Fionna and Cake | Aired: September 5, 2011 | Written and Storyboarded by Rebecca Sugar and Adam Muto | Reviewed by Katie

I feel like, in the year of a lord two-thousand and twenty-four, it can be easy to forget what fanfiction used to be. Even if you aren’t a fandom-type person (I mean, it’s theoretically possible) it’s not something that’s going to strike you as weird. Like, 50 Shades of Grey was 13 years ago. It’s been normalized. But, this episode was also 13 years ago. In retrospect, an inflection point in the culture, as we see the first generation of professional artists who grew up in fandom spaces, writing fanfiction themselves, start making “official” art.

So, we start getting things like Fionna and Cake. A genderswapped1Called “Rule 63”, because naming internet trends “Rule XX” was just the done thing back then version of Adventure Time which is also in-universe written by the Ice King. Who is the biggest creep in the cast, so, the tension. “Fanfic is something written be weird losers” but also, until the reveal a very straightforward Rule 63, based on sketches drawn by AT character designer Natasha Allegiri.

And genderswapping Adventure Time, a show which up to this point has been very masculine2I have a half-baked theory that “Adventure Time got real different starting in Season 3” means, more than anything else, that it got more feminine. Unsure if I could defend it right now, but I’m gonna keep it in mind throughout this rewatch., pretty much inevitably means the episode is About Gender. Like, it’s not trying to be! Until the ending gag, it’s very much just “what if we did a normal AT episode where everyone is a different gender”. But gender isn’t an empty signifier, an arbitrary fashion statement. Changing gender changes meaning. So Fionna, by being the same wild adventurer as Finn, becomes a tomboy challenging gender norms. (Note how she treats wearing a dress to Prince Gumball’s ball as something of a concession). We also get material shifts, such as Lord Monochromicorn losing Lady Rainicorn’s bright colors in order to read more masculine. (He also speaks in hoof taps, instead of Korean, because whatever he says to Cake, based on her reaction, is too filthy even for foreign language)

But the most interesting change comes in the romance between Fionna and Prince Gumball. Finn’s doomed, juvenile attraction to PB has been a major recurring storyline so far, so it’s only natural for it to show up here. But it’s not the same at all, is it. Even beyond the part where Gumball is mostly played by the Ice Queen in disguise, is he even meaningfully older than Fionna? She’s drawn much taller than Finn, which in cartoons is often visual language for maturity vis-à-vis age. And sure, it’s not too uncommon for 13-year-old girls to be taller than 13-year-old boys irl, but come on. Finn is 17 by the end of season 10 and he’s still drawn just as short as he is right now. And he’s not just a short king, he’s much taller in flash-forward specials done after season 10’s conclusion. There’s a maturity gap between Fionna and Finn, and it changes everything. Even the real Gumball is wowed enough by Fionna to want to pursue her, but she’s self-assured enough to turn him down, because she’s not looking for romance right now. Our boy could never, if Bubblegum ever asked him out he would fucking melt.

And, it’s uncertain what to take from this, because it could go any number of ways. There’s a feminist critique you could make, certainly. Fionna is more romantically aware because girls are expected to be. Under heterosexuality girls and women are expected to handle emotional processing for their male partners. Fionna has hips, and breasts, and long socks and a short skirt because Finn is allowed to have a nonsexualized body even in episodes directly about his developing sexuality in a way that a teenaged girl simply isn’t. Hell, the very first appearance of the character, in a non-canon comic doodled by character designer Natasha Allegiri, is about Fionna not wanting to go swimming because she’s on her period.

But also, just looking at this through the lens of feminist criticism feels incomplete to me. These characters were designed by a woman! The episode is co-boarded/co-written by Rebecca Sugar3Who is nonbinary, but key to our discussion they are not a man. Fionna may be dealing with a more adult level of romance, not because of unthinking bias, but because anything else would read as false to the people working on the episode who would know. Like, assume for a minute that character ages are exactly the same, and 18-year-old Gumball is hitting on a 13-year-old girl. That’s bad, but it’s not unusual. It’s something lots of people who read female as children deal with.

And there’s also the elephant in the room. The episode ends with the reveal that none of it is real; this was all just Ice King’s fanfiction. But like, was it really? When we pivot to the punchline, and everyone starts heaping praise on the IK, their eyes get all big, and the “reality” of the story breaks down. Despite this ending joke, I think it’s worthwhile to treat Fionna and Cake like a “real” story, and not just write it off as “well it’s wish fulfillment written by a demented old creep”. It certainly doesn’t play that way for the first 10 minutes, even if only to preserve a punchline. Writing things off is a copout, I feel. This episode is a rich text, a cultural moment preserved in amber. What is says about fanfiction and about gender is very 2011, a statement not meant as judgment but simply observation. It’s also one of the better AT episodes to this point, perhaps even the best one (a title it would hold for three weeks, see Grump’s review below). In conclusion everyone should have to take cross-sex hormones for at least one year as a gender Rumspringa. Thank you!

Stray Observations:

• Even in her formal dress, Fionna keeps her rabbit hood on. Is Fionna Campbell autistic-coded? The greatest thread in the history of forums, locked by a moderator after 12,239 pages of heated debate,
• We also get the most Rebecca Sugar-ass song she ever wrote, Oh Fionna. The rhyme scheme, the way they sing the last line together, the ukulele. It’s almost a parody. No offense, I love their songwriting, best in the business. But come on.

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What Was Missing | Aired: September 26, 2011 | Reviewed by Grumproro

Finn is my favorite Adventure Time character. He’s one of my favorite characters in anything, really. I don’t know when exactly that became true, but this episode might be it. Which is kind of astounding because this is an episode packed with character. The whole thing could have just been about Marceline and Princess Bubblegum and it would have been a powerhouse of emotional and engaging storytelling. But, as if not satisfied with just that, this episode also gives us a rather heartbreaking and profound glimpse into some of Finn’s biggest insecurities and fears.

Oh Finn, my heart cannot take seeing that expression on your face. How did this happen?! To answer that question, we’ll have to go back to the beginning. Of the episode, that is. Where we have Finn sneaking a peak at his treasure…a piece of PB’s bubblegum hair. Creepy? Maybe! But let’s just say I’m glad no one ever saw what was in my “crush box” in high school (not hair, for the record, but I won’t pretend that wasn’t a possibility). ANYWAY! Suddenly, a Door Lord appears and steals the hair, and then goes on to steal from Jake, BMO, and PB (as we know from the end, Marceline is just there to hang out – adorable). So they all end up outside the magical vault that contains their treasures. I love this premise. A door that contains a riddle? Awesome! It doesn’t take much to figure out that they’ll need to play music for the door to open, but they initially seem to miss the emphasis on “genuine”, as Marceline’s first attempt begins with some pretty basic “I want to suck the red from your pretty pink face” stuff. Door is not having it. No reaction. But we do get a reaction from PB, and now we know there really is something going on between these two. What’s their deal? Why can’t they just get along? Marceline will give at least a few clues, after she starts to be honest…

Dear Glob, I’m already crying and we haven’t even gotten to Finn’s song! Ah, emotional honesty. One of my favorite things. And the Door is loving it too. But it doesn’t last long, as Marceline is drawn out of this place of vulnerability, and we’re back to her tough exterior. But that’s okay. That was a lot to share all at once. I’d be retreating too. But what a wonderful bit of insight into her character, and her relationship with PB! Sure, they seem pretty mad at each other now, but there’s something real about their frustration, so I can’t help but be happy that I’m seeing it. I think this is what Finn means later when he sings, “even liked it when the two of you would get mad at each other”. There’s something special about feeling comfortable enough to show even your messiest emotions. Which is why I think this episode is musical. 

When I first discovered The Avocado back in the old days, I decided I wanted to contribute something to the community, and so I started hosting a weekly Musicals Thread. And I spent the next three years basically just rambling about my favorite musicals and why they were so important to me. My point is, I really believe that music is a powerful storytelling tool. And I even have a theory about why that is. This has probably been written about by plenty of people, so I’m sure I’m not about to say anything revolutionary, but because music is so important to Adventure Time, I’ll share my theory, which I think relates to this episode: when you sing, you are more vulnerable, but it also provides an opportunity to be honest. It feels like you’re letting people into your heart. Of course, you don’t need to sing to reveal what’s in your heart, that’s not what I’m saying. But I do think that the moment you use those vocal chords to put a song out there, you’re removing one layer of distance, of protection. Especially if you aren’t singing a pre-written song. Which is the premise of most musicals. Sure, we know the songs are pre-written, and that all of this is fake, but if we can suspend our disbelief and enter the world of the musical, these are people singing their thoughts and feelings. They are opening up to their listeners. Trying to communicate something vital to who they are. Just like Finn does in this episode. 

Watching his friends walking away, leaving him alone, Finn’s immediate impulse is to stop them. Do whatever it takes. Just stop them from leaving. Because none of this is worth it if they aren’t together. So, he begins to sing. And, of course, what he sings is his truth. He realizes the door requires honesty (a genuine band), and he will deliver. He shares his messy feelings. 

He reveals his deep fear that no one takes him seriously. He’s alone in this strange, distinctly non-human world, and he is painfully aware of that, and he wonders how the others see him. A friend? A joke? A knight? A brother? A creep who treasures a piece of bubblegum hair? Maybe none of these things. Maybe he’s nothing. Someone that’s easy to walk away from. So he sings his little heart out, and I cry. Every single time. No matter how many times I watch (or listen). Because it feels so real to me. And I am so touched to see a 13 year old boy character express himself so clearly and honestly. And it gives me hope. Because that’s a beautiful thing. And the other characters respond to his song as well. They really, truly hear him. Jake stops pretending, Marceline and PB put aside their differences and harmonize. So they come together, and play his song, making beautiful music, and the door opens. And, thanks to the power of song, all is well again. 

But now we know what we know. We can’t unknow it. This is knowledge we will carry in our minds in each new episode. What will that mean? Will anything change? To me, this moment in the show felt like a new kind adventure was beginning. And I couldn’t wait to see more.