The Suitor

Synopsis
A suitor named Braco tries to win the heart of Princess Bubblegum with whatever it takes, even as she ignores his feelings.

Plot
The episode begins with Peppermint Butler practicing dark magic in a tower of the Candy Castle to summon a demon called Ogdoad who holds the key to the Shadow Realm. Peppermint Butler uses Cinnamon Bun, who is tied upside-down above Peppermint Butler, described a willing vessel. Before Peppermint Butler can negotiate with Ogdoad, a Gumball Guardian grabs Peppermint Butler and tells him that he should find a suitor for Princess Bubblegum because she has been working too hard on her lab that she needs to go out and socialize. The Gumball Guardian shows Peppermint Butler all the available suitors. Peppermint Butler refuses, saying that Princess Bubblegum won't date those "old bags." The Gumball Guardian tells him that he must try.

Peppermint Butler is put into the room with the suitors, but all of them are too old (one said that he had waited over 300 years). Peppermint Butler goes along the line and sees a young-looking suitor named Braco, who is sitting on the skeleton and says he was born to court the Princess Bubblegum. Braco says he is 21 and that he inherited his father's place in line after he died. Peppermint Butler then decides to give Braco a shot at courting the princess.

Once they enter the lab, Peppermint Butler introduces Braco to Princess Bubblegum,  but she declines, Peppermint Butler, who seemed cross, says that she needs to get outside and do some research on boys. Princess Bubblegum says that it is "way out of line" and that they are "donking up her research." Suddenly, Braco tells her that he loves her so much that it hurts. She tells him that it is infatuation, that the pain is a product of Braco overvaluing a projected imaginary relationship with her. Braco states that what he feels is real and tells her to meet him at the garden at night then jumps out of the balcony, landing on Mr. Cupcake. Princess Bubblegum accepts, but tells him that it is only for research.

As they were walking that night, Braco gives Princess Bubblegum a rose while she observes her device that she connected on his forehead. She says that she has what she needs "for now" and calls Morrow, flying her back to the castle.

The next day, Braco tries his grandfather's art of "peacocking," wearing his grandfather's suit and hat, to win the princess' heart. But she only responded by firing an X-ray gun at Braco then leaves.

At her lab, Princess Bubblegum calls for Finn and Jake and asks them to get her a soul stone which is at the Vapor Swamps and gives them a map of its location. Later, Braco asks them for the map so that he could bring the stone to the princess and that she'll love him. Finn gives Braco the map, but states that "the road you're on leads to nowhere."

Braco goes to the Soul Stone's location, encountering monsters and burning himself trying to get a key that opens the stone's "chest." Braco is then asked by The Beast why he stole his treasure. Braco says that it is for the one he loves. The Beast tells Braco to take the stone.

Back at the lab, Braco gives Princess Bubblegum the Soul Stone but she says that she doesn't need it anymore as she just finished programming a proper simulation of a soul and that it is much easier to manipulate than a real one. Braco returns to his room. In frustration, he smashes the Soul Stone and shoves his things then asks himself why Princess Bubblegum won't love him. Then, a Gumball Guardian grabs him and brings him to Peppermint Butler, who is demanding Ogdoad to give him the key to the Shadow Realm. Braco decides to give up but Peppermint Butler offers to help him with Shadow Demon magic. In exchange for Ogdoad's freedom, he must turn Braco into a walking "love magnet." Ogdoad agrees but turns Braco into a three-legged monster.

Braco asks Peppermint Butler if he is now a walking "love magnet." Peppermint Butler says that he indeed paid the price and that he wants to have Braco's babies. Gratified, he runs back to the castle and into Princess Bubblegum's lab, who is discovered to have made a robot version of herself. Braco asks her if she loves him now. She explains that she does love him, however, it is the undifferentiated love she feels for all candy citizens and that she couldn't permit one of her citizens to suffer the way Braco did over her so she made him P-bot. He says he feels that it's wrong. P-bot kisses him and tells him that they should get out of the lab. Satisfied, Braco carries P-bot and jumps out of the lab, thanking Princess Bubblegum. She watches from the window and sheds a tear as they make their way through the Candy Kingdom.

Peppermint Butler shows up and asks where Braco is. Princess Bubblegum explains that she knew Braco couldn't be happy without her so she built him a robo-wife. Peppermint Butler responded angrily, saying "You should have given him to me!" then slaps her.

Major characters

 * Princess Bubblegum
 * Peppermint Butler
 * Braco

Minor characters

 * Finn
 * Jake
 * Snail
 * Phil
 * Guardian Angel
 * Princess Bubblegum Bot
 * The Morrow
 * Ogdoad
 * Candy People
 * Cinnamon Bun
 * Mr. Cupcake
 * Gumball Guardian
 * Candy Corn rats
 * Loghan
 * Hobus
 * Chet
 * Lollipop Girl
 * Chocoberry
 * Green Gumdrop Dude
 * Starchy
 * Lion
 * The Beast

Trivia

 * Phil is in the cage behind Princess Bubblegum.
 * The Amber Prison has decreased in size as the tree starts to regrow.
 * The figures carved into the wall behind Braco's Grandfather's coffin appear similar to Princess Bubblegum.
 * One of the Guardians refer to Peppermint Butler as "the dark one", showing that they are aware of his actions.

Cultural references

 * When Peppermint Butler tries to summon the demon Ogdoad in the tower, there are four beings sitting around the triangle on the ground: an ox, an angel, an eagle and a lion. These allude to the symbols of the four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) of the Christian Bible.
 * Braco appears to have a helmet resembling the one Boba Fett, from the Star Wars saga, placed on the shelf in his room.
 * Peppermint Butler mentions Shadow Realm, a fictional world in Yu-Gi-Oh!
 * There is an Item Called the Soul stone in the Game "Grand Chase" which has the same color but different shape which is a rock or crystal.

Episode connections

 * Princess Bubblegum seems to be wearing the same glasses as seen in "Goliad."
 * The Guardian Angel from the episode "Dungeon" and a lion which is similar to the one in "The Silent King" reappears near Peppermint Butler while he is summoning the demon.
 * The amber prison the Lich is trapped in returns from "Mortal Folly" and the hole he made remains in the tree in this episode.
 * The book Mind Games returns; it is written by Jay T. Doggzone.

Errors

 * When Braco said that he is the son of Loghan, and the part when he asked PB to go on a date with him, the line on his shirt disappeared.
 * The position of Braco's teapot changes.

Production notes

 * This episode had a guest animator.
 * This episode was originally named "PB is Working Too Hard." This title appears on Xfinity On Demand.
 * At the end, the ending theme was changed to a song written by Jesse Moynihan which was intended to be put in the episode.

Storyline analysis

 * The oldest suitor mentioned that he has been waiting for Princess Bubblegum for 300 years, indicating that she is much older than she looks. This is possible because she can modify her age by adding or taking away candy mass. It could also be possible that the suitors were waiting for previous candy monarchs or were exagerrating.