Rick and Morty – ‘Forgetting Sarick Mortshall’ and ‘Rickmurai Jack’ Review

After a month-long break, Season Five of Rick and Morty returns with a double bill for its finale. It was worth the wait.

The first episode of the double bill was “Forgetting Sarick Mortshall”. In this episode Rick and Morty fall out after Rick finds out Morty had been using Rick’s portal gun to clean up his mess. To show how disposable Morty is, Rick replaces his grandson with two crows. Morty gets back at Rick by teaming up with Nick, a man with a portal on his leg. But there was a reason why Rick ditched Nick.

In “Rickmurai Jack” Morty ages himself to 40-years-old so he can convince Rick to end his anime adventures. To reverse the process the pair must take a visit to the Citadel, the first they have been there the opening of Season Three.

These episodes explored the relationship between Rick and Morty and how dysfunctional it is. They act more like a broken-up couple in “Forgetting Sarick Mortshall”. The title of the episode was a reference to the romcom Forgetting Sarah Marshall which was about a man who goes on vacation to get over breaking up with his girlfriend.

The thesis of this episode was that Rick and Morty’s relationship was toxic. Anyone who has been watching the show knew this already. Rick used Morty numerous times and Morty keeps coming back. This was emphasised in the Season One finale when Bird Person questioned why Morty cared so much for going on adventures if he hates them so much. Being with Rick has changed Morty. He gained confidence but became colder and more violent. When Morty was left to his own devices like in episodes like “Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat” and “Mort Dinner Rick Andre”, the teenager causes chaos.

Despite everything that happened in “Forgetting Sarick Mortshall”, Rick and Morty realise they cared for each other each other. Rick’s crows taught him empathy and he came to a realisation when he had to face the Crow People. Nick acts as a bad influence on Morty because he encouraged Morty to destruct all of Rick’s stuff and was a destructive force when they visited an alien bar.

“Forgetting Sarick Mortshal” ended on a bittersweet note because Rick and Morty reconcile but also part ways. Rick believes he needed to go out on his own adventures and gives Morty a portal gun so he can go on his adventures. It was touching because Morty was heartbroken by his grandfather leaving.

“Forgetting Sarick Mortshall” had the humour and wackiness one would expect from a Rick and Morty episode. My favourite joke was when Jerry tried to take part in the destruction of Rick’s garage and failed miserably. One of the strangest developments in the episode was when the Crow People appeared and had advanced sci-fi weapons. Morty got to show off his fighting prowess again and used a portal on his hand to Nick’s thigh to great effort. It made a change to see Morty about to fight without murdering everyone in sight.

Whilst “Forgetting Sarick Mortshall” was a strong episode, it was just a starter to “Rickmurai Jack”. “Rickmurai Jack” was one of the best episodes Rick and Morty has ever produced. It revealed information that changes the show and has a cliff-hanger that could rival “The Wedding Squanchers”.

“Rickmurai Jack” started as a parody of anime series. “Rickmurai Jack” did a more effective job in five minutes than what “Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion” did with a whole episode. The theme song was a spot-on copy.

The meat of the episode was when Rick and Morty go to the Citadel. It led to the moment fans have been longing for: Rick facing off against Evil Morty and discovering what Evil Morty’s plan is.

Evil Morty reveals a lot of information. The first big revelation was Rick C-137 helped create the Citadel and separated their universes from the rest of the multiverse. It blows the series wide open. This shows that Ricks are so narcissistic that they can only live in a multiverse where only Ricks can be the smartest person. It raises a question, is there a greater threat in the multiverse?

Evil Morty’s other revelation was Ricks have manipulated events across the multiverse. They matchmaked Beths and Jerrys across the multiverse so Mortys can be born. And if that doesn’t work, they just clone loads of Mortys.

There were also two big reveals from Rick. Rick’s first reveal was he has had dealings with Evil Morty before and Evil Morty was the only person to ever hack his portal gun. The other reveal acts as a continuation to “Rickternal Friendshine of the Stopless Mort”. There was a tragic montage where Rick goes on the hunt to find the Rick who murdered his wife and daughter. It was a fruitless task that made Rick more and more jaded.

One of the long running themes of Rick and Morty has been nihilism. Rick has often expressed views that nothing matters and he was above everything. His views have rubbed off on Morty, like the famous ‘nobody exists on purpose’ speech. But deep-down Rick does care for his family and he does have some redlines. Evil Morty was a true nihilist because he had a burn the world approach. He had no issue killing all the Ricks and Mortys in the Citadel and destroying the Citadel. Evil Morty’s only interest was himself.

“Rickmurai Jack” ends with Rick and Morty at probably their lowest ebb. They are trapped in space without any portal fluid whilst Evil Morty re-enacts 2001: A Space Odyssey. The stakes are high for the Season Six opener.

Whilst “Rickmurai Jack” was a more dramatic episode there was still humour in the episode. My favourite moments were showing the process to make Morty 14 again, Influencer Morty facing off against the cops, and the episode revisiting the rivalry between the newscasters. Morty looked good at 26, but he really lets himself go when he was 40.

My one major bit of criticism about these two episodes was there should have been an episode between them. Rick and Morty should have shown what the characters got up to when separate and show Morty’s longing for Rick.

Season Five has been a mixed bag. There were some great episodes, but also saw Rick and Morty reach some real lows (i.e. episodes featuring the Giant Incest Baby). Fortunately, Rick and Morty Season Five ended on a high with its final three episodes, even if they leant hard into the drama and emotion.