hmmm how should I accurately discuss my disappointment with Jake the star child while still acknowledging that I did find it fairly enjoyable buckle your seat belts folks as I'm about to unleash my musings on why I didn't have much of a problem with characters like say orgalorg while the blue alien calling himself for an ampersand left me with something to be desired I doubt I'm alone and experiencing a tepid feeling of was that it at the end of Jake the Starchild I believe the problem lies prim
arily with three intermingled factors potential scope and focus the vague disappointment was from the wasted potential of a plot point that has had a whole lot of build up over multiple seasons and the lack of adjacent the matic depth tied to the events of this episode Jake was always a strange dog whose powers remained mysterious in nature from the start of the series it was not until margaret and joshua investigations that we first learned the source of his powers which opened up what felt lik
e an immense number of questions those questions are mostly answered in Jake the Starchild but the answers seemed pretty basic with the resulting events lacking long reaching implications Jake's alien progenitor is simply that an alien named Warren ampersand who can impregnate other creatures a deemed suitable to be hosts we don't know what makes for suitable host and likely never will and I'd bet even Warren wouldn't be able to answer that question in detail he just sniffs out a potential match
[Music] Warren is yet another entry to the awful dad crew of adventure time as his sole purpose for creating progeny is to fuel his desire for immortality he drains the life essence of his children to extend his own life which is a fun concept like I said at the start I did enjoy the episode but that concept alone doesn't provide enough satisfaction with the long-running intrigue Warren has provided throughout the series up to this point Jake the dogs struggle to reconcile who he is wasn't real
ly about the blue shape-shifter wore an ampersand it was all about Jake's internal journey of self-discovery self-realization and self-actualization but this journey of his was so heavily fleshed out in the earlier episodes and thus nothing thematically heavy related to introspection was left to explore in Jake the Starchild abstracts had Jake him to terms of the fact that he's been ignoring what makes him different from those around him there's some stuff about me that I've been ignoring for a
long time I'm afraid of that stuff but as part of Who I am as long as I know the shape of my soul won't be alright that episode was the bulk of Jake's journey in the first investigation Jake is heavily perturbed by witnessing his own birth out of the noggin of his father most of us probably don't want to see our own birth but the added shock of being a biological aberration doesn't help however by the end of the first investigation jake has already come to terms with his birth I did see my own b
irth far out in Jake the Starchild Jake is fine he's just fine he's fine with Warren and the new revelations about his birth he stresses that Joshua is his only father son ain't nobody's son but Joshua and Margaret but that was more emphasizing that he sees Joshua as his real parental figure bloodlines be damned after Warren has time to explain things calling Jake's response lukewarm would probably be an exaggeration Jake legit handles all the new information seemingly without a care years ago I
left this beautiful planet and - ooh - implant-- my destiny rich stretchy DNA into a compatible host that explains a lot actually so this episode really doesn't contain any character development for Jake he's mildly apprehensive of a predetermined destiny being dumped on him so abruptly while somebody he just met keeps insisting he's the proudest pop but Jake's weakness - peer pressure and feeling cool and important comes into play and of course he goes along with everything after getting conne
d Jake turns the tables around and grips Warren right back and we're all familiar with Jake's history of crime this should be no surprise it was a neat detail that Joshua apparently taught Jake the trick though meaning Joshua was the one who unintentionally said Jake on a path of occasional crime time at the very end Jake self sacrifices for his pups which was Noble and cool but again we already knew he loves his pups very much and would sacrifice his life for them I'm not trying to downplay any
thing Jake did know his selfless sacrifice was done without a shred of a second thought and it highlights that while Jake may not be very involved in the lives of his pups he still loves them immensely all I'm doing is making the point that this is classic Jake through and through he has not had any development in this episode this was not a life-changing experience for him that part already happened in episodes prior and thus what's left to carry the episode is just the surface level events get
it because the planet surface is just worn morphing um I'm sorry I'll escort myself out anyway the point is what's responsible for making the episode fun and interesting would just be literally the plot based events that happen and that's okay nepo sewed where there's just a random out of the blue adventure but of course this is hardly such an episode this is the finale to Jake's origins plotline and warrants presence has been teased a lot throughout Jake's internal journey of self-discovery he
was there to represent multitudes of figurative issues Jake was stumbling across but it did feel like his eventual appearance would results in a client for Jake's character arc or at least Warren would play a very large role in it and it turns out he really doesn't at all Jake's internal journey was done by the time Warren showed up so all these events in space feel like an afterthought as a results speaking of Warren's past appearances I just want to mention the statue an abstract because now
we know what all those skulls at the base represent they represent all the progeny Warren kills in order to extend his own life that's a pretty neat little detail looking back so to reframe the discussion a little bit let's get our comparative glasses on and make a comparison to another episode where a foreshadowed villain showed up yet was defeated by the episodes end let's compare Warren's episode to orgalorg episode I think that seems pretty apt especially since both born and orgalorg are ali
ens with kind of comedic sounding voices seriously though this line of discussion is going to elaborate on the scope and focus problems I mentioned at the start of this video the comet was an episode with an astounding breadth of scope the Comets core plot was about stopping orgalorg but it was about so much more than just that it was also about Finn coming to terms with who his father is and in doing so also learning to understand himself better it's also an episode that marks Finn's exit from
his adolescent depression as he chooses the meet reality he's put a lot of work into over transcending to a new state of being and starting anew the comet is honestly one of the most life-affirming episodes of any media I've ever seen and yet it simultaneously also manages to explore the mindset of somebody who doesn't particularly value their own life or at least what they've achieved with it while orgalorg drives the plot it's actually a small part of this big episode and the focus isn't even
on orgalorg the focus is primarily on thin and all the thematic depth that surrounds finn at this point in his life so even if orgalorg did end up seeming like a 1 episode jobber that we'll never see again his shenanigans weren't the focus thus when I think about the comet I can appreciate orgalorg school design and the idea fence slice part an elder god with his grass sword in space while there's countless more ideas to discuss in relation to the episode as a whole and that's what makes the com
et amazing and satisfying in contrast Jake the Starchild lacks that thematic depth it's all about Warren Warren is literally the one driving the entire plot and all enjoyment will come from him and his direct interactions with Jake so when all Warren has going for him is he's a bit of a weirdo who steals life from his progeny and then he gets the table's turned back on him well it feels unsatisfying the plotline was basic and by the numbers really which is something Adventure Time often manages
to avoid when it comes to plot lines that unfold across multiple episodes so those are my thoughts if my explanation as to why I felt disappointed doesn't resonate with you I hope it at least made sense and was somewhat elucidating and with that giant chunk of criticism out of the way let me quickly talk about a much smaller issue the pacing could have been better I thought it was a bit rushed while the feeling of being rushed is in line with Warren trying to push Jake ahead before Jake can thin
k too hard about anything it still ended up feeling a little clunky what's so weird is that the first minute which may remind you is nearly 10% of an episode was a retread of what already happened at the end of the first investigation there's some new dialogue squeezed in but none of it was particularly necessary and could have been pushed back - after Warren jumps through the portal with Jake and hand it reminded me a bit of crossover actually which was another episode I thought was rushed that
also spent the beginning portion retreading a past episode all right let's shift gears and switch to some more casual commentary about Jake the star child I want to first talk about Warren ampersand a bit worn stretching powers are all holds agree above Jake's as Warren doesn't even have to remain connected to stretchy creations like Jake does this essentially allows not just transformation but multiplication of the self on an enormous level I mean Warren had left part of his body behind when h
e went to go fetch Jake that's ridiculous if orange a cat to fight I honestly don't see Jake winning good thing he managed to steal his life essence back before it was too late and drained Warren of all that juice the idea of Warren finding a small barren planet in space and enclosing it with his body to construct an alien civilization was really cool I'm sure it reminded plenty of people myself included of ego the Living Planet except where's ego obviously is the entire planet that's able to ch
ange at will Warren is instead more deceptive and disguises the planet's exterior by cloaking it with his own body that's also what the title card to the episode is based on with Jake making a planet with his bod as well which is foreshadowing to the twist to come though I'm sure many of us guessed it based on the fact that the planet's color scheme is only shades of blue that was pretty suspicious even though Jake's origin story has been wrapped up we remain in the dark about the alien warren a
mpersand was she a scientist because he was capable of creating a device that allowed for the transfer of life force are there others of his kind still out there or we'll see the last one will see the only one we get a glimpse into Warren's personality and his MO but we don't learn anything about Warren's place in the world and considering how he ends up thrown into a black hole it seems like we never will personally that's mostly fine for me and doesn't bother me that much but considering how m
uch Warren has been teased throughout the show leading up to this episode it is a little bit of a bummer to learn absolutely nothing new besides him being a life stealing jerk okie dokie for the rest of this review I am just gonna make various comments about the episode in chronological order to round things up I got a chuckle out of Warren Singh fan couldn't come with because he wouldn't be able to breathe in the home planets atmosphere the only time that ever seems to be mentioned in cartoons
is when it's a flat-out lie once Jake is on the alien world if it was any other character except Jake I would be wondering why they're not asking Warren why he abandoned them until it was time for the prophecy but since it is Jake who's often absent-minded when it comes to those sorts of things I'm fine with it besides I'm sure Warren's answer would have been something along the lines of to hide you from ishka know until the fated day it's a pretty generic answer but it works but I do just want
to point out the fact that Jake didn't even feel like posing the question my favorite part of the jig seeum is the originator of the bacon pancake statue why Warren made Jake stand atop his bacon pancakes that I don't know Jake's goopy puddle form is amazing I absolutely loved it you know what I just got an idea to make a top ten Jake transformations video after adventure times over I better write that idea down outside the private room there's a picture with fetal Jake that has the words patern
ity and eternity that's a fun little allusion to Warren's plan although at this point were literally seconds away from seeing it in action which that whole scene was a little silly to me it's a small planet but Warren could reside on any other part of it when doing his little mirror dance routine and he chooses to be adjacent to Jake's dwelling allowing Jake to witness the weirdness firsthand it obviously doesn't change much of course since Jake still does part two of the plan later it just lets
the audience know what's going on ahead of time but even that felt unnecessary we could have just went to the next day and seen that Warren looks oddly younger then which would allow more time to even out the pacing but hey at least the music during this scene was really good it was only when we first saw old wither Jake that I had a mini realization of why Jake has this deeply entrenched fear of becoming old in the first place it's because that's what his bio daddy wanted to do to him from the
moment of conception he was concepting Jake for the sole purpose of stealing his life and making him old and decrepit I think that's a neat little follow up on Jake's fear and I just wish there was more like cool little callbacks like that in this episode as for the low-key affection thing it seemed a bit too spontaneous and convenient in its presentation Warren not feeling the guilt until after seeing Jake decrepit and aged makes sense but I wish they front loaded more on Warren thinking Jake
was cool beforehand for example at the Jake's ium they could have had Warren enthusiastically talking about his favorite adventures that Jake had that Warren now depicts having Warren consider his son cool from the very GetGo instead of just saying you're cooler than my other kids were after the fact would have really helped bring the plot together more in my opinion so it kind of seemed like Warren was not aware that Jake had become a dad based on the dialogue hi stretchy BAPS well yes save me
after all I mean that's not that big of a deal it can easily be explained by the fact that Warren only occasionally checks up on Jake and he didn't do it at a time that happened to coincide with Jake being around the pups but the reason I bring it up is because I want to discuss the implications of it apparently Warren never once considered that any of the progeny he leaves behind might have their own children that he could continue stealing the life force from down the line that's what's kind o
f weird to me like if you're gonna steal your child's life essence wouldn't you also want to make absolutely sure that your child doesn't have extra children because that would make your job a lot easier if they did although on that topic of stretchy pups Kim kil whan did stretch while in super pup formation and Jake jr. stretches her hair however I don't recall the other pups ever stretching and Kim kil whan hasn't ever done it as an adult I'm sure they're all capable of stretching but I bring
this up because I'm just imagining Warren ampersand trying to fool the pups and to stretching for him but failing miserably well except for TV TV would totally get his stretch us and sucked out cuz TV is not the brightest pup Warren ampersand in general wasn't interesting enough for me as a character I think I've already made that clear he's the standard sort of stupid cartoon villain whose own ploy ends up being used against him due to his cockiness and carelessness all that being said though I
can't help but appreciate him a little simply because his final words were amazing I see now this fleshy form has taken me as far as it can I'm going Authority baby warrants characterization being on the flat side is part of the problem though with the episode like I said the episode was fun and I did enjoy my time watching it but the combination of Warren being sort of a flub Jake not changing as a character whatsoever and there been a lack of interesting themes to explore made the experience
feel like a letdown especially since we were looking forward to this plot point finally happening oh so much I can't help but feel that it was squandered potential and by the end of this batch of episodes I had far more interest in how thin and Jermaine tried to get Jake back rather than in Jake's confrontation with his father that temple of Mars review will be coming out next see you then
Comments
How to deal with deadbeat dads according to Adventure Time: ASCEND THEM TO A HIGHER PLANE OF EXISTENCE SO YOU NEVER HAVE TO SEE THEM AGAIN
I feel like the whole episode was actually meant to be unsatisfying and anticlimactic. I think that pretty much embodies what it's like to meet a parent who you didn't know existed or was hyped up for years and years only to find they're a deadbeat, parasitic, garbage person. I feel like if we didn't know that Adventure Time was ending soon, this wouldn't be the last that we hear about Jake's origins and we would probably be dealing with him facing a lot of insecurities over the fact that his space dad was an asshole and the only reason for his existence is for a selfish asshole to drain of youth and throw away. aint that so true to life lmfao
This episode was basically just the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
Jake deserved his own miniseries.
I found "Jake the Starchild" to be a nod to the episode "Bonnibel Bubblegum" when she says "Families are tricky." Both Finn and Marceline understand due their dead beat dads, (although Huntson is now improving) but Jake shakes his head, being naive to the experience coming from a family who values who he is; his loyalty to his dad is clearly highlighted in this episode. It like that until he meets Warren, his own biodad willing to kill him in order to fulfill his selfish needs.
I love how both Finn and Jake always acknowledge Joshua as their father.
I find that there is a running theme of bad father figures going on in Adventure Time. Pendleton Ward was raised by a single mother, so his dad wasn't around for much of his childhood. We fairly don't know much about Pen's personal life, but it could be that his dad tried connecting back with him after his success, and it ended up not going as well as he hoped it would. Most of the major father figures on the show such as Hunsen, Martin, and this shapeshifter only connect with their children to use them for their own advantage. Just an observation, I mean the character of Finn is actually based on the creator himself, he was even named Pen in the original shorts.
Was sorta dissapointed the stretchy dude was given a voice, full name, and basically de-mystified after only seeing glimpses of the guy being, well... Being weird, cryptic and alien. Guess he learned how to talk after biting Joshua, dropping the five-way mouth to trick Jake and gain his trust better. I think. This was good. but like you said, it didn't do anything jawdropping.
You know, Warren was at his best when he was just an "animal". No logic, no rhyme, no reason, no talking. Imagine how different the episode would have been if it was just Jake and a silent animal. This strange blue being doing what it's supposed to do, Jake can't ask it a question because it can't answer. It doesn't seem sad because it's the "last of its species" or the "first of its species". It just is. It doesn't care that Jake is there or not, and it doesn't recognize him or even care. A lesson about indifference to one's own being? A message that Jake didn't "have" to exist, but he does anyway; that he should be as content as that strange blue beast? That the beast will live as it desires and so should Jake. A "Peace of Mind" episode is the only way I can think to make Warren workable.
Jakes pups = rainicorn blood + dog blood + alien blood OwO
I think a big reason dead beat dads are so prominent in Adventure Time is because Pendelton Ward's dad was dead beat, and grew up just with his mom. This might have also been an influence on the character of Martin.
I think maybe the episode shows just how Jake's already solidified as a character. Its pretty fine. Its not THAT disapointing to me. It gets over a nice meaning that people who raised you are your parents and blood doesnt. Its pretty cool because Finn's reaction is more agressive and Jakes more decided
I mean... both Joshua and Warren are Jake's biological parents. It's Margret that isn't his "real" parent. EDIT 2 years later: oof, i apologize for this old bad take of mine, should have used better wording. Joshua and Warren are Jake's biological parents but Margret and Joshua are his actual parents.
I think they should have made Ampersand some kind of lovecraftian horror and not able to communicate or think like jake in any way. The whole point could have been the same, but Apersand shouldn't have been able to articulate itself to jake in a meaningful way.
IM GOING 4D BABY
I have some issues with “Jake the starchild”. While you described “Blenanas” as alright, it my opinion, Jake the starchild was just a hair above mediocre. There were just so many things that dampened my enjoyment, not enough to call it a bad episode, but enough for me to feel a little cheated by the time the credits were rolling. Issue #1, Pacing: You described how I felt about the pacing perfectly. The pacing was just so off and clunky. It felt like the entire plot was rushed for no real reason, I could forgive it if it was leading up to something extravagant, but there is literally ZERO tension at all. I get that Jake is a moron, but I expected him to at LEAST be competent enough to ask a question like “Why is this happening?” Or “Why me?” Cause lets me honest, Jake has his self-esteem cranked up to eleven. Overall, things blew by FAST, it felt like things were jumbled around a bit. Issue #2, Characters: While I was a little but not really disappointed that Jake didn’t really get any characterization, I was not at ALL a fan of Warren Ampersand. He didn’t have much going from him from the get-go, he was hyped up since he first appeared and now we find out that he’s just a Martin rehash? Not amused. I mean it was pretty obvious that he had nefarious intentions from the start, just based on his speech, which even JAKE was able to pick up on, as well as the vibe he gave off. I found Warren to be extremely two dimensional, he just wanted to live forever, that’s it? Also, what was with his complete shift in mood by the end? I mean his final words were nice and all, but all of a sudden he just accepts death when moments ago we was trying to reach Jake’s pups to gain their life juice? What? Also, I should bring up something that I REALLY didn’t like. Jake and Warren’s interactions 60% of the time were EXTREMELY awkward. All they do is talk about how Warren loves Jake and Jake is confused and excited at the same time, and the way overall Warren spoke and acted towards Jake came across to me personally, as extremely off. Essentially, what I’m trying to say is that Warren, is really boring in this episode, he’s boring to the max. Issue #3, Plot: The plot of this episode, is almost nonexistent. It could be really funny and fun at times, but mostly is was just, well...nonexistent. Like I said in my little rant about the pacing, nothing of substance or tension really happens, there’s ZERO tension. The entire episode is just Jake being delusional and Warren being a cocky jerk, aside from that they what, talk? By the time the battle began, things felt really stale, I didn’t feel hyped it was just “meh”. Also as I said in my pacing rant, nothing extravagant happens. This was the episode that was supposed to wrap up Jake’s origin arc with a nice little bow on top, but I felt it was executed rather sloppily. Okay here are some things that I actually LIKED about the episode, this is why I don’t find the episode BAD. Like #1, Visuals: I can’t even begin to describe how I freaking’ love the visuals. Jake sums it up with his comment on the “sci-fi vibe”, everything was very colorful and vibrant, it felt super polished and the sky and buildings were amazing. This really shows how the team can get creative and make something dazzling to the eye, I had a lot of fond memories of “Elements” during this episode, especially the Fire Kingdom. Like #2, 40% of Jake and Warren’s interactions: Like I said, I found 60% of our to main character’s interactions to be really awkward, But 40% of the time it was SO fun. Warren really gave off that “Dorkish, but cool” uncle kind of vibe and Jake was really fun too, he felt like the nephew. Overall, Jake the starchild was a okay episode. It was a big letdown on some areas, but was able to be captivating and fun enough for it to be somewhat also enjoyable, I really can’t wait for your Temple Of Mars review!
Didn't one of Jake's daughters streched to the size of the earth to walk across it?
slicing up a elder god with his Grass sword on space - Uncivilized elk
Jake's fear of vampires makes kinda sense now
It seems Elk has some low-key affection for this episode, haha. On a more serious note, Warren's stretchy powers far, FAR outclass Jake's. In addition to the stuff Elk mentioned, he's also able to make different shades of blue, make high-quality art by stretching, and is able to SOMEHOW MAKE A MIRROR OUT OF HIMSELF. I think Warren's so much better at Jake when it comes to stretching because of multiple reasons, including the fact that Warren's been around for a very, VERY long time so he's had much more time to practice and grow, plus he's a pureblood shapeshifter, unlike Jake.