After a long wait, "Rick and Morty" season 3 jumped onto screens in July after a series of delays. Now, it has come to a close. Season 3 was quite different from the seasons before it. They told a much tighter story, focused less on the adventures of the namesake duo, and explored the deeper effects of Rick on his famil. This gave it a much more serialized feeling than previous seasons. The Season Finale, "The Rickchurian Mortydate," brought Rick into conflict with the president of the United States. So did it hold up to what came before?
Presidential conflict
The episode opens with several men in black coming to Rick's door while Morty shows him how to play Minecraft - a game he thinks must have been written by a Jerry. They tell Rick the president needs him. Rick and Morty go off to discover that aliens have invaded the Kennedy Sex Tunnels and that there are several less than savory relics of past presidents. But Rick and Morty decide that the president doesn't treat them with the respect they deserve, so they go to play Minecraft. They don't realize that the president is always monitoring them, however, and things quickly escalate as Rick and Morty work to make the world perfect for the president so he can forget them.
This was pretty interesting.
It showed off a lot of tech stuff that the president was hiding, that maybe he'd learned from watching Rick. But it ultimately showed Rick's superiority; he was able to take out at least a dozen Secret Service agents and fight toe-to-toe with the president in a White House filled with hidden weapons. This was all to get Morty a selfie with the president he didn't even want.
But there was more to the episode than just the president declaring war on Rick and Morty.
Beth's clone?
In last week's episode, "The ABCs of Beth," it ended with Rick telling Beth he could create a clone to replace her and she could wander the galaxy as she pleased, after she came to terms with how much like Rick she is. The episode ended with Beth making up her mind, but without us learning her choice.
In this episode, we watch as Beth struggles with the idea that Rick might have cloned her and that she's the clone, and that Rick could kill her because she realized she was the clone. This drives her back into Jerry's arms - and she falls for him.
Beth's and Jerry's story was very insightful. It set the tone for the next season - at the very end. Beth tells Rick that she and Jerry are now a happily married couple, and cracks the fourth wall by joking that things are going to look a lot like season one. It brought a very satisfying end to the story that started the season, as she understands what Jerry means to her at a deeper level.
What this means for season 4
This doesn't mean that everything was tied up in a neat bow, however.
There are still several things that will affect season 4. In order to heal his wounds with the president, Rick convinces him that he's a Rick from a different dimension - Fly Fishing Rick (like Pickle Rick, but not as cool). This will undoubtedly lead to some funny jokes in future interactions.
We saw more of Morty's spine as well; while Rick was fighting the president, Morty stole Rick's portal gun and ran off with his family. This shows more of the growth we've seen from Morty over this season. Finally, the matter of Beth being a clone still hasn't been resolved. Beth jokes that they may never know if she's a clone and that Rick would never tell.
There is something about the expression on his face and I feel that this Beth may actually be a clone, although we'll have to wait until next season to find out.
Mr. Poopybutthole showed up at the end of the episode, reconfirming we'll be getting season 4 and promising it would be a long time until we see Rick and Morty again. Apparently, it will be long enough that he might even get grandchildren and a Santa beard. Hopefully, we'll get season 4 without any of the delays season 3 had. Personally, I'm willing to wait however long it takes to see the next season of "Rick and Morty."
