wrt adventure time elements miniseries, i do wonder if fern was not at the treehouse when the spell occurred, which element he would’ve been most susceptible to. my instinct is to say ice since he’s a deeply troubled guy, but i wonder if it actually *would* be candy. the element both jake and finn lose themselves too actually seems to be the one that embodies their largest flaw, or the side of themselves they don’t necessarily want to see. like jake wanting to be a responsible other brother for finn, but being susceptible to falling into the sloth of slime. or finn wanting to be a righteous hero but being susceptible to the wrath of fire, due to just enjoying fighting so much.
the thing about fern is that his suffering isn’t some deeper layer like it was with jake (when he briefly succumbed to the ice), it’s the first thing you see with him. he spends most of his time wallowing alone on the roof. i do wonder, then, if his frustration with his candy self that we see in three buckets reflects that it’s exactly the element he would struggle to resist. the candy makes you uninhibited, in the same way intoxication might, allow you to let yourself go in a way that would feel deeply embarrassing once sober.
what are fern’s deepest desires and insecurities? he struggles with identity. he wants to be a hero. he wants to be happy. and crucially, he’s afraid of disappointing people. i think it’s possible that he would be susceptible to candy for that exact reason. he can’t let himself enjoy anything because he’s so afraid of letting people down. “i cant do anything right” is practically his catchphrase, but what’s the most notable thing about the candy quadrant? everyone there is always happy no matter what. nobody is ever upset no matter how wrong things go. fun and lemonpink get run over and are still smiling and laughing. by succumbing to candy, you live a joyful, carefree, friend-filled life without stakes. i think that would appeal to fern a LOT, even if he didn’t happen to be standing in that quadrant at the time.
