Top Ten Adventure Time Episodes
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Top Ten Adventure Time Episodes
Adventure Time is a very long animated series that spanned ten seasons and 283 episodes. Thus, choosing the best of the bunch is quite difficult. For this list, I favored the episodes that appealed to me and that are often highly underrated. As a big fan of the first half of the show’s run, those seasons will be represented most on this list. Without further ado, here are ten best episodes of Adventure Time with some honorable mentions as well.
10. Card Wars
The tenth place goes to Card Wars, which was one of the highlights of Season 4. It’s a small-scale episode for sure, but one with a terrific concept. Finn and Jake playing a tabletop game was such a great idea and Jake being so competitive was very amusing throughout. It’s one of the most purely entertaining and underrated episodes of the show, so I had to include it on the list.
9. Mystery Train
Ingenious in its twist that it was Jake fooling with Finn all along in the murder mystery that he made up for him for his birthday, Mystery Train is an episode that humorously lampooned many detective genre conventions. It was briskly paced, very suspenseful and a sharp turn in a different direction for the series, so it deserves its placement here for its uniqueness alone.
8. Simon & Marcy
Simon & Marcy is an incredible episode that is a fantastic origin story for Ice King. His relationship with Marceline is well explored and his character was significantly deepened here. There are a couple of episodes that focus on these two, but this is probably the deepest of the bunch, which is why it got on the list.
7. Ricardio the Heart Guy
Ricardio the Heart Guy is a phenomenal installment that has such an unexpected twist toward the end that made it instantly unforgettable. This Season 1 episode is hugely underrated and it deserves more love for just how memorable Ice King is in it. It’s a very funny, but also at first mysterious story that was one of the highlights of the first and best Adventure Time season.
6. Thank You
A Firewolf strikes a friendship with a Snow Golem in Thank You, the most unique episode of the third season that didn’t feature our protagonists, but I still ended up loving it as the concept was just so authentic. It’s a mature, artistic and very memorable episode that ranks among the best one-off character storylines in the show’s history.
5. Belly of the Beast
Underrated is the name of the game for this list as I wanted to shed light on some episodes that undeservedly are ignored by the fandom. Belly of the Beast is one such episode. This Season 1 classic see Finn and Jake trying to save these crazy, dance-obsessed creatures from the titular belly of the beast that they amusingly are not aware of being in. The mix of lightweight and dark tone is incredible here and so was its phenomenal concept.
4. Return to the Nightosphere
Return to the Nightosphere and Daddy’s Little Monster are a terrific two-parter from the fourth season. The latter was great, but the former is the better of the two. The panoramic animation was breathtaking to witness and the exploration of this entire world was truly spectacular. A lot happened here and all of it was so much fun to watch in what is one of the most adventurous Adventure Time episodes ever.
3. Come Along with Me
Come Along with Me was an instantly iconic Adventure Time episode, one that was not just epic in tone, scope and action set pieces, but also genuinely emotional as it ended all of the characters’ journeys mostly satisfactorily. The highlight was that incredible ending that was thematically rich and so poignant. It was wonderful seeing the series end on such a high note and it should be a textbook example for other long-running shows how to do it properly.
2. It Came from the Nightosphere
A terrific episode from the second season, this story is all about Marceline and her terrible father. Their fraught relationship was so well realized and the song that she sings about it was a lot of fun. The episode is a deft mixture of light comedy and sporadic darkness. It’s one of the best character-focused episodes and a fantastic showcase for Marceline.
1. Wizard
And the number one place goes to this Season 1 installment that is the most underrated episode of the show. Wizard features such an original storyline that is perfectly written, twisty and smart. The conclusion was brilliant and the imagery and mythology on display here was quite intricate. It’s the definition of surreal, authentic SF storytelling that can only be found in animation, and it’s a shame that this genre was rarely explored later on. I know I am in huge minority on this, but I don’t care as this is my list and Wizard is the one episode that made the biggest mark on me.
Honorable Mentions:
Hug Wolf – A very thinly concealed metaphor about rape is at the center of Hug Wolf, which is one of the most adult episodes in the series’ history.
Holly Jolly Secrets – Ice King’s tragic backstory is explored in this excellent two-parter that was moving and very memorable.
Loyalty to the King – Ice King shaves off his beard and dons a disguise in order to get a princess. This is this character’s funniest episode and one of the most underrated.
Finn the Human – Big stakes and a darker tone made this episode iconic. The Lich has never been creepier than he was here.
The Visitor – Visitor offers a terrific look into Finn and Martin’s troubled relationship that ends badly as the guy refuses to provide details on Finn’s birth. It’s a rare great Season 6 episode.
The Hall of Egress – This Season 7 episode is an eerie and ominous story that functions as a metaphor for midlife crisis. It’s riveting and very sophisticated.
