“It’s called Carpe Diem, Morty. Look it up.”
The ever esteemed animation in the genre of existentialist exploration, Rick and Morty, has plunged straight into its third season with a profound take on the world’s most overused/tattooed phrase.
The second episode, titled ‘Rickmancing the Stone’, picks up almost seamlessly where the April Fool’s Day 24-hour-stream left off: with a freshly-booted Jerry packing up his (probably hella lame) possessions, and Rick and the kids dealing with the divorce by way of multi-dimensional gallivanting.
As Summer dons a fiery streak of defiance and denial, and Morty unsurprisingly cowers in his perpetually low self-esteem: Rick is the only character to proffer any sound advice in dealing with the altered family dynamic:
“To live is to risk it all, otherwise you’re just an inert chunk of randomly assembled molecules drifting wherever the universe blows you”
Okay, so he was projecting this juicy little nugget at Jerry but don’t you think it belongs in a leather-bound book of profound Rick-isms? We can picture it now: ‘Wubba Lubba Dub Dub & Other Inspirational Quotes To Live Your C-137 Existence By’. Two words: Best seller.*
Rick and Morty is no stranger to questioning the nature of reality, but it may very well have been the first time we’ve witnessed Grandpa Rick letting a little emotion seep through his otherwise apathetic demeanour.
Rick, rather uncharacteristically, goes out of his way to distract Beth from Summer and Morty’s absence, and complete inability to deal with their parent’s divorce. Rick even goes so far as to program AI versions of Summer and Morty to mask their absence, but art inevitably imitates life and the gig is almost leaked as Robot Morty gains sentience and audibly attempts to override his system. Could Rick’s fleeting concern for his family lead to a careless slip in his scientific prowess, much like Bernard in Westworld?
Someone, somewhere along that two-year wait for the next season promised this would be the darkest chapter of the Rick and Morty series. ‘Rickmancing the Stone’ saw Morty strangling some dude in a bathtub, Summer going Mad Max Furiosa and Jerry’s social security check being regurgitated by a coyote… so looks like we’re off to a pretty good start, folks.
In the wise words of Rick Sanchez, until next week: “don’t break an arm jerking yourself off”.
*We’re dead serious about this book. Dan Harmon, give us a call.