Tropes
- Alas, Poor Villain: The Episode. The entire third act is devoted to showing how Ice King was once a good man Driven to Madness by the power of his crown, to the point that even Finn and Jake can no longer bring themselves to hate him.
- Apocalyptic Log: The final tape in the Ice King's video diary shows how Simon Petrikov became the Ice King.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: After The Reveal, The Ice King's reaction to Finn and Jake learning how he went insane and became the sociopath he is. He is ashamed of his past self because he wore glasses.
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: After Finn and Jake watch the last of the Ice King's tapes, the Ice King laments that they now know his horrible secret: "I used to wear glasses!"
- Cerebus Retcon: The Ice King's origin story ensures that you can never look at him the same ever again. His eccentric behavior and obsession with princesses are because he was once a human driven crazy by a magical artifact who drove away his fiancee, his "princess".
- Cliffhanger Copout: The previous episode ends with Ice King unleashing his full power on the Tree Fort, and Jake screaming. It then turns out that Finn and Jake aren't in immediate danger, and Jake was starting to sing "Alouette".
- Comically Missing the Point: After The Reveal.Ice King: Now you know my secret. You know... I USED TO WEAR GLASSES!
- Continuity Cavalcade: The ending features a large number of characters, including all the major recurring ones, but also some single-episode ones, such as the Old Tart-Toter from "The Other Tarts", Mr. Pig from "Apple Thief", and many rarely-appearing Candy People.
- Continuity Nod: In one tape, Ice King is singing an up-tempo disco version of Marceline's "Fry Song" from "It Came From the Nightosphere".
- Expy: This will give you a reminder that Ice King's characteristics came from Dr. Two-Brains.
- Foreshadowing: Ice King singing one of Marceline's songs in one of his tapes, as well as Marceline herself hiding outside during the get together at the end, hints a great deal at their former relationship.
- Mood Whiplash: There's a Stunned Silence after Finn and Jake watch the final video, which is broken by Jake saying "Drama bomb!" in a goofy Valley-girl voice.
- Narrator All Along: The ending narration turns out to be by Shelby.
- Nothing Is the Same Anymore: The Reveal of the Ice King's backstory and true nature permanently alters one of the core dynamics of the entire series, turning him from a comical Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain into a deeply tragic victim. The repercussions of this (and other details concerning Simon's past) will be one of the series' core plot threads from here on.
- Origins Episode: For the Ice King, as his tapes detail his descent into madness.
- Relationship Reveal: Tree Trunks' and the Pig's body language subtly reveals their developing romantic relationship.
- Sanity Slippage: The Ice King used to be a mild-mannered archaeologist, but he slowly turned into the crazy Ice King we all know.
- Shout-Out:
- The Old Tart-Toter's pose clinging to the ceiling is a copy of the dead-baby hallucination scene from Trainspotting.
- The incident with the Ice King and the snowman with the apple nose is a parody of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
- Sudden Downer Ending: This special and the episode preceding it are funny for the most part. Then at the end, BMO plays the final tape and we discover the Ice King's past.
- Sympathy for the Devil: Witnessing the Ice King's origin story causes Finn and Jake to pity him and see him in a whole new light. Notably, they rarely treat him as an enemy after this episode.
- Tragic Villain: As it turns out, Ice King is not the Ice King by choice; rather, he was once a normal guy named Simon who was gradually possessed and driven insane by the power of his crown.
- Twisted Christmas: The show's first Christmas Episode leads to the dramatic reveal of the Ice King's tragic backstory.
- Was Once a Man: After what is now three seasons, finally we get a look at the origin story of the Ice King. And boy is it a doozy: he was an ordinary man named Simon Petrikov, driven mad by an Artifact of Doom.
- Wham Episode: And how, since this episode reveals who the Ice King really was and how he came to be who he is now.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: The Ice King's crown gave him ice powers, but it slowly drove him insane.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: You can just literally WATCH Simon Petrikov, the man who became the Ice King, descending straight into insanity, all the while pleading for forgiveness for anything he might be responsible for. Considering what we had already seen combined with his already displayed pathos, it's hard not to feel bad for the guy. In the videos, you can see the outside world getting colder and colder. It's not made clear whether Simon's the one causing it, or if its a nuclear winter...but either way, ouch.
- You Mean "Xmas": Finn and Jake accidentally create a tradition similar to a modern secular Christmas through feeling sorry for the Ice King.
