Valkyrick

There's little hope for Rick and Morty if they can't figure out how to write episodes with A-plot and B-plot structures again. If this was an earlier season, Morty wouldn't be completely absent here, they would have established some sort of B-plot for Morty before Rick got the call and was summoned into space-

Which it seems like they easily could have squeezed in here by reducing slow paced or repetitive scenes and awkward jokes which grind everything to a halt, which there are a lot of.

For example we didn't need to watch the bug gangster guy falling through portals for a whole minute, and the action scenes could have been reduced overall, since Rick is an unstoppable murder god and the gromflomites pose no serious threat to him, never have, probably never will, so it all lacks impact.

Here's hoping the rest of season 8 has some classic-type episodes where Rick and Morty go on adventures together and/or there is a B-plot somewhere. A decent episode needs at least one of those things.

If it wasn't obvious then, it should be obvious now. The characters felt more alive, and the show felt more dynamic and authentic when Justin Roiland was still writing for the show. You can try to downplay his creative contributions all you want, but you can never downplay his results. With those results being 3 seasons (season 1-3) of some of the best written TV out there.

Multiple people working there have said Dan and Justin turn into creative geniuses when they are working together. This is just as much Justin's show as it is Dan's and like it or not, the show falls apart when one is without the other. They both have different strengths, weaknesses and approaches that when mixed together, turns the show into the iconic, explosive success that it became. With Dan having the more methodical approach, and Roiland having the more "throwing darts/ideas and seeing what sticks" approach. In other words, Dan was the "stick to your guns" type of writer, and Roiland was the "high risk, high reward" type of writer when it came to the show.

Dan provided the amazing narrative structure, character driven storytelliing, and the philosophical depth/complexity each episode had. While Roiland provided the chaotic energy, amazing character dialogue that sounded like improv at times, and character depth/complexity each episode had. He was also responsible for the world building and the crazy sci-fi creativity of the show. Like for example, the idea of a Galactic Federation full of insects, and the idea of a Mr. Meeseeks box where Meeseeks can't die unless they perform their task. In other words, Dan laid the foundation for the show, while Roiland gave life to that foundation.

Finally, this is just a personal gripe of mine. But I hate how Rick uses these over the top, tech gadgets that turns him into a god to solve his problems. Where as before, he used to use his witts/genius, invent stuff/solutions to his problems instead of already having them, and got lucky in tough situations instead of being essentially indestructible. It's just a lazy way of writing solutions to your problems.

Ever since they switched up Rick's and Morty's voice actors there's been a few really bad episodes that have aired. Don't get me wrong, season 8's premiere was amazing, as well as season 7's finale. And I want to like every episode. But episodes like these it feels like I'm watching a show for kids instead of adults. I would never put this episode on and say "I love this. This is what good tv is all about, I approve of this." It lacks its usual adult dimensions of humor. Rick is ... more agreeable in these mid-grade episodes, and he spouts off "canned" stuff he would never, ever say in previous episodes. He's been "lobotomized" by people who don't understand he's a "sad old fart", not this "happy go lucky" guy who's eager to spout lazy garbage phrases for likability's sake.

I'm not going to lie, it also feels weird having episodes entirely centered around a few characters instead of featuring the usual full cast. That part I'm less mad about, but it signals to me that something is off beyond the voices, this seems more like a writer dilemma. I gave this episode a 6/10 for a show that is a 9/10 which is legendary that a show could reach that high of a rating. But I guess all good things must come to an end.

The character of Space Beth rarely appears in the series and interacts with other characters. The last time her relationship with Rick seems to have been explored in the series was with her first appearance at the end of season 4. Throughout the series, we see how these characters interact with each other, as her and Rick's paternal relationship unfolds. However, this exploration of their characters and relationships seems very superficial, due to the fast pace of the episode, the senseless conflict that does not fit in with the episode's theme and the drawn-out jokes. It seems to me that this episode could be one of the most interesting. Watching the rare interactions of Space Beth and Rick is very exciting, but these moments are only at the beginning of the episode. The other two thirds of the episode, as I said, consist of drawn-out fights and shootouts that don't seem to make any sense. I think if the episode consisted entirely of Rick and Beth talking while they're sitting in a bar somewhere and just having fun (like in the episode "A Rickconvenient Mort" only not with Summer, but with Beth) it would be much more interesting.

This episode feels like it wasn't written by a professional screenwriter, but by some Rick and Morty fan dying of leukemia through a Make-A-Wish foundation. The dialogue is stiff and clunky, and the stakes feel nonexistent (who even cares about the Galactic Federation at this point?). Hopefully, this is just a fluke, and we'll get more creative episodes moving forward.

Also, it feels like the potential for centering the plot around Space Beth's adventures has run dry, especially since Rick himself says from the very beginning that they're just meaningless side quests and she's gonna grow out of it eventually.