It's been a while since I've done one of these. This is a season review for the most recent Rick and Morty season. Both parts of it, because I figured that I needed the whole season to make a proper evaluation. As always, this is a stream-of-consciousness review, where I just go off on a series, and state what comes to mind about it that I can think of at the moment. As a result, there will be spoilers. So, with that out of the way, let's.... go!:
Better than the last season. Definitely better than Season 3. It had more good episodes, and even the one bad one (the penultimate one) was still slightly better than the worst of season 3. It feels like they're at least trying to inject some fun and insanity back into the series, with a lot of the heavier elements of the series largely kept to the side. This can be seen most in the 5th episode, "Never-Ricking Morty", which is probably the best of the season. There is a lot of meta fun and weirdness to the episode that really satiates my taste for the adventures of Rick and Morty. It also has some nice jabs at the increased continuity fixation of some fans. That said, there is some continuity pay-off with the final episode of the season, so it doesn't really feel like the writers are just dicking around with us. The commentary on consumerism at the end is interesting, given how Rick and Morty has become an advertising fixture over the years. I suppose it's a result of the writers trying to grapple with the implication of the show's popularity. The fact that it has become a cultural phenomenon, more or less, and easily recogniseable. Another thing the show is grappling with is the fact that viewers seem to take the wrong lessons from Rick. How they try to constantly emulate him despite him being an amoral sociopath. A lot more focus is given to that, though the constant problem of Rick ultimately being right (despite his cruelty) is still present in a lot of this. A particular example is "Rattlestar Ricklactica", which was actually probably one of my favorite episodes of the season, but definitely had Rick's (fairly regressive) viewpoint validated at the end. However, the worst example of this was the penulitmate episode "Childrick of Mort", which has Rick validated, despite him committing mass murder at the end. That episode, like the penultimate episode last season, starts off alright, but then just gets somewhat lame, with a confused Greek mythology riff, and a bizarre message at the end. Other than that, it does feel like a return to form for a fairly smart, funny show. Honestly, the weakest episodes (which were bad period, not just bad relatively) were this and "Claw and Hoarder". The latter just being a bit generic and boring, with again, some confusing elements. The best ones are definitely "Never-Ricking Morty", Rattlestar Ricklactica", and "One Crew over the Cuckoo's Nest", which, despite the rather punchable presence of Elon Musk, manages to be compulsively rewatchable. The season finale is a definite improvement over last season, with Rick being further distanced from his family thanks to his actions and realizing just how bad he really is to his family and friends. A much better conclusion with a more poignant tone to it than last season.
So, that's all I could come up with. Thanks for reading. If you like this, you can check out my Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/rohithc. I'm doing a "Top Ten Venture Bros. episodes" list, and I'm thinking of posting on Ko-Fi first a week before the blog, just as an experiment.
Better than the last season. Definitely better than Season 3. It had more good episodes, and even the one bad one (the penultimate one) was still slightly better than the worst of season 3. It feels like they're at least trying to inject some fun and insanity back into the series, with a lot of the heavier elements of the series largely kept to the side. This can be seen most in the 5th episode, "Never-Ricking Morty", which is probably the best of the season. There is a lot of meta fun and weirdness to the episode that really satiates my taste for the adventures of Rick and Morty. It also has some nice jabs at the increased continuity fixation of some fans. That said, there is some continuity pay-off with the final episode of the season, so it doesn't really feel like the writers are just dicking around with us. The commentary on consumerism at the end is interesting, given how Rick and Morty has become an advertising fixture over the years. I suppose it's a result of the writers trying to grapple with the implication of the show's popularity. The fact that it has become a cultural phenomenon, more or less, and easily recogniseable. Another thing the show is grappling with is the fact that viewers seem to take the wrong lessons from Rick. How they try to constantly emulate him despite him being an amoral sociopath. A lot more focus is given to that, though the constant problem of Rick ultimately being right (despite his cruelty) is still present in a lot of this. A particular example is "Rattlestar Ricklactica", which was actually probably one of my favorite episodes of the season, but definitely had Rick's (fairly regressive) viewpoint validated at the end. However, the worst example of this was the penulitmate episode "Childrick of Mort", which has Rick validated, despite him committing mass murder at the end. That episode, like the penultimate episode last season, starts off alright, but then just gets somewhat lame, with a confused Greek mythology riff, and a bizarre message at the end. Other than that, it does feel like a return to form for a fairly smart, funny show. Honestly, the weakest episodes (which were bad period, not just bad relatively) were this and "Claw and Hoarder". The latter just being a bit generic and boring, with again, some confusing elements. The best ones are definitely "Never-Ricking Morty", Rattlestar Ricklactica", and "One Crew over the Cuckoo's Nest", which, despite the rather punchable presence of Elon Musk, manages to be compulsively rewatchable. The season finale is a definite improvement over last season, with Rick being further distanced from his family thanks to his actions and realizing just how bad he really is to his family and friends. A much better conclusion with a more poignant tone to it than last season.
So, that's all I could come up with. Thanks for reading. If you like this, you can check out my Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/rohithc. I'm doing a "Top Ten Venture Bros. episodes" list, and I'm thinking of posting on Ko-Fi first a week before the blog, just as an experiment.
