Welcome folks to the top three spots in the Top 12 Countdown for the year which is 2023. There are only three spots left to fill before we ring in the new year and now, it’s time to bring in the bronze medal recipient for the countdown. Coming in at number 3 in the Top 12 Countdown of 2023 and it’s one of the episodes that have been waiting in the green room for a while, it’s Rick and Morty with “Unmortricken”.
And if you’re looking for an episode that is bat-shit insane from start to finish, look no further than this episode because despite being the fifth episode of the seventh season, the halfway point to the season, right off the fucking bat, things went out of control. From start to finish, the show decided to go off the chain. And normally with Rick and Morty, you would usually have your normal episodes with Rick and either Morty or Summer or anyone in an adventure and leave the story-driven episodes for the first episode and the season finale. Not in the middle of the season. And with the promo previewing the episode leading up to the night of the episode with no scenes and it’s just Rick going into a base and the ship’s AI saying to Rick, “If you die, I’m taking your stuff”, it pretty much boils down to the unpredictability on this show. Because you’ll never know what you’re going to be hit with. Especially where you would usually have a cold open being dropped on the Adult Swim YouTube page leading up to the premiere. That didn’t happen either and boy, there’s a reason why that cold open didn’t get dropped on YouTube days leading up to the night things out the wazoo. And this is because we have the return of one character that we haven’t seen in two years.
Evil Morty. Did not expect to have an Evil Morty backstory to start the episode and holy shit, right off the fucking bat. I did say from two years ago with “Rickmurai Jack” in the countdown that it wouldn’t be the last time we would see Evil Morty on the show, especially finally got what he wanted by destroying the Central Finite Curve, thus ending the status quo of Rick being the dominant being. Getting a backstory on the guy, His origin story with one mishap from one of his and Rick’s adventures that had Morty, before becoming Evil Morty, to say that he has finally reached his limit. Leading to him creating a mind-control machine that is implanted into Rick and for Morty to control through his eyepatch. From taking out every Rick and kidnapping every Morty from every dimension to playing the role of one of the liberated Mortys that traveled to the Citadel and later ran for president, which he won in a landslide, to enact his plan to take out the Central Finite Curve the moment our Rick and Morty visit the citadel at the end of Season 5, you’d probably think that this episode would focus on Evil Morty with us getting a backstory with his origin story. And not only that...
You have Evil Morty going through a brand new dimension courtesy of his golden portal gun after destroying the Central Finite Curve when collecting a giant crystal for his place of residency and you have a family in the character style of The Jetsons coming through the portal, only to be killed off and another family in the same style come through the portal. Wash, rinse, repeat. I don’t think visiting an unknown dimension where everything is batshit would be considered an “ideal” family vacation. And it looks like Evil Morty’s time of relaxation after getting the crystal would be short-lived when noticing some shaking enough for the virtual forcefield to be deactivated. And you’d think that Evil Morty would’ve been the center of attention because of the cold open and the scenes with Evil Morty in the unknown dimension, but nope...he’s not the focus even though this is the halfway point of the season.
That title belongs to Rick Prime. And after countless searches by Rick since the end of last season, the time of reckoning has arrived for the revenge tour to finally reach its climax. Especially once we have that three-way team-up with Rick, Morty, and Evil Morty being taken by a sludge of what looked like black ink after Rick and Morty fracked each dimension where Rick Prime might be hiding and them, along with every other Rick, being transported into a random place and turns into a reference from the Saw franchise. Having each Rick trapped inside to take each other out melee style until the last Rick stands. Hell, both Morty and Evil Morty have to be in part of the action, mostly Evil Morty, who doesn’t give an iota of a crap because the script had to be shoehorned into the conversation. More than enough...
Oh yeah, there’s also the giant machine with Diane’s head attached that both Rick and Evil Morty, mostly Evil Morty, had to take down the giant Diane, it’s more than enough, right after they leave the place once it gets engulfed into flames, the real Rick Prime has been located and the second half to the episode...balls to the walls to the max. Especially once Rick discovered the location of the real Rick Prime and headed out with Morty and Evil Morty following suit, we have ourselves a battle in the second half.
And once Rick Prime, the actual Rick Prime, makes his appearance in front of Rick, Morty, and Evil Morty, we have ourselves a fight. Seeing the ship being destroyed and having Rick being called out for using Diane’s voice as its AI as if he’s just doing it just for being a hater and crawling under Rick’s skin. Rick Prime is a hater and the most dangerous one of them all once he introduced everyone to the Omega Device that can erase anyone from existence. Not just in this dimension but to that person in every other dimension and everyone who knew that person...can’t remember shit as if you have no memory of that person. And used that device by testing it on one of the characters that Rick knew, that being Slow Mobius, who apparently had relations to the family and referred to as “Uncle Slow”, which confused Morty, which, while surprising to see and how terrifying it looks when the device is in use and erasing Slow Mobius from existence, you had Rick in tears and Morty, again, being confused over the revelation that he even had an Uncle Slow, as well as Evil Morty being unphased and the look at Rick Prime’s face because, like Rick, having Slow Mobius to be the test subject for the Omega Device pains him to see having the guy being erased from existence.
And no hyperbole, Slow Mobius being erased by existence is more than enough for Rick to charge towards Rick Prime. I’m not kidding, Slow Morbius’s death, him being erased from existence at the behest of Rick Prime using the Omega Device that he plans on using on Rick...that was the straw that broke Rick’s back and him, along with Evil Morty, and later Morty as the assist to take on Rick Prime.
The fight, man...the fucking fight that took control of the second half of the episode, it looks freaking spectacular as fuck. Rick and Evil Morty going for the jugular and trying to land a hit on Rick Prime while having to deal with the hurdles that Rick Prime summoned. Yes, Rick and Evil Morty struggled to land a blow that would put Rick Prime into 50% HP or at least try to go for 30% of health, you know, try to make him vulnerable. But knowing Rick Prime, each time you try to land a hit on the guy, he keeps on regenerating as if the injury on whatever part of his body didn't even happen. The same way you cut a starfish's limbs and didn't kill it because of its ability to regenerate. This pretty much tells you that Rick Prime, since his re-introduction in “Solaricks”, especially around the post-credits with C-137 Jerry unable to kill the guy, is a force to be reckoned with. A dangerous being that you don't even want to face.
Did I mention that the fight looked spectacular? Because it is. Rick getting manhandled by Rick Prime with him taking the most damage despite a few times where he thought he might've made Rick Prime somewhat vulnerable. Especially with Rick being able to slash Rick Prime’s arm after slashing Rick's leg off. Rick, having 20% of health in his health bar, struggles to land massive damage to Rick Prime to the point where Evil Morty tries to do the job but ends up falling short when going after Rick Prime, only to be thrown off of the platform thanks to him summoning a Kuato from his abdomen and have to deal with a robotic clone of himself, only to be sent to the Omega Device and had some help from Morty to take out the drones and later the giant herd of robotic versions of Diane surrounding the ring, enough for Evil Morty to be knocked out along with a badly injured Rick after taking damage one too many times from Rick Prime and this is where we get to the kit and caboodle of this episode: The Downfall of Rick Prime.
Morty and Rick Prime finally meet for the first time since the revelation from last season from Rick that Morty, our Morty, C-137 Morty is Rick Prime’s Morty and with both Rick and Evil Morty beside out of commission (or so we thought), you have Rick Prime and our Morty meeting for the first time that might as well be their last with Rick Prime ready to point his gun at Morty, as if he was hoping for Morty to find something to turn it into a Mexican standoff between grandfather and grandson, that or Rick Prime ready to just put an end of all of this and getting ready to take Morty to the lobby. And this is where the bonkers part comes in because Morty fired first at Rick Prime with his finger to tase him where he became vulnerable. If you think that Morty, our Morty, would be the one to finish Rick Prime off...while it’s poetic to have your original grandson to take out Grandpa who tormented your adoptive grandfather who is the same one from another dimension, that did not happen. Instead, it’s Evil Morty who lands the hit on Rick Prime to make himself vulnerable by firing his finger at Rick Prime’s forehead, thus paralyzing him. And he did it with an old switcheroo by pretending to be Morty, it’s mostly him switching shirts with his non-evil counterpart but it’s more than enough to take Rick Prime down. And this is where we get to the good stuff as the Downfall of Rick Prime continues.
Rick Prime strapped to a chair with Evil Morty downloading his hivemind for his use and whatever he is planning with it, this pretty much tells you that once again, this won’t be the last we’ll be seeing Evil Morty in this series since he’ll be heading back to the other dimension with all that information downloaded to his device. Though, hand it to Evil Morty for that burn to Rick Prime’s proposition of a potential team-up between the two evil beings and knowing Evil Morty’s despisement towards Rick Prime or any Rick in general, with Rick Prime saying that he and Evil Morty working together would be like Batman and Robin. And you have Evil Morty clapping back and saying to the guy, “Nah, I don’t a Robin.” Like, damn. That’s a burn right there.
We gotta talk about this scene. Rick finally gets his revenge on Rick Prime after years of torment and years of failed searches for the guy. And...five episodes in. Five. Five episodes in with the new voices for Rick and Morty and holy shit, what a performance. Especially in this scene with Rick Prime calling Rick out for taking his life and his family just as he is getting beaten to death to a bloodied pulp. And...mad props to Ian Cardoni for making this scene brutal to watch, heartbreaking, and awesome at the same time when voicing both Ricks since taking over the role from Roiland. And what’s interesting about this scene is Rick Prime when getting beaten to death by Rick with him calling Rick out for taking his place, taking his life and his family as if he somewhat gave a damn despite being a mad hater towards Rick. To the point where jealousy might be playing a role for this episode with the Omega Device and wanting to erase the family as the saying goes, “If he can’t have them, nobody can.” Though that’s more on Rick Prime who is at fault for leaving his family hanging that resulting in our Rick filling in the spot, taking his Morty and the family...well, before not before taking Rick Prime’s Morty to another dimension after the issue regarding turning everyone into Cronenbergs. But other than that, this was an amazing scene from this episode. The voice acting from Cardoni mixes with the atmosphere with Rick beating the ever-living crap out of Rick Prime to his death as amazing but at the same time, brutal and heartbreaking. Almost feels like the result of the fight comes down to the whole notion of “I’ve won but at what cost”. At least, that is what I looked at with this scene.
I mean, at the end of the episode, with Evil Morty leaving and Rick coming out of the room drenched in blood from head to toe after killing off Rick Prime, you think that Rick would finally feel relieved that he finally killed the guy who killed his wife and daughter, finally avenging them, and treat it as if it’s like the US celebrating the killing of Bin Laden but...he feels nothing. A victory for sure, yes, but it feels like empty. Hallow, to say the least. As if he had gone through years of trauma as if he’s a soldier coming back from the war as a changed man. You know that meme of the soldier who gave out that thousand-year stare? It’s like that with Rick after getting his life back to normalcy. As if he truly hasn’t let go of the loss. Which I guess explains “Fear No Mort” with the fear hole with Rick’s fear of letting Diane go and him seeing Morty and himself being malnourished with their fears slowly eating them and deciding to beat it would result in him finally letting go of his thoughts on Diane.
Of course, we had the post-credits scene with the wife of Slow Morbius attempting to go on a revenge tour after the erasure of Slow Morbius courtesy of Rick Prime, not knowing that he was responsible for wiping him from existence (and also Rick Prime being sent to the Shadow Realm by Rick). Wash, rinse, repeat the same way Rick did after losing Diane but unlike Rick, the wife, I guess now ex-wife of Slow Morbius, she met a new guy at the table and thus, found a new purpose in life and got back to the saddle to the point she gets married to someone else who also lost a loved one and raise a family together. An interesting sight to see what would’ve been another revenge tour ready to take off, only to stop before it even began when meeting the new spouse and end the episode with a photo of the two lovebirds’ dead spouses on the counter as a memento while moving on to start fresh. So, that’s nice.
But this episode, man. I’ve been saving it for later in the countdown and holy fucking shit, what a ride it was. Yes, “Fear No Mort”, the recent episode that came out earlier this month did compete with the likes of this episode with the fear hole, Diane and knowing Rick’s fear of letting her go as well as Morty’s fear of not being accepted before finding out that it’s the fear of Rick leaving him hanging, but I chose this episode to take the number 3 spot and it was stacked.
The return of Evil Morty and his origin story at the start of the episode. Rick Prime’s return and his gruesome death. The fight between Rick, Morty, Evil Morty, and Rick Prime...dude...this was halfway through the season. You would expect this if this was the season finale, but the fact that this was halfway through the season and Rick finally getting his revenge on Rick Prime and thus, killing him...it’s fucking bonkers to have that all blend into one episode. Along with the animation and visuals, along with Cardoni’s acting in Rick Prime’s death was fantastic as well as brutal and heartbreaking, especially with Rick, after killing Rick Prime, feels as if you won the game but it didn’t feel like a victory as if something is bothering you. And I guess “Fear No Mort” later in the season did sort of wrap things up with the whole Diane thing, but other than that, what a freaking episode, man. What a freaking episode and this was only number three on the list. And there’s two more after this that top this.
What do you think about this episode? Should it be higher, lower, or stay put on your list? Put it in the comments below as we prepare to go into the penultimate spot of the Top 12 Countdown. Which episode and series will be taking the second-to-last spot? Find and see sometime tomorrow. Follow me on Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon, Threads, and BlueSky for updates and behind-the-scenes stuff. And y’all should know the drill by now...
- PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/yahoo201027
- Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/yahoo201027
- Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/Y8Y8K4OP
Donate over on PayPal, Patreon, and Ko-fi pages to help your boy out in both improving the page and paying the bills to keep the lights on. And until tomorrow with number 2 of the Top 12 Countdown of the year; stay safe, wash your hands, wear a mask, get vaccinated, and a reminder that you are loved, you are beautiful, ignore the haters, and I’ll see y’all later.
No comments:
Post a Comment