While it seems like only yesterday the second half of Rick and Morty Season 4 finally hit Adult Swim, we are already coming up on the finale. Before we get there, however, we decided to take a look at Sunday's episode Childrick of Mort.
The newest Rick and Morty adventure is another amazing addition to a season filled with solid episodes, delivering both the amount of humor and wit that fans of the Dan Harmon (Community) and Justin Roiland (Solar Opposites) animated series are used to receiving. Childrick of Mort's decision to utilize all of the members of the Smith family gives this particular outing an extra cherry on top of the usual recipe.
At the very beginning of the episode something extremely odd takes place -- Jerry is in control. Driving Beth, Summer, Morty, and Rick towards his family camping destination, he banishes any "sci-fi bulls*** from the trip.
Everyone's favorite beta male manages to stay in control for all of two minutes before Rick takes the reigns and leads the plot towards a more Rick and Morty friendly zone. Although Rick is reluctant to do it, he is forced by Beth to lead the family across the galaxy and confont the one thing he hates the most -- responsibility.
Remniscent of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the plot of the episode is driven by Rick's relationship with Gaia (a planet) and their children. Forced to take responsibility for them by Beth, who likely looks at these half-rock creatures as her brothers and sisters, Rick works alongside his daughter to create a thriving city for his millions of new children to live and work.
Elsewhere Jerry takes control again and forces his kids to camp with him even on an alien planet. This time it doesn't last long either as Summer goes full Rick-mode, debasing and demeaning her father until he finally caves and leaves them alone.
Depressed and alone, Jerry foolishly causes himself to fall into a river and winds up with a number of Rick and Gaia's children deemed the "unproductives". As expected, the lesser life forms see eye-to-eye with Jerry, and he leads them to revolt against Rick and the rest of Gaia's children.
In the third act it is revealed that the true father of the children is a god, though Rick refuses to bail even when given the option by Beth herself, who was the one who convinced him to care for the planet and her children in the first place. Rick states that the children are his and that the god can't simply step in and run the show after his absence.
The Zeus-inspired god imbues Jerry with power that he can't comprehend how to use and an all out brawl begins between he and Rick. Two to three minutes of the episode are actually dedicated to the battle itself, with Rick and the Zeus character simply exchanging blows and grunting. What is likely a stab at fighting cartoons or anime turns out to be a pretty excellent sequence.
Luckily for Rick, Morty and Summer get high and try to pilot a ship like a video game, crashing into the brain of the god and saving Rick from being destroyed. Rick himself admits to this when he tells them they're his heroes and that they saved his life. He repeatedly tells them that they did the right thing by getting high and playing video games which is ironically the opposite of the structure he attempted to provide the children of Gaia.
The presence of all of the family members in this episode made it clear that they bring another element to the series that episodes without them lack. Although Rick and Morty can easily carry a show without the rest of the Smith family, this episode proves that they're a positive addition.
In one of the few episodes that provides Jerry with an arc it is made clear that the Adult Swim series benefits from the entire Smith family. Childrick of Mort delivers another season four adventure fans will want to re-experience again and again, giving proper attention to each of the characters involved. - Five out of five.
As the Smith family go on a camping trip, Rick gets a mysterious call from Gaia, a sentient planet, that she is pregnant with his children.
... Meanwhile, Jerry takes Morty and Summer camping in Gaia's wilderness. However, Summer bitterly accuses Jerry of using camping as an excuse to make himself seem important.
Rick and Morty airs Sunday nights at 11:30 on Adult Swim. Fans can catch up on the previous seasons via Hulu.