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Rick and Morty S8 Ep 8 Review

The Citadel of Ricks might be gone, but the concept of multiversal variants of the Smith-Sanchez family interacting lives on. I’ve actually been wanting to see different versions of the family follow in Rick’s footsteps and build their own organizations and alliances. Imagine my surprise when this season’s eighth episode not only granted my wish, but it did it with the main cast’s most normal character: Jerry Smith. This entire episode is a Jerry episode, and I loved it!

Jerry and…Another Jerry

The episode seemingly starts off on a normal morning in the Smith-Sanchez home. Everyone’s going about their day while Jerry’s eating some cereal. The only difference is that he has some stubble, but that could be chalked up to him not shaving yet. As the teaser reveals, though, this isn’t our Jerry.

After cornering this other Jerry, our Jerry learns that this variant of himself, nicknamed “Mooch,” is a Jerry who left his home dimension to travel the multiverse. As it turns out, other Jerries have learned how to use cracks and ratlines that they’ve dubbed “The Road” to travel across the multiverse. Since Jerry is usually beneath notice, their families have remained none the wiser! And at the encouragement of Mooch, Jerry decides to join him on The Road for a while.

Jerry on the Road

It wasn’t until I read a review on Bubbleblabber that I realized that this was the third episode of the season that didn’t focus on our main Rick and Morty. Instead, it focused on the supporting cast; in this case, Jerry, a character that wasn’t even present until the season’s fourth episode. As a result, this episode feels like a culmination of what Jerry’s capable of doing because he can fly under the radar.

His counterparts have figured out their own clever way of traveling the multiverse without attracting Rick’s attention, and his family remains none the wiser. It gets to the point where Jerry’s like Mooch opt to never return home, choosing to live a life on The Road. There’s always been a bit of romanticism about living life as a wanderer, and this episode feels like an attempt to tap into that. In the end, though, Jerry is still Jerry, and that means the universe is going to throw him a curveball.

After missing their main stop back, Jerry and Mooch have to travel to Grand Central, a dimension that acts as a hub for Jerries traveling on The Road. Unfortunately, our Jerry, emboldened by his experiences, mouths off to Boss Jerry, and he blacklists them from The Road altogether. Then to top it off, Jerry reveals the reason why he’s living on The Road: he got lost and by the time he got back, he thought his family hadn’t noticed or cared. His Beth had even remarried some random guy from the Jerryboree Day-Care!

Jerry Might be the Best Jerry

This is where our Jerry steps up and starts to show his character growth, calling Mooch out for being a spineless wuss. His experiences since joining his current Smith family have helped him grow a spine. Case in point, he forces Mooch to return home and reconcile with his family, who, as it turns out, had been worried about him. As an aside, the reveal that everyone in Mooch’s home dimension has five o’clock shadow was funny.

In the end, Jerry and Mooch make it back to Grand Central and lead Boss Jerry and his flunkies on a chase across The Road that ends with Boss Jerry either dead or trapped between dimensions. Mooch seems ready to return to his family while The Road is now free for all Jerries, and Jerry returns to his family. And much like with Mooch, the Smith-Sanchez family was worried about him, showing how they truly value him.

However, it looks like Rick now knows about The Road, but likely won’t do anything about it. And we got to see more of the show’s potential to use the multiverse for having characters interact with each other. And Jerry got to see who he could’ve been like if he hadn’t gotten his character growth. I guess him and Beth getting divorced for a while was the best thing that could’ve happened to him.

I Give “Nomortland” a 4/5

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Rick and Morty Season 6, Episode 8 Review

The moment this flashed on our screens last night, I wondered what Rick and Morty would do this time. They’re no stranger to tackling dark subjects. They’ve covered things that could traumatize someone in real life several times now but through the lens of black comedy. However, ‘Analyze Piss’ hits differently. Not only does it handle suicide with all the gravity it should get, but shows Rick trying to do the right thing for the sake of it. It’s the best episode of the season since the season premiere…and it revolves around something gross like piss.

Rick Goes to Therapy of His Own Free Will

Following another battle with Mr. Nimbus, Rick gets fed up with all the random D-list supervillains popping up trying to fight him. After talking it over with Dr. Wong, Rick challenges himself to ignore the villains for a week and see what happens. 

Firstly, we should talk about the fact that Rick willingly went to therapy, something he adamantly opposed in the past. He turned himself into a pickle to get out of it! If anything, this decision hammers home Rick’s character growth since the season premiere. He’s slowly accepting that there are people he cares about and that he doesn’t want to lose them, which he risks if he keeps giving in to these haters and trolls, who these weird villains serve as stand-ins for. 

Jerry Keeps Getting W’s this Season

In an even stranger twist, it’s Jerry who ends up taking the spotlight. When the Piss Master, a villain whose whole gimmick revolves around piss, makes a lewd comment about Summer, Jerry manages to beat the piss out of him! The next thing he knows, he’s invited to join a group of Green Lantern expy’s and using a mech suit to blow up a planet of Hitlers. No, I’m not joking. He blows up a planet of aliens who are all space Hitlers.

This whole season’s been filled with W’s for Jerry, honestly. First, he decides to stay with his Smith family of choice. Then, he scores with both Beth and Space Beth. Now, he’s managing to be an actual hero. Given how much of a punching bag he can be, good for Jerry. Too bad that “Analyze Piss” takes a dark and heavy turn.

‘Analyze Piss’ is a Heavy Look on Suicide

Despite promising to stay out of things, Rick takes pity on Piss Master after hearing how many people have railed on him online and decides to visit him. However, he’s shocked to discover that Piss Master committed suicide in his bathtub, all from being humiliated and ridiculed, thanks to Jerry. This was dark, and played for almost zero laughs. Piss Master was a man who wanted to prove everyone that he wasn’t a failure, only to die alone and miserable. It’s genuinely heartbreaking to watch.

What happens next, though, is both touching and disgusting to watch. Out of genuine kindness, Rick decides to disguise himself as Piss Master and embark on a spree of disgusting heroism so everyone will remember him as a hero. Dr. Wong even approves, saying it’s a good outlet, even when Rick admits he plans to fake his death so no one knows the truth.

Inevitably, things go awry when Jerry gets involved, ruining his own reputation and getting him kicked out. All Rick had to do was keep his mouth shut and let everyone think he was Piss Master, but he ends up blabbing to Morty, who tells everyone else. At least Piss Master won’t be remembered as a loser, though.

Overall, as gross as this episode was, I think it was the best episode of the season since the premiere. Rick’s really making the effort to be a better person, and it shows. Next time, though, just don’t have it involve piss. I can’t stand that kind of humor.

I Give “Analyze Piss” a 5/5

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