Rick and Morty S07 is a Diluted Residue of Great SF and It Makes Me Sad

I used to consider Rick and Morty a cartoon on part with the otherwise one-and-only BoJack Horseman. Indeed, despite their animated nature, both productions don't have that much in common, but they were both model adults cartoons for me. Pretty bold, weren't afraid of taboos and strong language, they took on difficult topics and were quite gruesome at times, and they both brought an impressive wealth of pop culture references. However, while the show about a talking horse ended in a dignified manner, the adventures of the mad scientist and his grandson continue and are becoming more and more watered down. It's sad to see this decline.

Material fatigue

I devoured the first seasons of Rick and Morty almost without chewing. It was addictive entertainment, and since the episodes were short (about twenty minutes), it was a breeze to watch. I admired how much crazy content the creators managed to fit into this small format – after all, the episodes often focused on a one-off adventure, so they had to deal with an appropriate introduction, move on to a dynamic development, and conclude the whole thing with an apt ending, sometimes a bitter one.

And I was thrilled to learn there would be more seasons coming. Rick and Morty would accompany us for many years to come, providing a complete thrill and playing with all sorts of pop culture tropes. Recently, however, season 7 debuted and, to be honest, I've had enough.

Rick and Morty has lost all freshness. It was already noticeable in the previous seasons that the ideas for new stories were devoid of the element of surprise and the intriguing spark that accompanied them at first. Previously, I wanted to find out what direction these completely crazy stories would take. Currently, it doesn't interest me at all. So maybe it's high time to say goodbye to these characters and shut the door to the sequel? It was nice, but it broke.

Rick and Morty, dir. Lucas Gray and Wesley Archer, Adult Swim, 2023.

Trying to define your own identity

There were clearly two different ideas for the series competing with each other. On the one hand, we tried to present threads that would return from episode to episode. They concerned, for example, the relationships in Morty's family or a greater threat looming somewhere on the horizon in the form of his diabolical self. The creators also signalled that Rick's behavior – despite its humorous tone – is often toxic, and actions involving different realities and versions of our favorites led to shocking consequences that were not directly discussed.

On the other hand, there's an idea based on a new adventure every week, allowing viewers who have never seen this production to watch it without much commitment. The thing is that in such case, you really need a lot of creativity and emphasizing that the presented events are actually important in a certain dimension. What I really miss about Season 7 is the sense of gravity – what we got are meaningless stories that revolve around the same topics all the time. How many instances of friendly drinking session with vomiting, cloacal humor and breaking into other worlds to create a real mess in them can you handle before yawning?

Where's the surprise and the old brilliance in this? The creators are stubborny trying to cook the same meal according to a recipe that used to work, with the addition of Hugh Jackman and the Predator. That's dandy, but none of these characters really belong in the world of Rick and Morty – they're merely decorative elements. Emotions are built on the very origin of the film icons, while their behavior and dialogues are of marginal importance. There isn't enough of the previously mentioned creativity here, because again – the device of drinking or the reversal of the role of the Predator (who's more than just a killer) is neither adequately justified nor properly developed. Therefore, it turns out wishful, supported by foundations as stable as those in Harry Potter fanfics, where the wizard romances Draco.

A road to nowhere

At this point, Rick and Morty guarantees neither a crazy adventure nor entertaining humor. Changing the voice actors is not a problem – personally, I don't hear much of a difference, because Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden made sure that the audience didn't have to get used to a completely new sound of the characters. The problem is not the animation itself, which still works well in showing a diverse, brutal and sometimes hideous world.

The trouble lies in the script. As well as in the absence of exciting ideas for creating new stories and bringing an evolution of characters. In throwing pop culture references into the series in the most crude way possible, without actually playing with them and embedding them in the universe. It's possible that there will be a better episode in season 7, sure, but do we have to bother watching the rest now and counting on one gem among the bland, muddy and increasingly smelly mess?

Krzysztof Lewandowski

Krzysztof Lewandowski

He studied journalism, Polish philology, and psychology at UKSW, UW, and SWPS. There he wrote, among other things, a diploma thesis dedicated to the contemporary role of black-and-white cinema. Has been working at GRYOnline.pl since August 2021. Writes articles and reviews of games, movies, and series, and since July 2023, he is a content creator specialist in the Paid Products department. He is the author of the scientific article "Dynamika internetu a zachowania jezykowe" published in the book "Relacje w cyberprzestrzeni". He co-created a dictionary of local names of the Wawer district of Warsaw. Tried his hand at poetry, but in the future he would prefer to write a novel. Started writing online on the GameExe.pl portal at the age of 14. First, he reviewed books, but he didn't stop there and on various Internet portals he reviewed games, movies, series, and comics. He likes surrealist motifs and RPGs the most.