By now, Rick and Morty has comfortably settled into the mainstream pop culture consciousness. So much that the titular protagonists even popped up in this summer’s Space Jam: A New Legacy. As great as the show has been, it has also had its share of misfires as it tried to strike a delicate balance between episodic and ‘canon’ content. Season five does provide a lot more juicy canon content, but it also falls to the depths with its lows.
The first three episodes start off strong. Mort Dinner Rick Andre seemingly resolves Jessica’s (Kari Wahlgren) involvement with Morty (Justin Roiland) and also introduces a fun character in Mr. Nimbus (Dan Harmon) who can literally control the police with pelvic thrusts. Mortyplicity keeps you guessing about who the real family is, though the conceit does get a bit old by the end of the episode. A Rickconvenient Mort starts off simple with Morty falling headfirst into a relationship with Planetina (Alison Brie) but subverts expectations with a grown cast of ‘planeteers’ who have given into exploitation.
Then there’s the middle chunk of episodes. Rickdependence Spray hits probably a series low with a short-shelf-life joke about giant sperms that goes on and on until it culminates in an incest baby. The next episode, Amortycan Graffiti, is better, balancing the twin plots of Jerry’s lameness being a conduit of pleasure for otherworldly demons on one hand and a Morty and Summer (Spencer Grammer) taking a schoolmate out to space in Rick’s spaceship. Rick & Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular is also absurd fun, with Rick playing a game of cat and mouse with the government by using a turkey gambit that backfires on both sides. Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion is more middle of the road, giving important development for Summer’s character but doing a Goodfellas riff that doesn’t entirely work.
The last three episodes, thankfully, provide more insight into both Rick’s (Justin Roiland) character and the larger canon. Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Mort has Rick trying to revive Birdperson (Dan Harmon) by going into his mind and reliving key moments of their friendship. Forgetting Sarick Mortshall explores the abusive elements of Rick’s relationship with Morty, while the last episode, Rickmurai Jack expands on it by finally returning to Evil Morty and creating lasting changes for the show going forward.
Although the show does fall back on absurd humor in this season, it’s slightly more focused on more grounded ideas this time around. If you are a fan of the episodic stuff, you’ll still find plenty of that here.
If you didn’t like Rick and Morty before, season five won’t change your mind. It has great moments, but the aforementioned low points also drag it down.
Thankfully, the show maintains its momentum and opens up new directions to take the show in. Rick and Morty isn’t ending anytime soon, but let’s hope it doesn’t jump the shark in the next few seasons.
