Summary

• Adventure Time Season 6 marked a tonal shift for the series, with more philosophical musings and world-building lore, although some viewers felt it missed the mark.
• Adventure Time Season 1 established a solid foundation with quirky characters, offbeat humor, and memorable world-building, setting the stage for the show's success.
• Adventure Time Season 9 featured a multi-episode arc focused on undoing elemental magic, along with standout episodes exploring identity and existence.

Every Adventure Time season sent its protagonists, Finn and Jake, on plenty of thrilling, comical, and moving escapades, with highs and lows across 283 episodes. While Pendleton Ward's fantasy series is by and large considered one of the best and most influential animated programs of the last decade, some of Adventure Time's 10 seasons were better than others. The show grew from a simple yet strange concept: Finn the human (Jeremy Shada) and his best bud Jake (John DiMaggio), a dog with shape- and size-shifting powers, find themselves adventuring across the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo to help its denizens with problems both (universe-altering) big and small.

In addition to the world-building, the Adventure Time characters, from the bumbling Ice King (Tom Kenny) and the guitar-strumming Marceline the Vampire Queen (Olivia Olson) to the science-obsessed Princess Bubblegum (Hynden Walch) and her anthropomorphic candy citizens, are also incredible. As the series progresses, it grows from one-off, self-contained episodes into something much more complicated and cosmic. That's all part of what made viewers fall in love with the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series — and why it remains a cult hit over a decade after its premiere. Here are all Adventure Time seasons, ranked from worst to best.

10 Adventure Time Season 6 (2014–15)

Without a doubt, Adventure Time season 6 marked a tonal shift for the series. For some viewers, it was an exciting change, but, for others, it missed the mark. Given the mixed feelings on season 6, it ranks a tad lower than other seasons of the hit series. While it started strong with episodes like "Wake Up" and "Escape From the Citadel," it largely trades the series' signature offbeat humor for more philosophical musings and world-building lore. That's not a bad thing, but other seasons of Adventure Time balance the serious and the comic more deftly.

9 Adventure Time Season 1 (2010)

The chapter that started it all, Adventure Time's first season gives very little indication as to where the series will lead in its later arcs. Nonetheless, its quirky characters, offbeat humor, and memorable world-building helped establish a solid foundation on which to build. Composed largely of self-contained episodes, it's difficult to compare season 1's goofy-forward offerings with the more complex, ponderous narratives later seasons of Adventure Time achieve, but it's still a "mathematical" watch in what would become one of the best Cartoon Network shows.

8 Adventure Time Season 9 (2017)

In its ninth season, Adventure Time delves into another multi-episode arc with its eight-part "Elements" narrative. In it, Finn and Jake have to undo the elemental magic that's transformed the Land of Ooo into a dystopia. Other key episodes include "Three Buckets," the season 9 finale that sees Finn's grass-made double questioning his identity and existence, as well as "Ketchup," a BMO-centric gem.

7 Adventure Time Season 2 (2010–11)

An ever-goofy Finn grows up a bit more in season 2 and that's reflected in the series' writing too, which trades juvenile humor and silly slang invented by Finn and Jake for more character-driven stories. For starters, a teenage Finn grapples with his feelings for Princess Bubblegum, while characters like Marceline become much less one-dimensional. Even Ice King, who was a bumbling villain in the first outing, becomes more human, leaving his ineffectual villainy on the sidelines while he confronts his loneliness.

6 Adventure Time Season 8 (2016–17)

Most memorably, Adventure Time season 8 features a multi-episode miniseries of sorts, "Islands," that delves more deeply into Finn's past. After encountering a robotic craft of foreign origin, Finn, Jake, and Susan (another human) set sail for a far-off civilization. There, they learn more about Susan (a.k.a. Kara), and Finn meets his mother. After so many episodes, it's nice to get some answers about Finn's origins, but season 8 is about more than "Islands." Other stand-out episodes include the informative "Broke His Crown" and the surprisingly compelling "Normal Man."

5 Adventure Time Season 10 (2017–18)

In its final season, Adventure Time takes big swings, all to wrap up its cosmic, over-arching narrative while giving its characters proper send-offs. In season 10, Princess Bubblegum confronts her villainous Uncle Gumbald in the fight for Candy Kingdom; Finn faces off against a darker version of Fern; Marceline makes peace with her frustrating father, Hunson; and Betty sacrifices herself to the entity GOLB, the embodiment of chaos and disorder, to save Simon. Plus, season 10 contains the four-part series finale, "Come Along with Me," and introduces the intriguing duo Shermy and Beth — the spiritual successors to Finn and Jake of the future.

4 Adventure Time Season 4 (2012)

Adventure Time season 4 is all about relationships — and humor. Not only does Finn get closer to Flame Princess, but the fourth season also features the episode where Tree Trunks and Pig overdo their PDA, making everyone uncomfortable. Memorably, Adventure Time season 4 also boasts several experimental chapters, like "Five Short Graybles" and "BMO Noir," as well as some character-driven, backstory-revealing episodes, like "I You," which delves into Marceline and Ice King's (a.k.a. Simon's) painful, shared past in a solid season of what can be considered one of the best animated shows of all time.

3 Adventure Time Season 3 (2011–12)

Season 3 of the series features tons of classics, from "Hitman" and "Holly Jolly Secrets" to the first episode centering on Adventure Time's Fionna and Cake, Finn and Jake's gender-swapped counterparts. One of the season's most memorable episodes, "What Was Missing," teases Princess Bubblegum and Marceline's romantic history for the first time. In retrospect, Adventure Time season 3 is so successful because it excels at balancing humor and heart — crucial backstory, and one-off fun.

2 Adventure Time Season 7 (2015–16)

For fans of Marceline (and, by extension, the slow-burn rekindling of Marceline and Princess Bubblegum's romantic relationship), Adventure Time season 7 is an instant favorite. The season's eight-episode story arc, "Stakes," centers on Marcie, who asks PB to cure her of her vampirism. No longer wanting to be immortal, Marceline allows Bonnie to extract her vampire essence, but, of course, complications arise. Bolstered by music penned by Rebecca Sugar (Steven Universe), season 7 hits some of the series' emotional highs, all while maintaining its signature humor and surreality.

1 Adventure Time Season 5 (2012–14)

Twice the length of any season before it, Adventure Time's fifth season boasts a whopping 52 episodes. Based on sheer volume alone, season 5 has a little something for every Adventure Time fan, from "Simon & Marcy" to "Root Beer Guy." For some viewers, it's where the series jumped the shark, trading its goofiness for ever-growing, ever-complicated Adventure Time lore-related episodes. Still, for most diehards, season 5 only deepens Adventure Time's appeal and cements its now-enduring legacy.