season 4

With half the episodes airing in late 2019 and the other half airing two months into quarantine, Season 4 of Rick and Morty was … interesting, to say the least. After a disappointing third season, I did not have high hopes for the latest season. Before I go on — I am aware of the points of contention towards Season 3: some think it was amazing, and others (like myself) felt it lacked the characteristically memorable side characters and mind-boggling plots of the two previous seasons. Although the return of Evil Morty in “The Ricklantis Mixup” made up for what was otherwise a boring and lackluster third season, I still didn’t have too high of an expectation for the fourth season. Most importantly, I just didn’t want any more Pickle Rick, or to hear “Szechuan Sauce” incorrectly pronounced for the umpteenth time (it’s sich-wahn). Luckily, there wasn’t. 

Right off the bat, it was clear to me that Season 4 would be a clean slate for the Smith family dynamics. Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, the show’s creators, seemed to have had finished filling their appetite on toying around with more complicated relationships in Season 3: Beth and Jerry’s divorce, Rick’s rise and fall on the Smith family totem pole, family therapy, and a strained father-daughter relationship. It’s possible the weaving of these subplots into the overall arc of Season 3 provided a bulk of the fodder for the episodes at the expense of  “classic” Rick and Morty adventures. But, by the time Season 4 rolled around, we saw a flipped image: Beth and Jerry were back together, and Rick wedged into a less domineering position. At any rate, the creators had cleared the table, leaving more elbow room to scheme up zany adventures between the two main characters without all the  emotional familial baggage.  

So, what happened in Season 4? The first two episodes “Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat” and “The Old Man and the Seat” were hands-down amazing. We saw the reintroduction of iconic side characters like Mr. Meeseeks and Gearhead, as well as the incorporation of social commentary on topics ranging from political correctness to the rise of the far right. We also got a glimpse into the psychology of Rick Sanchez’s loneliness and stubbornness. The start of Season 4 seemed promising. 

Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the next three episodes: “One Crew over the Crewcoo’s Morty,” “Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktim’s Morty,” and “Rattlestar Ricklactica.” They threw me back into my post-Season 3 disillusionment. They seemed wildly unlike the first two seasons of Rick and Morty I was accustomed to, and were jarring to watch. The first episode, colloquially called the “Heist” episode, was pretty fast-paced to begin with, but it unbelievably started picking up speed towards the end. By the time the climax neared, I couldn’t even follow a single word Rick and the Heist-o-Tron were exchanging in their half-insane harangues about double-crossing each other. However, I will say that the episode makes up for the difficult-to-follow plot by reintroducing Mr. (now Professor) Poopybutthole and starring Elon Musk as Elon Tusk (which is just Musk with tusks). I agree these characters enhanced this episode and thus it deserves a higher rating than the next two. 

Watching “Claw and Hoarder” was the first time I felt sick while watching Rick and Morty. And that’s saying a lot for the sometimes harrowingly inappropriate adult animated show. I will say no more. 

And as for “Rattlestar Ricklactica?” That episode was just snakes hissing at each other for the entire episode. At this juncture, I felt disappointed to see Season 4 playing out so similarly to Season 3. 

But by the time May 2020 rolled around, I was itching for more content. Being stuck in quarantine for two months straight, I was willing to overlook my prior disillusionment. And I’m glad I did. The latter half of Season 4 was leaps and bounds stronger than the first half, and it restored my full faith in the creative juices of Roiland, Harmon, and the team. By far the two most memorable episodes of the second half are “Promortyus” and “The Vat of Acid Episode.” 

What stood out most to me in “Promortyus” was the charmingly healthy relationship between Rick and Morty. While simultaneously committing mass genocide on the population of facehuggers on planet Glorzo in their homemade spaceship, Rick opened up to his grandson and apologized for being so harsh on him. Morty reassured him and validated his struggles: “I just wish you’d open up to me sometimes, I’m your partner.” It was heartwarming to see, and I hope this character development is continued into the next season. 

But the following episode, “The Vat of Acid Episode,” by far stole the show in the entire season. Dubbed an instant classic, it had the perfect mix of a heartwarming romance between Morty and a girl, Jerry’s inane mediocrity ruining things yet again, mind-bendingly dark plot twists, and delves deeper into Rick’s god-complex. “The Vat of Acid Episode” has certainly made my list of  “episodes that drop your jaw on the floor until the end credits begin rolling.” Among my list are both Evil Morty episodes, “Rick Potion #9” (when the duo accidently Cronenburgs dimension C-137 and bail to a new reality), and my personal favourite “The Ricks Must Be Crazy” (wherein Rick’s car battery is a microverse containing a world of intelligent life that toils to power his car). It’s that good. 

Of course, no TV show review is complete without mention of the season finale. But surprisingly, the Season 4 finale wasn’t all that memorable to me. The plot really centered around the return of Beth Smith’s clone, Tammy and Phoenix Person, but not much more than that. This was surprising given all the hype that had accumulated around the return of Tammy and Phoenix Person. Rick put it best when he remarked, “She died the way she lived. Overserialized.” The episode felt more bare-bones than the others because of what I suspect is the lack of Morty in the main plot. Because the A-plot primarily centered around the quality of Rick’s relationship (or lack thereof) with his friend Phoneix Person and daughter, it took a different direction that left the viewer lacking a traditional sense of closure. I suppose this sets us up for an entirely novel dynamic between the characters in Season 5. What will happen? Will Rick try to change his ways after losing his best friend? Will he be completely snuffed out of the Smith family, now that there are two Beths who equally hate the way he’s treated them? And what about Evil Morty? All these questions and more will be circulating in my mind between now and the (probably) two-plus year gap until Season 5. 

All I can say is, fingers crossed there won’t be a return of Pickle Rick.