With its sidelining of Morty as Rick's foil, and its most pointed analysis of Rick's desperation so far (in the form of a therapist literally analyzing him), it's easy to see why this episode was the most divisive on the Rick and Morty Reddit page.

You can be a genius asshole who drives the plot forward, sure, but you shouldn't be allowed to hide. Any show can give their antihero a rough time for the sake of keeping up appearances, but Rick hating himself is the least interesting part of him much more crucially, the people around him can still cut him to his core almost effortlessly. It's been the marker for the show's ambition, as well as its insistence on frequent audits of not just Rick's character, but his point. The episode, written by Jessica Gao, was instantly acclaimed (as has the vast majority of the season).

If only the same could be said for its diehard audience. Rick and Morty may just be the very first show to understand just why Rick's kind of character exists, and works hard never to let him off the hook.

Rick e morty