Yeah its totally weird to go back and watch episodes from the first season after what the show became in season 3 onwards. Theres some good episodes mixed in to the early stuff but its just evolved so much, what its become bears literally no resemblance to the early episodes. If you have your doubts let me know, I can send you a few of the best episodes, they are all online, and at ~10ish minutes a piece there is not a huge time commitment.
One of the most interesting things about the show is the plotline about what the "candy people" actually are. Like I said, it grows in depth immensely, there is so much background and lore to this show its actually shocking.