Earth & Water

Synopsis
As Flame Princess tries to contemplate her problems with honesty, she gains important advice from an unlikely source that changes everything.

Plot
The episode begins with Finn and Jake playing Sumo Scootz on BMO with Jake winning for the 79th time in a row. Finn is too bummed out about Flame Princess to care, so Jake says he needs a "girl's night out, boy style!" As Jake begins to tell Finn about going shopping, getting their nails done, etc., they hear the toilet flush. They find Ice King in their bathroom, who casually informs them of a text he sent (as he pulls out a banana with a Gunter keychain attached), noticing that the message did not go through. He blames them for ruining his kingdom because of Finn lying to Flame Princess, so they wouldn't mind him staying. Ice King tells them he has let Gunter reign for a bit whilst he/she fixes up the Ice Kingdom (a 'meanwhile' shot shows Gunter messily making ice towers). Finn leaves the room and Jake says "break-ups are tough!" to which Ice King replies "Ha, yeah, remember how you and I were married?"

The scene switches over to a forest, where smoke is rising from Flame Princess. She is pulling up blades of grass and burning them. She is frustrated over her breakup with Finn, when a spider appears. She talks to the spider, but then emits lots of heat, and the spider tries to escape. She says how people in the fire Kingdom are "all deceitful and Shakespeare." A spider crawls on Princess Bubblegum who is invisible with the aid of her gadgets, she knocks the spider away. After Princess Bubblegum turns off her invisibility Flame Princess accuses Princess Bubblegum of spying on her, which Bubblegum denies and says she was "observing" her. Her cameras, which were invisible, become visible at that point. Princess Bubblegum explains to Flame Princess that she was a threat, and that if she (Princess Bubblegum) could create a scientific model that described her complete elemental matrix, she could isolate and suppress her violent feelings. Flame Princess agrees.

In the next scene, Flame Princess is bolted down to a machine that Princess Bubblegum says will "help to understand herself in a very scientific way." Princess Bubblegum is about to initiate the test when Jake calls her, telling her that Gunter has created a "race of strangling snow snakes" which he later calls "snow-a-constrictors." The phone then disconnects and Princess Bubblegum lets it hang before pressing a button on her grid to initiate the test. She then instructs Cinnamon Bun to write the numbers that he sees on the monitor. She then looks at the door to the testing chamber, and tells him not to open the door, which he promptly opens the minute she is gone. He then proceeds to make conversation with Flame Princess, who tells him that she is sad and mostly confused. Cinnamon Bun invites Flame Princess to his house to pet his dog (that is not a real dog), and the go to his house.

At Cinnamon Bun's house, Cinnamon Bun dances and sings a song, walks over to Flame Princess, but then walks into a table, to which he responds with, "My body is soft." Flame Princess heals his injury by pressing her hand onto his leg, and Cinnamon Bun calls her one of his friends. Flame Princess agrees saying that she "really gets him", but then goes into a speech about how friends are "hard to understand", and that they "play mind games", thus referring to her past relationship with Finn. Cinnamon Bun asks if Princess Bubblegum is her friends, and she responds, telling him that she isn't sure. Cinnamon Bun then goes on to ask about the Princess's intentions about why she put Flame Princess into "baby jail", saying that this was "a weird friend thing."

Flame Princess gasps, and the scene cuts to a flashback of 15 years ago, when Flame Princess was a baby. A messenger of the Flame Kingdom gives the Flame King the "word" telling him that his offspring will be more powerful than he could ever dream to be. The Flame King responds by telling the messenger to leave the baby Flame Princess in the woods to perish. The messenger couldn't let the baby perish, so he left her with a man made of rocks, whose house Flame Princess promptly burns. The Rock Man screams in shock, and Flame Princess runs into the forest burning things. Princess Bubblegum sees this, and, wearing a protective suit, returns Flame Princess to the Flame Kingdom, telling Flame King that she found his lost daughter, to which he denies losing. The two argue over Flame Princess' destructive quality, and Princess Bubblegum tells Flame King that if he doesn't do something about Flame Princess, she will. The scene changes to Flame Princess being put in her lamp, and the flashback ends.

Flame Princess gasps, stands up, and angrily wonders if everyone is "hiding something." Cinnamon Bun then tells her that it is fun to hide. Flame Princess agrees, wondering why everyone can't be honest like Cinnamon Bun. She then says that she should go back to where she belongs.

Back at the lab, Finn and Princess Bubblegum enter the the testing chamber, so that Flame Princess can be subjected to the one who broke her heart, to which Finn looks down, ashamed. Princess Bubblegum then opens the door, and, seeing that the chamber is empty, screams, "CINNAMON BUN!" She goes to Cinnamon Bun's house, and reads a note telling that he went to the Fire Kingdom, and asking the Princess to watch his dog.

At the Fire Kingdom, Finn and Princess Bubblegum try to enter the gates, but the guards prevent the from doing so. Another Fire Kingdom citizen successfully enters the Fire Kingdom, saying that he "needs to file his taxes" also saying he likes to use the bathroom there. Princess Bubblegum and Finn then honestly tell their purpose, and enter the kingdom, seeing Flame Princess as the new king.

Flame Princess sits on the throne as the new Flame King, and Finn is shocked, but relieved that she is okay. Flame Princess then tells the two that she overthrew her father, and that honesty is the new law in Flame Kingdom. Flame King then threatens Flame Princess with grounding with no snacks or friends. Flame Princess is angered, saying that he never gave her any of those things, telling him that he was a selfish king and a bad parent. He then tells her that he did it so that she wouldn't overthrow him. She tells him that he belongs in the lamp, and that, if he's not quiet, he'll have to answer to Cinnamon Bun, who is petting his new Fire Wolf. Princess Bubblegum tells him to go home, but Cinnamon Bun refuses, telling her that he finally has a real dog.

Finn apologizes for his actions before, and Flame Princess forgives him. Finn mistakes her forgiveness for their relationship still being intact, but she refuses, telling him that they can still be friends, as long as he is honest with her, to which Finn looks discouraged, and says, "Hmm."

Major Characters

 * Flame Princess
 * Finn
 * Princess Bubblegum
 * Cinnamon Bun

Minor Characters

 * Jake
 * BMO
 * Gunter
 * Ice King
 * Flame People
 * Flame King
 * Flame Guards
 * Fire Wolf Pup
 * Crystal Lumberjack
 * Snail

Trivia

 * This is the first episode that is from Flame Princess's perspective.
 * This is the first episode in which Flame Princess and Princess Bubblegum are seen directly interacting with each other. Flame Princess (before she has her flashback) states that she doesn't know whether Princess Bubblegum is her "friend."
 * It is revealed that Flame Princess is 15 years old, same age as Finn her ex-boyfriend
 * Flame Princess becomes the new ruler of the Fire Kingdom.
 * Princess Bubblegum remains the same, if not a similar age in the flashback 15 years ago, which suggests she has a different aging pattern to Finn and Flame Princess.
 * Cinnamon Bun states that he thinks Princess Bubblegum is "evil" but he's not sure.
 * Cinnamon Bun leaves the Candy Kingdom and now lives in the Fire Kingdom as Flame Princess' right hand man.

Cultural references

 * While talking about the Fire Kingdom's citizens' deceitful ways, Flame Princess makes a reference to the famous English poet and playwright.
 * When Princess Bubblegum is reading Cinnamon Bun's note, there is a magnet in reseamblence of Totoro from My Neighbor Totoro.

Episode connections

 * This episode is a direct continuation of "Frost & Fire" and "Too Old." Finn's break-up with Flame Princess is discussed, and Ice King reminds Finn about his deceit.
 * Ice King has temporarily moved in with Finn and Jake after the events of "Frost & Fire," in which his house was melted by Flame Princess.
 * The pond that Flame Princess is sitting next to is the same pond that was in "Hot to the Touch."
 * Ice King's Banana Phone from "Loyalty to the King" returns. However, it seems to be a lighter shade of yellow, and now has a penguin keychain on it.
 * Ice King reminisces with Jake about the time they were married, which was in the episode "When Wedding Bells Thaw."
 * Jake mentions Princess Bubblegum's Ball Blam Burglerber, which she used in "Lady & Peebles."
 * The title card for "Earth & Water" is similar to "Frost & Fire 's. They both have a major character in the center and is split into two parts: a warm themed side and a cool themed side.

Errors

 * The burned area near the pond where Flame Princess is sitting, is gone when she was talking to Princess Bubblegum.
 * When Princess Bubblegum and Finn arrive at Cinnamon Bun's house, there is clearly nothing at the door. However, when they walk up to the door, Cinnamon Bun's notes and 'dog' with dog food are there.
 * Flame princess becomes the "king" of the fire kingdom, when she should really become the queen, as determined by her gender.

Production notes

 * "Earth & Water" was the first episode to air in the new Adventure Time timeslot at 7:00 PM EST.