“Rick and Morty” is back for Season Eight! Life has meaning again! Anything is possible! Look out for adventures with Summer, Jerry, Beth, and the other Beth. Maybe Butter Bot will get a new task? Whatever happens, you can’t keep Rick and Morty down for long. People have tried!
It’s the gift that keeps on giving. At this point, you’d be forgiven for looking back at this Adult Swim megahit and wondering what all changed. Between dropping its loose dialogue feel, embracing the warm nihilist message, and losing one of its creators, the show’s undergone a lot of changes. Dan Harmon, the show’s creator and showrunner, certainly knows how to roll with the punches. Season Eight of this show certainly keeps on par with its previous season (our second season post-Roiland and the difference is barely noticeable.) The front half of season eight (what I saw) warped a broad variety of sci-fi concepts as well as cartoonish intrigue. This season of “Rick & Morty” eschews the melodrama of continuity in favor of literal cartoon hijinks.
After seven seasons, the show can finally cut corners to get to jokes. Episode one of the season is just that: a fast-tracked joke allowed to expand and breathe. It doesn’t lean on Rick to solve every problem as he has his own struggle to deal with. Instead it delves deeper into the psyches of these teenage kids who are sick and tired of being the butt of their grandpa’s sick humor.
Thankfully, this season has no evil genius, no lingering final boss. With continuity completely behind it, the show can serve up one-offs of both character and setups. There are send-ups of everything from “The Fly” to “Unforgiven” to Hanna Barbera cartoons to “Alien.” Much like past seasons, nothing seems off-limits. This time, there’s not the heavy weight of existential philosophy, so it plays much more like an adult cartoon comedy. There’s plenty to cackle at, and while the show’s more-funky flair has faded, it still knows when to punch. Jokes in the show drop all the time, and most of them hit. Some of them are deadpan. Some of them call up Looney Tunes-esque scenarios with the gravitas of a real HBO drama. The show steers away from meta callbacks (with the exception of some excellent Christianity and climate change probing). All told, the show works effortlessly to serve up some traditional “Rick and Morty” fun.
Season Eight premieres on Adult Swim May 25th
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