With season 7 officially complete, Rick and Morty‘s latest season has proven to be the most divisive installment yet, but this actually bodes well for the franchise’s future. Rick and Morty underwent some changes after Justin Roiland’s exit, which was noticeable through the fluctuating quality of season 7. Losing the show’s co-creator impacted the series, especially as Roiland voices several characters, including Rick and Morty. This resulted in season 7 feeling different, but it still managed to deliver some high-quality episodes. While opinions are split on whether Rick and Morty is better or worse after Roiland’s departure, season 7 certainly drew reactions.
Rick and Morty‘s season 7 ending delivered on the standards audiences have come to expect of the series, but this hasn’t been the case throughout. Season 7 has managed to create some of Rick and Morty‘s highest-rated episodes, while simultaneously producing some of the lowest-rated episodes as well. Its divisive nature might seem like the show is losing its touch or hasn’t been the same without one of its key figures, but things aren’t as simple as that. With the show having to go in a new direction, opinions would always fluctuate, but there are enough positives in season 7 to be encouraging for the future.
Rick And Morty Season 7 Is The Show’s Most Divisive Yet
The controversial build-up and differing quality of the episodes led to Rick and Morty season 7 becoming the show’s most divisive. The drama around Justin Roiland forced him to be axed from the show and resulted in recasts which created plenty of unwanted eyes on the franchise ahead of season 7. While this naturally caused a bit of division among fans, it is the episodes themselves that made the season so divisive. Episode 5, “Unmortricken” and the finale, “Fear No Mort” proved to be big hits and are among some of Rick and Morty‘s best episodes to date.
Focusing on the overarching narrative gave “Unmortricken” a strong reception, as these story-focused episodes tend to be fan favorites. The finale also explored some of the deeper themes of the show in clever ways, something the franchise is frequently able to do well. While season 7 had a few poorly received episodes, “Rise of the Numbericons: The Movie” is arguably the series’ least popular yet. Rick and Morty season 7’s worst episode proved that the show needs Rick, as it is the first episode without him and caused a mostly negative reaction. Some still enjoyed the episode though, highlighting how divisive season 7 was.
Why Rick And Morty Season 7 Was So Inconsistent
Season 7 proved to be inconsistent for a wide variety of reasons. The biggest factor was there was no key theme throughout the season. Often, the series has a clear overarching story that is explored through multiple episodes over the duration of the season, but this isn’t present in season 7. Despite Rick Prime’s villain arc concluding in Rick and Morty season 7, it only had one true story episode and while it was great, the ramifications seemed to be quickly ignored. Each episode felt disconnected from the other, meaning one week there could be a deep, thought-provoking episode, and the next was the usual Rick and Morty adventures.
The inclusion of characters was also inconsistent. Morty is barely involved in the first three episodes yet has one without Rick later in the series and still isn’t the main focus. Season 7’s first episode featured a whole abundance of side characters and centered around Mr. Poopybutthole, yet he didn’t feature again until the Rick and Morty season 7 finale’s post-credits scene. With everything feeling disjointed, the season stood out as an experimental one. Rick and Morty isn’t known for its consistency or having an episode-to-episode story, but season 7 was notably more experimental in its nature, which is why it felt so inconsistent.
All 10 Rick & Morty Season 7 Episodes, Ranked
Rick and Morty season 7 has officially ended, and here are all 10 episodes, ranked. Interestingly, it was pretty hard to narrow the ranking down.
Rick And Morty’s Inconsistency Is Actually A Good Thing
Rick and Morty‘s inconsistency might seem problematic, but it’s actually a good thing. The show’s lack of consistency throughout season 7 highlights that the writers were willing to take risks. After Roiland’s departure, it would have been easy to play things safe. Bringing back favorites like Mr. Meeseeks or potentially the Cromulons could have been cheap but effective ways to win over new fans. Instead, the series chose to try and move forward, creating new ideas and experimenting with what worked and what failed. Season 7 was likely a strong indicator for the team going forward in terms of what fans want to see.
Rick and Morty must learn from these poorer-received episodes and try to focus on the positives from season 7. Rick and Morty season 7 already fixed a problem from its pilot episode from over a decade ago, and the series can consistently try to improve going forward. The good episodes prove that some ideas worked this time around, and things should only get better in the future. By gambling on season 7, Rick and Morty can take the feedback and become an even stronger show with more creative minds. It might not go down as the show’s best season, but season 7 does set up a much brighter future.
Rick and Morty
Rick and Morty is an adventure/Sci-Fi animated series that follows the intergalactic, inter-dimensional adventures of super-genius Rick Sanchez and his less-than-average grandson Morty Smith. Rick’s daughter, Beth, his granddaughter, Summer, and his hated stepson, Jerry, also take center stage more often than not. Hailing from creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, the series blends comedy with science fiction as a way of exploring a wide variety of themes aimed at an adult audience.
- Release Date
- December 2, 2013
- Cast
- Spencer Grammer , Kari Wahlgren , Chris Parnell , Sarah Chalke , Ian Cardoni , Harry Belden
- Genres
- Animation , Adventure , Comedy
- Rating
- TV-MA
- Seasons
- 7
- Creator(s)
- Justin Roiland , Dan Harmon
- Writers
- Dan Harmon , Justin Roiland , Tom Kauffman , Eric Acosta
- Network
- Cartoon Network
- Streaming Service(s)
- Hulu , Max
- Franchise(s)
- Rick and Morty
- Directors
- Dan Harmon , Ryan Ridley , Lee Hardcastle
- Showrunner
- Dan Harmon
