Rick and Morty: Air Force Wong
October 29, 2023 11:35 PM - Season 7, Episode 3 - Subscribe
The hive mind known as Unity takes over the state of Virginia, while President Curtis pursues a relationship with Dr. Wong.
I love how Rick used a hologram to attend therapy from behind the sofa. But then again, gotta get those funyuns.
posted by Marticus at 4:27 PM on October 30, 2023
posted by Marticus at 4:27 PM on October 30, 2023
I’m increasingly convinced the new voice actors are spot on choices.
posted by billsaysthis at 9:44 PM on October 30, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by billsaysthis at 9:44 PM on October 30, 2023 [3 favorites]
"Them's Foxy's funyuns!"
posted by mikelieman at 7:04 AM on November 1, 2023
posted by mikelieman at 7:04 AM on November 1, 2023
I agree, the new voice actors are doing great. I'm glad they took the leap to separate themselves from someone who was using their fame with the show to fucked up things.
As for the writing on this one... there were definitely moments I found really funny, but I felt like they were trying to do a bit too much in one episode narrative-wise, with the two romantic plots, both of which seemed to be a bit forced in different ways, and also at the same time maybe not enough, in terms of having something to say with the stories?
I think this is generally an issue I've felt with Rick & Morty recently. When the show started, Rick was kind of like what would happen if the aspect of toxic masculinity that tells men that they are actually smarter than most other folks, and therefore can get out of problems simply by controlling them through their smarts, wasn't a delusion of grandeur, but was real, that this guy really could bend reality to make it what he wants (at least, within the Central Finite Curve...). This made him both scary and fascinating, both because that power brought with it fantastical, surreal, and terrifying outcomes, and because this method of controlling things doesn't actually solve the problems Rick finds himself in at all, and so we watch this guy be self-destructive. He also has flashes of compassion and realization, so that he's both kind of villain but also just on the edge of redemption or pity.
And then the show began an arc of growth and change, which was also exciting and I think kind of saved the show (how long would some want to watch a shitty, powerful guy doing wacky things and not learn from them?), and I'm still invested in that arc. But whereas before the show was, "let's take a shitty defense mechanism and blow it up to an entertainly galactic scale", and now the show is, "let's take emotional growth and blow it up to an entertainly galactic scale", for this to work, I think the focus on the growth still needs to be really clear, and have stakes.
The last time Rick saw Unity, he tried to take his own life. An episode about a person who's in a better place than he was wrestling with meeting someone from a point in his life when he was so down could be both an opportunity for an interesting story about the challenges of growth (i.e., what happens when memories of those bad feelings return), and also for some degree of madcap sci-fi weirdness (like I know they've already done this sort of episode, but instead of Rick just not listening to her messages, you could imagine that Rick could try to deal with Unity by retooling the Rick robot he made last season to act in some way he thinks would cause her to leave him alone, and she would see it through it or something would go wrong), but only if you give that story focus and room to breathe. It was hard to do this with the whole President-therapist romance, and when they were so busy solving the Virginia of it all.
On the other hand, maybe the goal with the episode was to elevate characters who were normally on the side to a bigger role - but then maybe don't bring back Unity, and just focus on that story? Like, OK, you want us to care about the President and Dr. Wong, like maybe just put us in their worlds for a bit?
Uh OK maybe that was a bit too much overanalyzing of this episode, but just trying to put my finger on why it felt off for me...
posted by nightcoast at 3:53 AM on November 5, 2023 [5 favorites]
As for the writing on this one... there were definitely moments I found really funny, but I felt like they were trying to do a bit too much in one episode narrative-wise, with the two romantic plots, both of which seemed to be a bit forced in different ways, and also at the same time maybe not enough, in terms of having something to say with the stories?
I think this is generally an issue I've felt with Rick & Morty recently. When the show started, Rick was kind of like what would happen if the aspect of toxic masculinity that tells men that they are actually smarter than most other folks, and therefore can get out of problems simply by controlling them through their smarts, wasn't a delusion of grandeur, but was real, that this guy really could bend reality to make it what he wants (at least, within the Central Finite Curve...). This made him both scary and fascinating, both because that power brought with it fantastical, surreal, and terrifying outcomes, and because this method of controlling things doesn't actually solve the problems Rick finds himself in at all, and so we watch this guy be self-destructive. He also has flashes of compassion and realization, so that he's both kind of villain but also just on the edge of redemption or pity.
And then the show began an arc of growth and change, which was also exciting and I think kind of saved the show (how long would some want to watch a shitty, powerful guy doing wacky things and not learn from them?), and I'm still invested in that arc. But whereas before the show was, "let's take a shitty defense mechanism and blow it up to an entertainly galactic scale", and now the show is, "let's take emotional growth and blow it up to an entertainly galactic scale", for this to work, I think the focus on the growth still needs to be really clear, and have stakes.
The last time Rick saw Unity, he tried to take his own life. An episode about a person who's in a better place than he was wrestling with meeting someone from a point in his life when he was so down could be both an opportunity for an interesting story about the challenges of growth (i.e., what happens when memories of those bad feelings return), and also for some degree of madcap sci-fi weirdness (like I know they've already done this sort of episode, but instead of Rick just not listening to her messages, you could imagine that Rick could try to deal with Unity by retooling the Rick robot he made last season to act in some way he thinks would cause her to leave him alone, and she would see it through it or something would go wrong), but only if you give that story focus and room to breathe. It was hard to do this with the whole President-therapist romance, and when they were so busy solving the Virginia of it all.
On the other hand, maybe the goal with the episode was to elevate characters who were normally on the side to a bigger role - but then maybe don't bring back Unity, and just focus on that story? Like, OK, you want us to care about the President and Dr. Wong, like maybe just put us in their worlds for a bit?
Uh OK maybe that was a bit too much overanalyzing of this episode, but just trying to put my finger on why it felt off for me...
posted by nightcoast at 3:53 AM on November 5, 2023 [5 favorites]
I'm really liking this season. More than the last 2, R&M had gotten too edgelordy and the fanbase on the Internet is pretty awful. It's still the same and I can't even tell there are new voice actors. But it seems better written to me. I'm laughing more and enjoying the story more.
Best line this episode: "I'm sorry you lost a finger but that's the price of surprise butt play". Sort of a cross between vagina dentata and a cigar cutter.
posted by Nelson at 6:49 AM on November 7, 2023
Best line this episode: "I'm sorry you lost a finger but that's the price of surprise butt play". Sort of a cross between vagina dentata and a cigar cutter.
posted by Nelson at 6:49 AM on November 7, 2023
meh. too much vomit, not enough zingers
posted by lalochezia at 8:15 PM on November 28, 2023
posted by lalochezia at 8:15 PM on November 28, 2023
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posted by hototogisu at 1:25 AM on October 30, 2023