Rick and Morty: That's Amorte
November 6, 2023 10:30 PM - Season 7, Episode 4 - Subscribe
"Guys, this show can be anything! Rick gets spaghetti! It’s from dead bodies! Let’s go!"
Above-the-fold quote is Heather Anne Campbell, who wrote the episode, describing the initial pitch in this article.
An episode that had my partner yelling "what the FUCK" at the television. Boy, I had no idea where they were going to take this one after the cold open.
Above-the-fold quote is Heather Anne Campbell, who wrote the episode, describing the initial pitch in this article.
An episode that had my partner yelling "what the FUCK" at the television. Boy, I had no idea where they were going to take this one after the cold open.
spaghettises’
posted by hototogisu at 2:29 AM on November 7, 2023
posted by hototogisu at 2:29 AM on November 7, 2023
There's a lot to digest here.
I think I have to watch it again and, like, take notes. The best episode in a long time.
That montage. Oof. You wanna know what's really fucked up? Leggo's is a brand of Australian pasta sauce you can find in any supermarket here. Is it ... made of the guy who invented Lego?
Also, not gonna lie, I'm hungry for spaghetti now.
posted by adept256 at 2:54 AM on November 7, 2023 [4 favorites]
I think I have to watch it again and, like, take notes. The best episode in a long time.
That montage. Oof. You wanna know what's really fucked up? Leggo's is a brand of Australian pasta sauce you can find in any supermarket here. Is it ... made of the guy who invented Lego?
Also, not gonna lie, I'm hungry for spaghetti now.
posted by adept256 at 2:54 AM on November 7, 2023 [4 favorites]
...so um yeah, after ragging on the writing in last week's episode, this was pretty amazing, and also maybe helps me understand why they would want to do something a bit lighter right before it.
"Can we just join the fascist half of the country"
oof
and wow I guess Par-mese-ian was a brick joke, well played
posted by nightcoast at 11:25 AM on November 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
"Can we just join the fascist half of the country"
oof
and wow I guess Par-mese-ian was a brick joke, well played
posted by nightcoast at 11:25 AM on November 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
Now I want spaghetti.
posted by billsaysthis at 7:11 PM on November 7, 2023
posted by billsaysthis at 7:11 PM on November 7, 2023
Ok that’s enough dead animal protein for me. I get the message. Time to become a vegetarian, maybe vegan.
posted by interogative mood at 8:58 PM on November 7, 2023
posted by interogative mood at 8:58 PM on November 7, 2023
This episode is great. Also appalling. Kind of both. Really surprising with the writing. I wonder if they got a new team with new ideas?
I don't think it's some tedious vegetarian metaphor. The turning point in the episode comes from seeing the subtle and rich human life that the last spaghetti donor has lived. There's no analogy there to a chicken.
posted by Nelson at 9:17 PM on November 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
I don't think it's some tedious vegetarian metaphor. The turning point in the episode comes from seeing the subtle and rich human life that the last spaghetti donor has lived. There's no analogy there to a chicken.
posted by Nelson at 9:17 PM on November 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
Well, by degrees? Think about a cow paradise, endless green fields to munch, shelter from the elements in a spacious barn, protection from predators, top-notch healthcare. Everyday is perfect until they have One Bad Day and it's over. Now think about about a battery chicken, never knowing anything but a cage the size of it's body, in a stifling shed with no natural light, living in it's own filth. Every day is a Bad Day for that chicken.
I'm comfortable with the happy cow scenario. I'm furious with the battery chicken scenario. If we're going to do this we should be aiming for the ideal.
I think that's where the suicide comes in to solve this. These aren't happy cows.
This is so confusing!
Remember how Douglas Adams' approached this in The Restaurant at The End of the Universe?
A large dairy animal approached Zaphod Beeblebrox's table, a large fat meaty quadruped of the bovine type with large watery eyes, small horns and what might almost have been an ingratiating smile on its lips.
"Good evening," it lowed and sat back heavily on its haunches, "I am the main Dish of the Day. May I interest you in the parts of my body?"
It harrumphed and gurgled a bit, wriggled its hind quarters in to a more comfortable position and gazed peacefully at them.
Its gaze was met by looks of startled bewilderment from Arthur and Trillian, a resigned shrug from Ford Prefect and naked hunger from Zaphod Beeblebrox.
"Something off the shoulder perhaps?" suggested the animal, "braised in a white wine sauce?"
"Er, your shoulder?" said Arthur in a horrified whisper.
"But naturally my shoulder, sir," mooed the animal contentedly, "nobody else's is mine to offer."
Zaphod leapt to his feet and started prodding and feeling the animal's shoulder appreciatively.
"Or the rump is very good," murmured the animal. "I've been exercising it and eating plenty of grain, so there's a lot of good meat there."
It gave a mellow grunt, gurgled again and started to chew the cud. It swallowed the cud again.
"Or a casserole of me perhaps?" it added.
"You mean this animal actually wants us to eat it?" whispered Trillian to Ford.
"Me?" said Ford, with a glazed look in his eyes, "I don't mean anything."
"That's absolutely horrible," exclaimed Arthur, "the most revolting thing I've ever heard."
"What's the problem Earthman?" said Zaphod, now transferring his attention to the animal's enormous rump.
"I just don't want to eat an animal that's standing there inviting me to," said Arthur, "It's heartless."
"Better than eating an animal that doesn't want to be eaten," said Zaphod.
"That's not the point," Arthur protested. Then he thought about it for a moment. "Alright," he said, "maybe it is the point. I don't care, I'm not going to think about it now. I'll just... er [...] I think I'll just have a green salad," he muttered.
"May I urge you to consider my liver?" asked the animal, "it must be very rich and tender by now, I've been force-feeding myself for months."
"A green salad," said Arthur emphatically.
"A green salad?" said the animal, rolling his eyes disapprovingly at Arthur.
"Are you going to tell me," said Arthur, "that I shouldn't have green salad?"
"Well," said the animal, "I know many vegetables that are very clear on that point. Which is why it was eventually decided to cut through the whole tangled problem and breed an animal that actually wanted to be eaten and was capable of saying so clearly and distinctly. And here I am."
It managed a very slight bow.
"Glass of water please," said Arthur.
"Look," said Zaphod, "we want to eat, we don't want to make a meal of the issues. Four rare stakes please, and hurry. We haven't eaten in five hundred and seventy-six thousand million years."
The animal staggered to its feet. It gave a mellow gurgle. "A very wise choice, sir, if I may say so. Very good," it said, "I'll just nip off and shoot myself."
He turned and gave a friendly wink to Arthur. "Don't worry, sir," he said, "I'll be very humane."
It waddled unhurriedly off to the kitchen.
posted by adept256 at 11:13 PM on November 7, 2023 [6 favorites]
I'm comfortable with the happy cow scenario. I'm furious with the battery chicken scenario. If we're going to do this we should be aiming for the ideal.
I think that's where the suicide comes in to solve this. These aren't happy cows.
This is so confusing!
Remember how Douglas Adams' approached this in The Restaurant at The End of the Universe?
A large dairy animal approached Zaphod Beeblebrox's table, a large fat meaty quadruped of the bovine type with large watery eyes, small horns and what might almost have been an ingratiating smile on its lips.
"Good evening," it lowed and sat back heavily on its haunches, "I am the main Dish of the Day. May I interest you in the parts of my body?"
It harrumphed and gurgled a bit, wriggled its hind quarters in to a more comfortable position and gazed peacefully at them.
Its gaze was met by looks of startled bewilderment from Arthur and Trillian, a resigned shrug from Ford Prefect and naked hunger from Zaphod Beeblebrox.
"Something off the shoulder perhaps?" suggested the animal, "braised in a white wine sauce?"
"Er, your shoulder?" said Arthur in a horrified whisper.
"But naturally my shoulder, sir," mooed the animal contentedly, "nobody else's is mine to offer."
Zaphod leapt to his feet and started prodding and feeling the animal's shoulder appreciatively.
"Or the rump is very good," murmured the animal. "I've been exercising it and eating plenty of grain, so there's a lot of good meat there."
It gave a mellow grunt, gurgled again and started to chew the cud. It swallowed the cud again.
"Or a casserole of me perhaps?" it added.
"You mean this animal actually wants us to eat it?" whispered Trillian to Ford.
"Me?" said Ford, with a glazed look in his eyes, "I don't mean anything."
"That's absolutely horrible," exclaimed Arthur, "the most revolting thing I've ever heard."
"What's the problem Earthman?" said Zaphod, now transferring his attention to the animal's enormous rump.
"I just don't want to eat an animal that's standing there inviting me to," said Arthur, "It's heartless."
"Better than eating an animal that doesn't want to be eaten," said Zaphod.
"That's not the point," Arthur protested. Then he thought about it for a moment. "Alright," he said, "maybe it is the point. I don't care, I'm not going to think about it now. I'll just... er [...] I think I'll just have a green salad," he muttered.
"May I urge you to consider my liver?" asked the animal, "it must be very rich and tender by now, I've been force-feeding myself for months."
"A green salad," said Arthur emphatically.
"A green salad?" said the animal, rolling his eyes disapprovingly at Arthur.
"Are you going to tell me," said Arthur, "that I shouldn't have green salad?"
"Well," said the animal, "I know many vegetables that are very clear on that point. Which is why it was eventually decided to cut through the whole tangled problem and breed an animal that actually wanted to be eaten and was capable of saying so clearly and distinctly. And here I am."
It managed a very slight bow.
"Glass of water please," said Arthur.
"Look," said Zaphod, "we want to eat, we don't want to make a meal of the issues. Four rare stakes please, and hurry. We haven't eaten in five hundred and seventy-six thousand million years."
The animal staggered to its feet. It gave a mellow gurgle. "A very wise choice, sir, if I may say so. Very good," it said, "I'll just nip off and shoot myself."
He turned and gave a friendly wink to Arthur. "Don't worry, sir," he said, "I'll be very humane."
It waddled unhurriedly off to the kitchen.
posted by adept256 at 11:13 PM on November 7, 2023 [6 favorites]
I don't think I'd put this in my top R&M episodes list, but it was a fun exploration of moral compromises. There were a couple of good gags, though: Rick accidentally flashing himself with the Men in Black device, and Jerry's line, "Have we thought about giving up and joining the fascist half of the country? ...just saying, they get to do more!"
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 5:25 PM on November 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 5:25 PM on November 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
This episode went way, WAY darker than I expected even this show to go, and they pulled it off pretty brilliantly.
I think this was the first episode to give Rick & Morty roughly equal time -- the previous three were pretty Rick-centric, so it was nice to hear the new Morty get to stretch his vocal cords.
Rick flashing himself with the MiB device was so goddamn funny. I like that we are seeing Rick fuck-up a bit more lately; my personal favorite Rick-flub was last season when he tried to skateboard a meteor crater in the Dinosaurs episode and totally ate shit as soon as he got on the board.
posted by Saxon Kane at 12:54 PM on November 29, 2023
I think this was the first episode to give Rick & Morty roughly equal time -- the previous three were pretty Rick-centric, so it was nice to hear the new Morty get to stretch his vocal cords.
Rick flashing himself with the MiB device was so goddamn funny. I like that we are seeing Rick fuck-up a bit more lately; my personal favorite Rick-flub was last season when he tried to skateboard a meteor crater in the Dinosaurs episode and totally ate shit as soon as he got on the board.
posted by Saxon Kane at 12:54 PM on November 29, 2023
they sure like vomiting as a motif
posted by lalochezia at 8:45 PM on December 2, 2023
posted by lalochezia at 8:45 PM on December 2, 2023
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While the plot's most obvious metaphor is vegetarian, it definitely escalates. At one point it seemingly makes a case against selling organs, but despite not having a B plot it doesn't dwell long as it's got 10 other hot button social issues to mix in, and a 2 minute "life before your eyes" montage. What a rush!
posted by pwnguin at 12:11 AM on November 7, 2023