Rick and Morty, actually on their own for an adventure for once this season, stumble upon a planet in the midst of a purge (like that movie, you know… The Purge) and accidentally get swept up in the murderous mayhem as, back on Earth, Jerry and Summer do things and say things that don’t matter because it’s one of the most useless and pointless subplots I’ve ever seen.
I do love a “back to basics” type of episode, especially coming in the middle of a mostly experimental season where the writers and creators are playing with their toys, deciding what new things work and what new things don’t. Seeing Rick and Morty on their own again… just beautiful.
All right, the episode’s part movie parody and part examination of the inherent nature of violence in civilized humanity and how far we can be pushed before it explodes out of us like hatred. Rick, being brilliant but barely civilized, wears his violence on his sleeve while Morty, sheepish and gentle, keeps his hidden away. It was a pretty fascinating dichotomy at work and it was brilliantly poked with a stick several times when the scales of purge planet were tipped to and from our heroes favor.
Summer and Jerry, though… What was that? There was literally nothing in their subplot worth remembering. The dialogue was dull, the conflict as it was stunk, and the resolution was so mind-killingly underwhelming that the entire B plot should have never existed.
On the whole, though, the episode averaged out to be a winner with a slight limp gimping across the finish line. It might not have been a spit-polished amazing effort, but it was better than good and, as I said, seeing Rick and Morty actually be the stars of Rick and Morty was a fun change.
Jason Gaston 