A tribute to a superb piece of TV.
There are certain moments when you’re watching a TV show that change everything. It could be a scene or a line, but after you’ve experienced it and let everything sink in, you know that it will stay with you forever.
For Rick and Morty fans, that moment arrived three years ago today and in my view, it still ranks among the greatest TV moments of the decade.
Heartbroken and staring into a nihilistic pit of despair, the smartest man in the multiverse turns his back on his family and walks towards the only place where things make sense, the garage.
Drinking to null the pain of loss, Rick reaches for a device of unspeakable doom. After seeking comfort in the embrace of an alien that’s crying out in pain, he then kills it just to feel something.
Moments later, Rick tries to end his own life but it doesn’t work. Life goes on.
In just 88 seconds of TV, the audience is given a haunting and tragic insight into the mind of Rick Sanchez. It’s a gut punch of such raw power that it flips your entire perception of the show on its head.
As the haunting lyrics of Chaos Chaos – Do You Feel It? play out, you know that Rick and Morty will never be the same as it once was.
Granted, the show has always had elements of darkness and despair throughout, but there’s something incredibly powerful of that final image of Rick – passed out in the garage for an entire day with nobody checking in on him – as Jerry just goes about his daily business with his newfound Weed Whacker.
Yes, Rick’s sociopathic, violent and a genius, but there’s one thing that’s often overlooked— he is desperately lonely.
In fact, because he’s the smartest man in the universe, he might very well be the loneliest person alive too.
Rick can create portals, turn himself into a pickle and travel through dimensions, but he still can’t figure out the mysteries of his own mind and heart. Without the stimulus of others, he edges towards the brink and almost doesn’t return.
Depression, loneliness and sadness can take anyone.
As the track by Chaos Chaos states “Some days I’m built of metal, I can’t be broken, But not when I’m with you.” In many ways, the same can be said of Rick whenever he’s around Unity, the collective hivemind and his former lover.
In fact, the entire episode – including the subplot of Beth and Jerry discovering the subterranean alien lair – revolves around the idea that people’s interactions can quickly turn toxic and destructive. Christ, isn’t this supposed to be a comedy?
Flashback to the ten minutes before that jaw-dropping scene.
Rick is the happiest man in the universe after engaging in an orgy with thousands of redheaded aliens. To make things better, he wants this depraved sex act to involve”a hang glider, a crotchless Uncle Sam costume, and I want the entire field of your largest stadium covered end to end with naked redheads, and I want the stands packed with every man that remotely resembles my father.”
Welcome to the world of Rick and Morty.
Aside from the hilarious gags, wonderful pop-culture references and the wild imagination of its creators, this heart-breaking scene does the impossible – it shakes the audience to its very core. That final scene is one of those moments that just stays with you and consumes your thinking for the next few hours.
This being said, the warnings were there.
Throughout the episode, we touched on Beth’s abandonment issues, Rick’s desire to feel like he’s part of a collective, and the self destructive behaviour of this new couple.
Hell, there’s even a little glimpse of the exact same alien that he kills at the start of the episode.
“If I wanted to be sober, I wouldn’t have gotten drunk”, said Unity but it’s also an ominous hint at what’s in store- if Rick wasn’t drunk then he might not have passed out and escaped death.
After ignoring Summer’s request to return to Dimension C-137, it’s clear that this couple only bring out the worst in each other. Facing into that crushing truth, this stunning piece of TV unfolds.
It’s the perfect blend of character development, music and emotion.
The very definition of “Wubba lubba dub dub”.
Do you feel it?
Clip via – Heidvald Ferguson
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