Ubiquitous
2019-12-17 09:53:07 UTC
Rick and Morty is known for its love of revisiting and remixing the tropes of
TV and films genres, and Episode 3 is Season 4s first real outing in that
kind of cultural memory. It comes thick and fast, and is a sheer joy to
watch. This episode is a thrilling riff on heist movies, specifically Steven
Soderberghs remake of Oceans Eleven and the subsequent sequels (the
characters mention those films by name). In purely visual terms, this might
end up being the most cinematically directed episode of the season. This
episode gave us very creative and memorable images of both Mr. Poopybutthole
and Rick.
Like those movies, this episode is more than anything else a testament to the
sheer magic and charisma of Rick and Morty. Its relentlessly engaging and
almost even jolly. But when put under a microscope, it ends up being an oddly
built plot. The plot is rather clearly two half-ideas that were crammed
together after the writers couldnt find a way to spin each into their own
independent episodes. And I want to be very clear: this episode, S4E3, is the
best of the season so far and solidly in the better half of all Rick and
Morty episodes ever. But this is because of the tremendous quality of
execution of the shows writing and complexity of storytelling that flies off
the page. The dialogue is as sharp as a tack and the plotting is thick but
never crowded and dense but never confused. But that doesnt contradict the
fact that we had one mini-episode occur in the first ten minutes, then a
smooth transition into an entirely separate mini-episode, which lasted the
remaining twenty minutes.
Elom Musk as Elon Tusk in Rick and Morty
Elon Tusk voiced by Elon Musk
The first mini-episode is the one most clearly modelled on a heist movie,
specifically Oceans Twelve. The writers have Rick outright say that Oceans
Twelve was the worst of Soderbergs remakes, and perhaps thats why the
episode pivoted so quickly to a second mini-episode. The second mini-episode
does not have as transparent an inspiration, though War Games and 2001: A
Space Odyssey are both contenders. And while were mentioning cinematic
influences, the grave robbery at the beginning and the crystal skull later on
seem to be clear nods to Indiana Jones, which are tangentially also Heist
films.
At first, I definitely thought that all of the dramatic reversals and
plotting intricacies were part of a complete and comprehensive plotting
scheme, which would spell out something larger for us if we paid attention.
For instance, Rick casually throwing out the crystal skull instantly reminded
me of Ricks infamous disposal of the green glowing rocks in S2E4. But in the
end it really does seem beyond belief that this episodes plotting honestly
is a single act of premeditated storytelling.
To be fair, one theme we might find is that crews are more trouble than
theyre worth. The first mini-episode in which Rick and Morty face off
against Miles Knightly, is a hilarious little sketch about Rick defeating his
rivals ambitions, thus forcing him to experience the humiliation of failing
at your plan and having to join another mans crew. The second mini-episode
has Rick and Morty grapple with the menace of Heistotron, who begins sucking
all sentient life into a single crew of the universe which seems like a
rip-off of Unity from S2E3. Throughout the episode Rick makes clear his
disdain for teams, and this is finally borne out symbolically by Ricks
Randotron, which undermines the very idea of teamwork. Randotron actually
comes back to bite Rick, scattering his team and causing general chaos at the
exact moment Rick discovers the true threat (which was hysterical and the
seasons funniest joke yet). Finally, during Mortys screenwriting arc that
gets added to the end of the episode almost as a third mini-episode, we
eventually hear him admit that going it alone in his screenwriting career is
boring and shallow, and hed rather just go on adventures with Rick. Which
seems to be a pro-crew theme, in thematic conflict with the other arcs.
All the characters of Rick and Morty S4 Ep 3
And at the very end, there is also one final scene that does knit the entire
show together in a second way. In a flashback to two weeks earlier, Rick
realizes that Morty might be losing interest in his grandpa ever since he got
into screenwriting, however, Beth sternly stipulates that Rick must stay out
of Mortys new passion and that Morty can only quit screenwriting if he
naturally loses interest all by himself. This scene implies that Rick
orchestrated the whole episode as an ordinary Rick and Morty adventure that
just happened to cause Morty to lose interest in screenwriting all on his
own. However, the only connection between Mortys writing phase and Ricks
adventure is that theyre both about heists. Ricks adventure doesnt deal at
all with writing or creativity or movies or anything that would actually
cause Morty to become disillusioned with writing movies.
This episode was more of a song than a novel: entirely enjoyable while its
happening, but at the end theres not much to analyze. Part of me wonders if
the larger commentary here is that the writers knew we would find this
episode so engaging and so entertaining because of the upbeat style that they
felt comfortable throwing the scraps and half-ideas into this one. Just as
throughout this entire show the characters are bemoaning how audiences drool
over heist movies despite their half-baked nature, we the viewers just
watched a Rick and Morty episode comprised of 2 separate stories (3 if you
count Mortys entirely random screenplay arc), but we still applaud what we
just watched because of the production and flash. The writers used the
glamour of a heist to distract us while they pulled off a heist themselves.
Respect.
In keeping with the free-wheeling vibe, heres one final listicle of amusing
things I skipped over in this fast-paced episode:
Exactly one (1) Arbys bag
Rick stealing ideas from Dr. Strange
The writers taking a square dump on David Lynch
Intermittent gargoyle-Morty
Heistcon fans repelling from the ceiling Ethan Hunt-style
Abraham Lincolns preserved head (which could have only been obtained in
another high-stakes grave robbery)
Batmans grappling hook gun
Ricks no-context signature purple lollipop
"Whose kidneys are these?"
Rick actually bringing two hover-chairs to the initial grave raid.
--
"We need to impeach the President to find out what crime he committed."
- Nancy Pelosi
TV and films genres, and Episode 3 is Season 4s first real outing in that
kind of cultural memory. It comes thick and fast, and is a sheer joy to
watch. This episode is a thrilling riff on heist movies, specifically Steven
Soderberghs remake of Oceans Eleven and the subsequent sequels (the
characters mention those films by name). In purely visual terms, this might
end up being the most cinematically directed episode of the season. This
episode gave us very creative and memorable images of both Mr. Poopybutthole
and Rick.
Like those movies, this episode is more than anything else a testament to the
sheer magic and charisma of Rick and Morty. Its relentlessly engaging and
almost even jolly. But when put under a microscope, it ends up being an oddly
built plot. The plot is rather clearly two half-ideas that were crammed
together after the writers couldnt find a way to spin each into their own
independent episodes. And I want to be very clear: this episode, S4E3, is the
best of the season so far and solidly in the better half of all Rick and
Morty episodes ever. But this is because of the tremendous quality of
execution of the shows writing and complexity of storytelling that flies off
the page. The dialogue is as sharp as a tack and the plotting is thick but
never crowded and dense but never confused. But that doesnt contradict the
fact that we had one mini-episode occur in the first ten minutes, then a
smooth transition into an entirely separate mini-episode, which lasted the
remaining twenty minutes.
Elom Musk as Elon Tusk in Rick and Morty
Elon Tusk voiced by Elon Musk
The first mini-episode is the one most clearly modelled on a heist movie,
specifically Oceans Twelve. The writers have Rick outright say that Oceans
Twelve was the worst of Soderbergs remakes, and perhaps thats why the
episode pivoted so quickly to a second mini-episode. The second mini-episode
does not have as transparent an inspiration, though War Games and 2001: A
Space Odyssey are both contenders. And while were mentioning cinematic
influences, the grave robbery at the beginning and the crystal skull later on
seem to be clear nods to Indiana Jones, which are tangentially also Heist
films.
At first, I definitely thought that all of the dramatic reversals and
plotting intricacies were part of a complete and comprehensive plotting
scheme, which would spell out something larger for us if we paid attention.
For instance, Rick casually throwing out the crystal skull instantly reminded
me of Ricks infamous disposal of the green glowing rocks in S2E4. But in the
end it really does seem beyond belief that this episodes plotting honestly
is a single act of premeditated storytelling.
To be fair, one theme we might find is that crews are more trouble than
theyre worth. The first mini-episode in which Rick and Morty face off
against Miles Knightly, is a hilarious little sketch about Rick defeating his
rivals ambitions, thus forcing him to experience the humiliation of failing
at your plan and having to join another mans crew. The second mini-episode
has Rick and Morty grapple with the menace of Heistotron, who begins sucking
all sentient life into a single crew of the universe which seems like a
rip-off of Unity from S2E3. Throughout the episode Rick makes clear his
disdain for teams, and this is finally borne out symbolically by Ricks
Randotron, which undermines the very idea of teamwork. Randotron actually
comes back to bite Rick, scattering his team and causing general chaos at the
exact moment Rick discovers the true threat (which was hysterical and the
seasons funniest joke yet). Finally, during Mortys screenwriting arc that
gets added to the end of the episode almost as a third mini-episode, we
eventually hear him admit that going it alone in his screenwriting career is
boring and shallow, and hed rather just go on adventures with Rick. Which
seems to be a pro-crew theme, in thematic conflict with the other arcs.
All the characters of Rick and Morty S4 Ep 3
And at the very end, there is also one final scene that does knit the entire
show together in a second way. In a flashback to two weeks earlier, Rick
realizes that Morty might be losing interest in his grandpa ever since he got
into screenwriting, however, Beth sternly stipulates that Rick must stay out
of Mortys new passion and that Morty can only quit screenwriting if he
naturally loses interest all by himself. This scene implies that Rick
orchestrated the whole episode as an ordinary Rick and Morty adventure that
just happened to cause Morty to lose interest in screenwriting all on his
own. However, the only connection between Mortys writing phase and Ricks
adventure is that theyre both about heists. Ricks adventure doesnt deal at
all with writing or creativity or movies or anything that would actually
cause Morty to become disillusioned with writing movies.
This episode was more of a song than a novel: entirely enjoyable while its
happening, but at the end theres not much to analyze. Part of me wonders if
the larger commentary here is that the writers knew we would find this
episode so engaging and so entertaining because of the upbeat style that they
felt comfortable throwing the scraps and half-ideas into this one. Just as
throughout this entire show the characters are bemoaning how audiences drool
over heist movies despite their half-baked nature, we the viewers just
watched a Rick and Morty episode comprised of 2 separate stories (3 if you
count Mortys entirely random screenplay arc), but we still applaud what we
just watched because of the production and flash. The writers used the
glamour of a heist to distract us while they pulled off a heist themselves.
Respect.
In keeping with the free-wheeling vibe, heres one final listicle of amusing
things I skipped over in this fast-paced episode:
Exactly one (1) Arbys bag
Rick stealing ideas from Dr. Strange
The writers taking a square dump on David Lynch
Intermittent gargoyle-Morty
Heistcon fans repelling from the ceiling Ethan Hunt-style
Abraham Lincolns preserved head (which could have only been obtained in
another high-stakes grave robbery)
Batmans grappling hook gun
Ricks no-context signature purple lollipop
"Whose kidneys are these?"
Rick actually bringing two hover-chairs to the initial grave raid.
--
"We need to impeach the President to find out what crime he committed."
- Nancy Pelosi