Review: Rick and Morty “There’s Something About Morty”
OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)
Morty uncovers Rick having an…affair, I guess? And it’s with Evil Morty. That’s where we’re at, I guess.
OUR TAKE
Okay, I’m not as apathetic about this premise as I made it seem. Initially, I did think that this felt like a bit of an overly flashy way to open this new season, and the fact that it’s the ninth was not lost on me. A show making it to its ninth season, even disregarding that Rick and Morty has at least a few more already in the works (and a recently announced movie, to boot), is an impressive feat, especially in the current state of television where so many shows are lucky if they can make it to five seasons of ten or less episodes each before getting the axe. Which then begs the question of whether or not Rick and Morty of all shows really “deserves” to have gotten this far when so many others, like the recently ended Smiling Friends, got so little. And yeah, if I had the option and ability to exchange those next three seasons for more Infinity Train or Lower Decks or Scavengers Reign, I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it, but (and I realize I may be more and more in the minority on this) I’m also still curious to see where this show will take its fortunate bit of runway left. Rick and Morty most definitely reached its peak of popularity late last decade, but when I rushed to finish the handful of seasons I hadn’t seen to get ready to review last season, I was surprised to see that the show had stayed pretty consistent in quality, and hopefully that’s a sign it will continue to do so for the remainder.
Now, as for this specific premiere, it’s by no means a bad episode on its own. It did, however, feel just a tad…sweaty? If I’m using that phrasing correctly? Just bringing back Evil Morty after he’s already had a bunch of solid ways to let him end his run seems like it’s a recipe for diminishing returns, but putting that aside, his role here is clear. He’s basically just a version of Morty that can actually keep up with Rick on adventures and connects with him in a way that the Morty we follow never really could. It’s sort of like a Space Beth situation with Beth, except I don’t expect we’ll see Morty hooking up with himself, though that doesn’t stop the episode from using language like “crush” and “chemistry” when referring to an alternate universe version of a guy’s grandson. That said, when we take into account what’s been implied about Evil Morty’s own experiences with Ricks (and all the ones he’s had killed), one wonders if part of him did just want to go on regular adventures (as regular as fighting a multiverse eating hivemind creatively called “The Collective” can be) with his grandpa again and just used his ingrained habits of blackmail and manipulation to make it happen. Heck, if they can actually give us a bit more of a peel back at his origins, I wouldn’t mind getting some more Evil Morty in the future, though they’ll probably have to change that name at some point since he’s hardly that evil by this point. Anyway, a solid start to the season and nine more episodes to go!
