#50th dead world jake…

[d1rtb]

and i miss yooooooouuuuuuuuu

[peculiaritybending]

I strongly believe that one day in the very, very far future Simon, Betty, Marceline and Bonnie will all finally be together in a dead world that suits them best and be happy as a family forever and ever.

[secret-citrus]

Prismo's Grief over Jake is the strongest idea introduced in the show so far

I mean, think about it. Prismo is this ageless being manifested entirely by the dreams of an old man who's been Sleeping Beauty'd for eternity. Jake came to him purely by accident, no desire to have a wish fulfilled. He's likely one of the few beings destined for the 50th dead world to ever visit Prismo's room (I can imagine when you've reached true peace, there's not much of anything you could ever want that'd warrant visiting the Wish Master) and thus one of the only beings that doesn't want a wish granted (besides other cosmic-level entities such as Cosmic Owl). Can you even imagine how much that must've ended up meaning to Prismo, an immortal being whose only purpose is to give people stuff and send them away? And then Jake turns out to be this really chill dude with similar interests! They become such good friends so quickly that Prismo ends up giving Jake the exact wish he'd need to make to save the day.

It's implied that they hung out a lot off screen between Jake the Dog and Wake Up, where Prismo not only agrees to sacrifice his life as a favor to Jake, he suggests it in the first place and argues with Jake when the dog doesn't want to do it. Then, Jake became the old man who dreams of Prismo. Jake is legitimately his best friend in the entire multiverse. No wonder Prismo got incredibly attached.

Now, we don't know how Jake died yet, but it's been repeatedly implied to have been premature, perhaps some kind of battle-related death. Maybe Prismo kinda forgot that Jake is mortal and hadn't even tried to brace himself for losing his best friend. We see that Finn never got over Jake, but at least he knew that he'd die, too, and they'd meet up in the afterlife. Prismo may never get that. He'll have to live through the rest of forever without his favorite guy.

No wonder Prismo's in such bad shape.

[kooabreen]

spoiler warning for fiona and cake ep 9 + 10!!

i haven’t been this excited for a show in a bit and am so sad it’s over (for sure felt short) - random thoughts to throw into the void:

• i love how bettygolb chose beth to teach simon her lesson, especially since she’s reincarnated jake. it was sweet to see the bond finn/shermie and beth/jake have throughout all of their lifetimes, with jake being a sort of life teacher and finn the comet, learning throughout their lifetimes

• i can see jakes ascension into the 50th dead world in beth’s character and interactions with simon - her attitude towards life etc etc. also cool to think ab betty maybe knowing that was jake and knowing that spirit would be the perfect mentor for simon

• shermie jus playing video games while naked simon took over his mind lmao

• DJ FLAME GOT WITH FERN

• marshall and gary are dating for less than a week and marshall’s already performing love songs in public

• i’m honestly really glad they didn’t get magic back - im hoping for a slice of life spin off show

• i was hoping for more finn content to see where he’s at w jakes passing/to know more ab his death, but i think it’s fitting that it was left out. it aligns with finn’s character and his progression through lifetimes that he isn’t able to let go of jake, choosing instead to avoid those feelings and the growth of acceptance.

• loved how marshall, gary, and hunter all tackled scarab when fiona got cornered

[lemonylepid]

I'm watching an episode of adventure time called "Time Sandwich"

My man Jake follows the heart and the universe to create an ultimate, incredible sandwich. Almost blessed by the cosmos. There's a reason Jake ascends to the 50th dead world, he has figured out how to harmonize with the universe, and it rewards him in life in so many ways. This sandwich is proof.

And then Magic Man, who was cursed to wander Ooo by the immortal Abraham Lincoln (who is the king of Mars) until he learns empathy, fucking TAKES IT.

This magic donkus sandwich stealer encases himself, mid-fall and about to eat this incredible sandwich, in a magic molasses bubble that slows down time inside it to torture Jake.

Did I get that right?

This show is fucking intense.

[grinchthem]

it's interesting that jake went to the 37th dead world the 1st time he died but in together again he was in the 50th dead world. he must have done something in between. also the afterlife system of adventure time is so interesting... i think it's mainly based on buddhism because there's reincarnation but the 50th dead world seems to be nirvana. but also the lower dead worlds were referencing levels of hell in dante's inferno. also jake makes multiple references to buddhism throughout the show, so i feel like it's implied that he reached a state of nirvana throughout his life

[hanmajoerin]

I’m not crying, you are.

[mistermaxwellboucherdieasilived]

TIFFANY? Not surprised he's a cop though

[j4gm]

TOGETHER AGAIN SPOILERS

A thread of lore, Easter eggs, episode connections, and background details from Adventure Time: Distant Lands: Together Again! Let me know if I missed anything! This is adapted from my original Twitter thread.

Keep reading ⬇️⬇️⬇️

1. I was expecting them to perhaps do a classic style title sequence for this episode, but I wasn't expecting them to straight up use the original title sequence. The only difference is this final screen saying "Distant Lands".

2. The background of the title cards is also the hill from the title sequence.

3. The ice cream having "50 flavours" and having an image of an enlightened soul is an obvious reference to the 50th Dead World as we see it later in the episode.

4. Continuing with the metaphor, the dirt in the ice cream could be a parallel to the fact that Jake's Nirvana actually wasn't perfect, because his inaction was allowing for injustice to perpetuate.

5. This whole scene feels immediately slightly off. Finn has his Scarlet sword and is out on a classic Ice King adventure, but he speaks in his grown voice and all the slang feels much more forced than it did in the real season one. Turns out this was deliberate.

6. The snow golem speaks with a baby voice like it did in the pilot episode, even though in canon it has a deeper voice. This further hints that something is not quite right.

7. The first major break in continuity is these snow golems resembling Uncle Gumbald and Peace Master, who Finn didn't meet until later in his life.

8. LSP sitting on Finn's head like this is reminiscent of Pen Ward's piece for the 2018 Ble crew zine.

9. Finn being given the choice of helping somebody but ending up helping everybody reminds me of "Memories of Boom Boom Mountain". It's the kind of resolution that wouldn't happen so much in the late seasons of the show, which helps make this scene feel even further out of place.

10. Jake is half frozen by Ice King in pretty much the exact same way as he was in "Prisoners of Love", and even has a very similar line.

11. The Snail is seen here. The crew have said that the Snail has been deliberately left out of previous Distant Lands specials, so its placement here is another very deliberate hint that this whole sequence is "trying too hard" to be like the early seasons.

12. The book "Mind Games" appears a couple of times, as seen in several previous episodes of Adventure Time. The first is as Finn is approaching the library in his dream. It also appears as one of the items in Finn's backpack later.

13. Jake is hurt when Finn fist bumps him with his metal arm, revealing that this scene is not real. This is also a callback to the title sequences of "Islands" and "Elements".

14. A whole bunch of familiar skeletons are seen in the bird's nest: Dirt Beer Guy, Abracadaniel, Me-Mow, Lemongrab, Mr. Pig, and the Snail again. This doesn't necessarily mean that all these characters are dead, since this scene is just a hallucination.

15. Old Man Finn! He's still got the chest tattoo of Jake, and this time we know that Jake is dead, so the theory that Jake died before "Obsidian" seems pretty likely. He looks similar to his old man design from "Puhoy", with the same facial hair.

16. There are several cameos of familiar characters who apparently died at the same time as Finn. The first is this duck, who previously appeared in "Ocarina".

17. The second is Donny, from the episode... uh, "Donny".

18. This goblin guy is an unnamed background character from “The Silent King”.

19. This old lady first appeared in "The Enchiridion", way back in season one. Old ladies are a species in the Land of Ooo, so I guess she wasn't actually very old back then, given she just about outlived Finn.

20. This is the cobbler who first appears in "His Hero". Amazing that he lived so long given all the trouble he got into in that episode.

21. Land of the Dead! This place was first seen in season two's "Death in Bloom", and now we are finally learning its actual purpose. It's a sort of gateway and hub to all of the other dead worlds.

22. There are some more minor cameos at the gates: a house person from "Donny", a soft person from "Gut Grinder", and a wood person from "When Wedding Bells Thaw". And, of course, the gate guardian himself from “Death in Bloom”.

23. Finn completely ignores the gate guardian in the same way he did in Death in Bloom. This also has the convenient effect of not having to reveal how Finn died, leaving it up to the audience's imagination.

24. Mr. Fox! We already knew he would die at some point because BMO had his skull in the finale.

25. Finn has his design from the first Distant Lands poster in this scene. Turns out it's young Finn in old Finn's clothes. But they gave him a shirt in the poster so you wouldn't be able to see the tattoo.

26. The clapping that Finn does while he's looking for Jake is a callback to "James Baxter the Horse", when Jake tells Finn to listen for that same rhythm if they are killed and need to find each other in the afterlife.

27. Mr. Fox talks about a "past life quotient", suggesting that there might be some kind of limit to how many times somebody can reincarnate. Finn's reincarnations are also seen in this scene; a callback to "The Vault", and confirmation that reincarnations share the same soul.

28. Boobafina, the goose who Mr. Fox was in love with in his debut episode “Storytelling”, apparently reincarnated into a tugboat. We've already seen that objects can have souls in the episode "Ghost Fly".

29. Finn is initially assigned to the 37th Dead World, which is the same one that Jake went to when he died in "Sons of Mars". We can only guess at what the other numbers on the ticket mean ;)

30. Tiffany! Despite several lucky escapes throughout his life, Tiffany has finally died. I like the use of this imagery to express Finn's conflicted feelings about him.

31. The 50th Dead World has long been established as the "highest" dead world, and the one synonymous with Heaven within Adventure Time's universe. It was first mentioned in "Ghost Princess" back in season three.

32. It's unclear what happens to souls which are destroyed within the dead worlds. It is a similar question to asking what happened to the ghosts that were killed in "Ghost Fly".

33. Death doesn't speak at all in Together Again because his voice actor, Miguel Ferrer, passed away in 2017 long before production began.

34. Finn phases through New Death when he tries to attack him, just like what happened way back in "Death in Bloom".

35. The 30th Dead World contains Tree Trunks as well as many of her love interests; Mr. Pig, her alien husband from "High Strangeness", Danny and Randy who first appeared in "Apple Wedding", and several more who we don't recognise, including at least one who presents as a woman.

36. Literally yelled when these two showed up. Joshua calls Finn a crybaby, which is a callback to "Dad's Dungeon".

37. The wall of weapons in Joshua and Margaret's house includes the iconic Demon Blood Sword, which was broken in "Play Date", as well as Margaret's auto-loading crossbow from "Joshua & Margaret Investigations".

38. Jermaine is sidelined a few times through the episode, in reference to his attitude in "Jermaine" where he feels that Finn and Jake were always their parents' favourites. I would have hoped things would be a bit better by now.

39. Fern gets name dropped while Finn and Jake are reuniting. A shame he doesn't actually show up in the episode.

40. In this scene, Finn says "What time is it?" This is a very subtle reference to the 2010 cartoon "Adventure Time".

41. In a couple of shots during this fight scene it looks like Jake might have a tattoo. It seems like it only becomes visible when he stretches out his arm.

42. New Death's amulet in this scene resembles parts of the Lich's cape, foreshadowing his influence on New Death.

43. There are several more cameos in the 50th Dead World: Booshy from "High Strangeness", one of the Marshmallow Kids from "Scamps", and Ghost Princess and Clarence, who were seen ascending to the 50th Dead World in "Ghost Princess".

44. Finn didn't interact with Booshy in "High Strangeness", but it seems they must have met at some point before they both died because Finn knows his name.

45. It seems like people in the 1st Dead World are slowly melted away until they become part of the landscape. Nasty.

46. Lots more cameos in this scene: a gnome from "Power Animal", a gnome from "The Enchiridion", a Bath Boy from "The Vault", Blagertha from "Love Games", Maja the Sky Witch, a troll from "Dungeon", Chocoberry, Choose Goose, Wyatt, a spiky person from "Gut Grinder", and possibly more.

47. Tiffany's insults are consistently nonsensical and amazing, as they were in the original series.

48. The Candy Kingdom looks extremely different. Peppermint Butler is wearing the crown so he might be in charge now, which is supported by the kingdom's very magical-looking augmentations. It’s not clear whether Finn and Jake were expecting to find Princess Bubblegum or Peppermint Butler, since both have the initials “PB” and both could be going by the title of “Princess”. Perhaps Peps and Bubblegum share the princess duties now that PB is living with Marceline more of the time.

49. Peppermint Butler has a "Boss" mug, although it's not the same colour as the one from "Obsidian".

50. Jake's ghost has the same design as he did when BMO killed him in "Ghost Fly". I also absolutely love Finn's ghost. This scene establishes that ghosts are just visitors to the mortal plane from the dead worlds.

51. Life has only appeared in animated shorts before now. Namely, "The Gift That Reaps Giving" which establishes her relationship with Death, and "Frog Seasons: Winter". This episode gives her a concrete place within Adventure Time's pantheon: she is in charge of reincarnation.

52. A translation of Life’s angry French dialogue by Shado: “After all I did for that boy. After all I did for him. No, it's not possible. It's not possible no, that... that makes me so mad but it's not possible.”

53. We finally have in-universe confirmation that Shoko's tiger is a previous life of Jake. This was previously confirmed by one of the writers, but wasn't canon until now.

54. I feel like Finn pulled off Shoko's look even better than Shoko did. I wonder whether Finn has gained the memories of his past lives now that he’s dead.

55. No Easter egg here, just want to appreciate this image.

56. There is an elemental symbol on the wall here, as seen in "Jelly Beans Have Power".

57. Tiffany's dramatic internal monologue is a recurring gag, as is his habit of nearly dying from falling into holes.

58. The Jake suit makes a cameo in the fight against New Death. It was last seen in the episode "Reboot”.

59. Finn's backpack contains a few familiar items: the t-shirt with the pocket from "It Came from the Nightosphere", Finn's underwear from "Little Dude" and other episodes, and a copy of Mind Games as I've already mentioned.

60. The Lich's Hand is present in the background of Death's... death scene. This is probably the unseen "friend" who New Death keeps talking about.

61. The Lich's menacing monologues often begin with a single command. Previously they have included "Fall" and "Stop". This time, the command is "Burn".

62. Jake uses the word "boingloings", which is a callback all the way to "Hitman" in the third season.

63. Jake's blue shape-shifter form from "Abstract" appears very briefly during his fight with Finn.

64. Finn's lumpy space person form also makes an appearance. This design was last seen all the way back in the second episode of the entire show, "Trouble in Lumpy Space".

65. Jake steps on the Lich's hand in a very similar way to how he stepped on Ash in "Memory of a Memory", which is itself a Monty Python reference.

66. The credits include a dedication to a few AT cast and crew who have passed away. Polly Lou Livingston was the voice of Tree Trunks. Miguel Ferrer was the voice of Death. Michel Lyman and Maureen Mlynarczyk were both sheet timers on the original series. Rest in peace.

67. The message that Finn and Jake write out on the ouija board is "BUTT", which Peppermint Butler takes as a distress signal. This message is also used as a distress signal by the Hot Dog Knights in "The Limit".

68. Peppermint Butler's reversed dialogue from the scene where he makes contact with Finn and Jake is "Kee-Oth Rama Pancake", the spell from “Dad's Dungeon” for banishing demons.

69. That appears to be President Porpoise with all of Tree Trunks’ other lovers.

70. In this scene, Life is humming part of "Lonely Bones", the song which Death tried to record for her in her debut short "The Gift That Reaps Giving". It's hard to notice because it's so brief.

71. Finn and Jake's cover is blown while in the Land of the Dead because Jake loudly farts, which also happened in "Death in Bloom".

72. The place where Mr. Fox explains the perception mechanics of the afterlife is the exact same location as the River of Forgetfulness from "Death in Bloom", which, as it turns out, was imaginary.

These are sort of out of order at the end because I was adding stuff to the Twitter thread as it got discovered. That’s all for now!

[gunterfan1992]

Episode Review: ‘Together Again’ (Distant Lands, Ep. 3)

Airdate: May 20, 2021

Story by: Jack Pendarvis, Kate Tsang, Hanna K. Nyström, Christina Catucci, Jesse Moynihan, Adam Muto

Storyboarded by: Hanna K. Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, Iggy Craig, Maya Petersen, Serena Wu

Directed by: Miki Brewster (supervising), Sandra Lee (art)

Across Adventure Time’s ten season run, the show explored a bevy of “mature” themes and story ideas—topics, like love, sexuality, depression, and grieving. The show also touched upon death, but the emphasis was usually placed on the emotional toll of a loved one dying, not really what happens when you die. We knew there were Dead Worlds and Death. We knew that there was reincarnation. But how does it all fit together? What does it mean? How does it work?

With “Together Again,” we finally have many of the answers.

This special opens with a marvelous fake-out episode simply called “Finn & Jake,” that sees the two steal a magical cartoon of 50-flavor ice cream before rescuing Turtle Princess and LSP from the clutches of the villainous Ice King. This is all deliberately anachronistic and over the top. Ice King is back to his season one ways, Finn has both arms, and he is still wielding his golden sword that he lost in season two’s “The Real You.” There’s lolrandom dialogue and silly monsters; it’s like a parody of seasons 1-2. But then, this adventure starts to get all wonky, and in time Finn realizes that he is in a some sort of trance or illusion: one that ends with Jake being buried in the ground. Suddenly, Finn awakens from his reverie. He’s an old man. And he’s dead. We’re then presented with a new title card that lets us know the episode is actually called “Finn & Jake Are Dead.”

Holy Glob! They actually went there.

Turns out Jake died years before Finn, so naturally Finn is super excited to see his best bud. But something’s wrong—he cannot find Jake!! They planned to spend eternity together. But all that Finn can find is his very own psychopomp, Mr. Fox (voiced by Tom Herpich, whose purposefully stilted line readings are the epitome of delightful). Finn rightfully assumes that Jake is in a different Dead World, and so, being the ball of spunk and energy that he is, he demands to meet with Death, only to discover that there’s a New Death in town (voiced by Chris Fleming). The episode eventually explains that New Death was the son of Death and Life, and after New Death killed his father, he became the sovereign of the afterlife. New Death hates his job and decides to just blow up all the Dead Worlds so he doesn’t have to deal with it all. (I won’t get too much into the details here, because there would be a lot of story to parse out.)

Finn soon learns that Jake has reached nirvana in the 50th Dead World, where there is nothing but peace and serenity. Finn nevertheless tracks down Jake, pulls him from paradise, but in doing so, accidentally lets New Death in, who promptly obliterates Elysium, sending all the enlightened souls—including those from different levels of the afterlife—to the 1st Dead World. This gronks up the afterlife, temporarily halting the reincarnation process.

Well, Finn and Jake are rightfully ticked, and so they haunt the material plane looking for Princess Bubblegum. She’s not home (more on that later), but Peppermint Butler is! After Ghost Finn and Ghost Jake explain the situation, Peppermint Butler tells them what to do: They need to find Life and explain the situation. The duo manage just that, and Life is rightfully angry that her kid has stopped the transmigration of souls. After Life gives Finn a McGuffin sword that can hurt Death, Finn and Jake return to his abode. A brawl ensues wherein we learn that New Death has been possessed… by none other than that spirit of the Lich.

That’s right, it’s the Lich! He’s back, and boy is he evil.

The Lich explains that by possessing Death, he can destroy the afterlife, thereby destroying a key aspect of reality. Naturally, Finn and Jake are not cool with this, and they engage in combat. After Mr. Fox grabs the McGuffin sword and uses it to annihilate the Lich and New Death, he is proclaimed the New New Death and sets everything right. Finn is slated to be reincarnated, and Jake is slated to return to the 50th Dead World where he and Finn will one day be reunited. As Finn is pulled into the wheel of souls, Jake suddenly decides to go back with Finn, too, “Just for fun.” The episode ends with a card letting us know that the episode is neither called “Finn & Jake” nor “Finn & Jake Are Dead.” Instead, it is “Finn and Jake Are Together Again.”

As they say, “And there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.”

If you were to tell me several years ago that the last episode to star Finn and Jake would revolve around them dying, I think I would’ve been upset. Not simply sad, but rather frustrated because “they all died” can feel like a cheap ending. But with “Together Again,” it all works. And a large reason that it works is because the show goes all in with their ideas. Finn and Jake don’t magically leap back into their old life (no, no, they very much do bite the dust). Instead, the special emphasizes the cyclical nature of life through the transmigration of souls. The episode ends with a beautiful scene of Finn and Jake, bound together as soul-brothers, being reborn into a new, mysterious (possibly Ooo 1000+?) world. It’s both aesthetically and emotionally pleasing; it doesn’t feel off the way over finales might. This is right. This is the way life works. “Round and round as nature goes,” and all that jazz.

I loved the series explanation of how death works. It seems that souls land in a specific Dead World, where they ‘marinate’ for a bit, presumably being rewarded or punished based on their life in our meat reality. After a time, they are then reborn. This process repeats, with each soul reaching higher and higher levels of enlightenment until they hit nirvana, which is the 50th Dead World. So in a sense, Adventure Time has a roughly Buddhist cosmology with a dash of Greco-Roman mythos thrown in for flavor. (As to what happens after a soul stays in the 50th Dead World for a long period is anyone’s guess, but I’d speculate that when all the souls in the multiverse have been purified and land in the 50th Dead World, they will all collapse into one another and form one perfect Monad. Perhaps this is the sphere of perfection that the beings who merged into Matthew thought they were connecting to? Who knows! It’s anyone’s guess!) I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see who Death, Prismo, Life, etc.’s boss was, but perhaps that’s a mystery better left up to the imagination!

One minor thing that I loved about this special was the number of characters who made cameos as well as all the callbacks that were made to previous episodes. Regarding the former: Finn and Jake’s canine family show up (including the oft-forgotten Jermaine!), as do Tree Trunks and her myriad husbands. Tiffany plays a major role in all these shenanigans as a “death cop” of all things. There is a delightful rogues gallery stuck in the 1st Dead World (including, among others, Maja, Sharon from “The Gut Grinder,” and Wyatt). In the 50th we find Ghost Princess and Clarence happily at peace next to Booshy, the weird spirit mentioned in the Pen Ward classic “High Strangeness.” As far as callbacks go, perhaps my favorite is the clap (from “James Baxter the Horse”) that Jake taught to Finn in case they ever do get separated in the afterlife. And of course, there are myriad references made to “Death in Bloom,” the episode that planted the seed for what this would grow into.

Going into the special suspecting that it would involve Death, I was curious how they were going to handle Miguel Ferrer’s character. (In case a reader is not aware, Ferrer played Death in episodes like “Death in Bloom” and “Betty,” but he sadly passed away a few years ago). The producers’ choice to feature him in a non-speaking cameo—despite playing a relatively significant role in the story—was wise; I’m not sure if I can articulate the exact reasons, but something about his role felt appropriate and not gross, as some post-mortem memorials can be. Speaking of which, the wonderful, lovely Polly Lou Livingston was featured for the last time in this episode as Tree Trunks, happily in heaven with her literal harem of husbands. It was funny, it really was, and I’m sure that Polly Lou would’ve gotten a kick out of seeing it on screen. (Also, this is a pro-Tree Trunks safe space. Any Tree Trunks haters will be chucked into the 1st Dead World with Wyatt.)

The biggest mystery in this whole thing, for me at least, is the question of Princess Bubblegum and Marceline. Several years ago, I wrote an essay about what could’ve happened to them in the Ooo 1000+ universe. I speculated that they peaced out and left Ooo behind. In this special, neither Bubblegum nor Marceline are to be found in the Candy Kingdom—Peppermint Butler seems to be the one in charge, given that he is now wearing Bubblegum’s crown. Likewise, the duo aren’t anywhere in the Dead Worlds either. Maybe the two of them skipped town and got a duplex in the Nightosphere? Who knows… I just want my favorite gals to be OK!

All things considered, “Together Again” was a marvel: An episode that managed to feel like a series finale even more than “Come Along with Me” already did without taking away from the series itself. An episode that managed to make the idea of dying funny. An episode that brought back the Lich in a way that wasn’t forced. An episode that made Mr. Fox the New New Death. An episode that gave us a beautiful ending to Finn and Jake’s story… as well as the beautiful beginning to a new one. I said it on Twitter, and I’ll say it again here: “Together Again” was the end of a sentence in a book with infinite pages. Truly, the fun will never end.

Mushroom War evidence: Everything takes place in the Dead Worlds, so not really. Perhaps a more eagle-eyed viewer can inform us...

Final Grade: That’s right, I’m gonna do it...

Post-script, I actually messaged Jesse Moynihan to ask about his writing credit. He told me that it was for an unused story idea that he had developed. I’m not certain, but I’ll bet it was a part of the cancelled TV movie they were trying to make during season 5, since that would’ve seen Finn and Orgalorg journey to the various Dead Worlds.

[bossmodeplus]

There’s much to be said about Adventure Time Distant Lands’ Together Again.

One of which is that it’s commendable with how well it executes the first several minutes of the special. It calls back to how lovably strange the show was for many of us. ..

...and good god... how the series goes into tonal shifts.

 It feels weird, true, but long-time viewers know that brightness and cuteness transitioning into horrors (remember the Fruit Witches?) is often the name of the game.  It’s faithful to how Adventure Time started as a vibrant, mad show fitting the adolescence of the show. Adolescent, but not immature.  As seasons progress on, the themes become more mature. 

Relationships take a while to repair. Reflect on the way you navigate your own emotional baggage (Marceline and PB).

Good intentions can’t fix everything. It’s ok to grieve for as long as you need to (Finn with Phoebe).

It’s ok to be vulnerable and let others take the lead (Princess Bubblegum with everyone around her).

Despite these progressions and how the show gradually mellows a bit more, it doesn’t lose that sweet aspect. 

Certain characters face respective struggles, but one that affects everyone is (suitably) mortality. A very overlooked reason as to why PB makes questionable decisions throughout the series is based on a wake-up call to her mortality. Marceline has a dream in which she grows old with Bubblegum and contemplates her own death (marked by Peppermint Butler digging a grave). Jake is a character who, unlike most, is self-fulfilled. It’s why Jake is in the 50th Dead World. He’s always accepted what is. In Puhoy Finn grieves over the idea of his and Phoebe’s (formerly Flame Princess) relationship being over because he told her joke she didn’t get. Jake throws a mug out the window to drive home the fact that out of sight=out of mind. It’s comedic, but has a bit of truth to it. The less you think of it, the less you wrack your brain over it. Dwelling only keeps wounds open.

Together Again doesn’t just cover these subjects, with mortality at the helm. It’s also a 45 minute metatext on those who worked or voice acted for the show who passed on. It feels weird watching the show go on without them. It feels weird seeing Finn without Jake. But Together Again shines with a callback to a final theme that affects everyone: reincarnation. It handles death in optimistic grace. No one truly dies, they just manifest as something else. We’ve seen the topic of past lives carry out with Adventure Time, and the special ends with that.

Whether it be Finn and Jake, or Shermy and Beth, the fun will never end. Because the fun takes the form of something else.

[sourpiixels]

ok but if joshua was right and in order to get to the 50th dead world you have to “not want to go there” then that would mean jake got there completely by accident. and if he wouldn’t have wanted to go there that means….he was waiting for his sweet baby boy bro……🥺

[thatone-highlighter]

omg HI DUCK ok. i’m sorry ik this is just like. u infodumping w ur friend and i lov that for u guys and i hope im not being invasive but i keep seeing it on my tumblr now and i was wondering bc i never saw the whole thing. what’s the whole reincarnation thing going on in adventure time? reincarnation alongside loved ones is genuinely one of my fav tropes so i keep being like um heck yes whenever i see it brought up in AT but. as i said i’ve never watched it all

Nah bestie ur fine weve been going insane with the AT and i love getting asks from ppl <3

Okay so im not 100% sure on how exactly it works because there seems to be both an afterlife with the 50 dead worlds AND reincarnation system

The 50 dead worlds i think are really cool, its kinda like a layers system with different layers suited to different people and dead world one being kinda like hell where all the people there being stuck in mud for eternity and the 50th dead world is basically pure enlightenment. Which dead world ppl end up in i think is based on what they did in their life (and i think also maybe what they do in the afterlife can effect it too and they can move between?)

And then there also a sort of reincarnation system which is somehow connected to the dead worlds because when they break down so does life’s reincarnation. And with reincarnation every so often souls come through that are connected like a package deal and they get reincarnated together its cool. And then Finn and Jake are a set of connected souls and theyve been reincarnated together before at least once with Shoko and i cant remember the tigers name and theres also Finn’s previous incarnations but im not entirely sure if they all have Jake counterparts considering one of them was like a prophecy comet or something but its still really cool

[burritodetodo]

FINN AND JAKE ARE DEAD

That's right! Dead serious to go back to Adventure Time!

The supossed to be the fourth thrid episode of Distant Lands specials is the best one. If BMO was the experimental one and Obsidian the emotional and romantic one, Together Again is the most adventurous of the specials. It feels like a XXL AT episode from Season 3 or 5.1 (not 4, but it was close to such greatness) with many emotional punchs. Let's get to them.

spoilers under the tag

Episode starts with a same old adventure with Finn and Jake in the Ice Kingdom until things start to feel strange to Finn. Until it was a fantasy by some underworld leeches: Finn was in the 37th Dead World! When he realizes that, he jailbreaks and goes after Jake.

The quest involves Mr Fox and Tiffany! And Deathworld has a new ruler: New Death, the son of Death and Life, who wants to end reincarnations and Dead Worlds. After travelling many worlds, Finn meets his family: Joshua, Margaret and Jermaine live on the 45th Dead World. But here happens one heartwrecking moment when Tiffany, trying to make amends with New Death, destroys it and Finn in desperation finds Jake who descends from the 50th Dead World, a place where souls are in peace and harmony and found Nirvana (nope, Kurt Cobain ain't there fellas).

That world is destroyed and Finn and Jake have to call someone in the living world for help, so they call PB. Princess Bubblegum? No, let her live her life with Marcy, Peppermint Buttler who has the magical abilites to tell our heroes what to do: find Life in her underwater world. She enrages when she knows her son's plan so she gives the Kiss of Life, a powerful weapon.

So here is the final showdown with New Death, who is the one and only Lich possesing that body. He commited the crime of killing Death and becoming his heir. Of course Finn and Jake succeed in defeating the Lich and this ends with the brothers hugging the path of reincarnation.

Phew, that was a recap! Anyway why is this the best special? It's heartbreaking from the start with Jake's death on Finn's fanasy. It is really sad watching Finn crying over his bro's grave. This also answers one question fans would ask: how Finn reacted to Jake's death? But then it becomes a whole adventure by the sake of the adventure of finding Jake in the 50th Dead World. It is very, very interesting Finn teaming up again with Tiffany to make his goal.

Then all the callbacks to the series, from characters to Mr Fox, Tiffany, DONNY, Maja, Wyatt, Tree Trunks, Mr Pig and the other husbands, and a long long etcetera, to easter eggs like Finn's clapping in case he got separated from Jake in Death's realm. Finn's autotuned voice, the wiggling arms and some lingo from S1 too.

They made honor to the theme song, Finn and Jake went to distant lands. Very distant lands like the fucking afterlife! It was also very nice watching Joshua and Margaret action again and talking to their children face to face and not on a fantasy, memory or recorded message.

Nothing to say about voice acting, everybody were on point. And the animation was real good like the other specials, going cartoony on some points like on Obsidian which was great. It's nice to see modern animation using those resources as a tribute.

It's emotional, it's adventurous, it's ADVENTURE TIME!

[finnm]

Some Afterlife Fern hcs:

- can turn into Finn, Finnsword, or any variation of Fern (Fun, Green Knight)

- might go with a Finn body but with a green hat (or no hat) to distinguish himself

- Jake wanted to wait until Finn got to the afterlife. Finn would be upset if Jake went without him, and they could all go together when he did come. Jake then gets zapped to the 50th dead world, but Fern has more stuff to work on and doesn't so he's disappointed. Might ask Death for a job or something while he waits for Finn to show up

- oh, when he's in Finnsword form, he can actually view the Overworld through the blue orb! This is both convenient (in that he can talk to people who are alive) and inconvenient (in that he has to be a sword to do it)