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Monday, June 9, 2014

What are you doing, Adventure Time?

Adventure Time is my FAVORITE show. I've been watching Gossip Girl lately but it pales in comparison to my love, admiration, and dedication for the show. Sure I haven't watched EVERY SINGLE Adventure Time episode, but I love the character arcs, the backstory, and the whole premise behind the show. I love the fact that the illustrators and writers use the obscurity and randomness in order to give a feel good message. Lately, I've been a little bit disappointed with Season 6 and AV Club. 

Season 6 has been focusing on Finn's development as he learns what it means to become a person. It's a sentimental time for me as I'm moving on from high school and learning how to live my own life without someone holding my hand the whole way through. So far, we've learned about Finn's dad's existence and how his life is kind of in a rut. 

In the latest episode, Breezy, Finn tries to have noncommittal flings with a bunch of girls in order to feel something. He longs for emotional connection but the only way he thinks he can have that is if he makes out and has a physical connection with a bunch of girls. He rejects Breezy, the bee that is attracted to his flower arm (I know I sound crazy), because of his perception of her (he's a human, she's a bee, kind of an issue). While her love for him began with attraction towards the flower but ends up seeing what a great guy Finn is. Finn just isn't ready to leave the emotional connections he had with Princess Bubblegum and Flame Princess behind. He is healed by Breezy's sacrifice (she lets go of her independence so that Finn can be saved) and regains his arm. He doesn't realize it was her because his heart and mind are still too young to fully grasp the emotional connection.

It sort of reminds me of the guy I liked freshman year vs S. I wanted a relationship so badly freshman year even though I didn't understand what it entailed. I thought it was just going out all the time and doing fun things together. While that is a big component, I learned junior-senior year that a relationship is the responsibility of having to support someone while they also support you. It's a weird sense of dependence and trust. 

I did not really like this episode though. Although it has a great message and reflection of the hook up culture in today's world, this is not what I watch Adventure Time for. I started watching and falling in love with this show when they showcased obscurity and randomness but also managed to include a heartfelt message. This just seemed like a contrite effort in order to stir something. My heartstrings were tugged a little but the episode fell flat in my opinion. 

I miss the Simon and Marcy days where the story is solely about them. There is no parallels to the world we live in, just the world of Simon and Marcy. Yet the message of growing up, abandonment, love is still able to shine through. That ability is what I admire so much about Adventure Time. I don't go to see "real world" stories told in crazy art and strange characters. 

I absolutely adored the episode Bad Timing because it focused on Lumpy Space Princess's growth in her own character realm. That episode was so sincere towards her feelings yet I felt the heartstrings tug when she talked about how she always loves more and how she's not a big enough entity yet to watch her lover walk into someone else's arms. 

The folks at Adventure Time seem to be working too hard to give off a particular message and I wish they would go back to the Simon and Marcy days, or even the Sad Face days.  

1 comment:

  1. I didn't know there was so much behind this show. I first watched it when I was in the US (only one episode, because my friends and I were totally taken aback by the huge amount of weirdness) and when the show came to the netherlands, I wanted to give it another shot, but they ruined it by calling it 'Tijd voor Avontuur' (Time for Adventure), which just sounds lame and not as powerful as Adventure Time, and the Dutch voices were freaking me out, they didn't really match the characters, so I never watched it again. Now that I've read your articles on the show, I feel like I should have watched it more often, at least while I was in the US

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