This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the character Simon Petrikov. |
"Simon Petrikov" is the second episode of Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake.
Synopsis[]
Former Ice King Simon struggles to be a regular human in a magical world and considers taking desperate measures.
Plot[]
In a flashback during the aftermath of the Mushroom War, some Oozers chase after Simon Petrikov and a young Marceline. Simon and Marceline hide in a sewer pipe, with Marceline stopping Simon from using the crown to protect them, instead waiting for the Oozers to leave on their own. One of Marceline's buttons falls off, but Simon quickly fixes it with his sewing kit. As Marceline drifts off to sleep, he assures her that she will always be fine even without him, but soon finds himself unsure how he would be on his own.
In the present day, a slightly aged Simon wakes up and gets ready for the day, even briefly turning on Cheers. He opens up his home, revealed to be an exhibit on the Human Island in Ooo. A few humans and a dog with an English translator appear and Simon describes what life was like back in the 20th century. A little girl named Astrid is dressed as Fionna and asks Simon if he is going to write anymore Fionna and Cake stories. Simon insists that he didn't write them, Ice King did. When she asks if he could sign her copy of the fan fiction, Simon angrily throws it in the trash, causing Astrid to cry. Something hidden underneath a blanket in the exhibit moves, prompting the dog to ask what it is, but Simon pushes the dog away, accidentally removing the translator in the process, and he promptly shuts down the exhibit. He retreats to a mysterious shrine hidden in his closet that contains objects related to GOLB, but before he can do anything the thing underneath the blanket silently warns him not to try what he is planning.
Simon goes to the Candy Kingdom Tavern for a drink served by Dirt Beer Guy, but his mood is not lifted: he agitatedly rejects an offer for ice with his drink, and when he closes out his tab he finds a picture of Betty Grof in his wallet. Dirt Beer Guy inquires if Simon had a chance to look at a manuscript he sent, noting Fionna and Cake was an inspiration to him. Simon tries to brush off talking about "the old stuff", but Dirt Beer Guy insists he should be proud of having written an entire universe in a fugue state. Simon grows angry at this, but calms down when Finn, who also happens to be at the bar, points out he and Jake also enjoyed the stories despite their prior annoyance. Jake's son T.V. agrees, noting he enjoys them more than Finn and Jake stories. Simon finally admits his frustrations to Finn: because he's no longer magic but a normal human he can't relate to anyone in Ooo anymore, much less Fionna and Cake. Finn points out there's more humans in Ooo than ever, but Simon points out they are all futuristic humans compared to his 20th-century self, and that he might as well be a dinosaur to them. Simon recalls his old habit of dressing up as Ice King to cope, and that he misses being him in a way as things felt simpler back then. Finn suggests discussing this with Marceline, but Simon admits he does not want to freak her out. Unable to cheer him up in conversation, Finn declares he will take Simon on a quest.
After an aborted harrowing quest that sees Simon screaming as he hangs upside down over some thorns, Finn takes it down a notch by bringing him into the forest, albeit with the both of them blindfolded as they venture into The Heart of the Forest - the most ancient part of Ooo. Finn reveals that Huntress Wizard said no one should ever go there but then casually says to set up camp. Finn then has Simon catch a fish from the creek they passed. Simon steps into a creek and tries to catch a fish but ends up stabbing one of the eyes of a giant fish monster. Finn shows up with a big wooden stake and stabs the fish. He compliments Simon and asks him if he feels better yet. Simon says there was a little guy in there so Finn pats him on the face and goes up to the fish monster to thank him for his sacrifice. Simon also adds the little guy and the third nostril.
Finn cooks an eye of the fish and notices Simon just having an egg. Simon says he's not going to eat the egg, it's for the coffee to help the grounds settle and clarify the brew or he could just use cold water too - it's his secret to cowboy coffee. Finn is impressed and asks where he picked that up and Simon admits that he used to be quite the outdoorsman in his day before giving Finn some coffee. Finn accepts it, sniffs it, blows on it before drinking some and saying "So that's what cowboy tastes like". Simon brings up a trip to Java with Betty in search of a lost temple but half their supplies got washed away in a rainstorm. He even says that Betty somehow put together a four-star dinner as he laments his lost love. Finn tells Simon that talking about sad stuff is useless and he is better off forgetting about it, before suggesting Simon retrieve some more firewood.
This new task does little to improve Simon's mood, especially when he encounters a bear. Finn tries to encourage Simon to fight back, but the bear manages to slash at Simon's arm, eventually forcing Finn to kill it himself. The both of them injured from the fight, Simon decides they have taken enough risks and lies that he feels better and is ready to go home. They leave the heart of the forest and part ways. Simon follows the river and encounters various Ooo creatures, including some fairies he shoos away, and a little kid trying to grab a piece of fruit from a tree. He moves to help but another creature appears and helps her instead. Reminded of his time with Marceline from this, he calls her, but she is in the middle of getting tattoos with Princess Bubblegum (a task not made easy for the tattoo artist due to her healing powers and P.B.'s gummy skin). Not wishing to depress her, Simon pretends that everything's fine and they make a vague promise to hang out later before ending the call.
Upon returning home, Simon pulls out the Fionna and Cake book he threw out earlier and becomes inspired after reading it. The thing in the cage begins taunting him for thinking he can bring back Betty: Simon pulls off the cover to reveal Choose Goose, still evil after drinking the ichor of Coconteppi in "Wizard City". Simon attaches clamps to Choose Goose and begins a ritual to summon Betty/GOLB, but it seems to fail. However, just as he laments failing Betty once more, a portal opens in the back of his head, and out stumbles Cake (continuing on from the previous episode), to Simon's shock.
In the Time Room, a mysterious pink flashing light manifests on a remote control.
Appearances[]
Characters[]
Major Characters[]
Minor Characters[]
- Cake (non-speaking)
- Evil Choose Goose
- Marceline
- Princess Bubblegum
- T.V.
- Oozers (flashback)
- Dirt Beer Guy
- Mudskipper (debut)
- Bear (debut)
- Astrid (debut)
- Child Wizard (debut)
- Dog Tourist (debut)
- Skater Fairies
- Spider Tattoo Artist (debut; non-speaking)
- Ice Cream Guy
Pictured/Mentioned[]
- Betty Grof (mentioned and pictured)
- GOLB (statue and effigy)
- Fionna (mentioned and pictured)
- Cake (mentioned and pictured)
- Huntress Wizard (mentioned)
- Jake (mentioned and pictured in tattoo)
Places[]
- Land of Ooo
- Up-Ton (debut)
- Simon's house (debut)
- Candy Kingdom
- Heart of the Forest (debut)
- Up-Ton (debut)
- Time Room
Music[]
Trivia[]
- It is revealed that Marceline can't get a tattoo due to her healing powers (obtained from The Moon) repairing her skin, and Princess Bubblegum cannot due to being made of bubblegum.
- This episode shows that Simon has a strand of white hair and has aged a bit since his appearance in the Distant Lands episode "Obsidian".
- Simon's new house ("20th century man in his natural habitat" exhibit) features a tube TV. While in fact, in his adult life before the Mushroom War, he had a flat screen TV, as shown in a flashback in "Come Along With Me".
- Simon's cell phone contact list includes:
- Abracadaniel
- Animal control
- BMO
- Finn
- Gunter
- Lady Island
- Marcy
- P. Bubblegum
- A bar in the flying human city is called "DirtBeer Guy's Up-Ton X-Press", referencing the character of the same name. It is currently unknown if he has any connection with that place.
- Rebecca Sugar, whose final episode as a writer on the original series was "Simon & Marcy", returns for this episode with the song "Part of the Madness."
- Betty's picture in the ritual serving as a source of magical power due to its "sentimental value" is similar to PB's Rock T-shirt in "Sky Witch".
- The end credits's Fionna and Cake's dreams depicts the mask of the bear from the episode and what could be one of the past lives of Finn as a Butterfly, since both Finn and the bear are present in this episode.
Episode Connections[]
- This episode is set between the events of the Distant Lands episodes "Obsidian" and "Together Again".
- It is also set after the events of "Wizard City", since Choose Goose is still evil in this episode.
- The Farmworld Enchiridion is seen in Simon's possession after its last appearance in "Skyhooks II".
- When Simon turns on the TV, the Cheers theme song is heard. He previously sang this song to Marceline in the original series episode "Simon & Marcy", and Fionna saw Cheers on every TV channel in the previous episode.
- Finn is seen with the tattoo of Jake on his chest. It was also present in "Obsidian" and "Together Again".
- In addition, Finn looks more rugged and muscular like he did in his vision from "Mortal Folly", although his mechanical arm is different.
- Simon mentions the time when he dressed as the Ice King in "Obsidian".
- Finn's blindfold method is reminiscent of the events in "The Hall of Egress".
- One of Finn's prosthetic arms has the exact same design as the one used by his elderly-self in "Together Again".
- Finn accompanied by T.V. is a parallel to when he was with Bronwyn in "Obsidian".
- Finn uses the weed whacker function of his bionic arm seen in "Three Buckets".
- It's revealed that the Humans set up a floating island after coming to Ooo in "Come Along With Me".
- Simon tries to summon Betty/GOLB the same way Betty and King Man did in "Come Along With Me".
- It's also likely that Betty and King Man chanted "Reveal the path and grant me passage" since that's what Simon chanted when performing the ritual.
- It's revealed that the portal Cake went through the previous episode was created by Simon's attempt to summon Betty/GOLB.
- By creating this portal, Simon inadvertently fulfilled his maniacal desire he made as the Ice King in the original series episode "Bad Little Boy" to find Fionna and Cake.
Errors[]
- After Finn says "Later" to Simon, the flowers from his tattoo briefly overlap onto his shirt.
Storyline Analysis[]
- There is an interesting parallel between this episode and the previous one. Both shows the main characters waking up, watching Cheers and being unsatisfied with their lives. While Fionna wishes for a magical world, Simon wishes for a mundane world, being the opposite of Fionna. Simon also encounters three Banana Guards and two Skater Fairies, which are the Ooo versions of the characters Fionna see walking the street in "Fionna Campbell".