Adventure Time is dropping names like they’re hot, which is appropriate because this episode takes place in the Fire Kingdom. Just a few episodes ago, we learned Finn’s last name, “Mertens.” In “The Cooler,” Flame Princess reveals her first name to Princess Bubblegum, “Phoebe.” The name evokes mythology as Phoebus or Apollo was a sun god.
When a show is in its sixth season, you can take more risks to further develop your world. “The Cooler” does that by focusing on the Fire Kingdom and its shaky relationship with the Candy Kingdom. The Fire Kingdom is cooling down and its citizens are wasting away. Reluctantly, Flame Princess contacts Princess Bubblegum to ask for help.
As always, this show reflects our own world and it’s difficult not to see the parallels between our country and our rivals in the geopolitical arena. Princess Bubblegum plays us, meddling in the affairs of foreign nations, to protect our own interests and our citizens. She ignores the Fire Kingdom’s sovereignty and destabilizes their society.
As much as it pains me to say it, I can’t really disagree with Bubblegum’s goals, though her methods are reprehensible.
Deep inside the Fire Kingdom rest Fire Giants, ancient machines that fell from the sky and are prophesied to burn the Earth and create a new Fire Kingdom in their image. They are giant weapons of ultimate destruction and Bubblegum sees them as a threat. And they are, too! Flame Princess’s brother wants to burn Candy Kingdom to the ground. Phoebe recommends restraint but isn’t ruling out any possibility.
Do I blame Princess Bubblegum for her actions? Yeah, I do. But I get it. The Candy Kingdom is her creation (I think) and she is charged with its protection. She sees herself as the ultimate ruler and, in her words; Flame Princess is a ding dong. Can she trust a kingdom whose weapons are also their religion? If their goal is to burn away everything that isn’t them and establish themselves as the only ruling body, what choice does the Princess have but to disarm them?
Frankly, I’m a bigger fan of embargos and treaties than invasion and societal manipulation. Bubblegum doesn’t agree. She enlists the Ice King to secretly cool down the Fire Kingdom, interrupting their energy supply and creating want. Not a bad plan if you’re Machiavelli. PB knows that Phoebe will contact her for help and she uses that opportunity to disarm them.
Well, almost. She leaves them one operational Fire Giant. As far a gun control goes, that’s pretty grease. PB also turns off her spy monitors when she returns to Candy Kingdom. Honestly, I don’t think it will last. Once information gathering has started, it’s hard to turn it off. But maybe she’ll realize that spying on her own citizens is no way to ensure security.
Maybe we can learn that same lesson.