Rick and Morty: Season 2 Finale Review

By Jesse Schedeen

Warning: full episode spoilers follow.

It seems hard to believe that Rick and Morty is already at the end of its second season. Blame it on the relatively short 10-episode format. “The Wedding Squanchers” was vaguely reminiscent of the Season 1 finale in that it brought together a bunch of Rick’s colorful friends for an intergalactic shindig. But that’s about where the similarities ended. This episode eventually veered in its own crazy and unpredictable direction. And if there’s anything we’ve learned about this show by now, it’s that it works best when “crazy” and “unpredictable” are the name of the game.

One of the fun things about Season 2 has been the increased focus on continuity – callbacks to past adventures, Rick’s worsening psychological state, etc. This episode not only touched base with Birdperson and Tammy again, it used their wedding as a springboard for the entire conflict. Not only that, the story built on that tension between Rick and the Federation that’s been alluded to various times in the past. Even little things like Morty referencing the fact that Rick keeps him around to mask his own brain waves lent a nice bit of connective tissue.

It was also great seeing the entire Smith clan united in one storyline. I’m always glad when Beth and Jerry aren’t merely relegated to having some mundane, Earth-bound adventure, but rather are forced to confront the weirdness of Rick’s world firsthand. The two were basically thrown in the deep end as they found themselves attending an alien wedding ceremony and learning the finer points of communicating in Squanchy’s native language. Jerry entertained in the same way he usually does – trying his damndest to fit in and failing miserably. But with Beth, there was a deeper conflict at play. The show has regularly touched on her abandonment issues and the way she clings to her father out of a fear of losing him all over again, but rarely has that element been such a focus. That focus paid off by the end as Beth’s worst fears about her father essentially came true.

Rick, naturally, was none too thrilled to be dragged to a wedding and forced to celebrate an institution he has no great love for. With all his bitter, sulky behavior in the early minutes, there was little doubt that this was going to be one of those dramatic episodes that really gets at the core of what makes Rick such a bitter, lonely, unhappy person. But again, the real fun was in seeing just what bizarre course this story took.

For one thing, Rick actually conducted himself pretty well during the actual wedding and the reception. I know some fans are pretty fed up when it comes to Rick’s chronic burping, but rarely has that device been used to better comedic effect than when Rick followed the crowd’s sentimental “Awwww…” with his own “Awww… [BURP] awww…” Rick even seemed genuinely moved by the ceremony, as he delivered a touching speech at the reception and acknowledged his close friendship with Birdperson (much to Squanchy’s chagrin).

We’ve all been there, Rick.

Things were going a little too smoothly for all involved by that point. So of course, the big twist was that Rick was right all along. Birdperson shouldn’t have trusted Tammy, and their marriage really was setting him up for the ultimate betrayal. The resulting shootout was a strange blend of goofy and heart-wrenching that I doubt most other comedies could have managed. Birdperson might have been a small player in the grand scheme of things, but it was tough seeing him brutally gunned down on what was supposed to be the happiest day of his life. Ditto when Squanchy Hulked out and sacrificed his life to save Rick and his family. It’s a testament to the whole crew (writers, animators and voice actors alike) that silly, throwaway characters like these wind up mattering so much.

That dark turn of events cast a shadow over the rest of the episode, so that even the search for a new home for the Smith family was more depressing than amusing. Not that process didn’t generate a few laughs. Between the screaming sun and the planet where everything is one giant, fractal pattern of cobs, it really is a strange universe these characters occupy. And somehow, the fact that there was an entire planet of cob-based lifeforms wasn’t half as funny as the fact that Rick found the idea so terrifying.

The tiny world the Smiths eventually found themselves marooned on seemed like a fitting purgatory. This setup allowed for a few more amusing gags, but it wasn’t long before the real emotional clincher of the episode began. Rick was forced to acknowledge that he was selfishly dragging his family away from everything they knew, and they loved him too much to openly complain about it. Thus, he was left with no other choice but to turn himself into the Federation. It was a characteristically Rick move – he vanished in what seemed like a selfish act of abandonment, but in truth he was making the ultimate sacrifice. It was a very somber and emotional scene seeing Rick get drunk one last time, turn himself in and resign himself to a lifetime of captivity. Though even here, he found a little room for humor by impersonating Jerry and making him look like an idiot.

It’s worth noting the choice of soundtrack for this scene. In general, Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt” is about as quintessentially Rick as a song can be. It speaks to his self-loathing nature and his tendency to drive away those around him. The song certainly set the mood in this pivotal sequence. But lyrically, the song didn’t really match the story. This was one of the rare times when Rick actually was thinking of others and sacrificing his own happiness for the greater good. I could name a couple other episodes where “Hurt” would have been a better fit, thematically.

But regardless, this was a nicely dramatic way to cap off the season. Nor is Rick’s imprisonment the only big status quo change. Earth has now joined the Federation and has basically evolved into a giant tourist trap for the rest of the galaxy. I’m really looking forward to seeing how Season 3 explores this new status quo  – whether it’s Morty and Summer trying to spring Grandpa Rick from jail, Beth mourning the loss of her father all over again or Jerry basking in the glow of his newly employed status. With all the added emphasis on continuity this season, I’d be surprised if Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon don’t milk these new developments to their fullest next year.