Rick and Morty – Rick & Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular Review

The fan reaction toward Rick and Morty’s Fifth Season has been mixed, especially after “Rickdependence Spray”. Fortunately, the Thanksgiving-themed episode was an improvement from everyone’s favourite grandfather and grandson duo.

Rick and Morty attempt to steal the US Constitution so they can use the secret treasure map printed on it. However, Morty accidentally destroys the Constitution and unleashes the hidden robotic assassin hidden inside the Statute of Liberty. This makes Rick and Morty public enemy No. 1, again. Rick decides to trick the President into giving him a presidential pardon by disguising himself as a turkey. The President is prepared for this ruse and chaos eschews in typical Rick and Morty fashion.

“Rick & Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular” felt like a Rick and Morty adventure of old. It simply focused on the pairing going on an adventure. This was the first Rick-centric episode of the season as he was the one driving force the plot. The character dynamic between Rick and Morty felt like what it used to be. Rick dominated his grandson and Morty was much more neurotic. Rick was not an idiot like he was in “Rickdependence Spray,” nor was Morty a budding psychopath.

This was an episode about the escalation of the situation. It starts with Rick and Morty changing themselves into turkeys, has turkeys take over Washington D.C., and ends with a climactic battle in America’s capital. It was just ridiculous fun. “Rick & Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular” did not feel like the previous three episodes where the writers were letting out all their weird sexual kinks.

“Rick & Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular” continues a long lingering tread, the rivalry between Rick and the President. These two had a massive bust-up in “The Rickchurian Mortydate” where The President refused to take a selfie with Morty. This led Rick to take important events away from The President like securing peace in the Middle East and meeting a miniature race in the Amazon Jungle. It concluded with a massive fight in the White House. In “Rick & Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular” Rick and The President were playing a game because Rick turned himself into a turkey before so he could get a presidential parody and The President was looking for ways to stop him. It was so wonderfully absurd.

The President has earned a bigger role. This was his third appearance in Season Five. The showrunners want to get as much mileage as possible from Keith David. His appearance, and the Washington-centric story, allowed for lots of political and historical jokes that I enjoyed. The Turkey President was able to stay in power by paying off Congress and this worked as a double joke because American politics functions on money and shows how Congress has enabled some presidents.

The President even calls out Rick because he states it’s easy to be an anti-authority anarchist. It makes a change from Rick being right all the time and everyone else is naïve and wrong. Rick stated that politicians shouldn’t be idolised. This was a joke made because Rick and Morty had killed FDR but the point still stands. We are living in a climate where certain political leaders have had a cult-like following and every historical figure has some sort of demon, vice, or misdeed to their name.

As an Englishman it tickled me when Rick said ‘don’t truth the French’. But he also said a bunch of hillbillies were able to defeat the British so swings and roundabouts. It was America that was on the butt of most jokes.

Whilst all these shenanigans were going on in Washington involving super-soldier turkeys what Jerry was more annoyed about was his efforts to cook Thanksgiving dinner were ruined.

“Rick & Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular” didn’t have the emotional depth, clever plotting, or philosophical musings to make it a classic Rick and Morty episode. But it was still a fun episode that saw Rick and Morty act more like the characters fans know and love.