Review: Adventure Time – Distant Lands “Together Again”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Suddenly arriving in the afterlife, an elderly Finn realizes he has died. He searches for Jake, who died long before him, but finds that he has ascended to a much higher plane. However, the two determine that they must go on one last adventure as an enemy long fought defeated enacts its final plan to destroy all life.

OUR TAKE

“Together Again” is the third of the four “Distant Land” specials that have been releasing sporadically on HBO Max over the past year, but the order has gotten a bit out of wack. This episode was the last of three ordered, according to series Executive Producer Adam Muto, but then a fourth was added, “Wizard City”, which was then planned to release between Obsidian and this, but plans changed and now Wizard City is airing last. You can even see a bit of what would have been payoff for that here, as that special is set to focus on Peppermint Butler learning more about magic, which plays a part with him in a crucial scene in this episode. So now, Wizard City is going to have a hell of a lot to live up to compared to both this episode and Obsidian, as this was a pretty spot on send off to the characters of Finn and Jake, who are now destined to adventure again into their next lives.

We had some hints that Jake had died between the end of the series and Obsidian, where an older Finn is briefly seen with a Jake tattoo on his chest and with no Jake to be found, but now we get to see Finn’s arrival through this show’s equivalent of the pearly gates, and in true Adventure Time fashion, it is pretty friggin weird. Like with Obsidian, this gives closure to the characters it focuses on while bringing in necessary continuity for longtime fans to build on, in this case being Finn learning to let go of Jake, who has always been more zen about passing on than Finn would like. And naturally, since Finn and Jake were pretty young during the series, most everyone else has died before them, leading to plenty of neat cameos from characters spanning just about every single season. Although it was pretty sad to learn that Choose Goose had died. I honestly really wish that this had ended up being the last one, because Wizard City has a pretty dang high bar to clear. Though I’m sure I’ll enjoy it immensely regardless, as each of these specials have been nice and harmless additions to the Adventure Time mythos. Maybe we’ll cover that one too whenever it’s out! But until then, remember to always point your stick of life on the right end. It’s always Adventure Time.