RJ Writing Ink

Harley Quinn Season 2, Episode 7 Review

So, I’m sorry that I didn’t get this out sooner, but I was having a hard time figuring out what to say. The new episode of Harley Quinn wasn’t exactly a big game-changer. Except that is, for this one moment that advances the Harley+Ivy ship:

Yeah, Harley+Ivy shippers rejoice, it happened. So why do I not feel as awesome about it as I should be? Well, let’s backtrack a bit.

After last episode, Harley and Ivy are put on trial by Two-Face for the murder of Penguin. Given the fact that we saw her bite his nose off, I’d say that’s appropriate. Instead of Arkham, though, they get sent to THE PIT! That’s right, it’s the Pit, as seen in The Dark Knight Rises, and it’s as horrible as we remember. However, Harley and Ivy are determined to bust out no matter what. While they’re in the prison, though, Ivy comes to terms with just how much her life’s improved since she met Harley, and she gives this big, emotional speech about it at the prison talent show. Then that show causes a riot, and they escape by the skin of their teeth. Which is how we got the kiss that Harley+Ivy shippers have wanted.

So, why am I not pumped about this? Well, for the same reason I wasn’t pumped to when Star and Marco had their first kiss in “Booth Buddies“: one of them’s already dating someone! Ivy’s engaged to Kite Man, who’s a good person, but this is going to lead to a lot of drama!

Speaking of drama, Jim Gordon manages to get his act together and get back to cleaning up Gotham, thanks to Batgirl. Or rather, Barbara Gordon. Yeah, Barbara reveals herself as Batgirl to show her dad that he inspired her and light a fire in him. As a result, Gordon captures Two-Face single-handedly.

So, all the villains who were ruling Gotham are either dead or captured. But now it looks like the Batfamily will make a comeback. And on top of this, the Harley+Ivy and Ivy+Kite Man ships are going to come to a head soon. In other words, this episode sets us up for stuff to go down in the rest of the season. Can’t wait

Didn’t really like this episode, though.

I Give “There’s No Place to Go But Down” A 3/5. To be Generous

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Rick and Morty Season 4, Episode 8 Review- The Vat of Acid Episode

Rick Sanchez, I knew you were a sociopathic monster that cares little besides himself, but dang, man. The “Vat of Acid Episode” hammered home how petty Rick can be. That’s what everyone who’s watched it says, and I see no reason to argue with that. Comedic sociopathy aside, the “Vat of Acid Episode” hammered home an important point for me. That point being how far Rick will go to keep Morty under his toxic influence.

The Vat of Acid

So, as the title implies, the episode starts with Rick and Morty trying to escape a shady deal gone wrong by jumping into a vat of fake acid with breathing tubes and wait for the bad guys to leave. They don’t leave, they stick around and talk, and it looks like the “Vat of Acid Episode” is going to be a one-note joke with Rick and Morty having to wait it out. Then Morty loses patience, they shoot the guys, and Morty tears into Rick over the fact that he. was. WRONG.

If you remember “Morty’s Mind Blowers”, Rick erases any memories that make him look stupid in front of Morty. It’s how he maintains the image that he’s a freaking god in Morty’s eyes and keeps him under his toxic influence. Rather than admit he made a mistake and shatter the image he’s cultivated in Morty’s mind, Rick decides to reinforce it in the cruelest (and funniest) way possible.

One Big Setup

Spoiler alert, but Rick indulges Morty and gives him a remote that acts like the “save and load” function in a video game. As a gamer, I find this as a nice jab at gamers who save scum so they can indulge in crazy actions without consequence. Once he gets bored, Rick cruelly reveals the truth behind the remote: it doesn’t rewind time. It shunts him to a branching reality, kills the Morty there, and puts him in. Then when Rick resets everything, Morty has to deal with all the consequences of all his horrible actions. In hindsight, we should have seen this twist coming given how much Justin and Dan hate time travel. It doesn’t stop the reveal from being hilarious, though.

That’s not the funniest part, though. The funniest part is that this whole “Vat of Acid Episode” was Rick putting his grandson through this ordeal to set him up with only one way out: a vat of fake acid. He did all this out of a petty need to prove that he’s right!

There’s only one other time I’ve seen a cartoon character resort to such twisted lengths over something so petty: Eric Cartman in “Scott Tenorman must Die.” I thought that was one of the darkest things I’ve ever seen in a cartoon. I mean, Cartman tricked a kid who crossed him into eating chili made out of his parents. Yet Rick made Morty responsible for offending everyone possible and committing all sorts of horrible actions, INCLUDING CANNIBALISM WHEN HE GOT STRANDED IN A PLANE CRASH!

Morty Got (and lost) A Girlfriend

Yeah, in one iteration, Morty got a cute girlfriend with glasses and they were very happy together. Then went on a plane trip that crashed in the mountains and they had to eat the dead to survive. It was just like the book Alive, which tells the real life story of a plane crash in the Andes with the exact same scenario. One of the writers admitted the story traumatized him as a kid!

Morty and his girlfriend survive, only for Jerry’s stupidity to send him back to before they met. If it weren’t so funny, this would be so hilarious.

Never Make Fun of Rick. EVER.

People are saying that this is one of the best episodes Rick and Morty has ever done, and I have to agree. It’s my second favorite of the season and at least in the top five of the show. The way the writers mislead everyone until the end to reveal it to be the set-up to a punchline is crazy and hilarious. And the moral of the whole “Vat of Acid Episode” is that Rick hates being told he’s wrong and will do anything to prove otherwise. Considering how this is the guy who took down an intergalactic government because they crossed them, we shouldn’t be surprised. Still funny, though!

I Give “The Vat of Acid Episode” a Perfect 5/5

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P.S.- I hate Jerry as much as Rick does now.