Review: “Rick and Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular”

Rick and Morty duel with the President, turn into turkeys, and learn the meaning of Thanksgiving in “Rick and Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular.”

Half a score and a couple hours ago, “Rick and Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular” premiered on Adult Swim, and now I’m here to talk about it. Spoiler alert: it was pretty damn good.

The episode begins with Rick and Morty playing Nicolson Cage and breaking into a vault containing the U.S Constitution, since it apparently has a treasure map on the back. However, when they try to get it loose from its sealed casing, Morty accidentally blows a hole right through it (ditto the Statue of Liberty, thereby activating the giant robotic assassin hidden inside, but this is of little consequence). Much more pressing is that now the President is super pissed at Rick and Morty. The episode follows Rick’s plan to get a pardon from the highest authority in the land, just in time for Thanksgiving.

And how does Rick go about securing a pardon from the President? He will turn himself into a turkey, and get the President’s annual turkey pardon for Thanksgiving. This is a plan that has worked many times in the past, but this time the President is ready.

This is the first aspect of the episode that I really enjoyed: the conflict. Most episodes of Rick and Morty will have a monster of the week come in to play the antagonist, but this time the show focuses once again on the rivalry between Rick and the President. Similar to the rivalry with Zeep Xanflorp in season 2, the dynamic here is interesting for a couple of reasons. Both Rick and the President are power-hungry egoists, each believing that they are the strongest human force around and both having an arsenal of contraptions to back them up. However, ideologically they are at odds, Rick being an individualist who fights for himself and the President being a figurehead who fights for order, his country, and all the other things that Rick thinks meaningless. So having them butt heads again makes for an interesting struggle.

Also, the President is one of the few characters in the show that has any chance of evenly matching Rick. That’s what makes this episode work so well for me. Too many episodes of Rick and Morty I’m conscious of the fact that Rick is not in any real danger. Most threats are easily toppled by whatever gadget he has on him at the time, which can make for nice visuals, but do little for building stakes. In “Rick and Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular,” the stakes are built up nicely. The writers do a great job at setting the stage in an early scene, with both Rick and the President detailing their plan to topple the other. Both of them are expecting what the other is expecting, which not only establishes an even matchup, but also, because it’s so convoluted, the expectation that things will go wrong in a way neither will expect.

And of course things go wrong. Once Rick and Morty and the President (in turkey form) duke it out for a bit, a real turkey is accidentally mistaken for the leader of the free world, and turned human. The President is quickly dethroned from his seat of power, and Rick, because he’s been a turkey for too long, has lost his tool kit. Both in a vulnerable position with a new enemy looming large, the two must now work together. This is a nice twist: two opposing forces having to call a truce is a common trope, but it works here, and gives both characters a bit of an arc.

The other element this episode I thought was top-notch were the jokes. Sometimes the show’s humor can be hit or miss, but there are a lot of good ones this week. A couple of my favorites are the FDR spider monster, Jerry watching TV while the President sits right across from him at a dinner table, and the Turkey President learning the word “terrorist.” Some of the jokes have some extra oomph thanks to their topical nature. When the President learns that the Statue of Liberty is attacking the Big Apple, he says, “New York can handle its own Global Crisis.” There are tons of other jokes like that that take a second meaning if viewed through a political lens. Those jokes might not work for everyone, but they made me laugh pretty hard.

I honestly don’t have many issues with “Rick and Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular.” The only nit I can pick is that at one point we hear a radio announcement from a ship while Rick and Morty are in space, which is scientifically impossible since there is no medium in space for sound to travel through. So much for being the smartest show on television.

Seriously though, this week’s episode offers a solid adventure that has weight and twists to it, captivating character dynamics, and is also very funny. I have no complaints, and for that I give my thanks.

Grade: B+

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