Whispers

Whispers
Production code:	1042-270
Airdate:	July 20, 2017
Credits
Director:	Cole Sanchez
Story:	Kent Osborne Jack Pendarvis Julia Pott Ashly Burch Adam Muto
Written & storyboarded by:	Polly Guo Sam Alden
Episodes
Previous "Fionna and Cake and Fionna"
Next "Three Buckets"

"Whispers" is the thirteenth episode in the ninth season of Adventure Time. It's the two hundred and sixty-fifth episode overall.

Synopsis

While safeguarding a frightened Sweet P, Finn is led into a confrontation with an old foe.

Plot

Finn and Fern are fishing, but while Finn catches a golden fish, Fern catches a carnivorous one. Fern expresses his frustration, leftover from being unable to protect Ooo from the Elementals. Finn tries to cheer him up, to only of a little avail. Sweet P then comes crashing through the woods in tears, and Fern has to wrap him up in leaves to cheer him up. Sweet P claims that a voice is telling him that he is terrible when he tries to sleep at night, and the two decide to watch over him at night.

In the evening, Finn wakes up to see the Lich's hand whispering to Sweet P. He attacks the hand, but it repels both him and Fern. Sweet P says that the voice at night belongs to the Lich, and Finn decides to go after the hand. He asks Fern to guard Sweet P, and chases the hand down.

The hand ends up knocking Finn into a pit. The hand, speaking for the Lich, says that Sweet P is part of him, and will eventually be swayed to come to his side. Sweet P appears, and Finn fears the worst. However, Sweet P declares that he is not going to be a part of the Lich, and destroys the hand. Finn asks what happened to Fern, and Sweet P simply replies that he knocked him out.

They meet up with Fern, and go back towards Treetrunks' house. Fern watches the two of them, and stews in his uselessness. He wonders about his identity, and thinks that things would be different if he was the only Finn.

Characters

Major characters

• Finn
• The Lich/Sweet P.
• Farmworld Jake/Lich Hand
• Fern

Minor characters

• Jake
• Mr. Fox
• Grass Demon
• BMO (flashback)
• Marceline (flashback, non-speaking)
• Princess Bubblegum (flashback, non-speaking)
• Tree Trunks (flashback, non-speaking)
• Mr. Pig (flashback, non-speaking)
• Farmworld Finn (flashback, non-speaking)
• Lady Rainicorn (pictured)
• Snail

Mentioned

• Lumpy Space Princess
• Jake Jr.
• Charlie
• T.V.
• Viola
• Kim Kil Whan
• GOLB
• Martin

Trivia

• The nails on the Farmworld Lich's hand are a lot more visible than they were in "Crossover."
• The ceiling tile area where the Lich's shadow appears is right above the spot where Finn defeated the Lich in "Mortal Folly." (The ceiling tiles can be seen in that episode.)
• When Finn and Fern cling onto the screaming, running Sweet P, Fern's legs are spread out to the sides, like a spider's would be, whereas Finn's are tucked in, human-style. This is likely due to the Grass Demon that resides within Fern.

Cultural references

• Finn hanging over the Lich's well of power by one hand is similar to how Obi-Wan Kenobi was hanging over a pit while fighting Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
• The Lich's hand from the Farmworld dimension is similar to the 2009 stop-motion film Coraline. Near the end of the movie, the other mother's severed hand is following Coraline to find the key that unlocks the door to the other Pink Palace Dimension.
  • Another reference from Coraline is when The Lich flicked a rock under Finn's pinky when Finn almost fell into The Lich's well of power, and that scene is very similar to when the other mother's severed hand flicked Wybie's hand when Wybie almost fell down the secret well.
• The way in which the Lich hand speaks while moving its thumb like a mouth is a common way that people use their hands as puppets. Señor Wences' character, Johnny employed this technique.
  • Cartman uses a similar technique for his Jennifer Lopez hand in South Park.
• Fern suffers from bruxism, in other words, he grinds his teeth while sleeping.

Episode connections

• The Lich's well of power in the ruins of a subway station is seen for the first time since "Mortal Folly."
• The Lich calls himself "the last scholar of GOLB" who is first shown in "Puhoy", referenced in "You Forgot Your Floaties and appears in the final episode "Come Along With Me."
• The return of the Lich was foreshadowed in "Orb."
• Finn first assumes that Sweet P was referring to LSP when he says 'Monster.' This likely a reference to LSP's monster persona that was seen in the episode "The Monster," where she was terrorizing a village for their food.
• Flashbacks from the Elements miniseries are shown as Fern recalls himself not protecting Ooo while Finn and Jake were away at sea.
• This episode reveals that during "Crossover," after Finn's grass arm chopped off Farmworld Lich's hand and Jake pushed into the multiverse portal, it landed on BMO and ran out of the Tree Fort because the Lich's spirit is still within it.
• Finn states that this is the fifth time he has fought the Lich. This references "Mortal Folly"/"Mortal Recoil," "The Lich"/"Finn the Human"/"Jake the Dog," "Wake Up"/"Escape from the Citadel," and "Crossover."
• Fern reveals the ability to transform his body to be more like Finn, which he uses in "Three Buckets."
• Finn points out he and Sweet P's similarity in having bad biological fathers and nice adoptive parents, making a reference to Martin Mertens, Joshua and Margaret.

Storyline analysis

• It is revealed that the Farmworld Lich's hand shares the same consciousness with the standard timeline's Lich, and it has knowledge of Sweet P's origins (the hand called Sweet P both a "son" and a "vessel") as well as recollection of his past defeats at the hands of Finn.
• Fern remembering his actions as Fun the Human during Elements implies that all other characters affected by the elemental spell also have memory of their actions from that time.
• Sweet P was likely able to defeat the Farmworld Lich because he is a Lich of equal power.
• It's clear that there is a Lich hand in each dimension throughout the multiverse, and it's unknown what they are doing right now.
• Finn says to the Lich, "You're so evil, it's boring!" This breaks the fourth wall a bit in referencing the fact that many characters struggle with the conflict between good and evil within them, e.g. Sweet P, Ice King, and Fern, as well as Jake, Susan, PB, and even Finn himself at times.

Production notes

• This episode was released early on the Cartoon Network app on July 14, 2017.

Errors

• The Headmaster poster from the "Crossover" flashback is shown briefly when the Lich's hand lands on BMO, but it disappears when the hand then scuttles away leaving BMO on the table.

Gallery

Official art

Adventure Time July line-up

Whispers title card design by Sam Alden and painted by Joy Ang

Whispers promo by writer and storyboard artist Sam Alden

Whispers promo by writer and storyboard artist Polly Guo

Whispers in progress by Sam Aden

Whispers in progress by Sam Aden

Whispers in progress by Sam Aden

Background art

Background concepts by Ghostshrimp

Screenshots