[7.5/10] “Mortyplicity” does that thing so many superb Rick and Morty episodes do -- pick a wild sci-fi concept and take it to the nth degree. The notion of Rick making a “decoy family” of duplicates in case the shit hits the fan is a fairly standard bit of science fiction for the show.
But spinning that out into nigh-endless reveals that what we thought was the real Smith family is actually just another set of decoys, and that the decoys are making their own decoys, and that the squid-hunters are just more decoys in disguise, and that we’re in an “Asimov cascade” of the various decoys realizing what’s up and attacking one another, until we end up in one giant Smith family clone rumble is a blast and a half. Things get so loony, with constant escalation and added weirdness, that it makes you appreciate the show’s bizarre sensibility.
I also appreciated the touch of a throughline for the various bits here. Summer being the one to question whether they’re fakes is a good runner. And there’s the hint of emotion with Beth pushing Rick to value other lives and other versions of their family, eventually managing to pierce Rick’s “Couldn’t care less” exterior with the truth-bomb that by making all of these clones, he’s shown that he does care.
There’s also just some enjoyable off-the-wall excursions here. Reveals of a wooden puppet version of the Smiths, or muppet versions that are “too cute to kill”, or hideous ones made by a parade of lazier and lazier Ricks who want the skin of fresher Smith families is strange but amusing in that trademark R&M way. I especially got a kick out of the tag here, with wooden puppet Jerry covering him in varnish to get away, only to find himself in a continuing series of ironic/ridiculous misfortunes from his hard-won freedom.
Overall, “Mortyplicity” fits a certain mold for the show, where it takes a basic but wild premise and doubles down on it over and over again. But it’s a formula that works well for Rick and Morty’s vibe, and continues to pay dividends here.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2022-02-28T03:07:45Z
[7.5/10] “Mortyplicity” does that thing so many superb Rick and Morty episodes do -- pick a wild sci-fi concept and take it to the nth degree. The notion of Rick making a “decoy family” of duplicates in case the shit hits the fan is a fairly standard bit of science fiction for the show.
But spinning that out into nigh-endless reveals that what we thought was the real Smith family is actually just another set of decoys, and that the decoys are making their own decoys, and that the squid-hunters are just more decoys in disguise, and that we’re in an “Asimov cascade” of the various decoys realizing what’s up and attacking one another, until we end up in one giant Smith family clone rumble is a blast and a half. Things get so loony, with constant escalation and added weirdness, that it makes you appreciate the show’s bizarre sensibility.
I also appreciated the touch of a throughline for the various bits here. Summer being the one to question whether they’re fakes is a good runner. And there’s the hint of emotion with Beth pushing Rick to value other lives and other versions of their family, eventually managing to pierce Rick’s “Couldn’t care less” exterior with the truth-bomb that by making all of these clones, he’s shown that he does care.
There’s also just some enjoyable off-the-wall excursions here. Reveals of a wooden puppet version of the Smiths, or muppet versions that are “too cute to kill”, or hideous ones made by a parade of lazier and lazier Ricks who want the skin of fresher Smith families is strange but amusing in that trademark R&M way. I especially got a kick out of the tag here, with wooden puppet Jerry covering him in varnish to get away, only to find himself in a continuing series of ironic/ridiculous misfortunes from his hard-won freedom.
Overall, “Mortyplicity” fits a certain mold for the show, where it takes a basic but wild premise and doubles down on it over and over again. But it’s a formula that works well for Rick and Morty’s vibe, and continues to pay dividends here.