would Bonnie be related to the Sun tarot card? It represents happiness, revelation, greatness, energy, assurance, and vitality. While a reversed sun represents excessive pride, arrogance.
I love the unique voice Adventure Time has. Like, you'll have characters talking philosophy and the nature of existence but at the same time using words like "butt", "fart", or "awesome"
The one that stands out to me is the tiny manticore, and when he's released monologues on the prison of mans heart, then tells someone to shut up when they ask what he said.
Also I thought that fin's and Jake's reaction to the orbs was like the wolf and dog Jake being the cautious and alert dog telling fin not to eat the orbs and realizing the misunderstanding that led jake and fin to stab the moon, it is further emphasized when the moon starts waking up because while fin freaks out jake puts her back in the vase so that she doesn't see the sun setting which despite not working was a smart decision and after they start bringing her to marceline while jake tries to be at a safe distance from her fin starts making him do some unsafe things(talking directly to the moon) Fin is the wolf because he is going on impulse, he tries to eat the orbs not because of any particular reason he just wants to eat them, he fully accepts the idea of stabbing the vampire for hours even tho that it wasn't working and even if it did the gas would jump follow the wind since they couldn't trap it, when they ran from her fin started slapping Jake's butt frantically trying to make sense of what was happening, when the moon found them and did nothing while Jake was trying to make sense out of the situation fin immediately went for the offense which failed
Indeed ! kinda worries me that he sort of suffers from depression ? i mean, doesn't he feel good about the work he is doing ? not this only, but his own personal growth, guess one need to feel darkness to acknowledge light. best wishes from a remote south american country Elk !
A small detail glossed over, although potentially less relevant to the analysis itself, is that while inside of the Vampire King's essence, Marceline has one of her legs crossed over the other like the figure of the Hanged Man. So while Strength may be more apt, the creators might have wanted Marceline to be the Hanged Man instead, and this is relevant when the reading of the Hanged Man is taken as a positive, representing wisdom, circumspection, self-sacrifice, surrender, and undergoing trials. It also represents divination and prophecy, which fittingly enough ties back to the association Tarot has with divination and prophecy via cartomancy, but it also symbolizes being frozen in time, which would usually translate either into a defining moment or an event in the past that one cannot let go of, but in Marceline's case also applies to her immortality; she is quite literally stuck at a single point in her life. Marceline chooses to sacrifice herself to reabsorb the Vampire King's essence, totally surrendering herself back to the fate she tried to cast off before, but with deeper insight that has allowed her to willingly accept her role in the world. So, a fool(The Fool) who gave up immortality and power(The Empress) tries to overcome the past(The Hierophant) by embracing something new and strange(The Moon), only to willingly choose to return to her old state of being(The Chariot & The Wheel of Fortune) as an act of surrender and self-sacrifice(The Hanged Man) that she has ultimately made peace with. And on another level, the entire plot of Stakes is bound to The Death arcana, as the end of the old cycle and the beginning of a new one.
As Marceline has that vampire essence inside of her that came from VK, and VK had two cards for himself as well (One for circumstance and one for behavior), she could also have both The Strength and The Hanged Man as her cards. The Hanged man, among the things you listed, also symbolizes consequence of action, be it good or bad. So the action of saving the humans lead to the consequence of being made a vampire. And the action of trying to undo that lead to the consequence of the vampires being released, and eventually the vampire essence going on a rampage. Having to sit and deal with those consequences is technically what started the whole mini series to begin with. Towards the end however, in the moments where she is inside the vampire essence and taking that final action (symbolically standing in the same position as the reversed Hanged Man), it is in that moment where she fully gains that second card symbolism in The Strength. Mind you this has been building up slowly throughout the mini series, relating to the analysis of Marceline and The Strength throughout her life stated in the video.
I really enjoyed the Moon. She was so unsettling and creepy and I enjoyed every moment of her being on screen. It reminded me a bit of the creepy and mysterious functioning of Coraline’s other mother
I was *terrified* of Moon, her episode stuck in my mind for years even if I don't watch adventure time anymore, chills everytime I rewatch the chase scene in the moon episode
Can someone explain why is the need for english subs in an english video? I can think of many reasons but they are not very good ones. -Youre watching this at night and dont want to disturb anyone( why dont you use headphones?) -You cant underrstand a word.. -you cant hear (wich is the best reason i can think of)
I like how Stakes kind of put Marceline's early season 1 appearances into a whole new context. It probably wasn't intentional at the time but you have to wonder if Marceline's first encounter with Finn is because on some level she missed hanging out with humans.
The boots thing with Hierophant reminds me of this thing from German folklore called an Alp, it's associated with vampires due to some blood-drinking tendencies and happens to be a shapeshifter that always wears a hat in any form it takes.
Hey, I did some research on this creature since I found your comment interesting but I can't really find any information on the hat aspect. Do you mind telling me where you read about that? Because the only places I could find mentioning that were not so serious websites like fandom wikis lmao
@@frauleinzuckerguss1906 It has a listing on wikipedia that mentions the hat thing under 'Characteristics' and cites a few sources, I also used to have a book that talks about monsters from various cultures but I don't recall the name of it. Googling 'alp mythology' might help if you haven't already. The alp's hat is called a tarnkappe if that helps.
the scene where VK turns marcy into a vampire is,,,, chilling and hard to watch. It has a very clear visual parallel, and I had never thought of it with the context of VK as the chariot before. Definitely helps to understand the scene even further
It’s interesting that Marceline uses the Vampire King’s powers the least before Stakes. In fact I think the only time she actually used telekinesis was in her introductory episode, the same episode where she describes herself as having lost track of her moral code.
I _much_ prefer this to the 'Five Stages of Grief' interpretation. This reading actually has weight and meaning; lessons learnt by Marcy as she develops. I hate it when media tries to make the stages of grief as its theme. It's pseudo-commentary, they never actually say anything.
a cool thing abt The Fool card is that he's often seen as the one who's travelling through the tarot - that the journey he's beginning is through the deck itself. In that sense, and especially considering your lil observation abt shwabl, we might even consider Marceline, herself, the fool. In Stakes, the whole purpose of the show is Marceline's central character arc - she's transitioning from this "forever teenager" into an adult and she journeys through this transition both through her relationships with her friends and by facing the vampires. She has a hard time staying grounded in the moment, barges into danger, travels with stakes (sticks and bags are often a symbol of the fool) and she's the first vampire we see in the miniseries. Obviously I'm not saying that the vampire named "the Fool" isn't representative of that card, but idk i feel like this is a cool way of looking at the charaters
@@the_last_ballad just jokingly pointing out that both marceline and the fool kissed ppl of their respective genders. pb the former and vamp king the latter (I'm also gay btw)
maybe it's too late to tell, but there is a "spooktacular 2015" comic. in this comics Marceline meets the moon. there was a moment, when the moon raises the fool card and the image on the card looks very much like Marceline. so yes, we can consider Marceline as the fool (sorry, if there are any mistakes, I don't know english well)
@@carloskoo7844in Fionna and Cake's 7th episode they go into a universe where Simon died before meeting Marceline, so the Vampires won and Marceline is one of them, being named after the tarot card The Star and treated as Vampire King's daughter. Go watch the series btw, it's good
On Marceline keeping her distance from Ice King versus the conditions we do see Simon develop, becoming semi-reformed-I love how rich this reading is! I think it’s important to remember that Simon becomes semi-reformed with the help of many. Finn, Jake, Marcy, even Bonnie and Ice King’s misfit wizard friends arguably contribute in some way to his growth. If Marcy were to have helped Simon achieve this growth earlier in the timeline of Ooo, that would likely mean she would have to carry that emotional work by herself. It becomes much easier to manage your personal health and boundaries while taking care of another person when you can share the load. It takes a village to raise a magic man baby.
Another thing about the Empress representing reliance on others- Marceline insists on going at the Empress alone, without the help of her friends. But in order to defeat the Empress, who, as a person, was a _perversion_ of community and caring and relying on others, Marceline had to have the help of her friends- representing a positive version of community. Bonnie even comments on this in the series a little, twice. “Yeah, you’re welcome!” “Isn’t vampire hunting more fun with friends?” Marceline kind of grumbled at the rescue, but after this episode, she finally fully agrees to letting everyone help and to work more as a team on defeating the vampires. *This* is the episode where it happens. So the Empress vampire was defeated by a positive version of love and community, and Marceline gets more in touch with that nurturing side of herself throughout the episode, both with protecting and admitting her feelings to Simon, and taking the help of her friends.
The “he had a silver fox thing going on” line makes me worried they’re implying that Empress assaulted Simon while she was his mistress (you obviously can’t give genuine consent while mind controlled)
@@zashgekido5616 are we? the plastic is remade from the dead, and will remain in the earth for longer them the thing its made of lived, and longer than any of us will live. but plastic does come from underground so it is lower than us, since we're on the surface
Marceline and the Strength arcana, acting as a force of good in Ooo - My favourite scene in Obsidian is the final 10 seconds. There was something profound at the idea of Marceline, after everything that happened to her, playing concerts for teenagers in the middle of the feral apocalypse and being really sweet to her fans, and Bonnie being one of those young fans and getting a crush. It just... Marceline is so strong to be engaging with the world when it's in such a chaotic state, and bringing people together, just to act as the Land of Ooo's first force for good. You can tell why Bonnie fell for her lol.
This channel deserves more recognition. The quality of your videos is so good! I'm so happy you have returned, and I sincerely hope you continue posting content for the foreseeable future. And if you don't, at least we have your past videos. Thank you so much for blessing us with this HOUR LONG VIDEO!! We love you!
This video was an hour in length, yet it didn’t feel long at all. I would be able to watch you for ten hours straight without feeling like any time has passed. I just realized I’ve been a fan for five years now, and, wow, your videos have grown and evolved so much! So proud and happy that you’re able to share such deep and intriguing thoughts about Adventure Time even after its end 💕
I also think that Marcy is given the role of Anubis in the wheel of fortune card, due to the fact she is the one who ultimately makes the decision of life or death for the vampires by measuring their character. She spares the vampire king because of his severe want to change his character, weighing this against his past evils.
I am Japanese. I am using Google's translation function. I'm sorry if you're rude.🙇♂️ Your video is the best！This is because there are rarely any videos explaining Adventure Time in Japan… I'm looking forward to your video in the future！ Also, if possible, I would be very happy if there were Japanese subtitles.😭
Super late reply, but RU-vid taking away community captioning a while ago was such an AWFUL move (and obviously bad even from a business perspective). Every time somebody submitted subtitles for my videos in a different language back in the day, it gave me such a burst of dopamine. I'd like to think if the feature still existed, many more videos would have foreign language subtitles today. TLDR: I too wish I had proper Japanese (and other) subtitles!
For Marci and Simon Its literally having to deal with a parent who has dementia you love them and want to be there but you keep trying to make them go back to what they were because that's how you know them, and they'll never go back, thats why its hard to accept and why sometimes its better to have other people take care of your parents, no matter how heartbreaking
Well he’s only directly acknowledged, like, once. He rarely shows up and even when he does, he’s basically in the background. I wouldn’t be surprised if most ppl didn’t even know Marceline has a dog
Considering I've been doing tarot readings for years, it completely went over my head that the vampires were based on the Major Arcana. You did great job explaining the card meanings btw!
The Vampire king also kind of invoked the tower, during that scene where he stood in a pillar of water with lightning striking in the background. It’s a great artistic reference to it, the scene is also matching to its meaning. Sudden upheaval and change, unexpected destruction and reconstruction, and a turning point of sort for fates. Which is exactly what I thought when the next scene was him turning into a man-baby in a pool, and for the acceptance to his request.
OKAY, i'm back to this video after two years because of Fionna & Cake Series and one of the newest chapters named "The Star". it hit my mind with the Tarot Card with the same name and when before i agreed with this analysis telling Marcy should be The Strenght, wich fits really good on her concept, this new chapter and the worst face of what marceline could be let me understant that The Star is indeed her tarot card The Star means lucky, strenght and hopes, The Star evoques willpower when dificult times arrive and impulses us to an spiritual journey to selfgrowth spiritually and mentally as Marceline have been living since she was a child until today. The Star card describes perfectly fine the escense of Marceline in our world and said this, that help us to understand why she is named as The Star by VK in that universe where he rises Marceline. He gave this name to her but at the same time, he turnsnher into the revers card of The Star, showing a cruel marceline, leading the world into despair, tragedy and death. the reverse star tell us about despair, loss of hope, sadnes and pain, the same thing this universe gets because of Marcy straying of her path and becoming an evil vampire. i would love to see an analysis of yours of this episode and how The Star is depicted in the episode and in marceline concept trhoughout the series.
It feels like you’ve been talking about making this video for years, and it’s so cool to see you finally finish it!! Awesome work, Elk. This is probably one of your best videos to date.
I know I´m commenting on an older video, but I just have to say... This was amazing. You did such a fantastic job with the storytelling for this analysis. You really must have worked hard, and it shows for each of the vampires! And I loved the fact that you ended with attributed the Strength card to Marceline. Truly! LOVED! This!
@@defsouul3127 not really The dog's name is schwabl, schwabl was red but Marceline sucked the color out of him. Then schwabl was dying and Marceline stole the encyridion (idk how to spell it) and turned schwabl into a zombie dog
Marceline is called the vampire queen after she is turned against her consent by the vampire king. The title of king and queen is usually given to a married couple and the queen usually rains when she is married to the king. After marriage traditionally a relationship is consummated. This makes Marshalline‘s turning further analogous to sexual assault bc the becoming of a queen is often inherently sexual
What it is: I spent an ungodly amount of hours tweaking the music to make sure it flowed well throughout the whole thing and reinforced the emotions and themes I was trying to draw on. Delayed the video by like a week. I'm glad it paid off, lol.
Not really related to this video but about Moons thought process: "Where are we? It's like we feel asleep on a raft and woke up in strange seas" - Empress after being revived. We first hear Moons voice right after this quote and she says *Hmm* And then she goes to find a raft and sleeps in it. I just thought its very curious as if she is interested in taking metaphors litteraly.
I really love how the meanings of the tarot cards are so intertwined with Marceline. This reboot of who she is, as you've mentioned, feels like a miniature version of the fools journey where she must face the Fool, Empress, Hierophant, Moon, Wheel of Fortune and Chariot and ultimately finds her place as Strength.
I did a double-take when checking the date this was uploaded. I absentmindedly opened the video thinking it was your first Stakes review. what a pleasant surprise!
Fun fact, I just got a pack of Adventure Time tarot cards for my birthday! I collect them for the art, I'm not into cardomancy or a believer, but I love the history and lore. Now, combined with my love of AT.....I'm in heaven. Great explanations on both subjects for this video, by the way!
Regarding the Empress and her ties to nature, what if becoming invisible reflects that aspect of the tarot? When she is invisible, she becomes one with the environment, hidden in nature. We can’t see her, but the world around us echos with her voice as her presence is very much felt. In fact, Marceline and the gang go into the forests of Ooo, and she uses invisibility while encountering the Hierophant, using nature to her advantage as well...to no avail, of course.
This video is PURE GOLD, thanks Elk for your brilliant sharing, it helps my mental health and gives me some fresh air. These days, I currently identify with the Chariot, trying to control everything and learning to accept helping hands. You are a gift to Humanity ! Good luck in your journey and have a happy healing ;)
Yeah, tarot is a way of having a conversation with yourself more than fortune telling. It's a super interesting tool for, like, Jungian analysis (self or otherwise). Like, sometimes it can be prognosticant, in the same way that like looking at the sky can tell you a storm is probably coming (you know more than you think you know about statistical forecasting, it's literally what the brain is wired to do most intently, it's just another form of pattern recognition), but it's not really supernatural. It just *feels* that way, in that eerie way that, like, tumblr shitposts that accidentally predicted 2020 or Simpsons predicting everything are (we just don't like to admit how painfully obvious the outcomes that lead to current circumstances were).
I want to thank you for your effort and time making this video. It was amazing. The Stakes Miniseries is one of my favourite things ever from the show, and I'm so happy I could learn a lot about its symbolism and relation with the Major Arcana. This was woth the wait. I hope you are doing fine, and I hope we see more videos soon. You are great!
Finn just hanging around Marceline is a testament to Both Finn's bravery (or stupidity) and Marceline's control over her vampirism especially considering her bass has lost it's red sometimes and was re-painted later on in the show. I guess if she ever gets hungry she can just eat peppermint butler
I've been feeling like shit. Between self-loathing, and general apathy I'm just kind of scrolling through. This video really captivated me in a way I haven't felt in a while and I'm so thankful for being able to watch it. Take care and thank you.
I’ve always been confused if Bonnie is immortal or not. I know that it at least takes PB a long time to age since it took her 800 years to become 18. Also, when walking down the staircase with Finn and Jake to show them Goliad. She says “I’m not going to live forever Finn, I would if I could. But modern science just isn’t there yet.” so possibly PB will achieve that in the future. But Marceline says at the end of the Stakes miniseries that Bonnie and Marcy could hang out forever. Idk it just kinda confuses me sometimes.
They’re both technically immortal bc of their agelessness, but it’s possible for them to be killed :0 Marceline saying they get to hang out together forever was probably wishful thinking and/or assertion that they can look out for each other now that she’s a vampire again
Bubblegum is, well, made of bubblegum, which degrades with age very veery slowly so she's not literally immortal, but definitely lives for very very long. Then again she's been seen using (eating?) a certain kind of flower to recover some of her biomass so her lifetime can probably be made longer, though it's still due to have a limit, I imagine.
@@friendbreakfastits kinda late, but can't she simply deage herself by getting gum removed, its how the lemongrab taking over her castle thing happened
“Rest assured there will be plenty more Adventure Time videos into the far distant future” That gave me more reassurance and joy than I can put into words. Love your videos, man! Sending love and support your way
36:41 This moment reminds me so much of the judgement card. I have a Mystic Mondays tarot deck, and the Judgement has mirrors set on a path. It basically serves as a reminder to reflect on who you are right now after being on a journey, and reminding you to reflect again after a period of time. Also, I'm still at this point of the video so I don't know if it'll be mentioned, but I love how during Everything Stays, we see the "mortal figure" of the VK--the lion, sleeping. Reminds me of the Strength card, where strength isn't determined by physical prowess or power, but just the ability to calm yourself and keep yourself in control when things are shifty or when you're angry. That card is traditionally painted with a woman stroking a tiger or a lion, I think. When Marceline finally sings the song, I'd like to think that she's found her own strength.
My guy this is incredible, BUT YOU MISSED THE HANG MAN CARD!!!! Marcie was literally in the hanged man position when she was in that dark cloud! Hanged man represents surrender, changing your perspective, looking at something at a different angle. Man, strength is there absolutely, but the hanged man card explains perfectly her flip in her conversation with Simon and being okay with being a vampire. Regardless This video is insanely well done and incredible, well done!
Oh there's TONS of other tarot cards you could tie into the analysis (The Lovers for example is extremely obvious), but then this video would never end! I'm happy other people are pointing out stuff like that which I didn't cover, because Adventure Time often is as deep as you wanna dive (which is to say, it often can feel like a bottomless pit - which is why I love the show so much).
This has made me look at tarot in a different light. I normally group it with every other bs mysticism used to take money from the ignorant and desperate, but I can see a a secular use for it now. Rather than being used to tell someone things about themselves, they can be used to allow a person to view themselves from very specific angles. It has the potential to inspire introspective lines of thought, maybe even to a therapeutic sense.
this is a rather late comment, but i wanted to point out the magician in relation to the vampire king, as that’s the tarot connection i’ve always drawn. visually the VK seems inspired by the magician with his white suit and red cape resembling the magician’s white robe and red cloak. the magician represents power, something VK is rife with. it is card 1 in the major arcana, the number of new beginnings. VK is unafraid of change and openly welcomes it, both in doing away with the old rules upon his people’s return and desiring a new outcome for his fate as he surrenders his vampire essence. marceline seeks a new beginning throughout the entirety of stakes, and at VK’s behest changes her seemingly inevitable course of action. the end of stakes, after absorbing the dark cloud that the VK’s vampire effluvium became, we find marceline in another new beginning, as a vampire once again but changed by what she experienced while mortal. above the magician’s head is an infinity symbol, and around his waist is a snake biting its own tail. this seems to tie into not only VK’s immortality, but his and marceline’s knowledge of the cyclical nature of their timelines and the universe. the magician reversed represents manipulation, something VK is capable of, not only with his power, but in convincing marceline and the gang to remove his vampire essence knowing the disastrous outcome that would follow. reversed the magician card also represents poor planning, something we see in the way marceline hastily attacks the vampire king to no fruition. btw i loved your video!!! an absolute dream for a tarot reader whose comfort character is marceline
This video is amazing! I admire your ability to dig into this show and analyse details that nobody else has ever examined to such a thorough extent. As someone who's always been sniffy about tarot cards because of their association with mysticism, it was refreshing to have that preconception pushed aside so that the symbolism behind them could actually be explored. It goes to show that there's still so much of this show that has never been put under the microscope. I also loved your music choices. I think that's one thing that has really made this video stand out from previous ones. I have never heard an analysis video with such a well thought-out score and it adds a lot. And I'm glad the accidental lipsync at 16:14 made it into the final cut :p
Just so you'd know, I'm binging your videos every couple of months and every time I come back I am reminded of how amazing your analysis is . I hope you are doing better! :)
I started watching adventure time early this year after seeing your hall of egress analysis in my recommended. It's so great that there's still content being created, and people discussing the show.
The editing(music choice in particular) during the moon was chilling. I kept on getting distracted by the vocals in the song. I even got confused if it was the music or someone outside saying something ambiguous coz of how low volume it was. Very cool song choice considering the theme of delusion the moon embodies
It was the "Imagination A Dream" song from the series finale I think you're referring to. Part of the lyrics include "I dream of a kiss" and I timed that part to when PB and Marceline are on-screen; dunno how many people caught that particular bit.
Woo! I love this! Glad to have you post again! Also, you mention the vampire king in relation to the Egyptian Sphinx but I do think it is worth noting that Greek sphinxes unlike Egyptian sphinxes do have bird elements to them so perhaps the vampire king is a call back to that too.
I think the fool staying with the king is a literal way of saying "The loyal and dim will stay by your side" Along with that, the moon is a vampire of course but all vampires have the duality They are humans, or civilized, but they also hunt and bring suffering like a feral beast. That's why she is so powerful, it's because she embodies the concept of vampires and then also in her inconsistency She is intune with what she is, as a vampire, not wanting more or less. She also seems sweet and kind but her true nature is cold and nerve wracking, something not consistent with her appearance
What an amazing analysis. Marceline is such a dearly character to me, couldn't help feeling (very) emotional towards the and of the video. I had no idea about those origins. Thank you for that!
Your video came to me at a hardtime in my life when i felt like marceline and i felt i was able to see myself in Marceline in the series. And to take heart from her journey and from your awesome perspective! Thank you!
These Adventure Time videos from you always bring me so much Joy ☺️ You always go into so much detail and explore things I hadn't even considered. Thanks for the amazing content!
so sorry that you have been struggling Elk. Your work analyzing the best show made will always be appreciate and loved by us loyal fans. reach out it you need us. I think i speak for us all. We are here for you always
There's also the moment when PB asks Finn & Jake if they know what hubris is and Finn makes a reference to Anubis instead (and later mispronounces hubris in the clip you showed)
