Whispers

Whispers
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 twenty-seventh episode in the eighth season of Adventure Time. It's the two hundred 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."

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.

Episode connections

• The Lich's well of power subway system is seen for the first time since "Mortal Folly."
• The Lich calls himself "the last scholar of GOLB" whom is first shown in "Puhoy" and referenced in "You Forgot Your Floaties."
• When Sweet P mentions there being a monster, Finn thinks of LSP. This is referencing "The Monster."
• 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 Jake/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."

Storyline analysis

• It is revealed that the Farmworld Lich's hand has the same consciousness as the standard timeline's Lich, and it seems to have recollection of Sweet P's origins (the hand called Sweet P both a "son" and a "vessel") as well as his past defeats at the hands of Finn.
• Sweet P was likely able to the defeat the Farmworld Lich because he is a Lich of equal power.
• It's clear that there is a Lich hand in each multiverse, and its unknown what are they doing right now.

Production notes

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

Gallery

Official art

Title card designed by Sam Alden and painted by Joy Ang

Concepts by Ghostshrimp

Screenshots