The Land of Ooo is a lot of things. It’s the post-apocalyptic husk of the planet Earth we know today. It’s a magical world full of talking candy and friendly vampires. And, of course, it’s the setting of Adventure Time. But one thing Ooo typically isn’t is a dystopia. Until now.
In the Adventure Time series finale, which aired a little over five years ago in September 2018, we were introduced to a pair of characters named Beth and Shermy living roughly 1,000 years after the events of the original series. We didn’t learn much about the world (their story was really just a framing device for the actual finale), but in the final episodes of the sequel series Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, we learn a whole lot more — and some of it is pretty dark.
Who are Beth and Shermy in Adventure Time?
We don’t know much about Beth and Shermy, except that they seem to fill the spiritual role of Jake and Finn at this point in the show’s timeline. Beth is very clearly a descendant of Jake the Dog and the pups he had with Lady Rainicorn (a rainbow/unicorn species that comes from the crystal dimension). Meanwhile, Shermy is a cat-like creature who some fans believe to be the reincarnation of Finn, but that’s just a theory.
Beth and Shermy live in Marceline’s old house and seemingly spend most of their time going on adventures and collecting loot. That’s about all we knew about them until Fionna and Cake Episode 7.
Fionna and Cake and Beth and Shermy
In Fionna and Cake Episode 7, we return to the world of Beth and Shermy, who are in the middle of a dangerous mission. They’ve infiltrated a dystopian-looking city seemingly controlled by Gibbon (another descendant of Jake) and covered all the buildings with graffiti. As the story picks up, they’re being chased through a building by a squad of enemies in robot suits.
After Beth and Shermy make their escape, we also get a look at their master plan, which clearly lays out how they intend to take down Gibbon. The final item visible on the list hints at a desire to install a democratic parliament to replace Gibbon’s autocratic rule.
From here, Beth and Shermy’s mission gets sidetracked due to the main story of Fionna and Cake. I won’t get into that here in case you still haven’t watched the finale, but I will point out one more example of why the Land of Ooo has become a dystopia.
When Beth and Shermy later journey to a library, we learn that in this world, books are basically just video games with guns for handles.
Yep. Dystopia.
