From 2010 to 2018, Adventure Time's best episodes have redefined the possibilities of animated storytelling. Across 10 seasons and 283 episodes, Finn, Jake, and the residents of the Land of Ooo have made a home in the hearts and minds of those who remember the cartoon fondly. Not surprisingly, Adventure Time has garnered 8 Primetime Emmys, a Peabody Award, 2 British Academy Children's Awards, and several other accolades for its many accomplishments.
Similar to its contemporaries on Cartoon Network such as Regular Show, Teen Titans Go!, and Steven Universe, Adventure Time juxtaposes cheerful, children's show visuals with humor, emotional stories, and overarching themes that remain deeply relatable to everyone from older kids to adults of all ages. Yet, even when compared to these classic Cartoon Network shows from the 2010s, Adventure Time remains unparalleled in terms of sheer originality, world-building, and relatability. Here are Adventure Time's best episodes ever.
15 S6, Ep 19 - Is That You?
After Prismo dies, Finn and Jake perform a memorial, but Jake is then transported to a different, timeless reality. Finn must use an imposter who is in Jake's place to track down the original. After a series of events, Prismo is resurrected, and Finn and Jake return home. An underrated gem among Adventure Time's best episodes, "Is That You?" is bold in its presentation and features excellent storytelling. It also sees Finn trying everything he can to save Jake, which is one of the reasons Finn and Jake are best friends. Furthermore, fans were excited to know that Prismo was indeed still alive, as he is a fan favorite.
14 S7, Ep 23 - Crossover
In a previous episode, an alternate reality, known as Farmworld, is shown, one in which the Lich never existed. In "Crossover," Finn and Jake must travel to this reality to stop the Lich-possessed Farmworld Jake from opening a portal to the multiverse and potentially destroying it. After some time, they team up with Farmworld Finn, who had previously been working with Lich-Jake. Undoubtedly one of Adventure Time's best episodes, "Crossover" reminds audiences again of the danger of the Lich, arguably the show's greatest villain. The story is especially heartbreaking at the end when Farmworld Finn seeks to be reunited with his family, something that Finn has been seeking for the entirety of the series.
13 S8, Ep 24 - Islands Part 5: Hide And Seek
In the season 8 episode "Islands Part 5: Hide and Seek," Susan Strong begins to remember her life that she had since forgotten. Susan had for a long time been a mysterious character, since before meeting her, Finn believed himself to be the last human in Ooo. While it was not confirmed until later that she is indeed human, the show teased this early on, albeit with few other details about who Susan is. This deeper look into the mysterious character helps to put the pieces together surrounding other humans, especially Finn and his origins, making it one of Adventure Time's best episodes.
12 S7, Ep12 - Stakes Part 7: Checkmate
When the Vampire King confronts the main characters, he says he wishes to no longer be a vampire, which the group assists him in achieving. Upon attempting to dispose of his vampiric essence, Peppermint Butler spills it and creates The Dark Cloud. As the penultimate episode in the "Stakes" miniseries, "Checkmate" sets up the final episode in the arc excellently, leaving it on a cliffhanger. It is also among Adventure Time's best episodes because of the conflicts within the characters and their initial reluctance to help the Vampire King, which set up great dramatic moments. "Stakes Part 8: The Dark Cloud" may be the climax of the arc, but "Checkmate" is where the real action is.
11 S8, Ep 26 - Islands Part 7: Helpers
At Founder's Island, Finn, Jake, Susan Strong, and BMO finally find Finn's mom, Minerva. However, they also find out that Minerva made robot clones of herself to help people when her colleague Dr. Gross had unleashed a virus that decimated the population. She also had to sacrifice her body and upload her mind into a computer. The ending is bitter-sweet, as Finn has been reunited with his mother, but she is now too protective to allow him to leave. Minerva's journey and the brutal look at the plague that destroyed much of the population are terrifying compared to what's usually shown in the series, but it's what makes "Helpers" one of Adventure Time's best episodes.
10 S5, Ep1 - Jake The Dog
Through the ironic twist of a wish granted by Prismo, Finn is trapped in an alternate world where the Lich never existed. Meanwhile, Jake watches Finn's wish pan out on Prismo's TV on mute while chilling with Prismo. Cosmic Owl joins them and accidentally unmutes the tv, revealing to Jake that Finn is actually in real trouble. Later, Jake wishes to have the Lich wish for Jake and Finn to go back home to Ooo. Setting up what happens in "Crossover," "Jake the Dog" is one of Adventure Time's best episodes for cleverly using the show's strange cosmic rules to stage a truly unique fight between Finn, Jake, and the Lich.
9 S8, Ep25 - Islands Part 6: Min and Marty
This episode shows how Finn's mother - a helper - and his father - a hider - meet and fall in love. They lived on Founder's Island and Martin would trade gadgets for getting people off the island. He also worked both sides and called the seekers on his marks. One job went awry and he ended up with broken legs in the hospital under Minerva's care, and they eventually fell in love and had Finn. One day, while Minerva was at work, the people that Martin had conned came back for him, and he escaped with Finn into the sea."Min and Marty" ranks highly among Adventure Time's best episodes for poignantly revealing Finn's origin story.
8 S3, Ep10 - What Was Missing
"What Was Missing" has a secure place among Adventure Time's best episodes for several reasons. After the Door Lord steals personal keepsakes from Finn, Jake, BMO, Marceline, and Princess Bubblegum, they pursue the creature until they are held back by a mysterious and grandiose door. Above the door are carved words that read, "This door shall yield to no command, save from a song from a genuine band." This is followed by the heroes forming a band and singing songs that unravel the relationships between them, eventually culminating in a cathartic number that finally answers "What Was Missing."
7 S6, Ep1 - Escape From The Citadel
After being imprisoned at the Citadel for universal crimes, the Lich makes the crystal cages rot and all the prisoners break free, including Finn's father, Martin. While escaping, Martin gets shot through the leg and has Finn grab some guardian sap to heal it. When the Lich comes for Finn, he throws some of the sap at him and turns him from a skeleton into a fleshy baby. Martin escapes without reconciling with his son, and in the process, Finn loses his arm. One of Adventure Time's best episodes, "Escape From the Citadel" not only sees a dark confrontation between Finn and the Lich, but also Finn beginning to come to terms with his father's true nature.
6 S7, Ep7 - Stakes Part 2: Everything Stays
This episode is part of an eight-episode arc about how Marceline is trying to become human. The arc reveals itself in flashbacks starting from when she is a little girl with her mother, to when she is with Simon after the crown took its hold on him. "Stakes Part 2: Everything Stays" also shows her figuring out that she can inhale the powers of the other vampires she kills. Marceline roams the forest and eventually becomes friends with the last humans while still ridding the world of vampires and gaining their powers. Several episodes give Marceline some backstory, but this is among Adventure Time's best episodes for revealing the anguish she endured and how she became herself.
5 S6, Ep17 - Food Chain
Adventure Time's best episodes are typically weirder even by the show's standards, a description that best applies to "Food Chain." At the Museum of Natural History in Ooo, Finn and Jake become trapped in a montage of the cycle of life, transforming into a variety of interrelated animals, insects, plants, and microscopic life. Animated by Mind Game's Masaaki Yuasa, "Food Chain" is a visual journey which reveals that, even though the Land of Ooo has been forever changed by the Mushroom War, the Earth's natural and most basic laws remain firmly intact.
4 S10, Ep13 - Come Along With Me
The series finale starts 1000 years in the future with Shermy and Beth the Pup Princess finding Finn's metal arm. They decide to ask the King of Ooo about it and end up scaling a very tall mountain to find BMO with a crown. They ask the King if he knows anything about the arm and he proceeds to tell them it belonged to a great hero and the epic tale of how he and his many friends save Ooo a very long time ago. Without giving too much away, "Come Along With Me" is one of Adventure Time's best episodes for doing the impossible: giving Cartoon Network's most beloved show a satisfying ending.
3 S4, Ep25 - I Remember You
Ice King decides that in order to get all the princesses to like him, he needs to write some excellent music. He also read that, "ladies are drawn to bros with tortured pasts." So, he flies down to his past room and grabs his scrapbook, drum set, and keyboard, and heads over to the cave home of Marceline, whom Ice King knows is a great musician. Unquestionably one of Adventure Time's best episodes, "I Remember You" then sees Ice King and Marceline forming a band while simultaneously unearthing their shared origin story through kept memorabilia. "I Remember You" is an emotional trip that finally sees Ice King transcend beyond being just a cookie-cutter antagonist.
2 S5, Ep16 - Puhoy
Many of Adventure Time's best episodes cleverly stuff entire standalone epics within the show's 11-minute format without ever feeling compressed. Nowhere is this more apparent than in episodes such as "Puhoy." After a knife storm forces BMO, Jake, and Finn to entertain themselves inside the Treehouse by making a pillow fort, Finn retreats inside the fort and discovers the Pillow World hidden deep within. There, Finn spends his entire life trying to get back home, but also while being a hero and raising his own family of pillow people, eventually growing old. Despite the lighthearted final twist, "Puhoy" leaves permanent scars in the heart of anyone who sees it.
1 S7, Ep24 - The Hall Of Egress
The Hall of Egress is the single greatest puzzle that Finn the Human ever faced in Adventure Time. In what is largely considered as Adventure Time's best episode, Finn faces a dungeon that can only be exited when he closes his eyes and walks through the mazes in his mind. However, whenever he makes it out and opens his eyes, he finds himself right back to where he started the puzzle. Eventually, Finn figures out the solution, but only after a long journey that tests his mind, body, and spirit. The compelling universal themes of "The Hall of Egress" also make it equally watchable to both long-time Adventure Time viewers and those completely new to the cartoon.