Rick and Morty Season 7 continues with episodes 3 and 4! And the new voice actors are really hitting their stride. Ian Cardoni (Rick) and Harry Belden (Morty), who have taken over from Justin Roiland after his unceremonious departure, are growing week by week, and I’m barely noticing the change-up.
This week, we’re going to be recapping a Presidential romp and a thought-provoking whomp. You are not prepared for That’s Amorte. I’m going to preface that episode’s recap with a trigger warning, so there’s that.
Regardless, Season 7 is now well underway, so let’s go!
Rick is at his therapy session with Dr. Wong (Susan Sarandon) when the President (Keith David) asks for help retrieving the Loch Ness Monster, a converted US superweapon. Rick initially ignores the calls of the Commander in Queef but is soon forced into helping. The President and Dr. Wong instantly feel chemistry when they meet, much to the annoyance of Rick.
Later, President horn-pants calls Rick again to sort out a disturbance in Virginia but is dismayed when it’s just a ploy to bring Dr. Wong on a mission for a date. Turns out, though, the Old Dominion has become a paradise of sorts. Paradise? In Virginia? Pfft. Something hinky is going on!
It’s Unity (Christina Hendricks), a hivemind and Rick’s ex-partner in love. She has assimilated the state of Virginia to get Rick’s attention after he didn’t call her back! She left five voicemails, Rick! This is on you!
President Curtis domes (think Under the Dome) Virginia, cutting off Unity from its residents and allowing himself to assimilate the state to improve his approval rating. And so begins the hivemind war, ending in Unity’s complete victory.
Unity agrees to release America from her grasp at Rick’s behest and to great physical pain. Wong vouches for Rick’s slow growth, then breaks up with the President, which we all know will be the other way around when he tells the story.
In the post-credits scene, lovable talk-show host Mr. Stabby defends the audience death tally from his talk show. He’s a guy with knives for appendages! What were they expecting?!
TRIGGER WARNING: This episode’s story has suicide as one of its main themes
I never thought that I would have to put a trigger warning on a Rick and Morty episode. I mean, it’s Rick and Morty, so you have to expect some semblance of controversy, but this takes it a bit further than most.
The Smiths are enjoying spaghetti bolognese night! They lurve Rick’s new recipe. Unfortunately, when Morty attempts to help Rick dish out second helpings, he discovers his grandpa ladling spaghetti from a dead body. Soylent Green is PEOPLE!
But not just any people. Rick has found a universe where people turn into delicious spaghetti if, and only if, they commit suicide. Ethically dubious, Morty wants to learn more about the people he’s eaten and drags Rick to a funeral. A man after my own heart, Morty can’t deal with the awkward silence when the funeral director asks for some words about the deceased, blurting out that his family ate his corpse. Inappropriate!
The ruling elite discovered from this that suicide victims are totally tasty treats, so they try to make a fortune by selling “ethical spaghetti” (spaghetti made as a byproduct of assisted suicide). But business is too good! They try to induce suicide in their population by making their planet absolutely depressing. Rick attempts to find a substitute, first trying clones that are too dumb to know they’re committing suicide and then creating sentient torsos specifically designed to make suicide spaghetti. Neither has the desired effect.
Rick has one last plan: one last assisted suicide to end everything. On a televised broadcast, curmudgeon Fred’s life montage is shown. It had its ups and downs, but the reel was perfect and understated. As the beautiful montage ends, so does Fred’s life. And everybody’s appetites. No longer could patrons of “ethical spaghetti” stomach the contents of their food. Rick’s plan worked. No more spaghetti.
The Smiths have a new favorite food: salisbury steak. They do not want to know where it comes from.
Air Force Wong was a bit of a romp but ultimately a little disappointing. Yes, the Unity reappearance was a welcome one, but it did little for the overarching plot aside from showing Rick’s history with trying to find Rick Prime. It’s self-destructive behavior, and he knows it.
That’s Amorte, however, was a powerful episode. I was brought to tears by the montage of a dying man’s life at the end, something that was expertly and lovingly brought together. It had the desired effect to show the absurdity of what they were doing. I also found the parallels between the torso farm and farming hilarious. Are we happy to live in ignorance about how our food is produced? Mostly, though, this depicts the complicated splendor of life. It’s excellently done.
I never thought that Rick and Morty would move me so much, but it did. Episode 4 is absurd, uncomfortable, beautiful and disgusting. You have to see it to believe it.
What did you guys think? Are you enjoying season 7? Are you noticing the absence of Justin Roiland? Tell us in the comments below!
