The first half of Rick and Morty season 4 has been made available for free on Adult Swim. Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, the animated sci-fi series tracking the exploits of mad scientist Rick Sanchez and his hapless grandson Morty has risen from relatively humble beginnings to become one of the most popular comedy shows in the known universe. With that popularity has come a lot of critical acclaim, as well as a bit of controversy, much of which has centered on the show’s sometimes too-rabid fans.
Indeed Rick and Morty is a brilliant series, but the downside of that brilliance is the long time it takes for Roiland, Harmon and their team to come up with new episodes. The wait between season 2 and season 3 was particularly interminable, but when the series was renewed after season 3 for a whopping 70 episodes, Harmon and company promised they would get new installments out faster. Eventually – in November of 2019 to be exact – season 4 did arrive to more fan adulation and a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but only delivered five episodes before once again frustratingly going on hiatus.
Perhaps as a means of placating fans who are being forced to sit and wait for more Rick and Morty season 4, Adult Swim has now made those first five episodes available to stream for free (via ComicBookMovie). The episodes can be found here.
Five episodes indeed may not be a lot, but those installments surely packed in a lot of typical Rick and Morty genius. Highlights of season 4 so far include the return of fan favorite characters Gearhead, Mr. Meeseeks and Mr. Poopy Butthole (thankfully the return of Mr. Meeseeks was only brief, given the amount of chaos that was unleashed the last time the character appeared). The season also introduced some amazing new ideas like space snakes, an entire race of highly evolved snakes with space travel capabilities, whose arrival of course resulted in an amazing array of snake puns.
In one particularly ingenious episode, “One Crew Over the Crewcoo’s Morty,” Harmon again communicated his well known disdain for heist movies and their contrivances with a dizzying story that became a veritable plot twist hall of mirrors. Perhaps the season’s best episode, “The Old Man and the Seat,” showed off the series’ ability to take things into very dark territory as Rick was faced with a profound crisis of the soul after finding that someone had violated his carefully hidden personal toilet.
Yes, Rick and Morty has had occasion to get dark in season 4, but for the most part the five episode stretch has been a hilarious as opposed to a morbid one. Despite the long wait after season 3, it seems Roiland, Harmon and company still have all their edge, and it will be fascinating to see what they have in store for their many loyal fans when the show returns for five more carefully crafted episodes later in 2020.
More: When Rick & Morty Season 4 Returns (& What To Expect)
Source: Adult Swim (via ComicBookMovie)
