Rick and Morty raises some hell in “Amortycan Grickfitti”

Rick and Morty push the limits of pleasure with cringe-loving kink demons and joyrides through the galaxy in “Amortycan Grickfitti.”

This week’s episode begins very strangely, with Rick happily taking Jerry on a Guys Night. Good wholesome bonding session, yes? Alas, there is always a catch with Rick. Rick does indeed take Jerry out…but it’s to spend time with a parody of Cenobites, monsters from the Hellraiser franchise, who feel pleasure from pain. Their interest in Jerry? That he is so cringe it makes them happy.

Meanwhile, Morty and Summer and left to their own devices, but they would much rather use Rick’s. Morty has invited a new friend to the house and the Smith kids are eager to impress. But with the garage off limits, the only tech up for grabs is Rick’s Car, which has a sentient security system that Morty and Summer must deal with.

I’ll start with the positives: I like some of the ideas in this episode, specifically Jerry and his interactions with the Cenobites. It’s a clever concept, with Jerry becoming confident because the demons appear to enjoy his company, even though they just get pleasure from how embarrassing he is. Jerry makes outdated cultural references, he dances, he sings karaoke…the sequence of him singing “Oh Yeah” while the Smith kids take off into space is wonderful; only Jerry would choose to sing a song where most of the lyrics are “oh yeah.” Jerry really shines in this episode.

That said, there was something seriously lacking in this episode. Although Jerry’s storyline is funny, it has no real sense of urgency to it. Rick mostly takes a backseat until conflict finally pops up. Jerry, while in a bathroom stall, overhears some Cenobites talking about how they find him cringe, and his mood is ruined. Without entertainment, the Cenobites go on a rampage and kidnap Jerry. This is a typical beat to hit; something has to go wrong eventually, but it all feels pretty conventional. Jerry happens to overhear the Cenobites who just happen to say out loud what they think of him. That’s just lame to me.

Once the Cenobites take Jerry back to their dimension, Rick and Beth go in after him. You can guess where it goes from there; Rick and Beth find Jerry, use some invention to save him, so on and so forth. As much as I like the idea of the Cenobites enjoying Jerry’s cringey behavior, it’s the one joke this part of the episode has, and it gets old very quickly.

And Morty and Summer’s adventure doesn’t provide the urgency that the A story is missing. To start, the initial catalyst for their story is that they both want to impress this new student that Morty has invited over, which is a weak motive for an adventure. I don’t remember the character’s name (not a good sign), but he’s introduced by a narrator complete with flashy text and graphics on the screen. It’s very absurd and reminds of something from Tuca and Bertie. Nothing wrong with trying new things, but it feels out of place in a show like Rick and Morty.

There are a lot of interesting visuals on the Smith kids’ journey, including some psychedelic effect as they go through a wormhole and the image of solar systems hanging on a fishing pole. It’s alright, but it feels standard for Rick and Morty. Morty and Summer don’t ave much of an arc this episode. The person they’re trying to impress turns out to be a superficial jerk, so in the end we return to the status quo. The only character who goes through a change is Rick’s Car. It starts off cold and business-like, but in the end it learns to be more loose and fun-loving. But I don’t care about Rick’s Car, because it’s not much of a character. Its development doesn’t interest me.

While “Amortycan Grickfitti” had some amusing ideas, that’s about all it has. It’s definitely the weakest link in the season 5 chain so far, it pains me to say. Which, coincidentally, gives me pleasure.

Grade: C

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