‘Rick and Morty 3×08: Morty’s Mind Blowers’ Review
After a heavy episode last week, Rick and Morty changed up the pace again with a more self-contained, ‘clip show’-style adventure.
As Rick himself alludes to at the start, episode eight, ‘Morty’s Mind Blowers’ is the equivalent of the Inter-Dimensional cable from the seasons prior.
While the prior two episodes have had some memorable bits, they are considered to be the weaker entries into the Rick and Morty universe – at least in story terms (although many enjoyed the side plot involving Jerry’s genitals last season). Acknowledging this, Dan Harmon and co. gave this episode a bit more semblance story-wise. Instead of a series of random clips and offshoots from their creative process, we were treated to a series of sketches involving memories of Morty’s that had been erased by Rick.
As you’d expect, some of these ‘mind blowers’ are incredibly dark – from the guidance counsellor Morty mistakes for a man on the moon to an alien he dooms to a cursed afterlife – and we soon see just how many times Morty has messed up and begged Rick to delete his past.
We soon find out these aren’t the only reasons for memories getting deleted however. Through a rudimentary colour-coding system, we find the blue memories are ones which Morty has asked to be deleted, whereas the red ones seem to be from times Rick wants to see deleted, such as when he mistakenly utters an incorrect turn of phrase or clumsily crashes while skiing.
In a season where Rick had seemingly tried to better himself and look out for his family more, it’s a timely reminder of how selfish the scientist has been in the past. The story takes on a life of its own as Morty turns the table and erases Rick’s memory as well, almost ending in a suicide pact. Needless to say this doesn’t happen as the reset button is pressed at the end.
But this isn’t an episode built for story purposes like some others in the season. While it amounts to a clip show of unseen material (slyly referencing other shows like The Simpsons who have resorted to lazy compilation shows), these feel like hilarious deleted scenes with some of the zaniest Harmon and Roiland-esque humour in the show.
The scenes where Morty’s flips the wrong switch or enrages the squirrel illuminati, for example, feel like some of the most Rick and Morty-est dark humour yet. It’s difficult to know how these parts would fit into the grand scheme of the show, so having them presented like this is a welcome move from the creators.
With two episodes left and no resolution to Beth and Jerry’s separation looming it’s likely the final episodes will be more story-driven. While we can’t wait to see where the grand story goes, it doesn’t hurt to stop and have your mind blown once in a while. And that’s exactly what this episode does – multiple times
