But music can also be marked by such sadness. Music is a beautiful thing (there’s something about quality music that can touch the troubled soul it is the closest that we humans can probably get to pure emotion, after all). While the story itself seems rather silly, its message is surprisingly deep. Touched, Finn dubs the hole the winner of the contest. He sets off (accompanied by Jake and Lady Rainicorn) to find its source, and eventually discovers that the song is the product of a sentient pit (the titular “Music Hole”) that can only be heard by either those who possess a child-like sense of wonder, or those who have experienced loss. While listening to the contestants, however, Finn hears a mysterious song that no one else is able to hear. To cheer him up, Jake and Princess Bubblegum arrange for a battle of the bands-with the winner to be decided by Finn. In this episode, Finn is reeling from the loss of his Finn-Sword.

Perhaps “The Music Hole” will finally stem criticism that the show has lost its way, musically. While one need only point to such post-Sugar stand-outs like “Hanging Out Forever”, “Baby’s Building a Tower into Space”, “Food Chain”, “Little Brother”, and “Robot Cowboy” to see that such an proposition is silly, the “music criticism” is one that I come across time and time again.

It has been almost three years since Rebecca Sugar has left Adventure Time, and the fandom is still fond of decrying the show’s supposed musical degradation.

Directed by: Andres Salaff (supervising), Sandra Lee (art).

Storyboarded by: Polly Guo & Andres Salaff.

Story by: Derek Kirk Kim, Adam Muto, Pat McHale, Kent Osborne, Jack Pendarvis, Pendleton Ward.

Music hole adventure time voice actor