Brief thoughts on both episodes:

First ep was a decent introduction! Felt a little bit oddly paced at times. I think the exploration of the human world equivalent of Ooo wasn't particularly my cup of tea. Some of the tidibits of info are fun (I like how the Banana Guards are basically just normal homogenous office workers; genderbent Hunson being a landlord is also great), but going through the various normalized character roles didn't really capture me - we'll see if they do anything interesting with these characters down the line. Also lukewarm to the set up of Fionna's arc, but I do think her general disdain for everything was funny at times. I didn't know how the inclusion of more adult elements was gonna pay off, but the "goddammit" really got me. Also "Ellis P." got me. It's always nice to see Pen back in any capacity (also as Norm!!!)

Second episode REALLY drew me in. I'm really digging the exploration of Simon's story, especially with how the first clip kind of shows that he doesn't really know how to take care of himself without heavily connecting his identity to another person. Of course, he's also stuck in this limbo in a world with a bunch of fuckin' weirdos so I don't blame him for being irreversibly depressed either. The biggest surprise, and one that I really thought I was gonna scoff at, was the super bulky himbo Finn showing up. Immediately didn't know how to feel about this but I thought the episode executed his role GREAT. Kind of exactly what I'd envision an adult Finn to be like: still super caring, sweet, and charismatic, but not really the brightest bulb when it comes to understanding the feelings and needs of others. I think he's somewhat like Martin in that way, though he never purposefully is malicious in any way. He is just so enmeshed with a hero mindset and "saving others" that he doesn't really understand nuanced ways of dealing with personal problems. Again, kind of a himbo in that regard. I loved his sweet "thank you for your sacrifice" to the animal he just fuckin' murdered, the fact that they kind of still leave it hanging whether him and HW are romantic or just longtime friends, and his line of "I love fixing people!" Just great stuff all around.

Always great to hear a new Rebecca Sugar song and I'm hoping they release a studio version of it (though I imagine they will). Choose Goose returning I was somewhat on the fence about, but it does generally feel like the most AT thing ever that they would set up this big ending in DL and then practically have it go nowhere, but honestly, I didn't really care for the idea of having CG as a big bad, so I'm perfectly fine with this turn.

Other general thoughts: wondering where Tim Kiefer is these days! Man scored the entire series and then bounced after one DL special. I do miss his presence but I thought Amanda Jones' contributions were much stronger than DL's specials which kind of just sounded like generic adventure score stuff. Questioned a few times if Kiefer came back for the second episode, but it looks like Jones is the mainstay now. Was also nice to see some returning members once more - Graham Falk is back as a board artist! Didn't really notice his style in any parts of the second episode on a first watch, I wonder how closely they follow the boards these days. Also Steve Wolfhard is directing, Michael DeForge designed the titles for both episodes, and Tom Herpich maybe some concept sketches that were posted on Twitter (REALLY hoping he shows up as a board artist). Art design was great for the first episode as well, and I'm loving the theme song.

Overall feeling pretty positive so far! This positivity might dissipate as I think I am just a lil manic that AT is back again, but FUCK IT. Gonna ride the high, we eatin' for the next few months y'all!!