In Your Footsteps

"In Your Footsteps" is the seventh episode in season four of Adventure Time.

Synopsis
A bear befriends Finn and Jake, but what are his true intentions?

Plot
Finn is skydiving in the air with Jake in his backpack. Finn pulls the ripcord (which is Jake’s arm) and Jake then shapeshifts into a parachute. Finn and Jake land safely on the ground. Finn greets Princess Bubblegum and the Candy People once they safely reach the ground. After Finn and Jake were dancing, Finn said that he would go get some food.

Jake meets a Bear and tries to introduce himself to him, who doesn’t understand Jake. The Bear then tries to eat some of Finn’s peanuts, but starts choking. Finn hits the Bear’s back with the Enchiridion and the Bear spits out the peanuts he was choking on. Everybody then continues dancing. After the party, when Finn and Jake are walking home in the dark, the Bear follows them. They go back to the Tree Fort.

Jake is listening to music when Finn shows that the Bear copies everything Finn does. When Jake tries to get the Bear to copy him, the Bear pushes Jake away. The Bear then repeats Finn by saying “Sweeping weak.” Finn suggests that the Bear spend the night in the Tree Fort in the bathtub. Jake wakes up in the middle of the night when he hears a noise. He sees the Bear dressed up as Finn and dancing. The Bear continues to repeat “Hey Princess Bubblegum! Hey everybody!” while snapping, just like Finn did in the beginning of the episode. When Jake tries to prove to Finn that the Bear was impersonating him, the Bear is sleeping. Finn says that he believes Jake but that the Bear isn’t hurting anybody, so it is fine. During the next morning, Finn, Jake, and the Bear are eating cereal at the table. Finn then says that he has to go pick up BMO from soccer and tells Jake not to eat the Finn Cakes (cupcakes that look like Finn). The Bear ended up eating all the Finn cakes and Jake records the whole thing. When Finn and BMO come back, Finn first gets angry at Jake for eating the Finn Cakes, but after Jake explains that the Bear ate them, Finn gets angry at Jake for just letting it happen. They both discover a note that says that there would be a party in the forest at night.

Finn and Jake then go into the forest and see the Bear, disguised as Finn, partying with PB and the Candy People. Finn tells Jake that PB and Finn never went steady when Jake tells Finn that the Bear is stealing his ex-girlfriend. Jake then convinces Finn that the Bear never really liked Finn, and that the Bear just used him. Finn rips the Bear’s mask off and tells him that the jig is up. The Bear runs away, crying. After Princess Bubblegum explains that nobody actually thought the Bear was Finn, Finn runs after the Bear and apologizes. He gives the Bear the Enchiridion and tells him that he can become a true hero. The Bear climbs up a mountain and goes into a cave. The Snail then asks if the Bear brought the book, and the Bear presents it to the Snail, who is still possessed by The Lich.

Major characters

 * Finn
 * Jake
 * Bear

Minor characters

 * Candy People
 * Princess Bubblegum
 * Peppermint Butler
 * Cinnamon Bun
 * Chocoberry
 * Chet
 * Mr. Candy Cane
 * Marshmallow kids
 * Uncle Chewy
 * BMO
 * Snail
 * The Lich (possessing the snail)

Trivia

 * It is revealed that BMO plays soccer.
 * When Jake was sweeping the title card music plays.
 * The snail appears twice in this episode. The first time is while Finn and Jake are partying and the second time in the end scene.
 * This is the fifth time that someone imitated Finn and the Bear is the fourth to do it.
 * In the beginning of the episode when Finn is skydiving, It is unknown how Finn and Jake got into the sky in the first place.

Cultural references

 * The cereal Finn, Jake, and the Bear are eating resembles Trix Cereal.

Episode connections

 * Jake said that Princess Bubblegum was Finn's ex-girlfriend. Finn replied that they "never went steady."
 * The Enchiridion has made its fourth appearance.

Production notes

 * This marks the first time the Snail actually talked. This is due to its being possessed by The Lich. He is voiced by Pendleton Ward instead of Ron Perlman, who voiced the original version of the Lich.
 * This title card bears a strong artistic resemblance to the title card from the original theme song from the Pilot.

Storyline analysis

 * The promotional art depicts BMO playing soccer against a rival team while Candy People cheer on. The scene wasn't shown in the episode, but it depicted BMO after the soccer match.
 * In the episode, the Bear is seen wearing a hat like Finn's. This shows that he may have many hats, and changes them when they are in poor condition. This also may mean that he doesn't wear the same hat he did when he was an infant, and has had many since.

Videos
Adventure Time - In Your Footsteps (short preview)|Short preview 1 Adventure Time - In Your Footsteps (short preview 2)|Short preview 2 Adventure Time - In Your Footsteps (long preview)|Long preview