Review: Rick and Morty ‘A Rickle in Time’

 

Spoilers Below:

It has been a long time since we last saw a new Rick and Morty episode. A very long time. Fifteen months, to be exact. But armed with only a few comic book releases and a couple of preview teasers, we somehow made it. Rick and Morty season two is upon us.

The premiere began with a universe frozen in time, as Rick, Morty, and Summer prepared to resume everything after cleaning up the trashed house following a party. In a moment of uncertainty between Morty and Summer, the universe split into two alternate realities. Rick stressed that they needed to be absolutely certain in their thoughts and actions in order to combine the two worlds. When this didn’t work, Rick surmised (in both realities) that his other self must have been plotting to kill himself as a solution to the multiple universe problem. However, this instead caused an additional split.

Things only got more complicated from there, as a stranger appeared and tried to take the crew to time jail, and they had to add more uncertainty in order to split the universe and defeat their foe. Once that happened, attaining certainty again became a difficult task. A malfunctioning device wreaked havoc on one of the 64 dimensions, but Rick risked his life in order to save Morty and bring everything back to normal.

Meanwhile, Beth and Jerry hit a deer with their car, and the former – hoping to prove her worth as an animal surgeon – went to work tirelessly in an attempt to save the wounded creature, which had also been shot. After some initial arguing, Jerry helped Beth achieve her goal, putting the couple on solid footing once again.

In Case You Missed It:

1) Rick’s blunter caution: “It also means don’t touch your parents or we could shatter into countless theoretical shards.” (And later: “I’m just going to throw it on the floor and kick it on over to ya.”)

2) At one point, Beth asked for “deer saline.”

3) Morty had only one smartass remark, and it only existed in one reality: “You mean drunk?”

4) Rick needs to explain: “If I die in a cage, I lose a bet.”

5) Best line by a guest voice actor? “You dumbass, ass’n’ass asses.”

6) The space cop dude referred to Earth as the planet “with the dinosaurs.”

Probably my favorite aspect of Rick and Morty is the dialogue. It’s such a raunchy, unpredictable, and wildly zany aspect of the show that differentiates it from all the other series out there, and the talented cast, creative storylines, and far out animation is just the delicious icing on the cake.

In “A Rickle in Time,” though, this wasn’t the case. The plot was the most impressive part of the episode – and this both helped and hurt its cause.

The alternate reality idea wasn’t as unique as some of the other mind-blowing plot devices of past Rick and Morty episodes, as it has been done numerous times on other shows and movies. But I can’t remember a single one that attempted to show more than one world at the same time. This installment did it with two, and then four, and then eight, 16, 32, 64 different versions. This means different animation, different lines of dialogue, and different recordings – and putting it all together would be quite the undertaking. This was executed flawlessly. It was a bit troubling to know that you’re missing most of the stuff being said and shown in the show, but that’s how it was designed, and that’s what makes it so exceptional. Plus, it’ll hold up really well in additional viewings.

Unfortunately, this complex setup took some of the airtime away from what could have been a lot more funny dialogue, and that’s upsetting, especially since it ended with me thinking it was one of the weaker episodes script-wise. Usually my ICYMI section is jammed with funny lines and subtleties, but not today. Also, I could have completely done without the deer side-story.

Still, the elements that make a successful Rick and Morty were all present, be it nonsensical outbursts (“You killed my gun!”), plot surprises/twists (“Ohhh shit.”), or guest voices (Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele.)

Despite my gripes with the relatively fewer amount of quotable lines, Rick and Morty is a show valued for its innovation and outside-of-the-box thinking with an emphasis on the weird, and points must be awarded accordingly.

A step down from last year’s collection of perfect or near-perfect shows, this was still a great way to start the sophomore season, and hopefully it leads to 98 more years of Rick and Morty!