King's Ransom

Synopsis
Ice King suffers a heartbreaking loss and it's up to Finn and Jake to find the culprit.

Plot
The episode begins with a peaceful night at Finn and Jake's house. All of the residents are sleeping peacefully until Ice King breaks into the house, waking up Finn and Jake, and demanding to know where "he" is. Finn at first confuses "he" for Jake, but Ice King clarifies that it is Gunter that he is looking for. Ice King raids the house and tells the two that Gunter is missing, and after calming down due to Jake shifting into a penguin and cuddling with him, Ice King explains that Gunter went missing while they were watching television. Finn says that they should look back at the Ice Kingdom for clues.

The three search and call out to Gunter to no avail, as he can't be found anywhere. Finn and Jake ask Ice King if he's sure to have looked everywhere, to which he responds that Gunter isn't anywhere, not even by the ransom note left by the kidnappers. The ransom note says to meet at moose bone gorge and to come alone, so Ice King, in a rush, heads over there while Finn and Jake follow.

At the gorge, the two hide while Ice King heads to the center of the gorge, where a mysterious voice tells him to drop the crown. Ice King asks if he can see Gunter first, but the voice bluntly says no. Ice King leaves the crown and goes to the bush where Finn and Jake hide. While waiting for whomever is there to collect the crown, Ice King reminisces about all the years he's spent with Gunter (it is revealed that Gunter has been with Ice King for over 115 years). Eventually, a fox arrives and carries the crown (with the trio in pursuit) to a landing where eight other foxes reside. When the fox with the crown joins them, Finn demands that the fox hand the crown over, which he does (though to another fox) while the other eight pull out tin foil decoys. Finn chases one fox while Jake and the Ice King pursue the others. All while this is happening, it is shown that someone already has the crown and is magically reprogramming it.

In his frustration, Ice King goes to Mr. Fox's house to interrogate him about why other foxes stole the crown, and Mr. Fox admits that someone was hiring foxes for a big job, but he didn't want any part of it so he didn't participate. Ice King demands a name, and Mr. Fox reveals that while he didn't see a face, the person communicated with the foxes via tin can.

When Finn and Jake fail to catch any of the other foxes, Ice King meets with them again and tells them the information. While they understand the information, the two are shocked at Ice King's face as he is starting to look human again due to him being "miles and miles" away from the crown. When Jake hears about the tin can communication, he leads them to a can that he had seen earlier during the chase and the three follow the string. When the string following becomes bothersome, Jake pulls on the string to see if he can drag out who was on the other side, but in the end the string just snaps. In anger, Ice King rushes towards Jake and starts to transform into a wizard again, and the two realize that they can use Ice King's nose (which would extend when he faced the direction where the crown was) as a compass. When the follow his nose, the three come across a lava cavern (surrounded by a lava mote) where they spot the other side of the string. Jake offers to stretch them across the mote, but Ice King refuses and stats that he must do this alone. Inside the cave, the person in possession of the crown continues to reprogram it while a silhouette of Gunter watches on and quacks in agony.

Finn and Jake watch while Ice King attempts to freeze the lava and expect him to give up, but he doesn't, ties his robes up, and leaps onto a rock that surfaced in the mote. Finn and Jake watch in suspense while Ice King traverses the lava mote and cheer when he makes a seemingly impossible jump. Ice King successfully enters the cave, though he is upset because he got "hot feet" (he was burnt from landing on the hot rocks), and the fact that he hadn't found Gunter yet. Following the string to the legs of the strange figure, Ice King collapses and the person's feet and begs the person to give him back Gunter. The person steps into the light filtering into the cave and reveals herself to be Wizard Betty with an alright Gunter by her side. Appalled by her beauty (and almost recognizing her), Ice King says that she can keep both Gunter and the crown if she gives him a hug. She agrees and tells him to close his eyes. When he does, Betty puts the crown down and uses teleportation to get out of the cave. When Ice King opens his eyes, he is happy to see Gunter and the crown. When he puts on the crown, whatever reprogramming Betty did takes affect and he states that the crown feels different somehow. Ice King then picks up Gunter and tells him it was a good day while Finn and Jake tearfully look on and agree.

Major Characters

 * Finn
 * Jake
 * Ice King

Minor Characters

 * Gunter
 * Betty
 * Mr. Fox
 * Foxes
 * Snail

Trivia

 * This episode was originally titled "A King's Ransom . "
 * In this episode, Betty is voiced by Tom Herpich instead of Lena Dunham.

Production Notes

 * This episode has been leaked online before its intended airdate.