So Rick and Morty has been one of my favorite new shows to pop up this year and I’m thrilled to start covering it! I’m a big fan of Dan Harmon and Community and definitely was surprised to see him attached with Rick and Morty because it’s so different, but upon seeing the first pictures and trailer, I knew I’d be a fan. It’s got a great voice cast including Chris Parnell, Spencer Grammer, and Sarah Chalke, all which I’m familiar with (and like) while Justin Roiland seems to nail the voice of Morty. The show feels like Back to the Future if Doc Brown was a heavy alcoholic, which is what makes it so hilarious. This week’s adventure once again split Rick and Morty up to have separate plots with the other characters; Jerry is jealous that Rick is a more suitable candidate to help Morty with his science project, so he insists on helping out while Rick is focused on outing Summer’s new shady boss.
Morty asks Rick for help on a science fair project but Jerry wants to share the father/son bonding experience that normally comes with these situations despite being technologically inept. Rick has even created a small robot with the sole purpose of putting butter onto pancakes in what seems like nothing more than an overnight junk project. Jerry wins the argument though and plans to create the super typical foam mobile of the solar system with his son. Meanwhile, Rick takes Summer to work at her newly acquired first job in a vintage thrift shop. The owner is some shady voodoo magician looking guy named Mr. Needful who conveniently can fulfill the outrageous requests of customers. Mr. Goldenfold stumbles into the store under the belief that it was a Jamba Juice, but ends up purchasing a supposed “irresistible love potion.”
I thought that the Jerry and Morty story was fun to watch because Jerry is just that dad that feels the need to prove he is the man of the household with Rick being so smart. Yet, Jerry’s lack of understanding for the solar system and certainty that Pluto is still a planet happens to drive the plot as he and Morty are abducted by Flippynips, the king of Pluto. It turns out they basically worship Jerry because he’s the only person that thinks their home is a planet and it all goes to his head when they give him the highest honor a scientist can receive, the plutobelt. He eventually realizes the error in his beliefs and admits defeat which lands him and Morty a trip back to Earth after being pelted with various Pluto crowd items. Jerry recognizes he’s not as smart as Rick, but Morty assures him that he is the best at just being dad (aw the feels); and at this point he already made the decision to just use Rick’s butter robot to secure an A.
Back in the thrift shop, Mr. Needful tries to find an item that would appeal to Rick, but being a scientist he makes all of his own stuff and is unimpressed. In fact, he creates a scanner that reveals the exact things that each store item does; Mr. Goldenford’s love potion did make women instantly attracted to him, but then also made him unable to perform. There’s also the typewriter that generates best-selling murder mystery books which then also makes the stories happen in real life and a beauty cream that makes ugly ladies pretty, but also makes them blind. He recognizes and calls out Needful on being the devil, with his “there’s a price for everything,” store, but Summer still defends her boss despite watching a ghost appear out of a shattered urn. Unfortunately Mr. Needful “Zuckerberg’s” Summer when they launch the online store of N33dful.com and it gets bought by Google. After being kicked to the curb, Rick starts training with Summer to get revenge on Needful. After an amazing montage of the two doing steroids and getting ridiculously jacked to DMX’s “X Gon’ Give It To Ya.” They burst through the wall while Needful is giving some sort of Keynote speech and beat him up because “everything has a price,” and then go bro-out at a café.
I thought this was another solid episode of Rick and Morty that sticks to the sci-fi plots but also shows that it can separate the main characters while keeping the show entertaining. I like seeing Jerry and Summer get more involved with Rick and Morty and actually starting to witness all of these ridiculous shenanigans that they are roped into. I thought that last night’s episode provided plenty of laughs and continued to hit the right notes that bring the show success.
My Moments of the Night:
– It was funny watching the butter robot become somewhat self-aware in the beginning, believing he serves no purpose after buttering Rick’s pancakes.
– “Stay scientific Jerry…”
– I think that there was a very minor but awesome nod to Spirited Away in Needful’s thrift shop. You can see check it out here, but that little figure on the shelf looks exactly like the spirits in the movie.
– “You were Zuckerberging me?” “I was Zuckerburging people before Zuckerberg…”
– You can’t do anything better than include DMX in an episode.
[Photo via Cartoon Network]
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