Screenshot: Adult SwimAlthough I've made a few complaints about it, let's be real: reviewing Rick and Morty is a very rewarding job, even if it means that you have to stay up late and get up early the next day for your real job. This week, however, it is not. We are grateful for federal holidays! Although there are times when I worry about my weight, or whether I will miss plot points or references, for the most part I feel that I have a good understanding of what the show is trying accomplish episode by episode. Even when I am critical, I never feel totally lost. Tonight? I have no clue. It feels like I'm missing something. This felt empty and repetitive. It was centered on playing sad songs, which is a Rick And Morty trick I like. And it was simultaneously heartfelt but cynical. But this didn't lead to any real point. It worries me because I keep reminding myself that there must be a theme. Right? I must be missing something, or some basic point. This is a great way to begin a review.AdvertisementLet me tell you, I was scared that A Rickconvenient Mort would be about the environment. The episode title was a hint. Given the current state of the world, and the direction it is heading, and my constant anxiety about climate change, as well as humanity's inability to adapt to a civilization-destroying catastrophe, I was not in the mood to watch a cartoon about me recycling my plastics. Rickconvenient doesn't really care about that. Although it is a story that has a theme, it is not particularly dark, obnoxious, or humorous. You could only say that we would probably have to kill many people to save the planet. But we won't be able to do that so people will continue to die. Even that seems to say more than the episode gets around to saying.Worse, the jokes don't seem all that funny. Although there are some good moments, the guest cast (Alison Brie playing Planetina, Jennifer Coolidge playing Daphne and Steve Buscemi portraying Eddie, the first of the knockoff grown-up Planeteers Morty kills), is great. However, there are very few laughs and no sense of building chaos or increasing energy. While Rick and Summers story has some decent twists, there is no payoff. The same could be said about Morty's relationship to Planetina. This episode certainly has all the hallmarks that Rick and Morty would use: the incredible violence, cosmic scale, juxtaposition of small human concerns with a large context, silly looking aliens, but it doesn't have the cohesiveness that makes the show sing. My strongest impression is that the parts here don't add up to more than the whole. That's unusual for the show. Even episodes that I don't like, they seem to have some point.Two stories are told here. The first is where Morty meets Planetina, a Captain Planet knockoff. Despite their differences in age, she falls hard for him. Morty eventually has to step in to rescue her from the terrible grown-up Planeteers. These four selfish, selfish adults exploit Planetina to make merchandising profits and plan to sell her off to a wealthy Arab. (Which, I have to say, is a strange joke for a modern cartoon. Beth objected to the relationship and Morty ran off to spend his entire time with his older love interest. But it doesn't work out. Planetina is freed from the control of the Planeteers and begins to slash tires and kill miners for refusing to hear her version. Morty realizes that he cannot continue dating a murderer (which is odd considering how many people and aliens Rick has killed over the years but it is true), and sad music plays.G/O Media could be eligible for a World of Warcraft 60 Day Time Card at Eneba. Use the promo code: 20210704Rick is pissed that Morty left him for his girlfriend and takes Summer along to the party on a trio planets entering the end times. They have a great time and they are able to keep their hands off of each other. Summer plans to eat a lot [bleep] or [bleep], Rick will eat a lot [bleep] and Rick will eat a lot [bleep] while Summer is trying to heal his broken heart. But Rick gets attached to Daphne, a Morglutzian who has amazing elbow titties and Rick takes her with him to the next planets. To stop Rick's fun, Summer panics and saves the last planet. Rick is pissed off but impressed. I think we all learn a valuable lesson in how our selfishness and personal concerns can make us indifferent towards the suffering of others.Is that it? It's not a scolding episode. And it's not like any of the planets destroyed make much impression beyond the expendable dipshit area. But that is the main point that Morty and Rick stories share: that they are focused on the individual, but that the global is where the real consequences lie. Although the methods of Planetina seem terrible, 300 human deaths are not going to be required to save the world. This is a small amount in the grand scheme, even though it gives Morty some qualms. Perhaps the idea is that people will continue to be people, or freaky aliens, no matter what happens around them. Although this is true, I don't think the episode makes enough of it to make it interesting or entertaining.AdvertisementRegardless of whether I missed it, the main takeaway is that, despite the stellar voice cast, this was a mere half-hour. It's not funny enough or clever enough not to make me smile more than a slight amused shrug. Rick and Morty have had their fair share of flops before. I can only give Rick and Morty so much credit before calling it a loss. This episode didn't fall into the "I am an idiot for caring about environment territory" category. I am glad that it did. My apologies if I missed something. I was only seeing thirty minutes of filler, a board game, and some famous names.Stray observationsAlthough it may seem unfair to compare this week's credit stinger with last weeks standard, going from puppet Jerry watching the endless digressions about evolution and civilization to ha wouldn't it be hilarious if an alien had sex and they continued on as normal?The Planetina joke isn't going anywhere. There are so many choices in this episode. From the Planeteer knockoffs being selfish, sloppy grown-ups to Morty's death, to the songs they play like they mean something, there are many. The episode didn't do anything about Morty's magic rings. What did he do?This is a beautiful story about our son murdering a room full people.Beth is upset that Morty is dating an older woman. This is both normal (he's still 14 years old) and completely insane (but it's fine that he travels the universe with his psychopath grandpa). This could in itself be a joke. But the episode plays it so straight that it never really makes sense.
