Valkyrick

As a long-time fan of Rick and Morty, I never thought I'd say this but the magic is gone.

It's painfully obvious now that Justin Roiland was the creative heartbeat of this show. While Dan Harmon brings structure and depth, Roiland brought the chaos, the wild unpredictability, and that signature absurdist humour that made Rick and Morty not just clever, but electric. Without him, the show feels like it's going through the motions, trying hard to imitate a rhythm it no longer understands.

Yes, the voice replication is decent. The new actors clearly studied the vocal cadences of Rick and Morty down to a science. But sound is not soul. The characters might speak the same but they no longer feel the same. The dynamic between Rick and Morty feels flatter, more performative, like a cover band doing their best impersonation of the real thing.

The biggest tragedy is in the storytelling. Where Roiland once helped steer the show into brilliantly unhinged directions the kind that danced on the edge of genius and insanity what we're left with now is safe, overly polished, and at times, self-conscious. The surreal, improvisational chaos that defined early Rick and Morty is now replaced by tightly plotted, but soulless narratives that try too hard to be clever without ever being truly fun.

A side note, if you want to see what complete creative collapse looks like without Roiland, look no further than Solar Opposites. It's almost shocking how badly that show fell apart. Rick and Morty is at least trying to keep the illusion alive but it's just that: an illusion.

It's not awful television. If you never watched the earlier seasons, you might still find it entertaining. But for those of us who remember the show's peak, Pickle Rick, the Citadel of Ricks, interdimensional cable, this version just doesn't come close.

I never thought Rick and Morty could become just another adult cartoon. But here we are.

Episode 1 was surprisingly decent. It brought back a bit of that early-season Rick and Morty energy - chaotic fun, quirky dialogue, and a hint of emotional depth. It wasn't groundbreaking, but for a moment, I felt like the old magic was still there. Then episode 2 completely lost the plot. The writing felt lazy and uninspired, with no real stakes or clever twists. The humor was flat, and the story lacked any complexity or originality. It just felt like a filler episode made with no real effort or passion. Whatever momentum episode 1 created, episode 2 immediately crushed. It's sad to see a show that once felt so smart and exciting become this dull and empty. I really hope it turns around, but right now, it just feels like a shadow of what it used to be.

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.

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.

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.