Since its premiere in December 2013, popularity of the animated series Rick and Morty has grown exponentially. I was pretty late to the party when I was first introduced to the show this past summer, but now Im OK with being fashionably late. At the risk of sounding like a hater, I can say after watching several episodes of repetitive belching and drunk jokes that it isnt my cup of tea. And the fanbase for the show is beginning to get a pretty terrible rap, as well.
The humor within the show is absolutely absurd. It follows Rick, a sociopathic scientist, and his grandson, Morty, who go on adventures via Ricks scientific inventions created in his daughter Beths garage. The point of the show seems to be rooted in the belief that life is meaningless and irrational, but the result is episodes too scatter-brained and so over-the-top in attempts at getting a laugh that it becomes boring.
Since the third season began this past April, I noticed references to Rick and Morty frequently on my social media feeds. As Rick and Mortys fame increased, more negative reactions to the shows fanbase started popping up.
The overarching critique of the shows fans is their tendency to be a bit nerdy. This wouldnt appear to be a bad thing, that is until they start becoming condescending. Rick and Morty fans are notorious for their you just dont get it attitude, proclaiming that the TV show is far more complex than its catchphrases Wubba lubba dub dub and PICKLE RIIIICK.
An incident almost as strange as the show happened about two weeks ago when McDonalds and Rick and Morty united. Szechuan sauce was referenced in the first episode of season three when Rick was fighting Ricks from other dimensions just so he could get more Szechuan sauce from McDonalds. This episode represents the type of nuanced meaning that fans praise the show for: Rick is actually depressed and empty, despite having every possible material thing that could make him happy.
So, on Oct. 7, McDonalds decided to bring back Szechaun sauce in limited quantities at participating locations. Fans of Rick and Morty lined up for hours at various McDonalds stores only to find out that most locations had hardly any of the sauce at all.
Quite a few fans were upset about this; some carried signs demanding Szechuan sauce and chanted, We want sauce! at McDonalds workers. In fact, if you Google Rick and Morty Szechuan sauce angry fan, youre likely to find a video showing probably the most cringe-worthy behavior of any person ever.
In the video, a young man freaks out on a cashier at the fast food establishment, literally jumping up and down on the counter while yelling and demanding the sauce. He then proceeds to get into the fetal position on the floor, making verbal references to the show.
This, obviously, gave people even more reason to loathe the shows fanbase. Not only are some of them just too uncomfortably die-hard, but others consider themselves smart simply for watching the show.
My favorite tweet in response to this kind of attitude comes from Twitter user @mineifiwildout: how do rick n morty fans even have time to watch the show between discovering scientific breakthroughs n performing open heart surgeries.
If youre a fan of the show and dont act like any of the aforementioned fans, then go ahead and keep doing you. Im not going to hate on people just for watching a show I dont enjoy. But fans that believe watching Rick and Morty makes them a genius, just stop. Dont let Rick and Morty become the next Big Bang Theory (if it hasnt already).
