Posted in: Adult Swim, Opinion, Preview, Rick and Morty, TV, TV | Tagged: Adult Swim, dan harmon, Justin Roiland, opinion, preview, rick and morty, season 7

Rick and Morty S07 Building Upon What Worked: Thoughts & Predictions

Adult Swim's Rick and Morty Season 7 already appears to be building upon what worked last season. Here are some thoughts & predictions...

After two days of sharing with us which films would be influencing the titles of the ten episodes making up the seventh season of Dan Harmon & Justin Roiland's Rick and Morty, Adult Swim released a Season 7 Episode Titles reveal video that also included the loglines (official descriptions) for each as well as background artwork. One of the things that impressed us right from the jump is the way the episode titles demonstrate that the creative team is taking what worked last season and building upon it for this run – embracing its own canon, not apologizing, and never looking back. We've been saying for some time that the series is a victim of its own brilliance – meaning that it would never be able to run 100 episodes and achieve the success that it has achieved by sticking to "one-and-done" episodes. An earlier teaser that confirmed the month (and then the date) of the show's return was a ten-ton reminder that Rick Prime will be a factor, so there's that – but what about Evil Morty? Speaking of which, before we offer some quick thoughts on what we think we can pull from what we've seen of each episode so far, we have a…

EVIL MORTY THEORY: We're not sure why we didn't think about this before, but that gold portal gun has been bothering us since we first saw it. But after catching the Season 5 finale again over the weekend, we had a new thought. What if Evil Morty sectioned away a single universe where he resides – and rules? Completely off the grid – and probably militarized against any Rick that should stumble his way there.

"How Poopy Got His Poop Back": This better be the beginning of a redemption arc for Mr. Poopybutthole because Rick and Morty really owe him, considering how badly they f***ed up his life by playing upon his inability to say no to helping them out. And we're not sure how many more depressing end credits scenes we can handle before we need therapy (again).

"The Jerrick Trap": We're all about any chance we get to see Rick and Jerry in action together – especially any involving "Sailor Moon"-like transformation scenes. But it also has us vibing high levels of concern for Jerry's well-being because we appreciate the journey that he's taken, so we're not looking for anything that could undercut that. Plus, it would be interesting to see where we're at with the whole "Rick and and Jerry are friends" thing.

"Air Force Wong": Will Dr. Wong be getting a more hands-on role in the series? Our first thought after looking at the image above was that Jerry & Beth (and Space Beth?) head to Virginia for some kind of lovers' retreat, and things become like Stephen King's Under the Dome.

"That's Amorte": We want to say that it will be something love/relationship-focused, but that "spaghetti" part is making our brains hurt – and the industrial plan visual only adds to the confusion.

"Unmortricken": Could Rick and Morty find themselves being drawn back into their more "mindless destruction" phase from the earlier seasons – even if it's for a good reason? If there was ever a title, logline & visual that screams "Rick Prime/Evil Morty" episode, it would be this one.

"Rickfending Your Mort": Feels like we might be seeing a follow-up to S06E02 "Rick: A Mort Well Lived" (directed by Kyounghee Lim and written by Alex Rubens). Will Marta and Morty meet? Will we learn more of the "bigger picture" between Rick and Marta from last season? We have this vibe that maybe Morty might find himself "standing trial" to justify the life he's led so far.

"Wet Kuat Amortican Summer": Aside from what Urban Dictionary taught us about what "kuat" means, it looks like we're getting a reminder that Morty and Summer actually go to class sometimes. But with a visual flashing back to S03E08: "Morty's Mind Blowers" (directed by Bryan Newton and written by Mike McMahan, James Siciliano, Ryan Ridley, Dan Guterman, Roiland & Harmon), could we see the siblings approaching the hallways of educational hell with some returned memories? And why would they've been removed in the first place?

"Rise of the Numbericons": It's not like "Water-T and the Rise of the Numbericons" wasn't teased back in S02E05: "Get Schwifty" (directed by Wes Archer and written by Tom Kauffman), but the possibility of a follow-up was still a pleasant surprise. Would the series hand over an entire episode to Ice-T's tale of revenge & redemption? Sure – and yet, we can't shake this feeling that Rick and Morty will be more involved than we expect.

"Mort: Ragnarick": After what we've seen from Rick's spaceship in the past, seeing it sitting there by itself in a wooded area makes us a bit nervous. But that logline has us wondering if Rick and Morty are about to find themselves on the wrong side of yet another deity.

"Fear No Mort": Once again, if there was ever an episode that vibed like it could bring Evil Morty back into the mix, it's this one. In fact, the title and logline have us flashing back to the scene during the Season 5 finale, where we saw how The Citadel had perfected their sick & twisted system of manufacturing Mortys. Could there be more fallout from that?

Rick and Morty Team on Replacing Roiland, Writing Team Stepping Up

Here's a look back at what Rick and Morty Co-EP Steve Levy and Adult Swim President Michael Ouweleen had to share regarding Justin Roiland and the new voice actor(s) being brought aboard – as well as how the Adult Swim series' writing team kept the ship going (all the way to another Emmy nomination – and another possible win):

On Roiland Being Replaced, Voice Acting Being Just One Part of Series & If Viewers Will Notice

Ouweleen: "The idea is that we feel that they are the same characters. Listen: voices are obviously super important in an animated series. And, of course, none of us wanted to go through what we went through. But I've been in animation for a long time, and I know that what makes a series is its different parts coming together. If the voices are obviously a big part, there is also the writing of the characters, their design… I have reason to believe that the transition will go well."

Levy: "The quality of writing has never been better, and all the screenwriters have stayed. I don't think anyone will bat an eyelid hearing the new voices."

Ouweleen: "[On recasting process] But it's looking good. It's a rather unique situation… I'll take an example: there have been several great Bugs Bunny voice actors, and I love what Jeff Bennett has done with them. But it's not Mel Blanc! And yet we recognize the character. I even think that for 'Rick and Morty' we will do even better… It will be fine. It'll be great."

On How "Rick and Morty" Team Responded to Justin Roiland's Departure

Levy: The pill was hard to swallow. We were shocked and disturbed by what happened. But we stuck together, and we put all our energy into the series. We decided to stay positive, and in the end, we produced the best drawings, scripts, and animations of the entire series. And Dan Harmon [the co-creator of Rick and Morty] has always been in the trenches with us every step of the way. He always has an eye on everything, and sometimes that means he asks us to rewrite entire scripts, but for the good of the series. He never walked away after Justin left.

Ouweleen: There is no guide on how to react to this kind of thing. And it's not normal to experience that. Of course, it's hard; of course, it hurts. But when a whole team works on a series, the series actually becomes more important than one person. Season 7 will be pivotal; we know it, but I think we've never done better so far.

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