I Remember You

Synopsis
Ice King visits Marceline to ask for help in creating a song to attract princesses, but Marceline struggles to deal emotionally with his presence.

Plot
The episode begins with the Ice King performing his version of Marceline's Fry Song to Gunter. He then decides to ask Marceline to help him write a song to impress princesses. He rips some pages from his scrapbook so he can use them as inspiration for lyrics and then flies to Marceline's house. Finn and Jake notice him and think that he is up to no good.

Ice King arrives at Marceline's house and asks her for help writing a song. She refuses, and he flies into the house. He tries to let her hear what he has so far for the song, but when he tries to setup his instruments he gets tangled up in the cord. Finn and Jake arrive and try to subdue him, but Marceline tells them that they are writing a song together. They perform a song about Princess Bubblegum and the other various princesses of Ooo, and how the Ice King is sad and alone. He has a breakdown and begins shooting ice bolts at the ceiling, when Marceline tackles him, and tells him to stop acting crazy. He goes into the kitchen, and sits on the fridge. Marceline goes into the kitchen and sings about how the Ice King is crazy, and how she is too for liking him. Ice King asks for a hug, which Marceline gives him. He mistakes it for a beginning of a romantic relationship and tries to kiss her. She explains she only likes him as a friend and asks if he really doesn't remember his past or who he is, calling him by his name, Simon.

The Ice King takes out his pages from his scrapbook while proclaiming that he is a lyricist. Marceline looks at a few of the documents and shows him a newspaper clipping with a photo of himself before he was the Ice King, showing him what he was before the Mushroom War, most notably holding The Enchiridion. Marceline then finds a photo of herself in the pile, which she says he took. The Ice King has no memory of this. Marceline then looks at the back of the photo of herself and finds a message from Simon directed at Marceline, apologizing for his deteriorating mind. Ice King then tells her to sing the message as lyrics, as he plays the drums. Marceline sings the message on the back of the photo, hoping the Ice King will regain his memories. Marceline becomes frustrated that he does not remember anything, and shows him something that he wrote. He sings the message, and gives a look of remembrance, but he is not sure. As they sing, Finn and Jake look inside the house with binoculars, not knowing what's going on.

A flashback reveals a ruined city in the aftermath of the Mushroom War, and a young Marceline standing alone in the wreckage crying. A not-yet-fully transformed Simon runs to her to wipe her tears away and goes to a toy store to give her Hambo, a stuffed animal, which cheers her up.

Major characters

 * Ice King
 * Marceline

Minor characters

 * Finn
 * Jake
 * Gunter
 * Betty (picture)
 * Snail

Mentioned

 * Slime Princess
 * Flame Princess
 * Wildberry Princess
 * Princess Bubblegum
 * Jay T. Dawgzone

Songs

 * "Fry Song" (Ice King's version)
 * "Oh, Bubblegum"
 * "Nuts"
 * "Remember You"

Trivia

 * In the Ice King's past room in the bottom left in a box, there is a picture of a meteorite heading for Earth.
 * When the Ice King lifts his tunic he is shown to be fatter than in prior episodes.
 * When Ice King is singing Fry Song (Ice King Version), he pronounces Gunter's name "Goonter"
 * Marceline says that the Ice King finds her wherever she goes. This may be a reference to the movie Hancock where Mary tells Hancock the no matter where she goes he always manages to find her.

Errors

 * While attempting to untangle his cords, Ice King's drums are to the right of the ladder behind him, but when Finn and Jake bust in, his drums switch to being on the left side of the ladder.
 * When Finn and Jake bust in, Ice King's head is positioned away from his drums, yet when Jake is chastising Ice King for harassing females, his head is next to his drums. Ice King's head is positioned away from his drums when Jake picks him up only seconds later.
 * When Marceline was singing Nuts it zooms to a ceiling view, and the window that looks into the living room is gone.

Cultural references

 * Marceline is wearing a No Smoking T-shirt.
 * Ice King mentions prog (progressive) rock, a genre of music that became popular in the early 70's. Innovative prog rock bands include Pink Floyd, Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, Rush, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
 * Before Jake picks up the Ice King, he uses a Hoss Delgado accent to tell Ice King, "Your constant harassment of the female gender makes me sick!".

Episode connections

 * Ice King sings a variation of the Fry Song in this episode; he was revealed to know of the song in "Holly Jolly Secrets Part II." In this version, most of the song's words are replaced with the word "gunt," as he was singing this variation to Gunter.
 * Marceline's stuffed toy, Hambo, that she received in this episode, was first shown in "Memory of a Memory" when Marceline was replacing its missing button-eye.
 * There is a newspaper clipping with the Ice King (then known as Simon Petrikov) discovering the Enchiridion, from the episode "The Enchiridion!"
 * Simon Petrikov's speech in "Holly Jolly Secrets Part II" mentions that the power of the crown will save him. In this episode the letters to Marceline mention that the magic is keeping him alive.
 * The book Mind Games by Jay T. Dawgzone from "Reign of Gunters" appears again, advising Ice King that "Chicks dig bros with tortured pasts."
 * Ice King's ruined bass drum from "The Chamber of Frozen Blades" and the "EAT" sign that appears outside of the diner in "Memory of a Memory" can be seen in his "The Past" room.

Production notes

 * The original title for this episode was "Help".

Storyline analysis

 * Marceline states that Ice King always eventually finds her no matter how many times she moves, referencing her many homes.
 * Notes in the storyboard suggest that Simon Petrikov and Marceline had met prior to the scene shown in the episode, but Simon had left her alone for some reason.
 * The lyrics to Remember You were taken from letters written by Simon Petrikov to Marceline, explaining why he does not remember her, and that he needed the crown to stay alive even though it was making him crazy.
 * When Marceline yells at him and calls him "Simon," Ice King replies with "What-mon?" as if he has forgotten that he was Simon Petrikov.

Videos
Adventure Time - I remember you (short preview)|Short preview. Adventure Time - I Remember You (long preview)|Long preview. "I Remember You" Animatic|Animatic.