Well, that was one hell of an episode.
I'll start with what we're all thinking: it's disappointing that the sweet moments that Rick and Morty shared in "A Rick in King Mortur's Mort" weren't real. "Little junebug" and the hug in particular were so loving. Admittedly, Rick seemed out of character, but I loved seeing his grandfatherly side.
However, I don't think it's entirely a bad thing. "Rick" changed way too quickly, and Morty forgave him too quickly. It let Rick off the hook when Morty deserves to tell Rick how much he hurt him. Rick needs to face what he's done, not make up with a quick hug and nice words.
And I mean--Rick could have programmed that robot to be cruel. He could've programmed him to mentally beat the family down so they wouldn't bother the real Rick. Or he could've programmed to be the same as he is. Why not? But he programmed that robot to be gentle and loving: the grandfather that Morty deserves. The one that Rick would've been in another lifetime.
I love how the robot also pointed out that anything that he did, Rick technically did himself. Rick programmed the robot to act that way.
"Rick and Morty is about how nothing matters!" Bullshit. The robot wasn't just a replacement Rick. Yes, Rick built him because he was being a petty asshole, but he could've made that robot an abusive piece of shit to be an even pettier asshole. Instead, the robot showed us Rick at his best.
I was glad that the episode clarified that Rick made the robot at the beginning of the previous episode so that we didn't have to wonder how long we'd been watching a Rick stand-in.
Rick still did everything else this season. He willingly went to therapy, spent time with his family, helped Jerry when he didn't need to (and side-eyed the family for making fun of him), told Morty that he loves him, threw himself on top of Morty to protect him, showed him physical gentleness, told him that his life matters, tried to be a better father to his daughters, and abandoned his revenge quest in "Solaricks" when Morty called him "Grandpa." He's still changing.
And this is the same man that's making himself crazy as he tries to hunt down Prime Rick. He abandoned that for a moment for the Smiths.
Even in this episode, Rick was tame compared to his past behavior. He's still crabby and somewhat distant, but he's far from the monster that he was in "The Rickchurian Mortydate" (and again, another brilliant callback to season three.)
Still, my heart breaks for Morty. All he wants is for Rick to love him. Rick does love him, but not in the way that he needs. His parents aren't exactly great, either--the Smiths might do more together as a family, but wake me up when Morty has another episode with Beth or Jerry. We've got, what, one of each? And his episode with Jerry was all the way back in season one.
Morty's repressed rage isn't going anywhere, either. I was shocked when he tried to kill the president. He's been racking up a body count since "Look Who's Purging Now" in season two, and I wonder how much worse he's going to get.
Not that I blame him after all the trauma he's experienced. The world had written him off as a nobody long before Rick showed up. Once, he was lonely and neglected. Now, Rick gives him plenty of attention and even affection, but he's also been selfish, abusive and just batshit crazy at times. When is it going to end?
I'm glad that this episode revived the tension between Rick and Morty--it's not a good thing, but it shows that Rick hasn't magically become a saint. It also shows that Morty's continuing to stand up for himself. And let's face it: we've got four more seasons to go. Their issues can't end here.
Maybe they'll split up for good. Maybe Morty will try to kill him. Maybe Morty will snap and carve a path of destruction throughout the galaxy. Maybe Morty's love will save him.
On a lighter note, I LOVED it when Rick said that the president and his inventions would give him "neurotypical cooties." I thought the writers had forgotten that Rick is autistic before season six. Nope, they haven't--and the series is blatant about representation.
No "Haha we code Rick as autistic! We won't state that in the show though lol!" No accidental portrayal, like Sheldon Cooper, that's offensive to the autistic community. Rick is autistic, and the show's going to rub your face in it. Cry about it, dudebros who say that Rick is neurotypical (and yes, they say that. I've seen it!)
The cliffhanger also made me ecstatic. It's everything that I wanted from a cliffhanger. Season five had a decent one, but it wasn't about Rick's character or backstory. It was just the usual "Damn, how are they going to get out of this?"
I can't wait to see Rick chase Prime in season seven. I'm also hoping that the show will become more serialized as it goes on. I've been saying for a while that making it increasingly successive and going full serialization in season ten would be gutsy and thrilling to watch.
Overall, this was a great season that seems to be building up to something even greater. The new writers clearly love and respect the show. They brought up concepts that I thought the show would never touch again, like Morty liking science (has that ever come up before? He has a bunch of science stuff in his room, but the show didn't touch on it.) All the callbacks were great and never seemed like nostalgia bait. They were loving tributes to the series.
And the new writers seem to like us, lol. They were clearly trying to please our "side" of the fandom.
Rick paused his revenge quest for his family, but he didn't end it. He'll do almost anything to kill Prime. Anything to eliminate the suffering that he can't drown with abuse and alcohol. Anything to make the pain go away for the last time.
gummygunk
blakekathryn
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