Rick and Morty Season 8 is lastly right here, and as somebody who received an opportunity to see a handful of episodes upfront, I needed to do some soul looking out. On the one hand, it was a group of episodes that made me snicker out loud, jogged my memory of among the finest sci-fi films, and confirmed the collection has not misplaced a step. However, I could not assist however discover a number of the serialized storylines I would been protecting tabs on weren’t actually talked about.
I will not get into spoilers for what’s forward, and to be frank, I have never seen your entire season. There’s an opportunity some issues I am wanting ahead to can be coming down the stretch, and we’ll lastly get to seek out out which is the actual Beth or see Mr. Poopybutthole’s villainous return. What I can say is that I did not see any of that within the episodes I watched, and I finally realized that is okay.
I Used To Dwell For Serialized Storytelling In Rick And Morty, However With The Collection Being So Profitable, It is Onerous To Hold Onto
Rick And Morty began off heavy on serialized storytelling, with the title characters having to hop to parallel universes when their adventures borked up their very own universe past restore. Then there’s all of the present’s finest facet characters with their very own tales that have a tendency to hold over from look to look. For years, the present has juggled a number of complicated tales and added extra storylines on prime of it, and this has labored fairly effectively.
Within the early seasons, when there was uncertainty about simply how lengthy the journey would final, it most likely appeared extra possible to stay to serialized storytelling. Nowadays, Rick and Morty is without doubt one of the hottest animated exhibits on the planet, and seemingly has the inexperienced mild from Grownup Swim to proceed to make as many seasons as it will probably.
As one may think, it may be troublesome to decide to serialized storytelling once you aren’t positive when your collection goes to finish. Take a look at exhibits like Physician Who, which have been pushed into destroying The Physician’s residence planet, resurrecting it, and destroying it but once more. Rick and Morty might simply fall into that very same lure if it continues to do serialized episodes on the similar charge it did in its earlier seasons. These “large” developments will begin to really feel hole if there is not any actual end line to offer the story any decision.
Like So Many Different Animated Exhibits, Rick And Morty Can Dwell On Indefinitely By way of Parody And Riffing
What Rick and Morty Season 8 has proven me most within the restricted episodes that I’ve seen is that this collection is at its finest when it is riffing. One of the best episodes of the collection parody iconic sci-fi films or components from them which might be taken to probably the most excessive. The sci-fi hasn’t gotten a present in a position to do this since Futurama, and whereas I am an enormous fan of that present too, I feel it is protected to say Rick and Morty can push the envelope a bit additional than the Matt Groening collection ever has.
And let’s not neglect, the upcoming 2025 film schedule is churning out films that can be ripe for parody sooner or later down the street. Granted, it could take some time for Rick and Morty to acknowledge them since there are at the least two extra seasons lined up. As talked about although, it seems there is not any finish in sight, so there can be a stable probability they get to it will definitely if it is deserving.
As a result of there’s at all times going to be sci-fi films and exhibits for Rick and Morty to riff on, it looks like the most effective course ahead for the collection to make sure survival effectively into the far future. So long as the present stays top-of-the-line at poking enjoyable at among the most beloved works on the market, it is at all times going to have a house on tv and streaming.
Persevering with To Commit To Some Endgame Would Simply Damage Artistic Storytelling If There’s No Plan To Finish The Collection
When Rick and Morty seemingly shut the door on its Evil Morty arc in Season 7, I used to be fairly miffed. It felt like there was extra floor to cowl with the character, which was the identical problem I had when Rick tracked down and at last received his revenge on Rick Prime. Now that I’ve seen a bit of Season 8 and know that there is not any rush for the collection to construct one other large storyline with large stakes, I feel I see the imaginative and prescient that the Grownup Swim collection was working in the direction of.
Granted, I did not have to see the imaginative and prescient, as Rick confirmed in an episode that the present was going to go a extra episodic route. It was a call that was hotly debated amongst the fandom, and as somebody who was firmly on the “extra serialized episodes” camp for thus lengthy, I am able to admit I used to be incorrect about it being your best option.
The very fact of the matter is that Rick and Morty has entered rarefied air on the planet of animation. Releasing Season 8 whereas ending the writing work on Season 10 is the form of factor an animated collection does when it is coming into the identical dialog of being as iconic as The Simpsons, Household Man and Bob’s Burgers. What’s extra spectacular is we’re seeing Rick and Morty try this on a totally totally different community than these exhibits, although I’d argue the Grownup Swim programming block is equally as iconic lately as Fox’s Animation Domination.
All this to say, I feel there can be longtime followers of Rick and Morty as soon as once more tied up within the “episodic vs. serialized” debate as soon as Season 8 will get in full swing. I am right here to say that the present sliding into being extra episodic than not goes easily, and can proceed to take action as they push forward to Season 9, 10, and past. I imagine the plan was “100 years,” and given the energy of this season, I feel they’re effectively on the way in which to creating that occur.
Rick and Morty Season 8 airs on Grownup Swim on Sundays at 11:00 p.m. ET. I am desperate to see what different viewers consider the brand new episodes and the way this present continues to thrive regardless of the pace bump not that way back of getting to let go of considered one of its co-creators.