Fate can be fickle, at least when there’s not a massive corporation with alien technology behind it, butRick and Morty’slatest episode puts new a twist to all the randomness going on in the world as the series delivers another chaotically fun entry in this new season.
See, for all the teasing of a larger plan and story in the season premiere,Rick and Mortyhas pretty much deviated from that path in subsequent entries, instead relying on its writers' sheer imagination to consistently put together the kind of plot that’s made it such a hit. In that sense, “Final DeSmithation” in certainly one of the show’s most brazen episodes, with the entire premise for Rick Sanchez’s adventure being the imminent danger of Jerry having sex with his own mother.
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That deadly premonition is the product of the family’s visit to Panda Express, where Jerry is caught off guard by the worst fortune cookie ever, amidst laughter from Morty, Summer and Beth, however, while still dismissive, Rick isn’t as unencumbered. Naturally, the show has its share of jokes at the expense of the restaurant chain, with Rickeven pulling out some Doctor Octopus armsto enjoy his Chinese food with a couple of forks.
Although the bad omen is enough to throw Jerry into full panic mode, the kids have a blast making fun of their dad on social media and with all sorts of practical jokes around the house, as the setup is ludicrous enough to get a few laughs out of most viewers. Now, when the family goes off to the zoo with Space Beth (yes, she’s back), Rick decides to look further into the situation after noticing some disturbing probabilities high for the unspeakable event to happen.
As Jerry’s mom makes plans to visit, Rick notices the universe seems geared toward his son-in-law’s misfortune, thus triggering for these two to go out on their own adventure. Besides the usual movie pun in “Final DeSmithation”, the episode is packed with movie and TV references, such as the chain restaurant front fora meth operationà laBreaking Bad,or Rick’s probability device being veryGhostbusters-like, nevertheless, these are mostly pretty random and don’t really stick to a specific theme.
Rick and Jerry are one of the series’ least frequent duos so, overall, it’s actually quite refreshing to see the two infiltrate some corporate headquarters to unravel the fortune cookie conspiracy. Of course, throughout the whole mission Rick basically uses his assistant Jerry as cannon fodder, though he grants hima reusableSailor Moontransformation sequence, at least until the true power of the fortune cookies is revealed.
The outcome isasRick and Mortyas it gets,with the showing referencing the likes ofFuturamaandPeacemakerto reveal that fortune cookies are nothing more than the poop of a chaos-digesting Lockerean alien, perhaps in reference to English philosopher Jean Locke. The comedic twist is handed by the creature’s caretaker as the Fortune 500’s CEO and its forces barge in as poor Rickwonder why Nintendo won’t release a VR set.
It’s hard to pinpoint who the blonde executive references the most, but she seems more like a blend of styles between Sharon Stone’sBasic Instinctcharacter doing Apple-style events for your average large company. The episode’s climax is the all-out battle between Rick and the company’s soldiers boosted by some fortune cookie buffs, which makes for a wide-ranging number of jokes.
Besides hisMultiVersusincarnation, this Rickpacks a ton of firepower and implanted gadgets, yet Jerry’s temporary immortality due to his unresolved fate combined with Fortune 500 bringing over his mother do steal the show. As the pair finally manages to dispose oftheAkira-like monster lady, Rick manages to save Jerry from the horrific sin he was about to commit.
The post-credits scene is not as special as others in the past month, essentially paying off the family’s zoo visit, but regardless of that, “Final DeSmithation” is the perfect entry to show just how consistentRick and Morty’ssixth season has been so far. With such an absurd setting, this premise has no business working as smoothly as it does, except that it actually manages to stay funny for the whole runtime, without incurring in the more gross and desperate attempts ofthe “giant incest baby” episode from last season.
Even if theseason premiere misled someRick and Mortyfansinto thinking they would get more resolution to the protagonist’s conflict with Rick Prime, this type of randomness is obviously welcome. No matter how many wild theories may be floating around out there regarding the show’s future,Rick and Morty’sfirst goal is to remain fun and entertaining at all costs, there’s plenty of time to take care of the story in the coming years.
