Recap / Adventure Time S 1 E 1 Slumber Party Panic

Episode 1 of Season 1 of Adventure Time.

After one of Princess Bubblegum's experiments goes awry, Finn must protect the Candy People from a Zombie Apocalypse while keeping it a secret.

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Tropes

• Answer Cut: PB tells Finn that if the Candy People see the zombies they would flip out. When Finn asks what she means, she just emphasizes they would "flip out", and it cuts to Starchy the Gravedigger getting so scared by a zombie that he spontaneously combusts. It then cuts back to Finn and PB, apparently after the latter has finished explaining this fact.
  Finn: The Candy People explode when they get scared?!
• Back from the Dead: Princess Bubblegum makes a resurrection potion — of course, the results are predictable, but at the end of the episode, she completes it and they're back to being alive, not undead.
• Blood Oath: A variation is used in this episode, called a Royal Promise. Finn breaking it would have resulted in trial by fire. But since Princess Bubblegum took pity on him, the Gumball Guardians made his death decided by a math question instead.
• Carnivore Confusion: Live blindfolded candy people crack candy zombies open like piñatas and eat their candy guts.
• Comically Missing the Point: When asked by PB if he learned his lesson about breaking promises, Finn insteads talks about how it can lead to awesome adventures like the one in the episode.
• Covers Always Lie: The title card shows three humanoid women dancing on a beach. Needless to say, nothing of the sort happens in this episode.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: The interactions between the Gumball Guardians and Princess Bubblegum imply they are some force outside of her direct control when later episodes would show that she is the one who built them. Plus, here they're called "The Guardians of The Royal Promise".
• "Eureka!" Moment:
  • Finn gets an idea to distract the Candy People and get rid of the zombies at the same time when he sees Manfried hanging from the ceiling.
    Finn: Manfried, the talking piñata! Your convenient appearance gives me a great idea.
  • Finn triumphantly shouting "four" while bragging about solving the Gumball Guardians' "trial by math" makes Princess Bubblegum realize that's the figure she needs to properly complete her decorpsinator serum.
• Exposition of Immortality: PB gives an early hint to being older than she looks when she mentions her first subject for her resurrection potion, an old man, is her ex-boyfriend.
• Furry Reminder: While playing Truth or Dare, Jake gets asked "Do you prefer chocolate or fudge?"
  Jake: I can't eat chocolate or fudge 'cause I'm a dog and they would probably kill me, but, hmmm... probably... neither!
• Hand Gagging: Princess Bubblegum to make Finn not blab about the zombies. Twice.
• I'm Standing Right Here: Finn, making up his game of "smash the piñatas" has to clarify that he doesn't mean Manfred the Piñata.
• I'm a Humanitarian: Non-human variation. Thanks to Finn, the Candy People start nomming on the corpses of their undead friends and loved ones. Jake notes this is pretty messed up.
• Loophole Abuse: When Jake challenges Finn in a game of truth or dare, Finn replies "Dare!" Jake's response is to dare Finn to tell the truth about the secret he's keeping.
• Mundane Made Awesome: Thanks to the Gumball Guardians changing their minds, their Trial By Math for Finn is merely... what is 2+2? In fairness, for Finn, this actually is a brain-teaser.
• Poor Communication Kills: Finn nearly ends up in hot water because Princess Bubblegum didn't warn him that a Royal Promise is magically binding. Also, Jake says that he would have understood if Finn had just told him he was keeping a royal secret.
• Space Whale Aesop: In universe, lampshaded at the end of the episode:
  Princess Bubblegum: I hope you grasp the full consequences of breaking promises.
  Finn: Heck yeah! If I break a Royal Promise, I get to fight zombies, throw slumber parties, awake Gumball Guardians, and — and —
  Princess Bubblegum: All right, all right!
  Finn: — and REVERSE DEATH ITSELF!
• Tempting Fate: Used for all it's worth with Starchy standing around in the graveyard.
  Starchy: I'll just stand here, with m' back turned, and my defences lowered.
• Ten Minutes in the Closet: Finn tries to distract a suspicious Jake by getting him and Lady Rainicorn to play "seven minutes in heaven".
• Title Drop:
  Finn: Do you know what time it is?
  Jake: Adventure time?
  Finn: No, it's time for Seven Minutes In Heaven!