does tie back into her chasing after her own fantasy world. She clearly admires Finn’s heroism but is somewhat misled by it, equating it more to the success and presentation rather than the acts themselves. She wants to be this world’s champion and just doesn’t realize that she’s chasing after an idea rather than identifying ways she can make simple, positive changes around her.

The Ooo bits are fun this week, even if I feel they are once again slightly undercooked. We have Marceline be tempted by her vision of the VK to bite Finn, which is a return of the lingering concept introduced in The Dark Cloud. I think this happens waaaay too fast and I really wish it had some introduction earlier in the season. I really like the idea of Marceline being so worried about her friend and tempted by the VK’s impulses as a means of saving his life, I just don’t think it’s executed well in such a short amount of time and seemingly without any kind of internal struggle. I’ve been complaining about how little Marceline has had to do despite being an active presence all season, and I wish this plot point had a bit more leverage to be explored. You’d think instead of having her float around aimlessly and say things like, “hey Bubblegum, remember when I ate you out last night?” they would even include just a small reference to this earlier on. But I can’t complain too much because, what the fuck, Old Lady Princess is back? And she’s voiced by her original voice actress, Kerry Kenney-Silver? What is up with this season and the random nods to season one?? I’m not complaining though, that was probably the biggest delight, and for all of the characters that have gotten recast this season, it’s so funny that she has the same one after only portraying her once 15 years ago. I like Bubblegum getting progressively more neurotic as time passes by, to the point where she’s prioritizing the public’s perception rather than immediately focusing on a cure. And who can blame her, they’ve pretty much tried everything under the sun to no avail. It continues to be both really funny and quite poignant how this team is trying everything to help their friend. Once again, I really felt Walch’s delivery of “I hate seeing him this way.” The icing on the cake has to be BMO showing up at the end, drawing on Finn’s face in a bit of careless whimsy. It’s fitting that the episode this season that has felt the most like Adventure Time for me ends with the most Adventure Time style ending.


So yeah, this was a blast. I don’t think it necessarily forgives the sins of this season’s earlier episodes, as Huntress Wizard’s saga still feels slightly underdeveloped, the Ooo segments feel like they’re just sloppily running through solutions with little payoff, and the Fionna-World bits still fail to really grab me. But at the very least, I had fun with this episode, something I haven’t really felt for most of the season. It’s a high stakes battle against time that is also quite funny, and has plenty of little details to explore that don’t just limit themselves to cute Easter eggs. I was always kind of interested in where the season was heading out of pure fascination with how committed they were to telling a non-magic story, but now that we have magic back in the mix, the cat is kind of out of the bag. I do feel like it reads as a bit unconfident how this show is with mainly focusing on the slice-of-life elements of Fionna-World, but I’m not complaining. It’s Adventure Time! This is exactly the kind of stuff I signed up for, and even if there’s a bit of lingering sloppiness, I’m happy that I at least found that spark I’ve been looking for all season long.

This week’s artist shoutout is Jackie Files, who has worked on several episodes the past few seasons. In a time where promo art is all but dead with the series, Files has been whipping up little previews for each episode she’s worked on, and they’re really great. They remind me a lot of the style Steve Wolfhard used to use in his promos. Files also makes really neat ceramics, one of which was used for Fionna and Cake‘s art show at Gallery Nucleus. You can check out her portfolio, including promo art and boards she’s worked on, here!

Favorite line: “He’s risen.”

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“The Cat Who Tipped the Box” Review

Adventure Time Reviewed

Original Airdate: November 13, 2025

Written & Storyboarded by: Jackie Files, Jacob Winkler, Graham Falk & Iggy Craig

Another week, another Fionna and Cake, another opportunity to bitch and moan for a little bit! It’s been interesting to see the wildly differing viewpoints about this season so far from all sides of the spectrum. I’ve seen plenty of people really get into the shipping elements and dynamics of characters, some who have complained about the pacing and the frustration of the weekly release schedule, as well as some very blatantly misogynistic takes about how Adventure Time went from a story about a boy and his dog to a woman in her 30’s having period cramps. It’s probably the most divided I’ve seen the fandom since the Muto seasons started, and as I’ve made obvious in the past few weeks, I can kind of see why. Part of me wonders how much of this is because of the altered release schedule, but I think even in the early days of watching the original series and being more drawn to the episodes that would be lore heavy, I would still have an appreciation for any episodes that did focus more on being laidback and less heady. Granted, that was at a time where we basically assumed AT had an unlimited number of episodes, where now we’re limited to 10 every few years. So if an episode doesn’t hit, it’s much more noticeable this time around. Yet, I’m still inclined to believe that it does go beyond just taking a while to get going and the actual execution of tackling the more grounded elements.


In the aforementioned interview, Muto states:

It’s fun seeing these soft, round, cartoony characters dealing with real adult problems… That juxtaposition is part of what makes it work.

A departure from the initial series for sure, and not necessarily a wholly unwelcomed one, but the main problem I have with that statement is that I’m not really clearly seeing the juxtaposition. Most of these characters are not explicitly cartoony. Some scenes that really started to unravel the specific issue I’ve been having with this world involved Phelix and Fionna’s relationship, entirely complemented by somewhat generic relationship banter. I’ve batted this idea around a few times as of recent, but the dialogue in these episodes is feeling particularly uninspired. I think the entire series is kind of in this stalemate where they want to deal with real world issues and treat them with a level of dramatic integrity (i.e. the phone call with Hunter) but not treat it so heavily that it feels too detached from the source material. While I agree that Adventure Time doesn’t need to devolve into Euphoria levels of character drama, I think the dedication to having more of a focus on characters with grounded goals and feelings is missing one key element: fun. I don’t feel like I’m having fun watching some of these characters and relationships play out, which was never really something that factored into the original series.


AT could handle the mundane in really imaginative ways; Root Beer Guy is a story about a candy person dissatisfied with his day-to-day life, played out as an old melodrama that never takes the plight of the main character too seriously. Characters that have unmeasurable power, like Kee-Oth, are basically just regular dudes that need to do yoga to manage their stress like anyone else. A demon from the Nightosphere has anxiety about his IBS acting up on camping trips. The juxtaposition was always that these weird, crazy characters have innately human attributes to them, and that’s what made them particularly quirky. Here, we have human characters that, well, act predominantly human. I wish there was more of an emphasis on these characters being odd, because outside of Fionna and Cake themselves, they just feel kind of lifeless as is. Gary and Marshall have somewhat devolved from their captivating exploration last season to just sort of being a cutesy couple stripped of their individually contrasting personalities. Hunter’s whole character has a level of self-seriousness that makes him feel like a real bore whenever he’s on screen. And Phelix is probably the worst offender thus far – I think his role in Fionna’s life adds layers to how she continues to chase after things that aren’t necessarily good for her, but Lord is he bland. I think you could make the argument that the grounded elements themselves are the issue, but I’m not really convinced its the world itself. Honestly, one show I keep getting reminded of when watching Fionna and Cake is Bee and Puppycat, which was coincidentally created by Natasha Allegri, who developed the concept of Fionna and Cake way back in 2011. Bee and Puppycat‘s world operates in a way that’s really similar to Fionna and Cake – it’s a pretty normal scape with the focus being a girl in her 20’s (sort of) dealing with adult issues, along with her magical cat and a sprinkle of otherworldly elements incorporated. What makes Bee and Puppycat so great, to me, is that nobody actually talks or interacts like a real human. The dialogue is so awkward and clunky that it does almost feel more like a spiritual successor to Adventure Time than Fionna and Cake does on some level. It’s proof to me that I think you can do grounded and still make it quite fun, but I find that anytime there is an extended amount of focus on the human characters, it is so particularly lacking in the zest that AT is so known for that it almost feels like a different franchise entirely.

I feel bad taking a section every week to talk about what isn’t working for me with this season thus far, but it feels additionally dishonest if I only go into this forcing myself to praise the good elements and not talk about the parts that I find severely lacking. As I’ve been seeing more and more lately, I don’t think I’m alone in that camp either. Granted, there is that hyperbolic attitude I mentioned in the first paragraph that really doesn’t gel with me either. Do I think season two has effectively ruined the legacy of the franchise for me? Not at all, I just don’t find it particularly engaging. I think most of the people who are saying this really haven’t been fans or even viewers of the series for years, because there are key elements that are working for me. Once again, the special opening sequence looks gorgeous. The lush woodland backgrounds look so rich, complemented by designs that I immediately recognized as works from Tom Herpich. It’s quite a sad and morbid exploration of HW’s early years as well, having to bury her foster parents and being forced to travel on her own as a result. The trope of “dead parents” is obviously done to death at this point in animated fiction, but since we’re drawing specifically from fairy tales as a reference point for this season, I think it’s all-the-more fitting. HW is finally moving more into the spotlight after a while of stagnating in her current state, and I’m excited to see her play more of a vital role in this season. Her changes in design were really fun to see, especially with how Fionna reacts to her more petite transformations.


This one is mostly about Fionna again, and while I have issues with mostly everything else in these segments, I do quite like Fionna herself. I think she has been very charming throughout most of the season, once again aided so thoroughly by how Madeleine Martin portrays her. I think the dialogue Fionna is given probably suffers from the same issues that other characters have, but Martin has such a unique, bubbly voice that it’s hard not to be enamored by her performance. Once again, I like watching her kind of struggle to be heroic because of her own flaws and desires taking the forefront. Her being kind of a bitch to Fennel was quite funny, as I once again enjoy the elements of her that make her a bit more of a selfish character. Another show that I think does the “struggling in your 20’s” genre quite well is Girls, which seems to somewhat play into the blueprint for this series. Fionna and Cake‘s not as extreme as Girls, nor do I think it should be, but anytime they really play more into the “girl loser” bits of Fionna’s personality instead of focusing on the sort of washed out niceness of nearly every other character in this world, it reminds me of what makes that show so great. It’s what helps Fionna to feel a bit more complex than the rest of her posse, and I almost wish they would push it a bit further to be honest! But seeing as she’s practically homeless now, I’d say we’re not that far off.

As much as I have doubled down on the human elements being banal, I was kind of surprised to see how surreal the Cake parts ended up being. So, in this world, sitcoms are comprised of miniature people whose sole purpose seems to be to perform for a live studio audience. I still have no idea why they insist on hammering in Cheers week after week, but it’s kind of hilarious that it’s escalated to this level of outlandishness. It’s nice to see that there are levels of absurdity in this world that don’t make it so explicitly ruralized, and it’s something that everyone just seems to accept with full sincerity. Granted, I think the whole twist is kind of dumb, but it’s at the very least AT levels of dumb, and I can get behind that. Cake continues to be my favorite of this bunch, and once again I am enjoying the exploration of her trying to find her own place in this world. It’s kind of sad honestly that she’s been downgraded to just a form of entertainment for the townspeople around her – it makes the scene with the little girl in the first episode feel so much more impactful. But can you blame them? Cake transforming into a huge scorpion was rad as fuck, we’re all part of the problem.


The Ooo segments are bite-sized in this episode, but as usual, are quite good. It’s such a massive bummer to see the Enchiridion destroyed again for a wish that doesn’t even come into fruition. Prismo’s kind of a dick here for not supporting Finn after the boy risked his life for him years prior, all to hide it from his roommate who nobody even likes in the cosmic world! I do like how he has his own little musical motif whenever he shows up now; it first popped up in Prismo the Wishmaster when he introduces himself, and played in the previous episode when we first see him. Also, glad to see his pickles are getting praised by interdimensional podcasters,.

Simon’s portion with the Ice Thing is probably my favorite section of this episode – last season ended without any kind of meaningful interaction between the two, which appears intentional now. Simon isn’t quite ready to confront his demons and probably hasn’t visited Ice Thing in quite sometime. Honestly, it seems like nobody has, which is quite sad. Come Along With Me seemed to imply there was an effort on Marceline’s part to stay in contact with him, and it might be happening behind the scenes still, but I also kind of imagine that they just kind of stopped seeing him over the years as she got closer to Simon. He seems crazier than ever, so it’s not a total shock that it may prove to be bewildering to spend an extended amount of time with him. I’m glad that he at least has Turtle Princess, but it did bum me out how this is clearly not the Ice King that we knew and loved. It was nice to see Simon have maybe a slight bit of fondness or sympathy for him, similar to his connection to Candy Queen last season. I’m excited to see what exactly will come from using the Demonic Wishing Eye, after it’s been utilized in such a minimal format over the course of the series. Does this means Simon’s gonna lose a piece of his soul? Dude can’t win. Once again, Hynden Walch kills it in the booth, with PB delivering an entirely warranted demand for Huntress Wizard to comply as Finn withers away. They’ve really been doing a great job with showing her at wit’s end, once again resorting to using magic to try to save her friend. It’s been a little disappointing up to this point how Marceline is just kind of there to float around and make poor, quippy relationship jokes from time to time. I don’t really think it would make sense to leave her out entirely, but to just have her there and not really contribute a ton is a bit of a drag.


Some other stuff I liked in this one: backgrounds look great! The human world certainly has its monotonous elements, but having a large variety of vibrant, beautiful backgrounds helps to break up some of the uniformity of the cityscapes. A few cameos I noticed were Lizard Princess as “Liz,” the director of Cheers, Breakfast Princess’s human counterpart in the mark, as well as the bear from Billy’s song, Hambo, and a sea lard appearing as toys in the carnival. We get teased to Ice Queen’s role in this season, which I’m looking forward to see unfold. It seems like they may not even know each other? The only board identifiers I noticed this time around were the man in the record store, another clear touch of Graham Falk posing. Adam Muto did also note in the article linked above that because of the current pipeline to produce an episode of F&C, board artist touches are far less noticeable this time around, which is a shame. But yeah, that’s mostly it. I’m still not sold by this season and it does get more difficult week-by-week to not be able to break through the sense of disinterest that I’m feeling. With the midway point happening next week, I can only assume that HW is going to have a more consistent role from this episode on, which may spark a new light for me. But I am also noticing that I’ve been saying that literally every week since we’ve started, and while I want to have a degree of patience for what’s ahead, I think it is safe to say for me personally that this season did not start in a particularly strong way. Loved Huntress Wizard’s opening, the Ooo stuff has consistently sucked me in, and while I like Fionna and Cake, their segments have weighed down this season heavily for me. I’m still eager to see where this is all heading and what lies ahead. But in some regards, I think it’s fair now to let some feelings of disappointment be expressed.

Udo Jung, who has been with the series since Distant Lands, spearheaded the special section for this week’s episode. It’s nice to see him get such an opportunity to direct his own segment, as his background work throughout the past few years has been beautiful and make me really want an Art of Fionna and Cake book to come out at some point! You can check out Jung’s portfolio here.

Favorite line: “She’s like, if a shrub was a person.”

Adventure Time, Animation

“The Crocodile Who Bit A Log” Review

Adventure Time Reviewed

Original Airdate: October 30, 2025

Written & Storyboarded by: Iggy Craig, Graham Falk, Monica Ray & Jackie Files

Huntress Wizard has certainly had quite the journey in the AT world. Existing merely as a background character for the first six years of the show’s run, HW was able to thrust herself into relevancy based on her gnarly design alone. But even with her increased role in the series, Huntress Wizard’s personality and motives have never really been explored, which has been somewhat intentional. Adam Muto himself talks about this in a recent interview, stating that it was risky to flesh out a character that was primarily known and loved for being mysterious. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t also cautious about this, especially when it comes to a character that was mostly elaborated on purely as a result of fanservice. That’s not necessarily a knock at HW, as I quite liked her role in the original series. But that’s because she was such a bit character that really only showed up ever so often, and even in her brief appearances, we never truly got what she was all about. The Crocodile Who Bit A Log feels like it’s slowly setting up for parts of that mystery to be unraveled, but does so through a subdued backstory that is quite eloquently executed.


There’s basically three sections of this episode, so instead of going through it frame-by-frame like I did last week, I’m gonna talk about each individually. First is the Huntress Wizard stuff, which was easily my favorite segment of the episode. Graham Falk cooked with the cold open – man, is it gorgeous! Falk has been in the industry the longest out of anyone, so any time he’s able to really flourish through individual segments (like the silent movie dimension from Prismo the Wishmaster) it really shows how much of a seasoned veteran he is. The backgrounds, complemented by rough, inconsistent pen lines and messy paints strokes, are absolutely boasting with beautiful colors. When it comes to the visual look of the current series, it’s been tougher in the show’s recent years to actually pinpoint which artist worked on which portion of the episode. There’s a number of possible reasons for this; with directors more at the forefront this series than prior (which is as good a time as ever to mention that Cole Sanchez is back, after several years being absent from the franchise), it’s possible cleanup and revisions end up homogenizing a lot of shots from their individual essence. There’s also a new overseas studio for this season, brought to my attention by fellow commentator Digamma-F-Wau, which could be contributing the same level of wash out. There’s also the possibility that I’m just off my game and the individual touch still is in tact, but there are bits in this one that feel like they may have been squandered in the final product (i.e. when Cake reacts shocked to the cooking materials nearly falling, that’s clearly a Falk shot. But I’d be interested in seeing the actual storyboard, because it feels a bit more stilted in execution). All that is to say, I’m glad to see how much Falk’s touch absolutely erupts during the opening, continuing to spotlight AT‘s unique talents in the best possible way.

Huntress Wizard’s journey to become part of the forest is meditative and wonderfully paced, showcasing her commitment, but initial struggle, to adopt zen in the roughness of the wilderness. She’s accompanied by Spirit Dream Warrior, who evidently she never had a romantic past with, and served more as a guru to her through her journey into wizardry. Once she becomes apart of the green wizard society, HW chooses the path of isolation instead of being connected to her new groupies. I’m wondering if we’ll get more of a backstory on what led HW down this path, but I’d also be okay if this is just some kind of intrinsic desire HW has to do things as a lone wolf without any type of community on her side. When she reaches the “Heart” of the Forest, we treated to a fun bit of back-and-forth between her and Witch Wizard. The show additionally continues to not give any clear answers on HW and Finn’s relationship, with HW hesitating to find a way to address him, which I like. I originally kind of went in to this season thinking they were more on the casual side, remaining friends but having moments of intimacy every now and then. Her reaction here, and later her dream sequence with Finn, make it seem like Finn really likes her, while she’s hesitant to be true to her deeper feelings. This is easily connected to her behavior in Flute Spell, and while some of that denial toward larger connections seems to have been shed by her next major appearance in The Wild Hunt, it doesn’t appear to have opened up any type of larger shift in her consciousness.


Granted, I’m sure there’s a lot we’re not seeing behind the scenes. I would imagine HW had a large role in helping Finn after the passing of Jake, and Finn’s connectedness to the forest implies that they have spent a lot of time together. I think there is a difference between Huntress Wizard having these moments of intimacy and actually acknowledging them as they are, or even just opening herself up to the perception of others. Regardless, her drive to do things her way come to a roadblock when Witch Wizard opposes her, leading to a really great fight sequence. The build up, the animation, camera angles, transformations, and great bit of score to boot. Continuing to give her credit where credit is due, Amanda Jones has been knocking it out of the park season with stellar music cues, accenting the high stakes battle between the wizards perfectly (also I’ll note before I forget, Jones brought back Kheirosiphon’s theme when he reappears! Nice touch). Outside of the opening, the forest bits provide the most visual flair for the episode, with the revelation of the “Hart” of the Forest being yet another highlight. This is once again a pretty direct reference to Princess Mononoke, which miiiight be slightly derivative? But regardless, I love the design and the way it thrashes, breaks apart, and eventually absorbs into itself provides for a uniquely exciting excerpt that comes to a screaming halt when Huntress Wizard fucking explodes. AT has been doing a really good job at not letting their current rating impact how gratuitous some scenes could be. I’m sure you could make Huntress’s body parts separating from her even more graphic, but it really wouldn’t feel like Adventure Time if they made it especially gruesome. It feels like it would be a little silly in execution, and it is, but in a way that is true to this franchise. For any seasoned viewer, it’s still impactful and devastating in a way that really only works within the tone of Adventure Time.

Within the Hart/Heart of the Forest, we get the aforementioned heartbreaking dream with Finn, reassuring Huntress Wizard that he’ll never forget her. It’s probably my favorite moment in the episode, doing so much with so little, and speaking to both of these characters and how differently they feel and express their emotions. HW’s body breaks up into individual segments that disperse throughout the multiverse as seeds of her essence. They end up in the following locations: Farmworld, Vampire World, the Baby World and then a gaggle of other dimensions that don’t immediately register in my brain as locations we’ve seen before. I thought the one from space might be the Drift, but nah, the specific background here doesn’t match anything from BMO. I’m just gonna assume we haven’t seen these locations before and then wait until someone makes the connection and makes me feel very stupid. The mystics that this scene plays around with are great; Huntress playing around with the various portals and being overwhelmed with the sounds feel true to her process of essentially being reborn.


With her hand cut off early in the episode and used as a sacrifice for the Heart, it seems like HW’s spirit is capable of living on beyond her physical body because of her connection to this magic. Or maybe, Huntress Wizard is dead, but her spirit lives on to incarnate at pretty much any time she’s separated from it. This seems consistent with Witch Wizard, who was practically murdered by Finn last season, but still maintains a physical body (possibly connecting to HW noticing her new “fit”?) The birth process is painful, and HW struggles within the overwhelming possibilities of choice at her very fingertips (with a foreboding rain of blood drops backing her). She returns to her meditative state, questions the possibilities of the world, and trusts in the universe that her choice is ultimately where growth will lie for her. It’s really nice that they got Sean Rohani to do voiceover within the spirit realm. It was great knowing that Kumail Nanjiani was coming back this season to reprise Prismo, but I was a bit bummed for Rohani since he did a great job of picking up for Prismo last season. Glad to know that he still has a role in the series, even if it will be considerably smaller. Thankfully, HW does NOT choose to find a new host body within Baby Cinnamon Bun’s mouth, and begins her growth within Fionna-World.

Over in Fionna-World, we rejoin the gang as they attempt to reclaim Gary’s new business venture. I really wanted to go into this season being more positive about the Fionna and Cake stuff, but honestly, mostly everything in Fionna-World does very little for me this time around. I just simply don’t really care about what happens in the individual lives of these characters. Gary and Marshall served as great stand-ins last season to show how PB and Marceline’s connection exists in all corners of the universe, but I’m less invested this time around, and I honestly do think that has something to do with the performances. I went from being neutral to both replacements to really not liking them this time around, with Marshall’s delivery falling a bit flat and Gary’s inflections feeling far too cartoonishly peppy. Watching these characters deal with what feels like generic sitcom fodder just isn’t doing it for me. And don’t get me wrong, the show is aware of this – Muto has said that this version of their world is very much an idealized 90’s sitcom world. But so far I don’t think they’re playing with those tropes enough or in an especially comedic way to make me feel like it’s more than just a bit of fodder between the real meat of the episode. I feel like looping in Cheers as a way to allude to this is very quickly starting to overstay its welcome – we get it, Fionna and Cake live in a sitcom! We don’t need Pendleton Ward to do his Norm impression every single episode!

I like some of the jokes we’re treated to, like the return of PepTank and his triumph in getting a night out to himself. I like how Hanna Abadeer apparently has spies out on Marshall, as seen with one hiding out when they’re at the bar. And we get female Dirt Beer Guy, aptly named Ruby! I am only so strong when it comes to these additional character cameos. I’m additionally a little bit confused about Fionna’s continued anxiety developing, as it initially seemed to stem from her desire to help those around her in fear of acting selfishly as she once did, but now it seems to derive more from her fear of being alone? Not to say those both can’t factor into each other, but I think it’s maybe emphasized a bit too much towards the end. I think they’re clearly trying to contrast HW’s desire to be alone with Fionna’s fear of being alone, similar to how Simon and Fionna’s arcs both played into each other last season, but I’m not sure it needed to be this direct. Did they really need to include Fionna projecting her own fear of abandonment while someone is withering away on the other phone line? It just didn’t feel natural to me and I feel like her arc doesn’t need to be defined so vocally.


The stuff in Ooo takes up the smallest segment of the episode, but probably provides for the funniest scenes. I love some classic Banana Guard stupidity, and even though John DiMaggio sadly does not reprise his role as one of them, Andy Merill does a great job stepping in. There’s additionally fun shenanigans with the Wiz kids and Pep being a little shit, as always. The voice acting from both Tom Kenny and Hynden Walch is great, they really sell the more dire and serious tones of Finn’s condition. We know nothing’s going to happen to him, as indicated by Together Again and the trailers alone. But that doesn’t mean this isn’t serious for those close to him, and the episode does a good job at communicating this.

Overall, I really like this one! Or parts of it, at least. Everything with Huntress Wizard is great, and I don’t even really say that as someone nostalgia starved to just see the OG cast members do their thing – I didn’t really have any particular fondness for this character in the original show. I just think that objectively everything going on with HW is miles better than anything happening in the subplot, though maybe I’m alone with this. Everything I’ve seen so far seems to be equally beloved no matter what the focus is, so I apologize if I’m being a stick in the mud to anyone who really is invested in the Fionna-World stuff and wants me to talk more about it. There’s a good chance that, as the season keeps progressing, the stuff with Huntress Wizard will incorporate more into the Fionna-World stuff and ramp things up to make them a bit more interesting. But as is, I just don’t think these breaks in the momentum really work, and I’m hoping that this season can turn around the elements that aren’t really working for me personally. But I can only bitch so much, as the HW segments are really, really good. For as many qualms as I have, it’s great to see the show can continue to expand upon tertiary characters in such unique and interesting ways.

This week’s artist shoutout goes to Monica (Monty) Ray, the newest addition to the AT board crew! Ray has worked on several shows including Big City Greens, and has done a handful of voices on other popular cartoons, like Harvey Beaks and Glitch Techs. Monty’s portfolio includes a lot of funky streetwear, and I implore you to check it out here!

Favorite line: “For a deity, he kinda stuck-up.”

Uncategorized

“Cheers” Review

Adventure Time Reviewed


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!

Quite possibly my favorite shot in the entire season.


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!”

Adventure Time

“Jerry” Review

Adventure Time Reviewed


Original Airdate: September 21, 2023

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

Whoever wrote the “Jerry from HR” line that was included in Fionna Campbell and Simon Petrikov made me feel like the biggest jackass for three weeks thinking I was onto some crazy crackpot theory about who Jerry was.


Jerry may be the most overtly bleak episode of the series to date. While Adventure Time primarily takes place within the aftermath of a ruined society, it’s contrasted with the colorful, manic beings that inhabit it. Jerry takes place in the aftermath of a ruined society and is complemented by barren, empty land that is devoid of all life. That being said, it still cuts down some of that bleakness by sliding in one of Adventure Time‘s schmaltziest love stories to date. And BMO. It’s always good to see BMO!

Betty and Simon’s history together is fleshed out in great detail throughout Jerry. The original series was always pretty vague about what brought them together in the first place outside of the general implication that they were in love. We were treated to tidbits here and there, mainly toward the end of the series; Simon mentions Betty’s library book note in Broke His Crown, Simon and Betty are both seen in a photograph with the Enchiridion (which we see in real time here!) in I Remember You, and Betty’s trip to study petroglyphs, as well as the said search for the Enchiridion, are explored through memories in Temple of Mars. Jerry pretty much works with all of those little pieces of the puzzle to build out larger picture of their relationship. It’s always kind of a gamble doing these backstory episodes, because there’s the chance that it’ll ruin some of the mystique of just offering hints and leaving the rest to context clues. But in the case of Simon and Betty, I think these two are LONG overdue for an episode focusing on their relationship. All we’ve pretty much ever gotten from the two of them are dramatic acts of clinging to a lost love, so actually getting to see and understand what went into that love is kind of important. Otherwise, it just sorta feels like a one-dimensional concept. The way it ends up being presented is still kind of a one-dimensional concept, but this where context starts to become important when looking at their relationship from a distance.


Their story starts in a campus lecture hall (following a spicy encounter at the library), where Simon is making a presentation about ancient artifacts, including the Armor of Zeldron (Blood Under the Skin), the Wand of Disbursement (Sons of Mars), and the porcelain lamb (Beyond this Earthly Realm). I really wonder what specific class this is, because why did they invite Simon just to fuckin’ rag on him? Even the instructor thinks he’s a basket case. I’m guessing it’s supposed to be some sort of ancient mythology class that Simon was invited to for the purpose of discussing fictitious artifacts, but went off the rails and just started preaching about his own fascination with Dungeons & Dragons esque fantasies. Betty seems to be the only one who is actually interested in his lectures, and this is really the first time we get to see her personality shine. She’s a lot more outgoing, adventurous, and seemingly more impulsive than Simon is. I wouldn’t say this is entirely new from what we’ve seen from her in the past – Magic Betty had a similar drive to latch onto seemingly outlandish ideas as well as engaging with Ice King head-on in a seemingly direct approach. It’s kind of cool, seeing as how they really just needed her to be crazy and desperate in the Magic Betty, but there’s definite aspects of her personality that connect through all explorations of her character. Kind of like how Magic Man is still somewhat of a douche as portrayed in Temple of Mars, showing that magic or not, these traits still exist in the user. I like how Simon kind of jokingly mentions going on the expedition and she immediately invites herself onto it within seconds.

I do enjoy how the expedition itself is left mostly in the dark – I think the concept of finding the Enchiridion is way too fantastical in theory to tack into a pretty tight story, and it’s not really the focus anyway. We get nice little moments of their dynamic playing out and I can only imagine whatever went into actually discovering the Enchiridion was consciousness expanding for them both. Board artist Nicole Rodriguez even drew up a few sketches implying that some expedition funny business went on between the two, though Simon mentions wanting to keep things professional later, so I have to imagine he never got TOO comfortable. It’s kind of sweet how hesitant Simon is to be transparent about his feelings, but it also makes sense given the fact that we later explore a bit of an unevenness in their relationship in terms of how much Betty sacrificed over Simon. Adding in a bit of a power dynamic where he’s pursuing a student might’ve overcomplicated the themes they were going for. But as I mentioned, regardless of thematic elements, watching their relationship unfold paints a very rich picture of how these characters operate. When Simon fails to communicate his own desires at the bus stop, you kind of get the idea that, while super bummed out, Betty’s self-sufficient enough that she would power through. She quickly dismisses the note when she thinks she’s in over her head, and is readily prepared to throw herself into uncertainty. Simon finally buckles up the courage in what is a very romantic gesture, but the sublimity of it all is put into question when he begins to grapple with Fionna’s misconception that he joined Betty on her journey. Betty was prepared to proceed confidently through her own life, but how much was Simon ready to navigate through his own?


I think it’s an idea that presents some level of cynicism – what appeared to be this flawless, glossy relationship in Simon’s eyes actually had elements of imperfection that he may not even been aware of. I think it’s helpful for his perspective, but their story doesn’t just dissolve there. The sequence with the lovely Half Shy song shows that there was genuine love exploding between the two of them. Their scenario doesn’t really lean into black-and-white viewpoints of any kind, it just begins to plant the seeds into challenging Simon’s perspective beyond what he is currently choosing to believe in. I really love how romantic the scene is between the two – I don’t really think we’ve ever seen this level of mushiness displayed between any couple in the show. Though again, it doesn’t really stop playing with those aforementioned ideas – the song itself was playing when Betty was about to leave on the bus. “Her” song quickly became “our song,” according to Simon.

I know I usually wait till the end of these write-ups to talk about anything related to Fionna and Cake themselves, but I actually really like Simon and Fionna’s relationship in this one! It’s nice that Fionna starts to gradually shift from being focused solely on herself and her own journey and gives her full attention to Simon’s story. Her willingness to listen to him as he describes the most magical time of his life is ultimately what leads to her increased empathy with Simon’s current dilemma. That, and a disregarded Ice King video tape, complete with a spoofed version of “Everything Stays.” It’s also really sweet to see Simon act as somewhat of a caretaker to Fionna, which is a role he obviously excels in. I really love when he uses his own romantic tale to cheer Fionna up when she’s upset – it very much reads as an old man method of “here’s a nice story to distract you from your difficult emotions.” And the bit of playfulness they share, like Fionna pretending to be disinterested in Simon talking, is also a nice touch.


My thoughts about Fionna and Cake’s dynamic in this one are less than positive. I feel like the entirety of their conflict is pretty unnecessary and bogs down any moments where it arises again. I get that Cake’s character journey is about her desire to become more independent, and I think you can still accomplish that just with her moment towards the end when she fights with Fionna over the crown. But having her be uncharacteristically joyless throughout most of this one (though some of her pouting makes for funny drawings) only for it to get resolved pretty unceremoniously takes me out of the experience. A loooong time ago I talked about the episode Video Makers and the philosophy that it’s not really entertaining to do entire episodes pitting best friends against each other unless it’s particularly funny or dramatic. While I think I was kind of being a persnickety internet critic back then (I probably still am one!) I do agree that you kind of have to tread careful waters with this type of dynamic, because what plays out here is just pretty tiresome. I think, at the very least, Cake’s admiration of BMO makes her portrayal in Jerry a bit less contentious. Oh, and while I’m being a snarky internet critic, that BRB note we see from Finn was created in Temple of Mars, years after the events of Finn the Human! Do better, AT crew!!!!!

BMO in general is great to have back. I was a little miffed when I saw BMO in the trailer for the first season of F&C, because it really seemed like they were going to overly rely on characters from the OG series instead of fleshing out the newer ones. But my cynicism dissolved quickly, because BMO is always delightful. I’m not sure what it is about her, but I kind of have yet to see a poor portrayal of her. Besides some inconsistencies of how she acted at the beginning of the series versus now, her presence always seems to get the right blend of character traits down. It’d be so easy to just make BMO overly cutesy and whimsical or something, but she’s always a little bit of an asshole too, and there’s usually this subtle (or, in this case, overt) level of sadness that she carries with her. It’s extremely sad to watch the little dude mosey around amidst the destruction of Ooo, and I wonder how much BMO is able to actually grapple with it on a conscious level. I imagine her behavior is somewhat of a trauma response, but also just goes to show how far BMO’s imagination can be stretched to the point where I’m not sure if she’s really able to tell the difference/deal with such horrendous destruction in a way that involves legitimate grief. BMO referring to Fionna as “Finn” further supports the idea that she may not be able to differentiate reality from fiction, which was possibly heightened by her current surroundings as well.


It also makes me wonder – if BMO survived because she’s not technically “alive,” who else can say the same? It’s interesting to see the Candy Kingdom is still intact as opposed to the plant life, considering that Princess Bubblegum and the rest of the Candy People are pretty much entirely made up of the stuff. And what’s the story for Marceline, who is not “alive” fundamentally? It’s probably not worth overanalyzing in too much detail, as it probably isn’t a world that will be expanded much more, but my single headcanon is that NEPTR also survived the extinction, but BMO just pretends he isn’t there like usual. Poor NEPTR, these spin-offs have not been kind to you. BMO’s sole friend that we hear her talk about is Jerry, a character I wasn’t really sure I knew what they were going to do with. Again, my working theory was that the Jerry from HR McGuffin back in the first two episodes was somehow going to tie into this twist, but eventually I just figured Jerry was going to be a figment of BMO’s imagination. That was maybe a bit too elementary of a guess, because I got slapped in the fuckin’ face over that Lich reveal!

Honestly, similar to BMO, I’m always surprised at how much I’m delighted by a Lich appearance. Like, by the time Whispers aired, I was pretty tired of his character because his appearances no longer felt very “weighty” to me. He started out being the most intimidating baddie in any animated series, but by the end of it, he was feeling more and more like a glorified villain of the week. This was the same with Together Again, where most of the horror was shed, but Ron Perlman’s delivery, the dialogue they gave him, and the way it worked as kind of a bookend for Finn and Jake’s journey as a whole roped me in. Now with Jerry and the way he actually somewhat develops in the next episode, I think I’m back on the Lich train fully. Granted, I still think he should probably be retired from this point onward, but this is the first time in years I actually feel like we’re learning something about the character. Whispers more so utilized his presence to build on Sweet P’s character, while Together Again simply features him as a final boss of the sorts. Jerry shows the Lich in a bit of a different light, as he has lost the drive in his goal to end all life, seemingly succeeding in his efforts for the most part. It’s pretty similar to the state we saw him in throughout Wake Up, where he operates with no purpose when he cannot carry out his primary function. Here, however, it seems like it’s more of an active choice on his part? It’s kind of easy to forget that the Lich’s autopilot isn’t just to destroy everything in his path – his titular episode back in season four had him scheming and manipulating to carry out his duties, which implies that there is some level of conscious decision making on his part. I didn’t really ever need the Lich to be fleshed out, because part of what makes him cool is that he’s shrouded in such quiet terror. But the added mysticism of his role in the universe does help to continue to expand the world of Adventure Time beyond its humble roots. And how cool is it that this is the wish world that was created in Finn the Human?? I love how nuanced that detail is, in a way that I didn’t even realize it on my first watch (though the whole “wearing Billy’s dead skin” thing should’ve been a dead giveaway). Also, I absolutely adore the fact that BMO has clearly been braiding Lich Billy’s beard, because it wasn’t like that the last time we saw him in this condition. So cute… I think?


In fact, we get A LOT of cosmic expansion in Jerry. A whole other chunk of the episode takes place in a dimension filled with other worldly beings, namely Orbo, who has put Scarab on trial. Orbo is voiced by David McCormack, most known for his role as Bandit on Bluey, a show I’ve watched way too much of for someone in their late 20’s with no children. McCormack does a great job of breathing life into the character, and he’s animated super well. I thought it had to have been Nick Cross that did the individual animation for facial expressions, and lo-and-behold, it was! It’s super cool that Cross is always around for whenever a visual bump is needed in the series. I do love the continued theme that most cosmic entities are just party dudes trying to have a good time and don’t really pay too much mind to being sticklers for the rules. Scarab is the exception of course, but I do think there is a bit of sympathy lent to him in this one. He’s of course a total buzzkill and seems hyper-focused on something that everyone agrees isn’t really a big deal, but he also seems like the only person in this realm who is attempting to do their job properly. I also love all the background deities we see in this one, most of which were designed by Steve Wolfhard. I love the one with two heads intersecting in Venn diagram fashion, but my favorite has to be the God lard. I need an entire season of F&C about his story.

This is probably the best looking episode of the season as well. I love the way color and light really erupt within the confines of the cosmic realm, carrying on a lot of the visual identity we’ve seen from both Prismo and Cosmic Owl’s domains. I’ve talked a bit about the backgrounds, but haven’t given proper due to those who have put the effort into breathing life into them. Jesse Balmer played a big role in the visual development of the season, having worked on the last chunk of AT and did a bunch of stuff for Distant Lands. A lot of the concepts for landscapes in this one came from Balmer (mainly the dilapidated grass lands) while a team of BG designers also chipped in. Jarrod Prince, Craig Bowers, Udo Jung, and Nicholas Maniquis are are credited for design work on this one, each having a unique portfolio within the industry, with Maniquis even dipping his toes in Natasha Allegri’s other project, Bee and Puppycat. I really love the eerie look of Ooo that contrasts the vibrant colors within the cosmic realm; I’m using the word “contrast” a lot in this write-up, but there’s so many craftily placed divergences in tone, color, and form in this one that it’s hard to ignore. The way the clouds wrap around like dead vines while the sun beats down in inconsistent rays makes for an ugly bit of solemnity that really carries out the bleak tones it’s going for. This is an episode that is pretty light on score during the actual scenes in Ooo, and I think it’s all the better for it. I don’t mean it as another diss towards the soundtrack, but the hollowness of it all is only benefited by how infrequently music cues support it.


And talk about hollow – BMO fucking dies in this one! If it was any other show, her sacrifice would’ve given the main characters the necessary tools to move forward in their journey, but no, she just straight up dies in a pretty gruesome way and the main crew is none the better for it. The funeral scene is genuinely impactful – even though the BMO we know is fine in the mainline universe, it doesn’t shy away from the fact that her demise DID make an impact on Fionna and Cake, and probably more so to Simon, who didn’t know if he’d ever see the “real” BMO again. It has one of my favorite Tom Kenny line readings from the series, when Simon defeatedly utters, “farewell, you little miracle…” That shit HURT. Of course, Simon’s own state of mind begins to unravel a bit more in this one. It’s clear to everyone around him (well, actually just Fionna) that turning back into the Ice King is something that would essentially destroy his mind, but Simon still doesn’t seem to care about that reality. Even though he’s been vindicated by the idea that there doesn’t appear to be a healthy way to interact with the crown and that his role in Marceline’s life undoubtedly paved a way for the common good, he’s still more concerned with erasing his current existence and escaping into a mind of incoherence. This fixation on self-destruction, coupled with his incantation spell, throw him right into the realm of GOLB, with the Lich and Scarab not far behind.

Jerry is another excellent episode from the season. I have my qualms with it, though most are on the smaller scale and don’t bog down the stuff that is really, really good. The super glossy, cheery bits intersect perfectly with the harsh realities that are dished out, without them ever feeling like they’re competing with each other. It also feels like a good penultimate culmination of a lot of what the season’s individual arcs having been building into, in some ways that kind of surprised me, with Simon forced to question his own stagnant views on his former love life. It’s another episode that moves the plot points forward successfully while never detracting from the unique individuality of the episode itself, immersing us in an alternate reality that is one of the most compelling we’ve seen from the series thus far.

I mentioned the Half Shy song earlier in the review, but a studio version was released that is much longer than what we hear in the episode itself. You can give it a listen here, it’s quite nice! Though, I’m still patiently awaiting the day “Greatly Appreciated” from Min and Marty gets released. Your move, Ashley Eriksson!

Favorite line: “And she could make the best soft-boiled egg! Not runny, but perfectly jammy.”