Review: Rick & Morty Seasons 1 & 2 Are Triumphs Of The Cartoon Genre, But Not Of Comedy
- Jul 30, 2017
- 2 min read
At the time of this review being written, we're mere hours away from the second episode of Rick & Morty Season 3 being released, after months of anticipation. So let's turn back the clocks and reminisce on the journey to this point.
In a world where modern cartoons have no rules or internal continuity, people get hurt and injured, rearrange body parts, and consistently forget lessons learned from previous episodes. But Rick & Morty, a show about a boy and his alcoholic genius grandfather going on interdimensional adventures, is a sci-fi cartoon which manages something that normally, neither sci-fi or cartoons can: consistency.
See, Rick & Morty presents dozens of sci-fi concepts - alternate realities, hive mind planets, and tiny universes being used as an energy supply. But the show is thorough in explaining each new concept without becoming boring, and consistent in portraying it. The concept of the Council of Ricks, in particular, was a stroke of genius.
The writing isn't just great for the sci-fi, though. There's a fairly decent mix of stories that stand alone, and stories that advance the overall narrative. And while this overall narrative doesn't usually affect much, it sets up future stories to be able to explore even more. It's entertaining to see relationships develop in Morty's family, or to see the lasting repercussions of previous adventures.
But this cartoon is also comedy, and I guess I have to talk about that too. Rick & Morty is almost never laugh-out-loud funny. It's an American cartoon - they just don't do that. Rick is extremely off-putting at first, and the first two episodes don't do much to dissuade that. But it's one of those shows that is constantly amusing. It creates dumb grins rather than roars of laughter, and a show with this much heart can get away with that.
Season 1 set the tone, with guest stars as diverse as John Oliver, Nolan North, and David Cross; brand new sci-fi concepts being explored in unique ways; and a consistently high standard of writing. Some episodes, such as 'M. Night Shaym-Aliens!' are unusually rewatchable, even for a cartoon. Yet others, like 'Lawnmower Dog' get old about halfway through the first viewing.
Season 2 then went all in, with even more guest stars (including Stephen Colbert, Keith David, & Christina Hendricks), more crazy sci-fi, and one of the most memorable cliffhangers in television. The intensity of the season varies dramatically, with the casual and mostly improvised episode 'Interdimensional Cable 2: Tempting Fate' used as a breather between two character-driven and emotion-heavy episodes.
Rick & Morty is like a culmination of everything Dan Harmon learned from Community - how to write meaningful relationships, where the line of 'too meta' is, and that he really enjoys writing science-fiction. The result is a cartoon that, like Community, isn't infallible but is easy to love.
Comments