RJ Writing Ink

Rick and Morty S8 EP 3 Review

For almost as long as there has been Rick and Morty, there was the Citadel of Ricks. The idea of an entire society being made up of variants of two people was one of the show’s strongest aspects, and some of its best moments have had to do with the Citadel. So when it was ultimately destroyed by Evil Morty at the end of Season Five, it was the end of an era for the show. Ricks and Mortys would continue to exist, but they no longer had a place where they could gather, leaving many stranded in whatever dimension they were in. While this wasn’t the first time the Citadel was seemingly destroyed, there was always the chance that it could be rebuilt in the future. However, the third episode of this season confirms that this time, the Citadel isn’t coming back.

Exit, Stage Left

The episode starts off with our Rick and Morty forced to make an emergency landing while scavenging the wreckage of the Citadel, leading them to discover a few stragglers still hanging around. The episode teaser made it seem like our Rick and Morty would be getting into conflict with these other Ricks and Mortys. However, the episode quickly makes it clear that it tricked us. Our Rick and Morty exit stage left and don’t appear again until the aftermath of what goes down.

The Citadel of Ricks Tries to Rebuild

This episode serves as a spiritual sequel to the Season Three episode “The Ricklantis Mixup,” which focused exclusively on the Citadel of Ricks and its populace. It was one of the series’ best episodes, showing just how good a story could be gotten out of a society essentially made up of two people. Now that that society has fallen, though, we get to see what its population has been up to. In this case, that population consisting of clones of Rick and Morty created by the Citadel to maintain its population. When Rick reset portal travel, they were left stranded due to not having a home dimension to return to. In true Rick fashion, most of the surviving Ricks are trying to rebuild the Citadel under a Rick created to be a mascot for a gumbo restaurant. And they’re kidnapping any Mortys they can find, hoping to use them to restart the cloning process to gain more slave labor. The sole exception to this is Farmer Rick, who serves as the focus of the episode. When the other Ricks try to kill him in their latest raid and torch his homestead, he goes on a path of revenge.

The Citadel in the Wild West

Like it’s name implies, this episode is pretty much a fusion of space westerns and John Wick, with Farmer Rick serving as the John Wick. It’s revealed that he was in charge of cloning at the Citadel halfway through the episode, but like our Rick, he’s come to see the place as a failed experiment. He knows that bringing it back will only cause more pain and suffering, and, while he flat-out denies it, it’s obvious he stuck near the Mortys as a form of penance. It doesn’t make it a good person, but it demonstrates how Rick has always had it in him to be a better person. Case in point, while he doesn’t have to do it, he winds up saving the surviving Mortys and helping them escape the Citadel while he stays behind to finish the job. And by the time he’s done, what was left of the Citadel of Ricks is a smoldering crater with presumably no survivors.

While it’s possible that another version of it might come about down the road, the Citadel as we’ve known it is gone for good. If the destruction of the actual Citadel isn’t enough to hammer that home, it’s the fact that the remaining Morty clones decide to go their separate ways. They each find new lives based on their own interests, away from the usually toxic relationship they have with Rick. The sole exception to this is a Morty called Arcade Morty, who chooses to live in Farmer Rick’s homestead. He has no other place to call home, and as the episode ends with him watching how much healthier our Rick and Morty’s relationship has become, he’s even denied that.

Great Ending to the Citadel Story

This might be the best episode of the season thus far. It not only closes the book on the Citadel, it does so by fusing John Wick with sci-fi westerns. If shows like The Mandalorian have shown in recent years, there’s still an audience for the western genre, even if it’s acting as sci-fi. Even if the show does bring the Citadel back, this episode is still pretty solid.

I Give “The Rick, The Mort, and the Ugly” a 4.5/5

Click here to see my other animation stuff. 

Rick and Morty Season 8 Ep 2 Review

Rick and Space Beth have never had the best relationship, have they? From Rick planting a potential bomb in her to deliberately ensuring neither he nor Earth Beth know which is the clone, Space Beth has every reason to hate her dad. This is something that Rick is all too aware of, but unlike the rest of his family, he hasn’t tried to fix things. It isn’t until Space Beth is forced into asking him for help that the two make any headway. And even then, it’s set against the much greater threat of a rogue Federation scientist and alien parasites. The bugs are back at it again!

Rick Gets Space Beth Fired

Despite her becoming an important side character in the show, Rick and Morty never really focuses on what Space Beth has been up to since she left Earth. The most we know is that she’s part of a greater rebellion against the Gromflomite-led Federation. It isn’t until this episode that we get to see what this rebellion is like, and it’s not that flattering. The show makes it clear it’s what the Rebel Alliance was like until Rogue One had them get their act together: arguing amongst themselves rather than fighting. And when Space Beth goes rogue to conduct an unauthorized assassination that fails, forcing her to turn to Rick for help, they’re happy to kick her out.

To be fair, it’s pretty much shown that they only did that because Rick talked down to them, so it’s more or less his fault.

As Rick and Space Beth have to work together throughout this episode, we see just how Space Beth’s concerns about asking her Dad for help were justified. His follow-up attempt to fix things and uncover the conspiracy taking place leads to them relying on someone that never shows up and getting involved in a massive shootout. The fact that said shootout is juxtaposed against Rick and Space Beth arguing over how Rick’s plan could go wrong is the icing on the comedic cake. It also serves to emphasize just how tense the father and daughter’s relationship is, and to great effect.

These sorts of conflicts between parent and child are not new, but they are still interesting to watch. Seeing Rick stumble in trying to prove himself to his daughter is never not going to be enjoyable, since Beth is one of the few things that keeps him grounded. And as the episode goes on and the two fight the rogue Federation scientist using symbiotic parasites to create super-soldiers, the pair seem to achieve a deeper level of respect for each other. Given that it’s Rick and Morty, whether this will stick is up for debate. But it can’t be any less likely than the truce with the Federation.

The Federation Actually Helps them?

In the biggest twist of the episode, Rick and Space Beth end up calling a truce with a Federation General who’s just as unhappy about what’s happening as they are. As a result, the two groups wind up cooperating to defeat their common enemy, and the General proves to be rather competent. Even crazier, though, is that instead of returning to their usual fighting, the rebellion and Federation keep the truce going! They might actually have peace!

The Gromflomites have been the longest recurring antagonists in Rick and Morty, going all the way back to the pilot. They were responsible for some of the best episodes in the entire series. If this truce sticks, this could seriously affect the status quo of the entire show. Then again, it is Rick and Morty, so nothing is certain.

This episode felt like a notable improvement over the season premiere, helping to keep the show fresh as it enters such a late time in its run. Even more notable, though, is how this episode is the first to not feature Morty in any capacity. Given how the series previously did an episode without Rick, this feels appropriate.

I Give “Valkyrick” a 3.8/5

Click here to see my other animation stuff. 

Rick and Morty S8 Ep 1 Review

Rick Sanchez can be one of the pettiest people in all of fiction. If you think an idea of his is dumb, he will put you in a position where you admit it isn’t. If you try to prove that you’re morally better than him, he will force you to stoop to his level. And apparently, if you take his stuff without permission, he will put you in a Matrix until you learn your lesson! And apparently, that was the lesson that he was trying to teach Morty and Summer in the season eight premiere of Rick and Morty! In a twist, though, the episode doesn’t focus on the Matrix itself, though. It focuses on the after-effects on Morty and Summer.

Rick is Petty as they Come

The episode drops us off right at the tail end of Morty and Summer’s time in a version of The Matrix. They took Rick’s phone charger without his permission, and in retaliation, he trapped them in a simulation until they learned not to steal his phone charger. In typical Rick fashion, though, he fell asleep and left them in there for the equivalent of 17 years. Morty went to prison and became a shell-shocked war veteran, while Summer became an unscrupulous businesswoman in an effort to break The Matrix. By the time they get out, they’re mentally adults, and neither of them has dealt with the trauma that well.

Looking at this episode, it’s rather obvious to longtime fans that nothing about “Summer of all Fears” is original. The show has demonstrated Rick will punish his family for the pettiest reasons. It’s dropped us into the middle of an adventure without explanation, only to reveal what happened over time. An entire episode of the show was dedicated to revealing how many times Rick has had to wipe his family’s memories. Even The Matrix itself isn’t that original. It gets to the point where you question if the show isn’t running out of steam.

Killdozer’s Second Coming

Then again, seeing the Smith kids deal with the trauma they experienced in The Matrix remains an interesting sight. If only because of the way the principal adult figures in their lives react to it. Beth likes the more mature Summer at first, but her condescending attitude quickly wears on her nerves. Meanwhile, Morty turns the tables on Rick by trapping him in his own Matrix before trying to drive a death race vehicle into a power plant. That part felt a lot like the story of the Killdozer!

In the end, though, status quo remains the law of the land. Summer is able to talk Morty down, both agree to have their minds wiped, and everything returns to normal as both lost their character development. Not the most inspiring of ways to end the episode, if you ask me. But then again, it’s Rick and Morty. At this point, the show is going to do whatever it wants. Here’s hoping that the rest of the season comes up with some cool stories, though.

I Give “Summer of all Fears” a 2.5/5

Click here to see my other animation stuff. 

Solar Opposites Valentine’s Day Special

I think Valentine’s Day is overrated. Growing up, it was (and still is) giving people you care about cards and candy. But you shouldn’t need a single day of the year to do something like that; you should try to show affection every day. And everyone makes such a big deal over getting a Valentine, like it’s the end of the world if you don’t. My favorite Valentine’s Day Special is “Ed Edd n’ Eddy’s Hanky Panky Hullabaloo.” Seeing Rolf snapping everyone out of the holiday-induced madness is fantastic! However, the Solar Opposites Valentine’s Day Special might be a close second.

Number three is the Spongebob special.

War on Valentine’s Day

The premise of the special is simple on paper: the Solar Opposites keep going to a restaurant to get their favorite dish, only to forget that it’s Valentine’s Day. That means a holiday-themed menu, which everyone (except Jesse) gets upset about. Their ultimate solution: eliminate love, and thus Valentine’s Day, from Earth altogether. 

This is the sort of thing that fans of Solar Opposites have come to expect from the series, and it doesn’t disappoint. The fact that they’re willing to get rid of love over the pettiest of reasons is enough to leave viewers in stitches. Their scheme of hitting the planet with an anti-love ray is taking the Valentine’s Day hate to its logical extreme. 

The special only gets stranger as things don’t pan out the way everyone expects. Instead of everyone being filled with hate or depressed or even apathetic, they do something weirder. Everyone starts drinking margaritas from tikis, listening to Jimmy Buffett, and buying parrots. It’s the kind of out-of-left-field result we should expect from Solar Opposites, but it is still unexpected and hilarious. That’s not even including the fact that the parrots later rise to overthrow humanity. 

It’s the kind of crazy, irreverent stuff we’ve come to expect from Solar Opposites, especially with its holiday specials. The difference is that this special ends in a way that will affect the status quo for Season Five. No spoilers, though!

Happy Valentine’s Day (or Not)

So, the big question is whether this special loves or hates Valentine’s Day? The answer is both. Like the other Solar Opposites specials, it makes fun of the holiday and everything that goes into it. At the same time, it doesn’t say that the holiday’s worthless, and I would have to agree. I may not be that big into Valentine’s Day, and I think it does put unecessary pressure on people to find romance. But there are other kinds of love, and ultimately, the other Solar Opposites come to see the value in the holiday. Plus, the end does include a tribute to the late Jimmy Buffett. 

So, whether you love the day or don’t care about, Happy Valentine’s Day!

“An Earth Shatteringly Romantic Solar Valentine’s Day Opposites Special” a 4.5/5

Click here to see my other animation stuff. 

Rick and Morty S7 Ep 10 Review

In hindsight, Rick and Morty have managed to spoil us with its season finales for years now. From Season Two onwards, the season finale would usually end with some big, status quo-shifting event. Season 3 had Jerry and Beth get back together; Four introduced Space Beth; Five gave us the end to the Citadel of Rick and Morty; and Six ended with Rick and Morty starting the hunt for Rick Prime. Given how the seasons midway point saw the hunt for Rick Prime come to a sudden and unexpected end, many people wondered what Rick and Morty would do for the season finale. While it wasn’t as mind-blowing as Rick Prime and Evil, it was also more personal in nature as Morty grapples with his deepest fear.

Scare of a Lifetime

After failing to get scared at an horror house and lamenting how desensitized they’ve become, Rick and Morty are persuaded by a man who likes the host for The Twilight Zone to go to Earth to find the scariest thing in the universe: a hole in a Denny’s bathroom that projects a person’s deepest fears. With nothing to lose, both dive headfirst into the hole. Little do they, or the audience, know, but what they face is more than some simple jump scares. 

Case in point: after they think they leave the hole after a jumpscare and go home, they’re surprised by a dying Rick and…Diane?!??

Right away, Rick and Morty realize they’re both still in the Fear Hole. However, Rick can’t bring himself to leave what he knows is a facsimile of his wife. And if it’s accurate, then it’s clear why Rick loved her. She drinks as much as him, loves ripping on bad sci-fi as much as him, and is an all-around fun person to be around. No wonder he devoted his life to avenging her and his Beth. 

A True Horror Can be Psychological

At first, it seems like the whole episode is about Rick and his greatest fear. That he can never see Diane again in any reality, no matter how much he wants to. However, that’s only the first half of the episode. Even after Rick lets go of Diane and joins Morty in embarrassing himself, they’re still in the Hole.

From there, things get really, really disturbing. The two repeatedly try to escape the Hole, only for it to be layered like a dream from Inception. And the more they try to leave, the more things fall apart for them. Eventually, though, the big sham moment drops at the climax. This experience wasn’t about Rick’s biggest fear. It was about Morty’s biggest fear: his dependence on Rick.

The series has made it no secret that most Ricks see Morty’s as expendable; as replaceable as a toothbrush or plumbus. Morty has always been afraid that Rick might leave him one day. That is some deep-seated fears! 

Morty Faces his Fear and Comes Out on Top

Ultimately, Morty chooses to face that fear, but it’s clear the experience has scarred him. When he mentions Diane appearing, and Rick, who never went inside, is tempted to try the Hole, Morty point-blank tells him it’s not worth it. For a moment, Rick’s tempted to go in anyway. Instead, he just hangs a picture of Morty on the wall of people who made it through the Hole.

It’s not the most obvious, but this moment solidifies that Rick has started to grow as a person. When presented with the chance to see a fake version of his wife, Rick opts to not do so, and sticks with Morty. The message is clear: Rick has started to move on with his life. He may never heal from the trauma he went through, but he’s working on it. Way to go with that character development, Rick.

Can’t say the same for Mr. Poopy Butthole. The end credits sees him steal one of Rick’s portal guns so he can replace a version of himself that’s married to his wife. He clearly hasn’t learned his lesson. 

So, another season of Rick and Morty is in the books now. It had its ups and downs, but as a whole, it was decent. The new voice actor’s have grown into their roles as Rick and Morty, that’s for sure. As for season finales, I’d put this in the middle of the pack as far as quality. Like I said at the start, the finales have hardwired my brain to expect something big to happen. Lesson learned!

I Give “Fear No Mort” a 4/5

 Click here to see my other animation stuff. 

Rick and Morty S7 Ep 9 Review

In a show like Rick and Morty, life and death are worth as much as a pack of gum one gets at a gas station. By this point, fans have seen the show’s cast die multiple times, only for it to get reversed, faked, or an alternate version of a character. While Rick might not be immortal, he’s got so many ways to come back that he gets pretty close to it. It is funnier when Rick’s latest scheme involves him doing something no one ever thought he would do: get into the afterlife via death by Bigfoot.

Bigfoot Sends Rick and Morty to Valhalla

In his latest experiment/scheme, Rick manages to confirm something that people have debated about for years: there is an afterlife. There are multiple versions of the afterlife based on everyone’s beliefs. He’s not interested in reaching any of them whenever he dies for good, though. He wants to use their energy to power himself up even more. Since he’s still a stubborn atheist, though, that’s almost impossible. Rick soon finds a workaround by getting into one of the easiest afterlives: Valhalla, the realm of the Norse Gods. So, to get in, he takes Morty to Norway and lets himself be killed by a captive Bigfoot.

No, really. That’s his whole plan. He’s had Bigfoot held captive in a Pokeball and lets him out just so he can be brutally killed, and it works. He gets into Vahalla and hijacks that “afterlife energy” for himself. 

Like a Video Game, but Deadlier

There are several funny aspects about this initial part of the episode that had me laughing. Firstly, there’s the fact that he’s used Jerry as his guinea pig so often that his late grandmother’s tired of welcoming him to Heaven. Secondly, there’s the fact that, as Dan Harmon states, Rick is dying so he can have adventures. The idea that he could use it to reunite with his Diane and original Beth doesn’t even seem to cross his mind. 

Lastly, there’s the fact once the residents of Valhalla realize what Rick’s up to, they try to rush his tower, only for it to turn into a real-life tower defense game. In hindsight, most depictions of Vahalla are a lot like modern-day battle royale games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and PUBG. They kill, die, celebrate, kill again, rinse and repeat.

Unfortunately, things take a turn south when Bigfoot tricks Morty into letting him out and kills him, sending him to Valhalla. 

Rick, Morty, and Bigfoot vs. Evil Pope

The plot only gets sillier from here on out. Bigfoot’s abducted by the Vatican so the Pope can use him to kill their enemies with the promise of letting him kill Rick’s still mindless clone. Then, when Rick and Morty make it back, the Pope steals that afterlife energy for himself. So the three team up to take down the Pope…and they die and get sent to Valhalla.

Whether the show intended it to be, this episode plays out a lot like a video game. Rick, Morty, and Bigfoot try to beat the final boss, only to die, go to Valhalla, and then respawn (with Bigfoot getting a human body). They then try again and again, each attempt getting more ridiculous than the last. As a gamer who’s sometimes spent hours trying to beat that one enemy in a game, this entire montage made me laugh. And while this isn’t the first I’ve seen a fictional version of the Pope that’s evil, it’s still funny. Perhaps more so due to Rick’s refusal to believe in religion, despite this and multiple episodes proving there’s some truth to them. 

A Very Silly Episode with Bigfoot

In the end, though, Rick has to swallow his pride and give up on his new power source to beat the Pope. Thus, the entire point of this adventure was rendered pointless. However, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad episode.

I’m not sure why, but seeing Rick and Morty (and Bigfoot) go through all of this over and over again seemed funny to me. It may be because I see similarities to a video game in this episode, but I found it enjoyable. The jokes were funny; seeing Rick kill the residents of Valhalla right as they respawned was funny. And seeing them try to drive the now-human Bigfoot away at the end like a parody of those animal films was hilarious. 

This just hit all the right notes for me. While I’m still concerned about what the show’s going to do with its season finale next week, this was one of the season’s better episodes. 

I Give “Mort: Ragnarick” a 4/5

Click here to see my other animation stuff. 

Rick and Morty S7 Ep 8 Review

On Saturday, December 2nd, 2023, Rick and Morty marked its 10th birthday with surprisingly little fanfare. One would think that such an important milestone would be a big deal online. Surprisingly, though, it barely showed up in my Twitter feed. However, one might argue that the show’s current season is the show’s way of celebrating hitting double digits. While not every episode has hit the mark for a longtime fan like myself, it’s still had its moments. This week’s episode, though, might have all the others topped. Centering on a stinger from a Season two episode that involved Ice-T/Water-T, the episode is a full-on pastiche of big names in 80s pop culture: Star Wars, Transformers, and tons of puns involving numbers and letters.

The biggest twist, though? Rick isn’t even in this episode. At all. For the first time, Rick isn’t in his show.

Ice-T/Water-T and the Rise of the Numbericons

Way back in the season two episode of “Get Schwifty,” Rick and Morty teamed up with rapper Ice-T to save the world from giant heads that wanted a hit song. Then Ice-T was revealed to be an alien ice crystal, exiled by his people like Thor. After helping to save Earth, though, he returned home, regained his true form as Water-T, and his Dad die during an attack by their mortal enemies, the Numbericons. “Rise of the Numbericons: the Movie” picks up right where the stinger left off, with Water-T headed to Earth in search of someone to help him find a treasure to end the war.

If the entire premise behind what’s been described sounds ridiculous, that’s the whole point. This entire episode takes the idea of sentient numbers and letters fighting each other and rolls with it for all its worth. The end result is something akin to the Transformers series of the 1980s, which the show’s writers acknowledge was an influence on things. It’s ridiculous and full of cliches, like the surprise villain that everyone has to unite against and Water-T having chemistry with his enemy. It’s not something meant to be taken seriously, and it knows this and uses it to its advantage. The result is a fusion of Transformers and the plot of Return of the Jedi, with Morty and Mr. Goldenfold caught in the middle.

Mr. Goldenfold Gets a Starring Role

Easily the biggest twist to this episode is how it marks the first time Rick is not present in any capacity. He’s been in every episode, no matter how minor a role, across all seven seasons. While some might miss him, this offers Morty a chance to go on an adventure alongside someone who can’t necessarily bail him out like Rick can. In this case, it’s his math teacher, Mr. Goldenfold.

Mr. Goldenfold’s never been a major character in Rick and Morty. Oftentimes, he’s best remembered as the guy who likes Mrs. Pancake too much, or being the butt of some joke. In this case, though, Goldenfold manages to get an important role, serving not just as Morty’s teacher, but also one to Water-T, who was once his student.

While the dynamic between Goldenfold and Water-T did feel a little forced, that seems to be more because of how they had to cram a movie’s worth of plot into a third of the time. Thus, the mutual bitterness between the two stemming from Water-T’s failed promises and unfinished homework seems silly rather than serious. In contrast, though, Morty and Goldenfold develop a more interesting dynamic. Goldenfold largely either fears Morty due to his association with Rick or looks down on him. In this episode, though, Goldenfold’s a good teacher. He doesn’t let Morty get away with anything, but he also encourages him when needed.

That still doesn’t make me like math class, though.

They Pulled off a Rick-Free Episode

As a whole, this episode was a very enjoyable one to watch. Getting to see the continuation of a joke that the show made years ago in the form of Water-T was amazing, and the stinger sets up potentially more adventures in the future. In addition, the fact that the episode did well without having Rick in it proves that the show doesn’t need its main character (or one of them) to be good. It just needs good writing and storytelling. I’m probably going to come back and rewatch this some time later.

I Give “Rise of the Numbercons: the Movie” a 3.5/5.

Happy 10th Birthday, Rick and Morty

Click here to see my other animation stuff. 

Rick and Morty S7 Ep 7 Review

Over the course of Rick and Morty, Summer Smith’s gone from being simply Morty’s older sister to a certified badass in her own right. She can hold her own adventuring with Rick to the point where she might be better at it than Morty. Rick and Summer’s adventures have become a staple of the series, but the seventh season has seen her take a backseat. It’s an unfortunate consequence of the show deciding to re-focus itself and return to its roots. Even more unfortunate, though, is that this season’s Summer-centric episode “Wet Kuat Amortican Summer” rehashes action movies. Instead of Die Hard from the last season, this time it’s using Total Recall and Taken. And something called a Kuato.

What the heck is a Kuato?

Kuato Summer and Morty 

When Rick gives Summer a device that lets her swap her attributes like she’s in an RPG as payment for doing his chores, Morty gets jealous. The two of them end up fighting over the device at a party thrown by their school’s Frolf (frisbee+golf=frolf), leading the two to fall into a pool along with it. As a result, their bodies fuse with Morty becoming this parasitic creature jutting out of Summer’s stomach that everyone calls a “Kuato,” after the character from the sci-fi film Total Recall. The entire thing is every bit as disturbing as one would expect, and when Rick refuses to fix them until they do more chores, Summer bails for an alien nightclub with more Kuato’s.

While the idea of Morty becoming this parasitic being stuck to Summer’s body sounds interesting on paper, I failed to become emotionally invested in it. I’ve never seen Total Recall before and have no plans to do so in the near future, so the reference flew over my head. That was strike one for me. 

Strike two was how Summer initially acted following her becoming a Kuato. Rather than doing everything she could to get them back to normal, which is likely what Morty wanted, Summer decided to exploit her newfound Kuato status for popularity. While both teens were at fault for what happened to them, Morty wound up having far less agency from this, being forced to go along with Summer’s whims. If I were Morty, I’d be screaming for help.

From Total Recall to Taken at the Drop of a Hat

Ulimately, Summer’s need to be popular bites her hard when a group of Kuato traffickers drug her and take Morty to sell on the black market. She escapes, Rick eventually gets involved, and from here, the whole episode is a beat-for-beat remake of the Liam Neeson movie Taken. Right down to the underground auction and the fight on the yacht. The only difference is that Morty manages to free himself in time to take part in the final battle against the ringleader. Who, for some reason, is revealed to be a Kuato inside a Kuato…inside a Kuato. 

Look, I’ll be honest: by this point, I had already lost much of my interest in the episode. I saw Family Guy parody the first Taken film years ago, so I knew how this would play out. It was a little impressive that the episode managed to transition from sci-fi to thriller like it did, but that was about it. 

Rick Does Respect Summer

The one thing about this episode that keeps me from fully writing it off is how this deepened the relationship between Rick and Summer. In a shootout near the climax of the episode, Summer complains about how Rick’s so much harder on her than he is on Morty. His response? Rick says it’s because he sees much of his late wife in Summer. He knows that Summer is more capable than Morty can be, and whereas he tends to treat Morty as someone he has to look after, he considers Summer an equal.

This was a genuinely sweet moment and a highlight of the episode. I’ve talked in previous reviews about how badass Summer can be, but this moment feels like the culmination of it. Rick acknowledges her as someone who, while not as smart as him, is on his level of adventuring.

The episode ends with Morty remaining a Kuato until the next episode and Summer hopefully learning not to crave other people’s approval so much. Plus, she gets a girlfriend in the form of another former Kuato she saved from that Kuato ring. On its own, this is a good episode. However, it’s also one that comes after the dizzying high that was “Unmortricken.” Compared to that, most episodes will seem like a step-down. Still, at least Summer got a big adventure this season and her name in the episode title for the first time.

That, and there was a hilarious parody of those “cake or not” videos that Rick was watching.

I Give “Wet Kuat Amortican Summer” a 3/5

Click here to see my other animation stuff. 

Rick and Morty S7 Ep 6 Review

Where do Rick and Morty go after resolving one of their biggest plot threads? That’s the question that fans spent the last week trying to answer, with little success. The season’s midway point not only saw the unexpected return of Evil Morty, but ended in the apparent death of Rick’s nemesis, Rick Prime. This, naturally, left many fans scratching their heads. What would the rest of the season be about? Would it have an overarching plot of Rick finding a new purpose for living? Would the follow-up episode have Morty drag Rick out of his funk? Not exactly. Instead, the follow-up episode is a clip show…that parodies clip shows and why no one likes them anymore.

Another Clip Show

After what feels like weeks of Rick dealing with the existential crisis thanks to Rick Prime’s death, Morty takes action. He cashes in all of his Morty Adventure cards to force Rick to get off his butt, and Rick doesn’t buy that they’re real. So, to resolve the issue, Rick calls in a cosmic Observer, who looks like a rock and can see everything at once. It’s a not-so-subtle nod at people who watch the show. Rick has the Observer audit Morty’s claimed adventures and…it becomes a clip show. The entirety of the episode becomes a clip show.

Clip shows are one of the most hated tropes in television, and for good reason. They used to be a way to catch people up on events in a show before reruns and syndication existed. Now people see them as a way for a show to save money while doing an episode. These days, it’s more common to see shows parodies of the concept by including events that viewers never saw, or from a perspective that isn’t accurate. In the past, Rick and Morty did clip shows, like Interdimensional Cable and Morty’s Mind Blowers. Those episodes were well-recieved by fans. However, all it does is elicit groans; which seems like the point. 

No One Likes a Bad Clip Show

It doesn’t take long for the Observer to overstay his welcome as he continues to play unflattering clips of not just Rick and Morty, but the entire Smith Family. Then things escalate when the Observer dies and his people arrest Rick and Morty for murder and/or manslaughter. This also marks the only time in the episode where an actual clip from an old episode gets used. 

At this point, though, I’m sad to say that the episode had almost lost me. I normally don’t mind clip shows. Some of the best episodes of Rick and Morty have been a clip show. However, to have this come on the heels of the mind-blowing events of last week, it doesn’t feel that interesting. In the show’s defense, though, the clip show thing does serve its purpose. It lights a fire in Rick, and he gets them out of this mess in the most Rick way possible: he uses their powers to drag them down to his level. Because one thing that Rick loves doing is ensuring no one has the moral high ground. Once the Observers start fighting each other, Rick and Morty are free to escape and go on more adventures.

This Episode Was Mid

I’ll be honest: this might be the weakest episode of the season yet. I don’t get too bothered by clip shows, but doing it right after the mind-blower that was episode 5? I would’ve preferred to have the rest of the season deal with the fallout and have Rick rebuild himself. Instead, we got a clip show that I forgot about almost as soon as I turned the TV off. Except for the jab at their Space Jam 2 Cameo. They didn’t like that.

It’s not a total loss for Rick and Morty, though. Today, the popular YouTube series DEATH BATTLE has Rick Sanchez fight against The Doctor from Doctor Who. Check out the video down below.

And check out my reaction to it. With the 10th birthday of Rick and Morty coming on December 3rd and the 60th birthday of Doctor Who this Thursday (happy Thanksgiving), the timing’s perfect!

I Give “Rickfending Your Mort” a 2/5

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

Rick and Morty S7 Ep 5 Review

For weeks now, I’ve been worried about whether or not Rick and Morty had started to lose its edge. The first few episodes of the show’s seventh season weren’t funny or memorable. Even the adventures of Burger and Fries, AKA Rick and Jerry, seem forgettable after the fact. While the Spaghetti Episode did alleviate some concerns, it felt like fans were getting antsy. What we wanted was to see progress on the hunt for Rick Prime, AKA the Rick that killed our Rick’s wife and Beth and started everything. Well, the halfway point of season seven gave Rick and the fans what they wanted: Rick Prime. But in a testament to how empty revenge can feel, it’s a victory that feels premature, hollow, and leaving everyone asking, “now what?” That doesn’t stop it from being one of the series best episodes, though, since it also sees the return of another longtime villain, Evil Morty.

Evil Morty Returns!

Up until the episode’s premiere, Adult Swim was tight-lipped about it by refusing to release a major teaser, and for good reason. The episode starts off with what seems like the tail end to a typical Rick and Morty adventure. However, the cold opening’s revealed to be a misdirection, with it actually showing the rise of Evil Morty.

Evil Morty’s one of the best characters on the show by virtue of the fact that he’s one of the few Morty’s who can outsmart a Rick. He’s willing to commit horrible acts of violence, murder, and deception all because he wanted out of what he calls “the Rick Experiment,” and he succeeded. He escaped to the greater multiverse where other people have invented portal travel, and is living his best life. However, he then gets dragged back into the game thanks to Rick’s obsession with catching Rick Prime.

Getting to see Evil Morty and Rick and Morty interact with each other throughout an episode was amazing. While the show’s Morty has grown to become resourceful in his own right, Evil Morty not only meets Rick on his level of intellect but surpasses him. The back-and-forth between the two is filled with a mutual condescension and shows why Ricks feel the need to be the dominant one in the Rick and Morty relationship. Because if a Morty surpasses a Rick, then it would be bad for all Ricks everywhere, as we see at the end.

Rick vs. Rick Prime at Last

As fun as it was to see the return of Evil Morty, though, the focus of the episode lies squarely on Rick Prime. Due to it being the halfway point of the season, fans could be forgiven for thinking that Rick wouldn’t find Rick Prime in this episode, let alone fight him. However, the show then turned everyone’s expectations on their heads. Not only does Rick find Rick Prime thanks to Evil Morty’s help (which he hates), but he, Morty, and Evil Morty fight him. 

The resulting battle between the two sides is among the best fights the series has ever given us. Even though Rick gives it his all, there’s this overarching feeling of dread that Rick Prime will still win, and he comes to doing so. However, thanks to another deception by Evil Morty, Rick Prime is finally brought down. 

What follows next is among the darkest moments in the entire series, which is saying something. In very real, very visceral moment, Rick unleashes decades of pent-up fury at his counterpart. The show holds nothing back as we watch Rick seemingly beat Rick Prime to death with his bare hands, all while the latter taunts him for turning our Rick into a mirror image of himself. 

I was practically speechless as I watched this moment unfold. Like many fans, I assumed that catching Rick Prime would be a sort of epic endgame. If not for the series, then at least this season. To have it happen so suddenly halfway through the season, what should’ve been a cathartic moment felt…hollow. 

Which I think was the whole point the writers were going for. 

A Hollow Victory

Revenge stories are some of the most prevalent in fiction. From the Count of Monte Cristo to Sasuke’s quest to avenge the loss of his Clancy revenge stories are everywhere. A key thing that many of these stories point out about revenge, though, is how it’s not worth it. Characters devote themselves so much to the idea of avenging the wrongs done to them, they fail to consider what they’ll do afterwards. So when they finally get their revenge, it’s a hollow feeling with fleeting satisfaction. And as this episode shows, Rick finally got the revenge he wanted. However, it may not have been worth devoting his life to attaining.

The blank look on Rick’s face as the episode ends says it all. He’s a man who suddenly has no purpose in life, and no more excuses to justify his bad behavior. It’s telling that this mimics Morty’s own BSOD at the end of Rick Potion #9, the same music and everything. He great tragedy is that while Rick finally has the chance to move on, he doesn’t know what to do. Worse, by doing so, he’s given the keys to his own destruction to someone who isn’t him: Evil Morty.

Rick Prime wasn’t just hiding away, but building a weapon capable of erasing a person from every reality. He even kills a one-off character from season one to prove it. And after Rick Prime’s dealt with, Evil Morty takes the plans as insurance. If Rick ever comes after him, he’ll wipe out all Ricks everywhere. It’s like a nuclear deterrent, though, since Evil Morty knows that doing this would send the rest of the Smith Family after him. Thus, he leaves the sword of Damocles dangling over Rick’s head as he takes his leave.

The Rick and Morty We Wanted to See

Hands down, this was the best episode of the entire season, if not one of the best in the entire series. The fact that this happened in the middle of the season only makes it even more incredible. This is the kind of move that fans want to see out of Rick and Morty, the kind that keeps us on our toes. However, this does beg the question: what are they going to do now? I don’t have the slightest clue, but I’m curious to see what happens next. Considering how the shows tenth anniversary is a month away, hopefully it will be good. 

I Give “Unmortricken” a 5/5

Click here to see my other animation stuff.