Adventure Time Turns 14 Today: 14 Most Nostalgic Episodes to Rebinge

With a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a plethora of great reviews from a wide range of audiences, Adventure Time remains one of the best animated shows of the 21st century.

Thanks to the show’s unique way of covering the most important topics in the simplest way through colorful characters, Adventure Time has captured the hearts and minds of many people, gained a huge following, and remains just as relevant years after its finale.

If you want to celebrate the show's birthday (it first premiered on April 5 in 2010) in the most fun way possible, here are 14 episodes to rewatch for 14 years of Adventure Time magic.

Adventure Time (Pilot)

Aired on a Nicktoon channel in 2007, Adventure Time first introduced its main characters, Jake the Dog, Finn the Human (then introduced as Pen), Princess Bubblegum and the Ice King through a little damsel-in-distress story. In just 7 minutes of animation, the story became a hit and led to the creation of the entire series.

The Enchiridion! (Season 1, Episode 5)

Although the characters have changed over the years, the principles that Finn learned in this episode have remained the same. The most difficult quest led to the most important lesson: learning to make the right choices, even when they're the hardest. Satisfying the wishes of the princesses is a close second.

It Came From the Nightosphere (Season 2, Episode 1)

Everything about this episode is just perfect. First of all, we get to enjoy the dramatic backstory of Marceline's origins, which definitely adds to her complexity as a character. Secondly, this episode is the one that gave fans one of the best Adventure Time OSTs, Daddy, Why Did You Eat My Fries. A song that certainly speaks to many.

Death in Bloom (Season 2, Episode 17)

Death is one of the most difficult subjects to portray in an animated series in a way that isn't too jokey, but also doesn't send the kids into a mental spiral. Adventure Time did the best they could: they embraced the nonsense of the universe and sent Finn and Jake on an afterlife adventure, accompanied by heavy metal music.

Heat Signature (Season 2, Episode 26)

Another fun episode made by Marceline's mischievous presence. When Jake and Finn ask Marceline to turn them into vampires, she agrees. But since she is not really interested in having them as her subjects, she tricks them into believing that they are instead. And it turns out to be one of the best Adventure Time pranks ever.

What Was Missing (Season 3, Episode 10)

To say that this episode is an Adventure Time classic would be an understatement. It is everything you would expect from the teamwork scenario of the children's show, but elevated to teach about the importance of open communication and trust. Bonus points for all the Marceline/Bubblegum shippers: this episode got us off to a solid start.

I Remember You (Season 4, Episode 25)

One thing Adventure Time has never failed to do is surprise its viewers. Towards the end of the fourth season, the show introduced the idea of a long history between Marceline and the Ice King, and many were completely shocked by the idea. At least both Jake and Finn were there to share the same range of emotions.

Bad Little Boy (Season 5, Episode 11)

Fionna and Cake have done more to Adventure Time than their original versions ever could, since the gender-bended characters still remain among the fan favorites. However, the story told by Marceline stands ten times above the one written by the Ice King, simply because of how much fun she allows the characters to have.

Food Chain (Season 6, Episode 7)

Thanks to the guest animator Masaaki Yuasa, this episode stands out from the rest in terms of graphics, but fits in perfectly with an educational message wrapped in the most bizarre set of situations. Learning about nature's food chain, Jake and Finn transform into a whole variety of creatures, and the viewers just can’t take their eyes away from it.

Stakes (Season 7, Episodes 6-13)

This is not a single episode, of course, but it would have been criminal not to include Stakes as part of the rewatch. The miniseries, which follows the team's adventures after Bubblegum removes the vampire essence from Marceline, is one of the most important parts of her character's story.

Islands (Season 8, Episodes 20-27)

The whole journey of the Islands is just as important to Finn, as Stakes was to Marcy, however, it all culminates in the final episode, Islands: The Light Cloud. The choice that Finn makes to stay with his newly created, chosen family, instead of his biological mother is an important lesson that everyone needs to learn at some point.

Jake the Starchild (Season 10, Episode 10)

Speaking of origin stories, Jake's is just as worthy of attention. Besides, it finally takes the sad pressure off and throws the viewer into space. It turns out that for most of the series we had no idea what Jake was really capable of, but this episode quickly showed the best of his elastic abilities.

Bonnibel Bubblegum (Season 10, Episode 4)

For many seasons, fans have grown attached to the Candy Kingdom and its leader, but never really learned how it came to be. This episode remedied that, telling a wonderful story of Bubblegum's determination and filling in another missing piece of the puzzle before the grand finale.

Come Along With Me (Season 10, Episode 13)

Of course, the last episode had to show the last battle the team had to fight. The Great Gum War, narrated by BMO, will forever be the key element in the Adventure Time story, just like the kiss that Marceline and Bubblegum shared when the former thought the latter was mortally wounded. A perfect ending to a perfect story.