[9.5/10] Despite the initial greatness of the dog revolution episode, only the second episode of the series, I might argue that this is where Rick and Morty became Rick and Morty. It’s all here – an escalating yet insane science fiction problem, Rick being self-centered and holding himself blameless, a great deal of weird but hilarious comedy, a dimension-hopping-related solution, a fun Jerry-focused subplot, and a gut punch, mind-wrinkling ending.
Two things stand out in particular rewatching this episode. First, the way in which Rick is constantly screwing things up and yet accepts none of the blame for it. He places this all on Morty, and pins every bad development on him, despite his grandson’s protestations. He is endlessly confident, even braggadocios, about how he’s brilliant and can fix it and brushes off any concern or censure for when his attempts go awry. And when things get really bad, his solution is to just ditch the universe and find another one.
It’s not a coincidence that this all takes place in an episode where Beth disregards her dad because “he left [her] mother.” Having seen two full episodes of Rick’s antics, I’m not sure there’s a better encapsulation of who he is than this episode, or at least the problems and self-enabling that can make him a pretty miserable person to have to deal with. When things start to get bad, he puts that on anyone but him, and even gets mean about it (calling Morty a creep, which, isn’t entirely unfair), and when things get really bad, he just finds an escape hatch and tries to wipe it all away. Everything is weightless to Rick, everything is just an inconvenience that he need not worry about, and if you make him worry long enough, he’ll just bail.
The second is Morty. Obviously the ending landed pretty hard the first time, but it’s even more impactful knowing what happens next, about Morty’s troubles coping with what he’s seen, of coming to terms with the wealth of alternate universes and other versions of himself out there, of his growing resentments for his grandfather and the way Rick treats him. Morty isn’t always great, but you feel for him trying to get through to Rick and make him accept some blame for how poorly things are going, only to be rebuffed and told that his grandfather is perfect and any bump in the road is Morty’s falt.
And still, that ending. “The Bridge” is a great choice for a melancholy, existence-questioning bit of wordless reflection. What I love about this episode is that it doesn’t really resolve anything. Normally, that’d be a drawback, but here it feels real. Rick doesn’t change or learn a lesson, he just offers a reset and doesn’t think twice about it. Morty doesn’t take it in stride, but walks around in shock that the people he knew and loved are gone in some other slice of reality and he is back living among their identical, indistinguishable doubles. Rick and Morty is often better with design than animation or character expression, but the wide-eyed look on Morty’s face so perfectly conveys the shock and discomfort of what just happened to him. It’s one of the show’s all time best sequence and a sign that this was going to be something deeper than just a series of funny, madcap, sci-fi adventures.
Those adventures are still great, and the escalating cronenberg problems were fun. (Jerry turning into a Mad Max style badass led to some great stuff as well). But this is the episode that revealed how philosophical, moral, and twisted the show was willing to get.
loading replies
@andrewbloom Well put, especially what you said about the ending. So many shows seem to have so much trouble doing an ending. It's surprising that such a bizarre, over-the-top show went with a wordless, introspective, calm ending for what seemed like a couple minutes. Really well done piece of story-telling.
This has some big names in it; Gillian Anderson and Joe Carroll from The Following. Too bad Carroll doesn't have a larger role. I want to see more from him than the occasional Skype with his son.
The dad has a point about his kid needing to toughen up. The dad isn't as anti-gay or anti-drag as was initially shown; he just doesn't want his son to experience a more difficult life.
loading replies
@dewdropvelvet Eric's dad did come across as a bit of a wanker in a previous episode, I even thought he'd become the cliché "homophobic dad" character, but he seemed to be genuinely caring about his son in this episode (I was expecting a hug, but that was probably a bit too much for both of them). I also liked Joe Carroll's appearance, it was a pleasant surprise! He hasn't done a genuinely good show in ages, so he could use a break. Hope to see more of him on this show!
[9.7/10] I’m not sure you’ll find an episode where everyone in the whole cast is used as well as they are here. You have Leslie in another minor I Love Lucy-type situation, where she gets drunk but then has to do a make-or-break interview unexpectedly. What I like about this story is that Buddy Wood is the kind of antagonist who absolutely pushes Leslie’s buttons more than Joan or Bobby or Jennifer – the kind who condescends to her and talks about Pawnee as a backwards, hopeless place. That just runs counter to everything she believes, and offends her on principle. Sean Hayes does a great job making Buddy a smug, repugnant snob, and you can see why he would bother Leslie so much.
But I also like the poetry of how she wins without even realizing it. Somebody like Leslie pays attention to the little guy; she cares about this town and fights for the people in it. And that means that, as with the police chief helping out with the Harvest Festival without compunction for her, when she’s in a jam, the citizens of Pawnee have her back. Buddy’s luggage with the embarrassing tape getting “lost” is a great resolution to the story.
You also get a great mini-arc for Ben, who is clearly wound up a bit too tight, and after that victory, gets a chance to kick back and have fun. Ann and Tom are even downright bearable and even a little fun here! Tom counting the hours that they’ve gone without breaking up is a nice running gag, as is reaction when he thinks he almost blew it. The pair have a chummy vibe together that almost makes you believe they would date for a little while, even if it’s still a stretch that it would continue this long. Still, the countdown thing says the show knows that, and wrings some humor out of it.
The other story centers on Andy passing his Women’s Studies course, and celebrating at a dinner with April, Ron, his professor, and Chris. First and foremost, Andy is just in top hilarious form here. Between the way he tries to casually talk about Susan B. Anthony being born in Adams, Massachusetts, tells his dinnermates that he’s “very proud of me and so are all of you” and tells Ron that “someone” told him to face his problems like an adult, only for him to then realize it was Ron(!), there are so many great Andy moments that could carry this B-story on its own.
But I also really like the meat of the story, which centers on April trying to setup sad sack but sensitive Chris with Andy’s women’s studies professor, continuing the arc of her empathy for him, only for the professor to instead choose laconic carnivore Ron instead. It’s a nice swerve, with good character beats for everyone.
The best part is the ending though. I love that they remembered about Ron’s Tiger Woods shirt as a minor detail. But more importantly, I do like that Ron has to hear his words back from Andy, and despite his reluctance to get involved in awkward personal stuff, he acts like an adult and tells Chris straight up. And there’s nothing more consistently amusing on this show than Ron being hugged!
There’s even a great little Donna and Jerry story! Jerry’s trance-like state when packing letters because this sort of work “makes sense to me” is so weird but so fun, as is Donna’s fascination with it. Jim O’Heir does a great job of selling Jerry’s hypnotic devotion to his task, and Retta conveys how much intrigue this holds for Donna well.
Overall, there is nothing so major that happens in this episode, or any big heartwarming moments, but it’s an episode where every character on the show is being used and used well. That is impressive in and of itself, and brings all sorts of laughs and great character moments in the process.
loading replies
@gongasf Thank you so much, Gonçalo! It's a delightful show to write about, and this era of it in particular is just so great. I'm glad you're enjoying it and my little write-ups!
