I've become less a fan of reading movies and TV shows as commentary on art or the creative process as the years have gone by, but for James Baxter I'll always make an exception. This episode to me read like an encapsulation of the creators' views on Adventure Time itself.

"High Strangeness" should probably be the title of Pendelton Ward's autobiography. This was a great return to form episode for him, and I've liked the episodes Sam Alden was worked on in the past.

The tunnel sequence is truly an underappreciated joke. All that effort in drawing background and animating the cart ride to get the characters literally nowhere. A joke that only fully works in this medium.

I liked that KKW and Bronwyn were finally able to bond over how much they hate Jake's showboating. Thrashland was indeed a wonderfully detailed location, and Bronwyn's powers were almost as cool as Huntress Wizard's.

I've long maintained that the Grass Sword is an enabler of Finn's more childish tendencies, and we see a lot more of that after it's manifested as Fern. It struggles with that black and white morality that Finn did in seasons 1 and 2, and tries to solve all its problems through overwhelming application of force. It…

How could I have forgotten that one? I got a friend of mine to start watching the show based solely on that episode and its Hipster Death Star.

Any episode from the Baby Ducks trilogy is a solid pick, but that final Step Off in BCDC makes me laugh uncontrollably every time.

Having one last licensed song was on my short list of things required for the episode to qualify as a satisfactory finale. The fact that it was a Bowie song, especially given how much influence Bowie had on the character of Gary, made it all the sweeter.

I don't follow interviews with show creators to avoid spoilers as much as possible, but that line should have clued me in that "Heroes" was forthcoming. Amazing.

I left a lot out too, especially good ones from the earlier seasons.

Very solid choice. I watched from the beginning, so the cut to The Power in the finale hit me especially hard.

This seems like as good a place as any, so what're your picks for the top 5 episodes of the series?

I can't lie, I wasn't feeling most of season 8. Most of the epic space adventures on display were things that Regular Show usually parodies in its traditional third-act insanity, so I didn't really respond when I was suddenly asked to take it all seriously. When Adventure Time did something similar at the end of…

On the other hand, I've encountered people in college who weren't.

He's working on bringing down an eons-old intergalactic empire. Cut the kid some slack.

I now have a dire need to see Pearl in Zak McCracken and the Alien Mindbenders.

Pearl, I'm trying to enjoy a cute, winter-themed episode with baby Steven. It's very inconsiderate of you to break my heart and crush its remains beneath your heel every time I look at you.

The gold standard.

I remember the first time the true magic of that game hit me. I was just passing through Clock Town doing the normal questing thing when I saw the innkeeper walking through town. Naturally, I was curious as to what she was up to, so I ended up following her. I ended up finding her having a good cry over by the…

This cat is too old.