Rick and Morty blow off America.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
Rick and Morty Season 3 has been one long, ten-episode exercise in subverting expectations and pushing these characters in weird new directions. It's good to see that nothing changed in the season finale. If less dramatic and depressing than the Season 2 finale, this episode delivered a nonstop dose of hilarity and gave Rick the comeuppance he really needed. What more can you really ask for?
The preview teaser for "The Rickchurian Mortydate" suggested that this episode would be framed around Rick and Morty's efforts to rid the Kennedy Sex Tunnels of a deadly creature. As it turned out, though, everything in that teaser was covered in the first minute or so here. Instead of giving us another "Rick and Morty accept a mission from the President" tale a la "Get Schwifty," the writers crafted a conflict where the President himself was the villain. Though only a villain in the sense that he finally got fed up with playing second fiddle to the world's most powerful and egotistical super-scientist. Can you really blame the guy?
As a big Keith David fan, I was thrilled to see his character play such a heavy role in this episode. The President really evolved from amusing background player to full-fledged character in this episode. Rather than treat him like a thinly veiled parody of a past US President, the show treats him like just another over-the-top but deeply flawed citizen of this crazy sci-fi universe. His rivalry with Rick proved endlessly entertaining, as a game of perpetual oneupsmanship eventually morphed into all-out war in the bowels of the White House. Rick clearly thinks himself untouchable (as we saw in that tense, hilarious standoff in the Oval Office), so it was a bit of a treat to find out that the President is one of the few people with the resources and the drive to compete on Rick's level. Not since Rick's battle with Zeep Xanflorp in "The Ricks Must Be Crazy" have we seen such unbridled scientific warfare.
The biggest surprise here is that this episode directly referenced the fallout of "The ABC's of Beth" and the lingering question of whether Beth is a clone. I honestly assumed that was just going to be left as an open-ended, unacknowledged mystery. Instead, it became critical to wrapping up the season-long Beth/Jerry storyline. It's fitting that Rick's efforts to encourage his daughter's independence and intelligence only wound up driving her right back into the arms of the person he despises most in the world. Am I happy to see Beth and Jerry repairing their relationship? Not necessarily. Both characters seemed to benefit from the breakup this season, and forcing them into their old roles could undo all that growth. But we'll have to see where Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland are actually headed with the two. At this point, I'll settle for anything that results in a more Jerry-heavy Season 4.
Above all, this episode really qualifies as a huge defeat for Rick. Maybe not in as dramatic a fashion as the Season 2 finale (which was eventually revealed to be a victory in disguise, anyway), but a defeat all the same. This season has focused a great deal on Rick tightening his grip over the rest of the family and asserting his dominance, and this is where Beth and Morty both fought back. I would have liked to see a bit more emphasis on Morty this week, but it was still nice to see him turn the tables on a relationship that took such a dark turn in the season premiere.
I don't necessarily blame anyone who might find this episode an underwhelming way to cap off the season. It lacked the huge, emotional climax of the Season 2 finale. It didn't touch on Evil Morty or Phoenixperson or any of the other lingering threads. But this series tends to be at its best when it subverts expectations, even if that means opting for a sillier, more standalone approach to capping off the season. Between the wacky rivalry between Rick and the President and Beth's emotional crisis, this episode still delivered that trademark blend of high-concept humor and emotional drama. I'm not disappointed with what we got here.
Plus, I'm holding out hope that we haven't seen the last of Rick and Morty in 2017. While Mr. Poopybutthole showed up to prepare fans for the inevitable long wait for Season 4, it's possible his reference to a "Santa Claus beard" is a hint that there's some sort of Christmas Special on the way. It's worth bearing in mind that Season 3 was originally announced to be 14 episodes long. Maybe there's a good reason it was quietly trimmed to 10?
The Verdict
"The Rickchurian Mortydate" isn't the most dramatic or emotionally devastating episode ever, but it's still a fun, memorable way to wrap up the show's most eclectic season to date. Rick's violent rivalry with the president entertained form start to finish, while Beth's clone crisis gave the episode the dramatic edge it needed. Best of all, this episode gave Rick just the sort of comeuppance he needed after his sinister behavior in Season 3.
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