The very first line of the episode is a Family Guy reference? Please, Stewie's "mom" gag has no place here.
Nice to hear that TCAS survived into the 25th century and is equipped on spacefaring shuttlecraft.
Actually, I cracked up a bit when the shuttle's computer started chanting, "Too low, terrain."I wonder if Dr. Finn is a distant descendant of Kevin (of Kevin (Probably) Saves the World)…
The character concept for Isaac is fine enough, but every time they show him walking around his costume messes with it. An artificial life form of Isaac's type just doesn't look right with a fabric outer garment, especially because his garment is clearly designed to look like a metal exterior.
Also, continuity issue: When the Orville detects the aliens approaching the shuttle, Bortus reports "two dozen" unidentified life forms. From when Isaac begins stunning the approaching attackers to when Marcus joins him, Isaac has already fired at least 22 shots (yes, I went back and counted them). Yet, there is still a large number of aliens for them to deter. So many that they are nearly overwhelmed before the shuttle from the Orville bombards the aliens with weapons fire from the air. Something's not right there…
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@dgw Possibly more came over... they did a scan at that exact moment... doesn't say if anymore will come since they hear the fire.
[9.4/10] Really enjoyed this one. On the one hand, you have a just balls-to-the-walls Rick adventure. Him turning himself into a pickle, and having to climb to the top of the food chain by brain-licking his way to cockroach-based mobility, assembling a rat-based super-torso, and then make it out of the sewer is the kind of sci-fi weirdness I love from this show.
But then, Roiland & Harmon turn it up a notch, with Rick then finding his way inside some combination of Die Hard and Rambo, having to escape a secret and illegal compound run by a generic evil boss aided by a generic badass named “The Jaguar.” It’s the well-observed trope mashup and creativity that this show does well, mixed the inherent silliness that our hero is an ambulatory pickle. To top it off, it had the right details, like the enemy goons having superstitions about a pickle monster, and the Rube Goldberg traps Rick sets to defend itself.
The best part, though, is it’s not just empty violence or insanity for insanity stake. It’s a testament to how far Rick will go to avoid doing something he doesn’t want to do, particularly something he thinks is beneath him, and especially something he thinks might force him to confront the ways in which he’s created problems for his family.
Getting Susan Sarandon to play the counselor is a complete coup, and the writing is perfect, as Dr. Wong quickly teases out exactly what’s wrong with The Smiths’ family dynamic, Beth deflecting the real issue, and the kids being cautious but wanting to identify the problem. It’s the show coming clean about its psychological perspective on its characters, which could be a little too direct, but feels right with the tone of the episode.
After all, Beth idolizes her father and so justifies everything he does despite the fact that, as Dr. Wong points out, he doesn’t reward emotion or vulnerability and emotion and in fact punishes it, making Beth worried to call him to the carpet for anything lest he run away again. And Dr. Wong’s also right about Rick, the way he’s caught between his brilliant mind as a blessing and a curse and incapable of doing the work to be good or get better because it’s just that -- work, which bores him.
But what’s great and also terrible is how that accurate diagnosis doesn’t change anything. Morty and Summer both meekly suggest that the school-mandated session was helpful and they want to do it again, and Rick and Beth completely ignore them, the same way they ignore all their problems and opportunities to make things better, when their status quo is unpleasant but comfortable and more importantly familiar. It’s another episode that shows how well this show knows its characters and their hangups, while inserting fecophilia gags to lighten the tone, and a gonzo set of action sequences that actually manages to dovetail with the deeper, darker message of the episode.
It’s all part of the amazing balancing act that Rick and Morty pulls off on a weekly (or at least biannual) basis, and this installment stands out for its frankness about the problems facing two of its main characters, its creativity in dramatizing them, and the sadness of the rut they allow themselves to be stuck in, dragging poor Morty and Summer down with them. But hey, the Jaguar saves the day in the tag from the Con-Chair-To, so there’s hope yet!
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...with Rick then finding his way inside some combination of 'Die Hard' and 'Rambo'
Pickle Rick > John Wick
