My thoughts on season 9 ep 1 after talking back and forth with some friends and lingering on my opinions for a few weeks:
Despite how much I LOVE episode 1, I still think it couldve been done better
if an episode left a majority of it’s fans confused and feeling off about a characters behavior, which is what I’ve mostly heard. Then that episode didn't succeed in what it was trying to achieve.
I don't think Evil Morty coming back was out of character. I’m a firm believer that out of character actions can be justified if that character is narratively brought to that point. Unfortunately!!! that does not happen with Evil Morty !!! Since it’s apparently all done off-screen !!!
Episode 1 only makes sense from the assumptions we as fans make. We assume he was lonely outside the CFC, that he wanted to be in a position of control against a version of his abuser that he’s attached to. Thinking this way, episode 1 makes a lot of sense.
its just — we're never SHOWN that in the actual show. It doesn’t need to be spelled out, but a single 10 second frame of Em looking dissatisfied with his life outside the CFC wouldve been enough for me. Quite literally ANYTHING would’ve helped the entire episode feel less out of character and incredibly abrupt.
A friend of mine noted that we might get Em's reasoning next season, a flashback to explain the build up to getting back in contact with Rick. idk if thats necessarily true, but a girl can dream
Theres also my qualms of Em just not being as calculated as he was in the past. I recommend everybody to go watch the rise and fall of evil Morty on youtube. It really makes you stop and think about his character.
All of Em's original plans were so meticulous and precise that it’s hard to believe he'd throw all that out the window in a single moment of fury. Yes, he is 14, but for this character trait to never be shown in the past, the whole situation kinda just makes you cock your head and go… “huh...”
Rick is impulsive, Em is shown to be precise and manipulative. Thats what made them narrative foils to each other, it’s what allowed Em to be the one to capture Rick Prime.
Those lil bits and pieces are the reasons why I’m still iffy of episode 1, the whole thing throwing me for such a loop that since then I’ve been working on a fic psychoanalyzing Em and Morty and their relationship to Ricks (+ each other). Basically trying to make more sense of the situation by filling in the gaps as to WHY Em went back to Rick C-137 specifically
