Rick and Morty - Review

Rick and Morty season 7 premieres Sunday, October 15 at 11 p.m. ET on Adult Swim.

Any concerns that Rick and Morty would be hurt by the departure of co-creator Justin Roiland can be officially put to rest. In the lead up to season seven, Adult Swim has declined to share who’s behind the new voices for Rick, Morty, Mr. Poopybutthole, and other characters originally voiced by Roiland, but they sound functionally identical and seem equally comfortable delivering the series’ signature biting jabs and meta humor.

That comedy is as sharp as ever in the first two episodes of the new season. Season 6 ended with a manic monologue about hunting Rick’s nemesis that made it seem like season 7 would get deep into Rick and Morty's overarching plot, but that quest is barely mentioned in “How Poopy Got His Poop Back” and “The Jerrick Trap,” which instead offer just a bit of character growth along with absurdist adventures. The writers have proven they’re more than capable of delivering deeply twisted, complex science-fiction plots, so I’m still eager for more depth as the season goes on. Still, it’s hard to argue with kicking things off with some great standalone adventures.

“How Poopy Got His Poop Back” delves into how, despite his deeply abrasive personality and cavalier attitude, Rick can still struggle with meaningful confrontation. But mostly it’s a chance to show who Rick is when he’s with his friends rather than his family, giving a little context to his drinking problem and showing him being surprisingly thoughtful and responsible. The episode also provides an opportunity for a bunch of well-done pop-culture references demonstrating Rick’s genre savvy. Dark comedy is skillfully applied to the relatively mundane (like a version of the verbal-abuse-and-wings chain Dick’s Last Resort where the insults cut to the core) and the truly absurd (like a world of anthropomorphic beer cans and bottles that becomes the site of a drinking rampage). “How Poopy Got His Poop Back” also features a great cameo from a movie star who seems to have a newfound passion for appearing in raunchy animated shows and a very surprising and extremely entertainingly animated romance arc. I wish I could say more, but most of the episode is wrapped up under tight spoiler restrictions.

Sharp dialogue and gonzo animation have always been the heart of Rick and Morty, and neither have softened in season 7. Since Rick is no longer the smartest man in his multiverse, there's a greater willingness to make him the butt of jokes rather than the one getting the last laugh. That plays out with the usual verbal sparring with his family in “How Poopy Got His Poop Back.” It’s even more dramatic in “The Jerrick Trap,” where a poorly planned attempt to prove a point and the best efforts of Rick’s put-upon garage AI (Kari Wahlgren) force Rick and Jerry (Chris Parnell) to get to know each other better. It’s one of the better cold openings the series has done, combining its classic family sitcom foundation with black humor.

The episode is particularly a triumph for Parnell, who plays the perpetual punching bag on both Rick and Morty and Archer and seems to relish the chance to give as good as he gets. The arguing and antics are hilarious and also more than a bit sentimental, exploring how much both Rick and Jerry care about their families and the ways that their opposing natures can actually complement each other.

Morty is relegated to hanging out with the rest of his family in “How Poopy Got His Poop Back,” but he has a more prominent role in “The Jerrick Trap,” where he’s taken hostage by an alien gang who catch him selling crystals on their turf. “Crystals” can be anything, but these crystals are drugs, as the episode makes clear to the chagrin of Morty’s mom, Beth (Sarah Chalke). The gang leader’s reaction feels similar to that of Viggo Tarasov in John Wick as he bends over backwards to make things right with Rick before a whiff of weakness makes him too ambitious for his own good.

Sharp dialogue and gonzo animation have always been the heart of Rick and Morty, and neither have softened in season 7

“The Jerrick Trap” is a great mashup of buddy action movies and Star Trek: Voyager’s “Tuvix,” combining gore-soaked gags with the wrangling over the nature of identity and happiness found in previous Rick and Morty episodes like “Bethic Twinstinct” and “Rest and Ricklaxation.” It also uses The White Stripes’ “We’re Going To Be Friends” to add glee to a grotesque moment.