"Morituri Te Salutamus" is the second episode in the third season of Adventure Time. It's the fifty-fourth episode overall.
Synopsis[]
The duo choose to partake in gladiatorial combat against the Fight King's ghost warriors, but Finn succumbs to bloodlust while Jake becomes obsessed in keeping a cool morale.
Plot[]
After barely rescuing a bunch of Hedgehog Creatures from a Burger Monster (Finn's plan apparently went wrong because Jake does not follow it), Finn and Jake are lured to an arena by the sound of fighting. Once at the Fight King's arena they meet the Fight King, who promises glory if they step through the seal on the arena. Finn and Jake instantly figure out it is a trap and leave, but then they begin to fantasize about the things in the arena they would face (sealing exits, Gladiator Ghost, etc.) and come back and to the Fight King and it is just that.
After defeating two Gladiator Ghosts, the Fight King gives them olive branches and Finn and Jake prepare to leave because Jake's thighs hurt, but the Fight King stops them and says they must earn their freedom by defeating each of his ghosts. He then sends them to a cavern under the arena to rest until they are ready to fight again. Finn makes a plan to do what the Fight King says and defeat the ghosts to earn their freedom, but Jake morphs the plan into switching himself with a dirt dummy and dig for lava to forge a molten hula hoop to increase morale, stating that the cave will be as fun "as a tropical island." Finn goes along with the plan and goes back to the arena with the dirt dummy to fight more gladiator ghosts. After defeating the ghosts the Fight King gives Finn his "favor" by knighting him with his sword and he becomes more violent (than usual), striking random fighting poses. Then, Jake comes back up to see what is happening and Finn almost hits him when he goes into his "kill zone." When they go back into the cavern, Finn is becoming even more violent and Jake believes this to be a lack of morale, so he resumes digging for lava as Finn goes back up to fight the rest of the Gladiator Ghosts. While Jake sings about being on a tropical island, Finn soundly defeats every gladiator ghost, but the Fight King says he has one more opponent to face, and brings the dirt dummy Jake forward, which Finn savagely attacks. Jake, after realizing in song that his plan would result in death, comes back out of the hole and Finn reveals the dirt dummy to be a farce. He then turns on Jake, who runs when the seemingly bloodthirsty Finn goes after him.
When Finn has been tied up by Jake using his body, he tells the Fight King he cannot kill Jake unless he has a bigger sword. The Fight King throws his magic sword at Finn happily, telling him to finish Jake. Finn then throws the sword on the ground and shatters it, effectively killing the Fight King. Finn then reveals to Jake that this was his plan his entire time and did not tell Jake because he always bungles his plans. Afterwards, Finn, Jake, and the Gladiator Ghosts leave the arena. Finn and Jake figure out that the ghosts must have been in the same situation as Finn and Jake and had to fight their own best friends. Because of this, they believe by defeating the Fight King they freed them, and as the ghosts rise into the sky, the arena follows them.
Characters[]
Major characters[]
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Trivia[]
- The gladiators that Finn and Jake fight are marked by wounds that match the weapons of their partners. For example, of the first two gladiators, one uses a mace and his partner has a large chunk of his shoulder missing, and the other uses daggers and his partner has multiple, small cuts all over his arms.
- The Fight King's sword reads "To Fight is To Live" in a Runic code.
Episode connections[]
- The Steel Sword that was seen in "Still" was used in this episode in the first battle between Finn and the Gladiator Ghosts.
- The sound that Jake makes when he builds the dummy version of himself is the respawn sound from "Guardians of Sunshine."
Cultural references[]
- "Morituri Te Salutamus" is roughly half of a Latin phrase commonly translated as "We who are about to die, salute you!" It is often associated with ancient Roman gladiators.[1]
- When Finn asks the Fight King for a bigger sword, he says the phrase "Finish him!" the same phrase as in the classic fighting series Mortal Kombat.
- Finn speaks Latin words in this episode, such as "abet" (a version of "be gone") and "eludere" (parry).
- While Finn is destroying the Gladiator Ghost, the Ghosts' parting words reference famous Roman's dying words/phrases. Example: "Et tu, Verus?" from the line "Et tu, Brute?" in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, which means "And you, Brutus?"
Errors[]
- When Achillea is beheaded, she screams her own name rather than Amazonia, her partner's name.
- While Finn is slashing wildly, trying to cut Jake's head off, Jake's mouth moves as if he is saying "No...", but he speaks no words.
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Production art[]
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