We’re living in frightening times. Earlier today, The Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists announced that it was moving the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock 30 seconds closer to midnight, leaving the world two and half minutes away from catastrophe. The Doomsday Clock is a symbol, but it’s an effective one reflecting the danger posed by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, climate change, and other international social, political, and scientific factors. Every day there’s something new to be terrified about, so it’s been very nice to have a new episode of Adventure Time every night to help escape an increasingly miserable reality.
“Horse And Ball” is all about finding solace in entertainment, and it’s the exact kind of episode the world needs right now. Somvilay Xayaphone and Seo Kim’s script opens with a group of mole children lamenting the forthcoming death of their mole elder, but their sadness is immediately alleviated once James Baxter rides in on his beach ball, radiating an infectious, carefree joy. In my review of season 5’s “James Baxter The Horse,” I wrote about how the image of James Baxter on that ball was one that made me smile every time it came on screen, and I actually felt a wave of delight and relief when he first showed up in tonight’s episode. James Baxter is here to wash away all the bad feelings! I don’t have to be sad anymore! I rejoiced along with everyone else on the screen, and then the ball popped.
Losing his means of artistic expression sends James Baxter down a spiral of depression, forcing Finn, Jake, and BMO into panic mode as they try to find a way to get James Baxter back to his former self. The stakes are huge, and without James Baxter, there will be no happiness in Ooo. This episode makes the argument that artists are largely responsible for bringing pleasure to the world, and that message feels very important in a time when the U.S. government is taking strides to cut support of the arts. The Trump administration has already threatened to defund the National Endowment for the Arts even though it accounts for a tiny fraction of the national budget, and without support from organizations like the NEA, artists are going to suffer. Artists need resources to create their art, and unfortunately the situation our country is facing is going to be harder to solve than what the Adventure Time gang is dealing with in this episode.
While BMO and Jake dig through the Rag and Bone Kingdom to look for a replacement beach ball, Finn tries to console James Baxter by bringing him into the tree house, but he doesn’t know how to interact with such a renowned artist. Shelby tells him to just act normal, but that’s easier said than done. I’m very familiar with this feeling, and it reminds me of all the times I’ve gone to comic conventions and walked up to the Artist Alley tables of creators I admire, stood there awkwardly, rifled through whatever’s in front of me, and turned away without saying anything to the person in front of me. It’s intimidating talking to a person whose work you respect, but as Shelby says, most of them just want to be treated like normal people. Shelby is hilarious in the episode, and this exchange made me laugh a whole lot:
Shelby: “You gotta slap him, dude.”
Finn: “Wha?”
Shelby: “Slap him with some real talk.”
Finn: “Oh.”