Review: Adventure Time “Gumbaldia”

War is coming.

Overview:

Finn tries his hand at something new- diplomacy.

Our Take:

Finn has had enough of war tactics. Bubblegum is preparing for war, but it just makes Finn uncomfortable. How prepared the Candy Kingdom is may be questionable, but Finn doesn’t see the point in it. Instead, he tries a tactic that he’s rarely used before diplomacy. That isn’t to say that Finn hasn’t been diplomatic before. He’s absolutely won people over with his strength of character and good will, but never before has he gone with the explicit purpose of being diplomatic. As he admits later in the episode, he’s so used to solving problems with violence that it doesn’t occur to him to use his words instead.

He goes into Gumbaldia with the intention of being peaceful and only takes up arms when Fern attacks him. He sticks to his word, and remains nonviolent, even when Gumball takes him on a military parade. Despite his discomfort, Finn remains resolute and makes sure that nobody is harmed– including Gumball. When there’s an accident, Finn catches Gumball before he hits the ground, saving his life. Gumball admits that Finn could have easily let him die and save him a lot of trouble, but Finn is resolute. Peace means peace, and he’s come for it. The action seems to have moved Gumball, and he signs a peace treaty for Finn to bring back.

It seems that things could finally go back to normal, but it turns out that Gumball staged the whole thing: the fall, the traps, everything. The celebratory dust he gave Finn is actually age-reversal dust and turns Peppermint Butler back into a child. He recruits several of the recurring antagonists (including a reluctant Ice King) to wreak havoc in the Candy Kingdom and declares war.

Considering this is the final season of Adventure Time, this is one strong cliffhanger. It’s clear that words won’t work this time around, which can only leave violence. Doesn’t look good for the coming episodes.