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solarianradiance · 2 months

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“J-J-JAKE!” Shouted Finn.

“FINN!” Shouted Jake.

“DUDE! YOU’RE NOT GONNA BELIEVE THIS, BUT YOU G-GOTTA LISTEN!” Finn demanded.

“You fought the Ice King who left you frozen where while he kidnapped Princess Bubblegum?” Jake asked.

“O-o-oh... y-y-you already kn-n-now?” Finn shivered.

“Yeah!” Jake replied in a flat voice as he picked up a large rock, using it to strike with great force against the ice of Finn’s feet. The icy shackles shattered easily, having been cracked by the invisible woman. “Kinda figured that out with all the ice and stuff.”

Finn stumbled over; he was free but still cold. “B-b-but how did you know it wa-...w-w-was Princesss-s-s-s-s-s-s bubblegum?”

“이 사람은 누구입니까?” Asked Lady Rainicorn she floated in.

“W-w-w-what the chuck-wagon is that?!” Finn said, almost panicking.

Jake stretched himself into a cozy sweater and attached himself to his brother to warm him up. “Ease yourself buddy, take it easy! Lady is a friend! She knows the Princess! Found her up the river! She explained everything!”

“음, 바나나가 대부분을 설명했습니다. 우리는 거의 이야기하지 않았습니다.” Said the Rainicorn.

“Yeah, I guess ya did, sorry ‘bout chewin your ear off like that, you were kind of... dazed.”

“그녀가 붙잡힌 것 같습니다.” Said Lady as tears welled up in her eyes. “나는 그녀를 구출해야합니다!” She then flew off, crying and sobbing.

“Wait, WAIT! COMEBACK!!! Aw danggit!” Jake scoffed in frustration.

“What she say? D-do ya know?” Finn asked.

“Never mind that, you doin okay man? Anything broken?” Jake asked, wanting to know if his brother was injured.

“Nah, J-...j-just cold... and down.” Finn asked as she breathed.

“Okay, you fought the Ice King, right? Tell me what happened!”

“What’s it look like happened?!” Finn said with anger peppering his words with a touch of sadness. “I flumped up! He stole the Princess and almost killed me! A-and... I-I... couldn’t keep my promise.”

“Promise? What promise?”

“I... promised I would protect her, l-like a hero would, like Billy!” He said in a glum voice. “But then I broke it cuz I didn’t finish off the Ice King like I think I should have and he got the upper hand and left me here while he carried off the Princess.”

“Wow... that’s a doozy! And a lot to take in!” Jake contemplated. “Hmmm, you said you didn’t finish him off? What do ya mean zactly?”

“Um... basically I knocked the cobs out of him and he was down and knocked out cold, or at least we thought he was. Princess Bubblegum told me to... finish him off. But I didn’t, so he got the upper hand. Now the Princess is kidnapped cuz I didn’t have the strength to do what was right.” Finn hung his head in shame. “All cuz I didn’t wanna finish off a guy who just tried to kill me.”

Jake was concerned for Finn, usually he was energetic, but this defeat was a really blow to his ego. But Jake was also a bit proud of his Brother for sparing a fallen foe. In fact that’s what he’s gonna go with in this peptalk.

“Naw dude.” Jake said as he unsweatered himself from Finn and returned to normal in front of him. “What you did took real inner strength to do!”

“Huh?” Finn asked, confused. “No it didn’t! I shoulda finished him off like the Princess ordered me to! Then this mess wouldn’t have gone down! I don’t have what it take to be a hero!”

“No. What you did is something a lot of peeps forget about. Mercy! You showed mercy to a worthy foe and didn’t forget he was a person.”

“Dude! He tried to FREEZE me to death! After I vouched for him to boot! I shoulda taken him down! Like Billy would have, no probs!” Finn countered, anger souring him.

“No. Finn. You showing mercy is something that sets you apart from Adventurers and keeps you from being an Evil Villain or a Neutral Mercenary. You didn’t lose track of your moral code! That makes you a Good Hero, by the process of elimination ironically!” Jake explained with a modest cheerfulness.

“That... kinda makes sense.” Finn agreed, slightly feeling better about his actions.

“Heck yeah it does! A real jerk woulda killed the dude that tried to kill you while he was down. But you didn’t! That makes you a real Knight in fabric armor AND safe from any legal prosecution to it being well within the parameters of self-defense! I think. Don’t quote me on that.” Jake said with half-hearted certainty.

“Yeah, I guess that really does make sense. Thanks Jake.” Said Finn, with a bit more of his usual pep in his words, a sign the pep-talk worked.

“Ya darn welcome buddy! Now come along with me! We got a Rainicorn and her Princess to save and an Ice Guy’s butt ta kick!” Jake beckoned.

“What?! Heck no! We can’t take him on!” Finn protested.

“Why not? You took him down, like you said! We can take that guy no problem!” Jake scoffed.

“Yeah, but only becuz he was holding back the whole time a goofy weirdo! He’s way stronger than we are!” Finn explained, worried about their mortality. “We’re just a couple of level 2 adventurers going up against a level 13 Dungeon Boss! Psycho is way outta our level range! He’ll destroy us! We’ll be TPK’d before we even reach his hideout! It’s suicide!”

“Well what do you expect us to do then?! Play cards or somethin!?” Jake asked.

“We go home and let the professionals deal with it! This whole adventure sitch is bonked!”

“Dude! We ARE the professionals!”

“No, we’re not! Or at least I’m not! I’m a kid!”

“Finn, where the heck is this coming from?! You were dungeon diving and fighting off monsters just yesterday! I know you’re still new to all of this, but setbacks comes with the territory of this profession.”

“Yeah, but... nobody elses life has been on the line quite like this! I’m worried the Ice King might kill her or something messed up like that if we go to rescue her! He WAS about to 69 me! So won’t he go crazy and 69 her?”

“He...WHAT?! 69?! Where tha heck didjya hear that term from?! Goodness!” Jake asked, going full parent mode.

“From the Ice King! It means killing people! I think ...right?” Finn answered.

“Uh... yeah, except it’s 86. 86 is the term. 69 is... meaningless nonsense. He made a mathematical mistake.” Jake said with relief he didn’t have to explain what 69 actually meant, or as to why people would ever 69. It was that sort of subject Jake would probably never fully explain to Finn if he can help it.

“Look, Finn, that girl needs our help! She needs that help NOW, and you made a promise to protect her! This is EXACTLY what we signed up for!” Said Jake, trying to motive his brother.

Finn remained anxious and fearful. He did not want to face the Ice King again. “But he’s so much more powerful! Like I said! Way too much for either of us to handle! He can 1-hit kill us dude! I love Mom & Dad, but I ain’t ready to see em yet!”

“Maybe, but it’s like ya said! We’re a coupl-a-level-two’s goin up against a level 13 Ice Wizard that you almost defeated by yourself! With our levels combined, we’re a level 4 party duo! Our power just doubled! You know what that means?!”

“That’s Algebraic!” Finn said with an upbeat flatness.

“Yup!” Jake confirmed. “And since we’re a pair, that means we got extra actions on the guy!”

“Which makes it calculicious!” Finn said as he hopped to his feet with growing enthusiasm.

“Yeah! Calculicious!” Jake agreed. “And with our combined creative wits and skills, makes our overall chances of taking him down way higher!”

“Alphanumeric!”

“YEAH! I think, maybe, probably.” Jake being unsure of his brother’s phrases.

“PROBLEMATIC!” Finn shouted.

“Darn right it is! And what this problematic... problem... um... needs is a... coupla do-gooders like us to solve it...”

There was a long awkward pause between the two. Neither was sure of what to say or do.

“Point is Finn, don’t doubt yourself so much! You got this bro! We both do! Together!” Jake then gave Finn a grin. “What time is it?” Jake asked, barely concealing his excitement.

“It’s...” Finn began, inhaling, knowing exactly what Jake meant. “ADVENTURE TIME!!!” He yelled out for all the world to hear. Finn & Jake then bumped their fists together.

“That’s my brother! Now let’s go fulfill that promise you made to the Princess and go rescue her! Come along, Finn!” Jake stretched himself larger, becoming quadrapedal, upon which Finn hopped on top of.

“Wait! Hold up!” Finn said with urgency.

“What is it? Gotta take a leak?” Jake asked.

“Nah, see that rod thing in the ice?” Finn pointed at a particular part of the stream, still frozen.

Jake spotted what he meant and broke through the stream and pulled it out, examining the item. “What is it?” He asked.

“Flamethrower! It’s the Princesses! Might come in handy!” Finn said, as he checked to see if it was still working, which judging by the burst of fire into the air, it was. “WHOA-OH!!”

“Careful with that man! Playin with fire is dangerous!” Jake said mindfully. “But you’re right, this could come in handy!”

The two then rode off into the mid-morning sunrise.

Finn was feeling much better, especially after having sat on that ice for so long. But he still felt sadness and anger towards himself for failing the Princess and a fear of facing the Ice King again. He did not want to die, but he also felt the fear of failing her again. He did not know which was worse.

But he was also curious about the Invisible girl. Who was she and how long was had she been there during the fight? Why did she not do anything? Or WAS she doing something? Or was she really a girl and not just a really girly sounding guy?

Most important question of all in this moment, why were they heading towards the Candy Kingdom?

“Uh Jake!” Finn piped up.

“Yeah buddy, what is it?!” Jake said with excitement.

“We’re supposed to be going to the Ice Mountains!”

“OH!” Jake said with surprise as he course corrected by turning into the right direction. “I knew that!”

“Haha! Silly Dog!” Finn commented, jolly as a rancher.

Adventure Time Presents: The Good, The Fair & The Beautiful. - Chapter 9 - Zalloj - Adventure Time (Cartoon 2010) [Archive of Our Own]

#adventure time #finn #jake the dog #lady rainicorn

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gunterfan1992 · 6 years

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Episode Review: ‘Come Along with Me’ (S10E13-16)

Airdate: September 3, 2018

Story by: Ashley Burch, Kent Osborne, Adam Muto, Jack Pendarvis, Julia Pott, Pendleton Ward & Steve Wolfhard

Storyboarded by: Tom Herpich, Steve Wolfhard, Seo Kim, Somvilay Xayaphone, Hanna K. Nyström, Aleks Sennwald, Sam Alden & Graham Falk

Directed by: Cole Sanchez & Diana Lafyatis (supervising), Sandra Lee (art)

In August of 2012, I had just moved into a university dormitory to begin my second year as an undergraduate. On one of the last days of the month (the date escapes me), I was relaxing in the hall recreation room with my roommate. To my left sat another friend, watching something intently on his laptop.

His focus was remarkable, and so I was intrigued. “What are you watching?” I asked.

He glanced over and responded, “Adventure Time!”

I’d heard of the show, and seen a few clips. At the time, I was taken aback by its combination of high brow and low brow sensibilities. But I saw how much joy it gave my friend, I put down my guard and decided to give it a watch.

He tilted the screen towards my face, and what was I greeted to? Why a geometric space-god with a flaming blue sword attacking a green individual in a bright yellow jacket. Suddenly, a boy and his dog were in the picture. What was going on?

As it turns out, I was watching season four’s “Sons of Mars”, one of the show’s wackiest episodes. In time, I was enthralled by the bright colors and the silly jokes. There was Abraham Lincoln. There was death. By the end of it, I was won over.

I still think fondly of that day (as readers of this blog might be able to attest), for it was then that I was introduced to my favorite show, Adventure Time.

For years, it seemed like Adventure Time was just an omnipresent facet of popular culture. From t-shirts to Happy Meal toys, Finn and Jake were everyone, blending into what Marshall McLuhan would call the “beaten paths of impercience.” When we all learned that the show was ending in late 2016, it was sad, but because there were dozens of episodes left to air, this reality never really hit me.

But this week, it finally hit me. The end was nigh.

At 5 pm today, I sat nervously on my couch as the intro started, and we were off to the races.

The episode opens 1000 years after the lives of Finn and Jake. We are greeted to two new heroes: Shermy (voiced by Sean Giambrone) and Beth (voiced by Willows Smith). The two are heavily implied to be Finn and Jake reincarnated, and the latter is likely a descendant of Jake himself. After an encounter with the Prizeball Guardian (last seen in “Grabyles 1000+”), the two discover Finn’s robot-arm. They decide to journey to Mount Cragdor (where the Enchiridion was once kept) to find the all-knowing King of Ooo.

Once our new heroes make the journey and reach the top of the mountain, we the audience learn that the King of Ooo is not our favorite charlatan, but rather BMO. After Shermy and Beth present our little robot with Finn’s arm, BMO begins to tell the story of the “Great Gum War”:

1000 years prior (that is, during the show’s normal timeline), Princess Bubblegum and her Uncle Gumbald had each amassed armies to take one another down. Just before the battles are to commence, Finn devises a plan to stop any blood shed: He calls one last meeting between the Candy Kingdom and Gumbaldia, and then, using the magic, nightmare-inducing potion given to him by Nightmare Princesss in “Orb”, he knocks everyone into a subconscious world, where he hopes that they will make nice.

Everything goes a bit haywire, but in the end, Bubblegum and Gumbald realize that their is no real reason for them to fight one another: they each want different things, and are rightfully ticked off at one another, but through dialogue they can likely work things out. Finn and Fern, too, realize that they share the exact same fears that they have locked in their collective “Vault”. Putting aside their differences, they team up and kill the grass-curse spider that has held Fern a prisoner for so long.

At this point, our heroes (and villains) wake up and decide to make amends. Gumbald, however, is tripped by Aunt Lolly, and after being splashed with dum-dum juice, reverts back to Punchy. Lolly, however, vows to maintain the peace with the Candy Kingdom.

Just then, King Man crashes out of the sky and reveals that he, Betty, and an unconscious Maja donked up in a major way. He and Betty were trying to use magic to summon the primordial space demon/god Golb so as to undo the magic of the Ice King’s crown. However, their magic was too effective, and they accidentally summoned Golb to this plane of existence.

Golb begins to use his chaos magic, mutating candy kingdom and Gumbaldia citizens alike into grotesque monsters. Ice King is summoned by King Man and told to try and stop Betty from completing her ritual, but in the commotion (which sees Maja literally explode) they, along with Finn, are accidentally swallowed by Golb, where they start to get digested.

Things start to go downhill fast. Golb’s monsters are extremely effectively, and decimate Bubblegum’s forces and those of her ragtag allies. As Bubblegum is standing on a rock, one of the Golb-monsters lunges at her and seemingly crushes her!

Marceline turns around and seeing the death of her past paramour, loses it. Unleashing both the beast and magic girl inside her, our favorite vampire turns into the Dark Cloud, last seen in Stakes and absolutely wails on the Golb-monster, tearing it to bits. She is absolutely furious that her best friend has been smooshed.

But luckily, it turns out that Bubblegum’s advanced battle armor had a handy shield, and she was saved from any danger. Marceline is overjoyed, and flies into the candy monarch’s armies, weeping tears of joy. The two hug.

And then comes the Bubbline kiss.

As Marceline and Bubblegum were holding each other close after the latter was very nearly squished, I knew it was now or never.

I was on the edge of my seat, as a tearful Marceline tells PB: “Even back when we weren’t talking, I was so afraid that something bad would happen to you and I wouldn’t be there to protect you and... I don’t want to lose you again!”

There’s some cute back and forth, and then the two quietly, effortlessly kiss.

The debate online as to whether or not the two were in a relationship has raged on- and offline since “What Was Missing” first aired years ago. As the two’s friendship evolved over the years, I came to believe that a romantic relationship was the next logical step for both the characters and the show itself to explore. Marceline and Bubblegum are unique in that they are two strong, intelligent, and emotionally complex female characters who often spend time exclusively with each other; the two ace the Bechdel test, a fairly rare occurrence in modern media.

It’s a bummer that the show waited until the very end of the series to canonize their relationship, but perhaps that makes it all the more rewarding? We have worked towards this culmination, and now we have a fully-acknowledged lesbian relationship between two major cartoon characters! How ground-breaking! Furthermore, regardless of when this canonization happened, the confirmation that Marceline and Bubblegum are “more than just friends” will inevitably help to undo some of the erasure that queer communities have faced since the dawn of media (if not time).

To sum up my feelings, let me just leave you with a (heavily) modified quote from Virginia Woolf:

“‘Marceline liked Bubblegum...’ Do not start. Do not blush. Let us admit in the privacy of our own society that these things sometimes happen. Sometimes half-demon vampires do like sentient pieces of Bubblegum.”

(Of course, I am curious as to what their future holds. We seem them together snuggling in the epilogue, but they are not around one thousand years in the future. This is, honestly, the biggest question that will bug me about the finale!)

Despite taking a literal pounding from Marceline, Golb’s evil creatures pull themselves back together and march towards the Tree Fort. Jake gives chase, but is not able to reach them in time: they smash Finn and Jake’s beloved home, and seriously injure poor BMO.

Jake is beside himself! His house is gone! But then, BMO comes over to him, and lovingly calms him down. BMO points out that Finn and Jake have long been a parent to the little robot, and now it is time for BMO to be the parent. And then, BMO begins to sing a tune “for his son Jake”, entitled “Time Adventure”.

"Time Adventure", written by storyboard artist extraordinaire Rebecca Sugar herself, encapsulates the best of the series: it's sad but uplifting. Melodic but rough-around-the-edges. It celebrates the wonders of life while also admitting that we can't really see all there is to it. Some people online criticized it for being too obvious (yes, the song’s title is just a flipping of the show's title), but in some way, I find that it's the most poetic and philosophical thing that its ever done.

When I was 11, I had my first real panic attack. I was out with my family when I was struck by a thought that has not left my head since: I'm going to die. Not that I can die, or that death might hurt. No. I am going. to. die; presumably, my consciousness will disconnect and I will not exist. I want to believe in an afterlife, but it’s an idea that seems oh so very hard to accept when faced with what we know about nature (but that’s a whole ‘nother discussion). These revelations horrified me, and it has taken years to really process what death actually means—and I’m still not there. None of us really are.

But as I’ve aged, I've been comforted by some rather Stoic ideas, like the idea that what will be will be and we should not stress about things that we simply cannot change. I also like the idea that we are all part of the cosmos, and while we will die, we don’t cease to exist: we just merge back into where we came from.

These musings are adjacent to another comforting idea: the fourth-dimensional view of time that BMO sings about:

Time is an illusion That helps things make sense So we're always living In the present tense ... Singing, will happen Happening happened [...] And will happen Again and again 'Cause you and I will always be back then

It’s true. Perhaps my “arrow-of-time consciousness” will be blasted into nothingness once I die, but I’m not ceasing to be. I eternally am. What happened is happening will happen. “Time is an illusion/That helps things make sense.” While this idea might not extinguish a fear of death, it’s a nice thought. And just like Adventure Time, when you combine enough nice thoughts, you often get something beautiful.

And beauty is all that was really needed for our heroes. It turns out that Golb is a creature of chaos, meaning that the only weapon that the citizens of Ooo can effectively use is concordance—harmony in music. It might seem a little silly that “beating the baddie with music” is how Golb’s minions are defeated, but considering the sort of magical role that music has played in the show, it’s not too much of the stretch. It also remains me of how the show used (and subverted) “defeating a baddie with heart” to great effect did in Stakes.

BMO (who hilariously declares, “My art is a weapon!”) is joined by Marceline and Bubblegum, and soon by Jake and the rest of the crew. Their combined harmonizing weakens Golb, allowing Finn and Simon to escape from his belly. However, Betty decides to remain behind. She realizes that the singing has also reset the ice crown’s phantasmal magic. Putting it on, she wishes for the power to ensure Simon’s safety, which entails her transforming (in a stunning sequence that IndieWire writer Eric Kohn refers to as “straight out of Don Hertzfeldt”) into Golb him(her?)self. Golb promptly leaves this reality, dropping the crown onto the ground. Gunter grabs it, and—despite Jake’s warnings that the naughty penguin will wish to become Orgalorg once again—Gunter merely wishes to turn into the Ice King (or, “Ice Thing”).

Finn and Jake return to the ruins of their tree fort, where they plant Fern’s seed. A new tree immediately sprouts from the ground, with the Finnsword embedded within it. Bubblegum arrives on the scene and thanks Finn for directly disobeying her. She gives him an appreciative kiss on the cheek and then muses that he is getting taller.

We cut back to Ooo 1000+, where BMO wraps up the story. Shermy and Beth still have questions (just like the audience!) about ‘Phil’ and Jake, and Marceline and Bubblegum. BMO shrugs these questions off, saying, “You know, they kept living their lives.”

Shermy and Beth set out to find the “Ferntree” to verify BMO’s story; they eventually realize that the large tree reaching up to the heavens near their stomping grounds is almost certainly it.

We cut back to Finn and Jake, who are sitting around the Music Hole from the episode of the same name. The hole tells our heroes that she has a new song for them, and she begins to sing “Come Along with Me” (which every Adventure Time fan knows is the show’s closing number).

While the Music Hole sings, we see Shermy and Beth climb to the top of the tree. We are also greeted to a montage of what happened to all our friends in Ooo:

Lumpy Space Princess is crowned a bonafide princess (or perhaps even a queen)

Ice Thing and Turtle Princess get married

TV becomes a private detection (just like his grandparents!)

Sweet Pea graduates from school and eventually becomes a super-huge hero, who carries Finn's Nightosphere-sword

Aunt Lolly and Bubblegum seemingly make up and learn to love each other as family members

Lemongrab gets one of Jermaine’s paintings to hang above his bed, which brings him peace

BMO blasts Moe's harddrive into space with the help of Banana Man

Flame Princess and NETPR get popular and perform at Hamburger Hills Cemetery to a huge crowd

Magic Man is the happy King of Mars

Simon spends quality time with Marceline and Bubblegum, and seems to try and summon Betty back using Prismo’s wish magic (sadly, it doesn’t work)

Marceline and Bubblegum, meanwhile, are shown snuggling on the couch in the former’s house; it is implied that they are raising Peppermint Butler, who once again is showing an interest in the dark arts

Humans return to Ooo, and Finn is likely reunited with his (digital mother)

We also see what the Jiggler, Tiffany, the Crabbit, Susan Strong/Kara and Freida, the Candy Kingdom citizens, Tree Trunks and Lemonhope are up to

The episode ends with Shermy and Beth finding the Finnsword in the Ferntree. After Beth pulls the sword from the (metaphorical) stone, Shermy holds it up, just like the show’s title card.

So now let’s talk about what worked and what didn’t. The last half of the finale, if I do say so, was wonderful. Nothing to complain about here: we got arc resolutions, emotionally touching moments, and a nice sense of closure. In regards to this latter point, I specifically like how the show gave use an ending but emphasized that this finale was not really the full-stop end of the characters that we know and love—it was just the end of the story that we’re privy to. As BMO says, everyone kept living their lives and the world kept on spinning. That’s a very nice way to end a show like this, and it feeds into the existential ideals of Adventure Time: there is no grand, overarching story that has to have some big punctuation at the end. Finn and Jake are heroes, but long after they’re gone, the world will still be here, and there will be other great heroes to take their place.

With all this said, I must admit that the finale’s first half is something of a missed opportunity. Opening with Shermy and Beth was a totally inspired move (and the new intro is gorgeously animated, courtesy of Science SARU Studios), but I believe the show lingered on their introduction for just a little too long. Likewise, the weird trippy nightmare portion of the finale was about 15 minutes too long. We did not really need 1/4 of the episode to be devoted to wacky dream imagery that both “King Worm” and “Orb” did more effectively. And given that the show chose to linger on these sections—sections that, in the grand scheme of things, are not super essential—the final portions of the episode came across as a bit rushed. The storylines are all satisfying, but it would’ve been nice if we had gotten a little bit more focus on Betty, Simon, and Finn, or Simon and Marceline, rather than Bubblegum and Gumbald’s wacky nightmares.

And speaking of Gumbald, his ending was a total cop-out. I’m not too torn up about this, given that he was never the main baddie in this episode (that was Golb), but his deciding to make peace and then accidentally reverting to Punchy was contrived and anticlimactic. To go back to a criticism I had of “Gumbaldia”, if the show had been given just a little more time to flesh his character and motivations out, I think his role in the finale would’ve been much better served.

But like I said, I wasn’t too torn up about this, because the main focus of this episode was on Golb and the horrors that such a being could unleash upon Ooo. And the show did this wonderfully. Indeed, it was quite exciting that the show finally had a villain that Finn couldn’t just punch a lot until it died (remember, he beat the Lich this way). Golb was, arguably, invincible. It was only the extremely broken magic of the ice crown could do anything.

Speaking of satisfying, “Come Along With Me” also gives Fern an excellent conclusion. The poor grass-doppelgänger was never evil, just confused. By finally coming to terms with his existential crisis of a life, he and Finn were able to patch things up. Sadly, this came at the expense of his dying (the scene in which Finn and Fern kill the grass-curse spider was quite fun). But even in death, there is life, and Fern’s demise allows a new tree to replace the old tree fort. How sweet is that?

Finn coming to terms with his disability was also a nice touch. As I mentioned in my review of Islands, Adventure Time seems to have a somewhat pessimistic view of technology. With this episode, Finn loses his robot arm once and for all, and instead of having PB build him a new one or dabbling in arm-magicks, he decides to let it all be. This is a very important lesson for the show to emphasize. Finn is still Finn with or without his arm. By constantly trying to ‘fix’ himself, Finn was trying to fill a hole that didn’t need to be filled. After experiencing all this Golb biz, it seems that Finn has come to terms with his essence and who he is as a person. And arm or no arm, he is still Finn.

But as satisfying as I found the episode to be overall, I still have some lingering questions! What happened to the Candy Kingdom that resulted in it getting totally razed in the future? Why was the Prizeball Guardian built? What happened to Marceline and Bubblegum, given that they, in their own ways, can evade death in various ways? These of course are questions that will likely never be answered, and they certainly can be filled in in the minds of fans, but these quandaries are probably going to bother me for awhile! (Heck, I just want to know what Marceline and Bubblegum’s future looks like: I don’t really care too much about that other jazz!)

As I write this, I’m both happy and heartbroken: I’m happy because my favorite show of all time has just aired perhaps the most satisfying finale that I have ever seen. I’m heartbroken because the story is now over.

But hold on.

Like BMO and Co. sing in “Time Adventure”, just because the story is over from my point of view does not mean it has slipped away into the ether of oblivion.

It’s comforting to think that in the fourth-dimensional view of existence, I still am in that rec room with my friends, watching “Sons of Mars” for the first time. In a way, I’m eternally laughing and smiling at the jokes. I’m eternally still realizing what a wonderful program Adventure Time really is.

And in that way, it’s true what they say: the fun will never end.

Final Grade:

Season Grade: Were this a standard season, I would probably have been a little harder on it. The Gum War, having been developed two or so episodes, really came out of nowhere and needed more time to be properly developed. It also seems a little odd that the series finale is at least partially focused on an antagonist who was only introduced this season. But these issues were not the fault of the production staff; they were problems with the show being cancelled by the network and the staff having to tidy-up everything before it was all over. Muto et al. honestly did the best they can with the hands they were dealt. And make no mistake, the result is pretty good, even if things are rushed. Yes, there is a lot to love about season 10. It’s got humor and heart, action and adventure, and plenty of romance! It’s not my favorite season by any means (that’s a tie between season 4 and 7), but its episodes are definitely in the upper-tier of the series, as far as quality goes.

Series Grade: Do I even need to say this?

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