Picking up where the last season left off and with all the necessary introductions out of the way, the second season of Adventure Time takes a turn away from the childish simplicity of the first season. This season introduces several deep plot arcs which will unfold over the next nine seasons and miniseries. Finn the Human (Jeremy Shada) visits Marcilene the Vampire Queen (Olivia Olson) to help his rockstar friend record a new track. The song’s lyrics and a conversation about them lead Finn to summon Marcilene’s demon lord father, Hunson Abadeer (Martin Olson), from the Nightosphere in an attempt to help resolve familial conflict.
As an orphan, Finn doesn’t understand why his friend wouldn’t want her father in her life. Released upon Ooo, Abadeer seeks to devour all the souls he encounters. With some help from Marcilene and some luck, the boy adventurer banishes the demon back from whence he came. The season comes to an end under similar circumstances: Ancient life-consuming wizard, the Litch (Ron Pearlman) escapes from his enchanted prison and seeks his former seat of power to restore his horrific abilities and destroy the world. This is a juncture in the hero’s journey where Finn must face and surpass his limitations.
As stated above, this season steps away from being simply a weird children’s cartoon and develops the world of Ooo, characters, and plots further and in more complex directions. Unlike the first season, some episodes reference each other and the flow of time is much more apparent. Finn, now 13, has romance on his mind more often and many comedic romantic pursuits follow. A dozen or so characters are introduced this season who become very important in later seasons and those already introduced see massive development.
Marceline, Princess Bubblegum (Hynden Walch), and Finn receive a lot of attention through these twenty-six episodes. The Litch serves as Finn's “first fate of the world thing” and shows the young hero’s ability to rise to the challenge. Death comes up a lot in this season as demons, ghosts, life-eating monsters, and even Death himself are persistent subjects of episodes in season two. The second season of Adventure Time is an excellent choice for tweens and teens. Highly Recommended.
What public library shelves does this title belong on?
Adventure Time Season 2 is a children's title, but expect some adults to seek it out for nostalgia's sake or for their own children.