The Hard Easy | Written and Storyboarded by Tom Herpich & Skyler Page |
Air Date: October 01, 2012 | Reviewed by hippenbobber64

Ugh, mosquito bites. Ugh, Dagobah-ass looking swimming hole. Ugh, smells like green beans. Why can’t Finn and Jake have a fun? You know, after all the lame maturing maybe they want to just act like kids for a day. Wait is that a shy mudscamp from a village that needs help? That’ll do.

A mudscamp named Woobeewoo brings Finn and Jake to aid South Woobeewoo (unofficial name). The mudscamps are awfully shy, awfully stinky and somewhat similar to the creatures from Earthbound’s Tenda Village. These mudscamps also “don’t know how to do anything cool”– so yes they are in desperate need of help despite how calm their line deliveries are.

The village elder (delightfully voiced by Jonathan Katz) tells F&J of the Megafrog and how the mudscamps believe they’re at risk of being eaten alive. You might’ve noticed the mudscamps have an improvisational tone to their dialogue, which might be due to the fact that Dr. Katz is in it. if you don’t know of Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist– it’s a 90s animated program that featured stand-up comics reciting their acts masked as therapy sessions split with improvised scenes between Dr. Katz and people in his life (mostly his son).

Whatever the case, this gives the boys an opportunity for a back-to-basics adventure. A good ‘ol season 1 or 2 inconsequential good time with silly ideas and solutions. You got your fairy tail references (Hansel and Gretal, Frog Prince) and Finn and Jake certainly act sillier and dumber. They have a difficult but creative time trying to start a fire, they make ridiculous hand signals, they blindly kick and punch an obvious fake frog, and they panic like kids do when they play at the sight of the Megafrog.

This might be giving the writers the benefit of the doubt, but you could read this as Finn and Jake not taking the Megafrog very seriously but instead they’re rejoicing in the chance to feel like kids again. Jake is going to be a father soon (as revealed in King Worm) and Finn has taken some steps into his first relationship, and there will be some heavy stuff waiting for them in the future.

Finn recalls some bits of dialogue and makes an out-there connection that the Megafrog is not in-fact trying to eat the stinky mudscamps. The Megafrog is actually on a problematic make-out rampage in an effort to undo his curse. Finn kisses him and the Megafrog is revealed to be a hot dude-bro with an ugly voice. There’s even a Sailor Moon style transformation sequence but with more guts and bones. Well done, boys.

It was great to know that even four seasons in and a shift to more serialized storytelling that they always had room for episodes like this that are about having fun more than anything. And that makes for 100 episodes of Adventure Time! Great job to all of us, except for me because it’s supposed to be 101 episodes this morning. I’ll have Reign of Gunters up by this evening.

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Reign of Gunters | Written and Storyboarded by Ako Castuera & Jesse Myonihan |
Air Date: October 08, 2012 | Reviewed by hippenbobber64

Thanks for returning to this page for the second review. If this is the first time you visited… everything was fine and these reviews were published on time, don’t worry about it! But do worry about your pets. Why you ask?

The penguins invaded, Finn and Jake lost a fight in their own home, the Candy Kingdom’s banana guards dismounted and defeated, lasers rained from the sky, the gumball guardians were captured and held hostage and all the bottles have been broken. This is what happens when you don’t show Gunter love, who is more or less a pet cat. The Ice King believes the behaviour is due to his neglect from leaving the house, but it probably doesn’t help that he wants to rub mayonnaise on a penguin.

The episode starts with Ice King looking for his Demonic Wishing Eye, a piece of bling we last saw in season one’s When Wedding Bells Thaw. Ice King decides to hit up the wizard market (with Wizard City making it’s first appearance) and ignores Gunter’s need for affection.

It’s revealed that Gunter was hiding the necklace actually underneath IK’s chair along with the kitty Gunter gave birth to (remember that?) in season two. Gunter has their own kitty they’ve been neglecting I guess or maybe not since we actually do see some affection here.

Gunter and their magical minions comically and quite easily conquer the land. Their first targets are Finn and Jake who they ambush while the boys are still in bed. Gunter proceeds to break some bottles while the losers lay crushed by the large waddling bird minions. The campaign then expands to the Candy Kingdom.

The candy forces were outmatched for this one. The Gunter-unicorns dismounted the banana cavalry with ease, the walls were breached by a laser-spitting psychic penguin kitty, and kingdom’s last defense in the gumball guardians were out-wrassled by the combined Voltron-esque might of several stacked Gunter minions. Finn’s secret plan of free bottles was a finite solution and Princess Bubblegum severely underestimated the power of a magic trinket you can buy at a wizard market

Gunter’s behavior this episode when left home alone is in stark contrast to BMO’s own adventure in BMO Noire. While BMO is left alone they let their imagination and creativity take over and try to resolve a hard-boiled mystery, whereas Gunter acts out and destroys stuff. You could probably see this as a reflection of their family. Ice King is prone to fits of melodrama and tantrums after all. The episode’s title card also features a tearful Gunter in a tavern with a milkshake, which could be illustrating their state of mind this episode.

Ice King unexpectedly becomes the hero of this problem (of his own creation). It’s not until IK arrives with a scolding and fearsome squirty-squirts that Gunter’s reign of terror finally ends. Where has Ice King been anyway? He’s all messed up and saves the day while leaving plenty of mystery of his time in Wizard City. Jay T. Doggzone would be proud.