There was a time when I started wondering whether “Rick and Morty” had lost what made it special.
That might sound harsh for a show that’s been airing for nearly a decade, but after watching Rick and Morty travel through countless dimensions, develop several intergalactic relationships and somehow get themselves in a worse situation than they did the previous episode, it became harder to capture the same feeling that made the show exciting in the first place.
And that’s because the person who made the show exciting – at least partly – isn’t a part of the creative process anymore. Justin Roiland, the original showrunner, exited the project after being charged with domestic violence.
Since then, “Rick and Morty” has struggled to remain afloat, often lacking the creativity that Roiland originally intended.
Season nine, however, feels different.
After watching the latest season, I slowly remembered why I became a fan in the first place. The show brings funny, chaotic energy while still digging deeper into the lore and introducing new aspects of the series that’ll keep it fresh.
Season nine brings those elements together better than the series has in a while.
“Rick and Morty” really shines in its ability to make something completely stupid feel meaningful.
The best part of this season is that the show doesn’t try to desperately recreate its early seasons. Despite Roiland being fired and setting the series back big time, he still brought the creative ideas and essentially made the show what it is today.
But the series has grown from that.
Episode two, titled “Rick Days, Seven Nights” is the best example of this. Rick fights himself in this episode, literally, while still retaining comedic relief and bringing what makes “Rick and Morty” the show we come back to every season. That ability to blend comedy with serious moments separates this series from other adult animated comedies, like “South Park” or “Family Guy.”
But Rick can’t escape who he is. He is still the genius scientist who seems to solve every problem, but his intelligence is far from his biggest issue.
No, his biggest problem lies within Rick Sanchez himself.
The grandpa with alcoholism, selfishness and an inability to properly connect with his family has always made him more complicated than any typical animated sitcom character.
Morty has also come a long way; he’s no longer just the nervous kid being dragged around the universe by his grandfather. He’s putting his foot down and being more independent. Sometimes, his behavior is as morally ambiguous as Rick’s.
The best moments of Season nine aren’t necessarily the biggest or funniest ones; they’re the moments when the show reminds us that these ridiculous adventures are actually affecting its characters. Season nine, episode four – titled “A Ricker Runs Through It” – fully shows us what this looks like.
Season nine is exciting because it proves that “Rick and Morty” doesn’t need to become the show that it was nearly a decade ago.
It just needs to understand what made people care about it in the first place.
After nine seasons, the series still knows how to make you laugh at something absurd before immediately making you question why you’re emotionally invested in a cartoon about a reckless grandpa and his tepid grandson.
And honestly, that’s the most “Rick and Morty” thing it could do.
