You're not alone. I thought it was borderline for HN, because it didn't strike me as intellectually engaging, but we were persuaded not to penalize it by the fact that the article was unusually in-depth (or at least long).
It's important to realize, though, that Hacker News isn't just for articles about tech and startups. That's a common but wrong misconception. We want a wide range of intellectually interesting articles. That's been true for as long as HN has been HN.
I don't like meta-talking about what is good or bad for HN generally, but when I saw dang had chimed in, I felt obligated to leave an opinion. Like the top comment, I was both amused and happy to find this content on HN.
Given Adventure Time's regular toying with ideas like SCIENCE vs. MAGIC, boundaries of morally responsible science, D&D meta-geekery (character alignments), machine sentience (BMO), and all of the games it plays in gender & identity roles and other existential weirdness, I always assumed it's adult audience would be strongly represented on HN.
Not only was the article the most in-depth analysis of the show I've ever come across, but the comments here contain intelligent discussion and observation that lead me to similar analyses and content like Adventure Time.
This was a perfect article for HN, as I use it; identify things tangentially interesting to the 'hacker' mind, in all it's different forms, and provide intellectual discussion on it.
Thanks to OP for finding it and you (dang) for allowing the discussion to remain. Glad to have seen it.
I suspect there is the confusion between what appears to be 'childish' and what is sophisticated. Things can be "childish" but also sophisticated, a la Adventure Time.
Ultimately, I have met a number of people who are so incredibly serious (and usually fairly young) that if it isnt a math paper, it's a waste of humanity. If only our brains worked like that!
It's important to realize, though, that Hacker News isn't just for articles about tech and startups. That's a common but wrong misconception. We want a wide range of intellectually interesting articles. That's been true for as long as HN has been HN.