Season Review: Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake Season One

Adventure Time was a story that felt like it would never end, mainly because it ended up being Cartoon Network’s longest running show (a record unlikely to be surpassed now that the channel seems to be in its twilight years. But eventually it did, with the conclusion of its tenth season, with the tales of Jake the Dog and Finn the Human seemingly put to rest. Then, not even two years later, fans looking for more were given four sporadically released specials in the form of Adventure Time: Distant Lands, which jumped around the timeline, going from before the series began to long after it ended, as well as corners barely explored, and THAT seemed to be the last animated part of the franchise we would see. But we would be wrong again, as two years after that, we would also get another spin-off, this time taking us out into the multiverse beyond the Land of Ooo, following the alternate reality genderbent versions of Finn and Jake, Fionna and Cake, as well as follow up Simon, formerly the Ice King, and see once more that there were still stories to tell here. But is this proof that the Adventure Time well has run dry of ideas or a sign that the adventure hasn’t ended quite yet?

It’s a risky move to keep tapping into something that’s had such a definitive end as Adventure Time did in 2018. Not to say that its last episode stuck the landing as best it could, in fact plenty would likely say that the best years were far behind the show at that point, but it still handled it well enough that digging it up again would really have to be worth it. Distant Lands proved to be generally be a success, mainly by having four disconnected and stand alone stories that ranged from harmless side tales to emotionally devastating atom bombs, but Fionna and Cake set out to be a solid continuous story that both matured the storytelling for an older audience and justify its own reason for furthering the seemingly already concluded tales of existing characters. And in my mind, it definitely accomplished both tasks, not only adding more complex themes than the quirky and occasionally dark plots of the original series, but also by giving all the characters involved arcs that felt like natural progressions instead of tacked on extra segments. And all while mostly making use of existing elements and threads left over from the series itself while keeping true to what they previously represented.

Simon Petrikov, formerly the insane Ice King, is trying his best to adapt to Ooo now that he is perfectly sane, but finds himself lost without his magic and without his wife Betty, who sacrificed herself to save him in the aforementioned final episode. And unbeknownst to him, in another reality, Fionna and Cake’s previously magical world, which resides in Simon’s mind, has also reverted to a more regular and mundane one. But when the three finally meet due to Simon’s attempts at reclaiming his magic, the three end up on a universe trotting odyssey with the hope that regaining Simon’s magic will also help the two get back the magic in theirs that they’ve been missing. And what fitting way to reject the universe and life around you than to go hopping throughout the multiverse? Though even with the topic being as trendy as it is in both TV and film, this makes good use of the thematic boon of multiverse stories (seeing other versions of yourself in situations you’d never imagine and learning more about yourself and appreciating your circumstances in the process) as well as the kooky side benefits (getting to see crazy AU versions of established characters and get old voices back for guest cameos).

Ultimately, while most will probably see the big lesson of this season coming a mile away, it’s by no means a bad way to get there and honestly feels a lot like the best days of watching Adventure Time for the first time. I obviously don’t have the time to go back and watch all 283 episodes of that series (which made identifying the deep cuts that got brought up a bit of a chore but this is basically a sequel so I guess that’s fine), it still feels like a very worthy new installment in this saga. At the time of this writing, while there are no confirmations currently, Showrunner Adam Muto has shown interest in continuing with Fionna and Cake, even with the conclusiveness of the ending of this season. The ending does feel like it would be a good place to end things if that is indeed what ends up happening, but at this point I think they’ve proven that new stories couldn’t hurt either. Hard to say when we’ll find out what’s happening with that one way or the other, but I do think it’s a good time as any to start over from Episode 1.