WARNING: GALACTIC CRIME LEVEL SPOILERS

PROCEED AT YOUR RISK

Rick and Morty has finally hit the mainstream, and as a longtime watcher and fan, it feels good to see it finally get such immense recognition (not all necessarily good) and praise. With this in mind, a show filled with such nihilistic, graphic, cleverly brutal humor and a quest for Schezwan Sauce feels fitting to review in a high school newspaper, so let’s go!

Rick and Morty Season 1 set the stage and setting for this animated series through its interesting settings, themes, and dark humor; Season 2 began building on this base by dabbling in developing and exploring the characters and their experiences with the obscurity and antics Rick and the uncaring multiverse as a whole throw at them. Season 3 takes Season 2’s development and ran with it further, incorporating experimentation with more ‘arc’ like storytelling instead of the pure, more episodic format commonly used. Season 3 injected itself with even more dark and crazy humor than we expected from the show. But perhaps most importantly, the show goes deep into just how controlling, sad, and nihilistic Rick is and how his influence and actions are truly affecting his family and, not surprisingly, the multiverse as a whole.

The season blasted off with a universally praised and loved first episode, “The Rickshank Redemption.” This episode completely inverted the season 2 finale and shot it in the head with Rick framing this entire selfless act as a massive Machiavellian scheme where he is able to destroy the Galactic Federation (after years of fighting them and the death of his best friend, Birdperson and overall being the major deterrent to his almost godlike brilliance and shenanigans in the universe) and doing severe damage to the council of Ricks. The council represents everything he stands against.

This culminated in Rick pushing Jerry out of the family when Beth was presented with either Jerry or him, essentially giving him control of the family and effectively becoming the master of every universe he could visit. There was no Jerry to call him out on using Morty for his work and adventures. There is no longer a Galactic Federation to prevent him from doing, stealing, destroying, killing who or whatever he wants in the galaxy and settling the score between them and avenging Birdperson and his allies.

There is much less opposition from the other Ricks if he does something particularly bad in a multiversal sense and becoming (at least for now) a non-threat. Ultimately, this results in Rick winning and gaining control and/or payback against every major force that has ever wronged or has not been a convenience to him and gotten him one step closer to the Schezwan Sauce.