This is how I went from salty fool to an appreciator of the absurd.

So just two Saturdays ago I got home kind of late, but I knew that the fourth episode of Samurai Jack was going to air, so I’d watch it before I went to bed. I’m sure many of you know where this is going, but I play it from the beginning, and at first I thought it was just a preview or ad for Rick and Morty. But, no, it was the full episode of the new season airing this summer. Adult Swim gave me the ol’ April 1st schedule swap-eroo.

I’ve never been a Rick and Morty fan, and this just pissed me right off considering episode three of Jack ended on a pretty big cliffhanger. So, I wallowed in my disappointment and frustration at Adult Swim for not airing the new episode. They also kept running it until like one or two. I TUNED IN AND RECORDED TO WATCH RICK AND MORTY GOD DAMMIT.

But, I’m a different man now. I’ve learned how long a week is to wait for what you love. It’s not that long. Hell, in hindsight it’ll make the very first run of Jack last longer, I suppose.

Anyway, after about a week of salt and talking to my friend about how much Rick and Morty sucks and that it’s a show for people who think they’re smart because they watch an edgy sci-fi comedy cartoon, I decided to actually give the first episode a try.

Immediately, I fell in love with the show. I got it once I actually bothered to watch an entire episode. The comedy relishes in how absurd the show is, and it only get more and more absurd. It’s not funny because it’s random, it’s funny because it’s constantly making fun of literally everything, including probably yourself. I don’t get many of the pop culture references Rick makes, but the show even jokes about that possibility.

All of the characters are incredibly flawed, which is pretty essential in any comedy, really, but Rick and Morty takes it to the extreme to point out how nothing is perfect, everything is random, and we have no real control of our lives in this massive unknowing universe.

As with most things in the Rick and Morty universe, the characters are “zany” and laughably ridiculous. Many characters have great, creative names such as Bird Person, Squanchy, Slippery Stair, and Mr. Poopybutthole:

“THIS LITTLE POOPY-PANTS IS HUUUUuuuUUUUngRY!”

It’s been said so much that it’s almost a meme at this point, but the show has an improvisational tone, with even an entire episode dedicated to animating improv skits. You can feel the writers ideas just flowing into the episodes, especially between the two main characters. Justin Roiland voices both Rick and Morty, and the two are so incredibly different in both voice and personality you forget it’s just one person talking to himself.

Speaking of the voice acting, it’s excellent. The show is very attention grabbing and engaging at the same time just because of the excellent line delivery.

If you really want to get behind the creators of this show, this video’s a good start. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIakqFWwB1s

If you watched that, you’d probably get why the show is so absurd. Justin Roiland seems slightly unhinged, but he also has great creativity along with his writing buddies.

Also, I enjoy the animation. It’s pretty simple, but effective. It’s very bright and colorful, and the characters have good faces to work off of. The motion of the characters fits the art style well and the weird scribble pupils aren’t that off-putting.

I figured out that I wasn’t immediately hooked from the first episode because of a combination of my Samurai salt and the fact that the new episode pretty much served the fans a silver platter of retribution and loose end tying up, coupled with loads of in-jokes and references to earlier episodes. I can watch it again with new eyes.

So, If you haven’t yet, get to watching Rick and Morty. Watch an episode or two, then see if you get hooked. I can tell it isn’t for everybody, as my friend still vehemently tells me that it’s a bad show, but maybe I’ll flip him to the Rick side.

If I had to rate it now, I’d give Rick and Morty a 9/10.

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