When Adventure Time: Distant Lands premiered back in the summer with its first adventure focusing on BMO, it seemed like a slew of new stories from the iconic series were in order. However, there hasn’t been any since that one episode. Even though we knew there was more coming, it seemed like a new one was nowhere in sight. Finally, a new episode has arrived, and it focuses on a couple that we haven’t seen in quite sometime while digging into their past for another fun-filled adventure in “Obsidian.”
“Obsidian” opens up on the Glass Kingdom in peril as a dangerous, fire-breathing creature is set to break out of its prison and wreak havoc on the kingdom and its glass inhabitants. With a group of sassy doubters causing everyone to lose hope, the kingdom’s leader, See-Thru Princess (voiced by Charlotte Nicdao), can only find hope in the journey of a young Bookworm named Glassboy (voiced by Michaela Dietz) to find the original slayer of the creature – Marceline the Vampire Queen (voiced by Olivia Olson). Giving up her days of adventuring, Marceline now lives a very wholesome and comforting life with Princess Bubblegum (voiced by Hynden Walch) in their secluded home within the Candy Kingdom. However, when Glassboy bursts into their home asking Marceline to help them defeat the beast again, Marceline and Bubblegum aren’t exactly up to the task as it opens up old wounds in their relationship. So, as they go to defeat this old threat, Marceline and Bubblegum also face past issues in their relationship as well as Marceline’s bad upbringing.
Although it’s not led by Finn and Jake, “Obsidian” really feels like a classic Adventure Time one-off, with its simple heroic adventure. The opening not only boasts that kind of adventure storytelling set-up with See-Thru Princess and Glassboy talking about Marceline slaying the dangerous creature that just screams “classic mythical adventure,” but it also has the overly charming humor that gives these daunting moments some delightful light-heartedness. It also nicely sets up how this creature is unleashed yet again as Glassboy goes into the dungeon it’s kept in so that it might use the lava to fix the crack in his head hopefully ensuring other Glasspeople stop mocking him. It’s really the perfect little opening to gel you back into that Adventure Time feel, since it has been a while, and it features much more action than we saw last time around.
If you were hoping that “Obsidian” would be a little more action-packed and energized than BMO’s adventure, it definitely delivers. The way Marceline’s music plays a big role in defeating the creature gives an angsty new meaning to music soothing the savage beast and there are definitely many tenser moments this time around. From Marceline having to fend off dark creature spawns from the central monster to seeing her transform into a big bat creature, there’re definitely more action and horror elements this time around that fans will definitely enjoy. Even the environments of a post-apocalyptic wasteland and a pristine glass kingdom end up having much more intriguing conflict and heartbreaking backstories within them that make for a much more compelling episode from start to finish – especially with it all connecting to a troubled time in Marceline and Bubblegum’s lives.
When we jump back into seeing Marceline and Bubblegum together, they’re living in domestic bliss and exuding the kind of relationship goals you want to have. Knowing the characters though, you know those adventurous spirits are still alive and well so it’s a little strange that they’re so hesitant to help the Glass Kingdom again. The second Glassboy arrives, there’s this sense of unsureness that comes over them and while it seems unclear why this place and situation play a role in their relationship, it’s definitely not good – whatever it is. However, as the pieces slowly come together through flashbacks that show what happened that night, things become much clearer as their individual values of heroism got in the way of their relationship together. The flashbacks of the past really show how these two used to be with Bubblegum wanting to prove herself as a strong leader that can protect the innocent and Marceline wanting to be her own adventurous self not being tied down to protecting people and, of course, old habits die hard. History obviously repeats itself and old feelings resurface that seek to tear the two a part again and it’s legitimately sad to see. Both the flashbacks and the present perfectly make your heart break as you see such a strong couple of two amazing characters clash and fall on the verge of ending. It’s incredibly emotional and the entire flashback sequence of Marceline singing her breakup song really stings, but is still totally rad.
The episode digs into even more personal trauma with Marceline as she revisits her grim upbringing to write a new song to subdue the beast. Seeing her live within an apocalyptic trailer park with her mother Elise (voiced by Erica Lutterell) is incredibly touching as Elise manages to keep Marceline’s imaginative spirits up and not let her be the monster that lurks within. Not to mention, despite Elise knowing that her condition is getting worse, she never gives up on Marceline and shapes her into the confident vampire queen we know her as now. It’s even more touching to see how revisiting her childhood and hearing her mom’s voice again inspires to be break out of her angsty shell and former self to be something new. It’s the perfect way to further flesh out Marceline and Bubblegum’s relationship and different elements of their backstories, as well as the overall lore of the series, that’s immensely fulfilling. It’s all made even better with how the two finally come together again and Marceline sings a song of a different tune to signify her new life direction. It’s certainly going to leave fans a little misty-eyed with all with all of the sweet, romantic vibes that come from their relationship rekindling.
All of this is what makes “Obsidian” a flawless example of growing up as it reunites us with Bubblegum and Marceline to see how they’ve really grown and offer new insights to these iconic characters. It showcases the strengths of their characters through a simple story of adventure and how they’ve evolved – giving fans a meaningful check-up on their favorite characters. “Obsidian” shows this series is more than just a cynically motivated cash-in return to the land of Ooo but rather a meaningful look into how its inhabitants can change over time.
Adventure Time – Distant Lands (Obsidian) is now streaming on HBO MAX.
 is the second installment on HBO MAX's Adventure Time series and it's awesome.){kind=link}