The Buzz: ‘Ricky & Morty’ S4 Premiere Puts The ‘Fun’ In Dysfunctional
WARNING: Graphic Content Depicted In Videos
Oh Jeez, Rick and Morty are back! With that, comes more (a hundred years!) of adventures and apathy towards society since, in Rick’s words, everything is meaningless and purposeless. Whether or not the show has a secret plot is debated amongst viewers, but regardless of the potential deeper meaning, the show is a hit success amongst millennials and beyond. Originally a short film parodying the Back to the Future franchise, Rick and Morty has everything a gung-ho sci-fan would want, as well as all the snarky sass a dark comedy fan would unironically love.
Developed by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, Roiland voices the two titular characters. It debuted in 2011 on Adult Swim and stars Rick, a mad scientist type whose nihilist perspective of the world contrasts with the slightly more optimistic outlook of his idiotic grandson, Morty. As the series progresses, and as a result of his exposure to Rick, Morty begins to adopt more of Rick’s habits and behaviors, such as a lack of empathy for others, assertiveness, or a selfish desire to further his own interests. Conversely, Rick, while still mainly annoyed by his family and drowning in alcoholic boredom, does show more overt signs of affection for them. A good thing too, seeing as how Rick and Morty’s dysfunctional family is always one “what the f***” away from a mental breakdown. Rick is Morty’s maternal grandfather. His daughter, Beth (Sarah Chalke) married her high school prom date Jerry Smith (Chris Parnelle), a mild and meek man whose highest accomplishment is accidentally knocking Beth up with Morty’s older sister, Summer (Spencer Grammar).
The show is notorious for balancing dark humor and juvenile jokes. For instance, not to spoil too much, but the season four premiere handles both suicide, fascism, and masturbation all in one. There are also several running gags such as Morty’s shrill screams, statements of “what” or “Oh Jeez”, Rick’s burps, and both his and Morty’s stutters. Rick and Morty is serialized, with several characters making reappearances or plotlines carrying over. The most common thread between the seasons, is how Rick and Morty are part of an infinite line of Rick and Mortys seen in Citadel of Ricks, introduced in the tenth episode of the series, “Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind”. Near every world has a pair of Rick and Mortys, each of whom go together on adventures.
Rick and Morty’s endless counterparts play a big role in the season four premiere. Though it may be hard to recall after such a long hiatus, Rick ended season three with his worst nightmare: the banality of family life. In the opening of season four, it seems as though Rick’s familial inconvenience is still going on strong. Under Beth’s new rule, Rick must now ask Morty’s permission to drag him on adventures and quests instead of just forcing him to come along. Their newest adventure takes them to collect death crystals, crystals that show its wielder how they will die. Morty discovers that the more he interacts with Rick, the higher his chances of dying young and painfully as opposed to old and with his crush, Jessica (Kari Wahlgreen). It’s with this ultimatum in mind that Morty avoids reanimating a Rick clone when his obsession to die with Jessica inadvertently kills his version of Rick.
It's an episode chalk full of references, both to the show itself and to reality. For one, Mr. Meeseeks (Justin Roiland) returns to help Morty with his obsession to die old with Jessica. Secondly, Rick and Morty make several direct statements about how this is the fourth season, even yelling at Summer that she ruined it at the end. Aside from the “in-show” call backs, the premiere calls upon both direct and indirect references. Pixar’s Coco (Lee Unkrich & Adrian Molina 2017), the anime Akira (Katsuhiro Otomo 1989), and CNN are a few of the mentions. Rick and Morty even calls out their own fans.
With such as large and diverse fanbase, there’s obviously going to be a few problematic viewers. Take McDonalds as an example. During season three, in homage to Rick missing McDonald’s Szechuan sauce, McDonalds agreed to release a limited amount of it in specific locations. The ensuing demand led to physical riots over the sauce between some diehard fans. Additionally, there are the fans who believe that the deeper meaning of the show goes above and beyond the minds of most. These fans also comprise mostly of the same ones who harassed several of the female staff members of the show. In the season four premiere, Rick makes a pass that “there’s a lesson to be learned here…and I’m not gonna be the one to figure it out”, perhaps in reference to these obsessive fans.
For the majority of viewers who don’t mind a bit of bloodshed or banter, season four will be an absolute delight. It’s filled with classic Rick-like antics and even Morty developing a bit of a backbone, granted, at the expense of his grandfather, but it’s still amusing to witness. It’s a perfect way to start off a long-awaited series.