Review: Adventure Time Elements”Cloudy”

Taking it slow.

Spoilers Below:

Betty is studying the Enchiridion, but she is only strong enough to activate the thumbnails. Finn keeps offering to help, enough that Betty begins to get annoyed. Jake realizes that Finn is too hyped up and on the edge, so he suggests that Finn takes a nap. Finn reluctantly agrees and falls asleep. Jake plants Finn’s sword in the cloud and takes a nap as well. As they sleep, the portion that they are sleeping on breaks off and floats away.

Finn wakes up and panics, once he realizes that they’re lost. Jake tries stretching his feet down, but he is unable to touch the ground. He suggests gliding down and turns into an airplane. Before they can get very far, Jake turns back, having to suddenly use the bathroom. As he waits for Jake to finish, Finn spots a nearby cloud with a door on it. He tries calling out to Jake, but Jake takes too long, and the cloud floats away.

Noticing Finn’s mood, Jake suggests that they give each other haircuts to calm down. As Jake tends to his hair, Finn admits that he feels all of this was his own fault. Because he stayed away so long on his adventure to the Islands, this entire catastrophe occurred. He feels that if he stayed behind, he could have done something, but now everything is doomed. When Jake cuts him off, Finn gets frustrated and tries to leap off, but Jake catches him.

Jake admits that even though he’s been trying to calm Finn down, he isn’t necessarily pleased with how things are going forward. He feels just as frustrated and helpless as Finn, especially considering how his family has likely been transformed as well. He doesn’t have the opportunity to show how frustrated he is because he cares for Finn and has to keep up the role of the big brother. In return, Finn gives Jake a haircut as well.

They both end up relaxing, and lounge on the cloud for a while. As they sit back, they spot the cloud with the door passing by again. Jake snags the doorknob and opens the door to see that it’s actually a cloud restroom. As he tries to use it, Finn realizes that the cloud is actually lard that tries to eat Jake. At the very last second, Finn dangles the Ice King’s coat in front of its nose, teasing it with a potential meal elsewhere. They use the lard’s sense of smell to track down Betty and the Ice King. When they return, Betty and the Ice King act like they never left. The lard licks the Ice King but then notes that it’s not very fond of the taste. Finn gives him the Ice King’s coat in compensation.

Betty has a breakthrough and explains that with the power of the candy jewel, the fire jewel, and the slime jewel from the respective princesses’ crowns, she should be able to muster enough power to return Ooo to normal. Finn is relieved at the prospect of a concrete plan, and thanks Jake for taking the time to calm him down.

Overview:

Not much happened this episode. It was slow paced, and the entire purpose was to slow down the action. It points out, rightfully, that too much stressful energy isn’t good for anyone, and sometimes a little bit of rest is needed. It also explains that not everyone who is troubled or panicked has the ability to show it on the outside, especially if people are relying on them to be moral figures. It’s a good message.

Unfortunately, as an episode, it’s less appealing. The Elemental mini-series is gearing up for a lot of action, and to have the tension suddenly drop out is almost jarring. The viewers want to know what happens next, or what the secrets behind the Elementals are, but instead, they are given fifteen minutes of slow-paced introspection. It’s not conducive to a steady flow of the plot.

What it’s setting out to do is admirable, but it really doesn’t fit into a highly plot-driven miniseries.