Princess Bubblegum: evil or at least not good? (2024)

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(My apologies If something like this has already been posted, I checked and didn't see anything similar).

This idea got sparked from an archived 4chan thread I found a while back, when I first got into over-analyzing the show, and has really stuck with me.

The more I watch and re-watch the show, I keep feeling like Princess Bubblegum really isn't all that good. Maybe even outright bad.

Peppermint Butler is her right hand man, and (as others have stated), there are several things about him that definitely tip the scales at least towards mildly evil.

There's a bunch of things about Bubblegum that, to me at least, make her seem like not exactly the nicest candyperson about either. Her total loathing for the Duke of Nuts is a little overboard, she frequently sends Finn and Jake out to do something with little to no explanation, there are countless events where she most definitely is using Finn's crush on her to manipulate him, however mildly.

And then there's the episode where they've got to get the Ice King's wails of pain (can't remember the name offhand). I didn't catch this, my boyfriend did, but then I couldn't get the idea out of my head.

When Finn and Jake first see her, she's wearing that plague doctor's mask and spraying some kind of unpleasant looking gas all over the place. Presumably, to counteract the freezer-burn plague, right?

Well, here's something intriguing. When the Ice King 'made it snow', wasn't she standing right there, and is totally unaffected? She also has the book, and has her super-science knowledge, so wouldn't she most likely also know about the freezer-burn and how it would be cured? She, at least to me, seems almost too willing to torture the Ice King, and here's another event of her sending F&J out to do something. And not only does she give them zero reason for it, its something pretty questionable, at least to Finn.

Also, how many times have her 'experiments' gone really freaking awry?

There's also one line in the "Ricardio" episode that really caught me as just unnecessarily...rude.

Right after everything is resolved, she says something to Finn to the effect of "Now that Ricardio is gone, you don't have to be jealous anymore". The subtext, to me, being that Finn is really kind of replacable, at least in any relationship (friendly or otherwise) way.

Then there's the whole thing with the Lich, I'm probably in a huge minority here, but I keep thinking maybe the Lich is a red herring of sorts. I still think (it'd be hard not to with all the evidence right there) that he's pretty damn bad, probably one of the biggest bad guys (at least mentioned so far) in the Adventure Time universe, but something about her having him locked up just feels weird. I probably missed some integral piece of information that absolutely kicks my theory's ass, if so, by all means point it out ('cause I'd rather be proven wrong than to be going about, touting some totally unfounded crazy talk).

TL;DR Princess Bubblegum is really kind of insidious at times, at least in my opinion.

Four rusted horses 20:45, June 29, 2012 (UTC)

This pic is her personality,...creepy/socicpath 27finsprincess 21:00, June 29, 2012 (UTC)

The Living Things 20:54, June 29, 2012 (UTC)

It explains her perfectly!!!! :D 27finsprincess 21:00, June 29, 2012 (UTC)

I've posted my thoughts about PB's 'jerkness' on a different thread, but this one brings up different issues, and this is what I have to say:

Princess Bubblegum is a character of many qualities and of many responsibilities, so it's natural that she has some bad qualities too. I know that she definitely acknowledged Finn's crush on her, and has slightly manipulated it a couple of times like in 'The Real You'. But that was hardly for selfish reasons, was it? And I know she went a bit too far in 'Too Young' and broke his heart with her rejection, but I think the whole thing in 'Too Young' was PB being adventurous at this fresh absence of responsibility. She shattered him in Incendium, but face it, he was a 13-year-old and she was '18', and is almost certainly chronologically far older. She never showed any displays of affection beyond maternal terms when she was an adult. Her quote in 'Ricardio the Heart Guy' showed that she was smart enough to know about Finn's jealousy and she was teasing him when she said that because it had been clear all along that Finn was quite jealous of Ricardio. PB never actually showed any romantic affection to Ricardio at all, just scientific intrigue.

She hasn't done anything you would consider as 'bad', or rather, that she would consider as unnecessary harm. Her upmost priotity is to protect the Candy Kingdom, which is why she asks for help from Finn and Jake so much because up until recently (hell, up until Monday) the Candy Kingdom had no defence system. She saw the torture of the Ice King as necessary to cure her people of illness because she needed him to scream, and she'd tried to ask him but he attacked her. Fair enough that she tends to say stupid instructions to Finn, making him, a mere child, keep a 'royal promise' (though to be fair she saw that necessary to stop the candy people exploding). She made Goliad because she knew very well that if she died the Candy Kingdom would have a downfall, which is completely true. She wanted to lock up Baby-Snaps because he was a TERRORIST. Who wouldn't get life for terrorism? And, think about it - he ended up in a mental hospital instead. By the way, your quiery about the Lich? Well, Billy the Hero defeated him last, and PB kept the responsibility of locking him away so that he couldn't do harm again.

On the OTHER hand, PB has done a lot of GOOD things. Like I said, she's absolutely devoted to the Candy Kingdom. You saw how she visited those orphans to boost their morale in 'Princess Cookie'? She understands that tyranny is not the way forward. She practically quoted the Dalai Lama in 'Goliad'; "As the bee takes the essence of the flower without harming its sweet perfume, so should the sage wander through life". She really does care for people. And for Finn, that was proven in 'Mortal Folly' where we saw her worrying about him (which she may do off-screen every time she sends him on a mission) and she knitted him a jumper that actually saved his life with the power of "liking-someone-a-lot".

Okay, the 'Duke of Nuts' thing was probably overboard, but he was a THIEF. A THIEF, and remember that thieves used to have their hands and ears sliced off on a GOOD day. A thief who, she was led to believe, had thrown a potion at her that disfigured her. When Finn begged her to forgive him and the Duke, she pretty much did despite not buying the Duke's story about 'pudding deficiency'.

Peppermint Butler has a huge question mark above him. He's clearly got something occult about him, but does PB necessarily know? Then again, PB did used to have a strong bond with Marceline who deals with such things. I don't think Peppermint Butler is all that bad, he's just demonic. Like Marceline. He didn't actually steal Finn and Jake's flesh in the end.

I'm not saying at all that PB hasn't said rude or slightly insane things. She's bonkers and has a high GLaDOS potential in my opinion. But she's not a bad person. Icanhascheezeburger 21:47, June 29, 2012 (UTC)

And my posts keep getting longer and longer... Icanhascheezeburger 21:48, June 29, 2012 (UTC)

Can you guys stop arguing about this?! She's a really nice person that has reasons for everything she does! I love her! She's just a little rude sometimes! Every girls get their period! 69.46.209.135 23:21, June 29, 2012 (UTC)

I find her insane with a god complex. Reminds me of alot of the girls I knew in high school.24.10.132.195 10:06, July 10, 2012 (UTC)

Probley not good; she should NOT had that action to Finn in Incendium. :P Katty000 (talk) 21:19, September 2, 2012 (UTC)Katty000

From my understanding, she is part human and part candy. I believe a writer said something to that affect. When the series started, she was nice and intelligent, but naiive and fearful at times. After her incident in Mortal Folly, though, she was only given candy mass, which is reasonable since they can't rip off Finn's skin! Then, to become 18 again, she got even more candy mass. Now, she still is caring and rational and a fitting leader for the candy people, but there are more times when she is... well... like her subjects. They can't handle the truth, it would literally blow their minds! She has become more and more like them as she has less human mass compared to candy mass. Just a thought... KnownAnon67 (talk) 23:58, September 2, 2012 (UTC)

No, PB isn't evil. Yes, she has quite a few personality traits that are a little nutty, but as far as we know, her brain is made out of bubblegum. Prince James 07:11, September 3, 2012 (UTC)

I used to think Princess Bubblegum was evil, because of her complete indifference to the mental health of Lemongrab, who's basically her son, because she made him and he's her responsibility. After Too Young, all I could think for a good YEAR was, "Why is she not helping Lemongrab? What's her problem?! He's clearly suffering and she doesn't even care!" My opinion of her completely changed after I saw "You Made Me!". Not only did she CLEARLY worry about Lemongrab and sympathize with his horrible situation, she also showed compassion to him even as he was unstable and dangerous, and didn't even DESERVE her kindness. The fact that she went to such dangerous legnths to help her bastard child, even as he was hurting innocent people and threatening her with bodily harm and torture, proves how brave AND compassionate Princess Bubblegum is, and I find her bravery and compassion on this episode to be nothing but commendable. Lemongrab can go suck himself for all I care- Princess Bubblegum is an amazing person, and an incredible "mom," who is worthy of the utmost respect. Jealous Of My Rice Cake? 06:16, October 4, 2012

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It is so obvious, that incase she died, she created Goliad to continue her plan.

Cybersword10 (talk) 22:23, October 6, 2012 (UTC)

I would say Bubblegum is neither "evil" nor "not good." She does, however, have her work cut out for her as ruler of the Candy Kingdom, and I expect her advisors will need to convince her that some of her most disastrous experiments have involved creating an heir to succeed her: Lemongrab and Goliad. She has to actually hand-pick a successor, and that should the only subject with the courage and moral compass to match her own: Finn! Since he still is "too young," I suggest she first proclaim her hero as "Duke of the Grasslands." By adoption, his brother and best friend Jake could then be proclaimed (which he did to the Flame King and his subjects previously) as "Baron of the Grasslands" and be officially incorporated into the royal family. That would allow for a royal wedding for Jake and Lady Rainicorn at the castle.

As part of the grooming of Finn for the future, I suggest a plebicite to lower the age of majority from the present 18 years to 16 or 17. Once adopted, this would allow Finn to be declared heir to the throne once he reaches the agreed-to age. For now I won't re-introduce romance into the picture for these two as long as Finn's still with Flame Princess - which may be awhile since Jessica DiCicco apparently has a long-term contract with this show. -- Glenn L (talk) 04:14, October 11, 2012 (UTC)

i agree, Glenn. So far i would vote for flamepricess, yet stilli get the nostalgia trips where i wanna make a fanfiction offinn&bubblegum type thing. But defentaly im sticking withflamepricess. Randomtoon4ever (talk) 06:04, December 15, 2012 (UTC) shes HOT. (see what i did there. teehee)

i agree about pb being evil[]

i agree that PB is evil. ive thought so for a long time. she performs dangerous experiments on her subjects for unknown reasons: 5 short graybles she morphs an octopus with a balloon to chop it up and puts the cow in the centerfuge to make A SANDWICH. so everyone knows SHE made the most delicious sandwich. in another episode (the lich, maybe) she is seen experimenting on tiny candy people by cutting off their legs. and in a moment of pure egotism she clones goliad because the candy people cant live without HER, not without a ruler, specifically her. funny how hers turns evil when stormo, who was cloned from finns dna sacrifices himself for the candy people. Lolaslovesterl (talk) 06:34, January 23, 2013 (UTC)lolaslovesterl

Gotta laugh because I think most of the people who thought she was "evil" here changed their minds by now

largely because they just gained some sense

but some because of me

You're referring to her scientific experimentation, yes? Well, that's hardly "evil" - it's overambitious.

Also the alternative ruler was Lemongrab.

Also Goliad wasn't evil, Goliad was naieve and young - created from a babytooth. Stormo was created from a hair from Teenage Finn.

Also I'm pretty sure those little candy people were okay with it.

Also why can't she try to make the most delicious sandwich ever? Icanhascheezeburger (talk) 07:31, January 23, 2013 (UTC)

it doesnt matter to me if they feel that way or not. ive always disliked bubblegum and loved ice king. bubblegum seems to be hiding something to me, not showing her true self. her experiments are needless. she created the zombie virus on accident, ok i buy that. but why work on it again? especially when she already knew how to make the antidote? wouldnt you be sure to have the antidote ready BEFORE you started playing with a dangerous virus, in an unsecured lab. as for lemongrab, yeah he sucked but, oh wait, she created him too. and just sent him away when she was done toying with him. my basic point about goliad was that pb felt the kingdom could only be ruled by her. the pursuit of the most delicious sandwich is fine, but not when you mutate and torture other clearly still living beings. Lolaslovesterl (talk) 19:28, January 23, 2013 (UTC) lolaslovesterl

also, what does age have to do with dna? it doesnt matter that it was from a baby tooth, its the same dna. and stormo is even younger than goliad. gained some sense? really? were talking about apost apocolyptic cartoon filled with magic, rainacorns and candy people, what about this makes sense? Lolaslovesterl (talk) 22:23, January 23, 2013 (UTC) lolaslovesterl

I think she is good. She tries to fix any problem she creates.

ThatGuySittingInTheCornerOverThere (talk) 01:17, January 24, 2013 (UTC)

During an AT interview panel with some of AT casts at Comic-Con 2012, a fan smartly asks whether Princess Bubblegum is evil in some way. He gives the zombie outbreak and Goliad as examples. “She’s like a scientist and she’s very cold and calculated. But not evil,” explained Ward. Im just proving the point. PrinceoftheFireKingdom 07:26, January 24, 2013 (UTC)

Good and evil are just opinions but by most people's moral compass I think PB lands pretty solidly on the good side of things. She is a bit abstractly distant and calculating at times like many scientific geniuses who are so focused on discovery and the problems they are working on that they tend to lose sight of the bigger picture but she always tries to work towards the greater good and to right her mistakes when something goes wrong.Melting Sky (talk) 05:38, January 29, 2013 (UTC)

Icanhascheezeburger (talk) 09:48, January 29, 2013 (UTC)

Goliad is evil, therefore princess bubblegum is evil. With that logic Princess Bubblegum used finn's DNA to make stormo because he is a hero. 70.188.161.99 19:32, February 17, 2013 (UTC)

With THAT logic she wouldn't have made Stormo at all because Stormo is good and she is evil

but she isn't evil, she wants what's best for the candy kingdom and that's a fact

Goliad didn't want what's best for the candy kingdom, so Goliad is different to PB

there's your black swan Icanhascheezeburger (talk) 20:25, February 17, 2013 (UTC)

PB: "The scientific accomplishment is more important than the subjects involved in it." This sentence says it all. /thread —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.29.250.88 (talk • contribs) . Please sign your posts with ~~~~.

I don't always know how I feel about PB. I definitely think she's smart, kind, helpful, and friendly. I would never call her "evil" or "not good". She is, in fact, good. Maybe not as good as some, but good. For example, she seems a tiny bit dark at times. She doesn't always seem to notice or care when something that could be bad happens (i.e. when Cinnamon Bun goes into the "soup" to make Goliad), but she cares about all the right things and tries to fix her mistakes. Lemongrab was not intended to be evil, nor was Goliad. Neither of those...problems...were her fault at all. They were influenced by outside forces beyond her control. Therefore, PB's creations being "evil" or bad is not due to herso-called evil. I agree that maybe PB isn't always telling us everything, but she does what's best for Finn, Jake, the Candy People, and anyone she knows. If there's anything possibly dark about her, it could be some lasting effects from the Lich possessing her, but instances of that darkness are few and far between. Concerning the little bit about Pep But, yes, he is her right-hand man, but she doesn't seem to know who he is. This can be seen when PB is readingdifferent Candy People's auras in "You Made Me" and Peppermint Butler doesn't want her to see his, presumably because his aura reveals hisdarkness (being friends with Death, possibly being a demon, etc.).Pep But is his own candy, clearly with his own motives and free will.

All in all, PB is not evil, there are just several bits of "evidence" that could make people think otherwise. All she is is an interesting, quirky character. Whatever darkness she holds inside is something we all have, and the good she holds outweighs the bad.

MusicPrincess7 71.246.90.204 22:52, April 11, 2013 (UTC)

Peppermint Butler and Goliad don't really prove anything, even if she made them. They're both made of candy and may have her DNA, but that makes her more like a parent and them like children. Just because the children are messed up doesn't mean the parent is evil. If you're going to judge her, it should be on the actions SHE has done, not others.

And really? "Every girl gets her period"? It's really cool you love her and want to protect her character, but use a good defence, not some lame excuse. Besides, most of the things listed here aren't about her being "rude". I mean LSP is always rude but no one says she's evil. PB is actually pretty nice and diplomatic, it's the little things that don't seem to fit with that nice girl personality that make us question her true motives.

I'm personally undecided on Bubblegum's moral compass. I wouldn't go as far as to say she's "evil", at least. On the one hand, the candy people don't really seem to mind being taken advantage of, and they seem to have different levels of awareness, so I don't think they're all sentient. On the other hand she does seem to like experimenting on at least semi-concious beings more than is probably healthy. Overall, I love the character development, and I'm still waiting to see where she goes. For now, niether "good" nor "evil", just slightly prideful and controlling, which is normal for a ruler I think.

````Sleepypuppies

I know this thread is kinda old but I feel like contributing my two cents. PB isn't evil. She may be corrupt, selfish, and uncaring about anyone who she doesn't rule or see as a close friend but shes certainly not evil. The2ndplayer (talk) 21:42, June 10, 2014 (UTC)

I like that she's got gray morals & refuses to revolve around Finn as a love interest. Frankly, she's my favorite character. I first saw her dark potential upon knowing she's an old friend of the daughter of the king of hell, & she has a demon butler; gotta sell your soul to get one of those. She's cool with torture, she creates Frankenstein experiments, she could be a sad*st who gets a high on breaking hearts. Just as Finn seems to be an homage to Link & Mario, Bubblegum is like an homage to Zelda & a mock to Peach. She also reminds me of Maripan from Homestar Runner. This series could be an example of the "Good is dumb, smart is evil trope," as Bubblegum started showing more of a dark side around the time it was becoming increasingly impossible to take Ice King seriously as a villain. Lastly, I just like to think of it as the show tryign to convay to boys that you can never truly know everything about your ideal woman & how getting to know them over time exposes incompatibilities; Finn is a chaotic good character who "thinks" he's lawful good with white morals, but actually does as much bad as he does good (he's just not aware of it), & Bubblegum is a neutral character who slides back & forth between good & chaotic.Likalaruku (talk)

Well, I should first say PB is my favourite character so that may sway my opinion. First of all, I should say that Princess Bubblegum has all the qualities of a good leader.

Princess Bubblegum rules with a kind heart but an iron fist. Princess Bubblegum has shown many times that she is compassionate for all her subjects, this is evident in "The Suitor" where she could not stand to see Braco suffer and as such made him a robot wife. However, she rules with an iron fist and can force her will, as was the case when confiscated Cinnamon Bun's night light.

Princess Bubblegum has a strong moral code and immediately turns hostile towards those who wrong her. The people she was hostile to are those who pose a threat to the kingdom (Flame King, King of Ooo and Ice King) and those who wrong her in any manner (Duke of Nuts).

That being said, Princess Bubblegum is manipulative. She has absolutely no problem with assigning Finn dangerous tasks - well aware of his romantic attraction to her. Although, when she does it is in the interest of her kingdom.

The way I see it, Princess Bubblegum is neither good nor evil. She does what is in the best interests of her kingdom and herself - making her "lawful neutral".

Duke of Skibbington (talk) 04:44, July 8, 2014 (UTC)

How about now?[]

Are you guys still going to justify killing a whole nation,just because pb thinks they might be a threat?Bigeyes (talk) 10:51, December 12, 2014 (UTC)

That is exactly what i though.

Not only did she want to "donk up the future of the fire kingdom", But when Flame Princess called her "Cold Hearted", she shrugged and said "Eh."

I could go ranting about ton of other reasons why, but i think i'll stop here now.-Maple Panda (talk) 00:51, December 13, 2014 (UTC)

Maybe this is leading to some kind of clash. Like maybe the thing with the litch changed her and we are now seeing it more and more. Her actions have become more and more questionable. Maybe Finn's next foe will be his closest dearest friend.

Roconza 02:26, December 13, 2014 (UTC)

I don't think PB was trying to hurt the Fire Kingdom as badly as she did. She was trying to protect her kingdom at any cost. That's why wars start, because people are trying to ward off threats. It happens all the time in real life. dave strider // knight of time 21:44, December 13, 2014 (UTC)

Just like in real life one party can think they are doing the right thing even if it can be seen as a act of evil by others. I hate to invoke godwin's law but the Nazis party did some evil things in the name of their nation. When it comes to war it's easy for one side to feel they are justified in the fact of questionable acts. The question would be how far would she be willing to go and if she would be blinded by that goal. Maybe, maybe not she seemed to have regrets then again what if something happened to cause her to lose the humanity that keeps her from going over that line. Who knows. ^o^

Roconza 02:01, December 14, 2014 (UTC)

omg this is going to be a epic plot twist!Bigeyes (talk) 10:16, December 15, 2014 (UTC)

Yeah i think she does have some bad negative tendencies, wanting to basically destroy the fire kingdom and spying on everybody is obviously wrong, but she does not enjoy doing these things. I think she just does not understand how bad spying on everyone is and she has an issue with abusing her power big time. Simialar to what Jake is like (i think) how he still has some criminal tendancies e.g. stating that him and Finn should rob a bank in Ocerina, he and PB are just not aware of how bad the the things they say and do are.Hassan-i Sabbā (talk) 11:16, December 15, 2014 (UTC)

That's most likely possible. :3 Maybe PB is't aware of what she says/does is bad. And like Giaria stated, she was most likely over exaggerating. She didn't really want to exterminate the Fire Kingdom as she made it sound. But I must admit, she is one of those characters with the whole "My way or the highway" personality.-Maple Panda (talk) 23:26, December 15, 2014 (UTC)

I would say shes lawful evil only evil for the greater good—Preceding unsigned comment added by THEMADECK (talk • contribs)

Please remember to sign your posts with four tildes (~~~~).Same as it ever was. 01:28, December 17, 2014 (UTC)

»I say she's basically "good," but she's playing God with the whole create-life-and-live-forever plans. On a conquest to create the perfect, endless empire. She trusts herself too much, thinking her science and mind can overcome any obstacle and do anything. She takes many preventative measure to ensure nothing can overpower or threaten her kingdom. Despite that, the Candy Kingdom's military power is still pretty pathetic. Most of her science experiments are also totally utilitarian and self-serving. Like someone on the verge of letting power get to their head. My two cents...(Profile|wall) 11:59, December 18, 2014 (UTC)

I say that makes her ironically more human then Finn.

Roconza 21:15, December 18, 2014 (UTC)

But that is quite true. She does trust herself far too much, and she believes she can overcome any challenge thrown her way. In my view, she is way too overprotective of her kingdom, and the smallest threats are big deals to her. For example, in Slumber Party Panic, she seemed to be a nervous wreck with the whole zombie fiasco. And like you said, it does make her ironically more human than Finn.-Maple Panda (talk) 20:30, December 21, 2014 (UTC)

The Graveyard Shift[]

Let us not forget that every single tidbit you hear from Starchy's radio show has proven to be true. The one thing that has NOT yet been borne out is the late-night "shadowy presence" outside of PB's tower mentioned in Nemesis. I understand having a scientific mindset, and perhaps that is the whole explanation for Bubblegum's behavior, but she has absoLUTEly NO conscience. I think the best microcosmic example of this is in Earth & Water, the episode where PB uses Flame Princess's recent break-up with Finn to manipulate FP into participating in vaguely explained experiments. Here is the perfect juxtaposition of the hero and the sociopath (AT 5-32 Earth & Water):

Finn: Oh, this is terrible! If Flame Princess goes back there, her evil dad will lock her up again!

Now, we already know that PB is at LEAST 800 years old. She had FP imprisoned as a baby and has absolutely no compunctions about lying outright or by omission. I have to say that I believe PB may have started out neutral (at best) but has progressed to the evil side of the food chain.

IGotIcecreams (talk) 22:11, July 31, 2016 (UTC)

Princess Bubblegum: And if she's imprisoned, I won't be able to complete my tests, and I'll have wasted my precious time!

Hey, people are complicated beings, you shouldn't think of them in terms of good/bad. All of us are a little bit of both, of course