The Light Cloud

"The Light Cloud" is the eighth and final part of the Adventure Time mini-series Islands and the fourteenth episode in the eighth season of Adventure Time. It is the two hundred fifty-second episode overall.

Synopsis
Finn confronts the power behind Founders Island, but will he ever return home to Ooo?

Plot
After meeting his mother's consciousness, Finn is flabbergasted when his mother persists him to stay forever. Minerva showcases a simulation where Finn and Jake's ship is destroyed by the Guardian before they could leave in order to dissuade Finn from leaving. Meanwhile, Susan is still attempting to reignite Frieda's desire for exploration. Finn and Jake explain their lives in the Land of Ooo but Minerva finds it too dangerous for Finn to live. To prove his point, Finn shows Minerva his memories, but Minerva remains adamant on Finn staying permanently. Finn claims he can convince the humans to leave, but Minerva undermines this effort.

Outside, Finn tries to convince the humans to grow out of their shell of fear, but the humans complain that it is too hard. Jake accompanies him in showcasing the wonders of Ooo; the magic, kingdoms made of candy and depressed men. They proclaim that fear is needed for a person to grow and the humans collectively rally in support of the idea. Susan overhears the commotion and brings Frieda outside. Upon hearing the speech, Frieda's fervor for exploration returns. The success of Finn's arguments made Minerva nervous and subsequently deploys her Minerva Bots to intervene. The Minerva Bots shoot a force field into the sky, threatening to upload the consciousness of everybody in the surrounding islands into the Better Reality software. While everybody is paralyzed by fear, Finn returns to his mother.

Minerva argues to Finn that he forced her hand, to which Finn bargains his consciousness to be uploaded into the Better Reality software in place of everybody. Minerva tries to explain that she is just helping everybody. Finn responds by showing Minerva his memories of helping people in Ooo. Minerva, convinced by what she saw, decides to let Finn go knowing that a chaotic world molded him into a helper like herself. The Minerva Bots disable the enveloping force field and stand down.

At the island's port, Finn invites the humans with him, but the humans generally decline due to the sudden decision to leave. Frieda accepts this invitation and travels with Susan. Frieda and Susan, from their Transport ship, lure the Guardian out of the water with a ship hologram while Finn and Jake climb into the Guardian's core to upload Minerva's consciousness who orders the Guardian to finally stand down as their protector. Frieda and Susan part ways with Finn, Jake and BMO and decide to make new memories together.

Aboard a freighter ship captained by BMO, Finn dons a Better Reality helmet which transports him to his old domestic home in the island. She is greeted by Minerva's consciousness where they share a parting hug. Finn asks if she is the same person after sacrificing her physical body and uploading her consciousness, to which she replies that she likes to think of it. Minerva disappears after the ship had moved out of the island's signal range, leaving Finn alone in the virtual reality. Finn sheds a tear as he says goodbye.

Major Characters

 * Finn
 * Jake
 * BMO
 * Susan Strong (as Kara until the end of the episode)
 * Minerva
 * Frieda
 * Minerva Bots
 * Guardian

Minor Characters

 * Alva
 * Albert
 * Humans
 * Better Reality Player
 * Snail

Cameos in Finn's Memories

 * Fern
 * Marceline
 * The Lich
 * Giant Floating Mushroom
 * Princess Bubblegum
 * Flame Princess
 * Villagers
 * Huntress Wizard
 * Ice King
 * Earl of Lemongrab
 * Magic Man
 * Tiny Manticore
 * Farmworld Finn
 * The Comet
 * Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant
 * Neptr
 * Starchy
 * Shelby

Trivia

 * The episode's title seems to parallel season 7's "The Dark Cloud."
 * It also fits because they are both the last episode of their respective miniseries.
 * The final scene of this episode, where Finn sheds a single tear while saying "Goodbye" to his mother, is both a parallel and a stark contrast to the final scene of "The Invitation," where Finn happily removed his hat while sailing to the islands in Bubblegum's boat.

Cultural References

 * The scene where Finn hugs Minerva in virtual reality and asks if it is truly his mother is similar to the episode "Game of Tones" where Fry speaks to his mother in her dream.

Episode Connections

 * The ship that Finn, Jake, and BMO use to get home to Ooo is nearly identical to the ship that the human survivors use in Adventure Time Mini-Series: "Stakes". It is likely that it is the same ship because it seems to be that the founders of the islands are the human survivors of the war.
 * Finn is unharmed by two electric shocks (one after the first memory sequence, and another inside the Guardian), since he became electric-resistant in "Flute Spell."
 * The first memory sequence consists of scenes from the following episodes:
 * Susan punching Finn in "Reboot."
 * Marceline with stakes in "Checkmate."
 * Fern punching Finn in "Two Swords."
 * Finn encountering the Lich in the citadel in "Escape from the Citadel."
 * Giant Floating Mushroom in "Mama Said."
 * Finn battling the possessed Princess Bubblegum in "Mortal Recoil."
 * Finn kissing Flame Princess in "Burning Low."
 * Finn and Jake hitching unto Princess Bubblegum's ship in "The Comet."
 * Grob Gob Glob Grod colliding with Martin's ship in "Astral Plane."
 * Finn's grass arm detaching in "Escape from the Citadel."
 * The second memory sequence consists of scenes from the following episodes:
 * Finn carrying the villagers in "The Visitor."
 * Finn helping Huntress Wizard in "Flute Spell."
 * Finn and Jake consoling Marceline in "Marceline The Vampire Queen."
 * Finn consoling Fern in "Do No Harm."
 * Finn and Jake consoling Ice King in "King's Ransom."
 * Finn helping the Earl of Lemongrab in "The Mountain."
 * Finn freeing Tiny Manticore in "Sons of Mars."
 * Finn and Farmworld Finn using the Maid in "Crossover."
 * Finn freeing the Comet from Orgalorg in "The Comet."
 * Finn, Jake and the Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant in "Something Big."
 * Finn, Jake, Starchy, Shelby, Neptr, Princess Bubblegum and Ice King rejoicing in "Don't Look."

Production Notes

 * This episode was released for digital download and DVD on January 24, 2017.
 * This episode is considered to be the Season 8 finale by cartoonnetwork.com and Wikipedia. It is unclear if it is an error on Cartoon Network's behalf since "Three Buckets" is the actual Season 8 finale.