It’s been over fifteen years since the debut of Adventure Time on Cartoon Network. The adventures of Finn the Human (Jeremy Shada) and Jake the Dog (John DiMaggio), inspired by fantasy books, role-playing games, and adventure games like The Legend of Zelda, capture the hearts and minds of kids and young folk all over with its many characters, wonderful songs, and creative imaginary designs. After it ended, it had a few epilogue stories, but in 2023, a fan favorite set of characters got their own spinoff show to continue the universe of Adventure Time. Fionna and Cake, the two characters that started as a gender swapped version of the heroes of the show that live in a version of the world that was completely gender swapped, were fun and engaging and gave a much-needed girl action hero to not only the series but to the network as a whole. In 2023, Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake debuted on HBO Max and took the characters on a multiversal adventure to, in a very meta way, make them just as real as Finn and Jake instead of the kind of imaginary creation of the Ice King. There’s a lot more to this, which I covered in my review of the first season.
What I like so much about this series is that it starts in a place where possibly the youngest fans of Adventure Time should be in their life now. They aren’t children anymore, and the problems and issues that Fionna and Cake face are ones that Generation Z adults have to deal with now. Rent, relationships, complicated friendships, and how to “adult”. While the original series did age with their audience as well, the world was still very much in the Land of Ooo. Fiona and Cake while they know of that world they live in a world that is close to ours without magic and fantasy, the only magical thing there is for the most part in their world is Cake.
The two worlds have very different stakes at hand. On Ooo, Finn is seriously ill after helping Fionna last season. Huntress Wizard has taken up the quest to help and save Finn. A lot of this season deals with the origin of Huntress Wizard as she quests to find a way to save Finn, which leads her to Fionna and Cake’s reality. For Fionna, her new positive place in her city doesn’t fix all her money problems. Fionna tries to help Gary (Harvey Guillén) open his Sweet Spot bakery, but those plans are halted as Queenie (Chelsea Peretti) buys the land and forces Gary and his boyfriend Marshall, out of the location. Meanwhile, Cake is finding her place in the world outside of Fiona with her own apartment and love interest.
I feel the season does a good job of mixing the more normal life stuff that honestly feels like a dramedy with the very fantastical elements of Huntress Wizard quite well. The storytelling is subtle in how it connects the themes of struggling adulthood life with magical trips through time, or all the princesses wanting to kiss Finn to see if that wakes him up. I think what makes this series so interesting to me is that I expect Adam Muto and his team to make an amazing show that has amazing visuals that connect to very real emotions and internal conflicts. It’s seeing them make a show that could work just as well as a slice of life series without all that, and connects just as well and at times more, which engages me to watch it more and more.
Some strong storylines in this season that really drive the season. Fionna dealing with her feelings for DJ Flame (her version of the Flame Princess), seeing Fennel (her version of Fern voice by Anna Akana), seeing Marshall continue to struggle and reject his mother and her wealth, Fiona possibly going down the path of capitalism to solve her problems, Simon trying to help Finn and figure out what’s happening just as Huntress Wizard refusal to communicate because of her own feelings for Finn. Huntress Wizard’s refusal to talk about what she’s doing, but also not to talk about her feelings, feels like the central theme of the whole season. Many of the main characters don’t talk to each other about what they are feeling or doing, but it’s causing more discord than helping each other. All the community they garnered from last season isn’t being attacked from an external threat like Scarab (Kayleigh McKee), a nice big bad guy. This time, it’s not knowing how to help or even ask for it.
I don’t want to leave this review without acknowledging the strong voice acting in this show. Madeleine Martin returns as Fionna Campbell and gets to do a lot with her performance as Fiona goes through so many emotions that Martin conveys so well with her voice. Roz Ryan continues to kill it as Cake. It’s like every line she speaks is gold. Ashly Burch voices Huntress Wizard and is the third lead of the show. There’s a nice solemnness to her performance and a determination she’s able to give the character. Tom Kenny is great as Simon Petrikov, the former Ice King. Also, Kris Kollins does great as Marshall Lee, taking over from Donald Glover. You might not notice by just how well Kollins does to match the tone. I had to look at the credits for a few episodes to make sure. I also like Manny Jacinto as DJ Flame. I like how Jacinto is working this heartthrob thing even in his voice acting.
Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, season two, is stronger than the first season. It shows that there is still very much left in the Adventure Time universe as it strives to grow with its original audience and connect with newer generations of fans. I do hope people watch this season, and they get to continue, as I feel it adds something special to HBO Max at a time where animation is growing in its reach and the stigma of watching cartoons as an adult has very much lost its power. Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake is a shining example of this new era and growth.
Rating: A
Level of Enthusiasm: 100%
