The Big Picture
- Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake will feature the Ice King teaming up with Fionna and Cake in a new series set in a different universe.
- “Simon and Marcy” is an emotional and dark episode of Adventure Time that explores Simon Petrikov’s transformation into the Ice King and the aftermath of the Mushroom War.
- The episode provides insight into the sacrifices made to survive the war and showcases the bittersweet nature of a world on the brink of destruction. It sets the tone for Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake‘s more mature themes.
With the release of Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake just around the corner, many fans of the original hit Cartoon Network series are rushing to Max or to their DVD collections to re-watch old episodes of the show. The chosen ones are most likely stories featuring Fionna (Madeleine Martin) and Cake (Roz Ryan). While there’s nothing wrong with this, the five stories that comprise the Fionna and Cake canon in Adventure Time aren’t the only ones that deserve a second look in the build-up for Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake. After all, the two gender-bent versions of Finn (Jeremy Shada) and Jake (John DiMaggio) are not the only characters of the original show that are featured prominently in the new series. From what we have gathered so far, Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake will have its titular characters teaming up with Simon Petrikov, also known as the Ice King (Tom Kenny).
Before the cataclysmic event known as the Mushroom War killed almost all humans and transformed the surviving ones into mutants, Petrikov was a scientist who bought the Ice King’s crown during a trip only to have his mind completely controlled by it. The premise of the new Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake series has its main characters living in a world that bears little similarity to Adventure Time‘s Land of Ooo. Instead, Fionna and Cake’s universe resembles very much our own. However, for reasons that we still don’t understand entirely, they travel across universes to Ooo, where they team up with a now powerless Petrikov to travel across the multiverse and fight evil.
There are many episodes of Adventure Time that can be watched by those who want to get a feel for who Simon Petrikov is and how he was turned into the Ice King, from Season 5’s “Betty,” which details Simon’s relationship with his long-lost fiancé, to the show’s very own finale. However, no episode is best suited to showing viewers who Simon really is without the crown and how becoming the Ice King transformed him than “Simon and Marcy,” the fourteenth episode of Adventure Time‘s fifth season. The episode also gives us a good idea of what the aftermath of the Mushroom War was like, and considering that the trailer for Fionna and Cake also shows glimpses of the conflict, this seems to be quite an essential plot point. The trailer also shows us images of a young Marceline (Olivia Olson), who was Simon’s companion on the road during the war, yet another character who is featured prominently in “Simon and Marcy.” Thus, to get really up to speed with Adventure Time before clicking on the first episode of the franchise’s new show, don’t forget to add this heartbreaking episode to your watch list.
What Is the ‘Adventure Time’ Episode “Simon and Marcy” About?
One of the most beautiful and heartbreaking episodes in the whole of Adventure Time, “Simon and Marcy” follows a Simon Petrikov on the verge of becoming the Ice King trying to protect a baby Marceline from the evils of the war-torn world. The story begins with Marceline, Finn, Jake, and the Ice King playing basketball together. Unable to understand why Marcy insists on hanging out with such a creepy, old dude — or an “ancient chubs” —, Finn and Jake prompt her to tell them about her past with the man who existed before the Ice King took over. Following in the footsteps of Season 3’s “Holly Jolly Secrets” and Season 4’s “I Remember You,” the episode gives us insight into who Simon Petrikov was, framing him as a man transformed by meddling with powers way beyond his ken.
But it’s not as if Simon had any choice. In a world in which gooey mutants are everywhere, trying to devour every living thing, the only way to keep yourself and the little girl you’re protecting alive is by resorting to magic. And, in Simon’s case, magic is only accessible if he puts the Ice King’s crown on and lets this weird entity take over him for a few seconds. The problem is that the longer the crown stays on his head, the more estranged he becomes from his real self: little by little, the Ice King begins to take over, and Simon becomes nothing but a long-lost memory, buried under the crown.
Marcy, of course, does her best to keep her friend from slipping away. She tries to convince him not to wear the crown, but it is pretty clear that the cursed object is their only chance of survival. So, she tries to keep him grounded, to remind him of who he is by appealing to his memories of her or by removing the crown from his head when it is clear that he has no control anymore. The scene in which they sing the Cheers theme song together is properly heart-shattering, losing only perhaps to the moment in which Simon slips and calls Marcy “Gunther” — the name that the Ice King uses to refer to his minions. The fact that Simon would use it for Marceline is a definitive sign that he is near a point of no return.
“Simon and Marcy” Is a Depiction of Life During the ‘Adventure Time’ Mushroom War
Marceline’s history with the Ice King takes place 996 years before the events of Adventure Time. The world in which the story is set looks a lot like our own, but devastated by a war of unimaginable proportions. The streets and woods that Simon and Marcy roam through are filled with remnants of a previously existing society: abandoned cars and motorbikes, broken VHS tapes, empty drugstores. There is a reference to Cheers, for crying out loud! It’s a world that Fionna and Cake will apparently revisit if we’re judging by the show’s trailer, even if only through flashbacks.
But re-watching “Simon and Marcy” is not just a perfect way to start getting used to some of the settings and characters of Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake. The episode is also a good prep for a show that is set to delve into darker themes, being geared towards a more young adult audience. Despite being a children’s show through and through, Adventure Time was never afraid of handling heavy subjects, frequently even leaning into horror and tragedy. Still, the show always balanced its darker streak with a considerable dose of lightheartedness.
“Simon and Marcy,” however, is one of the least lighthearted episodes of Adventure Time. It’s a story that is not afraid of being serious and dramatic, approaching topics such as the things people do to survive war and the madness that can come from it. Of course, magic is still present in the plot of “Simon and Marcy,” as are moments of happiness, but everything in it feels utterly bittersweet. These are the last remnants of a world that is about to disappear, and that goes both for the land being ravaged by war and for the small universe that Simon and Marcy have created for themselves. Even in a kid’s show that is not afraid to sound grown-up when it needs to, “Simon and Marcy” sure is an episode that stands out. It’s a perfect watch for those who want to get ready for an Adventure Time series that promises a more mature approach.
Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake debuts with two episodes on August 31 followed by two episodes weekly through September 28 on Max. You can check out the new trailer down below:
