Ship of Betty, or how everything stays but still changes.
An essay on Betty Grof and Fionna and Cake finale.
1,1k words.
But we must consider by what name anything is called when we inquire concerning the Identity of it... so that a Ship, which signifies Matter so figured, will be the same, as long as the Matter remains the same; but if no part of the Matter is the same, then it is Numerically another Ship; and if part of the Matter remains, and part is changed, then the Ship will be partly the same, and partly not the same.
Hobbes (1656). “On Identity and Difference”.
When the Greek hero Theseus returned from his quest across the sea, Athenians kept his ship from decomposing by replacing its wood planks throughout the years. The conundrum posed by philosophers was based on whether it remained the same vessel Theseus once had sailed with, extrapolating to tackle the study of identity. This thought experiment is alluded to in episode 5 “Destiny”, when Simon refers to Farmworld Finn’s hunter’s stew as a “veritable soup of Theseus”. Although probably just a witty remark from a professor well-versed in Earth’s ancient world, a sprinkle to connect with the audience and their reality, this metaphor may be useful to explain and understand a not-so-exhaustively explored character: Betty, later Golbetty.
Since the first mention of Betty, her character has revolved around identity: who is Betty mentioned in Ice King’s secret tapes? Later, during the episode bearing her name, Betty becomes known to the viewers. However, her quest to save her lover will doom her to madness and the progressive loss of self, culminating with physical disappearance when willingly fusing with Golb. It isn’t until Fionna and Cake that we see how her self-sacrificing nature had also existed before magical threats, and its seed to the tragic relationship that weighs plot-wise in both shows.
However, we never truly meet Betty. We don’t even see her.
The Betty we meet in Adventure Time is first a photo, then a person that doesn’t belong to the present, since she comes from the past. She exists outside her time thanks to love and impulsiveness, traits that keep us from seeing the Betty that lived before the Mushroom War. Even when her mind and body are reverted right before fusing with Golb, there is no glimpse of the person she was. Only her implacable commitment and devotion remain, which only blurry her image.
Simon’s reminiscences could have been the only way we could truly meet Betty, but the episode “Jerry” reveals they might not be reliable, given his blindness to her sacrifices. This is reinforced when, in the same episode, Simon says goodbye to his brain and Betty answers. She is, quite literally, his mind, but also suggests that the Betty in his memories lives inside him—we see and hear Simon’s Betty, glossed with time and longing.
We, as viewers, could have never met Betty. However, after fusing with Golb, is Betty still there?
That’s the question Simon poses in “Casper & Nova”. Is Betty in Golb? Even just a little? There are many visual keys that hint she is, in fact, present. For example, the shape of the upper pair of eyes and ribbons resembling those of her wizard’s attire we find in Golbetty. Behaviorally, we can deduce it from her commitment to protect Simon from Scarab. However, other compelling evidence and important dialogues suggest otherwise.
At the beginning of the end, episode “Casper & Nova”, a blue butterfly welcomes Fionna to a nightmare or, as she suggests, an omen. Same with Simon in “Cheers”, when he returns to Ooo. Throughout religions, cultures and literature, blue butterflies are symbols of transformation, rebirth, departed souls, and messages from the dead. In context and with the eyes appearing on its wings, we can deduce that the butterfly is Betty taking another shape. She warns Fionna of the dangers of magic and kisses goodbye to Simon before flying away.
Both are messages carried by her remaining consciousness and, following the aforementioned interpretation, a manifestation of her reincarnated soul. Minutes before the last butterfly appearance, in “Cheers”, Simon addresses the chaos god as “Golbetty”, not as “Betty”, like he had done earlier. This happens after he sees Golbetty leave on the bus. In addition, the Betty statue in Fionna’s world is replaced by a Golbetty one. All instances mean to highlight Simon’s acceptance of the fact that Betty is gone.
Going back to the sister show finale, we can also argue that Golbetty’s actions in Fionna and Cake are only Betty’s wish carrying on. Protecting Simon is making him understand how what they had wasn’t healthy and, as visually explained with the dandelion imagery, letting him go. Once her wish is fulfilled, she seemingly moves on and appears as a butterfly and/or, as the bus destination in Simon’s mind translates, a comet.
The characters Casper and Nova are explicitly meant to be parallels of Simon and Betty, although their flaws when in a relationship are exaggerated to make the former understand what each failed to do. As we saw in “The Winter King”, for Simon is easier to grasp matters of his own emotional complexity when these are played out right before him. Besides this narrative purpose, Casper and Nova may also foresee the future when looking at their names. Names serve as an indicative of identity, as Hobbes says, and aptronyms are a literary device that stresses that matter.
Casper means “treasure bearer”, possibly alluding to the Ice King crown, Fionna’s world, Betty’s memories, and his wish to become an antiquarian. Now and then, in or out, “Casper” says “Simon”. For the name “Nova”, we find it means “new”, which we can immediately connect to Golbetty and Betty’s new lives. However, if we look at the definition given in the field of astronomy, the interpretation we can reach is even richer.
Nova. [noh-vee]
Astronomy.
A star that suddenly becomes thousands of times brighter and then gradually fades to its original intensity.
Dictionary.com
In “Jerry”, we see Golbetty shining brightly before shrinking and, possibly, being reincarnated as a butterfly. And following the butterfly symbolism and appearance, we can conclude that’s Betty’s essence or soul, her original intensity. Her next life might be that of a comet, as explained above, which matches both Betty’s bright personality and celestial theme.
Betty, throughout both shows, remains as she is: quick-witted, impulsive, selfless. But learns and changes, both physically and mentally. After fusing with Golb, she has assumed an existence that goes beyond time and space, godhood. She is beyond time and space, which allows her a deeper understanding of her relationship with Simon, and probably the universe as a whole. That’s why she becomes everything, and he an experience.
Using Hobbes’ vocabulary when considering the ship of Theseus dilemma, we could say that Betty’s Matter (body) won’t be the same as it doesn’t remain the same; there is a different Matter (Golb’s) which rebuilds the Ship (Golbetty). Betty’s physical features stay, like the glasses and ribbons, therefore, a part of Matter remains, but a part changes. Then, Golbetty is partly Golb, and partly Betty; partly the same, partly not the same. This is reinforced when inquiring about Identity, we must consider what something is called: from Betty and Golb, to Golbetty, to a butterfly, and soon a comet.
A new identity, a new name. Everything old that becomes now. Transformation, changes, metamorphosis; partly the same and partly different. Whatever her past was, or whatever she is to become, we can admit that Betty is a veritable ship of Theseus.
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I saw that someone pointed out the last thing Aziraphale tasted on Earth was Crowley but no one ever talks about how he was literally the last thing on Earth all of his senses experienced
The last thing he saw, heard, touched, tasted, smelled was all Crowley
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