Valkyrick

Seems like a return to form compared to the last season. New actors are settling in finally and I think so far the first 3 episodes of this season are solid 9s. All of them. This season is panning out nice to possibly be one of my favorites. Which is nice because 7 was 50/50. Some episodes were awful, some of the worse, but also some solid episodes like the hole. Season 7 seemed rushed, season 8 is seeming like they took their time on the scripts. I see a lot of h8 and I dont understand it. This season feels elevated, keeping the ball rolling. Hopefully the rest of the season follows this trend.

I guess last week was a tough act to follow, but this episode was still good. It was a double-edged sword with how ridiculously fast paced it was. This allowed for a ton of jokes to just come and go. I missed only seeing Rick and Space Beth in this. Still, the jokes it does have are quite good. This episode features Space Beth getting help from Rick after being hired to assassinate an insect queen.

Space Beth finds the queen already dead and works with Rick to find out who killed her. Hey, we get a new intro! I guess the last episode was just a fake out. I'm going to say none of these will appear in the season. This kind of seemed like standard sci-fi violence. It's still pretty interesting. ***

If it wasn't obvious then, it should be obvious now. The characters felt more alive, and the show felt more dynamic and authentic when Justin Roiland was still writing for the show. You can try to downplay his creative contributions all you want, but you can never downplay his results. With those results being 3 seasons (season 1-3) of some of the best written TV out there.

Multiple people working there have said Dan and Justin turn into creative geniuses when they are working together. This is just as much Justin's show as it is Dan's and like it or not, the show falls apart when one is without the other. They both have different strengths, weaknesses and approaches that when mixed together, turns the show into the iconic, explosive success that it became. With Dan having the more methodical approach, and Roiland having the more "throwing darts/ideas and seeing what sticks" approach. In other words, Dan was the "stick to your guns" type of writer, and Roiland was the "high risk, high reward" type of writer when it came to the show.

Dan provided the amazing narrative structure, character driven storytelliing, and the philosophical depth/complexity each episode had. While Roiland provided the chaotic energy, amazing character dialogue that sounded like improv at times, and character depth/complexity each episode had. He was also responsible for the world building and the crazy sci-fi creativity of the show. Like for example, the idea of a Galactic Federation full of insects, and the idea of a Mr. Meeseeks box where Meeseeks can't die unless they perform their task. In other words, Dan laid the foundation for the show, while Roiland gave life to that foundation.

Finally, this is just a personal gripe of mine. But I hate how Rick uses these over the top, tech gadgets that turns him into a god to solve his problems. Where as before, he used to use his witts/genius, invent stuff/solutions to his problems instead of already having them, and got lucky in tough situations instead of being essentially indestructible. It's just a lazy way of writing solutions to your problems.

This episode feels like it wasn't written by a professional screenwriter, but by some Rick and Morty fan dying of leukemia through a Make-A-Wish foundation. The dialogue is stiff and clunky, and the stakes feel nonexistent (who even cares about the Galactic Federation at this point?). Hopefully, this is just a fluke, and we'll get more creative episodes moving forward.

Also, it feels like the potential for centering the plot around Space Beth's adventures has run dry, especially since Rick himself says from the very beginning that they're just meaningless side quests and she's gonna grow out of it eventually.

Ever since they switched up Rick's and Morty's voice actors there's been a few really bad episodes that have aired. Don't get me wrong, season 8's premiere was amazing, as well as season 7's finale. And I want to like every episode. But episodes like these it feels like I'm watching a show for kids instead of adults. I would never put this episode on and say "I love this. This is what good tv is all about, I approve of this." It lacks its usual adult dimensions of humor. Rick is ... more agreeable in these mid-grade episodes, and he spouts off "canned" stuff he would never, ever say in previous episodes. He's been "lobotomized" by people who don't understand he's a "sad old fart", not this "happy go lucky" guy who's eager to spout lazy garbage phrases for likability's sake.

I'm not going to lie, it also feels weird having episodes entirely centered around a few characters instead of featuring the usual full cast. That part I'm less mad about, but it signals to me that something is off beyond the voices, this seems more like a writer dilemma. I gave this episode a 6/10 for a show that is a 9/10 which is legendary that a show could reach that high of a rating. But I guess all good things must come to an end.