Adult Swim has shown they have no intention of keeping Rick and Morty on a leash without Justin Roiland even despite the new season premiering with an all time low on Rotten Tomatoes. While the second and third episodes have proven to be an uptick in quality over the initial outing the show is continuing one of the trends that made that episode so poor in the first place - leaning too heavily on supporting characters instead of featuring Morty.
The premiere of season seven was weak due majorly to the showcase of characters from the universe like Squanchy, Mr. Poopy Butthole, Bird Person, and Gear Head. While these characters are fun to visit now and then, they are not enough for the series to lean on and the absence of proper Rick and Morty-centric adventures makes it clear that the series does not have the same faith in the new actors portraying the titular leads that it once did in the creator Justin Roiland.
Dan Harmon and the rest of the crew behind the scenes have what it takes to keep this series afloat but placing the popular characters from the show front and center and giving spotlight to actors like Hugh Jackman would be a better move halfway through the season than a way to show that your series can continue without it's original creator and lead character voices. While episode 2's The Jerrick Trap took things in a better direction by actually providing some dialogue opportunity for Rick, and more specifically, Morty, but the episode still leaned on Chris Parnell, making Jerry more of an important character than his own son.
Episode 3 premiered last night in the form of Air Force Wong and while some fans will be excited to spend time with characters from prior episodes, the show makes another weak move by prominently featuring Rick's therapist (Susan Surandon) and the president of the United States (Keith David) in an awkward relationship and also bringing back, four seasons later, Unity (Christina Hendricks), Rick's hive-mind ex-girlfriend.
The episode itself isn't terrible, but much like the other two in this season which failed to properly feature the leads, it was boring and held no particluar sparkle. The show should be proving that it can still create characters fans like instead of parading a trail of already existing guest star opportunities throughout the whole season. Even Summer takes the place of talking with Rick about his ex showing up instead of his normal go-to-grandson.
Sure, we see that you still have star power, but can your leads hold together an episode on their own? It's called Rick and Morty not Rick and everyone you might recognize from the greatest hits. Here's hoping that Episode 4 takes things in a different direction.
Rick’s therapy session is cut short when the President comes calling - literally.
Rick and Morty premieres on Sunday nights at 11:00 P.M. on Adult Swim. The series is streaming on Max.