Rick and Morty Season 6 E02 Review: Yippee-Ki-Yay, Summer Smith

So you wanted answers? Thought the show needed to spend more time on its canon? Well, we’re hoping you were satisfied with last weekend’s sixth season opener of Dan Harmon & Justin Roiland‘s Rick and Morty. From Space Beth and a family grave-digging bonding experience to the formal introduction of a big bad who appears to be bigger & badder than Evil Morty could ever be in this or any other dimension. We’re talking about “Evil Rick”… or, as he was referred to by the creative team, “Rick Prime.” That brings us to S06E02 “Rick: A Mort Well Lived,” which feels like it might be dialing back on the canon for the sake of some serious, old-school adventure. With Morty trapped, Rick realizes that the only chance he has to save him is for Summer to go die-hard on a Die Hard. But there’s just one small problem. Yup, Summer’s never seen it. So with that in mind, we’re firing up the “MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD” sign and throwing down an image spoiler buffer before we serve up our thoughts & theories.

“Rick and Morty” Season 6 Episode 2 “Rick: A Mort Well Lived” Random Thoughts & Theories

SIDE NOTE: It says a lot about the show when I can love and hate each character an equal amount and yet still obsess over them being okay and things working out. It’s like an animated version of FXX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Ummm… so Rick and Morty are trapped in a “Roy” game world where everyone is Morty. In the real world, they’re under attack at a Blips & Chitz arcade, with Summer needed to fight them off while Rick tries to rescue Morty (who’s now split among all of the secondary characters).

Holy crap… it’s like a virtual religion where Morty is a god under the “Roy” religion. Though, am I only the one who sees some similarities between what’s going on with the Mortys and the seemingly endless Ricks.

Okay, how great is it that “Die Hard” has become an almost cultural constant across the universe? BTW: one of the henchmen named “Winslow”? If you’re a Family Matters fan, you can connect the dots.

Rick’s ability to be a victim and not feel appreciated enough knows no bounds…

By casting away the rules of Die Hard, Summer became… The Ultimate McClane!

“…Under a cranky old bag of dicks”: Wow, we just heard the brutal truth of what a decent part of Morty feels about Rick. I was wondering if Morty was building resentment towards Summer and her relationship with Rick, but I don’t have to wonder anymore.

Wow! Morty handed Rick the opportunity to get all of the Mortys together to get out of the game. All he had to do was say to the Mortys that he loved them. And then… that pause…

I can’t shake this feeling that Rick is going to drive Morty further and further to Rick Prime. Let’s not forget that Rick Prime is our Morty’s Rick (unfortunately, he’s also the Rick that killed our Rick’s family, so that definitely complicates things).

Rick telling Morty that he jinxed Summer was one of the smallest yet cruelest things Rick’s done to Morty.

Morty’s video game version “Marta” raises some interesting questions about Morty moving forward.

And exactly how much of Morty ended up making it out alive? If you think that final move with the machine won’t come back into play then you didn’t watch the season opener.

I knew that was Peter Dinklage!

Biggest takeaways? Rick and Morty’s relationship is just as toxic as ever… maybe getting worse because it’s getting so much more personal. That thing between Summer and Morty competing for Rick needs to come to a head. The “Roy” storyline had a lot to say about blurred lines between religion and practical policy, the importance of feeling loved & appreciated and coming to accept all of the aspects of ourselves. What I found especially interesting was Marty’s relative ease at corralling the various aspects of himself when compared to how Rick viewed his other, all-too-real “aspects” of himself.

Rick and Morty Season 6 Episode 2 “Rick: A Mort Well Lived”

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Review by Ray Flook

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8/10

So you wanted answers? Thought the show needed to spend more time on its canon? Well, we’re hoping you were satisfied with last weekend’s sixth season opener of Dan Harmon & Justin Roiland’s Rick and Morty. From Space Beth and a family grave-digging bonding experience to the formal introduction of a big bad who appears to be bigger & badder than Evil Morty could ever be in this or any other dimension. We’re talking about “Evil Rick”… or, as he was referred to by the creative team, “Rick Prime.” That brings us to S06E02 “Rick: A Mort Well Lived,” which feels like it might be dialing back on the canon for the sake of some serious, old-school adventure. With Morty trapped, Rick realizes that the only chance he has to save him is for Summer to go die-hard on a Die Hard. But there’s just one small problem. Yup, Summer’s never seen it. So with that in mind, we’re firing up the “MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD” sign and throwing down an image spoiler buffer before we serve up our thoughts & theories.