Rick and Morty – Unmortricken Review

Rick and Morty’s seventh season has reached its halfway point. This episode was a special big lore episode that will have major repercussions.

Rick and Morty have found a potential way to find Rick Prime by using his own equipment from “Solaricks.” However, their multiverse magnet disturbs Evil Morty and his retirement beyond the Central Finite Curve. Rick and Evil Morty form an alliance to bring down Rick’s nemesis for good.

To causal audiences, Rick and Morty seem like an episodic adult-animated show about the wacky adventures of a mad scientist and his grandson. Fans of the show know that there’s more to the show than this simple premise. There have been long-running stories involving Evil Morty and his rise to power, and Rick’s search for the man who killed his wife and child. Audiences come for the comedy but stay for the emotion and wider story.

Some of the best episodes of Rick and Morty have been the lore episodes. “The Ricklantis Mixup” is one of the best episodes as it showed Evil Morty’s rise to power. Some of the show’s most shocking moments involved Evil Morty, who was the mastermind of the events in “Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind” and in “Rickmurai Jack” he was able to destroy the Citadel and break out of the Central Finite Curve. Rick and Morty has been a story that has subverted expectations like “Never Ricking Morty” disproving a load of fan theories. It was unexpected that the series changed its villain from Evil Morty to Rick Prime. When either of these characters arrive then something major is going to happen.

“Unmortricken” is an exceptionally fast-paced episode. The episode’s cold opening showed the origins of Evil Morty and the events of previous episodes from his perspective. It turned into an action-packed episode with barely any respite. It was an episode that featured Rick and the Mortys escaping from Rick Prime’s Jigsaw-style trap and a massive battle between Rick, Evil Morty, and Rick Prime. This non-stop action made the episode fly by.

“Unmortricken” was great fun as an action spectacle. It was fast and fluid as Rick and Evil Morty fought Rick Prime and his robotic doppelgangers. There was so much going on including giant robots smashing their fists on the ground, Rick having to fight past Rick Prime’s drones, and the Ricks using all their cybernetic enhancements during their final duel. It was like a video game. Due to all this action and drama, “Unmorticken” was a humour-lite episode. There were some chuckle-worthy moments, but comedy wasn’t the focus. Humour-lite was preferable to bad comedy.

“Unmorticken” can be compared to the Season Three opener “The Rickshank Rickdemption.” Both were frantically-paced, action-packed episodes with game-changing conclusions. In “The Rickshank Rickdemption” was able to bring down the Federation, the Council of Ricks, and Jerry in one fell swoop. You will have to see “Unmorticken” to find out what big events happen.

“Unmorticken” had a simpler story than “The Rickshank Rickdemption” or “Rickmurai Jack.” The story was about Rick and Evil Morty teaming up to take down Rick Prime. It was straightforward. However, the episode tied up lots of storylines so the complicity came from the series’ baggage.

There’s a risk that Rick and Morty will blow its load too early. Audiences might have expected more to come from the story involving Rick’s hunt for the Rick Prime and their potential battle. But the series has subverted expectations. The show made it seem like Evil Morty was going to be the major villain of the series then he got what he wanted in the Season Five finale by breaking out of the Central Finate Curve. It was great to see Evil Morty come back and team up with Rick. They made a great team because of their physical abilities and scientific knowledge. The end of the episode will set up a major character development for Rick since there will be the question, “What is his purpose now?” The promo for the next episode highlights this.

On a final note, Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden were terrific as Rick and Morty. They played the different versions well and Cardoni’s hate and fury as Rick was palpable. They sounded just like Justin Roiland did when he voiced the characters.

“Unmorticken” was one of the great episodes of Rick and Morty and a standout episode for Season Seven. It was entertaining, impactful, and will have a legacy.