Top 5 Best Episodes of 2013: Episode #1...

Adventure Time - Season Five

It’s New Year’s Eve so I’m going to cheat a little for my final entry in my Top 5 Favorite Episodes of 2013.

For my #1 spot, I’ve chosen Adventure Time as it has spent 2013 consistently improving and becoming one of the best science fiction and animated shows on American television.

It’s nearly impossible to choose one episode as the best of the year since 2013 gave us “Jake the Dad,” “Mystery Dungeon,” “Bad Little Boy,” “The Party's Over, Isla de Señorita,” “Time Sandwich,” “Love Games,” “Dungeon Train,” “The Pit,” “Root Beer Guy,” and the amazing and moving “Simon & Marcy.”

If Adventure Time had only given us “Simon & Marcy” this year, it would’ve proven that this show is incredibly well-written, mature, funny, and at times, painful. But it also gave us plenty of incredible and hilarious episodes, which opened up the universe of Adventure Time far beyond the Land of Ooo.

“Simon & Marcy,” which is arguably the strongest episode of the year, not only gave us a better understanding of the history of Adventure Time and the Great Mushroom War but also showed us how deep and touching Marceline and the Ice King’s relationship was. The Ice King has evolved from being a one-note silly villain to a truly tragic and dynamic character. Many critics, myself included, believe that the Ice King represents Alzheimer’s and Marceline’s gentle and warm love for him will both warm and break your heart.

While the rest of the year never matched the poignant perfection of “Simon & Marcy,” it still gave us very strong episodes in which we met the hilarious Jake Jr., got a better understanding of the madness of the Lemongrabs, discovered Finn’s tragic flaw in always needing to be a hero, recognized Princess Bubblegum’s questionable morals, and saw both Finn and Jake realize the ambiguously ethical nature of the Candy Kingdom. 

 

Like Finn and his same-aged voice actor, Adventure Time has matured and evolved into something both childlike and incredibly adult. It can be scary and sad at times but more often that not, you have to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. I think that is, after all, the secret to being a grown-up. 

All images copyright Cartoon Network and Time Warner