Rick and Morty - Look At Me!!

One of the best things about this show is that multiple viewings usually uncover stuff in the background or things that fly by that you may have missed that are still great. The chair universe hobo drinking out of a mini garbage truck. The Meeseeks in Blips and Chitz helping an alien win a game. My second take from this episode? One of the memories Rick made Morty forget was when Morty beat him at checkers.

Grenn wrote:

One of the memories Rick made Morty forget was when Morty beat him at checkers.

I did notice that one on my initial watch. Soooooo good.

Hairdresser "Is that enough off the top".

Morty "I don't know. Is it?"

Spoiler:

Murders most of the top government Ricks

.

Holy sh*t.

NEW RICK & BETH EPISODE TONIGHT GET HYPED MY GLIP GLOPS

strangederby wrote:

Hairdresser "Is that enough off the top".

Morty "I don't know. Is it?"

Spoiler:

Murders most of the top government Ricks

.

Holy sh*t.

Well, it seems more like most of the highest levels of the plutocracy.

So holy damnation. The ABCs of Beth, y'all.

Spoiler:

A few afterthoughts here.

1. I really like how as the kids have become more realized/self-actualized,
they are now actively attempting to aid in their parents' development.

2. I legit thought the Death Row Dad was gonna be a throwaway joke and instead they followed it up went and actually had Beth and Rick doing something good (while doing more than plenty of wrong along the way).

3. Loved the ambiguous ending. I'm personally thinking that Beth left, my only tip-off being the "I love you" between her and Rick in front of Morty and Summer.

4. Those post-credits Jerry voicemails, y'all. I dig how Rick looks out for Jerry a little more now (sort of kind of).

This episode felt rather anticlimactic after the last few episodes, despite having some fairly major development in it. Still enjoyed it though, and I don’t expect them to bring up the ambiguous ending again for a long time like they did with Evil Morty. At this point I’m pretty certain the writers are intentionally trolling the reddit and youtube fans who like to spin elaborate theories.

ruhk wrote:

This episode felt rather anticlimactic after the last few episodes, despite having some fairly major development in it. Still enjoyed it though, and I don’t expect them to bring up the ambiguous ending again for a long time like they did with Evil Morty. At this point I’m pretty certain the writers are intentionally trolling the reddit and youtube fans who like to spin elaborate theories.

I thrive on these theories. It reminds me of why I dig on Steven Universe so much.

I am loving how smart they are making Morty and Summer.

TheMostRad wrote:

So holy damnation. The ABCs of Beth, y'all.

Spoiler:

A few afterthoughts here.

1. I really like how as the kids have become more realized/self-actualized,
they are now actively attempting to aid in their parents' development.

2. I legit thought the Death Row Dad was gonna be a throwaway joke and instead they followed it up went and actually had Beth and Rick doing something good (while doing more than plenty of wrong along the way).

3. Loved the ambiguous ending. I'm personally thinking that Beth left, my only tip-off being the "I love you" between her and Rick in front of Morty and Summer.

4. Those post-credits Jerry voicemails, y'all. I dig how Rick looks out for Jerry a little more now (sort of kind of).

Spoiler:

I think she left too.

TheMostRad wrote:

So holy damnation. The ABCs of Beth, y'all.

Spoiler:

A few afterthoughts here.

1. I really like how as the kids have become more realized/self-actualized,
they are now actively attempting to aid in their parents' development.

2. I legit thought the Death Row Dad was gonna be a throwaway joke and instead they followed it up went and actually had Beth and Rick doing something good (while doing more than plenty of wrong along the way).

3. Loved the ambiguous ending. I'm personally thinking that Beth left, my only tip-off being the "I love you" between her and Rick in front of Morty and Summer.

4. Those post-credits Jerry voicemails, y'all. I dig how Rick looks out for Jerry a little more now (sort of kind of).

Spoiler:

In reverse order:

I feel like one of the subtle character traits for Rick is a mask a nihilism over top of strongly protective feelings for his family. This scene, and also the third act of Meeseeks and Destroy where he takes the time to blow away King Jellybean for messing with Morty.

I also love that they are showing Beth to be just as smart as Rick, but a little more balanced. I think she took the clone option.

I'm impressed with the character growth that is happening with Summer and Morty, especially Morty, both of them getting more jaded and world-wise as they dimension travel on and off stage. I'm not sure season one version of either of them would have taken Jerry to task the way they did in this episode.

thrawn82 wrote:
TheMostRad wrote:

So holy damnation. The ABCs of Beth, y'all.

Spoiler:

A few afterthoughts here.

1. I really like how as the kids have become more realized/self-actualized,
they are now actively attempting to aid in their parents' development.

2. I legit thought the Death Row Dad was gonna be a throwaway joke and instead they followed it up went and actually had Beth and Rick doing something good (while doing more than plenty of wrong along the way).

3. Loved the ambiguous ending. I'm personally thinking that Beth left, my only tip-off being the "I love you" between her and Rick in front of Morty and Summer.

4. Those post-credits Jerry voicemails, y'all. I dig how Rick looks out for Jerry a little more now (sort of kind of).

Spoiler:

In reverse order:

I feel like one of the subtle character traits for Rick is a mask a nihilism over top of strongly protective feelings for his family. This scene, and also the third act of Meeseeks and Destroy where he takes the time to blow away King Jellybean for messing with Morty.

I also love that they are showing Beth to be just as smart as Rick, but a little more balanced. I think she took the clone option.

I'm impressed with the character growth that is happening with Summer and Morty, especially Morty, both of them getting more jaded and world-wise as they dimension travel on and off stage. I'm not sure season one version of either of them would have taken Jerry to task the way they did in this episode.

Spoiler:

What if both Rick and Beth left?...

manta173 wrote:
thrawn82 wrote:
TheMostRad wrote:

So holy damnation. The ABCs of Beth, y'all.

Spoiler:

A few afterthoughts here.

1. I really like how as the kids have become more realized/self-actualized,
they are now actively attempting to aid in their parents' development.

2. I legit thought the Death Row Dad was gonna be a throwaway joke and instead they followed it up went and actually had Beth and Rick doing something good (while doing more than plenty of wrong along the way).

3. Loved the ambiguous ending. I'm personally thinking that Beth left, my only tip-off being the "I love you" between her and Rick in front of Morty and Summer.

4. Those post-credits Jerry voicemails, y'all. I dig how Rick looks out for Jerry a little more now (sort of kind of).

Spoiler:

In reverse order:

I feel like one of the subtle character traits for Rick is a mask a nihilism over top of strongly protective feelings for his family. This scene, and also the third act of Meeseeks and Destroy where he takes the time to blow away King Jellybean for messing with Morty.

I also love that they are showing Beth to be just as smart as Rick, but a little more balanced. I think she took the clone option.

I'm impressed with the character growth that is happening with Summer and Morty, especially Morty, both of them getting more jaded and world-wise as they dimension travel on and off stage. I'm not sure season one version of either of them would have taken Jerry to task the way they did in this episode.

Spoiler:

What if both Rick and Beth left?...

Spoiler:

Rick has definitely, as a matter of fact, left. It's just a matter of reference frame. Which family do you mean.

Spoiler:

I assume Rick left with Beth in this episode to do a father daughter thing.

manta173 wrote:
Spoiler:

I assume Rick left with Beth in this episode to do a father daughter thing.

Spoiler:

Oh man, that never occurred to me, but it fits perfectly.

thrawn82 wrote:
manta173 wrote:
Spoiler:

I assume Rick left with Beth in this episode to do a father daughter thing.

Spoiler:

Oh man, that never occurred to me, but it fits perfectly.

Spoiler:

Which brings up the question of if it was even Rick to begin with, and it we are seeing a clone of rick clone himself to go off with his daughter from another dimension. Maybe all the ricks left are all just clones!

Just discovered this show and watched the first three seasons over the last week and the final episode today, great show!

Can't wait to see Season 4. April of 2018 isn't that far away!

I highly doubt it will be that soon.

Heh, yeah. There’s a reason the post credits scenes for the finales of seasons 2 and 3 were jokes about how long it would take before a new season came out. I love the show but wouldn’t be surprised if it’s 2019 before we see a new episode.

I didn't realize the season would be so short.

ruhk wrote:

Heh, yeah. There’s a reason the post credits scenes for the finales of seasons 2 and 3 were jokes about how long it would take before a new season came out. I love the show but wouldn’t be surprised if it’s 2019 before we see a new episode.

Especially with Harmon talking about trying for 13 episodes.

I enjoyed this episode, but it was very anti-climatic. At the end, I couldn't help but think "This is it? That's all?" I kept waiting for them to go "PSYCHE! Here's the rest." It never materialized.

It wasn't supposed to be the finale. It was supposed to be a 14 episode season, then they realized they were taking too long so they turned it into a 10 episode season and just redid ep 10 to make it a finale.

BoogtehWoog wrote:

I enjoyed this episode, but it was very anti-climatic. At the end, I couldn't help but think "This is it? That's all?" I kept waiting for them to go "PSYCHE! Here's the rest." It never materialized.

Yeah, I kind of spent 5 minutes after the episode wrapped just staring at my television, jaw vaguely agape and asking myself "what?!" as loud as politely possible for past midnight in my apartment. It felt reminiscent of the sh*tty season endings of Heroes and Pushing Daisies back when the 2007 Writer's Strike fell upon the television landscape.

Also, I felt like I got whiplash from the resolution of the Clone scenario. I mean, I'm glad we got some answers, but Jibbers Crabst, the pace at which everything wrapped up (and in some cases, didn't wrap up) was a tad too swift. The season definitely suffered for the lack of those final 4 episodes Harmon and Roiland were planning.

On a final side-thought, I don't think I had realized until just now checking that S1 and S2 were only 11 and 10 episodes respectively. Somehow I had conflated those counts to larger numbers mentally and lost track along the way.

BoogtehWoog wrote:

I enjoyed this episode, but it was very anti-climatic. At the end, I couldn't help but think "This is it? That's all?" I kept waiting for them to go "PSYCHE! Here's the rest." It never materialized.

Anti-climactic? This is the biggest climactic moment in the entire series. Rick's family has had enough of his bullsh*t and manipulation. Certainly the emotional, social, and familial landscape can change, and maybe it changed abruptly due to the lack of the rest of the episodes, but in this episode, it was huge.

Spoiler:

He threatened to leave, and they called his bluff.

HOWEVER I'm not here to be a total Deborah Downborah. Here's some things I liked out of The Rickchurian Mortydate:

Spoiler:

- Keith David as the President proved once again to be a delight. Plus, the Rick v. President fight was solid. Highlights include the Manchurian Children, Rick's full display of inherent defense measures (that for some reason didn't kick in when the Froopyland Pterodactyl annihilated his arm? I guess he just prepped his defenses before messing with a temperamental President?), and Rick using Double Team vs. the President's Metal Gear.

- Apparently the Chinese symbol on the back of Jerry's robe translates to 'weak'.

- So the whole family is breaking the 4th Wall now? How long before Rick outright says something about their series of dimensions belonging within the confines of a cartoon?

- "So you mine things that you can craft with in order to craft things you can mine with?" "Yup." "Who made this game, your dad?" "Rude."

- To further the Minecraft jokes, you may have noticed that the President's Teleporter Tech is activated with a lighter, a la Nether Portals.

RolandofGilead wrote:
BoogtehWoog wrote:

I enjoyed this episode, but it was very anti-climatic. At the end, I couldn't help but think "This is it? That's all?" I kept waiting for them to go "PSYCHE! Here's the rest." It never materialized.

Anti-climactic? This is the biggest climactic moment in the entire series. Rick's family has had enough of his bullsh*t and manipulation. Certainly the emotional, social, and familial landscape can change, and maybe it changed abruptly due to the lack of the rest of the episodes, but in this episode, it was huge.

Spoiler:

He threatened to leave, and they called his bluff.

I don't know if I'd call that the "biggest climactic moment", though. Here's my thoughts:

Spoiler:

This entire season has been highlighting how despite his gruff and nihilistic exterior, Rick (or rather, most of all the Ricks) still cares about his family at his core (to varying extents). We see in the Ricks in the Citadel (Training Day Rick/Simple Rick), we see it in our Rick protecting Jerry from his alien ex's ex, and we've been seeing it since season 1 ("I have a new catchphrase[...] I love my grandkids!"). The fact of the matter is that Rick returned after leaving Beth and her mom for a reason. Plus, as the audience, we know damn well that Rick won't be written off the show. "Morty-sson and the Smiths" would get far fewer viewers without "Rick" in the name.

Meanwhile, the climactic moment this has to compete with includes Rick going to prison for the sake of his family set to Nine Inch Nails.

I think what BoogtehWoog and I are finding anti-climactic is the lack of resolution on so many major happenings this season, or at least the prime 3 unresolved issues of:

- Tammy and Phoenixperson
- President Morty
- and Supernova.

That’s always been the MO of the show though, starting from way back in season 1. There’s a deeper mythology that they occasionally visit, but all that takes a back seat to general high-concept sci-fi hijinks and fart jokes. There were one and a half seasons (and three years) between Evil Morty’s two appearances, Bird Person has only appeared in the show four times total and he’s supposed to be Rick’s oldest, closest friend. They’ll (probably) get around to addressing all that stuff eventually but they’re going to take their time.

ruhk wrote:

That’s always been the MO of the show though, starting from way back in season 1. There’s a deeper mythology that they occasionally visit, but all that takes a back seat to general high-concept sci-fi hijinks and fart jokes. There were one and a half seasons (and three years) between Evil Morty’s two appearances, Bird Person has only appeared in the show four times total and he’s supposed to be Rick’s oldest, closest friend. They’ll (probably) get around to addressing all that stuff eventually but they’re going to take their time.

But then by contrast they addressed the clone issue in the very next episode. That was set up to be just as long-term mysterious/ambiguous, yet they closed that chapter in the very next episode.

TheMostRad wrote:
ruhk wrote:

That’s always been the MO of the show though, starting from way back in season 1. There’s a deeper mythology that they occasionally visit, but all that takes a back seat to general high-concept sci-fi hijinks and fart jokes. There were one and a half seasons (and three years) between Evil Morty’s two appearances, Bird Person has only appeared in the show four times total and he’s supposed to be Rick’s oldest, closest friend. They’ll (probably) get around to addressing all that stuff eventually but they’re going to take their time.

But then by contrast they addressed the clone issue in the very next episode. That was set up to be just as long-term mysterious/ambiguous, yet they closed that chapter in the very next episode.

Did they? He said the gun was for Jerry, but we don't know. Just moments later, he used a fishing hat prop to fool the President. If he really loves his family, especially his daughter, then why wouldn't he begrudgingly go through with this farce when a Beth clone gets existential? That could be his own perverted way of looking out for her. And they really aren't afraid to let interesting story threads dangle for a long time. Evil Morty (or Short Rick as I call him) only appears twice, with three years and seventeen episodes between those appearances. I can see them holding onto an episode where real Beth returns or teasing us with seeing her in the background later.

And I should have known this episode would have some lasting impact. Whenever Rick and Morty are getting along too well things usually pivot in some interesting ways (see Interdimensional Cable #1).