“Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake” is the more mature spinoff-sequel of the show “Adventure Time,” in the same 2D animated style as the first, premiering every single Wednesday on HBO Max with two new episodes, ending on Sept. 28.

Following the story of Fionna Campbell and Cake the Cat. While this series looks to be a sequel, we get to see entirely new things in the show, such as a new reality in which the characters of Fionna and Cake live. It is an in-universe parody of “Adventure Time” even copying the main characters’ names from the first show. Returning characters such as Simon Pertikov/Ice King voiced by Tom Kenny, Finn Mertins voiced by Jeremy Shada, and of course, the newcomers with Fionna voiced by Madeleine Martin, and Cake voiced by Roz Ryan.

“Adventure Time” is a 2D animated cartoon, funded and exclusively released by Cartoon Network, on April 5, 2010, and ended 8 years later. It ended up being one of the highest-grossing cartoons, earning  $2.11 million over its airing alone, not to mention the countless number of merchandise the show has spawned since its inception. The show revolves around Finn the Human, a zany teen boy who wants to be a hero, and Jake the Dog, his beloved magical dog who acts as a second main character and a role model for Finn. With a devoted fanbase, when “Adventure Time” ended, hearts around the world cried to see more of the show we got to love over the past decade. Thankfully, fans got that in 2020, when a 4-part mini-series titled “Adventure Time: Distant Lands” was released, with 4 specials not relating to the story. They built on the world we got to love, but it truly seemed like the end. The duo of Finn and Jake lived their full lives, so our story was truly concluded…until now.

The first episode is seen in an entirely new world to any fans of the series and features the characters of Fionna and Cake’s world. Given the entire idea of Fionna and Cake being parodies of “Adventure Time’s” characters, it makes sense the characters all look the same, act the same, and even speak the same as their “Adventure Time” counterpart. In the episode, we learn that Fionna Campbell is a struggling young adult living with her cat inside of their dingy apartment in a metro-American city, although this episode’s conflict stems from Cake’s sudden illness. Throughout the 22-minute episode, it showcases the usual antics Fionna has to deal with, alongside the worrying cause of Cake’s illness. The episode frankly is very bland, even in the standard usual “Adventure Time” standard, mostly because it’s pretty much all fan service based on the characters that a viewer should recognize. So far, it’s not easy to recommend to those who don’t know of the first show. 

The second episode takes place in the more familiar setting of The world of “Ooo” the world “Adventure Time” takes place in. With magic and fantasy roaming the land, kingdoms of candy and mountains of harsh ice neighboring each other. As odd as it is, this episode focuses on the most normal aspect of Ooo, a man known as Simon Petrikov. Simon used to be cursed with a magical crown, causing him to gain immortality and ice powers, at the cost of losing his sanity and memory. He regained his sanity on the ladder half of “Adventure Time” and now finds himself alienated in such a magical world as just a normal human being. The entire episode centers around how he doesn’t belong since he feels that being insane and losing all sense of reason makes more sense than being normal. This episode is much more on par of the pace with “Adventure Time” when it comes to its story and antics. Also, leaving on a cliffhanger that connects the 2 first episodes, leaves any worry of the story being stale at the door. 

With 2 episodes released weekly on Wednesdays, each 2 episodes will have a slight connection to the other, like one half of a story. So even though the episodes are only 22 minutes long, they feel longer given that you’re given 44 minutes of content per week. With the show being premiered and exclusively shown on HBO’s “MAX” streaming service, it’s convenient for those who haven’t seen “Adventure Time” since all of the shows are found on the service. 

So, do I recommend “Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake?” If you are familiar with a lot of “Adventure Time’s” episodes and characters then go for it, even if you never finished the first show. But as for those that have never seen “Adventure Time,” this is not for you, if you want to give it a shot, go for it, but I think you’d find yourself looking for something else to watch.