Rick and Morty Season 8 is finally here, and as someone who got a chance to see a handful of episodes in advance, I had to do some soul searching. On the one hand, it was a collection of episodes that made me laugh out loud, reminded me of some of the best sci-fi movies, and showed the series has not lost a step. On the other hand, I couldn't help but notice a lot of the serialized storylines I'd been keeping tabs on weren't really mentioned.
I won't get into spoilers for what's ahead, and to be frank, I haven't seen the entire season. There's a chance some things I'm looking forward to will be coming down the stretch, and we'll finally get to find out which is the real Beth or see Mr. Poopybutthole's villainous return. What I can say is that I didn't see any of that in the episodes I watched, and I ultimately realized that's ok.
I Used To Live For Serialized Storytelling In Rick And Morty, But With The Series Being So Successful, It's Hard To Hang Onto
Rick And Morty started off heavy on serialized storytelling, with the title characters having to hop to parallel universes when their adventures borked up their own universe beyond repair. Then there's all the show's best side characters with their own stories that tend to carry over from appearance to appearance. For years, the show has juggled a lot of complex stories and added more storylines on top of it, and this has worked pretty well.
In the early seasons, when there was uncertainty about just how long the ride would last, it probably seemed more feasible to stick to serialized storytelling. These days, Rick and Morty is one of the most popular animated shows on the planet, and seemingly has the green light from Adult Swim to continue to make as many seasons as it can.
As one might imagine, it can be difficult to commit to serialized storytelling when you aren't sure when your series is going to end. Look at shows like Doctor Who, which have been pushed into destroying The Doctor's home planet, resurrecting it, and destroying it yet again. Rick and Morty could easily fall into that same trap if it continues to do serialized episodes at the same rate it did in its earlier seasons. Those "big" developments will start to feel hollow if there's no real finish line to give the story any resolution.
Like So Many Other Animated Shows, Rick And Morty Can Live On Indefinitely Through Parody And Riffing
What Rick and Morty Season 8 has shown me most in the limited episodes that I've seen is that this series is at its best when it's riffing. The best episodes of the series parody iconic sci-fi movies or elements from them that are taken to the most extreme. The sci-fi hasn't gotten a show able to do that since Futurama, and while I'm a big fan of that show too, I think it's safe to say Rick and Morty can push the envelope a bit further than the Matt Groening series ever has.
And let's not forget, the upcoming 2025 movie schedule is churning out movies that will be ripe for parody at some point down the road. Granted, it may take a while for Rick and Morty to acknowledge them since there are at least two more seasons lined up. As mentioned though, it appears there's no end in sight, so there will be a solid chance they get to it eventually if it's deserving.
Because there's always going to be sci-fi movies and shows for Rick and Morty to riff on, it feels like the best course forward for the series to ensure survival well into the far future. As long as the show remains one of the best at poking fun at some of the most beloved works out there, it's always going to have a home on television and streaming.
Continuing To Commit To Some Endgame Would Just Hurt Creative Storytelling If There's No Plan To End The Series
When Rick and Morty seemingly shut the door on its Evil Morty arc in Season 7, I was pretty miffed. It felt like there was more ground to cover with the character, which was the same issue I had when Rick tracked down and finally got his revenge on Rick Prime. Now that I've seen a chunk of Season 8 and know that there's no rush for the series to build another big storyline with massive stakes, I think I see the vision that the Adult Swim series was working towards.
Granted, I didn't need to see the vision, as Rick confirmed in an episode that the show was going to go a more episodic route. It was a decision that was hotly debated amongst the fandom, and as someone who was firmly on the "more serialized episodes" camp for so long, I'm ready to admit I was wrong about it being the best choice.
The fact of the matter is that Rick and Morty has entered rarefied air in the world of animation. Releasing Season 8 while finishing the writing work on Season 10 is the kind of thing an animated series does when it's entering the same conversation of being as iconic as The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob's Burgers. What's more impressive is we're seeing Rick and Morty do that on a completely different network than those shows, though I would argue the Adult Swim programming block is equally as iconic these days as Fox's Animation Domination.
All this to say, I think there will be longtime fans of Rick and Morty once again tied up in the "episodic vs. serialized" debate once Season 8 gets in full swing. I'm here to say that the show sliding into being more episodic than not is going smoothly, and will continue to do so as they push ahead to Season 9, 10, and beyond. I believe the plan was "a hundred years," and given the strength of this season, I think they're well on the way to making that happen.
Rick and Morty Season 8 airs on Adult Swim on Sundays at 11:00 p.m. ET. I'm eager to see what other viewers think of the new episodes and how this show continues to thrive despite the speed bump not that long ago of having to let go of one of its co-creators.
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