Rick and Morty – The Vat of Acid Episode Review

“The Vat of Acid Episode” was an episode that showed how inventive Rick and Morty can be and was a big improvement over the previous episode.

After meeting a pair of intergalactic gangster Morty mocks Rick for making them hide in a fake vat of acid. Morty adds to the mockery by taunting Rick into making him a ‘save-point’ device that would make life like a real video game and he can live without consequence. But like anything else involving Rick there is always a catch.

The theme of Season Four seems to be Morty getting taught lessons. In “Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat” Morty went on a killing spree so he can grow with old Jessica just to find out she was saying goodbye to an old, lonely Morty. In “One Crew over the Crewcoo’s Morty” Rick organised an elaborate heist (which included destroying a whole planet) just so Morty would lose his interest in heists. And “Rattlestar Ricklactica” Morty learned the hard way to stay in the car and not interfere with a planet’s affairs.

“The Vat of Acid Episode” had a dark and hilarious twist that shakes Morty to his core. It also showed how petty Rick can be to ensure Morty stays with him and punishes anyone who slights him.

The episode felt like the showrunners wanted to extend an idea used in “Morty’s Mind Blowers.” There was a segment where Morty got Rick to invent a device that could translate animals and he discovered that squirrels were secretly running the world. Morty’s action forced Rick and Morty to abandon another dimension. It is a running theme in the show that Morty-led adventures often backfire on the teenager.

The idea of a save point device does have a dark appeal. Morty’s was able to do anything he wants: he could enact his dark fantasy, act like a dick, and erase any humiliation. Who wouldn’t want a device like that? Because of this, the device allows for a lot of dark comedy: my favourite moment was when Morty wanted to kill himself by ‘death by cop.’

“The Vat of Acid Episode” had one of the best sequences in series so far. There was a montage where Morty develops a romantic relationship with a young woman. It effectively told the story of the relationship without a word of dialogue: it was pretty much the Rick and Morty version of the opening of Up. Obviously being a Rick and Morty episode their version was dark and twisted.

“The Vat of Acid Episode” felt more like the show that made people love it in the first place. It distorted a fantasy that many people have had and show how vengeful Rick can be.