It’s back. As Mr. Poopybutthole promised way back at the end of Season 3, Rick and Morty came back after a really long time. No word on how old he is now, but in our universe, more than two years have passed. That’s a long time between seasons. Two years of the only new Rick and Morty content being its worst fans screaming “Pickle Rick” and making demands of McDonald’s workers. God, the show is great but it’s gotten really hard to admit as much. Fortunately, the show’s back so we can all concentrate on how good the individual episodes are, rather than the fandom around it. Except for when the show comments on the fandom around it.
Yes, it’s not all the quantum physics jokes and sci-fi references (anime references in this one) that make Rick and Morty so smart. It’s that it knows what it is, and it knows how to use that information. Plenty of shows can be self-aware. Usually it leads to a few snarky asides. At worst, it means we get a joke about how bad an aspect of the show is that tries to but doesn’t make up for the bad thing. Rick and Morty consistently finds the perfect mix of 4th wall breaks, references and genuine original jokes that all three are actually funny. Lots of cartoons try it, and rarely do they succeed on such a consistent basis. It’s no surprise then, that one of the funniest jokes in the Season 4 premiere is poking fun at the worst of its fandom.
The show picks up with the Smith family having settled into a life where Rick isn’t dictating everything anymore. Beth asserted herself over her father at the end of last season and promised more stability. We all knew Rick probably wouldn’t be into that. He now has to ask Morty’s permission before taking him on an adventure. Oh the horror. I like that the show keeps the evolution of its characters. The way last season ended was kind of a reset point, but not entirely. The relationship dynamics have changed, which forces the writers to come up with new jokes. Rick no longer has open contempt for Morty, and the two feel more like partners this season.
(via Adult Swim)
Of course that doesn’t stop them from being selfish assholes at their cores. On a mission to retrieve crystals that show you possible deaths, Morty finds out that there is one possible future where he and Jessica grow old together. He becomes obsessed with making that future happen. It leads him to crash the spaceship, impaling Rick on a rock, and then avoid bringing Rick back to life. The choice becomes clear to him. Revive Rick and probably die horribly, or keep him dead and maybe get that future with Jessica. The only issue is Rick’s holographic AI keeps following him around trying to push him towards revival. But since it’s a hologram programmed for tolerance, all it can do is make emotional appeals and protest. It’s basically what if Rick had a Tumblr account. He has all the language of respecting other people’s states of matter, but he’s still Rick. As soon as he becomes corporeal later in the episode, he’s a giant monster. Rick, even ostensibly tolerant Rick, is always a terrible person.
While Morty is trying to follow the crystal, Rick’s consciousness is sent to a clone in another universe. He explains the situation to that universe’s Rick before realizing he’s landed in a fascist world where everyone’s a Nazi. Nazi Morty shoots Nazi Rick and demands new Rick take him on “simple classic adventures.” He says his Rick often got too political, and he just wants fun adventures like they used to go on.
Of course the show has always had adventures that had some underlying message. Some people just saw a reference to a movie they liked and ignored it entirely. Rick and Morty stars a narcissist, but it has always really been about empathy. More often than not, that’s what wins the day, even when it goes against Rick. That became more overt in Season 3, especially with Pickle Rick ending in a therapy session. Certain fans on the internet started leaving comments that sounded a lot like Nazi Morty’s lines here. I love a show that’s able to look parts of its audience directly and say, “This is you: The multi-verse’s most obnoxious Nazi.”
(Via Adult Swim)
The episode uses both of these jokes to argue for balance to start off the season. Well, those and Morty’s eventual transformation into an Akira. (OK, technically he’s more like a Tetsuo, but they want some non-anime nerds to get the joke.) He becomes so wrapped up in following the crystal’s guidance that he murders a bunch of cops and soldiers, and appears to become a psychic to be declared innocent. That sounds cool, but then the crystal advises he decline an invitation from Jessica to go skinny dipping. They must get together in their 40s or something. Somehow, this probably isn’t the way horny teen Morty thought this was going to go, but he’s followed the crystal this far and can’t stop now.
(Via Adult Swim)
He turns into a blob monster (because Akira) just as Rick finally makes it back to this universe with the help of a Wasp Rick. They free Morty, destroy the death crystal and defeat the hologram after the blob gives it physical flesh. All in all, a fun gross-out sci-fi tale just like we all wanted. Morty even learned a lesson about the importance of balance. It’s fun to wing it, but important to think ahead. Likewise, the show will give us all the fun classic comedy adventure, but it will always have a heart. There was even a lesson about empathy in this episode. After escaping all the fascist universes, the wasp one is the most well-adjusted. Wasp Rick says they eat creatures alive or lay eggs in their eyeballs. When you’re that big an asshole naturally, you have to be empathetic. As a result, Wasp Rick is the most effective ally. And his home life looks a lot like the one Beth installed in Rick’s own universe. In finding balance, the dynamic between Rick and Morty changes. The now traditional end-of-season-premiere rant has both Rick and Morty joining in equally.
We waited a long time for new Rick and Morty. Glad to see it’s the same as it always was: Constantly changing.
Rick and Morty airs Sundays at 11:30 p.m. on Adult Swim
Previously on Rick and Morty:
- Rick and Morty Season 3 Finale Recap
- Rick and Morty Season 3 Episode 9 Recap
- Rick and Morty Season 3 Episode 8 Recap
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