The Other Tarts

"The Other Tarts" is the ninth episode of season two of Adventure Time.

Synopsis
Princess Bubblegum assigns Finn and Jake a dangerous assignment: carrying rare tarts for a meeting of Ooo royalty. They decide to protect the tarts using various deceptions and tricks, but discover the difficulty of completing their job the hard way.

Plot
The episode opens with a narration by Princess Bubblegum set over a galaxy of flavors describing the nature of the Royal Tarts. According to her, they are considered the most delicious treats in the entire Candy Kingdom and many thieves would risk their lives for a single bite. The only one who was trustworthy enough to transfer these prized tarts across the kingdom and into the Badlands for the sacred Back Rubbing Ceremony was the Royal Tart Toter. Once the narration finishes the scene cuts to Princess Bubblegum holding a picture of the Royal Tart Toter with Finn and Jake looking on in wonder.

Princess Bubblegum explains to them that the Royal Tart Toter has become too old and crazy to fulfill his duties this year, so she must find a new Tart Toter to take his place. She tells them that Cinnamon Bun has volunteered for the position, but Princess Bubblegum considers him a little half-baked for such an important task. She motions over to Cinnamon Bun standing in the corner who is trying to impress her with a failed attempt at a flip. Finn and Jake gracefully offer up their services in toting tarts to the Back Rubbing Ceremony. Princess Bubblegum tells them that the tarts must be delivered properly and on time or else the congress of the Candy Kingdom will behead her, but Finn assures the Princess that he will not fail her. Accepting their proposition, she leads them to the middle of the Tart factory where conveyor belts are busily producing hundreds of tarts at a time. Princess Bubblegum tells Finn and Jake that these tarts are merely imperfections and provides them with an Anti-Gravity Tart Toter filled with the real desserts. She instructs them to take a safe and well protected route through the tart tunnel. She then gives Finn a necklace which can relay messages, departs through an elevator to prepare for the upcoming ceremony and reminds them that her head is on the line.

After she leaves, Finn is struck by a seemingly brilliant idea. Taking a few imperfect tarts off of the conveyor belt and dousing them in a nearby Paralyzing Potion, he hands a case of them to Cinnamon Bun and sends him down the tart tunnel. He explains to Jake that Cinnamon Bun will serve as a distraction while they venture out with the real tarts through the Desert of Doom. Along the way, Finn and Jake deliberately take the most dangerous routes, reasoning that no thief would ever expect them to do anything so stupid while toting the tarts. Finn's plan goes horribly awry, though, as they run up against a pack of hobos, a cave full of zombies and a butterfly with a laser gun. Eventually, Finn and Jake's stock of tarts is completely depleted so they resolve to save Princess Bubblegum from her beheading instead.

Finn and Jake rush to the Royal Congressional Hall, and see what they believe to be the princess about to be beheaded. However, it turns out they were just using an axe to chop the tarts in half. Finn and Jake are momentarily relieved upon realizing that Cinnamon Bun was able to deliver the tarts on time, but they quickly remember that the tarts he was carrying are poisoned. Finn tries to stop Princess Bubblegum from eating one by knocking it from her hand, but she eats another one anyway. In a horrified gasp, Finn believes that the princess has been paralyzed forever as she freezes after taking a bite. However, Princess Bubblegum tells him that she is simply gripped by the flavor and is still able to move. It turns out that Finn and Jake had been carrying the poisoned tarts and that Cinnamon Bun had been carrying the real tarts all along. After explaining his failed plan to the Princess Bubblegum, she admits that she isn't mad about being lied to since she lied to Finn and Jake. She was never going to be beheaded; she just told them that so they wouldn't eat the tarts, and the two hug each other in reconciliation. As the ceremony is about to proceed, the old Royal Tart Toter suddenly bursts through the door, announcing that the royal tarts have arrived. Instead of tarts, he is actually holding a pigeon and a squirrel. Princess Bubblegum tells everyone that he can neither see nor hear the guests so long as they don't move, and he will eventually leave. Unable to see the people before him, The Toter is seen floating in the galaxy of flavors from the opening scene and gives an inspiring yet insane speech:


 * "This cosmic dance of bursting decadence and withheld permissions twists all our arms collectively. But, if sweetness can win, and it can, then I'll still be here tomorrow to high-five you yesterday, my friend. Peace."

As he drifts away in the galaxy of flavors, Lumpy Space Princess floats by and grabs on to a big donut. Back at the Royal Congressional Hall, Finn responds with a simple, "Yeesh..."

Characters

 * Finn
 * Jake
 * Princess Bubblegum
 * Royal Tart Toter
 * Cinnamon Bun
 * Candy People
 * Jelly Bean People
 * Guards
 * Lumpy Space Princess
 * Taddle
 * Grimby
 * J.J.
 * Chuds
 * Butterfly with Laser Gun

Trivia

 * According to the storyboard, this episode was previously titled "Death by Dessert".
 * At the end of "Power Animal" Jake says to Finn "Let's go eat Cinnamon Bun", however in this episode he appears and is fine. He may have said it sarcastically due to Cinnamon Bun's actions in the former episode.
 * While Finn carries his backpack at the beginning it's green, but when Jake carries it through the desert (due to Finn carrying the tarts) it turns blue. However it may be a different backpack.
 * In the promo for this episode, the galaxy the old tart toter is in appears to have clouds. However, in the episode there are no clouds.
 * When Finn retrieves the container after the first theft, the red bar was full.
 * The title card seems to show the Tart Toter in his best days, defending the tarts from thieves, with his body unwounded.
 * This is the first episode to premiere in 2011.
 * In the episode Blood Under the Skin, in the stall of Choose Goose there was a necklace with a prism pink that resemble the one that Princess Bubblegum gave to Finn.