Ocean of Fear aired on June 21, 2010, and was storyboarded by JG Quintel and Cole Sanchez. This is the debut of both boarders and the only time Quintel worked on the show.
JG Quintel is better known for creating Regular Show, which debuted the season following this one; Regular Show and Adventure Time are often compared for their basic aesthetic similarities. It's certainly worth pointing out that Quintel and Pen Ward were friends at CalArts and coworkers on Flapjack. However, Quintel and Ward have an extremely different set of aesthetic priorities, and this episode is extremely useful in determining what those priorities are.
Ocean of Fear is successful for the same reason Regular Show is successful - it takes a relatively minor conflict (Finn's fear of the ocean) and plays it as a full-scale epic. Thus, we get ominous synth swells, color palette shifts, extreme close-ups, distorted animation - all the things that would be expected of an episode with suitably outsized conflict, but taken out of their natural context and applied to something much smaller-scale.
The episode accomplishes the same thing through its plot. Although the basic premise is extremely simple - Jake attempts to cure Finn of his fear of the ocean - the episode moves through a variety of different settings at quite a clip and, unusually tosses, off a lot of gags, such as Finn speaking only in rhymes or the complex hierarchy of manifestations that appear to live in Finn's digestive tract. In this way, the episode makes its premise feel larger than it actually is.
Ocean of Fear also has some interesting wrinkles to add to the already very well worked out Finn/Jake relationship. As usual, Finn sees Jake as a source of wisdom and advice. However, upon having Finn's trust put in his hands, Jake proceeds to come up with an incredibly complex and devious plan to cure Finn's fear through intense exposure therapy. Ultimately, this doesn't work as well as planned - Finn ends up accidentally trapping Jake at the bottom of the ocean.
This is where the episode pulls off its best piece of character work. Finn realizes that his and Jake's attempts to cure his fear through their usual action-based, confrontational, heroic methods simply won't work, and he has to outwit himself in a fairly unheroic way in order to do the heroic thing. This shows off Finn's critical thinking ability - something the show hasn't shown a lot of up to this point.
The episode ends with on of Adventure Time's stock faux-morals about flaws; however, that's not the episode's real purpose. Ultimately, this is the most intimate character piece about Finn and Jake that the show has pulled off so far.
Next time: When Wedding Bells Thaw
I love how as the series goes on real weight is given to Finn's fear. He may have lost all or part of his family there, not to mention being months at sea constantly in danger. We don't know if these things are true, but I think they fit what we see Finn go through in the series. I love how it all starts here. It makes this episode one of my most improved season 1 episodes on rewatch. That and The Jiggler.
ReplyDeleteI agere completely. I think this episode is kind of foreward-thinking, in that it does a good job creating a plot based around the characters' insecurities as opposed to just putting them in crazy situations, which is something that happens throughout the first season a lot. This is an episode that would fit easily into season 2 or 3, and one of my favorites in season 1 (although we haven't gotten to my favorite episode of season 1 yet).
DeleteI know it happens in a much later season, but I was wondering how you would assess Finn's dealing with the Fear Feaster using the grass sword. In Ocean of Fear Finn is forced to use a more mental/emotional route to solving the problem, however later on in the show he acquires the grass sword, and when the Fear Feaster appears Finn immediately confronts and defeats it with a physical attack. Why might there be a difference between the two? Also does this say anything about how the writers are suggesting to deal with fear?
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched Billy's Bucket List in a long time, but he does end up knocking himself out if I remember correctly.
DeleteI don't want to get too into the Grass Sword stuff yet because I think it's really interesting, but I don't have it totally worked out in my head yet and I haven't watched it in a while. I also want to frame that stuff alongside the rest of Jesse Moynihan's stuff, because I think he's one of the most interesting storyboarders on the show and is one of the two or three "auteurs" I would single out that start appearing at the end of this season and season 2.