Adventure Time: "Varmints"

Adventure Time: “Varmints”

Season 7, Episode 2
Air Date: November 3, 2015

In discussing Adventure Time, we are so far removed from the traditional Saturday morning cartoons of old, shows built around a single premise and status quo, and would spend years building narratives off the same launch pad. Even Cartoon Network's own classic first-wave of shows – Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo – functioned this way. You could stumble upon the show while channel surfing and immediately get into the episode, a season one episode or a season five episode working with the same base ingredients. There's a comforting familiarity in a series that doesn't experience drastic changes, generally keeping the premise static throughout the show's entire lifespan. It's a cartoon staple, from the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner short films to more adult fare such as The Simpsons.

Adventure Time's narrative progression from episode to episode traces back to the show's anime influences. Many of the writers and animators were of the generation that grew up on the first major wave of dubbed anime airing in North America throughout the 1990s; series such as Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. I'm younger than the creators of Adventure Time, but I grew up on those same shows towards the end of the '90s into the new millennium, so I admit to a degree of nostalgia that explains why the storytelling structure of Adventure Time resonates with me. Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, as well as Pokemon and Digimon, were the first arc-based television shows I started watching; the first time I grew invested in serialized stories, to a degree where I experienced some pretty hardcore fandom for several years. I would excitedly think about these shows all day and discuss them with my friends and plop in front of my couch every day after school to watch my favourite characters in new adventures. Unlike the Western animated shows I watched at the time, the anime told stories of consequence; things actually mattered and events would directly influence future episodes and the possibility of missing just a single episode of these shows was akin to breaking a Commandment. Adventure Time is a little more episodic than these anime, and it rarely forms proper story-arcs, but the world building and naturally progressing character story-arcs are there. Adventure Time is sneaky in how every plot, no matter how lite, can matter in a big way and be setting up future narratives; it's one big world and every action has consequences.

Continuity and over-arching narrative progression isn't new to animated television, but it's rarely seen in a series targeted towards such a youth audience as Adventure Time's, and with the show's inconsistent and difficult-to-track air dates, it's likely that a large portion of its youth audience doesn't even watch every episode in order. While every episode is a self contained 10 minute story that's accessible enough on its own, this is a series that rewards its most dedicated viewers, and I can't imagine not watching every episode in order.

A season three episode titled “What Was Missing” which aired back in 2011 received a lot of attention in regards to Princess Bubblegum's and Marceline's relationship. In the episode, a creature called the Door Lord causes mischief by stealing one prized possession each from Finn, Jake and BMO, before transporting through a magical door out of their tree-house. The trio follow his path and soon meet up with Marceline and Bubblegum, who are also after the Door Lord. He is hidden away through a large locked door that can only open through the power of song. The gang form a band and try to rehearse a possible song, but bickering between Bubblegum and Marceline causes Marceline to sing a song directed at her, “I'm Just Your Problem”. Lines like “Sorry I'm not made of sugar / Am I not sweet enough for you? / Is that why you always avoid me? / That must be such an inconvenience to you” imply a bitterness in their current relationship, feelings of resentment toward one another, and hint that there was a friendship between them at one time. It also reads a break up song, even containing a suggestive throwaway lyric “I'm gonna drink the red from your pretty pink face”. After the Door Lord is defeated, the crew find the items that were stolen from them by the villain. Among them is a black band t-shirt, that Finn and Jake assume to be Marceline's. We're told it's Bubblegum's, as it was a gift from Marcy to her a long time ago, and Marcy blushes when Bonnibel admits to still keeping it (even saying she wears it as pyjamas). It clearly means a lot to Bonnibel for the Door Lord to take it in the first place, and for her to chase after him to retrieve it. “What Was Missing” opened up a lesbian subtext that has grown in credibility in recent years.

The Marceline and Bubblebum relationship was resurfaced in season five's "Sky Witch", which contains many subtle nods at a lingering romantic history, such as Bonnibel deeply inhaling the scent of the band t-shirt she slept in the previous night (previously seen in "What Was Missing") or the photograph of the two of them posted on the inside door of her closet. Marcy and PB carry the plot of the episode, which revolves around them trying to retrieve Marcy's beloved stuffed animal Hambo from the Sky Witch, Maja. Hambo was a deeply significant possession of Marcy's, given to her centuries ago by her then-guardian Simon (before he became the Ice King), but was sold to Maja by her ex-boyfriend Ash. To respect the laws of the kingdom, Bonnibel decides to make a switch, but the only way to get back Hambo is for Peebs to give Maja her most prized possession - which we later find out is the rock t-shirt she was gifted by Marcy. Bubblegum sacrifices her most beloved possession so Marceline can get hers back, in one of the most touching displays of genuine love we've seen throughout Adventure Time.

In "Varmints", Marceline flies into Bubblegum's former bedroom at the Candy Kingdom and is shocked to find the King of Ooo in her bed, sleeping in Bubblegum's own pajamas and sporting a wig of her hairdo. He has been the Princess of the kingdom for two months, and Marceline is hurt that Bubblegum didn't tell her the news herself. She goes to Bonnibel's small ranch, which she dubs her Garden Kingdom, where Marceline helps watch over her friend's garden patch which has been the victim of multiple vermin attacks. Viewed in isolation, it's as entertaining a 10 minutes of television that series has produced, but for long time viewers is an instant classic; an important chapter in the long-running Bonnibel Bubblegum narrative and Bubblegum/Marceline relationship, and comes closer to textually canonizing their romantic feelings for one another.

Bubblegum is exhausted, even more-so than we saw from her just an episode ago in "Bonnie & Neddy". Losing the Candy Kingdom - both her home and throne - and the trust of the candy people has taken a mental toll on her, and retreating into a simple rural life is an essential step in her healing process. She's always been proud and stubborn, and isn't the type to casually seek out help from friends. If Marceline hadn't visited Bonnie herself, who knows how much longer Marceline would have been out of the loop in regards to her friend's life. The two go on a mini adventure together, while also becomes a stroll down memory lane, while the pair discuss their past in between hunting and killing the varmints that have been hurting Bonnibel's garden. It's an episode that lovingly balances a heartfelt dialogue throughout nearly its entire duration in between a basic action plot line, and its emotional pathos is off the charts. After witnessing Bubblegum's gradual ascent into shadier political and governmental corruption across Adventure Time's first six seasons, it's such a refreshing change of pace to see her in this light; as a person, vulnerable, hurting, and in need of help and healing.

It's interesting to see Marceline and Bubblegum act as angry (recent?) exes towards each other in "What Was Missing?", then to see their friendship gradually mend itself to where they stand in "Varmints". This is as emotionally close and on best terms as we've ever seen them, and there will be more scenes shared between them throughout the "Stakes" miniseries. Here's wondering if "Stakes" will shake up their friendship once more, or bring them even closer after achieving yet another victory together.