Simon Petrikov and Living Despite
Ever since the series finale of the Adventure Time spinoff ‘Fionna and Cake’, I’ve been ruminating on its exploration of self-worth; how the new series expands on this idea organically from the main one, specifically though the character of Simon Petrikov. Adventure Time is special in the sense that it’s one of the few long-running story-focused cartoons, which allows its audience to literally grow up alongside the characters. Throughout its run, the idea of self-worth has been challenged through different perspectives with multiple characters.
For instance, there’s the dichotomy presented in the early stages of the relationship between Princess Bubblegum and Marceline. Bubblegum had always defined her worth as her intelligence and competency, thus getting in the way of her relationship with Marceline when proving herself became her priority. Marceline, on the other hand, was fickle and flighty and left the relationship before it could be done to her, possibly due to the childhood trauma of all her parental figures ‘abandoning’ her (this is a fun cartoon).
One of the great joys of the show is seeing them figure themselves out as people, and reconnecting along the way. Gradually throughout the seasons, Bubblegum opens up to Marcy and vice-versa and finding each other again helps them find more of themselves. PB especially eventually relinquishes her position of power in order to spend more time with Marceline, effectively marking her shift in priorities and the quelling of the need to define herself by her crown.
Hence, the writers’ decision to dig deeper into Simon’s perception of himself in Fionna and Cake provides a different and interesting perspective on the topic. Whilst Bubblegum banks all of her worth on her abilities (leading to the collapse of her relationship), Simon simply doesn’t believe he has worth outside of his own with Betty. This is only exacerbated by the fact that, having regained his sanity, he’s the only person in the current day displaced in time — a relic from the 21st century that no one actually knows — making him crave Betty’s presence all the more desperately.
This is shown as none of the characters familiar to the audience seem to properly get Simon. They all know him as The Ice King and constantly reference how fun he was back then, or how he seemed so much happier. How he could make stories and tell tales of whimsy. How now he’s just sad and boring and has panic attacks. Even Finn, though well meaning, only ever knew Simon when he was the Ice King and lacks an understanding of his situation; this also indirectly feeds into Simon’s insecurities as it potentially leads him to wonder if Ice King would get along with Finn better than he would.
What the citizens of Ooo cannot seem to comprehend is the fact that Simon isn’t the Ice King, and the Ice King wasn’t always happy. It’s often played for laughs in the original series (with an undertone of tragedy, as per Adventure Time fashion), but the Ice King’s whole thing is that he’s lonely. His penchant for kidnapping princesses is born out of a subconsious longing for Betty, whom Simon nicknamed his ‘princess’. However, he has no knowledge of ever being Simon. He’s a shell of a person that others seem to know, trying to be known and respected as his own person too.
Therefore, upon Simon’s return, he is ironically placed in the same position that Ice King was in even though he’s the ‘original’. This underscores the tragedy of Simon/Ice King. Only one of them can exist and the one that was left was Simon. As the one left, Simon doesn’t know what to do.
In addition, Simon’s inability to identify with The Ice King and IK’s inability to remember Simon has regularly been read as an allegory for a person struggling with dementia, further emphasising the isolation and his sense of displacement. This is also underscored by the fact that Simon likely suffers from survivor’s guilt (a symptom of PTSD) through witnessing the love of his life become the Adventure Time equivalent of God to save him. Thus, his decision at the beginning of Fionna and Cake to put the crown in order to save them is a heroic action that resonates well with his views on his worth. If he can’t live with himself, he might as well go out doing something for someone worth more than him. Putting on the crown would effectively erase himself in the process.
Running parallel to Simon’s arc is Betty’s, who similarly has issues with self-worth. For context, in the original series, Betty goes mad trying to save Simon from the Ice King’s insanity and in the episode ‘Temple of Mars’, is forced to confront the reality of her relationship with Simon. When told that she should focus on herself, she questions: “Can I though? I’ve spent so much time dedicated to Simon that I’m not sure there’s a me left anymore”. This is taken to the extreme when she sacrifices herself in order to protect him, her obsession with him resolving in the dissolution of herself.
The lines are fuzzy and blurred between what constitutes her agency and her obsession. Questions arise such as if Simon should let her make the sacrifice and respect her wish to keep him safe by not trying to undo it, even as putting on the crown again (and therefore erasing himself) is tempting. Should he try to bring her back, swap places somehow so that she can live, especially when he feels like he deserves to die? Should she be able to make the decision when they’re on unequal footing — when despite all the love that exists between them, there’s a clear imbalance in their relationship?
I thought that it was fascinating the extent to which that imbalance was emphasised in Fionna and Cake. Betty knowing Simon as ‘Doctor Petrikov’ and attending his lecture, Betty abandoning her entire life for him, The Winter King going “that’s not how I remember it” when Simon brought up Betty being the love of their lives.
Thus, Simon’s realisation of this — the fact that the love they had wasn’t perfect and that he donked up by not being more receptive of Betty’s needs — allows both him and Betty to move on. They as new and changed beings, as man and god, find peace and acknowledge their issues. The love remains because it always will, but the co-dependency and the obsession — the defining themselves solely though the other — is past them.
Simon’s final words to her (“You were everything”) is tinged with a melancholic acceptance. It’s a declaration of love but an acknowledgement, as cemented by the past-tense, that their time is up. Betty’s “You were a wonderful experience” creates a similar sentiment; the word ‘experience’ refers to a temporary sensation, a recognition that in this universe at least, their relationship couldn’t last. The fact that despite her suffering, Simon is still rendered ‘wonderful’ in Betty’s eyes merely deepens the tragedy.
It is not just through his resolution with Betty that Simon realises his worth.
A universe the show visits is one where Simon dies in the Great Mushroom war, leading to Marceline’s surrogate dad becoming the Vampire King instead of him. This has catastrophic effects on the rest of Ooo, turning it into a dying population over-run with Vampires, Marceline becoming the very thing that our Marceline dedicated her life to destroy. Simon with his wonderfully low self-esteem cannot recognise his impact and it takes Fionna to suggest to him that Marcy turned out this way because “she didn’t have a you in this universe”.
Importantly, this highlights nothing but Simon’s own character and personality. His worth is not earned because he takes care of Marceline because he didn’t build his worth on it. Inversely, as shown when he doesn’t open up to our Marceline due to not wanting to disrupt her date with PB, he severely underestimates how much Marcy cares about him and needs him around. Something like adopting a half-vampire kid and being a good father to her comes naturally to him as he believes that’s what any kid would deserve.
Worth isn’t something earned. It isn’t a multiversal constant or Fate for him to save everyone — that’s not his purpose. But it’s clear how much he’s had an impact on people by just being himself. Simon’s a dad! It’s what he does. This is only emphasised through the way he cares for Fionna, telling her stories painful to him just so that she’d feel better.
Ultimately, through help (and therapy!) the series ends with Simon in a better place with himself. Instead of a self-destructive heroism, he saves Fionna through a dandelion wish handed to him by Golbetty, symbolising hope, healing and resilience. He’s resolved to stay alive and figure out how to live again.
Nothing that he originally wanted to be fixed is fixed; he’s still a man living outside of his time and Betty has moved on. But he has a new perspective now. And a bunch of really cool people that he wouldn’t mind sharing this life with.
