RICK AND MORTY (Season 7) -- A Solid Return for the Series with New Voice Actors

Review by Camden Ferrell

Rick and Morty has firmly established itself in pop culture with its unique brand of humor and storytelling since 2013. In recent months, it has definitely been the center of a lot of attention and not always for the right reasons. Co-creator and voice actor for the titular characters, Justin Roiland, has left the show due to personal and legal issues that I won’t get into here. Needless to say, this show is entering a new chapter, one that includes the loss of a previously pivotal individual. Despite this, the show still remains quite enjoyable and creative and the new voice actors are mostly indistinguishable from what fans are used to.
 
After last season’s set of adventures, Rick and Morty are back to do more weird things. We know a little bit more about Rick Prime and our main Rick’s backstory, but as always, the show picks and chooses when to be serialized, so these first two episodes are isolated adventures. These episodes don’t feel like the show’s best, but they definitely don’t feel like the show’s worst either.
 
Season six was admittedly the show’s weakest season ever by a long shot for me, so I was keeping my expectations in check. This season isn’t going to blow away fans or convert anybody to the show, but the writing is solid. It has some decent gags, and its fast-paced humor is still present. The jokes don’t always land super well, but it does succeed more than most adult animation shows do.

The elephant in the room is the replacement of Roiland as the two main characters. Fans will be happy to hear that the voices are incredibly similar. There are a small number of lines that sound the slightest bit off, but it’s otherwise uncanny. Audiences likely would barely notice these changes if it wasn’t so publicized. The rest of the cast returns and gives solid performances as always, so that’s some consistency that fans might enjoy if they do have a problem with the new actors.
 
Just in these first two episodes, we see plenty of familiar faces as well as some new cameos. These returns and debuts of certain characters are the most enjoyable part of these episodes. Even though the show is called Rick and Morty, the recurring characters are some of the most enjoyable parts of the show, and it’s great to see them back. However, I do think the minimal interaction between Rick and Morty make the episodes feel slightly off in an indescribable way. The show works well when they’re together, and we’ve yet to see much of that so far.
 
The seventh season of Rick and Morty is solid television even if it can’t hold a candle to the show’s peak. Thankfully, it shows some promise of what’s to come, and will hopefully be better than its previous season. Fans will enjoy these episodes and callbacks, but it won’t win over any new fans in the process.
 
Rick and Morty premieres its first episode of season seven on October 15 with new episodes premiering on Sundays. Two out of ten episodes have been reviewed.
 
Rating: 4/5