Ricker Than Fiction

Go figure they'd do a whole episode about blaming the fans when creators make something terrible. I have a feeling this was the writers lashing out because some episodes have been pretty bad this season, but to make it even more cringe they bring in James Gunn. Groan. Nobody ever said making a movie was easy. Obviously it's hard and very stressful. But that shouldn't be an excuse for ruining a popular character or making something terrible, and certainly should not be an excuse to attack the audience because they didn't like what you made. That's like a chef serving you a raw chicken and then getting mad that the customers won't eat it.

You know what made Rick n Morty great? They made statements about society without directly bringing in current pop culture Twitter drama. But this legit felt like a really lame episode of SNL with James Gunn. I have no grievance with Gunn nor with Snyder, but ask yourself this, when has Rick n Morty ever done an episode all about a mainstream celeb complaining about their present day drama? Never.

A guest cameo or VA should be creative and fun where it's a total surprise and treat for the audience, not a direct mirror of that guest's real world problems and used solely to literally lash out at the audience while simultaneously trying to promote their new movie dropping next week. Now I'm curious if Adult Swim reached out to Gunn or if it was actually Gunn who reached out to AS and paid for them to make this episode just for him as a weird marketing strategy.

This was a weird episode. I don't like to criticize animation, but here it just felt weird and rushed. I can recall them reusing clips and having some weird movements. The sound work could also be better.

The episode itself left me some questions, but overall it was pretty enjoyable. James Gunn barely did anything and was just there for the character appearance, but I liked his character. Jerry was a moron in this episode, but more than usual honestly. Jerry is my favorite character, but in this episode he is just so stupid. You're telling me he got tricked by a fake girl voice believing it was his wife?? You're kidding.

The main plot was actually really fun. Morty getting a daughter or whatever was funny and Rick teaming up with the Robo Trees was unexpected. He even started to like the comic relief character toward the end, which was a nice change for the Rick we know. I'll edit this review in the future but overall this was a good episode.

7/10.

Another great episode this season which pokes fun at the formulaic nature of Hollywood Superhero movies and the inevitable vocal fans. Lots of little jokes littered throughout the episode (like the Wilhelm scream) that keep the tone light and silly.

James Gunn and Zach Snyder play ball with their self centered roles with a few other surprise guest stars.

I admit it was pretty awesome how they actually got James Gunn and Zack Synder to do voices here. This show may have better action than humor now. This episode features Rick making a machine that will make a good sequel to their favorite franchise. They then get sucked in the movie. James Gunn himself comes to steal the machine, but Jerry manages to stop him. This was a bit of a weaker episode.

The joke at the very end was too predictable. I guess it's just that I'm used to people complaining about how they can make their favorite movies better. This came off more as criticism of James Gunn than the actual fanbase. That's what they should have made fun of. It's still not the worst. It's just the self-aware bits are getting old. **1/2.

The only nice part of the episode was the prison escape - it was actually entertaining and well done. Apart from that, the rest felt lazy and uninspired. The jokes didn't land, the pacing was off, and the plot was just meh overall. It felt like filler, not something memorable or essential to the series. Characters were just going through the motions, nothing new or exciting. Honestly, if it weren't for the prison sequence, this would've been a solid 3. The show has clearly lost a lot of its quality since Justin Roiland was kicked out. The writing feels watered down, the humour is way less sharp. Hope it picks up in future episodes, but this one was disappointing.