When Fanfiction becomes Reality: the Fionna and Cake Effect
Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake Eps. 3 & 4 Review
When first introduced, Adventure Time made it seem like Fionna and Cake were just a story-within-a-story. Figments of the Ice King’s imagination that he turned into fanfiction. However, given the existence of a multiverse in Adventure Time, it only seemed reasonable that there would be a universe where they were real. However, it turns out there’s more to Fionna and Cake than meets the eye. As it turns out, the Fionna and Cake this show’s following are the same ones Ice King wrote fanfiction about. They’re real, and the reason why answers a plot thread Adventure Time never addressed.
The Multiverse Hopping Begins
Rather than picking up right where the previous one left off, the first episode starts off with a look at Prismo the Wishmaster. The cosmic entity has seen better days, though. He’s unshaven, there’s trash on the floor, and he’s binge-watching old adventures of Finn and Jake. Much like Fionna and Simon, he’s stuck in a rut with his life. More on that later, though.
Meanwhile, having made her way to Ooo through a portal in Simon’s head, Cake runs off after getting a collar that lets her talk like the dogs from Up. Stuck in an unfamiliar land with unfamiliar beings, Cake’s first instinct is to head in the direction of the Ice Kingdom and the Ice King. After some initial confusion, though, Cake takes to Ooo like a duck to water. When Fionna inevitably finds her way to Ooo, she fits like a glove.
This entire episode only reinforces a few things. First and foremost, though, is that Fionna and Cake are more than just coincidental counterparts to Finn and Jake. While something like the Multiverse means the likelihood of them actually existing was high, it’s too much of a coincidence. They act just like Finn and Jake and Fionna and Cake from Ice King’s stories. And as it turns out, there’s a very good reason.
Prismo Took Fanfiction to a New Level
Returning to Prismo for the second episode as he sends Tree Trunks ex-husband to a silent cartoon world (LOL), the truth of Fionna and Cake’s world soon comes out. After teleporting Simon to his Time Room, Prismo reveals to all of them that Fionna and Cake weren’t just figments of Ice King’s imagination; they’re real.
Having spent eons creating different realities based on people’s wishes, Prismo longed to create one himself. Going against cosmic rules, he did so, but wound up copying Finn and Jake’s world by accident. He rolled with it, and hit this world in a pocket dimension inside the Ice King’s mind. When the Ice King reverted back into Simon, though, their world lost all its magic and wonder, its inhabitants losing all memories of who they once were. Ice King kept dreaming about their adventures and wound up writing their stories.
This is a big deal. Not only does it mean Fionna and Cake are real, but there were potentially negative consequences to Simon being freed from the power of the Ice King’s crown. Without his magic, their world became boring, which is something Fionna and Cake hate. Seeing their previous life and how happy they were only makes them more determined not to go back to their world. However, since Prismo broke the rules creating the land of Aaa, if they get caught, their entire universe could get destroyed. And, by the end of the episode, that very thing comes to pass. Fionna, Cake, and Simon are forced to go on the run across the Multiverse as they’re hunted by this cosmic entity named Scarab.
There are Three Ways this Could All End
Now that the introductions are out of the way, the real story can begin in earnest. However, it should be noted that the second episode ends with Simon coming to a major decision: he needs to become the Ice King again.
It’s a case of horrible irony: for so long, Simon wanted to be free of being the Ice King and his madness, only to realize he no longer had a place in this new world. As fun as it would be to see the Ice King come back, Simon is only doing this because he’s refusing to move on from his old life. He’s stuck, and would rather run from his issues than face them head on. So while becoming the Ice King again would restore Fionna and Cake’s world, it wouldn’t solve anything. It would also deprive Fionna and Cake of the chance to have their own character growth, which Fionna seems to need.
While it’s early, I’m already coming up with ideas on how the series might end. On the one hand, Simon could become Ice King again and give Fionna, Cake, and the residents of her world the lives they think they want. On the other hand, Fionna and Cake’s journey could help them accept their new reality without letting its normality get to them, and Simon could move on from his problems. Everyone would get the closure they needed. Or, and this is an idea, Prismo could transfer Fionna and Cake’s world into the mind of the Ice Crown’s current wielder, the Ice Thing, AKA Gunter. It is the simplest solution.
Regardless, Fionna and Cake is starting to get interesting, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it all ends. That, and I loved the fact that Flapjack is officially a part of the Adventure Time multiverse.
I Give “Cake the Cat” and “Prismo the Wishmaster” a 4.5/5 Each
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