Adventure Time Lore Episode Guide: Which Episodes You Can Skip (2024)

The 10-season fantasy series Adventure Time contains a whopping 283 episodes, but not all of them connect to the show's rich lore. For some viewers, a story-centered watch of the series is more compelling than just following Finn and Jake on their tangential adventures. However, it can be understandably difficult to sift through what's required Adventure Time viewing and what's a little more light on the plot. Finn, a burgeoning hero, and Jake, a shape-shifting dog, live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where candy-people rule kingdoms and vampires strum bass guitars.

The show certainly boasts its own brand of weird, but Adventure Time is also rooted in a thoughtful, richly imagined storyline — one that augments its unique world-building and characters. While there's no "right" way to watch the series, viewers who are looking for more of a traditional narrative arc may want to trim down their viewing to a handful of episodes per season. Although that might mean missing out on some of Adventure Time's best quotes and character-building moments, it can certainly be done.

Which Adventure Time Episodes You Need To Watch

For The Lore, Viewers Should Focus On These Chapters

Starting with Adventure Time season 1, episode 5, "The Enchiridion," is a great choice for newcomers and lore-seekers. A kind of manual with multiversal connections, the Enchiridion's introduction is a great starting point — for numerous reasons. From there, viewers will want to focus on episodes that introduce key characters and tease the biggest elements of their backstories. While Adventure Time's timeline may seem a bit daunting at first, focusing on lore-filled episodes will help newcomers keep track of big moments. That said, lore-lovers should focus on the following episodes:

• Season 1: "The Enchiridion," "Prisoners of Love," "My Two Favorite People," "Memories of Boom Boom Mountain," "Evicted!," "Ocean of Fear," "Freak City," "His Hero."
• Season 2: "It Came from the Nightosphere," "Her Parents," "The Real You," "Death in Bloom," "Mystery Train," "Mortal Folly," and "Mortal Recoil."
• Season 3: "Memory of Memory," "What Was Missing," "The New Frontier," "Holly Jolly Secrets," "Dad's Dungeon."
• Season 4: "Return to the Nightosphere," "Daddy's Little Monster," "Sons of Mars," "I Remember You," and "The Lich, Part 1."
• Season 5: "Finn the Human," "Jake the Dog," "All the Little People," "Jake the Dad," "Simon and Marcy," "One Last Job," "Sky Which," "Frost & Fire," Blade of Grass," "Rattleballs," "Betty," and "Lemonhope, Parts 1 & 2."
• Season 6: "Wake Up," "Escape from the Citadel," "Breezy," "Joshua & Margaret Investigations," "Is That You?," "Evergreen," "Astral Plane," "Gold Stars," "The Vistor," "Hoots," "You Forgot Your Floaties," "Be Sweet," "Orgalorg," "On the Lam," "Hot Diggity Doom," and "The Comet."
• Season 7: "Bonnie & Neddie," "Varmints," "Stakes" (Episodes 6–13), "The More You Moe The Moe You Know," Kings Ransom," "Crossover," "Flute Spell,"
• Season 8: "Broke His Crown," "Don't Look," "Lady Rainicorn of the Crystal Dimension," "I am a Sword," "Bun Bun," "Normal Man," "Elemental," "The Music Hole," "Daddy-Daughter Card Wars," "Pre-boot," "Reboot," "Two Swords," "Do No Harm," "Wheels," "High Strangeness," "Jelly Beans Have Power" and "Islands, Parts 1–8."
• Season 9: "Elements, Parts 1–8," "Abstract," "Whispers," "Three Buckets,"
• Season 10: "Always BMO Closing," "Bonnibel Bubblegum," "Seventeen," "Marcy & Hunson," "The First Investigation," "Jake the Starchild," "Temple of Mars," "Gumbaldia," and "Come Along With Me."

It's challenging to whittle down Adventure Time to its "core" episodes. For each viewer, that has a different meaning, especially depending upon which supporting characters they gravitate toward or if they find minor plot references crucial enough to include in a lore-watch.

What Adventure Time Episodes You Can Skip

These One-Off Episodes Are Fun, But Don't Necessarily Feed Into The Lore

Some of Adventure Time's best episodes aren't exactly required viewing for folks who want to focus on lore and story elements. For example, the fan-favorite Fionna and Cake episodes don't necessarily have a huge impact on the show's core narrative. While the titular characters are great and add some color to the Adventure Time world, they aren't as essential to the original series as characters like the Lich. Other iconic episodes, like the recurring "Graybles" chapters, tease future plotlines and are fun, but won't make or break one's understanding of the series.

Which Adventure Time Spinoffs You Need To Watch

Distant Lands & Fionna & Cake, Explained

After the original series ended, the Adventure Time spinoff Distant Lands, which comprises four hour-long streaming television specials, aired on Max. More like character studies, none of the Distant Lands episodes feel particularly essential to the Adventure Time lore. However, each episode no doubt enriches the Land of Ooo and Adventure Time's characters. For fans of Bubblegum and Marceline, "Obsidian" fills in some crucial gaps, while "Together Again" closes out Finn's story. Similarly, the alternate-universe spinoff isn't something the original Adventure Time hinges on.

As of June 2024, Adventure Time and its spinoffs are streaming on Max.

Adventure Time

Animation

Adventure

Action

Where to Watch

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Adventure Time is a science fiction/fantasy animation from Cartoon Network. Adventure Time follows Finn (Jeremy Shada) and his dog Jake (John DiMaggio) as they go on adventures in the near future. The series was created by Pendleton Ward and ran for a total of 10 seasons on the network. Adventure Time was critically acclaimed while it was on the air and managed to pull in younger audiences, as well as adults.

Cast

Tom Kenny , Hynden Walch , Jeremy Shada , John DiMaggio , Niki Yang

Release Date

May 10, 2010

Seasons

10

Network

Cartoon Network

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu , HBO Max

Franchise(s)

Adventure Time

Writers

Pendleton Ward

Directors

Pendleton Ward

Showrunner

Pendleton Ward