Mortal Recoil

"Mortal Recoil" is the twenty-fifth episode and last episode in season two of Adventure Time. This is half of the two-part season finale, along with "Mortal Folly."

Synopsis
Though The Lich appears stopped, an idiotic accident by the Ice King has lead to Princess Bubblegum becoming altered, leading to an unlikely final showdown with one of the greatest evils in order to save all life in Ooo.

Plot
In the previous episode, Princess Bubblegum was dropped stupidly by the Ice King into The Lich's Well of Power, which had melted her body. The episode begins with Dr. Ice Cream and Nurse Poundcake, along with other candy hospital staff, rolling her into the ER trying to stabilize her, luckily Princess Bubblegum is brought back to life after a small flatline. Ice King tries to explain something strange he saw when Princess Bubblegum fell in the well, but Finn is still extremely mad at the Ice King for almost killing her and nearly kills him by throwing his Root Sword at him, telling him to "shut [Ice Kings] face" and calls him old. This hurts him emotionally, so he flies away. As a gift for destroying The Lich, the other princesses give Finn a new backpack. Princess Bubblegum is still very ill and is confined to her room, with Finn and Jake acting as her caregivers. When she wakes up she is given a gift of every flower in the Candy Kingdom picked for her.

However, she exhibits strange behavioral problems including spasms, heavy breathing, convulsions and crawling into the bathroom. Finn returns her to her bed and takes some time to confide his feelings to her, asking Jake to leave the room. Finn thanks her for the sweater she made him due to it have "the power of liking someone a lot" because she cared about him and tells her that they should discuss their feelings later, but she is unresponsive. Princess Bubblegum asks Finn in a whisper to bring some objects for her. When Jake and Peppermint Butler return with a cup of tea, Peppermint Butler freaks out, then hisses like a cat and runs away.

While Finn's away, Jake tries to play some music for Princess Bubblegum, but Princess Bubblegum acts psychotic and summons magical fire into the room and scares Jake out. When Finn returns to the hall outside, he is holding an assortment of items, which he reveals are things like gasoline, bleach, ammonia, lighter fluid, plutonium and other hazardous chemicals. Jake urges Finn to not bring the chemicals to Princess Bubblegum, but she opens the door and takes them from Finn and returns to her room.

Jake then tells Finn of the fire she summoned, which alarms Finn. The two enter the room where Finn believes Princess Bubblegum is just having private time in the bathroom. Jake looks through the keyhole and forces a reluctant Finn. who states it is "pervy", to as well. They see Princess Bubblegum, now with a demonic form, pouring the chemicals into her bathtub, forming a pool like The Lich's Well of Power. When she starts drinking the liquid, Finn and Jake try to stop her, but she rips the tub off of the floor and drinks the entire concoction, growing as tall as her tower and turning deadly black.

She knocks the boys through the wall into the hallway, and as she begins to attack the Candy Kingdom, Ice King appears and explains that he saw The Lich possess Princess Bubblegum with his Wizard eyes. He then explains that he had not spoken up because "when you have stanky old wizard eyes, sometimes you see things that are real, and other times it's like crazy, crazy, crazy, in your face all the time." He wants to help Finn and Jake, but Finn angrily refuses his assistance, as it was his fault for stalling them while chasing The Lich and for almost killing Princess Bubblegum in the first place.

After telling Ice King to "get stuffed", Finn tries to defeat the possessed Princess Bubblegum with the sweater she gave him, but fails. As PB attacks Jake, Finn finally accepts Ice King's help. As Finn distracts Princess Bubblegum, the Ice King freezes her from the feet up. The Candy Kingdom rejoices, but their jubilation turns to shock when Princess Bubblegum falls over and shatters. Dr. Ice Cream, Nurse Poundcake, and Doctor Princess attempt to reassemble her but they don't have enough pieces. Nurse Poundcake then reveals to everyone that Princess Bubblegum is alive, but she is now thirteen years old instead of eighteen.

Now Ice King loses interest in her and flies home. Finn remarks that he is thirteen as well. Princess Bubblegum calls Finn a hero and he and Princess Bubblegum share a loving embrace. As everyone celebrates, the Snail who freed The Lich is seen waving menacingly in the background, with eyes that glow like The Lich's, which shows that The Lich may return.

Major Characters

 * Finn
 * Jake
 * Princess Bubblegum
 * The Lich
 * Ice King

Minor Characters

 * Candy People
 * Peppermint Butler
 * Dr. Ice Cream
 * Nurse Poundcake
 * Dr. Donut
 * Cinnamon Bun
 * Guardians of the Royal Promise
 * Green Gumdrop Dude
 * Doctor Princess
 * Emerald Princess
 * Wildberry Princess
 * Lumpy Space Princess
 * Raggedy Princess
 * Snail

Music

 * Not Feelin' Good Song

Trivia

 * This episode and "Mortal Folly" would have been the final episodes of the season prior to the rescheduling of "Heat Signature". The two-part episode is still considered the season two finale by the show's crew.
 * This is the first time Finn directly states he's 13 years old, although this was already known from the events of "Tree Trunks" and "Mystery Train" and from statements made by the show's crew.
 * In the emergency room at the start of the episode, the heart monitor screen is displaying the first 15 digits of pi.
 * Dr. Donut can be seen when the gang cheers seeing that Princess Bubblegum is OK.
 * When Princess Bubblegum was possessed by The Lich, she spoke with a deeper voice, her skin was pale and sometimes contorted; this could make reference to the 1973 horror movie The Exorcist.
 * The title card depicts something that did not actually happen in the episode; it shows a funeral for Princess Bubblegum, with the characters looking into an open grave. This may have been done to make the episode suspenseful, having the viewers thinking Princess Bubblegum will die any minute.
 * In the title card the snail is between Finn and Peppermint Butler waving. This the first time Snail is shown in the title card.
 * When Princess Bubblegum is in the hospital bed, she is naked. When she is in her room, she is dressed.
 * All of the items PB asked for were EXTREMELY flammable, like bleach, gasoline, lighter fluid, plutonium, and ammonia.
 * It would be impossible for Finn to hand plutonium directly without being affected by the radiation. Even though the plutonium was not directly shown, it is possible that it was contained within a lead container, to limit the gamma radiation exposure. This explains why Finn was able to carry the plutonium without bodily harm.
 * PB could be making Nuclear Weapons, though other weapons could be made like bio-weapons, and other traps and poisons
 * Plutonium is used for making nuclear weapons and is rare. There is a possibility that he got it from undetonated nuclear weapons.
 * Another possability is that all the substances were in PB's lab, explaining the quick trip.
 * Ammonia can be used for making bombs lke the one on the Oklahoma City. Bleach, gasoline, lighter fluid are highly flammable materials for making Molotov cocktails.


 * In the title card, the episodes title looks similar to the Minecraft logo font.
 * This is the first time Finn reveals that he likes Princess Bubblegum and says it to her.
 * The only people who knew PB was possessed were Ice King and Peppermint Butler.
 * When PB (altered form) pushed Finn and Jake through the wall, Ice King can be seen with a plastic cup on the wall.

Censorship
''This episode was censored on Cartoon Network Australia. See Censorship of Adventure Time in Australia for more information.''