Adventure Time and the Nature of Endings | Lessons Animation Taught Us

[@superj1e2z6]

The feeling I had for the finale is like getting off a friend's car and waving goodbye as they drive to the sunset. There isn't some cool car chase or anything just the emotion of seeing them drive away, happy yet sad.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Yep, that's a pretty good comparison.

[@jamesreads4713]

Rewatched this, to think about the end of this past year. I love this so much.

[@mariahfritsch3650]

I miss it so much :(

[@UnorthodoxIndividual]

Going on 8 months after it's ended and it still feels like a recent development, I don't think there's a single day that I haven't thought about it, the show has the ability to bring me back thinking about it due to all of it's complex themes and ideas, and I get the feeling I and many others will be coming back to this for years to come. And maybe in the future, the fun will continue, and the television animation landscape will be transformed yet again, but for now: "Everything stays, but it still changes. Ever so slightly daily and nightly. In little ways, when everything stays."

[@notfunny6369]

Well said

[@sunlmr]

"I will always be here tomorrow to high-five you yesterday" THat sent chills down my spine. Great work

[@retrorez7898]

Think I've just realized that if it's not nonsense, he's talking about a memory. The memory of someone high fiving you yesterday will always be there, including tomorrow. High fiving being a metaphor for anything really.

[@Sharpteeth32]

It's a quote from the show itself actually.

[@exetone]

It's from the episode where lemongrab is trying to kill himself or something. All I remember ate the mirrors, LSP being grabbed by shadow finns, and finn wearing a white gown for no reason

[@yukii381]

@@exetone The quote is from the episode where Finn and Jake try to transport tarts through the desert.

[@exetone]

@@yukii381 yep you're right

[@rinningshen1909]

Yes. I needed this. I was honestly getting tired of people constantly giving adventure time shit about being 'inconclusive' and the plot 'not going anywhere'. The idea of a show having purpose only when the story follows through to a conclusive or explanatory end baffles me. Adventure time is not about conclusiveness or endings, it has never been.

[@oofcommander2063]

I know right this show deserves more attention for how deep it is

[@fyrnxsovalineups6202]

You must look at the show's inner depths to understand it's true theme to understand the ending. Sadly, I couldn't watch all the episodes, but I don't where I can watch 'em.

[@5yearsago404]

Agreed

[@arizonaellis9476]

@@fyrnxsovalineups6202 you can find all of the episodes on hulu. I know it's been 3 months, but I thought I'd add that

[@fyrnxsovalineups6202]

@Create Channel Thx for the reply, despite that it's been 4 months. Unfortunately, I don't use Hulu (I don't have an account)...

[@retrorez7898]

I think I've just realized that if it's not nonsense, the Tart Toter is talking about a memory. The memory of someone high fiving you yesterday will always be there, including tomorrow, so it'll always be like they're there to high five you. High fiving being a metaphor for anything really.

[@guilhermeevangelista5110]

This show keeps amazing me

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

That's a great perspective! My interpretation was that is was just about building towards the future, but I like yours better. :D

[@danielhenning1570]

A recurring sentiment throughout everyone’s reaction to the finale is something along the lines of “I can’t comprehend how I feel - I’m sad it’s over.” This show meant so much to so many people - complete strangers scattered around the world. Different cultures, ages, stages of their lives. The mark of excellent complex writing is the ability to connect with different intellects and resonate with unique life experiences. In truth, a kid’s show that can be analysed and appreciated in such depth is remarkable - but, it can possess the same significance to someone who doesn’t care for its philosophical musings. That is undeniably special. I felt like it grew with me, paralleled a lot of my problems - it added value to my life. I have struggled to internalise and articulate exactly what it meant to me - and your hard work and thought into this video has really helped me grasp that feeling. Thank you, Grace. I’m not sure I’ll ever feel this way about a show again - but that’s the deal.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

I feel the same way! :)

[@MagusMirificus]

What a fantastic piece. It's always saddened me that so little of the discussion surrounding such an important and visionary work as Adventure Time has centered around what the show as a whole was getting at. Most of what people say about it boils down to "It may look silly and crazy, but if you pay attention, it's actually pretty emotional sometimes", and there's so much more to it than that, such endless layers of complexity and thematic depth to explore and puzzle over and be moved and changed by. I couldn't have asked for a better channel than this one to contribute to that higher level of analysis, and even moreso for this than for the rest of your excellent content, you have my sincere gratitude.

[@MagusMirificus]

Also, if I may cheapen those niceties a bit with a shameless plug, a lot of this video's points about how the show ended in such a way that it also allowed itself to keep going on forever are somewhat similar to some points that I made in the final chapter of my own dissertation on Adventure Time, "Very Distant Lands", which you guys can read here if you're so inclined: docs.google.com/document/d/1abbGrJMshzymNXMNkNq7ShraFIKWV8KevQNWmi1EbQs/edit?usp=drivesdk

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you very much! There's so much going on in Adventure Time. I tried to get in references to some of my favourite episodes, like Dungeon Train and The Tower, even though I didn't mention them directly. So many episodes have more to say than their surface narrative.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Oh, and thanks for linking to your dissertation! Looks like it covers a lot of similar points. I love the poem you opened with and hopefully I'll have time to read the rest of it. I post a list of further reading for each new video over on my newly created Patreon. Would it be OK for me to link to your dissertation there?

[@MagusMirificus]

Oh, wow! Yes, of course you may! It'd be my absolute honor. It's beyond touching to me that a content creator of your caliber would find my scribblings to be with sharing with anyone; thank you kindly. If you like, you can link to the full "Very Distant Lands" piece, of which "As an Everlasting Dream" is the ninth and final part. There's one chapter for each season; I've been publishing it on Reddit for over a year now. Here's a link to that; thank you once again for your interest, it really means the world to me: docs.google.com/document/d/1MyvBBSHH2oEPElHCB76V93CH-ive-3N8luA0t8Vw9gk/edit?usp=drivesdk

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Wow, that's amazing! I'll definitely try and read more when I get the chance. :D

[@LittleLactose]

"the pain I feel now is the happiness I had before" hit me in the right in the feels. The pain of an ending was the memories of all the good times you had and realizing that it would all just be memories from that point. This reminded me that endings are just new beginnings, no matter how hard it seems you can move on from it and grow into a position where things don't seem hopeless and done. Thank for helping me realize that again.

[@hashiispep]

i got. Getting Over It flashbacks from this

[@plugshirt1762]

@@hashiispep lol same the game would be more rage inducing if the speech Bennett giddy gives and all the quotes weren’t so entertaining and memorable

[@foney2000]

"Because someday soon my friend, this ride will come to an end, and we can't just get in line again...."

[@GeeBarone]

Wow. That C.S Lewis quote really got me.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Me too, man.

[@Sharpteeth32]

Same. It's so damn true.

[@prathyushravula5597]

Right??

[@keychera]

ah, right... when adventure time ends, I do feel like having lost a friend...

[@dot3703]

I know this video is 2 years old, and you've probably seen many comments like this, but you just pinpointed the exact reason why I have a hard time moving on when I finish a show. It's the end of progress. I'm always making progress, watching episodes, sometimes at different rates, and sometimes forcing myself to watch it just so I can become closer to the end. And then once the end is there, I miss the progress. I somewhat regret it, for pushing myself to watch things too quickly just to see the result. I just finished the finale of Adventure Time today, and I'm desperately trying to find more content that explains this feeling that I get from the show, the philosophy and depth of it. I almost didn't want to watch the finale, I wanted to try and postpone it to avoid the ending and the end of progress, because I'll never be able to recreate the original sense of excitement, freshness, and progress that you get when watching a series for the first time. If I come up with any other observations on this thought I'll add it, but I just wanted to try and make sense of the feelings I have after endings and what others may have as well.

[@KeepingUp_withAI]

I definitely mourn the show when it ended. To me, this show is more about subconscious battles than the physical one.

[@fyrnxsovalineups6202]

In other words, the reoccurring theme throughout the show reveals the meaning of it's ending. It's the end of the show, but the adventure lives on. I remember when I watched the first season when I was eight-years-old. Ahhh, nostalgia...

[@dudeatos]

The ending really makes the show feel like we were just watching one chapter in the long and complex lives of the characters.

[@NoThanks_1_2_3_]

The announcement of the Fionna and Cake show feels so poetic now. The end of one show is just the start of another.

[@justsomebabyghosts]

I have such an intense feeling of peace whenever I watch this video...

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

I'm glad to hear that!

[@UnorthodoxIndividual]

Going on 8 months after it's ended and it still feels like a recent development, I don't think there's a single day that I haven't thought about it, the show has the ability to bring me back thinking about it due to all of it's complex themes and ideas, and I get the feeling I and many others will be coming back to this for years to come. And maybe in the future, the fun will continue, and the television animation landscape will be transformed yet again, but for now: "Everything stays, but it still changes. Ever so slightly daily and nightly. In little ways, when everything stays."

[@grass4417]

It's been years and I still can't accept it lmao

[@sarahkate6990]

I have found it hard to comprehend the wild mix of emotions I have been feeling since this show ended, but in this video, you have pinpointed exactly what those feelings are. Thank you.

[@0darkhero0]

Woah. I'm studying a major in literature and you are kind of inspiring me to make beautiful video essays like yours. My favorite episode of the series is -Puhoy- (the one about the pillow world) and I was thinking a lot about endings, beginnings and cycles as a whole because of it. Thanks for the knowledge

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

That's great, I'm glad you're feeling inspired! I might do some mini essays on individual episodes at some point and I imagine Puhoy would be on the list. :D It has my favourite BMO line, "oh no, my favourite window!"

[@michaelhenry3234]

+Edgar S.H. Puhoy is definitely my favorite episode too. There's just something special about that episode. Like, you can feel the allegories and symbolism dripping from that episode. Plus, it's such a weird concept.

[@keychera]

sharing your favorite episode, huh? a might be late here but I wanna say my favorite one is definitely "Jake the Brick". it's a chill episode where Jake become a brick and he narrate stuffs around him and then it is broadcasted through a radio. I take that episode as if it's telling me that "if you try sitting down for a while, and try to look around, all sort of little stories might be happening around you". And then the episode goes to show many of adventure time characters listens to Jake through the radio while doing their own stuff, telling that "Everyone does have their own story going on"! it's a simple, beautiful concept that is somehow very unique yet very normal for Adventure Time.

[@lxjuani]

Having lost a friend is exactly what I felt when I finished the series. That quote really resonated with me.

[@MambamboCombo]

Sometimes, even after analyzing something so much, you still need someone to point something out before you notice it. Because of your video, it's only now that I recognize the themes of adventure time and why they affected me so much. It's only now, after *7 years* of building a world that I want to write a book in ( but been ever hesitant to do) that I realize why my own setting and story means so much to me, consideting that I wrote them using the same themes without realizing. Thank you for this video. For pointing out what I connected with so much in adventure time, but could not pin down myself

[@jacko7755]

I only ever watched one episode of Adventure Time when it originally aired, but now that it has ended, and after watching this video, I have the sudden urge to go back and watch the series (maybe a video about its ending wasn’t the best place to start, or maybe starting because of its end is exactly what the show would want)

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

At least I didn't spoil too many things! :D

[@michaelhenry3234]

+Jacko77 You totally should! It's an amazing show, for adults and kids alike.

[@PrabhjotSingh-wg8lz]

What episode was that

[@goodnightsui1358]

Immediately sobbed as the outro played. This video was beautifully worded. Thank you.

[@patrickjohnsharn4680]

This is one of the best video essays I’ve ever seen.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

:D

[@alabasterindigo]

I’ve had so much on my mind since the initial announcement of the finale, the finale itself, and the show as a whole. It’s October, and I’m still crying about this show. Thank you for making this, you helped relieve a lot of tension in my life 👍

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

I'm glad to hear it! :)

[@brutanedda3107]

This is such a good video. I always end up talking with people saying that Adventure Time is just a cartoon for children, but I think the greatness about it is that, that in fact Adventure Time talks to people like fables to deliver very deep messages. The metaphor about a good ending resembling the loss of a good friend is perfect. Adventure Time is a work of masterpiece, and how I felt when it actually ended is something that I've felt many times in my childhood that I thought I had forgotten. Adventure Time is one truly good friend for many of us, and I'll never forget how important it was for me.

[@eringildea7420]

This is probably my fave video essay ever i cannot tell you how many times i've come back and rewatched it !

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you so much! 🥰

[@hyperventalated]

As much as I am at peace with the ending of Adventure Time, something still really hits me when I hear Come Along With Me. It almost perfectly captures the feeling of looking back on an everlasting summer thats about to end. It hurts. Alot. But you're glad it happened.

[@IanTheGreatYT]

The adventure time finale already hit so hard, but then they went and made that distant lands episode, and it hit soo much harder. They do endings so well

[@karlnykwest4199]

You really do a nice job describing the experience of this show. I weirdly watched this video years ago before watching any Adventure Time (This video actually convinced me to finally give the show a go), and I was struck by how many times characters declare a situation or describe their purpose as "The End." It's because of shows like this that I often feel like children's entertainment has the flexibility to better convey a depth of ideas than entertainment targeted at adults.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Interesting! Glad you gave the show a go :D

[@rockstar2012r]

it always makes me melancholic when i see adventure time video essays

[@finnanimations6213]

when adventure time ended it felt like a part of my childhood just died

[@oom-3262]

Thank you for this. I needed it. I haven't gotten over the show finishing yet.

[@tianbreznik1255]

I have a 4ever playlist for videos that I must never forget about, as they remind me of who I am/was in a way. This video just became your 3rd video to be put there! Thank you so much!

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you so much! ❤

[@jonathankirsch2121]

Literally same. I created an awesome stuff playlist just to put this video on it

[@cameodamaneo]

That's actually incredibly flattering.

[@Achilles976]

Same. I have a favorite videos playlist and I put this video in it.

[@neilcheeseburger]

This may be the most brilliant and lovely piece of Adventure Time analysis out there. That last episode really did a number on me. I literally cried for days and gave myself an awfully painful eyelid infection. I can't believe the people who worked on this show got away with making some of the most beautiful and profound art ever for 10 seasons.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you very much! Adventure Time was really something special.

[@Julia-ny2wt]

”Will happen, happening, happened” that line will forever stay with me and nothing can ever compare to it

[@anthonylinderman1879]

The greatest line in MCU from one of the most problematic shows: "What is grief except love, persevering."

[@garrettreily1033]

I think I cried harder in the viewing of this video than I did during the actual ending of AT.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

❤

[@catoftheyear]

I was having a bit of a hard time with the final episode, but watching this made me at least in part come to terms with it. You raise so many great points, especially regarding BMO's song... you(or well, you through C.S. Lewis, I guess) managed to capture exactly how I felt about that and put it elegantly into words. Keep making up new numbers:)

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you! :)

[@AnneTipha]

this is the best analysis of adventure time I have ever seen. thank you so much for articulating what I couldn't.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you so much!

[@willowmiku]

Great video, you summed up the feelings the finale gave really well! Adventure Time was my first cartoon so it feels like an old friend to me, and to have it end was sad but still made me feel uplifted and content with the fate of some of my favourite characters and the fate of one of my favourite worlds.

[@anim8trdude]

This video just gave a new meaning to life, you are so wise..

[@sourdougheggtarts]

i love this video so much bc it really encompasses many of the themes and feelings brought through adventure time and its ending and your quotes are all spine-chilling thank u

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you!

[@scootdotmetro]

In all honesty, I couldn't agree more, when I finished the series I compared it to watching my siblings graduate, knowing that I was truly proud of what they are, were, and can become, thinking about the memories I'd made with them leading all up to that point, like pictures on the wall, in a billion tiny frames, and now I can't wait to see it all

[@gustavofernandes1438]

This was such a good analysis on the concepts and themes Adventure Time explored. It amazes me that you wrote and edited this video essay so quickly, the final episode aired September 3 and you already made this incredible video. Fantastic work!

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you very much! I actually cheated as most of this was written before the finale aired. Although I have also been working unusually long hours this week to get it finished. I have a lot coming up in the next few months and wanted to get this done before then. :D It's not a schedule I'll be in a hurry to repeat!

[@gustavofernandes1438]

@@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat I hope all your hard work pays off in the end, I've been loving the diversity and quality content you try to bring to this channel

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

❤

[@merrymeet]

i'm not crying you're crying.

[@gabrielmaia2838]

I find myself revisiting this video essay almost 3 years after I saw it the first time. I can only say that it is one of the pieces of thoughts and images that I wish i coulld share with my friends and family, it says a lot i can`t express myself. Thank you again !!!! - (I see that i can now, with the Portuguese subtitles !!!)

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you, I'm glad the subtitles will be helpful! :D

[@grandpajerry764]

When I think of the ending I recall the moment when I left my elementary school and all my friends along with it. It was without-a-doubt sad, but as time progressed I can't help but reminisce about all the awesome times we had and only imagine how they can be doing right now. Sure, I miss them all and will for a long time, but they have lives, I have mine, and all things eventually come to an end only to start anew.

[@ethantinklenberg6607]

The silly, the crazy, the laughs, they’re all a part of the cry. The cry is just a summary of how much joy you felt, how much these characters, these drawings, are people. They are with us, they were with us, and they will be with us forever back then.

[@25066j]

I literally though I'll be here tomorrow to high-five you yesterday was actual nonsense until I watched this

[@nathanlee2942]

I come back to this video every once in a while. You've done an enviable job of crystalizing my feelings for this show. I'm not sure anything will be as immaculately dark and hopeful as Adventure Time.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you :) Yeah, it really was something special

[@nicosfilms]

This is the best KZbin video I've ever watched, well done.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

:D

[@bliots8369]

I feel like I have to say something about how great this show was, but this video is so profound and incredibly thought-out that anything I say would pail in comparison. Thank you for all the time you spent making this video. This is incredible.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you! 🥰

[@nathanspain5455]

It's neat that you did a Lessons Animation Taught Us video! Like a little crossover between two of my favorite KZbinrs. Also, this made me want to watch Adventure Time. I saw the first couple seasons on Netflix a long while back and thought it was entertaining but frivolous, but it sounds like it became a lot deeper thematically in the subsequent seasons.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Oh yeah, Adventure Time is definitely worth a watch. There are a lot of really interesting episodes! :D

[@sunlmr]

It goes deep in the rabbit hole, and it's awesome

[@Bimtavdesign]

There is a definite shift after the first few seasons.... it retains the light hearted felling most of the time but it becomes very VERY deep

[@flamethekid]

the first season were in a way showing how a child the child being 12 year old finn would see the world all this chaos and nastiness strew across the world but still having it as gleeful and sweet but as he matures and ages more of the worlds nature becomes revealed to the audience but the time he is almost 18 in the finale the audience has grew and matured along with the protagonist

[@chrisdoesstuff6609]

Its quite sly about getting deep early on but becomes more obvious and sends this message of endings being ok towards the end

[@voodoodolll]

Shivers down my entire body when that credit song kicked in. Wow. It's been a long time.

[@dolphin8815]

My heart.. you understand. That end quote is perspective changing for me. The pain I feel now is the happiness I felt before. I understand now.

[@redundantmartyr]

I love Adventure Time so much, and this video has only strengthened that. I cried when I watched the last episode, because it was so brilliant and I didn't want it to end. What a fantastic analysis! :') ❤

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you! :D

[@TheStOne1]

I loved this short, it's more important and relevant than any other Frozen short yet.

[@frankienayman3641]

This is like, the best adventure time video essay period

[@foreverprime8852]

I wasn't ready to say goodbye. But I'm happy I got a chance to. Adventure Time was a fantastic show. We will always be back then.

[@Elizabethcantsing]

This honestly feels like one of the most important videos I've ever watched. Thank you for making this. It really made me think about how I feel about death and endings and overall, really comforted me the way you put it.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you so much! I'm really happy to hear that. :)

[@Johnitus69]

Every time. Every single time im watching a video about Adventure Time, I cry. This has gotten me through the toughest of times and it pains me to see it go, RIP A.T

[@lord6617]

Well now I'm touched emotionally and am going to have to go watch adventure time instead of putting it off for forever. Thank you!

[@NO22Jauxsoh]

Subscribed :) Your whole perspective and the voice in your writing is beautiful, and it helped me think about how much this show means and how shows and stories like this are important. Thanks for making this!!

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you very much! :D

[@alaricgoldkuhl155]

For me "Food Chain" was the ultimate Adventure Time episode, weaving (by this stage) well known and well fleshed out characters to weave a unique way of looking at things. Animation has always and forever promised boundless creativity, but until Adventure Time had not delivered to anywhere near this level before. Food Chain was a masterpiece, and none managed to outshine it afterwards. There were longer episodes or episodes built up to over half a season that were as impactful, but none so elegantly simple as Food Chain. As a stand-alone episode, it kinda stands alone.

[@KennDrumm]

This may be the only video to ever make me cry. It's so beautifully done and I learn something more every time I come back to it. It is also helping me write the conclusion (or negation) to my PhD thesis. Thank you

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you ☺

[@MaebyBaeby]

I can't think of any other video essayist who so perfectly evokes the emotions and themes of a work as you. I've only caught a few episodes of Adventure Time, and yet watching this brought me a pang of that mourning after finishing something anyways. I'm glad I get to support you monetarily as well as being a viewer; Thank you Grace

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you very much for both your viewing and financial support! And of course your lovely comments! ❤

[@Trilingualeks]

I adore this show like no other, and am eternally grateful to Penn Ward for sharing his thoughts and feelings with us in such a unique and loveable way. That said, I always felt the lack of growth and change from Finn. Sure, within an episode, he learns from Jake about girls (when he starts 'dating' Flame Princess) and he grows as an adventurer, but on the whole, I didn't feel any personal growth as a character from him throughout the show. Even LSP, the ultimate in immaturity had development. I don't know if the point was to maintain his sweet innocence, but I felt his change and growth was very minimal. Am I missing something?

[@iandehmel]

You made a beautiful thing here. Well done, and thank you.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you!

[@elihersh2133]

Great essay! Articulates how I feel about the show and its message beautifully.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you!

[@spam_hawkins]

What a great video. Time, death and endings are something that no one likes to speak about too much because of the way an ending makes you feel personally. It's cool to think that an end isn't really an end, just a change. Adventure time will be missed, but who knows, maybe another amazing cartoon will bless our screens in a way nobody had ever even thought about!

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you! I really hope some more great cartoons fill the void.

[@pabloemilianoreyesretanaen4928]

I can't believe I just found out about your channel! This is genius! Thanks so much for this, for pouring thought in such a beautiful version of the world.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you very much!

[@NathanielBarlam]

Very nice video! I love how you link so many different works into your thesis. Another I'd add to that list is Finnegans Wake by James Joyce, which takes on a circular nature in its text as well as its structure, notably beginning the book in the middle of a sentence and ending the book with the start of that same sentence to make a complete loop.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you! Finnegan's Wake is a great comparison! I think this is probably a theme literature has been exploring a lot longer than television has.

[@NathanielBarlam]

Very true!

[@MagusMirificus]

That's so weird; I've been thinking a lot lately about AT's similarity to Joyce's other two novels: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses. Like Portrait, it's a coming-of-age story that rings more true than most by utilizing wildly different stylistic approaches to depict the different stages in the life of its main character, capturing just how much we grow and change between innocence and adulthood better than most other stories on the subject. And like Ulysses, it's a sprawling, massive, difficult, but ultimately comic celebration of life, dealing in melancholy but infused with a pervasive joy and enthusiasm, eagerly pulling from any genre or tradition that strikes its fancy, diving into wildly experimental and challenging territory always with an eye to have fun and reveal truth, getting at the hearts of its characters and their world not through huge, defining conflicts but through the elevated mundanities of life in an extraordinary world. I really think Joyce is the right touchstone for understanding what Adventure Time was trying to do, moreso than many of its more obvious aesthetic influences from the annals of nerd-culture.

[@roadtripwarrior]

Man I am actually crying.

[@andreah3212]

Fantastic video! The idea of realizing growth by way of return reminds me of a old TS Eliot quote: "We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you! Great TS Eliot comparison!

[@richdallyiii4970]

went to like this video, only to realize i'd already liked it some forgotten ending ago

[@pouncelygrin6699]

Thank you for making this wonderful video, love it all the way :)

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

:D

[@goblin7189]

The song for me is coming to terms with the end of my life and the beginning of a new one. That song is a goodbye to all those whose paths will no longer cross with mine and a hand to lift me onto the one that will cross with many new people.

[@swer9112]

god your videos are just beautiful. Your passion for this stuff bleeds through and makes every one of your videos fantastic. Your ideas are so unique and always manage to articulate all of the complex feelings we all shared but no one has been able to express.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you so much! :D

[@swer9112]

@@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat keep at it!

[@PawdnerTheMighty]

This is by far the best review and analysis of Adventure Time. Just amazing!

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you! :D

[@cherishy]

I don't have a very explained comment to show how much I liked and appreciated that video and your words, but I can assure you I felt it. Thank you, and you're awesome.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you!

[@luisca92]

This is amazing, you are amazing! This is one or maybe my favorite video essay I've seen, you give every frame a painting a run for his money.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Oh my, thank you very much! :D

[@ariebirb]

I started watching at when I was 12, when it first came out, and the maturity of the show and it’s themes grew with me and it’s really surreal and sentimental to me for this reason.

[@peeweeherman9411]

I do not know what you normally do on this channel but this was amazing

[@DB-ny9xw]

The final song in the last episode means that all though the episodes have come to an end the characters and life will still have their own adventures

[@aster3380]

I managed to cry again when the ending song started...

[@robertholland3895]

Having only seen the first couple of seasons as a teenager, I marathoned it I heard it ended. Throughout the whole show, I could feel that it had heavy symbolism and themes but couldn’t fully realize it until the finale. Beautiful masterpiece of a show.

[@MrHhoommeerr]

love your voice. I'm at work super high doing line sheets while I have your videos on the background and your voice is putting be to sleep in a good way

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Hahaha brilliant

[@sharperhenz90]

I've been talking about Post-Post-Apocalypse for a while now. Other shows and media also have it. Star Trek is PPA, Futurama too! Great video!

[@Kobiwan_]

I've been putting off watching the finale and hearing about it from others for months now to avoid this feeling. I finally watched it tonight, and went to straight to this after watching the film joy video. This is wonderful, Thank you for this.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you!

[@hikaru975]

Wow. What an incredible summation of the Adventure Time finale and its themes. Beautiful!

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you!

[@kiynchin7292]

That ending theme sting at the end made me instantly burst into tears. Good job

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you!

[@carrotmango3650]

This video is WWWWAAAAAAYY too well composed to only have 14k views. You can tell that you put a lot of time and effort into making this.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you very much!

[@jupiterstinkz3768]

This was such an amazing video. You perfectly articulated the way I felt when it ended even though I could never quite find the words. I was introduced to Adventure Time in a crucial part in my life: puberty. For the most part, me and Finn were always the same age (sometimes I was older, sometimes he was, and it ended when he was older) and so I felt like I grew up alongside him. We were always going through the same things and so I learned the lessons he did at the same time. The show has taught me so much that is crucial in my life and so when it ended it definitely felt as though I had lost a close friend.

[@jupiterstinkz3768]

Addition: The video even re-invoked the same feelings I felt watching the final episode. Your diction was beautiful.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you very much! This is a lovely comment. :)

[@imarriedmyself]

Another phenomenal video! This really got me 😪 can’t wait to see more from you!

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you! ❤

[@Javaboymk03]

the way you present this video is absolutely beautiful

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you!

[@kathrynbbeauty]

This was an amazing video essay. Maybe my favorite I’ve ever watched on the platform!

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you! :D

[@jmck1701]

this was beautiful. It makes such a beautiful show's journey even more...emotional

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you!

[@madelinelaake7130]

This...is amazing. Summed it up better than I ever could.

[@WhatsSoGreatAboutThat]

Thank you!

[@visaac]

As one wise man have said one day: "We didn't know we were making history, we were just having fun" Despite fact how silly AT may look like its pretty deep in its core and really great animation series Indeed, its sad that neverending adventures has came to an end, but al least they did exist When one door closes - new one opens. Lets see what CN have for us in future Maybe another cycle of cool adventures? Who knows Thank you for a video