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Most of the time Finn and Jake work really well together, their strengths complementing each other’s weaknesses. This is not one of those times. Finn has a tendency toward convoluted solutions to problems that often end up making things worse. We’ve seen it before and will definitely see it again, and honestly I empathize with Finn on this. I am constantly overcomplicating things, coming at issues from an odd angle when there are simpler and more obvious ways around it. And more often than not, my overthinking just causes me more problems and more stress. One thing that I’ve found to help with this is to have someone nearby who can push back and say, “I think it would be easier to come at the problem from this direction.” Unfortunately Finn doesn’t have that in this episode, and the result is that he ends up looking less competent than Cinnamon Bun.

It all begins when Princess Bubblegum tasks Finn and Jake with delivering the ultra-special Royal Tarts to the sacred Back-Rubbing Ceremony. Typically this is done by the Royal Tart Toter, but he is no longer of sound mind so it falls on the intrepid adventuring brothers. The most obvious path, and the one that PB tells them to take, is the Royal Tart Path – essentially an enclosed bridge that leads all the way to the Congressional Hall. Finn has a different idea, however. Convinced that tart thieves would be most likely to hit the Tart Path, he covers some extra tarts in paralyzing potion, straps them to Cinnamon Bun, and sends him along the Path as a decoy. Meanwhile, Finn and Jake set out on a more circuitous path through the desert.

Things start out fine, until Finn’s paranoia causes everything to go awry. Convinced that three vagabonds are thieves intent on stealing the Tarts, he and Jake antagonize them – which in turn leads the trio into stealing some of the delicious desserts. Finn and Jake then descend into a creepy-looking cave, on the basis that no Tart thief would expect it, and they are promptly attacked by zombie-like creatures that swipe more of the Tarts. To add insult to injury, the remaining Tarts are taken by a butterfly wielding a miniature laser gun. Dejected, the duo arrive at the Congressional Hall and are horrified to discover that Cinnamon Bun actually did manage to deliver his Tarts. They try to stop PB from eating one but are too late – only to realize that Cinnamon Bun had the actual Tarts all along.

As was noted last week, the prior two episodes had a heavy emphasis on Jake and examining his flaws. In a way this episode continues this trend, despite Jake taking on significantly less of a main role compared to Finn. As the older and more experienced brother, there were multiple points where he could have pointed out the follies of Finn’s convoluted plans. Instead he very clearly chooses to just go with the flow. While I appreciate his willingness to support his younger bro in this venture, he did let his laid-back tendencies get the best of him and it ended up costing both of them.

It may seem based on the way I’ve written about this that I didn’t like the episode. On the contrary, I’ve always enjoyed ‘The Other Tarts’ quite a bit. We’ve seen many instances where Finn and Jake have spent the majority of an episode messing things up only to pull it together in the end – often by punching something – but in this case they were saved only by pure luck. It’s important to show that the two of them won’t always be able to brute force their way out of a situation, especially a situation of their own making. Plus, there are just so many funny moments in the episode – the brief clip of Cinnamon Bun’s excessively easy trip along the Path, the bizarrely threatening butterfly, the Tart Toter’s unhinged speech. On top of that, pretty much every one of Hynden Walch’s line readings were gold. Ultimately it is a fun episode about the follies of overthinking, despite a handful of misgivings I may have (particularly in Finn and Jake’s treatment of the trio in the desert, who are likely paralyzed now).

Trivia/Stray Observations –

• Yes, Jake, the Royal Tart Toter is magnificent.
• “He used to be, but he’s gone mad. And old.”
• If the Royal Tarts are so rare, why does PB seem to have a whole factory producing them?
• “I want you to tote those Tarts through the tunnel.” Say that five times fast.
• “That’s paralyzing potion, Finn. Don’t touch it, or it’ll paralyze you forever!” The perfect delivery from Hynden Walch for both this line and the following giggle.
• “This Tart tote is going to be a perfect cake walk.”
• I feel like they would have had a better chance of making it through the desert with the tarts if they covered up the pack with a sheet or something.
• Is JJ related to BMO?
• I love how Jake creates an umbrella above his head.
• Kind of grisly that the giant skeleton they walk through seems to still have its brain inside.
• “Jake, did you just sniff my butt?” “Uh…just now?”
• “I was blinded by my hoo-bris.”
• Butterflies with laser guns. Now I have seen it all.
• I don’t think an ax is the best tool for cutting tarts.
• “I’m not paralyzed. I’m gripped with the flaavoor.”
• “Nobody move! He can’t see or hear, but he can feel your movement.”
• ·“This cosmic dance of bursting decadence and withheld permissions twists all our arms collectively. But if sweetness can win, and it can, then I’ll still be here tomorrow to high five you yesterday, my friend. Peace.”
• Random LSP cameo at the very end, there.
• The music that plays when Finn and Jake arrive at the Congressional Hall is the same as the episode’s title card music. I hadn’t noticed that.
• Apparently Princess Bubblegum admitting that she lied about the consequences of losing the Tarts was omitted in the UK’s original airing, for unknown reasons.
• Note that Finn and Jake clearly did not actually eat Cinnamon Bun at the end of ‘Power Animal’
• The original title for the episode was ‘Death by Dessert’.

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The episode opens with Finn and Jake helping feed some local birds. Finn’s thorough munching on an apple prompts Jake to tease Finn about Princess Bubblegum and his lack of “smoove talking”. We all knew we eventually would get a Finn puberty episode and this one certainly gets down with some unique ideas of how to craft such an episode.

Finn and Jake are well-known adventurers and when Mrs. Yonder (wounded bird played by Pendelton Ward) calls them heroes, Finn can’t help but feel proud. He knows how to fight, he always wants to help, but there are still a lot of things he has yet to navigate through his young life. This episode does indeed illustrate Finn isn’t the best at properly communicating with people. There’s also a lesson here about being honest with yourself as Finn has a hard time admitting he’s out of his element as a hero in this week’s installment.

Tree Witch emerges from the shrub but unlike the times Marceline, Finn, and Jake did it (I kind of jokingly wrote about this previously)– Tree Witch is herself the shrub. It would seem she never went through the character growth she needed to emerge triumphantly from this green stuff. Tree Witch is powered by evil and a desire to be beautiful. Her name and by extension her appearance also actually reminds me of Tree Trunks.

Tree Witch needs Finn to get a piece of hair because she too is also burdened with not being honest with herself (she’s ugly inside and out and hair alone can’t fix that). Finn is really out of his element here and even tries to get out of helping her despite his claim as a hero.

Finn attempts to gain hair from Muscle Princess, Lumpy Space Princess, Princess Beautiful, then Princess Bubblegum. In every one of these scenes we can see lots of strange tree and flora growth. In Muscle Princess’ region we see trees prominently appearing and even growing out of the clouds! There’s also tiny trees in front of Muscle Princess’ castle (presumably to make her look even larger). In the woods with LSP we see branches super-extending out from trees in a strange upward pattern. And with Princess Beautiful in the graveyard we see real thick leaves growing out of rocks and tree bark extending downwards. Or even long candy canes growing out of the shrubs in the Candy Kingdom. The Tree Witch (and puberty) has made their presence known to Finn.

Also with every one of these encounters– Finn either can’t find the right thing to say, or he does something creepy like cutting LSP’s hair while she’s asleep or forcefully grabbing Princess Beautiful’s head (“Why? What are you? Please stop.”). Finn receives some convincing from Jake to go on a date to obtain hair, and FInn’s immediate reaction (maybe without even realizing it) is to see Princess Bubblegum.

The writers had fun with this one having Finn treat this date as a life-or-death situation for Jake. The manner in which Finn rushes through everything and just going through the motions of a date is a not-too-subtle comparison to people who are only interested in getting laid. 

Finn blurts out some crazy phrases if viewed through the lens of innuendo. Despite all this Finn does make himself vulnerable and genuinely wants to know if PB likes him. And maybe that’s why he finally gets the piece of hair he needs, not necessarily because he’s direct about it, but more that he is able to recognize it’s something that he wants. 

When Finn confronts Tree Witch he claims that he’s great at speaking with women and bluntly lays out Tree Witch’s unattractive qualities. His claim is a lie though because not only does he make her feel bad, but he makes himself feel bad as well. It’s not until Finn senses this poor communication and accepts that he’s not great at it that he can be happy in this episode; and Tree Witch had to acknowledge she is ugly inside and out (and evil!) before she can be kind of happy (and then immediately fracturing her branch).

Now here’s that clip you all wanted to see: