ooo boy, theres a lot to unpack in these ones.

also. Brian Fucking David Gilbert.

Bro, Winter King, what in the fuck is this?? A hairless plucked Gunter penguin??! Most accursed creature in the AU

Damn, another two great episodes. This show has stayed consistently excellent so far and I am loving every minute. Getting to see Farmworld post-crossover was awesome; of course Big Destiny now runs society.

Farmworld Finn is awesome. I love seeing Finn as a dad. I wonder who the mum was? Also that soup is simultaneously wholesome and depressing; truly a pot of Adventure Time broth. Also ancient Jake the Dog: I just wanna hug him.

Scarab’s Farmworld form is awesome. Most menacing human-like design ever.

Jay and Little Destiny are so cute together. Love that. Also:

Farmworld Finn kicks ass! Loved him just straight up incinerating Scarab, although that didn’t work of course. Scarab’s spider form is downright terrifying. And did he kill Farmworld Finn? Dang.

And then we go to the Winter King’s dimension. I love the premise of this episode so much; the way that every thing is all just too perfect from the start. The song he sings about how he just “shook off the effects of the crown” is excellent; just what Simon Prime needed to feel even worse about himself. And the animation was stellar; loved how it switched to a more hazy style, utterly gorgeous.

I loved the reveal of the Candy Queen: Princess Bubblegum as the Ice King parallel. What a design. She nailed the Ice King style voice and mannerisms as well. And the song she sings to the captured Simon’s is excellent. I love how Simon Prime immediately empathises with her, whereas Winter King brushes off any claims that she could be helped, and instead just states how they need rescue. The way he phrased it, and the clear role reversal of Ice King and Princess Bubblegum really does make me think about why PB never really tried to help Ice King get better. We did see in “Broke his Crown” that she can’t access the crown when it’s operating normally, but it really seemed like she never even tried before hand. PB isn’t always the most ethical person however.

I also liked how then the episode switched into a very classic Adventure Time setup. The Simon’s have been kidnapped, and it’s up to Fionna and Cake to rescue them; loved it! Fionna is glob dang brutal to those mad candy citizens, poor things.

The reveal at the end that Winter King had projected the madness of the crown onto PB was awesome, and felt like a perfect explanation to an episode long mystery. Prime Simon must have felt so awkward when Fionna and WK made out. Also, Fionna zapping the magic out of the crown was such a dark way to end the Winter King plot of the episode. Watching a Simon age rapidly and turn to dust is so gruesome, and I’m all here for it. At least it freed PB. “So where are my beloved candy citizens” poor things all in a pile of candy goo, loved the way cake tried to block the sight.

But Winter King also had an excellent B plot that I haven’t even covered yet. Set in Fionna and Cake’s universe, we get to see Gumball and Marshall Lee hang out. Sooooooooo cute. I love their dynamic, and Gary is just so anxious and awkward, so perfect. Marshall Lee just like chilling out in Fionna’s apartment is quite funny, and the fact LSP is in there too is hilarious.

I love that even in a non-magic world, Gary Gumball manages to make a candy kingdom. Also, the Lemoncarbs (Lemongrabs) returning was not what I expected, but still a delight. I love how sweet Gary and Marshall Lee are together and I hope we get more.

I still cannot get over the fact how the intro sets the tone to the show so well. Hope they can keep it up throughout the season. Anything known if this is going to be a one off season or is there more planned? I was very skeptical that this show would hold up but they are exploring the AT lore so well.

The knife Fionna looted turned into a bread knife. Love the details that were hinting at Fionna and Cake sucking the magic out of these universes by being there.