Last time we saw Bret and Jemaine, they were being neglected by longtime manager Murray, in favor of his new clients, The Crazy Dogggz, whose single “Doggy Bounce” is number one in 24 countries. Needless to say, Murray’s raking in cash, and the Conchords are not. Flight of the Conchords usually turn in their best performances when they’re down, but the second season premiere is just pretty good.

I can’t really complain, though; they released the premiere online more than a month before it airs on HBO, which is nothing short of fucking awesome.

The first episode of what is likely the final season starts out with a band meeting. Something’s different, though… perhaps it’s the fact that they’re in an enormous, luxurious office that belongs to none other than Murray himself. Quite a drastic change from the claustrophobic wooden box that was Murray’s old office. After accidentally reading them a few of the Crazy Dogggz’ news items (“Your CD has made double-platinum in America.”), the Conchords do something that many would argue they should’ve done long ago: fire Murray. They want to manage themselves. At this point, we get a treat that was probably inevitable after the first: another song by Murray. Or, at least partially.

They manage (see what I did?) to get a gig of their own (in which they’re playing a funky song that I hope we might hear more of), and it actually goes well. A man from Great Expectations, a NY agency, played by Whose Line favorite Greg Proops, approaches them after the show to write a jingle for women’s (only!) toothpaste. Thus, their first Murray-free band meeting ensues. Unsurprisingly, it’s much shorter than usual. They take the deal, which is revealed to have been offered to them because they ‘look like two guys who understand how women feel’.

All the classic Conchords characters make a return in this episode. Mel, as extreme in her fandom as ever, is found burning a bunch of Crazy Dogggz merchandise bossing around Doug, for reasons that I will not specify. Dave is there, as always, with sage advice on how to negotiate a deal with the Great Expectations representatives.

The show itself has obviously gotten a bigger budget, and the vibe is more grand, but it still retains that indie comedy feel to it. The jokes are still as dry and awkward and clever, including one especially brilliant joke about Women’s Rights that I absolutely loved. There was at least one recurring joke, and there were a few really funny parts, but overall it seemed a bit unenthusiastic. The episode’s songs weren’t the greatest — Murray’s song isn’t exceedingly humorous, and the other song is actually a pretty old one called “Angels”, but it’s still good. Overall, it’s a quality episode, good, but not great. It doesn’t really push past most of the first season episodes in terms of comedy or concept, yet thankfully it manages to feel as fresh and unique as the first season. I have a feeling the second episode and on will be much better.