Two years, folks. It’s been two years since the last new episode of Rick and Morty and now season four is finally upon us and I honestly could not think of a better episode to kick it off.
Rick and Morty go off on a quest to find death crystals, a highly sought after mineral that reveals how the person holding it will die. Morty becomes obsessed with a future version of his death where he sees himself dying with his beloved crush, Jessica, by his side and is determined to do whatever he can to allow that version of history to unfold, even if that means Rick has to die… which he does. Several times.
This episode was nuts. Rarely do you see a television episode hold on to a solid narrative and tell a cohesive story while, at the same time, indulge in so many side plots, cameos, twists, and general insanity. I don’t know what happened in the writers room when this particular story was hatched, but I’m fairly certain that illegal substances were involved.
What’s even more amazing about this episode are the subtle jabs that the show is taking at bullies and authority figures, particularly since more toxic elements of the show’s own fandom began to manifest last year in the form of szechuan sauce meltdown and writer harassment. Seeing Rick continually go up against nazis who want to do the same adventures over and over again has to mean something. It just has to.
Or, it could just be me.
The episode was awash in the Rick and Morty brand nihilism and cynicism that we’ve all grown to love, just about every joke that was thrown in the air landed, and the animation even seems punchier this season… more fluid and smooth.
“Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat” was an episode that almost made the long hiatus tolerable. On the surface, it was a crazy awesome premiere that didn’t give a single copulation, but the care and love that went into crafting it was more than apparent.
Jason Gaston 