It’s a birthday party for the rainicorn pups!
Yeah, Jake and Lady Rainicorn have kids. It’s okay. The kids grew to adults almost immediately after birth so Jake isn’t a deadbeat dad. He’s just kind of an irresponsible dad.
I can relate.
There was a bunch of social commentary peppering this episode but I struggled to discover what it was all about. Still having a hard time with that one. Going to go with the destructiveness of believing you are “right.”
That sounds plausible.
Jake is late to his children’s birthday party. He arrives without presents and a handful of macaroni salad. His son, Kim Kil Whan, informs Finn and Jake that he bought the deed to their treehouse from Marceline. Kim Kil Whan is in charge and big changes are coming.
Kim Kil Whan acted like a tool throughout the episode. At first I thought we were getting a “business guy bad” sort of a thing since he’s decked out in a suit and uses his money to aggravate people but that was proven wrong.
We’ll get there.
Finn, Jake and Kim go to the treehouse to take a look at their treasure vault. It’s empty since they spent everything getting people to do ridiculous things a few episodes ago in “Furniture and Meat”. The only thing they can afford to buy back from the treehouse is a rickety ladder. Kim then sections off the willow into 37 apartments, essentially turning the awesomeness that is the treehouse into a flophouse. Again, it’s a big, bad business guy ruining things for our heroes.
While sleeping on the ladder, Finn gets some nasty butt to face action by a passing tenant and goes up to the bathroom to wash off, walking around sections of floor marked off as “apartments”. Finn and Jake are immediately arrested for breaking and entering as the bathroom is now someone’s flat, and are carted off to jail. Kim bails them out then presents them with a bill for services rendered. Rich guy does something good, but at a price!
After a Kim foils an attempt to dig up a golden bone buried by Jake on the treehouse property the two head out to find a way to get the scratch to buy back the treehouse. The most endearing part of the episode is Finn’s complete lack of understanding for property ownership. To Finn, Kim’s just being a bully. Can’t argue with him there.
Jake decides on one last gambit. They go to Kim’s home and Jake tries to win over Kim with the gift of an Ocarina and Fatherly Love. John DiMaggio singing, “I Love You” over and over and over is something I’m going to use on my own boys. They’re going to hate it but it works for Kim. He accepts the Ocarina (well, paperweight, really, it’s just a rock shaped like an Ocarina) as payment for the treehouse and we are back at status quo.
Then the purpose of the episode hits! Kim’s wife consoles him as he looks at the Ocarina. Kim just wanted to “light a fire” under his father so that he would begin living up to his responsibilities. The tragedy is that Jake is just fine but Kim’s idea of the “right way to live” is oppressive. He tore down his dad’s life only to go back to the way things were. That’s the world Kim chooses to live in, though. There are responsibilities and people that count on you, so straighten up! He’s not a bad business guy; he’s a son who wants more from his father.
This episode hit home for me. I’m sure it did for many of you. I’m a fairly creative guy and the 9-5 grind always feels like a waste of time. But I have to eat. My kids have to eat. Sadly, bringing home a handful of macaroni salad just isn’t enough. But a big part of me wants to live in a treehouse and go on adventures.
Don’t you?