How to Appreciate Wander Over Yonder

Meet Wander (voiced by Jack McBrayer). Wander is the titular main protagonist of the show. As a Star Nomad, he's optimistic and nomadic to assist others to be happy to others (to the point where he befriends everyone he encounters, even his enemies). This is thanks to his upbeat personality. Even with others noticing him as annoying (notably Lord Hater), he is also well-meaning and naive.

• Wander is also known for carrying a green-chartreuse hat around him. While it may maintain his banjo (and his singing skills with him, too), the hat can also bear anything, but only what the situation needs (not what the user wants). His hat is showcased in "The Hat" (when Sylvia has to use his hat to get out of a sticky situation) and "The Bad Hatter" (where Lord Hater steals Wander's hat, much to his disappointment).
• There have been cases when Wander can be easily distracted without focusing on the task at hand. This can be seen in "The Prisoner" when Wander is preoccupied with a red laser, ultimately landing him in a cell. In "The Box", Wander is also diverted to wondering what's inside the box (not realizing it would be a visual trick).
• Did you know that Wander is not considered his first name? When Sylvia met Wander (described in The Greater Hater), she called him a "Wandering Weirdo." Since then, he has kept the name.
• Before Wander Over Yonder, Wander himself appeared in merchandise (including sketchbooks/an unfinished graphic novel/clothes/patches) made by Craig McCracken. McCracken additionally describes him as a "hippie, muppet man."

Know about Wander's sidekick, Sylvia (voiced by April Winchell). As a Zbornak horse/dinosaur, she is the steed and best friend to Wander. Although she has a temper and a rough nature (coupled with the fact she loves fights, along with many aggressive actions), Sylvia is protective to Wander and has a soft side where she is well-mannered to Wander's antics of his mission to make everyone happy.

• Whenever Sylvia has to participate in a competition (featured in "The Time Bomb"), she gets too competitive to the point where she loses her temper to other competitors (and bucks Wander off her back at one point). Fortunately, the segment ends with her winning.
• At one point, her friendship with Wander (as seen in The Pet) enriches when she receives false hope when Captain Tim had killed Wander. She puts the ship in self-destruct to "avenge" him, but it is revealed that Wander survived, much to Sylvia's relief. This is also shown in The Fugitives, where Wander gets saved by Sylvia, noting that helping a best friend is better than escaping alone.

Connect with Lord Hater (voiced by Keith Ferguson). Considered the main antagonist of the first season, he is a skeleton with electrical powers that wants nothing but the entire universe. This is driven by his power-hungry/dictator skills when conquering planets, but it ultimately gives him temperamental standards for his personality. He also commands a group of Watchdogs to do what he commands.

• Despite this, his decisions may be flustered to merely capture Wander and Sylvia (due to his continuous hatred of both, especially Wander). On the other hand, Wander's interactions with Lord Hater are mostly oblivious to his evil deeds (even befriending him). His hatred to Wander was nearly his weakness in Season 2 as he lost his ground to Lord Dominator.
• He cares about Commander Peepers (as his sidekick) and Captain Tim deeply, and losing one (or in danger/threatening one of them) will force Lord Hater to go too deep lengths to save them.
• Even with his reputation as a galactic conqueror, he has been known to act immaturely. In "The Rager", he throws a temper tantrum due to his impatience to destroy the kings. The slightest grievance can also set this off, too.
• In Season 2 (mostly in "My Fair Hatey"), he is awkward/tongue-tied when trying to talk to attractive women. When speaking to Lord Dominator about dating, it results in rejection and Lord Hater speaks in gibberish.

Understand who Commander Peepers is (voiced by Tom Kenny). As the chief henchman to Lord Hater, he also goes to great lengths to capture the universe with him. While being more focused than Hater with intelligence/determination (Wander and Sylvia in season 1, Lord Dominator in Season 2), he also has a short temper and can act sarcastic. He additionally can be mature and can be competently evil.

• The connection between Hater and Peepers is not considered a friendship, but they both work and get along well. Despite this, his voice of reason can occasionally be ignored and he tries to please his overlord multiple times.
• Due to Lord Hater's hatred to Wander in the show, he had to follow his orders to capture Wander and Sylvia (as a nuisance to gain favor) but was quick to note Lord Dominator's dominance - stating that the focus on Wander should stop.
• He also has a reputation for being brave to take risky actions; in "The Greatest Hater", he opted to destroy parts of Lord Dominator's ship and stood up to her.

See Lord Dominator (voiced by Fred Tatasciore/Noel Wells). The main antagonist in Season 2, Lord Dominator takes pride in being the strongest and the best in the galaxy, to the point where Lord Hater would not be matched. When in battle, she wears a disguisable suit with an imitating voice and uses the "Volcanium X" to power her fleet/suit (by draining planets dry with their resources). Outside of battle, Lord Dominator is an overly-enthusiastic woman (would not be seen until "The Battle Royale" for the main characters) that has the pleasure to destroy planets and see others suffer for her amusement (and never gains remorse). She also has a short temper and is crueler than Lord Hater.

• She has the powers of Lava and Fire - using the "Volcanium X" to get Magma Manipulation to generate for her suit (as projectiles) via a drill (to go to a planet's core) and an Optic Beam where she can fire an energy wave. After "My Fair Hatey", she has the powers of Ice and Snow (via Commander Peepers freeze ray).
• It's revealed that Lord Dominator's continuous works to displease planets is to crave socialization (and cure her loneliness) - even with her Dominator-Bots, she's aware she needs companionship (but the idea gets ignored). She additionally doesn't care about friendship - stating it is overrated.
• She nearly completes her task of clearing all of the planets in "The End of the Galaxy", but her powers are thwarted by Lord Hater, and recovering to a positive figure is completely denied when Wander offers a friendship (even saving her).
• Lord Dominator is also the rare character in which Wander realizes there's no way to make her positive/friendly - even (somewhat) losing his temper in front of her once in "The Greater Hater".

Watch these significant episodes. These episodes are known to be popular amongst Wander Over Yonder fans and are set as cornerstones in the show. These include:

• The Greatest/The Egg: These two segments combine the first aired episode of the show and reveal the feelings of the main characters (The Picnic is considered to be the first aired segment, but not considered as a full episode).
• The Box/The Hat: Wander's distracted side is shown in The Box where he cannot stop obsessing over what's inside, while The Hat shows the ensuing hilarity when Wander's hat fails to give Sylvia what she needs.
• The Little Guy: Wander and Sylvia are held hostage by the smallest Watchdog, Westley, while Lord Hater commands everyone to capture both, but he faces a change of heart and quits being one of Lord Hater's henchmen.
• The Epic Quest of Unfathomable Difficulty/The Void: Wander and Sylvia's exploration skills are put to the test to return a sock, and Wander gets preoccupied when he goes to a place where anything can happen.
• The Greater Hater: Lord Dominator is introduced in the main story as the starter for Season 2.
• The Fremergency Fronfact/The Boy Wander: Wander and Sylvia bring Lord Hater to the dentist; Wander becomes a serious superhero to stop Dr. Screwball Jones (voiced by Weird Al Yankovic) from tickling others to make them happy.
• The Wanders/The Axe: Wander's multiple personalities are revealed and Sylvia has to get them all before he disappears; a secondary side where Commander Peepers gets fired by Lord Hater when he opts to conquer planets without him
• My Fair Hatey: The musical episode of Wander Over Yonder; showcases Lord Hater's infatuation with Lord Dominator and an attempt to stop Lord Dominator's ship.

Note that 11 shorts were made before Season 2. To promote the renewal of Season 2, 11 one-minute shorts were made. All of them are Lord Hater's attempts to announce his capture of Wander, but Wander goofs in between to disrupt his plans. These shorts were released on Disney XD's YouTube channel on July 2015 and continued until the start of the second season.

Know when the show originally aired. When the show aired, the first eight full episodes were released on Disney Channel, with The Picnic receiving an early preview on August 16, 2013. These would air every Friday at 9:00 PM. On March 31, 2014, the premieres of new episodes were moved to Disney XD and continued until December 4, 2014, with The Gift. The timeslot of the episodes on Disney XD varied, but usually were at the 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM timeslot, with some appearing every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 10:30 AM. Despite this, the Disney XD on Disney Channel Block would air reruns of the season until February 27, 2015. For Season 2, a permanent timeslot was added for the show; airing every Monday at 8:30 PM until the show's cancellation.

• If you want to watch the show in its entirety, both seasons are available at Disney+ with a subscription.