Rick and Morty - The Subtle Problem with Season 3 (Review/Analysis)
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- Опубліковано 19 жов 2017
- Spoilers for Seasons 1-3 of Rick and Morty
After a 2 year wait, Season 3 of Rick and Morty has already come and gone, so of course now it's time to overanalyze it. How did the third season stack up against the previous seasons? Where did it improve, and where did it falter?
In this video I go over what I think are the strengths and weaknessess of season 3 of Rick and Morty, focusing on how the show has changed, how it lost some of its subtlety, and consequentely how that has effected the comedic storytelling and style of one of the best shows on television.
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Rick and Morty (2013-)
The Thing (1982)
Total Recall (1990)
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While I disagree with some parts of this critique (like the psychiatrist visit and the tone being changed to focus more on drama than humor as a bad thing), I think it was very well spoken and showed just how much you put into explaining these feelings. I can always appreciate a critique that tries to explain the issues they saw, and how to address them.
Personally, I really enjoyed this season, it was my favorite thus far, believe it or not. While alot of the subtlety in the drama was taken away and put to the forefront, I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. I think that this season was all about the character development, and change of how characters view each other, hence why the divorce, the pent-up anger, the feelings towards rick are all constantly changing.
Many people watch rick and morty for the humor and deep thinking under that and not the story, which is fine, but for me, this was a nice change of pace that will make future seasons/episodes carry more weight. Like if another season like season 1 were to come around, even if they wrote more in the style of season 1, there would always be some uneasiness with rick and his view of the family. season 3 made it to were Rick's role in the family is proven to be toxic and, as we have seen in other realities, the family always does better without him. This could lead to a lot more subtle moments of ricks character now that the show has changed the dynamic, even if many feel it was too in your face.
Honestly, If this is the "worst season of Rick and Morty" I'm okay with that because it was still good. And it built up to bigger events to take place. I do like the critiques people make though, I hope the show can find a balance to still do the things season 3 did right and what everyone liked about the first two. As long as people don't fly to each side of the spectrum like saying "the show is fucking trash now," or "this is a masterpiece of modern cinema" and just watch it for the show it is and praise and fault it where it is called for, then the show will continue just fine and we will have many great episodes to come.
Very well said. Appreciate you watching and leaving a thoughtful, nuanced comment.
thank you too! appreciate the video to watch!
Ya I'm not reading all that
Yeah, what he said! Lol
Damn man. I agree with everything you said but that last paragraph is just too close to heart. I also feel the same thing. People who calls them fans and then goes on take such extreme reactions are the ones that I hate the most.
I really liked Brandon's this video analysis because even if you agree or disagree with him, it's still a well thoughtout and nuanced take on the show which judges show on its merits rather than just saying Oh! it suck because I had expected this and they did that or Its a masterpiece without proving or giving a objective reason why.
In short I loved both this video and your comment. 👍
I think the Citadel of Ricks episode was my favorite in the entire series. That was incredibly dark.
Dallas Reinhart that episode was really sad I taught rick and morty would go on a adventure to save those ricks and mortys😟
@@iceking2135 And now thanks to Story Train... we may never see the resolution of that arc
sometimes i wonder if its really about parallel reality or not just about dissociation.. Alice in wonderland stuff..
@@1nONLY_DRock Hey at least our alternate selves probably did.
You're right but I still quite liked season 3. The major problem I had was how overtly god-like Rick's character was turned into. Previously Rick was shown to be resourceful but he would still struggle when faced with a problem. I think that goes with what you said about the show becoming less subtle.
He was portrayed as more god-like but that was Rick's arc for the season. He started at the top but now he is at the bottom. I didn't necessarily have a problem with that and I think its one of the stronger aspects of the season.
That's an interesting take. Could you list some instances where he struggled in the face of a problem?
In most episodes of season 1 and 2 actually... Even in the Pilot, when the federals comes after them... Or when Scary Ted comes after him and Morty on episode 2. He barely never has an easy way out of trouble.
That's what bothered me so much about the Season 3 premiere. Season 2 gave the impression that the council wasn't to be fucked with. Rick's crazed reaction to the council was at complete odds with how easily he escaped and evaded them.
I feel like the writers second guessed themselves too much so they just opted to do everything. It was incredibly dissatisfying.
Coming back from Season 7, I wonder what you think now, having seen this idea of him being godlike explored and broken down slightly.
My problems:
-How much sentimentalism there was around family drama while it was so comfortable with extreme violence. It just felt out of proportion.
-The lack of twist endings
-The writers seemed to just combine sci-fi ideas with character development instead of writing good plots and letting character development happen organically. I think this resulted in the first two problems I listed. Putting an A-plot, B-plot and character development in a 20 minute episode also makes it feel rushed. Characters don't take time to make decisions which feels weird.
Why?
How is that related to my comment?
family drama and a lack of twist endings = the main tenets of Absurdist Humour ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Nigga I still don’t know what you mean, I’m desperate
What do you think now, having reached Season 7?
I think the creators must like to experiment with the structure of storytelling and the format of television. That's why no one loves every episode but nobody's top 10's are the same.
Yeah, this is true. I know many really like Get Schwifty, but it's one of my least favorite. Still really like it though.
Many people claim to love Pickle Rick, but I think that's only because of the viral marketing leading up to the episode's premiere. I thought the marketing basically spoiled the only real joke in the episode.
I feel like Pickle Rick would have worked better as a one off or side joke like Coach Feratu in Big Trouble in Little Sanchez. Part of that joke was that it was all resolved off screen within the greater plot. Pickle Rick is a simple joke stretched too far, which is something Rick and Morty usually avoids.
Sepak for yourself. Most people like the same episodes.
Nah not many people like Pickle Rick. They like the joke and the catchphrase but many have expressed disappointment at the episode. I actually like the die hard part of that episode though not necessary the set up though.
I think a lot of the reason for the lack of subtlety in this season is a response to the overly vocal minority of fans who see Rick as somebody to aspire to.
"Even at its worst, Rick and Morty is still the best--" STOP!!!! NEVER say that again!
That's what EVERYONE said about the Simpsons twenty years ago when the first cracks appeared on THAT show. Even if at the time it was true (it wasn't, that show tanked FAST), it didn't stop the decline. As long as people keep watching, the message is "stay the course".
To be fair, the fact that Simpsons can still put out good episodes at all this late in its run is pretty impressive.
@@frankmarchetta4744 But that's the thing: I don't think they ARE still making good episodes of The Simpsons anymore and haven't for a long time.
And to answer the other guy's question, I loved season four of Rick and Morty. It felt like a real return to form.
I wish they'd bring back Interdementional Cable though. They've tried two would-be replacements that were okay, but neither has been as good.
@@nrrork Every now and then there's a good one, like Halloween of Horror, Last Traction Hero and, most recently, Woo-Hoo Dunnit.
@@nrrork Morty's Mind Blowers and Never Ricking Morty weren't as good as Rixty Minutes, but they were a whole lot better than Interdimensional Cable II.
I actually think you gave S3 too much credit. The characterization they’ve tried to introduce is totally sloppy and inconsistent across episodes. Depending on what the writers want, Summer can either be a snarky teenage cynic with a moral center, a cold blooded sociopath who believes nothing matters, or a run of the mill, insecure teenage girl with standard body image issues. Morty can be angry, vengeful and nihilistic enough to not be phased by anything one minute, and naive and idealistic enough to worship a team of supposed super-heroes the next. Meanwhile Beth either cares about her children or doesn’t depending entirely on the needs of the plot. On top of that, Rick has become way too OP: to a point where one wonders how he didn’t destroy the galactic government and the council of Ricks a long time ago, and also to where it’s impossible to believe he’s ever in any real danger.
Totally this. Also, it suffered from lack of Jerry.
Yeah. You're absolutely right. The characters lack consistency.
It does make sense with Summer and Morty, though. Teenagers aren't exactly known to be consistent in their beliefs and actions.
Agreed.
IKR?! How dare teenagers have differentiating mood swings and parents question their place in the world
I didn’t feel that it was telling us these things in season 3. What I found it was doing in episodes like pickle rick and episode 9 was that the characters for the first time were acknowledging the subtle subtext and such which we’ve been noticing already since the beginning of season 1. Treating it as if they dumbed down the the show is discrediting them a little bit
On the point about Rick being psychoanalysed:
I think this was an important scene, and also that it was important that it was long. This scene is not here to tell us what is wrong with Rick, because we can already see that from his actions. It's not even to tell Rick what his problems are because I have no doubt that as smart as he is, he is capable of self-reflection and realising his own shortcomings. What mattered was a human being -- one in a position of academic authority, which Rick as a devout man of science has to on some level respect even if he doesn't respect her specific occupation -- spelling it out, word by word and letter by letter, excruciatingly slowly to a room filled with the family he cares about who are possibly incapable of fully appreciating the awful nature of Rick.
This slow unravelling of what makes Rick so unfulfilled and unbalanced in terms that his family can understand gives him the grounded moment he needs to reflect on himself and how his actions affect others, in a way that he would never allow himself if he were to realise his shortcomings in private. This is why Rick apologises to Beth in the car. It's because the doctor's words stayed with him and let an impression in a way his own words and thoughts never could.
From an audience's viewpoint, it is a slow scene that drags on despite what I personally think was excellent line delivery and emphasis, as well as fluid articulation. However, from a characterisation viewpoint, this was a crucial moment in the humanisation of Rick.
I think.
Interesting thought, however, I have one problem with that.
The way I saw it, Rick doesn't apologize to Beth because he's sorry, but rather because he knows how easy it is to win her back again.
This becomes especially evident when both Rick and Beth ignore Morty's plead to see the psychologist again.
Rick hasn't learned anything from this, or if he has, he immediately represses it.
However, I do think this moment is important in the story, just for different reasons. I personally think the creators wanted to have a counterweight to people blindly supporting Rick's careless nihilism. I also believe that is why the episode is structured as it is:
Rick has countless epic badass moments and manages to survive multiple deadly situations, only to be owned by the psychatrist in the end.
It is one of the show's few instances where Rick's shortcomings, and his willingness to ignore them are displayed.
But that's just my opinion. :)
@Imanuel Thiele As a therapist, sometimes you plant the seeds knowing that it'll take some more shit to rain down before they're fertilized. Sure, he reverts right back to his old behaviors, but that doesn't mean it had no effect.
Shadowsca I wouldn't understand because I don't have an iq of three thousand.
To be fair...
Wait I'm sorry but the whole problem with that scene is just that it wasn't funny and the show is a fucking comedy.... like it dragging on so long made me hate it but lots of good comedies have scenes that aren't that funny. I hate the scene so much because it's like a minute or 2 out of an already short show that has no intentions of being funny or clever or even entertaining. It's a therapy session meant only for Rick so the true weight of the words are felt only by Rick (watching this scene as an audience member I felt like Rick in the Rixty Minutes episode where Beth and Jerry see themselves get back together in a different reality showing how meant they are to be together but Rick is unamused throughout the whole thing and is basically just sitting through their personal shit waiting to change the channel).
"you need a high IQ to understand R&M"
episodes then proceed to explain obvious things to the audience instead of letting them figure it out themselves
But the thing is, those ideas aren't obvious. You'd actually have to think about the episode's core themes and the underlying message before coming to a conclusion.
Season 3's problem isn't that it explains the obvious, but that it doesn't allow the fans to figure it out for themselves. If the therapist scene didn't happen the way that it did, then I'd appreciate Pickle Rick a lot more because it would have managed to communicate the ideas it presented regarding Rick's character in a natural way. Instead, they just tell us.
Super Mutant Sam and Mas Perfectly said. Stories need to SHOW and not TELL, but I feel that Rick and Morty has forgotten that this season.
+YSwap And again, they ALMOST manage that. As I mentioned, Pickle Rich would've been able to communicate Thai idea very well if it didn't include the therapist scene. It just felt unnecessary. If that scene was left out, you totally could've come to the conclusion that Rick avoids confronting his problems by putting himself in unrelated danger. That doesn't NEED to be explained.
To be fair, the therapist scene is well done. Susan Sarandon did a great job delivering that monologue. Also, the therapist scene is one of the only times the show explains the core themes without it feeling too forced. I mean, she's a THERAPIST. It's literally her job to explain people's problems upfront. Her telling the Smith family (minus Jerry) what their problem is directly to their face is a sort of wake-up call, for both them and the audience. It's the point that we're supposed to think, "Oh, this isn't actually okay." It all could've been done better, but, again, I'm just being fair here.
Cameron Larsen there’s nothing wrong with putting truth into the dramatic moments of your show. When you call it “explaining” you’re just taking away the truth value of the thing it’s “explaining”
+Dusk Legend I can appreciate the moments in Season 3 when the characters straight up told each other how they felt. Moments like in episode 6 when Rick explains why he resents Jerry. It doesn't feel as if they're just explaining, but that the characters themselves are tired of beating around the bush and just want to clarify, both for the other characters and the audience, how they feel and why.
Moments like those, I appreciate.
The Mad Max episode of season 3 was definitely my least favorite episode of the entire series, but I loved the Pickle Rick episode. Not every episode needs to have some grand message (be them subtle or not). Pickle Rick (like the Purge episode you compared it to) was a chance to let the series breath.
The psychiatrist's speech at the end of the episode was funny BECAUSE it wasn't subtle. It was so on the nose that Rick - for the first time in the series - not only had no rebuttal for her, but continued to be awkward about it once they were back in the car. This one-off character broke Rick down to his core, leaving him speechless, from such a short amount of time learning about him. And she wasn't even interacting with HIM for this time - this was all secondary information she had gotten from other characters. During ONE therapy session. And yes, this isn't something that we the fans needed to be told, but at the same time, Rick is such a complicated character that most fans likely didn't have a way to put into words what exactly made Rick Rick, and to hear it so suddenly, and put so simply was a shocking development. And to watch Rick be told this and have to just move on with his day was extremely funny.
As to your opinion that the show isn't as good because the writing has changed focus, well, I just don't agree. Yes, the show is formatted like a sitcom, but following all the rules of a sitcom doesn't matter at all, in my opinion. By allowing the characters (and by extension, the subjects and focuses of the show) to evolve, the show is keeping itself fresh. I think ALL shows should do this.
I do have to respect anyone who can knock Rick down a peg.
Well thought out and presented opinion! Keep making videos
Awesome stuff, subscribed!
They DO explicitly state the theme in Rixty Minutes. Rick goes into the kitchen to get some wafer cookies and verbally rubs the theme in their (and the audience's) faces.
This was very well thought out. Your opinions are truly a breath of fresh air. Keep up the great work!
Thank you!
I feel like season 3 gets a bit too much hate... This isn't the kinda video I blame because this one's more fair, but many others just rip it apart, and mostly for the psychiatrist scene. I honestly don't see the problem. The writers said they made this scene to represent how the psychiatrist is the only person who "defeats" Rick in a sense, he's always been presented as smarter and more powerful than everything else, and yet some random psychiatrist has "beaten" him. It really shows her unexpected dominance by having everyone go silent for her to speak, and the scene does go on for a little while, but it's to really convey the fact she is able to make Rick think twice about his actions when no-one really ever has made him do it before.
The general message it feels the season was trying to deliver is that yes, emotions are pointless, but knowledge without them is too. Rick is ridiculously powerful, as we've seen time and time again. Powerful enough to basically get whatever he wants if he wants it, and yet he is a miserable alcoholic. Knowledge has brought him power, but power has only brought him misery. He rarely uses his power to protect anyone or to make anyone happy, but when he does is when he seems the most happy. He really starts to seem petty and weak against people who are supposed to be dumber than him, and whenever he is made to look weak, it's against emotions.
He is only beaten by the psychiatrist in that scene, and Jerry at the end of the season. The psychiatrist leaves him speechless because she knows about emotions, something Rick has disregarded as pointless, and so he's lost control of them. Jerry beats him because he has an emotional motivation in staying with Beth. In Pickle Rick, turning himself into Pickle is a childish act to get away from confronting his emotions in therapy, the simple stupidity of it helps suppot the idea it's trying to convey childishness.
I definitely didn't like episodes 2 or 4, especially 2, with the scene where Morty just outright states his emotions without leaving anything for the audience to consider. Besides those 2 episodes though, I loved season 3, and I found it probably the best so far. Also; I just want to mention, while Rick also outright states his motivation for disliking Jerry in 5, I don't think it's a problem like in 2. The reason is in episode 2, Morty's character would still be relateable if they presented that scene in a more subtle way and it went over someone's head, but in 5 we know Rick hates Jerry but we don't really know why. If this was just left unanswered too long Rick would start to feel less believeable, and if it was presented too subtly, then if it went over anyone's head they would struggle to understand Rick and feel disjointed from the characters in the show. It's a critical character trait that needed an explanation, so they couldn't beat around the bush, like they can with character traits that aren't yet important or are supposed to be mysteries.
Season 3 does get too much hate; it's typical internet hyperbole, which I tried to avoid.
Imedias Rez Yeah, I got that impression. That's actually why I left a comment here instead of on the other videos, because on the other videos people will probably be quick to disregard these opinions. The thing is, the other videos do have valid points, but they cherry-pick and exaggerate to prove their point. That isn't a bad thing, but it seems it makes a lot of people who watch have this mindset that anyone who opposes it is an idiot, because it's true and has good points; without considering that these videos focus on negatives to make their point, and that the other side of the arguement can be just as valid. Since this video looked more fairly on season 3, rather than just slating it for shock value, I got the impression I'd get a better chance of being listened to here.
Also, whoah, you replied already? Wow, that's some dedication there! I've been watching youtube since 2010 and I'm subscribed to something ridiculous like 450 channels, and I don't think I've ever had a youtuber respond to any of my comments so quickly. On a video that isn't brand new too!
@@IntrospectiveEntertainment For someone who made a video about season 3's problems, you seemed to enjoy it more than most others who make videos on it. It's not easy to find someone who will defend Vindicators 3, even Dan Harmon doesn't like it.
Great video. Keep it up!
Fantastic videos. Well-thought arguments. Balanced opinions. NIIICCCEEE
dude you nailed it. Solid work man, keep it up
Great editing.
You earned a sub my friend, nicely written video.
That was a really well thought out and orated video that puts most of my feelings about not only season three but the entire series overall into words. Thanks!
This was some pretty spot on commentary! You did a great job tying in the juxtaposition of season three to seasons one & two. I have been trying to figure out how I feel about season 3, as I was a little disappointed by the early episodes. Your commentary captured exactly what i was feeling about it. Well done!
This was awesome man!
thanks for the analysis, good points.
the wonderful nuance of the background music in this vid. *meta*
I cannot express this enough. You perfectly articulated what make season 3 stand out. Awesome video!
Funny, your least favourite moments (psych speech, morty talking about custody) were my favourites.
IMO they were saying ‘if we lampshade his character arc, the character is now self-aware and has to kick into another emotional gear’ - we get to see that morty tries to become more assertive and rick’s denial and recklessness increase.
I think they were wary of growing stale, so blew the bridge up behind themselves...
Well argued though, totally get your angle on the season! 👌
I was first skeptic with this video, but it has surprised me a lot, that’s the raw truth said and explained! Great work, man!
These are exactly my sentiments about season 3. And the examples you used from previous seasons to illustrate your points were perfect. Thank you, I thought I was alone. Great work
Great analisys. Also, noice Moonmen version :)
I like that you added music from pocket Mortys
4:04 perfect timing with the scene. good commentary.
Well put!
A very well articulated thesis with excellent presentation of the arguments. Also threads the line nicely between clarifying all criticism is shaped by a degree of personal preferences yet holding to tight critical thinking. Where did you get your education? Looking forward to seeing more from you.
Great review. Nailed the analysis I think
I loved all the seasons of rick and Marty but it felt like something was missing slightly from season 3 and you have told us! Thank you!
super nice breakdown bro
Yes, yes, yes. You perfectly captured everything wrong with the season in this video, I 100% agree with you from start to finish. This whole time, I've been trying to articulate what was so off about the season, and here you are, taking the words right out of my head. Thank you!
No problem, thanks for watching!
Oof
Exactly! From episode 2 on I felt like something was entirely off this season, and this video just said it perfectly.
I totally agree with you totally agreeing with Imedias Rez.
Yo, I had the same response.
This is a really thoughtful, well written and well produced critique. I've danced around these issues with my spouse and friends, but this really lays out those thoughts and feelings I had, but you've laid them out perfectly. Great piece!
Thank you very much!
jake mccollum this is the culmination of over examination due to boredom. Just enjoy it and let it go.😁
This is excellent. Wish I could like it more than once
I also felt like season 1 was overall better than season 3 but couldn't put my finger on why, but I think you nailed it! thanks man, you helped me figure it out lol
No problem, thanks for watching!
I think you're onto something there besides the sexual harassment thing you said. It seems as if the success of this show is due in large part to Justin. It might be the case that in season 3, Justin wasn't getting in as much arguments with Dan for the sake of keeping the peace
Very well-done review, I felt something was off this season now I know why. Great job.
I dont know if I minded the long speeches, but I do feel like season 3 was weak and lacked the same magic from season 1&2. Its kinda like peaky blinders, where season 1&2 were downright magnificent but with 3 something just wasn't the same.
John Emmenecker the writers changed.
John Emmenecker the writers changed.
colin3ds is English not your first language?
Good points! I agree very much with you.
This video is so on point I feel like I've had all of my questions of why season 3 was off perfectly resolved
A+++ analysis! And like every other commenter here, you articulated my thoughts perfectly
Everyone goes on about how the show's philosophy is that "nothing matters" but i think that is wrong. That's not what they're saying. They're saying nothing matters to rick, a god. They're saying nothing we do matters on a universal scale. That's not to say that on a human scale nothing matters. On a human scale relationships matter.
Fantastic analysis.
Well said!
Great review, It summarized points of improvement very well, props to you.
Gotta say though, they keep experimenting with new forms so it's not strange some episode didn't meet the highest standards.. especially ep 2&3 were also in my opinion less enjoyable..
Hope the creators ever get to see this video!
This was a fantastic review
Great video. Like yourself and many many others in the comments I skimmed I couldn't quite pick what I felt was wrong with season 3 and you nailed it. I think the reason so many had trouble pegging the flaw is that as you say the show leaves so little to thought. Why would you sit back and contemplate the show (and by extension flaws) when the material worse contemplating is jammed down your throat?
Season 3 has been scratching daintily at the back of my neck since July, and thanks to you, I finally know why. I don't think what you said is all that was "wrong" (I think there's still something else, but I won't be able to pick it out until season 3 releases on DVD and I can watch it again), but at least now I have something to start with. Thanks a bunch! Have a sub.
the point of the psychiatrist scene was to show that even if rick gets confronted as directly as possible with his problems and how they affect his family, he is not able to change at all and the same goes for beth. subtely confronting him with that just wouldnt do ^^
Nice analysis
At the end of Total Rickall, Jerry explicitly states the theme. "We killed every good person in the family! We're what's left?"
Absolutely nailed it. Really perfectly.
a nice little channel that complements the Wisecrack channel on the more subtle points of the show. i'll recommend it to my friends!
You have articulated the exact issues that I had with this season, although they dragged things down a little more for me than they did for you. "Rest and Ricklaxation" was one of the worst offenders here, in my opinion. By splitting character personalities into "positive" and "negative", it leaves zero room for interpretation and instead just tells you: "Rick feels this way and Morty feels that way."
That said, "The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy" and "The Rickshank Redemption" are some of my favorite episodes in the series, and there were a fair amount of laughs in every episode of the season.
at first i was skeptical of your thesis that this wasnt on par with the earlier seasons but then i ended up agreeing with you, even if I hadnt noticed these flaws in the first place.. good analysis. thank you very much
Really great analysis man. I was typing out that I disagreed but then I saw the whole video and your ending basically explained what I was about to say hahahaha. Once again we learn why one should always WATCH THE WHOLE VID BEFORE COMMENTING. Season 3 is my favorite because of the risks. I guess it's impossible not to give more screen time/attention to deeper themes in a 20 minute episode without seeming heavy handed about it. Looking forward to ur thoughts on season 4. Subscribed!
Good review, however I disagree with you on many levels.
I think the reason you feel so differently about his season compared to previous ones is because of the narrative context. You could say many of the episodes in previous seasons could have revolved a Rick from any universe. The episodes were not designed to follow an overarching story. Most, if not all, of the episodes in this season made it clear we were watching the same Rick based on context. That narrative adds restrictions to the writing of the show, much like South Park's recent seasons.
And I'm okay with that because having a narrative is the only way to properly have characters develop. I love this show so much, when it finally ends I want there to be a payoff. With that in mind, i think this season was one of the best.
The show has never really been subtle or finely crafted. Yea it's a good show but I find it so stupid when people actually believe that the show is this amazingly written masterpiece.
Somebody stop me!
Well I think that the show’s brilliance lies in its ability to be dumb fun, as well as intellectually stimulating at the same time. It’s not that the show is so cleverly written, it’s the scenarios and the overall themes that are interesting to think about.
Pretzel Stick yea I'm not saying the themes and what happens in the show aren't fun or interesting, the show is a lot of fun and does many things right. I just cannot understand those people who genuinely think the show is so incredibly intelligent and well written. You get those people who legitimately think the show is a masterpiece and they often come out with stupid shit like saying they relate to and think a lot like rick. They think saying that makes them seem clever but they don't get that Rick is a character that you shouldn't relate or share views with. People should just enjoy the show for what it is rather than making out it's this incredible and intellectually stimulating marvel.
Somebody stop me! I don’t disagree at all. People want to relate to rick because they believe that sociopathy is a product of genius. There are subtleties to be found in the show, and if you wish, you can read deeper into certain aspects of the show, but that’s true with many shows worth their salt.
Somebody stop me! I'm sorry, but morty night run may be the greatest 30 minute episode made in television history. It has several well developed and concluded storylines, with some excellent characters introduced, developed and then destroyed. And it's all done in 23 minutes of runtime. That is amazing to me. Especially in a time when movies like Suicide Squad are being released.
I understand how frustrating it is to listen to stupid people try to be smart by talking about things they heard were clever, but don't misdirect that frustration to the writers.
What show would you say stands out as a masterpiece?
There is no "supposed to be" with comedy. if it is funny, then it's funny. I don't think your critiques are valid, because it seems like season 3 was done that way on purpose as you realized at the end.
I've found the entire show to be of equal quality until we hit the Citadel episode. That was easily the best of the series, and a huge step up in how adult cartoons can tell stories, similar to how Adventure Time changed how children's cartoons told stories.
Wow such a great review man, I never made a thorough review myself (not that I'm a youtuber but for my own sake) but I felt very similar to what you discribe, I REALLY liked it but at the same time something felt very different and now I get it, "highest highs and lowest lows" and the drastic change in subtlety as you mentioned, really hit the nail on the head there dude 👍 Even if I still love season 3 it makes me appreciate the first 2 seasons even more, thanks for the elaborate review man, it's something I'd have liked to do myself but you kinda quenched that craving now, cool 👍
Spot on
How does this video not have more views? Damn.
I didn't think about that at all. Which means you are probably right. Thank you.
that "poignant" line from rixty minutes is the same thing as the therapists monologue. both outright explain the idea. the monologue is just longer. don't really get how one works and the other doesn't but good video! nice work.
that's spot on. I don't think the creators ignored this though. I think that it's where they wanted to take us, and I also think they knew that the audience would probably react the way we did. Knowing that, they won't necessarily "go back to what the drama/humor balancing" used to be. In fact, the show is so successful they might as well do whatever they want with the writing, provided they don't mess up their ratings.
Great vid
Started the video not completely agreeing, and ended the video seeing some of your point. Regardless of what I thought, this was a really well put together video. Gonna subscribe because I really enjoy these types of well thought out opinions.
Thanks, I really appreciate it!
This is a perfectly done video, it pinned exactly what bothered me, even when I didn't really feel bothered, it was just off
Months late but you say that Dr. Wongs speech should have been self evident but when you go to places where people talk about Rick and Morty theres genuine anger that someone would "speak down" to Rick or dare diagnose someone so smart or even claim that theres a negative to being Rick. His life is glamorized by a very vocal subset of the fans and a callout for his character needed to be obvious or else it would've been skipped over.
Tayvonne Cox I can see a practical argument for that, but I'd rather the show I like not go out of its way to address the more immature members of the audience. It's not the show's fault a certain percentage of the fans are intolerable, and the quality suffers when it has to speak to them. Not that the Dr. Wong speech did that since it was written well before R&M became so big that its fans started to become insufferable.
5:40 nice timing lol
I think what you said in the beginning hit the nail on the head. Still an amazing show thats had some of my favorite episodes of all time but something was just a little off compared to the first two seasons.
you are exactly perfectly right. i couldn't my finger on it. thank you.
8:10 sums up it all, great review
I've always felt that there was something missing from season 3 but wasn't sure what, i think this video nailed what that was and it provides great incite on why rick and morty is such a good show.
Stop on observations, excellent analysis!
Well said, for some reason I also thought the first half of season 3 felt off to me and this video articulates it perfectly. Cheers to a fourth season of this amazing show!
Your comparison of Pickle Rick and Meeseeks And Destroy has a major hole in it. Yes, they both explore different, interesting themes. Yes, Meeseeks and Destroy has a more subtle nature to it. Yes, Pickle Rick is far from subtle. BUT, there's a very critical reason as to why. In Meeseeks and Destroy, the theme is not based on the entirety of the cast and how they interact with one another. They are fractured storylines that do not coalesce into a larger point for everyone. The point for Jerry wasn't that the universe is crazy and chaotic. It was just that he needed Beth to balance him out. That's not the universe, it's just a personal relationship with a standard structure to it. On the other hand, Pickle Rick is a summation of ALL characters story arcs (even Jerry, who does not play a role in the episode). We've been watching this family fight and jockey for position in relation to Rick for 3 seasons. Pickle Rick was made in a less-subtle fashion so it can directly address this issue -- a larger, thematic issue that warrants more pointed dialogue. Dr. Wong's assessment of Rick is not intended to be funny. It's not intended to belittle the audience or dwell in a lack of subtly. Dr. Wong is doing what no character in Rick & Morty has been able to do: eloquently describe the exact dynamic that Rick embodies to the point where Rick has no rebuttal due to its intense accuracy. So, how does he respond? Well, he and Beth respond by ignoring the truth and getting drunk. Her monologue was meant to show that after all this family has been through to try and position themselves at the top of Rick's totem pole, in all reality, Dr. Wong is on top because she's the only one who has been able to reduce Rick to a silent, defeated character. The whole point of Pickle Rick is to show that Rick can overcome some of the most brutal circumstances (everything he goes through to escape the sewer), and yet be shut down by the right collection of words. The episode was meant to show Rick's weakness, not his strength. It did a phenomenal job of that, and it 100% required Dr. Wong's monologue to accomplish its goal.
Isn’t one of the major issues as to why Rick was analysed a massive deal with the almost cult that praises Rick and wants to be like him. Pointing him and saying “yeah this guy sucks, don’t be like that” and it’s having to hit these things a little harder than ignoring it. Like the Schezuan sauce problem.
Yeah, and a good writer could show that this character is not a person to look up to without just lazily writing themselves into the story just to explain it to the audience.
1:45 "Elevating him to god-like status..."
While showing a clip of Rick literally floating up, god-like. Nice touch.
Fucking beautiful essay, keep doing you my dude. And you are not nitpicking, just analyzing.
I agree with you on pretty much every single point.
The point of having the therapist present Rick’s philosophy is that she is the first person to have confronted Rick about his philosophy
I think the reason the therapist’s speech is so blunt, is because it’s something we should’ve already figured out in the first place. The therapist is trying to bring it to Rick’s attention, not ours. This is the first time in the series Rick is really “defeated”. He’s left to face what he already knew, seeing that others have been seeing his psychological problems too, that they’re not as well hidden as he thinks. I think this scene is meant to humanize Rick, and bring him down from his near-god status.
Funny. For me the Therapist's monologue in episode two, would be in my top 3 favorite moments this season. Probably number three, right under "The simple ricks candy." And "Rick taking down the citadel of Ricks and the Universal Government and then saying he needs to take a shit"
Completely agree
ohhh weee the 8 bit version of the song playing during the darkest moment of the whole series is the cherry on the cake of a very deep, lucid and thoughful analisys
Rick and Morty isn't "clever", it's incredibly simple if you have more than two brain cells. I'm fed the fuck up with this shows fanbase claiming you have to be a genius to understand it.
Laughed out loud when he started saying that the first couple seasons were subtle in any way.
I agree with everything apart from the therapist scene, I feel the precise and straight to the point monologue was intentional as it was the only thing that would truly stump rick, he can easily dismiss subtle remarks but the doctor truly puts him in his place, this is further shown by the awkward tension and minimal dialogue in the car ride home
I agree with every single point made here, with the exception of the criticism of the scene with Dr Wong. I think that is a rally important scene in that it sets up a shift in the underlying premise of the series- that agency (and therefore morality) is a redundant concept in a multiverse where every possibility exists and your very being is simply one contingent outcome out of an infinite set of also-existing contingent outcome (Think the line in 'Rick Potion' where Rick says to Morty; 'What about the universe where Hitler cured cancer? And if I hadn't destroyed the universe, we could have been these guys. So you're welcome'). That the nihilism of the show is not about the vastness of the universe, but because of the meaningless of agency and personal identity, both of which are necessary conditions for morality to exist. That Dr Wong talks about the one truth Rick cannot face despite his God-like abilities being that the chaos and pain in his life boils down to his choice and his choice alone, that is a real game-changer and sort of needed to be said explicitly, rather than implied. When he show tried being more subtle about this point, like in 'Mortynight Run', the ontological position of the show got lost in the melee between Rick's arguments about arming Krombopulos Michael, the fact that Morty's intervention ultimately failed to save Fart, that Fart's agency had to be curtailed to save carbon-based life, and that Morty's actions directly led to the deaths of many people and Rick assigns him blame for it ,even though such a statement should be redundant (the same thing happens in 'Look Who's Purging Now, incidentally).
Still, though, the season with the highest highs and lowest lows, namely because they tried to step at the drama at the expense of the laughs, making the season the least cogent and coherent one? That is the correct analysis for me.
The shittiest part of Pickle Rick is straight up the therapist’s criticism of Rick and how people act like she shut him up. Rick clearly tells her that he doesn’t give a shit about or respects what she has to say. Yet somehow, Rick not responding to her is a victory for her.
they way I always thought about it...maybe I'm simplistic.
it seems like each episode tries to explore a theme, like some metaphysical or existential idea.
like , infinity comes up an awful lot in the series.
"infinite realities, infinite possibilities" (and yet, when they uproot and replant themselves into another reality..."we only have a couple more of these left")
the meseeks episode explored infinity where the first meseeks failed in it's task to help jerry, so it summoned another meseeks to help it, who also failed and summoned another and another and another..and they could have gone on into infinit until they realized that they could achieve their task by just eliminiating jerry, but then jerry finally succeeded in improving his game which caused the first meseeks to succeed which caused all the others to succeed and so the chain was broken
but it also showed just how dangerous that meseeks box could be if someone used it wrong.
Rick probably knew this, but he just handed it to the family and then said off-handedly "keep your requests simple," and went off on his adventure with morty because he didn't want to have to deal with the family.
they explored infinity again with the teenyverse inside a miniverse inside a microverse inside the universe which also left the question of whether or not rick's universe might also be a smaller universe inside a larger universe.
then there was Roy : The Video Game. you could play that game an infinite amount of times and live out Roy's life differently every time, no 2 games of it ever the same, and that's just 1 person's life and then they unveiled "Roy 2 " and it was some different guy's life.
Roy could also be a reference to The Simulation Theory which debates the idea that we can't truly know if we ourselves might actually be just a simulation.
then there's the zigerian scammers which made the simulation within a simulation inside a simulation..infinity again.
the one where he broke time explored infinity and possibly exponential growth in that they kept breaking the timeline, essentially doubling the fragmented timelines and doubling them again and again and that could have gone into infinity if they had not fixed it. the testicle monster being was a higher dimensional creature which may not have been superior to us, the only difference was that it could preceive higher dimensions and therefore existed outside of the timeline while also existing on ll timelines at once...there was also a blatant reference to Schrodinger's uncertainty principle
season 3, does seem to do things differently. they didn't explore all that existential large scale stuff as much, instead choosing to focus on the characters themselves and their emotional development.
like in the madmax world, summer and morty were dealing with their issues regarding the divorce.
in the rick and jerry adventure, they explored why rick hates jerry and a bit of why jerry is how he is and jerry grows
and in the toxic rick episode how rick views his feelings for morty as toxic because he wants to remain detached and yet he has this attachment and he hates that part of himself that cares about morty so it got removed by the device and then he realized that the detoxifier was in fact, not healthy because it doesn't remove the toxic parts of you, it removed that parts of you that you perceive in yourself as toxic.
when I saw the pickle rick episode, I imagined that the theme they were exploring was catharsis, when you just let it all out and let your emotion spill out to the extreme and once it's spent, you are left in a calm emotionless state.
Rick was trying his best to avoid having to explore his emotions and he went to the farthest extreme where he concocted a plan to leave himself completely powerless because he thought that it would enable him to get out of the therapy, but then he didn't think it all the way through and game this close to dying. and then he used his brain and figured out how to make a power armor from roach and rat parts and then he vents out all his anger and frustration on the rats and then on those guys in the embassy and then at the end of the episode, he crawls in to the therapy, completely spent, completely calm and he sits there calmly moments away from death while the therapist analyzes him and fills her analysis with veiled insults and he just takes it and then he is in the car, wearing his seatbelt, (which is an important detail) and he calmly asks beth for the anti pickle serum and then he finally has a real moment with beth and he seems content becuse he went through that cathartic release.
I suspect every episode has one of these underlying themes.
in the first few seasons, they seemed to visit the infinity theme a lot, and now they seem to be branching out into other themes.
and I dunno why I just spent 10 minutes writing up comment to post on a random youtube video. . .
100% agreed man, glad to see others felt the same way about this season!