The Christmas Special That Changed Adventure Time Forever

[@theredeyther7502]

Just the line of “I I do things that hurt anyone then please forgive me” stuck with me the most. Just image you are slowly loosing your mind and you know that one day you won’t even remember who you were and know that you will hurt those around you. Imagine how painful that must have been for Simon. Just seeing him beg for forgiveness is one of the most painful lines in the entire series

[@timesphere5199]

Also after seeing fionna and cake it just hits so hard that the only reason that he has the crown is because he was too focused on his work than betty. If he just got on that bus then it would have saved so much heartbreak for both of them. This show takes forbidden love and turns it to 11

[@dragb9284]

I I mean if you’re ant a further gut punch of how much that idea must have hurt him recall the very end of at. When in a gods stomach and it looks like the end Simon doesnet panic his first response is to try and comfort a teen child about there imminent end. I mean he’s about to die and yet hes still trying to take care of and comfort others takes some real heart.

[@jojostarsea]

"please forgive me for whatever i do when i don't remember you"

[@timesphere5199]

@@jojostarsea my favorite adventure time song. Not the catchiest but still meaningful

[@ditisrobux]

what i find amazing is that they did this IN A CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, i usually really don't care about christmas specials in cartoons because they are generic boring plots, but ADVENTURE TIME just did a huge lore drop with an actual funny episode (i agree being the second episodes humor being way better) its such a fantastic way to start ice king's/simons backstory

[@insainsin]

Fin is such a lovable character. The horrified look in his face when he sees that video. That video changes his perception of Ice King for the rest of the series. In the episode don't look. His perception of people alters their physical forms. He turns Ice King into Simon. And he is distraught. Jake: That's how you see him? That's beautiful. Finn: Sure. I mean it's hard not to sometimes. And more than that. He mentions in a later episode that he no longer feels like using violence on villains anymore. He implies he never questioned it in the past and he no longer feels it as such a good thing or as fun. Jake says that maybe he is just growing up. But Ice King was the seed to all of this.

[@nneykobar_hali]

A litle detail i never saw mentioned by anyone is that marcy is the only one in the last scene not smiling. She is visualy upset watching these tapes from the outside. It is interesting that it may imply that they though about their relationship at this point.

[@dynamicender]

Interesting note there I always thought that she was outside cause she couldn't stand the fire but considering that she actively avoids the ice king does make more sense

[@wasperfly]

8:06 The popup appearing while finn and jake awkwardly watch the tape of ik sobbing his eyes out is one of my favorite early season jokes lmfao

[@RyuSpike]

Finn also didn’t know any other humans at this point in the series. Learning that Ice King was a human too must’ve hit him hard.

[@wolfzend5964]

He knew Susan was a possible human a few episodes ago. But yeah, Ice King, being a former human, probably did hit Fin hard when he found out.

[@EnderKingDubs]

My favorite part of this? I can't remember where I heard it from, but the Simon and Marceline plot started because the writers made the Fries Song Joke and went, "wait, how would Ice King even know that song?" And honestly, as a writer, those little coincidences create the best plotlines. I'm glad it lead to what it did here.

[@Gnonne]

The line “Betty my princess’s” is what gets me

[@yinyangyt8749]

It really did change Adventure Time. I felt a completely different way about the Ice King after this special

[@jamestomlin5525]

_I need to save you_ _....but who's going to save me?_ Man that still hits so hard

[@that_dude_over_there]

Please forgive me for whatever I do… When I don’t remember you…

[@jamestomlin5525]

@@that_dude_over_there when I don't remember you Still so beautiful yet so sad

[@NightmareScarecrow]

@@jamestomlin5525I hope Ice King regains his memories😢

[@jamestomlin5525]

@@NightmareScarecrow he did

[@NightmareScarecrow]

@@jamestomlin5525I made this line when I read that quote. “Sometimes the savior is the unsavable”

[@timesphere5199]

I love how finn, and everyone else but mostly finn and marcy, started to treat simon better after they hear his story. I also love how in the episode where finn gets magical eyes that transforms others into what fimn sees them as, he sees ice king as simon. It shows that although ice king may no longer be simon, others like finn, marcy, and betty will continue to see him for the man he was rather than what came of him. Adventure time was a work of art that no other shows can ever live up to

[@fierygamingzilla69]

I think soemthing really unspoken between finn and iceking is that aftwr this episode finn knows he is a human and like iceking os the only other human he knows for awhile

[@Funktastic_Official]

The Simon Petricov tape always makes me wanna cry

[@Noneyobizniz1]

That episode. When he said “MY PRINCESS”. My heart broke.

[@deaddoomed2380]

simon's story allways makes me tear down :,(

[@fierygamingzilla69]

If the crown makes the wearer believe they are evergreen than wouldn't iceking believe he actually made the crown? They didn't change anything there

[@shadyblazeblizzard]

Its moreso they called back from a random line in Season 1 that seemed made up but actually made it real in a way.

[@fierygamingzilla69]

​@@shadyblazeblizzardI do love those call backs like that makes the lore feel expansive and connect like souls type games

[@hamsternamedhammy]

“I made it! I made it with the magic that I stole!”

[@MrMnM-ed5ht]

Pretty sure he misused the word “retcon” since instead of retconning anything, they used the random lines of dialogue to instead expand the world of Adventure Time by building on the context of those lines through callbacks

[@fierygamingzilla69]

@@MrMnM-ed5ht yea I heard they used that alot in their creative process that make what he meant make more sense

[@thefallenjedi66]

“Have you ever heard the tragedy of Ice King the Wise?”

[@ajones7005]

He saved others, but he couldn't save himself.

[@that_dude_over_there]

I would’ve said Ice King of insanity

[@NightmareScarecrow]

@@ajones7005saving others often involves sacrifice. Ice King takes that to a different level

[@foxjesus4411]

I legit never realized "hungry looking rainbows" was referencing rainicorns, I was just picturing sentient rainbows.

[@Gnonne]

I just realized why the Rainicorns and Dogs were at war for

[@catiebeans]

⁠@@GnonneWait, you just blew my mind a little. That makes perfect sense!

[@m1dnight1983]

I was a child when I watched this episode, and I hadn't paid any attention to it Now I'm almost 18, and I just realised how much that episode has changed the show

[@andresortiz2901]

11:44 ''Labyrinth in my brain'' and then when they enter the crown it was a labyrinth loking place

[@ArmadiusC]

I saw Simon Petrikov reveal and I went like "Oh, this is not a kids show anymore. Is it?"

[@kiwipomegranate]

I wasn’t allowed to watch Adventure Time as a kid, so of course I just watched it on KZbin. I just watched clips tho, and probably only a few full episodes. When I tell you this is how I realized that the silly funny Christmas clips that made me want to be able to watch the show on the tv and the clip that broke me as a kid (and later was the one that got me back into the series when I was older) were the same episode- like bro I can’t fucking believe that

[@zackOOO-nz9rh]

when i was binging the entire series i didn't expect the christmas special to be a 'lore episode' as i call them, let alone one that important

[@gabvinus]

marceline might've been outside because of her strained relationship with PB, but also because jake was still afraid of her, or even just for the scene "constellation" (it just looked better on the story board perhaps)🤷‍♂

[@ronaldmcdonald4541]

I know they didn't planned her relation to Simon but fact that she actively avoided him,now it makes sense

[@spookycircuits455]

It always surprises me when people don’t realize the you’re watching an adventure time Christmas special banner is an intentional joke. I laughed so hard because you just see Finn and Jake awkwardly watching Ice king loudly sobbing and this silly little banner pops up like you would often see back on cable back when it was airing. It feels like something that could have just happened because stuff like that did happen.

[@gilbert_shork3338]

8:13 the joke is they put the fact that this is a christmas special as finn and jake watch an old men cry

[@Notypls101]

I still remember the ad for the episode and the countdown good memories

[@SilverScribe85]

Here's my question If the crown was actually designed by that Ice King-looking dude, how the heck did Simon get his hand on it in the past

[@shadyblazeblizzard]

He said he bought it from an old dock worker in Northen Scandinavia. It's likely that after it survived the Mesozoic Extinction, (possibly it caused the ice age) that it was buried somewhere until it was discovered by previous other people, some of note being the first "Santa" and a boy named Sveinn who wore the crown once. I do theorize that Svienn possibly took it off after what it did to him and tossed it into the ocean where it was eventually fished up.

[@juke9674]

Is that the bloody settlers: heritage of kings OST? Or am i going mad

[@sketch-eee4165]

4:01 appreciate the adventure time 3ds game ost here!

[@ItsChevnotJeff]

I think Ice King made the Snowmen by hand because the last time he did so by magic they all were deformed and more fragile, plus who wouldn't pass up the chance to make your own army by hand? Let along a SNOWMAN army? For a Christmas Special? Also, I love how Finn began to call Ice King Simon sometimes after this, since he discovered he's the last other human besides him at that point. My favorite moment was the glasses episode, where Finn's perspective of IK is exactly who he was, but naked, like a broken man who is vulnerable and needs help.

[@SovietOrange]

I wanna just say that this was a very well made video, as is the rest of your content. Keep it up, man, you're gonna do well.

[@chughes6034]

Wow. I should check out this episode on MAX some time this month. Good job, dude. 👍

[@AlexDaeling]

ice king probably just met bmo off screen btw also great video man (from a fellow small ytbr)

[@jaxcraft2848]

FAX! What a bombshell to drop at the end of the episode!

[@AMHT-qd4to]

When I was a kid and I saw this for the first time and I was genuinely shocked when I saw this

[@charlyc.9068]

En el episodio 6 de Fiona y cake donde aparece winter wing, a mi punto de vista mostraron una realidad alterna donde Betty no fue tan importante para Simon y Marceline murió, matando lo poco de humanidad que quedaba en Simon. Ya que en el universo original de Finn y Jake el rey helado estaba loco pero tan si quiera era noble gracias a estas dos, y el winter king recupero su cordura pero la poca humanidad había muerto cuando murió Marceline.

[@AngryNerdBird]

There's a fun detail about Holly Jolly Secrets part 2 that is worth remembering and isn't included in the online streaming version of the show. When Ice King starts sobbing because Finn and Jake now know his secret, CN put a banner on screen right at that moment that said "You're watching the adventure time Christmas special."

[@haixaldonix4945]

God, Adventure time is so good

[@patrickofearth]

Bubblegum has such a bad rep for raising herself from the "mother gum". She saved Marcelines life...? She had to raise her sensitive lil bro on her own. Just cause she's guarded af doesn't mean she's evil. The Catholic Church might be

[@EnigmaticGentleman]

They did actually plan to go with serious lore as early as the pitch (just look at the Lichs page there), they were mostly just experimenting during the first season (they literally made the post apocalypse decision on a whim). I'm almost certain they never expected the chance to go full plot driven though

[@craz2580]

I watched thsi episode when i was like... 10, after this i turned off the tv and stared at the turned off screen for idk how long while processing

[@Zanoits]

Simon petrikov is my Roman empire

[@urbainchic3975]

10:30 💀 :‘(

[@KaminoKatie]

This episode gives people instant seasonal depression

[@noname-lb3sg]

The best character in the show

[@arcadecaptainYT]

The way you describe the part one of the Christmas episode is the way I feel about the whole show after like season 2

[@alecdashark]

I'm not crying you're crying

[@ismetcancelik5052]

you know how some media s special? you can't reexperience outer wilds again? undertale remembers? these things are more interesting than plot twists. There is more i think. in that way, the way ice king is revealed, the way show still acts like its usual self until it happens, the way you didn't expect it to happen and it woven beautifully makes it special in some way i think you know? a one of a kind thing like outer wilds or undertale. it is interesting. maybe adventure time's overall identity also helped with that, too right? i am not sure. maybe something like this wouldn't work in some other light hearted show. yeah

[@nneykobar_hali]

Couldnt edit do i ll add: "I remember you" not "simon and marcy"

[@shanerulez79]

Hell it even inspired a character in Gravity Falls

[@sixbones.infamy9107]

DEADASS? He inspired Old Man McGuckett?

[@shanerulez79]

@sixbones.infamy9107 I mean I've never asked Alex Hirsch myself but if you watch the origin stories next to each other they're both really intelligent nerdy men wearing glasses who slowly go mad over an extended period. They both lose someone important to them (Betty for Simon and Fiddleford loses his family (or at least his son) )

[@ZeHoovy2595]

Ngl i enjoyed this show's lore way more than one piece lore💀💀☠☠

[@atlas_uraeus]

the song in the background sounds familiar, what’s it from?

[@shadyblazeblizzard]

I include audio at the end credits but I took most of it from the Adventure Time DS game

[@atlas_uraeus]

@@shadyblazeblizzardmy b, not used to creators citing their music lol. I think it must’ve been the X and Y theme

[@nneykobar_hali]

Fun storry of mine: for the longest time i was sure that they rvieled ice king backstorry in the "simon and marcy" because i watched only first part , got bored and skipped the rest of two-parter all together.

[@TheGreenThunder1607]

You're just bad at watching TV Shows then

[@chopytroncosooficial1933]

Cuando dices que no te gusta drake, automáticamente los fans: 8:56

[@dr.wolfstar1765]

What season is this?

[@TheRobloxiansOfficialGroup]

P.b is a known scientist, to say that a scientist shouldn't know SCIENTIFIC CODES is kind of stupid. But no hate.

[@shadyblazeblizzard]

It was secret codes not scientific codes. It was to decript a secret message which is something you would really only know if you have some espionage background or something shady you need to hide from the public so it is pretty sus that she would claim to know a lot about secret codes and how to decipher them.

[@smallcat848]

To be honest i get why it's a good episode but it's never really had that same impact on me When i first watched adventure time i didn't watch all the episodes because i was watching it on a channel playing reruns which often didn't even put the episodes in order and there was very often something else i wanted to watch on as well on a different channel. So i ended up first finding out about Simon being the ice king watching Simon & Marcy and first found out about this episode through youtube when i was getting back into the show. And when you remove the reveal from this episode it's kinda just, decent. I get the impact it had but when it's not your first introduction to Simon Petrikov it just doesn't really stick in your head that much.

[@Solgin1245]

Ok ok calm down its just a kids show dude 12:48

[@bluezebra8675309]

I mean Art's art, regardless of what medium