Review: Adventure Time “Football”

Spoilers Below

Brevity requires hard, tedious work. And the Adventure Time crew is putting in some serious work. “Football” plays like a whimsical Hitchcock. Uneasiness, laughs, suspense, all packed into the 204th episode of the Adventure Time saga.

Fan theorists can rejoice. A strangely deep conversation between BMO and Football – BMO’s sovereign reflection – results in a dimensional exchange. Unhappy with the creepy mirror-realm, Football refuses to leave a world full of giant citrus fruit and Carlos the duck.

But one doesn’t simply escape their own reflection. BMO pops up in spoons, jars, microwaves, and water. After going “hog-wild in the bathroom,” Finn, Jake, and family sense that something might be wrong with BMO… err… Football. All the action takes place within the confines of Tree Fort creating a pressure-cooker of fear and “donked-up” stuff.

Everything about “Football” works, and works well. A well thought out, well written, and well executed 12-minute episode.