Rattlestar Ricklactica

Don't get me wrong, this is a really solid episode, but I can't help but feel something is still a little off. The show just feels... different to watch. Which is probably due to the new writers. Still, I feel like the certain quirks and drama that made Rick and Morty stand out from other shows is now missing/watered down. I don't get that same feeling of impact/deeper message that I used to get from the show. The show's witty writing, dark humor and charming personality is still there, but the weird character antics, deep emotional drama and shocking nature of the show, I feel although not gone completely, has been toned down. The moments it does try to be dark/impactful, it just doesn't hit the same way and feels like it's being forced/rushed. The character's personalities have also been altered/toned down. Like Rick and Morty's toxic sides feel muted this season such as Rick's cynical, sociopathic, narcissistic behavior and Morty's insecure, passive behavior. Which is a bit of a shame, because their toxic sides are what made them a great duo to watch. I know shows tend to evolve over time, but it's core elements need to evolve too, not slowly fade away. It's just little nitpicks like this that start to slowly, gradually make a show decline in quality and become a shadow of its former self. The show is still going strong right now, but I unfortunately have to say, it's starting to decline a bit. This was one of the more stronger episodes of this season, just slightly behind the first but just not quite there on the same level with the good episodes from the older seasons.

Although I had been looking forward to this season finally arriving, I did wait a while before watching it because I wanted to do so when all the fan-fuss had calmed down. I've seen others comment on how the Rick & Morty fanbase seems very toxic, and it is hard to deny when so much hate poured out over this season. Some of it I agree with, just not to the extent that I would call someone Judas etc. A comment complaint is the lack of depth, and I would agree that these first run of episodes don't link to anything bigger than the moment, or have a great deal going on with the characters and relationships in the way that the best of the previous seasons did. However it is hard to be so upset at this, because the show keeps moving on its profane imagination and delivery.

This element has always been part of the show, so it is not some big change to have crudity, swearwords, or randomness - indeed it is a consistent theme. There is a gap where more should be built on top, but even without this the episodes are smart, slick, reactive, and funny. I do hope that the next set of episodes have more character and heft in them, but it wasn't a concern as I was laughing alone to this short season.

The first 3 seasons deserve all the praise they get: clever tight scripts, funny jokes, imaginative sci-fi, creative stories, memorable characters, genuinely surprising plot turns, all worth rewatching...9/10 overall.

But much like Game of Thrones Season 8 we're now dealing with a massive dip in quality. Rick & Morty has become painful to watch, leaving behind a lack of enthusiasm for the rest of Season 4, and certainly no interest in rewatching any of these 5 eps.

How did this happen? Well, here's a handy list of what's gone wrong:

• the first thing you notice is that the opening of each episode no longer has a funny or crazy WTF sting before the title song begins. The opening sequence ends on a mild joke or exclamation, hardly whetting the appetite for what's to come after the title song.

• the guest-star voices are now too obvious. You can clearly hear they're mixed differently, as if they recorded in a separate studio to Justin. So you know that particular character will be hanging around for a while. They have flat vocal deliveries and bland characterisation. The curse of relying too much on guest-star appearances has afflicted other comedy shows in the past too. The humour loses edge as the script dances around mildly so as not to offend the guest-star.

• Rick is too OTT in characterisation. No subtlety at all. And far too OverPowered...dare i say it, he's like a ridiculously-OP Mary Sue. Rey Skywalker has nothing on Rick! In previous seasons, he would solve problems in clever ways which would satisfyingly reveal itself to the viewer, often even more so on a rewatch. Now he just solves problems with endless deus ex machinas.

• Morty's characterisation has also lost some depth and nuance. Like Rick he's become a caricature of himself. Same goes for the other family members.

• The plotting and pacing of each episode is far too hectic, there's too many things happening. no staying in one scene or focussing on one story-thread, no balanced narrative to latch on to, no internal logic...all this means there's no tension for the viewer, no emotional journey to be had. No feeling of "wow, that was impressive" during or after viewing.

• a lot of ideas are cheap repeats of what we've already had, or are poor homages to ideas from other media. Seasons 1-3 had bags of originality, Season 4 is lacking.

• no arc story. No Evil Morty etc. The five episodes just exist in their own space.

• The mainstream criticism against the 'toxic' fanbase (which was blown out of all proportion anyway) has been handled very on-the-nose...you can sense the writers are desperate to prove their liberal credentials to the twitterati...all those tired tropey nazi themes etc.

• there's no exciting new characters, and old ones returning fell flat.

• the writing has become very self-aware, there's too many fourth-wall breaks, and too many easily-dated cultural references (twitter, taylor swift, siri, netflix etc). As a viewer, this makes you lose suspension of disbelief...it takes you out of the story. Not good for immersion.

• barely any laugh-out-loud jokes...just lots of lame ones that you'd associate with unfunny people trying to be funny. And too much crass swearing (as in coarse swearing is used to artificially pep up the lame jokes).

• there's weird voice mixing on the actress playing Summer...she's sometimes unintelligible, as if her words are garbled together. Seems some quality-control was lacking.

On the positive side, the first episode is easily the best and has some standout moments which feel like classic Rick & Morty.

In conclusion, the talking cat from ep4 said it best: "if the goal is to make something up, why not make up something...funnier?"

...the second-half of Season 4 must be a return to form otherwise the series is dead.

Not gonna lie, the last episode in my opinion was the worst one of the series. A lot of the jokes fell flat and the whole "horny dragon" storyline was kind of lost on me. But this episode without a doubt made up for it! This is a classic Rick and Morty episode, and I felt myself laughing a lot during it, which is something that hasn't happened often this season. Overall it's a 9.1/10, and definitely a step in the right direction for the season!

Hell yeah! Rick and Morty is back from it's grave! Last episode was so terrible, but this episode is my jam! :D