Adventure Time (S01E16)

Episode #016
'Ocean Of Fear'
Season 1, Episode 16

An adventure ending on a beach leads to Finn coming to realize his overwhelming fear of the ocean. His fear manifests itself as a ghostly figure that feeds on his inability to conquer this phobia. Finn then asks for Jake's help with it, whose methods for curing this fear are unconventional to say the least.

Finn's desperate attempts to conquer any adversity without hesitation and his total inability to do so here makes for some incredibly funny moments, especially when Jake utilizes some very questionable methods to help him with it. His overwhelming phobia is palpable: anyone with an extreme fear can understand how Finn is feeling in this episode, and the resolution isn't as simple as curing him of this crippling debilitation. Allowing Finn to have and accept this "flaw" helps flesh out his character, giving more depth to him and making his underwater heroics all the more admirable. The animation for Finn's manifestation is pretty creepy, and the deep sea visual design is great to look at. I enjoy character-building episodes in shows, and this is one of the finest early examples of one for Finn. There are a few absolutely hilarious moments throughout this episode, and the ending is thoughtful and important. Characters shouldn't ever be perfect, and forcing a hero to confront his problems headlong and come out troubled in the end is a great way to demonstrate that fear is an important aspect of life, and you sometimes just need to face it to grow as a person -- even if you can't truly conquer it in the end.