Rattleballs (episode)

Synopsis
Finn wants to be trained in sword fighting by an old gumball robot named Rattleballs, who lives in the junkyard.

Plot
Princess Bubblegum is startled when she finds Finn in her kitchen at five in the morning. Finn explains that he has rededicated his life to serving and protecting Princess Bubblegum now that his relationship with Flame Princess has ended. Bubblegum mentions that she is out of milk and Finn runs off to get it. Three weeks later, he returns with mink milk and is visibly exhausted. Upon seeing this, Princess Bubblegum orders Finn to take some time off and rest.

Finn goes to a junkyard singing a song while cutting objects with his grass sword. While playing around, Finn is almost crushed by a falling car, but is saved by a mysterious hooded swordsman. They have a duel, but Finn is outmatched and easily defeated. After the fight, Finn's opponent reveals himself to be an old gumball robot named Rattleballs. The robot praises Finn's warrior spirit, but criticizes his swordsmanship before walking away. Finn tries to convince Rattleballs to train him and is successful after helping Rattleballs remove a gumball that had been lodged inside of his body.

When the training is over, Rattleballs shows Finn his secret technique and tells him he will be able to perfect his swordsmanship after ten more years of rigorous training and becoming a robot. Rattleballs then tells Finn about his past. He was once part of an elite robot police force created by Princess Bubblegum to replace the incompetent Banana Guards. Although he and the other gumball robots excelled at protecting the Candy Kingdom, the Princess was disturbed by their ruthlessness and love of violence.

She soon ordered the robots to gather into a factory where they were to be destroyed without their knowledge. Rattleballs, through sheer willpower, overcame his programming and escaped to the junkyard and stayed there ever since. He asks Finn not to tell the Princess because she would have him destroyed. However, Finn feels bound to his word to serve the Princess and immediately tells her everything. She, Finn, and the Banana Guards go to the junkyard and surround Rattleballs. Finn tells the robot to surrender as he believes Bubblegum will hear him out, but the Princess orders the guards to destroy him. Rattleballs easily defeats them but does not kill them, as he claims he has found peace. He then surrenders to the Princess, saying that he still serves her "one hundred percent" even if it means his destruction.

Later, Princess Bubblegum gives the Banana Guards a metal cube as proof that Rattleballs had been crushed and killed. However, it is revealed that the cube was fake and the Princess had spared the robot in secret. She sends him out into the kingdom so he can protect it from the shadows. Rattleballs accepts this duty, stating that was "marginally better than hiding in a dump," before being knighted and jumping away with a smile.

Main Characters

 * Finn
 * Rattleballs
 * Princess Bubblegum

Minor Characters

 * Peppermint Butler
 * Banana Guards
 * Christopher the Honorary Banana Guard
 * Female Banana Guard
 * Root Beer Guy
 * Gumball Guards
 * Gumball Guardians
 * Jake (mentioned)
 * Flame Princess (indirect mention)
 * Snail

Trivia

 * Jake never appears in this episode, although he is mentioned.

Cultural references

 * Inside the Ooo Junkyard, many of the dilapidated and destroyed cars were from the 1960's and the 1970's. Two of the notable cars shown briefly was a 1971 Nissan Skyline  KPGC10 2000 GT-X seen at the top of the pile of junk. Another was a Yellow 1966 Nissan Cedric Wagon toppled over the top of the pile at the next scene.

Episode connections

 * This episode features Finn's new Grass Sword, which he got in the previous episode, "Blade of Grass." Finn uses the grass sword to dislodge a gumball from Rattleballs' body.
 * Finn cites "getting out of his last relationship" as his reason for rededicating his life to defending princesses. This is a reference to his break-up with Flame Princess in the episode "Frost & Fire."
 * Here Princess Bubblegum addresses Root Beer Guy as "Captain Root Beer Guy," a connection to the episode "Root Beer Guy."
 * In Rattleballs' flashback, the Candy Kingdom isn't yet fully constructed. The banana guards are still green, though the Gumball Guardians are completed and Princess Bubblegum is not wearing her amulet, showing these events to have occurred sometime after "The Vault."
 * During Rattleball's flashback, Princess Bubblegum has the same hairstyle as in the episode "You Made Me."

Storyline analysis

 * It is revealed what Banana Guards look like under their peels.