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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
Rick and Morty Season 5 continues to strive for complexity. Although, with its second episode, I do not know if I share the same sentiment as the premiere episode. This episode is titled, “Mortyplicity.” Albro Lundy serves as the writer, while Lucas Gray serves as the episode’s director.
In this review, I will discuss and analyze the details of the episode. There will be spoilers present, as the title of the article suggests. Please beware if you have not seen it yet.
Plot Summary
“Mortyplicity” follows Rick Sanchez (Justin Roiland) and his family — the Smiths — as they are killed off by alien squids. However, as it turns out, the mad elderly scientist has created decoy copies of himself and his family. Then, they have been spread out and placed in the American Southwest. What results is a war over who is real and who isn’t. The episode features Muppet, Puppet, Scarecrow, and other versions of Sanchez and the Smiths.
Roiland also voices Morty Smith along with a new character named Mr. Always Wants To Be Hunted. Chris Parnell, Sarah Chalke, and Spencer Grammer star in their respective voice roles, Jerry, Beth, and Summer Smith.
Keith David returns as his character, the President of the United States. Tom Kenny and Rob Schrab also appear in voice roles.
Discussion
To be frank, this episode felt a little normal to me. If I were to juxtapose this with most other episodes of the series so far, this one seemed to be simple. James McDermott takes the position as the episode’s art director. Carlos Ortega Madden and Rafael “Rafa” Hurtado join him as the character design and background design leads, respectively. Additionally, we have Canestrelli, Pat Keegan, Jim Shellhorn, and Jason D. Warnesky as its storyboard artists. (I couldn’t really determine the spelling of Canestrelli’s first name. The episode’s end-credits spell it one way, while Google Search results spell it another way.)
Sanchez and his grandson — at least one pair of the decoys — were correct in the opening scene. They did kill God, but the god that the characters kill is reveale to be none other than Sanchez himself. The man makes clear to differentiate between decoys and clones. He and his family cite popular films including Westworld, Blade Runner, Ex Machina, Highlander, and Terminator. (Yes, Westworld was a film which inspired the television series.)
Rick Sanchez also says that the narrative has “moved onto higher stakes,” but in this case, it’s all a fabrication. That’s pretty much all there is to the episode. Sanchez defines exactly what decoys are and they all kill each other, leaving one family as the survivors. Of course, what I really liked the episode’s end-tag, which has Puppet Jerry as another survivor of the decoy war. He lives for another how many years, living through and experiencing harsh and ridiculous events in the future.
Final Thoughts
In my honest opinion, “Mortyplicity” felt like a filler episode. It did nothing for the development of these characters per se. In terms of story and animation, there wasn’t anything too out-of-this-world. Don’t get me wrong, both elements are still enjoyable. Although, it does acknowledge that not only do parallel universe and cloned versions of the characters exist, but so do decoys.
Another concern of mine is one plothole. Sanchez and the Smiths — every decoy and the original family — are on the run from each other. Wouldn’t at least some of them be wise enough to use a portal another universe or planet? Other than that, this second episode of the new Rick and Morty season isn’t so bad.
The first two episodes of Rick and Morty Season 5 are now on Adult Swim!
Do you plan to see this new season? If you’ve seen these first two episodes of the season, what are your thoughts so far? Let us know! For more animation, adventure, comedy, fantasy, and science-fiction-related news and reviews, follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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