Rick And Morty - General Discussion

[arc]

I dunno, Jerry’s Mindblowers used a NES cartridge type system rather than liquid memories in tubes. And every single tube Morty picked up was a Morty memory. It would make more sense to me if Beth and Summer’s memories are kept in different vaults from Morty’s.

[Sandman87]

And on different recording mediums, just to eliminate the chance of wacky memory-related accidents.

[Lantern7]

Quote

Rick is tangled in a confrontation with the president.

Keith David as the President for the win. "Naturally you'll forget that you saw [the Kennedy Sex Tunnels]. Along with, in order of national embarrassment, the Truman Cocaine Lounge, the McKinley Hooker Dump, and the Lincoln Slave Colosseum. (with genuine disappointment in his voice) He didn't free them all." Come on, how do you not tune it?!?

[Galileo908]

Love how much they're knocking on Minecraft. We even saw Minecraft universe!

"So Ghostbusters aren't cool now? I don't remember signing THAT bill."

"South Park did it 4 years ago"
"They're fast"
"Or we're slow"

Man, loved how Rick & Morty solved all the president's problems in an instant. 

Okay, we're still being fuzzy on whether Beth is a clone, but I loved how the entire plot hinged on it.  So...what happens now? What Beth said, it's gonna be like season 1, but more streamlined? What of Phoenixperson? Or Evil Morty? Or the Poopy Butthole family? Apparently the one thing Rick couldn't stop was the status quo.

Rick being afraid of pirates got the biggest laugh out of me,

I love how cumbersome the president's portal is. So unnecessary and wasteful to taxpayers.

Edited October 2, 2017 by Galileo908

[Sandman87]

Rick & Morty ward off an alien conflict, bring peace to the Middle East, and piss off the President.

"Tell him they just blew off America." And boy are their lips sore! <rim-shot>

[Lantern7]

Not as intense a finale as the previous season. Rick has more or less been usurped as the Smith family's alpha dog. This comes after he killed what seemed to be an endless wave of Secret Service agents and wailed on the President himself. Who is voiced by Keith David, which makes him awesome. Maybe there might be changes in the next season. Maybe Jerry can stop being a hapless loser and resemble a functional male. Maybe Beth can be intelligent and a nice person at the same time. Maybe Morty will grow a few more pubes, metaphorically and literally. But if the characters evolve, it might be against the direction of the show.

And if you missed Mr. Poopy Butthole, I recommend checking out the LIl Poopy Superstar miniseries. Basically, it's him and Summer have an adventure on his world. Oooooo weeeeeee.

[revbfc]

This did not feel like a finale.  it was a cool episode, but it wasn't a finale.  "The Ricklantis Mixup" should have been the finale.

[revbfc]

On 9/30/2017 at 2:16 PM, arc said:

I dunno, Jerry’s Mindblowers used a NES cartridge type system rather than liquid memories in tubes. And every single tube Morty picked up was a Morty memory. It would make more sense to me if Beth and Summer’s memories are kept in different vaults from Morty’s.

VHS. Jerry's mindblowers were on VHS.

[CheezyXpressed]

"Everyone wants to be knocked out. Nobody wants to be dead."

Truer words have never been spoken on this show.

Rick with the President was funny.

I thought it was funny that the whole Beth clone thing is what brought her back together with Jerry, because they are better together than apart. There may be infinite amount of universes, but it seems like Beth and Jerry always seem to find each other in the end.

Even though this didn't feel like a season finale, I did like the contrast between this and last season. Nobody had to go to prison and the family is together again, but Rick isn't happy. And we still don't know if Beth really is a clone or not. If she is, I wonder how the real Beth will feel when she sees just how great her family is now that she's gone.

I was happy that Mr. Poopy Butthole started a family, but then I realized that I didn't really accomplish anything while waiting for this season. Now I just feel like crap, which I suppose was the point.

[johntfs]

8 hours ago, revbfc said:

This did not feel like a finale.  it was a cool episode, but it wasn't a finale.  "The Ricklantis Mixup" should have been the finale.

Sure, and either "Rick Potion Number 9" or "Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind" should have been the finale for the first season, but they weren't and I'm cool with that.  This show is probably never going to fully follow the television rules for what gets broadcast in what order.

[Sandman87]

It was nice that we got to see Rick and the Prez's fight moving through the Hooker Dump and the Cocaine Lounge, but I wonder why the Prez hasn't demolished them yet if he feels that they're national embarrassments. It's not like doing so would affect his poll numbers. Or maybe that's why; no benefit to him.

[VCRTracking]

I'm glad it wasn't as intense or a cliffhanger finale, because honestly, if the wait for the next season is going to be just as long as before or even longer, it would be unbearable.

I liked seeing Beth(real or clone) have an existential crisis. I used to think Beth being a clone be the appropriately twisted ending, but now it would be totally more effed up that she is the real one but believing she's not actually makes her happy.

[VCRTracking]

On 4/3/2017 at 1:55 PM, Danny Franks said:

On 4/3/2017 at 4:22 AM, SlackerInc said:

ETA: There was a quote from Dan Harmon at one point that the new season was taking so long to arrive because he and Justin Roiland were engaged in a knock-down, drag-out fight over the direction they should go.  I'm now assuming that was because one of them didn't like the softening of Rick (not only in "Rickle in Time" but in sacrificing himself at the end of the season), and that person won out in the end.  Pretty big retcon though, and an unfortunate one, to my way of thinking.

Sounds like Dan Harmon, that. He's always looking for the bleakest story to tell, because it usually reflects his mindset in real life. The guy is somewhat troubled.

But, for what it's worth, I do think that even with the way this episode ended, they have plenty of scope to go in a different direction. Even if it turns out this really was how Rick escapes, he's so chaotic in nature that anything he says only sometimes only reflects his outlook in that particular moment.

 

On 4/3/2017 at 11:09 PM, bref said:

I realize, of course, he has had his moments of emotion and even decency, but his abuse of his family and general amorality have always outweighed any "secret good guy" argument to me. And I assumed that was deliberate. What was the Seinfeld motto--"no hugging, no lessons?" That seems to fit Harmon's unadulterated philosophy as well. Like Danny Franks said, pretty sure DH would be the one advocating for Rick being an unmitigated dick. 

I remember way back in Community season 2 when he had Pierce be his absolute worst(The D&D game) to the point where you wondered why the group would hang out with them. Dan tried to answer in this 2011 AV Club interview:
 

Quote

 

AVC: A lot of critics have wondered why the group would still be friends with Pierce after this string of episodes. What’s your answer to that?

DH: I think they just felt responsible for him. I didn’t see it the way that other people saw it. Like, I have a lot of friends who are incredibly high-maintenance. In the Dungeons & Dragons episode, he is ditched by the group. He busts them ditching him, and he creates a ruckus that ultimately saves a kid’s life. So I just never really saw it the way other people saw it, until they started proclaiming it so profusely. And it’s like, “Okay, the customer is always right.” I never knew the character was loveable, or had the ability to be loveable. I always just saw him as a dick and a test of other people’s humanity. I feel like there is a heroic quality in non-redemptiveness there that at least gives the character the opportunity to have some backbone. But I’m not really interested in selling a fake Griswold grandpa character who’s kinda racist and sleepy. I mean, where’s the story? Someone pitch me a better storyline to do with a character like that.

I totally respect people’s right to ask, “Why would they hang out with him?” And it became my goal to answer that question, at the time, but at this point that you’re describing, I wasn’t perceiving this as a problem. If you asked me at this point, I wouldn’t have had an answer. My answer would have been, “What do you mean? Is there a problem here?” Why are any of them hanging out with each other? The answer is the same across the board, right? Is that a question, or is that the answer?” You are hanging out with him and you have been for a while. He’s like the shitty member of your family.

It’s like a sweater thread, and when you start pulling it, it’s like, “Why the fuck are you friends with anyone you’re friends with?” That’s how I would have responded at the time. And when this episode aired, I saw the comments section, and the audience was divided into two groups. One thought that Pierce being such a dick made the show unwatchable, and the other said “No, they have a plan.” And I was like, “There seems to be a consensus here, and it’s not really my right to say that there isn’t one. I need to have a plan that this other group is talking about,” so that’s the direction I went.

But at the time that that episode was being created, all I was thinking was, “Okay, let’s create a good story and further this character.” And keeping with the character, I just kept thinking, “What are his vulnerabilities and his desires? How come they haven’t stopped hanging out with him?” Like, don’t you have a ton of friends who just drive you nuts? Like, “Oh shit, it’s fucking Sue on the phone again.” And you just roll your eyes. But it’s not Survivor, you can’t just vote her off the island. The guy is there every day. He goes to your school. What’s the protocol? And I made those questions non-rhetorical in the last few episodes. It’s the best I could do. I don’t want to be guilty. Like maybe I have a neurological disorder that makes it impossible for me to think what other people are thinking about a character, so I just had to go with the people on this one.

 

I think Dan didn't get it at the time. He really liked the idea of Pierce being this agent of chaos for the study group so much that it became that they would have him around. "He's like a shitty member of your family." No he wasn't. You put up with family because they're related by blood and sometimes you only see them on holidays but not everyday. And if you friend who is constantly shitty to you, you don't just put up with it, you cut them out of your life. Period.

Rick can be as big an ass as they want but he also has to genuinely deep down care about his family.  You can excuse it with his nihilism and that there are infinite versions of Rick, Morty and Summer out there but then, why doesn't he live alone? Why did he come back? I think that's why they had to Jerry out, because in order for it to believable they would be in the same house for how many more seasons eventually they would have to that point do the "Aw they really do love each other" trope, Like on All in the Family where it got to the point when Mike left after so many years, tells Archie he loved him, and that would ring false.

[johntfs]

16 hours ago, Sandman87 said:

It was nice that we got to see Rick and the Prez's fight moving through the Hooker Dump and the Cocaine Lounge, but I wonder why the Prez hasn't demolished them yet if he feels that they're national embarrassments. It's not like doing so would affect his poll numbers. Or maybe that's why; no benefit to him.

They're historic structures so he's probably required to keep them in place.

[Galileo908]

3 hours ago, johntfs said:

They're historic structures so he's probably required to keep them in place.

And since we saw them underground, they're probably load-bearing sex tunnels.

[johntfs]

Is it wrong that I'm slightly sad that we never saw the Lincoln Slave Colosseum?  "He didn't free them all."

Edited October 4, 2017 by johntfs

[Sandman87]

9 hours ago, johntfs said:

They're historic structures so he's probably required to keep them in place.

Top secret historic structures that the public must never know about. No, not buying that one.

[Miles]

If Beth turns out to be a clone in the end I'm going to be disappointed. There was no reason for Rick to leave the memory of the clone-conversation in a clone-Beth's brain. He has ereased Morty's memories for less. So the only logical explaination is that this Beth is the real one.

 

On 2.10.2017 at 4:55 PM, revbfc said:

This did not feel like a finale.  it was a cool episode, but it wasn't a finale.  "The Ricklantis Mixup" should have been the finale.

According to Harmon, the reason for that is that it wasn't meant to be a finale. They thought they had 14 episodes this season, then the network shortened it to 10 (I guess cartoon network hates money), so they had to finalify this episode on the fly. Considering that it isn't half bad.

[Galileo908]

2 minutes ago, Miles said:

According to Harmon, the reason for that is that it wasn't meant to be a finale. They thought they had 14 episodes this season, then the network shortened it to 10 (I guess cartoon network hates money), so they had to finalify this episode on the fly. Considering that it isn't half bad.

I thought I read that Harmon wasn't up for 14 episodes? But at least the next season will have that many. 

[johntfs]

41 minutes ago, Sandman87 said:

Top secret historic structures that the public must never know about. No, not buying that one.

Well, there's always the fact that if the structures had been destroyed/repurposed, we wouldn't have gotten the joke mentions of them in this episode and that would have made us all poorer in laughter.

[Ubiquitous]

Bwah! Good point!

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎9‎/‎24‎/‎2017 at 11:59 PM, Galileo908 said:

Next week: Season finale already? Where's Phoenix Person? I hope he shows up.

And Mr Poopybutthole!

On ‎9‎/‎26‎/‎2017 at 4:31 PM, CheezyXpressed said:

Well, there were some test tube colours that they didn't touch. Maybe you're on to something there.

What was it Rick said about using a color-coding scheme?

[Pindrop]

There were three specific lines of dialogue in this episode that stood out to me (and weren't necessarily positive): -

1) Beth: "It'll be like season 1, but more streamlined" ... I've enjoyed this season, but I prefer the irrelevant excursions away from the plot and the ad-libs of previous seasons. Some of these episodes felt over-written, and I would prefer it if Rick and Morty did not resort to straight parodies of other shows (eg. Vindicators 3). 

2) Rick: "South Park did it 4 years ago"... I really do not want this show to descend into lazy pop culture references and self-referential jokes for comedy, à la Family Guy when it turned crap. 

C) Jerry: "Simple, twice?"... Why are they now explaining jokes and in so doing undermining the punchline? 

These are minor points, but they are concerns I have had with this entire season that are well illustrated in this episode. Some of the episodes this season felt like someone trying to write Rick and Morty, rather than Rick and Morty. I hope it isn't a (downward) trend.  

Edited October 7, 2017 by Pindrop

[Ubiquitous]

Speaking of Szechuan Sauce, did anyone participate in that fiasco? I had planned on going but then changed my mind after discovering the only place in town offering it was adjacent to FSU's campus, on the day of a football game against UM, and on a day predicted to be affected by whatever was left of hurricane Nate.

[Charlesman]

18 minutes ago, Ubiquitous said:

Speaking of Szechuan Sauce, did anyone participate in that fiasco? I had planned on going but then changed my mind after discovering the only place in town offering it was adjacent to FSU's campus, on the day of a football game against UM, and on a day predicted to be affected by whatever was left of hurricane Nate.

I looked it up online the day it was announced, and saw there was only one McDs in Los Angeles that was participating. I did not go. I told everyone I knew to avoid that entire neighborhood if possible on Sunday.

1000 people camped out overnight. When the McDs opened, they were told they couldn't serve the sauce until 2PM. So they waited. The line grew. At 2PM the manager said he could now sell, but, he was only given 70 packets. So the other 930 people that camped out, and the hundred more that joined behind them in line for hours after all day, were SOL.

There was nearly a riot. Police had to be called in.

 

I have no idea how McDonald's could have thought that they were doing this right. Some decisions are so beyond me. Even just looking at the traffic on the webpage listing participating restaurants should have told them that "20 per restaurant, 30 more for big cities" wasn't going to cover it.

[Ubiquitous]

Internet rule #34. NSFW

[VCRTracking]

On 10/6/2017 at 11:19 PM, Pindrop said:

2) Rick: "South Park did it 4 years ago"... I really do not want this show to descend into lazy pop culture references and self-referential jokes for comedy, à la Family Guy when it turned crap. 

It's more referring to how Dan and Justin said the writers would come up with an idea but realize South Park did it first.  The same thing happened to South Park writers who'd bemoan that they'd come up with an idea but realize it was already done on The Simpsons, hence the South Park episode "Simpsons Already Did It".

I know some fans were disappointed that the finale wasn't bigger and that involved Evil Morty but I think it finishes off the arc of the season where it starts with Rick Jerry out and being the head of the family to now being lower and it also develops Beth's character , whether it's really her or a clone.

It's interesting how at first the President(who I assume really is Obama in this universe) was at first a more sympathetic character and ally in "Get Shwifty" and then gets turned into an antagonist. Either they don't want to be seen kissing Obama's ass or that it's Dan Harmon's(and Rick's) natural distrust of authority coming through.

On 10/6/2017 at 11:19 PM, Pindrop said:

C) Jerry: "Simple, twice?"... Why are they now explaining jokes and in so doing undermining the punchline? 

I like that is showed that Jerry isn't that big of a dummy. He's aware people think less of him.

Edited October 21, 2017 by VCRTracking

[Lantern7]

Rick and Morty sell out some more. By "Rick and Morty," I mean "Rick."

[Lantern7]

Saw this in the newspaper today, and I thought of this particular episode.

[charmingstone]

Hey Guys, look at this Rick and Morty clothing line https://charmingstonejewels.com/collections

[Lantern7]

This is from Adult Swim's YouTube account. Something to slip in between the final scene and Mr. Poopy Butthole making an appearance. Observation: Is MPB . . . a Morty?!?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Binging with Babish made Rick and Morty's McDonald's Szechuan sauce:

 

He then did a second part after receiving an actual sample of the McDonald's sauce:

[Lantern7]

This evening, Adult Swim will be airing the first two episodes of Rick and Morty: "Pilot" and "Lawnmower Dog." Since there's only one thread for a first season episode ("Something Ricked This Way Comes"), I figured a thread was in order.

Here's my question: was there a specific moment which hooked you to this show like that sweet, sweet Szechuan sauce? I can't pinpoint anything for myself. Also, I never got into Dan Harmon's work prior to this series. I watch most everything put out by Adult Swim, and it was really hard to forget once the series started to gel.

[TVSpectator]

On 12/23/2017 at 8:54 PM, Lantern7 said:

 

Here's my question: was there a specific moment which hooked you to this show like that sweet, sweet Szechuan sauce? I can't pinpoint anything for myself. Also, I never got into Dan Harmon's work prior to this series. I watch most everything put out by Adult Swim, and it was really hard to forget once the series started to gel.

Looking back I remember seeing Lawnmower Dog first and loving the whole episode and wanted to see more.  Not a specific moment per se but just watching one episode was enough. 

Edited December 28, 2017 by TVSpectator

[Lantern7]

Season 4 might come in 2019. We were expecting that, right? Odds are good that Mr. Poopy Butthole will have an old man beard and grandkids by then. The only way I can think of filling the void is with the licensed comics from Oni Press. And maybe that Mulan Szechaun sauce.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Rick & Morty won a Critics' Choice Award for Best Animated Series!

[CozPlay]

I took the site from the intro scene, except the .com was taken by time warner.

 

rubhub.online

[Lantern7]

From Watch Mojo: Top 10 Times Rick Crossed the Line Criticisms below.

10. Getting Morty to shove big seeds in his rectum: That was bad, especially in the very first episode.

9. Rick's car keeps Summer safe: Should Rick get blamed for that? That falls on the border for me.

8. Selling Weapons to Assassins: Okay, that's cut and dry evil.

7. Toxic Rick turns the world toxic: Also on the border. I mean, it's Rick, but it's mostly the "bad" side of him.

6. Killing Secret Service: Okay, Rick warned them. And you'd think the guys would be briefed on the danger involved, even if the President wanted his head.

5. Blowing Up Zigerions: That's not crossing the line. Assholes spend the entire episode trying to fool Rick (and making Jerry happy for once in his pathetic life). seemingly succeed, then blow themselves up because Rick is an asshole. But they totally had it coming.

4. Morty's Mind Blowers: Indefensible, though I'm thinking Morty's brain is very resilient with the constant tampering.

3. Pickle Rick: It was a dick move to make himself immobile to get out of therapy, but did it cross the line? I don't think it did.

2. Universe in Car Battery: Once again, a grey area. Building a universe to power his car is classic amoral Rick, but I don't think it was evil. He did jerk those people around, though.

1. Destroying the Vindicators: He was drunk. I mean, that's not a "Get Out Of Shit Free" card, but he probably would have blown them off if he wasn't obligated to Morty. Given the dysfunction of the team (especially with Supernova, Thousand Ants and Allan Rails), he just accelerated their demise.

[Lantern7]

Here's one of the two covers for Rick and Morty #37, due out in April. Not only is it a sweet homage to Uncanny X-Men #141, artists Marc Ellerby with Allison Strejlau threw in all the guys Pickle Rick killed in this episode.

Edited January 25, 2018 by Lantern7

[qtpye]

I just watched this episode and it was enlightening.  I know how this is going to end, but the main thing that I got is that Rick is alone because he is the smartest being in the universe.  I have read that smart people are prone to depression, because they truly understand the pointlessness of everything.  This must be multiplied in Rick time a billion.

Yes, everyone but Jerry worships him, but it really means nothing because he is so above their level.  It is like an adult being adored by four year olds...not really all that self satisfying.  It is actually kind of sad.

[Lantern7]

On 10/5/2015 at 12:42 AM, Lantern7 said:

Oh, and Mr. Poopy Butthole drops by after the credits to be enthused about the cliffhanger. A year and a half to the third season? Here's hoping we won't have to wait that long.

Lets see . . . 18 months from October 2015 would be April 2017 . . . and the first episode from the third season aired on April 1. But that was dropped in viewers' laps as an April Fool gag/present, and the "official" debut was late July. So . . . 21 months. At that rate, the fourth season would drop in July 2019. Really hoping we don't perish from the withdrawal.

[bref]

It's back!

[Lantern7]

Adult Swim puts out an old-school video game sequence.

Also, Oni Press kicked off their quarterly R+M title with the Vndicators. Fun stuff; the Oni books really capture the best essence of the show.

[Lantern7]

The future is looking bleak. A fourth season should be a gimme, right? If Adult Swim wants it to end thanks to toxic fanboys, give Harmon and Co. more than ten episodes to work out a conclusion to their liking.

[Lantern7]

What if Rick and Morty . . . were Australian?

[ApathyMonger]

Renewed for SEVENTY episodes.

Probably the biggest renewal I can think of outside of the old 10/90 model.

[Lantern7]

"It's gonna happen, Morty! Rick and Morty for ninety-six years! Seventy episodes of mental abuse!! Am I gonna get that Mulan Szechaun sauce? I better get that fucking Mulan Szechaun sauce, goddammit! RICK AND MORTY FOREVER!!!!!!"

The first new episode will end like that, or with that vibe.

Edited May 10, 2018 by Lantern7

[festivus]

Well that's awesome. It helps me a little with my sad about Brooklyn Nine Nine.

[Sandman87]

The renewal actually made the early morning report on the news radio station that I listen to. First time I've heard them mention any TV show being renewed.

[bref]

@festivus, hopefully by now you have heard the good B99 news! :) 

SEVENTY episodes? That almost seems like they're pranking us?