Something Big

Synopsis
Maja invades the Candy Kingdom with an ancient power in order to eliminate the source of good emotion.

Plot
The episode begins with Peppermint Butler holding binoculars running towards Princess Bubblegum along with Finn and Jake. Peppermint Butler explains to Princess Bubblegum that Root Beer Guy has put up a force field but has sacrificed himself in the process. Princess Bubblegum grabs the binoculars and looks at Maja and an earth-like monster, Darren trapped in an orange pyramid force field. Princess Bubblegum then looks at the remains of Root Beer Guy and says "Rest in Peace." Maja asks Princess Bubblegum to surrender, then saying she will not completely destroy the Candy Kingdom if she does. Inside the castle we see Crunchy freaking out, Darren reveals he will completely destroy the whole kingdom no matter what, and moments later Crunchy blows up to bits.

The night before the current events, Maja walks to the edge of a cliff and used a magic incantation to slow down time. She summons Darren the Ancient Sleeper, a giant tree person, whom wakes up from the beneath the surface. Darren explains to Maja that he had a dream he was in a war, but Maja immediately asks Darren to destroy the candy kingdom, as it has the highest level of caring which powers Maja. Confused, Darren asks Maja what caring is and what kind of world he is in. Maja replies that she has used Princess Bubblegum's rock T-shirt (which was Princess Bubblegums prized possession) to summon Darren. Darren, still confused, walks through the plan with Maja, except Darren explains he will devour the candy kingdom for all eternity, and that he will deliver destruction to all realities.

In the present, Darren attempts to break out of the force field with his staff, but fails. Gridface Princess reveals that the shield should hold until Princess Bubblegum can think of a "weak plan". Meanwhile in the background, Finn whispers in Jakes ear and both give a thumbs up. Jake then grabs Finn and stretches offscreen. Princess Bubblegum calls Colonel Candy Corn to ready the cannons. He does so but begins talking off topic about his love life explaining that there's no women out there for him. Peppermint Butler gives advice to him leading to Princess Bubblegum giving Peppermint Butler the phone. Princess Bubblegum then realizes that Finn and Jake are gone, she hops on her Swan and flies towards Darren. Darren then summons monsters from another realm to help him break free. Colonel Candy Corn fires the cannons to destroy the monsters. One of them punches the generator and the shield turns off. The cannons ran out of ammo, so Colonel Candy Corn decides to defend the kingdom by firing himself, and his soldiers. He lands on the ground, but Darren's mouth laser fries the soldiers. Colonel Candy Corn  starts fighting the monsters with a sword. Darren starts to shoot at Princess Bubblegum but misses. Maja then uses wind and pushes Princess Bubblegum and her swan to the ground. Darren picks the two up and prepares to destroy them but Maja commands Darren not to as Maja needs her feelings, yet again. Darren is confused as he doesn't know what feelings are, and that he only knows life and death. A pink laser beam shoots Darren's hand and it's revealed to be Finn and Jake riding on the Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant. Darren asks him mid-flight what the Elephant thinks about the world, but Finn commands him to keep shooting at him. He does so only to get his laser deflected hitting the Ice Kingdom, and Ice King warns the others to leave him out of the fight. They shoot all the monsters triggering Maja into a rage. She prepares a magic lightning bolt but is hit by the the laser which blasts her into the forest, where she knocks her head against a tree and lands on the ground, unconscious. The Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant reveals that Darren's weakness is his brain seed. Jake launches Finn into the air, Finn enters his head and uses his sword to stab the seed. Darren explodes and the Candy Kingdom celebrates.

At the tree house, the Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant asks Finn what he should do now. Finn explains that he should be free and make his own choices. The Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant explains that he is a war machine and needs to serve his master, and he flies away as Finn tells him to visit sometimes. The Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant sleeps in a cave and wonders what to do, until the Sun speaks to him, and tells him that there's much to discover. The Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant flies to Maja (who is now in a coma) and talks to her using his mind. Maja asks if he is powerful and he replies by naming his many abilities. Maja attempts to use him to destroy the Candy Kingdom, but he refuses to do so. He decides to help Maja and be her friend until she wakes up. The Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant allows Maja to see through his eyes and she rages at him. The Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant picks her up in his trunk and flies away. In doing so he made a living leaf fall off a tree. A caterpillar walks up to it saying "Hey man.  I'm gonna eat you." The episode ends with a card saying, "In loving memory of Root Beer Guy". Another says "Crunchy got put back together."

Major Characters

 * Finn
 * Princess Bubblegum
 * Maja
 * Darren
 * Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant

Minor Characters

 * Jake
 * Ice King
 * Gridface Princess
 * Banana Guards
 * Crunchy
 * Peppermint Butler
 * Colonel Candy Corn
 * Swan
 * Root Beer Guy
 * Snail

Trivia

 * This episode contained some scenes which have been adapted from the cancelled Adventure Time 4-part special.
 * This episode was also solo-boarded by Jesse Moynihan.
 * Finn has his steel sword back in this episode.
 * Princess Bubblegum's swan was slightly re-designed by it now having part of her crown coming out of its head.
 * This is the first episode Gridface Princess spoke.
 * Root Beer Guy is deceased as of this episode. The episode is also dedicated to him.
 * The Sun is revealed to be older than the Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant and to have its own consciousness.
 * Before his death, Darren's final words were, "Thank You." This could mean he wanted to die.

Cultural references

 * The siege and defense of the Candy Kingdom, and the psychological tension resemble to the Japanese anime Attack on Titan.
 * When Finn attacks and destroys Darren's brain seed, the imagery and sound effects used resemble fights with the Angels in Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Episode connections

 * This episode was foreshadowed at the end of "Sky Witch" when Maja said that she was "cooking up something big," and even showed a clip of the end of the episode in the preview. The title of the episode is a reference to that line.
 * Princess Bubblegum's swan appears from the episode "Dungeon."
 * In the title card, we see on the left two candies on a stick and a snake-like creature. These were on Princess Bubblegum's rock shirt, which reappears in this episode from "What Was Missing" and "Sky Witch."
 * Colonel Candy Corn appears for the first time since "Mystery Train".
 * The Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant is seen again from "The Limit" and "Furniture & Meat."
 * Crunchy exploded from fright, which is something we haven't seen any of the Candy people do since "Slumber Party Panic."
 * Finn's steel sword returns in this episode since its appearance in the episode "Still."

Errors

 * While the Mother Bird gives her three children worms to eat, she has two worms when she flies down, but when it zooms out each bird has their own worm.
 * When the Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant is fighting Darren, one of the heads has its triangle upside down, but later in the episode, both heads have the triangle pointing upwards.
 * When the soldiers fire themselves into the air, there were six of them, but when they were healed, there were nine of them on the ground.