The end of Adventure Time was a short-lived affair, as the arrival of HBO Max immediately brought the critically-acclaimed animation back to its fans. As Adventure Time: Distant Lands, the series gives a special spotlight to a few of its beloved characters within the aftermath of the series' finale. And while the episode, "BMO," did a great job of returning the program to its quirky, adventurous form, it didn't leave quite the same impact that "Obsidian" would.
A special dedicated to unraveling both Marceline's past and her relationship with Princess Bubblegum, this episode came with plenty of emotion and heart in just its promo. And with the special finally, out, the fans had both plenty of questions answered and some new ones raised.
10 Learned: Marceline Has Grown Up
The biggest takeaway from "Obsidian" is the fact that this version of Marceline is not the same one that the fans were introduced to long ago. She's no longer the rebellious and aggravated rock star that spoke to many people's inner teenagers.
Having had some time to reflect on her life and currently enjoying her rekindled relationship with Princess Bubblegum, Marceline has found some inner peace in her life and no longer feels as mad at the world. This was hilariously portrayed when the rambunctious Glassboy (played by Steven Universe's Michaela Dietz) tried to emulate Marcy's iconic tone, only to make Marceline cringe at the very image of her overemotional youth.
9 Questioned: What Was Elise Trying To Do?
As the story dived into Marceline's childhood, it showed her and her mother, Elise, exploring the new, apocalyptic landscape that would eventually become Ooo. While this offered plenty of revealing and intimate moments between them, one can't help but feel that there was a bigger story going on. Elise was teaching Marceline how to draw a map to find a bomb shelter that she surprisingly had a keycard to.
When the two got near it, Elise dedicated her remaining time to fixing up a scooter and supposedly rode off on it while Marcy was left at the bunker. It's unclear how Elise got her keycard in the first place and what she ultimately wanted to do with the shelter and scooter, aside from find shelter for her soon to be abandoned daughter.
8 Learned: What Happened To Elise
While Elise's intentions remained a mystery, the fans at least got a better idea of what happened to her. Though it's easy to imagine that Marceline, as a vampire, had simply outlived her mortal mother, "Obsidian" gave a closer, much more tragic view as to how the two separated.
All throughout the flashbacks, Elise looked increasingly weaker and was constantly coughing, likely due to the world's radiation poisoning. After finally finding a new shelter for her daughter, Elise kept herself away from her daughter, both as part of an untold mission and to spare Marceline the grief of seeing her mother die.
7 Questioned: What Happened To Marceline's Dad?
It was great to see Marceline spend some extended time with her mother, both because fans got to see another Rebecca Sugar performance and because it gave even more insight into her family life. And while fans got a good look at her post-apocalyptic life with her mom, "Obsidian" didn't really give any solid answers as to what went down with her father, Hunson Abadeer.
In "Stakes," the series slyly teased Elise recalling how she met Marceline's father; and in this special, Marceline hints that Hunson had actually abandoned his family long ago. Aside from those teases, there were no big answers as to Hunson's role in Marceline's life and his relationship with her mom.
6 Learned: Marceline's Old Home
While "Stakes" showed the interior of the humble abode, "Obsidian" gave a more detailed look at what Marceline's home was like in the aftermath of the Mushroom War, and it's not a pretty sight.
Before Marcy eventually found her cave home, she and Elise resided within a broken down trailer in the middle of a destroyed landscape. It's the very definition of humble beginnings and immediately communicated Elise's struggle to properly take care of her daughter all by herself.
5 Questioned: Are Finn And Bronwyn A New Team?
At the end of the special, the ex-Ice King, Simon Petrikov, arrives with some help to Bubbline's dilemma, albeit a little late to the party. He came in dragging a trailer housing some of the Banana Guards and what appeared to be the new, adventurer duo of this time.
Coming out of the trailer was none other than Finn, much older and with a Jake tattoo, and Jake's granddaughter, Bronwyn, who seemed more than eager to get into action. It's unclear if these two are a team now or if they were each brought in independently by Simon. Nonetheless, this sparked so many new theories in the fans' minds as to what Finn's new life looks like.
4 Learned: How Bubbline Met
As an episode dedicated to uncovering Marceline's past, "Obsidian" was primed to be a classic case of Adventure Time fan service (not that the fans are complaining). While this intent helped inspire a couple of new songs and a scene where Simon sings "I Remember You," the biggest and most cathartic piece of fan service came at the end.
As Marceline and Bubblegum celebrate their grand victory, Bubblegum reflects on how she first met Marceline, long ago at one of her concerts. While there, Marceline spotted her out in the crowd and threw her the famous t-shirt that Bonnibel now keeps as pajamas.
3 Questioned: What Happened To Jake?
Seeing future Finn was a massive surprise at the tail-end of this episode; but as cheery as his new appearance was, it immediately brought some concern to the fans. Noticeably absent from his side was a certain yellow, magical dog. Not only that, Finn had a tattoo of Jake on his chest, decorated with a bunch of flowers.
While Finn is admittedly a huge fan of Jake the Dog, people immediately interpreted this as a memorial to Jake who, for the longest time, was haunted by a "croak dream." Did that dream actually come to fruition or did something else separate the dynamic duo?
2 Learned: How Bubbline Broke Up
Seeing how Bubbline first met was an incredibly emotional experience, but it wasn't anywhere near as emotionally affecting as seeing how the two broke up. Signs of Bubbline's prior history had been strewn across Adventure Time, but no solid details came as to how the two broke up. As it turns out, it was because of classic, adolescent immaturity.
Bubblegum, in a selfish attempt to showoff and control a disaster situation, constantly tried to shove away Marceline during the first time that the two saved the Glass Kingdom. Upset that Bubblegum was trying to push her away, Marceline constantly poked fun at the glass people and sang a very scathing, break up song against PB. It was a break up of literally epic proportions, and it even doubled as a weapon against a powerful dragon.
1 Questioned: When Does The Story Take Place?
Perhaps the biggest question to come out of "Obsidian" is when exactly did its events take place. While Adam Muto stated that the story would take place years into Marceline and Bubblegum's rekindled relationship, fans weren't quite prepared to see a vastly aged Finn. With an aged Bronwyn and a missing Jake on top, fans started questioning how distant in the future that the story took place and if this was the direction that the series would be taking from here.
Though Adventure Time has technically ended, it's still jarring to see significant changes made to the status quo. With the final episode of Distant Lands, "Together Again," set to explore Finn and Jake reuniting after a long time, questions and theories are being thrown left and right as to what will play out or what has played out.
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