[8.7/10] I’m always a big fan of when shows take an episode or so to stop from the ongoing adventure and excitement and just take stock. It’s the kind of character work that separates great shows from good one. To that end, I appreciate Adventure Time taking some time out to have Finn and Jake express their concerns about this whole thing to one another, and the conceit of being trapped on a cloud works to facilitate that.
Finn in particular is wired, unable to rest and let Betty figure things out, and completely chomping at the bit to do something, anything to move things along. Jake settles him down and gets him to admit that he feels guilty. All of this stuff happened while Finn was on his “Islands” adventure, and he feels responsible for the problems that erupted while he was gone. Worse yet, he feels guilty because he wonders if he subconsciously willed it to happen, that he wants to be irreplaceable (by Fern or anyone) in Ooo, and so is privately glad that things went to pot.
It’s another thing that distinguishes this show from its peers -- a willingness to engage with the complicated emotions of its colorful characters. Finn’s feelings are tough ones, particularly for a young man, and expressing them to his brother seems to help. What’s great is that the show goes complex with Jake too, having him be a sounding board and a means of support, but also someone dealing with his own anxieties.
Those take the form of his (a.) worrying that they’re actually dead and in purgatory or something while stuck on this cloud or (b.) best case scenario his kids are zombies and Lady is “made of taffy or something.” We get an interesting confession out of Jake, namely that he tries to be brave and hold it altogether and distract Finn from things that are bothering him because he’s the big brother and thinks that’s his responsibility, but that he has his own worries and concerns that nag at him as well.
The clincher of the episode is that being stuck on the cloud allows Finn and Jake to confide in one another. They have one another, and that makes it possible for them to have a source of joy and comfort even with all the wild stuff that happens to them. Jake reassuring Finn that this probably all would have happened regardless of whether they were there, and that if anything, it’s better that they were out of town so that they could come back and help, is a nice way to raise Finn out of “gotta do something” guilty headspace.
Plus, this being Adventure Time, they have tons of fun with all of this stuff. I love the detail that Finn and Jake confide these things to one another while playing a childhood imagination game of “barbershop.” It’s the sort of lived-in detail that helps underscore their brotherly connection. And recurring bits like Jake’s inability to pee while someone’s watching, or the dada-ist weirdness of an angler lard cloud that lures victims using the prospect of a bathroom but can be used like a smell hound to find the Ice King is delightful.
All-in-all, it’s an episode that succeeds by stopping to explore its main characters’ emotional states in all of this madness, and adding in some fun elements to give it that off-kilter vibe the show does so well. No other series balances the serious and deep with the fun and zany like AT does, and I’m glad the show’s still doing these sorts of episodes in its final season.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2017-07-29T15:51:04Z
[8.7/10] I’m always a big fan of when shows take an episode or so to stop from the ongoing adventure and excitement and just take stock. It’s the kind of character work that separates great shows from good one. To that end, I appreciate Adventure Time taking some time out to have Finn and Jake express their concerns about this whole thing to one another, and the conceit of being trapped on a cloud works to facilitate that.
Finn in particular is wired, unable to rest and let Betty figure things out, and completely chomping at the bit to do something, anything to move things along. Jake settles him down and gets him to admit that he feels guilty. All of this stuff happened while Finn was on his “Islands” adventure, and he feels responsible for the problems that erupted while he was gone. Worse yet, he feels guilty because he wonders if he subconsciously willed it to happen, that he wants to be irreplaceable (by Fern or anyone) in Ooo, and so is privately glad that things went to pot.
It’s another thing that distinguishes this show from its peers -- a willingness to engage with the complicated emotions of its colorful characters. Finn’s feelings are tough ones, particularly for a young man, and expressing them to his brother seems to help. What’s great is that the show goes complex with Jake too, having him be a sounding board and a means of support, but also someone dealing with his own anxieties.
Those take the form of his (a.) worrying that they’re actually dead and in purgatory or something while stuck on this cloud or (b.) best case scenario his kids are zombies and Lady is “made of taffy or something.” We get an interesting confession out of Jake, namely that he tries to be brave and hold it altogether and distract Finn from things that are bothering him because he’s the big brother and thinks that’s his responsibility, but that he has his own worries and concerns that nag at him as well.
The clincher of the episode is that being stuck on the cloud allows Finn and Jake to confide in one another. They have one another, and that makes it possible for them to have a source of joy and comfort even with all the wild stuff that happens to them. Jake reassuring Finn that this probably all would have happened regardless of whether they were there, and that if anything, it’s better that they were out of town so that they could come back and help, is a nice way to raise Finn out of “gotta do something” guilty headspace.
Plus, this being Adventure Time, they have tons of fun with all of this stuff. I love the detail that Finn and Jake confide these things to one another while playing a childhood imagination game of “barbershop.” It’s the sort of lived-in detail that helps underscore their brotherly connection. And recurring bits like Jake’s inability to pee while someone’s watching, or the dada-ist weirdness of an angler lard cloud that lures victims using the prospect of a bathroom but can be used like a smell hound to find the Ice King is delightful.
All-in-all, it’s an episode that succeeds by stopping to explore its main characters’ emotional states in all of this madness, and adding in some fun elements to give it that off-kilter vibe the show does so well. No other series balances the serious and deep with the fun and zany like AT does, and I’m glad the show’s still doing these sorts of episodes in its final season.