Adventure Time: “Cherry Cream Soda”

Adventure Time: “Cherry Cream Soda”

Season 7, Episode 3
Air Date: November 4, 2015

Root Beer Guy was set up to be one of Adventure Time's later-series breakout characters, debuting in season five's “Root Beer Guy” (a season highlight in the show's greatest season), but tragically died a year later in season six's “Something Big”, sacrificing himself to save the Candy Kingdom. Root Beer Guy's widow Cherry Cream Soda takes centre stage in her titular episode, which explores one character's grief in a way previously unseen in this series.

We've had death and mourning in Adventure Time before (“James”), but not from the perspective of a person mourning the death of a romantic partner; specifically, a wife grieving over her dead husband. The opening four minutes in “Cherry Cream Soda” are among the most quietly sad and thoughtful the show has produced, where we discover Cherry Cream Soda has dreams every night recounting Root Beer Guy's death. Confused every morning, she stumbles into the bathroom, and seeing the shower is running, thinks her sweetheart has come back. Instead, it's Starchy, her new husband of two months. He is growing frustrated at Cream Soda's inability to cope with Root Beer Guy, but tries to play the supportive husband role. There is a tenderness between the two in their early scenes together, though not exactly a romantic spark. It is reminiscent of the scenes shared by Ruth Fisher and George Sibley in Six Feet Under's later seasons. In both situations, we're given reason to wonder whether Cherry Cream Soda and Ruth are actually in love with the new men in their lives, or are merely trying to fill the void left by their deceased husbands; evidence leans towards the latter for both.

The gentleness we see between Cream Soda and Starchy gives away in the episode's later half after Root Beer Guy's return. It's ironic that Cream Soda finally trying to move forward with her life by burying the remains of her lover is the action that brings him back to life, forcing her to confront her past head on. She loves him still and he loves her, but she's obligated to stay with Starchy, and he's hurt that she would even remarry. Cherry Cream Soda is likewise hurt, by Root Beer Guy's heroic selflessness; by sacrificing himself to save the kingdom, he made a conscious decision to no longer be with her. This is how she sees it, at least. These complicated feelings between the two could have played out in a very straight, and raw John Cassavetes film sort of way. This is Adventure Time, of course, which always keeps me guessing, and naturally, turns a little more animated than I would have done; hey, it is a family show, after all. Starchy steps in and shows Cherry Cream Soda his jealous and psychotic side, where he chases and attacks Root Beer Guy with digging tools in an attempt to kill him and return him to the grave. We, the viewer, sort of expected this from Starchy. We've known him long enough and seen him in unfavourable light before. This is Cream Soda's first exposure to an ugly and sinister Starchy, she is disgusted and immediately turned off; basically telling him to hit the road.

200 plus episodes in, it still impresses me how much content and theme Adventure Time can unload in 10 minute increments, and I never expected “Cherry Cream Soda” to transition from grief over a dead lover, to reconnecting with a former lover. I understand Starchy's role in this episode, and I'm sure the series has bigger plans for Root Beer Guy's return (otherwise, why would the writers have given him super strength?), but the episode's second half doesn't resonate as strongly as the first. I typically prefer Adventure Time in its quieter, more emotional and microcosmic modes, so the almost mundane first half of “Cherry Cream Soda” is my catnip. Give me a sad character for an entire episode exploring the reasons behind her sadness, and trying to overcome them, and I'm hooked. The episode's less compelling second half devotes a couple minutes to the fighting between Root Beer Guy and Starchy, and it's the perfect way to write Starchy out of the equation, but I do wonder how the episode would have played out if it remained quiet and introspective, and kept Starchy around.

Cherry Cream Soda agreeing to date Root Beer Guy again, at least “one date a time” (as opposed to officially getting back together) is satisfyingly sweet, if only because of the cute flashback to their origins, where we see Princess Bubblegum create the two of them, clink their glass bodies together to kiss, then declares them married. They were literally created to be together, so Cream Soda giving Root Beer Guy a second chance, even after he demolished their house a few scenes earlier in the fight with Starchy, is an optimistic ending. I hope his new-found super strength - which he is thus far unable to control -  doesn't turn this into a narrative of spousal abuse, but at this stage in the game I wouldn't be surprised. Under the guise of cute candy people with brightly coloured bodies, the writers of Adventure Time can tackle any serious real-world topic they think relevant. The show's taken plenty of dark turns before.

“Root Beer Guy” was one of Adventure Time's truly special stand-alone episodes, and now with “Something Else” and “Cherry Cream Soda”, it's turning into an evocative saga in this show's ongoing narrative, tackling issues relating to spousal relationship drama that no other episodes are exploring. Things could go either way for Root Beer Guy and Cherry Cream Soda at the end of this episode, and I'd be a fool to try and bet just where this story is going to go next.