Ice King and our dynamic duo showcase their dysfunctional relationship in this episode.
The Ice King decides to hit on the Breakfast Princesses by putting honey on their food. Yes, real honey. Finn and Jake come to the rescue and ground the girl-crazy sorcerer. Out of spite, Ice King decides to hire a hitman named The Scorcher to literally hit Finn and Jake. The Scorcher’s contract doesn’t cover hitting but does cover killing. The Scorcher then plans to kill Finn and Jake. What is a princess-deprived Ice King to do?
This episode showcases a surprising development in Ice King’s character: he shows how he cares about Finn and Jake. Or at least he cares about the rivalry they provide in his life. Finn, Jake, and Ice King all share a dysfunctional hero-villain relationship much like Mario, Luigi, and Bowser. Though Bowser and Mario fight over Princess Peach constantly, the two need each other for conflict.
Heck, they need each other to exist. The same applies for our dynamic duo and their frosty foe — they cannot exist without each other. Ice King is one of the longest running characters in the series. He was there when the original pilot aired on Nickelodeon and has become an Adventure Time staple. Now the writers are beginning to show the duo and King’s unusual relationship.
This development first occurs when Scorcher decides to kill Finn and Jake by setting their home on fire. After looking through his Rita Repulsa-inspired telescope, he swoops in to save them. He then expresses anger at his hitman for wanting to kill Finn and Jake. Despite having the mind of a hormonal 13-year-old, Ice King appears capable of humanity. The episode then continues to show how Ice King saves Finn and Jake from impending assassination, but also slightly implies another reason as to why the Ice King wants to save Finn and Jake.
Ice King may just be obsessive compulsive about his orders and wants them done to the letter. This theory is ultimately shot down when the three are inside the ice dome and Ice King offers a way to save them through lowering their body temperatures to appear dead. This is surprisingly smart for the King and it seems to show that his character holds multiple layers between his baggy-skinned surface.
Ice King’s “grounding” of Finn and Jake makes one think of a Ren and Stimpy scenario and also shows the series’ continued use of Chekhov’s gun. Let’s just hope Ice King finds help for his romantic awkwardness. Honey does not win over a girl made of eggs and bread.
Some stats and info about Adventure Time, “Hitman”
TV SHOW – Adventure Time
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 3 Episode 4
AIRED ON – August 1st, 2011
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – Cartoon Network
GENRE – Animated Shows, Comedy
CREATED BY – Pendleton Ward
CAST – John DiMaggio, Jeremy Shada, Tom Kenny, Hynden Walch, Niki Yang, Pendleton Ward, Dee Bradley Baker, Maria Bamford Lumpy Space Princess seduces Finn with her lumps.
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.