Review: Adventure Time “The Music Hole”

Head like a hole. Black as your soul. I’d rather die than give you control.

Spoilers Below

The latest new episode of Adventure Time, “The Music Hole”, contained some surprises. The episode begins with Finn sitting in his house, clearly depressed, listless, and not even excited by the food Jake has made for him. Jake calls Princess Bubblegum for help.

I’ve been underwhelmed by AdTi episodes lately, save for a few exceptions, and there were parts of this episode that really dragged, in my opinion (the battle of the bands). Sometimes it feels like the writers are trying too hard, or that they’re spit-balling, or grasping for any kind of heart.

However, the second part of the episode really redeems the whole story in an interesting way. Finn keeps hearing music, and even though his friends have made him the judge of the band competition, he wanders off to find the source of the strange music.

I don’t want to ruin the ending of this one for you. I’m just going to say that despite the usual force-cut feel of the very end of this episode, we get to meet one of the oldest inhabitants of Ooo. Her story is beautiful, and the animation, art and design all shine in a really cool way.

I could definitely feel Finn’s melancholy in “The Music Hole”. His slump felt real, and we’ve all been there. The beauty he finds in another creature gives new perspective to his own suffering. And at the end of the day, that’s all we really need.