Adventure Time (S01E12)

Episode #012
'Evicted!'
Season 1, Episode 12

Jake tells Finn a scary story involving vampires, which leads to Finn being terrorized by his own imagination. That is, until it's revealed that it's actually Marceline, the vampire queen. She claims their tree house as her own and moves in, kicking Finn and Jake out. They go house-hunting, which only leads to her following them and taking over the new place they find as well.

Marceline is among the most popular characters in the show, and it's not difficult to see why. She's relaxed, complex, and surprisingly kind-hearted. Her interactions and relationships with other characters are some of the most interesting in the show, and she never appears so often that you become tired of her presence. That being said, her introduction episode is probably the worst one she was ever in. This is just an aggravating episode to watch, and not at all indicative of the character she would eventually evolve into, painting her as much more annoying than she would become. The jokes aren't particularly funny, the plot is too small-scale and petty to really care about, and Marceline's character is only introduced here in name and visuals only. She would take a while to build up steam into becoming a powerful presence in the show, and this episode is one of the main reasons why it would take so long. At best, it's the first appearance of a popular character and a strong reminder of how much better the writing got in this show the further it went along. Also, it inadvertently breaks continuity with Tree Trunks. Bleh, I just don't like this episode.