It is episodes like these that really make you realize how much of a masterpiece Rick and Morty is. When an extremely foreign and over the top concept can conclude with such a down to earth and emotional ending, you know Dan and Justin are doing something right. Not only did this week’s episode surpass the first two in humor, drama, and writing; but it has cemented itself as my current favorite episode of the entire show.
During a casual drive through space, Rick, Morty, and Summer follow a distress signal that takes them to a ship. The crew complains that the people of their planet have been taken over my a hive mind known as Unity. From this premise, you would think the episode would go in the generic route; the heroes helping the band of survivors defeat the consciousness and save their people. However, it completely diverts from that path, leading to one of the most unique and original episodes of a science fiction series to date.
I found this episode to be a clever satire of classic episodic science fiction shows, namely Doctor Who and Star Trek. If this were one of those shows, it would be very easy to predict the entire plot of this episode from the get go. However, this episode makes a sharp divergence, showing how unique Rick and Morty truly is.
The B plot in this episode was also very strong. Although we were treated to character development from Jerry, the true treat was Beth’s development. We really learn about her inner psychology, namely why she keeps Rick around in the first place. This gives the viewers a more three dimensional perspective of her character, without changing her base personality in any way whatsoever.
The strongest element of this episode, however, was the ending. I have never come close to crying in a Rick and Morty episode, until now. Although there have been emotional moments in the show before, none have even come close to this in impact. If you thought Beth had amazing character development in this episode, it doesn’t even hold a candle to the look we get into Rick’s psychology in the last few minutes.
Evidently, this was both the technical best episode of Rick and Morty, as well as my personal favorite. Its episodes like this that prove the genius of Dan and Justin, cementing Rick and Morty as the best adult animated comedy on American television. My only worry is that, despite their high quality, future episodes of this season wont be able to live up to this one.