In a pop culture landscape where HBO became HBO NOW became HBO MAX became MAX has become HBO MAX again and the vast majority of animated series we associate with Cartoon Network and Adult Swim seem to be a dwindling cohort, perhaps fittingly the only universal constant is that Rick & Morty has managed to persist. Now entering its eighth season (and an anime gaiden which was fine), the unapologetic and nihilistic series manages to continue its streak of irreverent black comedy and endlessly inventive twists on familiar premises.
Now, I had the fortune of seeing four episodes of the season coming out later this week on May 25, and while I don’t want to divulge any information about the plot, I can ensure you that the show hasn’t lost its step in the two years since season 7 left us. Showrunner Scott Marder (who has been at the helm since season 5) continues with a strong showing of episodes that make fantastic use of the twenty-ish minutes of time available. Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden who took over the mantle of Rick and Morty respectively in season 7 seamlessly continue to give stellar performances with the same level of arrogance, grievance, annoyance, and animosity that has defined the show for years. And Chris Parnell, Spencer Grammer, and Sarah Chalke continue to round out the supporting cast brilliantly. While the show is called Rick & Morty, the show wouldn’t work nearly as well without Jerry, Summer, and Beth engaging in the wonderfully weird world. And it’s impressive that after 71 episodes, there are still a plethora of vectors and situations that continue to feel novel and manage to jump rope with your preconceived notion of what will happen next.
The show’s animation is familiarly busy, with visual gags galore and plenty of body horror and continues to be sickly smooth. The musical backing is absolutely brilliant between a pitch perfect soundtrack and wonderfully dramatic musical background. And the continued high standard of production is one of the many reasons why the show remains show enjoyable. Well, all of that and the endlessly clever writing that will undoubtedly produce a fountain of memes shortly after each episode airs and a steady drip of mythology here and there.
Eight seasons in, you probably know whether or not you’re a fan of Rick & Morty (whether or not you’re in the *fandom* of Rick & Morty is probably a slightly more complicated question which requires interrogating your exact opinions on the walking God complex that is Rick Sanchez). I am a fan of the show. It is intelligent, witty, and utterly reckless at times that it’s hard not to be entertained. To call this a “review” would be slightly disingenuous, as this is more accurately a reassurance to the loyal viewer: that the mainline series continues to operate at max, that if you skipped the anime adaptation, you won’t have missed much, and that if you were hoping that your Sunday night or Monday morning was going to get an effective dose of black comedy science fiction that you are indeed going to get your fill.
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