Ranking Every Episode of “Rick and Morty” Season Four From Worst To Best

 

1. “Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat“

Whenever I write about this show, I try my hardest to stay clear of the cringe-worthy language with which its following debates itself in the darkest subreddits and brightest YouTube comment sections, but I simply cannot think of another way of describing the season premier than by saying that it ‘feels’ like the ‘OG’ Rick and Morty. Not only does the episode do what very few other entries in the season did— develop story based around a single concept—it also tells it in a somewhat linear fashion which gives off the impression that there are still stakes. Unfortunately, those stakes disappear for the rest of the season, only to resurface for a moment in the final episode. 

Afterword

I know I have ripped on the fourth season’s lack of drama quite a bit, but the finale made me aware of a subtextual throughline that I have to acknowledge before finishing this ranking. If season three saw Rick becoming more and more powerful, season four sees him slowly losing control of the world around him. In the first episode, the smartest man in the universe is killed not once, but countless times: by Morty, by fascists, by fascist shrimp, and finally, wasps. And that’s just the start of this downward spiral: In Claw and Hoarder, he gets his ass whooped by a wizard; in Childrick of Mort, he gets his ass whooped by a god; in Star Mort, he gets his ass whooped by his best friend, his own daughter, his daughter’s clone, his grandchildren and—yes—even Jerry. Although hardcore fans of the character will surely be pissed off by this sudden fall from grace, I, for one, appreciated the response that Rick’s failure was able to elicit, and am curious to see what will come of it in the future.