When Wedding Bells Thaw | S1 E17 | June 28, 2010 | Reviewed by Blip

Synopsis – Bored out of his mind while listening to Jake practice his viola, Finn hears a knock on the door to their treehouse and is surprised to find the Ice King on their doorstep. He immediately attacks Ice King but is rebuffed. After a brief battle, Ice King remembers why he came – to give Finn and Jake invitations to his wedding. To their shock, they find that the Ice King is indeed engaged to Old Lady Princess. Realizing that getting married could curb Ice King’s princess-kidnapping tendencies, Finn and Jake try to wish him luck and scoot back inside but are reluctantly convinced into holding a ‘manlorette party’ for the villainous royal.

Finn and Jake bring Ice King to a number of establishments to party, but at every single one he ends up getting into a brawl. Frustrated, they put a stop to the whole thing. Ice King begins to have misgivings, wondering if he can really give up capturing princesses. This, of course, exasperates Finn and Jake, and it only gets worse when Ice King decides to call off the wedding. Through much push and pull, the brothers are able to convince Ice King to move forward with the nuptials.

Soon after, Finn and Jake head to the Ice Kingdom to attend the wedding. Ice King welcomes them and explains that Old Lady Princess will be hoisted from the ceiling and that, once she touches his beard, they will be married. Finn becomes suspicious about Old Lady Princess’s unusually large eyes, and as he moves closer he sees a reflection of her in her own eyes. Her reflection explains that the engagement ring Ice King gave her has trapped her inside her own mind and forced her to do whatever he says. Finn launches himself at Ice King, prompting a battle that allows Jake to remove the ring from Old Lady Princess’s finger and return her to her right mind. Not realizing what has happened, Ice King holds out his beard to her and closes his eyes. He feels someone touch his beard and he declares the ceremony over – only to discover that it was in fact Jake that touched it. Finn and Jake return home to lounge around again, just as the Ice King shows up at their door asking them to help him celebrate the cancellation of his wedding.

My Thoughts – I’m going to be honest here – ‘When Wedding Bells Thaw’ has long been one of my least favorite episodes of Adventure Time. I actually skipped it my first time through the series, as I did many episodes that I had heard were ‘lesser’ from the first two seasons. At the time I was struggling to connect to the series and its seemingly random nature and wanted to push my way forward to the supposedly ‘better’ third and fourth seasons as quickly as possible. It’s a strategy that ended up working for me, as Season 3 solidified my interest in the series in a way that might not have happened had I tried to watch every single Season 1 and 2 episode. I have since come to re-evaluate much of the first two seasons through my various re-watches and have found a lot to love. ‘When Wedding Bells Thaw,’ however, has remained at the bottom of my list no matter how many times I’ve seen it. That’s not to say it is all bad – I will get into some of the things I actually like about it momentarily – but it really does not do much for me.

It’s hard to say what exactly it is about this episode that makes it so low in my estimation, but I think a lot of my issues come down to the way Ice King is used here. Ice King’s obsession with kidnapping princesses had already been established in several previous episodes – ‘Prisoners of Love’, ‘Ricardio the Heart Guy’, and ‘What is Life’ – and this episode doesn’t really feel like it adds anything interesting to that equation. Beyond that, I feel like his use of brainwashing to completely remove his bride-to-be’s will somewhat undermines the writers’ attempts to turn him into a more complicated character, both in previous episodes and in this episode itself. The ickiness of the situation shifts him right back into a cartoonishly evil villain for me, which is unfortunate. Additionally, the sequence where he reconsiders his impending marriage and Finn and Jake have to talk him back into it feels like it drags on for too long. There were some funny moments there, but with the episode only being eleven minutes long I really think it needed to be tighter – especially as it made the final confrontation at the wedding feel a tad bit rushed.

That said, as with most Adventure Time episodes there are still things here to like. Whereas I don’t think Ice King was utilized all that well in this episode, I did enjoy Finn and Jake’s role as the straight men to his weirdness. They had some great moments of exasperation in response to Ice King’s antics, such as Jake breaking down when Ice King reacts to one of his platitudes about marriage with “Why?” I’m also fond of Finn and Jake’s willingness to help their nemesis celebrate, even if it was out of a sense of duty to ensure that he wouldn’t kidnap princesses again. It shows that they are able to look at things not just in black and white, at least for a little while.

I would also like to use this review as a chance to talk about an element of the show that has always been very important to me. Previously we’ve discussed the show’s use of vocal songs, like ‘House Hunting’ from ‘Evicted’, but I don’t believe we’ve spent much time on the show’s background music. Composed by Tim Kiefer (aka Staypuft) and Casey James Basichis, the background tracks often make use of a mixture of electronic and acoustic elements to create a quirky and unique atmosphere that is immediately recognizable. Just listen to this song from ‘Prisoners of Love’, for example, or this one from ‘Trouble in Lumpy Space’. In my view, this musical style is an integral part of making Adventure Time, well, Adventure Time.

Why am I bringing this up with regards to this episode? Because ‘When Wedding Bells Thaw’ contains perhaps the most well known background piece from the series, ‘Manlorette Party’ by Kiefer:

It’s such a good song, one that is not only quintessential Adventure Time but also just plain fun to listen to. It really helps elevate its sequence (the manlorette party, in case it wasn’t clear from the name, which is a very fun scene) above the surrounding scenes.

As I said, you can find things to like in pretty much any Adventure Time episode – even the ones you might personally find weaker than average.

Trivia/Stray Observations –

• “Good, because I’m about to kick it up a notch.” Proceeds to play an even slower song.
• “You cannot defeat me, child!” Except for all of those times where he did, in fact, defeat you.
• “I’m a lucky guy. I didn’t even have to kidnap this one!”
• “Yeah, good luck with ye and thy creepy wedding.”
• “What if she’s just after my Demonic Wishing Eye and Ghost Pouch?”
• “Marriage is the best thing that could ever happen to a jerk like you.”
• “This is bad news, man. We’ve got to go tell him that he can’t eat his wife!” “Eh, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
• “Come on up here, I’m almost finished tying up my bride.”
• “Stop scratching your ear, that’s gross.” “It wasn’t me. It was my foot, dude.”
• “I’m not crying, Finn. My tear sac is broken.”
• “It’s official, you done married a dog, dude!”
• “Wait, what am I laughing about?”
• I love that ominous wedding jingle that plays over the title card.
• A wagon pulled by penguins. What other form of transportation could you possibly want?
• Creating a sentient snowball and then immediately throwing it on the ground – that’s messed up, Ice King.
• I don’t think I even want to know what the deal with those swans was.
• The numbers that Ice King recites prior to the wedding are the first seven powers of 2.
• It’s never explained, but I wonder why Jake was able to wear the ring without being mind-controlled. Is it because he is a magic dog?

> Click Here for Spoilers for Future Episodes <

• From what I can tell, this episode serves as the first real hint of Ice King’s shift from enemy to frenemy of Finn and Jake.
• The dancing bears return in ‘Belly of The Beast’ in Season 2.
• ‘Reign of Gunthers’ (from Season 4) features Ice King’s Demonic Wishing Eye.
• Ice King’s marriage to Jake is brought up again in ‘Earth & Water’ in Season 5.

> Click Here for Snail Location <

The snail is found next to the door of the treehouse when Ice King first arrives.

Dungeon | S1 E18 | July 12, 2010 | Reviewed by CedricTheOwl

When Blip posted sign-ups for this project, I instantly knew which episode I wanted to write about first.  Not only is “Dungeon” the first in a long line of stellar dungeon crawl episodes, but the direct inspiration it takes from Dungeons and Dragons informs the entire show’s unique take on storytelling.

The episode opens with Princess Bubblegum dropping the boys off at a dungeon and tasking them with putting warning signs around the entrance to ward away the curious and foolhardy.  Naturally, this has the complete opposite effect on Finn, as the prospect of a challenge awakens the same instinct any RPG gamer should be familiar with:  if a dungeon is there, you gotta explore it; if an enemy has stats, it theoretically means you can kill it.

Jake, however, is less than impressed with Finn’s bravado.  He just wants to enjoy a picnic lunch, and advises Finn that the Dungeon of the Crystal Eye will wipe him out if he tries to take it alone.  Jake is pretty blunt in his assessment of Finn’s chances in the dungeon without him, but he’s not too far out of line here.  Finn is on the low end of the power scale among his immediate acquaintances:  Jake’s stretchy powers speak for themselves, Ice King is a powerful wizard who has demonstrated the ability to incapacitate Finn and Jake instantly if he can get the drop on them, and even Princess Bubblegum is a mad scientist who cured death in her first appearance.  

> Click for Spoilers – Spoiler Level: Season 4 <

Finn is only going to get lower from here as the show’s regulars expand to add Marceline, a nigh-unkillable vampire demon, and Flame Princess, a walking cataclysm that can burn down a kingdom without even trying.

Undeterred, Finn makes a bet with Jake that he can clear the dungeon in under 11 minutes (a cute nod to the typical length of an Adventure Time episode) and leaps into action.  At first things go well, as Finn effortlessly evades traps, a horde of monsters, and even a treasure-vomiting mimic (the first of three monsters deliberately based on D&D creatures).  He’s thrilled by the peril; he’s in his element, to use his own words.  Or so he thinks.

Soon Finn wanders into the territory of the Demon Cat, a disarmingly calm but sinister denizen of the dungeon.  Clancy Brown does an amazing job voicing the creature, sounding like his Timmverse take on Lex Luthor but with a dash of Adventure Time silliness thrown in.  His whole scene is stuffed with memorable lines (Demon Cat quotes comprise a non-trivial percentage of the Notable Quotes section), and his ability to divine the basic gist of information about his prey is instantly memorable and never stops being funny.  He’s also our second monster with a direct lineage from D&D, taking a lot of visual inspiration from the Displacer Beast.

Finn quickly finds himself outmatched by the Demon Cat, whom is only deterred from finishing Finn off by Jake’s scent on his clothes.  Frustrated but still determined, he soon encounters a locked door, the key to which is enclosed within a Jelly Cube (our third D&D monster immigrant, obviously based on the Gelatinous Cube).  Unable to extract the key, Finn cheers himself up with a quick dance party that lands him in the lair of the Bucket Knight, another enemy far outside Finn’s ability to defeat in combat.  All through these encounters, Finn is racking up damage that the animators render in painful detail:  Demon Cat left his clothes in tatters, the Jelly Cube left acidic burns on his skin, and his dust-up with the Bucket Knight left Finn’s face upsettingly bruised and swollen.  There’s still plenty of comedy to these encounters, but for the first time in the show’s run the danger feels somewhat real.

> Click for Spoilers – Spoiler Level: Season 2 <

This gradual introduction of real stakes to the adventures is what sells the sudden tonal shift towards serious adventuring in “Mortal Folly” so well.  The show incrementally introduces the idea that this world and these characters aren’t just a nonsensical farce, until the audience is primed to see them in a straightforward adventure of the type they would normally ruthlessly mock.

After another disastrous encounter with the Demon Cat, now aware that there’s no dog to interfere with his attacks, Finn is whisked away and patched up by his guardian angel… who turns out to be yet another resident of the dungeon hungry for the flesh of boy adventurers.  Fortunately for Finn, Jake is also in the Guardian Angel’s stewpot, having fallen prey to his own set of perils in the dungeon.  Jake notes that Finn would have effortlessly aced all the challenges he failed at, while Finn has made a running commentary of noting how easily Jake could have handled the enemies and obstacles that stymied him.  With a helpfully labeled Newfound Respect for each others’ strengths, the boys make quick work of the Guardian Angel and head to the Chamber of the Crystal Eye.

> Click for Spoilers – Spoiler Level: Season 5 <

It’s possible the Dungeon of the Crystal Eye is purposefully designed by whoever built it to present adventurers with challenges specifically targeting their weaknesses.  In season 5, the Dungeon Train explicitly operates on this principle, preying on the fight/loot/repeat instinct of adventurers who challenge it to gradually brainwash them and turn them into permanent residents of the Train.  Ooo’s dungeons do not play nice.

What they find therein is even more than Finn and Jake working together can handle.  The Crystal Eye sealed away a flotilla of flying eyeballs, wreathed in flames hot enough to melt any weapon used against them.  Just as all hope seems lost, Princess Bubblegum rides in on a laser-firing swan to rescue them, angry at them for ignoring the explicit warnings she gave them to stay out of the dungeon.  This is where the writing feels most like a Dungeons and Dragons session;  PB rescuing the boys reads like a Dungeon Master pulling out a deus ex machina to save a foolhardy party who tackled a challenge far above their ability.

Those kinds of narrative concessions, that give and take between the players and the DM, are at the heart of telling a story through a tabletop RPG campaign.  The DM can spend months crafting a tightly woven narrative with interesting characters and clever twists, only for the players to completely ignore or bypass it in pursuit of some seemingly irrelevant sidequest.  A climactic battle with the main villain and his meticulously balanced minions can suddenly turn into a slaughter in the villains (or the heroes’) favor due to a lucky roll of the dice.  Good DMs – and good players for that matter – learn to adapt to these unexpected situations, which is what makes D&D modules unique as stories and also very difficult to fit into traditional narrative structures.

That improvisational approach to storytelling is what gives Adventure Time such bizarre comedic energy.  It also leads to the show’s world and story developing in ways that the creative team in the early seasons never could have imagined.  Storyboarders could take characters they like in unexpected directions.  Background artists could add little details that blossomed into full-fledged canon.  In the animatic commentary for this episode, Pen Ward confirms that he writes the initial treatments of episodes as though they were D&D sessions.  Not everyone cares for that style of free-wheeling collaborative storytelling in a television show.  I myself was unfamiliar with the ins and outs of D&D storytelling when I started watching the show, but once I could see the trick for what it was, it made me appreciate the show’s storytelling all the more.

> Click for Spoilers – Spoiler Level: Snail <

When Finn is tossed into the Guardian Angel’s stew, the snail briefly bubbles to the surface along with some other ingredients.

GIF of the Episode:

Dispatches from the Animatic Commentary: 

• The voice director deliberately kept in Jeremy Shada’s takes where his voice cracks, as to him they suggest moments where Finn has to bolster his confidence with bravado.  This episode in particular becomes an interesting rewatch with that knowledge
• Background artist ghostshrimp (aka Daniel Bandit) designed the eponymous dungeon as though it were ruins built on ruins built on even more ruins.  The animators lampshade the notion of how silly it is that the chamber at the center of the dungeon is also one roof away from open sky
• According to Pen, the most common edits he made to this episode were to change Finn’s expressions of worry or fear to smiles during the early dungeon crawling.
• Rebecca Sugar has a quick scene she boarded in this episode (it’s of the Demon Cat recoiling from Jake’s dog smell).

Notable Quotes: 

• “Listen to Jake, Finn.  He only wants what’s best for y- Augh!  Help me!”
• “No Jake, stay here… with me.”  “Oh my!”  I quoted this one incessantly back in the day
• “I have approximate knowledge of many thing.”
• “You can’t hurt me!  I’m a radical boy, on a mission for the Crystal Eye!”
• “I’m going to unzip your skin and wear you like a little coat.”  Clancy Brown’s understated delivery really sells this line
• “Dang it, Jake!  I’ll get that Crystal Eye on my own.  With my own odors”
• “For you see, none can defeat THE BUCKET KNIGHT!”  Dee Bradley Baker must have had a blast with this character
• “ACTIVATE THINE OWN POWERS, AND WE SHALL ENGAGE IN THRILLING SINGLE COMBAT!”
• “All aboard the Knuckle Train to Fist Planet!”
• “You can’t hide from me, Jim.  I know almost everything, remember?”
• “Everybody wants to eat me up.  Probably because I’m so sweet.”
• “For Little Kid Soup, the secret is a low flame over a long period”  “That’s Jake’s secret too…”
• “Just hop on my powdered donut, boy!”  In the animatic, Pen noted that this is one of the lines that tripped up John DiMaggio for how ridiculous it was