Posted in: Adult Swim, Max, Review, Rick and Morty, TV | Tagged: , , ,


Rick and Morty S07E09 "Mort: Ragnarick" Review: You Gotta Have Faith

Faith, religion, Bigfoot & Pokemon are just some of the factors that come into play in Adult Swim's Rick and Morty S07E09 "Mort: Ragnarick."


It all comes down to this, folks. Yup, we've reached the penultimate episode of the seventh season of Adult Swim's Rick and Morty. Maybe we're still caught up in all of the canon that's been served up to us this season, but we can't shake this feeling that the brain-punches aren't quite over yet – especially when you have a season finale with a title like "Fear No Mort." But before we get to that, we shine a spotlight on Rick as he further thumbs his nose at anything & everything having to do with gods in S07E09: "Mort: Ragnarick" (pretty ironic for a dude who's routinely referred to himself as a god). Of course, Rick's no stranger when it comes to wanting to go toe-to-toe with the omnipotent – remember S04E09: "Childrick of Mort" (directed by Kyounghee Lim and written by James Siciliano)? Though Rick and Summer deserve series props for making the serious save on that one. But for this go-around, it looks like Rick's more interested in getting his hands on what the afterlife has to offer – and it appears that Valahlla is his doorway to making it happen.

rick and morty
Image: Adult Swim Screencap

What we ended up with was an episode that did a fine job of crucifying organized religion while also making the case for having faith. But there was a respect for faith threaded throughout the episode, as well as an emphasis on the importance of keeping an open mind to other possibilities. As much as I wasn't expecting Bigfoot to appear, his situation with Rick – as well as Rick's dealing with the Valhalla warriors – did an excellent job of demonstrating the dangers of underestimating others and living within preconceived notions. But it was a message near the end of the episode that stuck out the most to me, and that was how faith serves those who are faithful, but religion requires too much of its members to serve its leaders. With that in mind, we're throwing on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign and dropping down an image spoiler buffer before we jump into some random observations about S07E09: "Mort: Ragnarick":

Rick and Morty S07E09: "Mort: Ragnarick" Thoughts

WILD PREDICTION: Rick's plan involves a bigger plan to find a way to bring Diane back. Just throwing that out there… even if it doesn't play out tonight.

Okay, we're clearly taking on religion here – but we definitely didn't see Bigfoot trapped in a Pokemon ball.

Holy shit – having Rick's clone body crucified by the Pope as he explains how Bigfoot will be the Vatican's killing machine will definitely get some attention.

Oh, wow. Yeah, The Pope sending out Bigfoot to crush other faiths and non-believers is truly fucked up – and it looks like Rick and Morty might have a new earthbound "big bad" – someone who can get into some of Rick's systems, no less.

There was an interesting moment between Rick and Morty when Rick called Morty out for letting Bigfoot free, and Morty apologized. Rick's response vibed like a dialing back of the toxicity, with Rick choosing to move on and not dwell.

rick and morty
Image: Adult Swim

So Rick's looking for infinite power solely for the sake of having infinite power. Makes sense. And yet… hmmm. I can't shake this feeling that Rick needs infinite power for more than just powering his car.

Statistically speaking, Summer is the third most likely to die. Good to know.

Okay… I'm gonna total fanboy here… but Rick and Morty teaming up with Bigfoot, Dracula, Wolfman, Mummy, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon was pretty bad-ass. For a hot second.

For the record? I said "popéball" before Rick did. No joke. Damn right.

POST-CREDITS: The Pope learns the price of messing with Rick Sanchez – replaced at the Vatican by Rick's wild clone while he's picked up by the police after a "poke-battle" gets raided (just before Rick portals out).

Rick and Morty Season 7 Episode 9 "Mort: Ragnarick"

rick and morty
Review by Ray Flook

8/10
It all comes down to this, folks. Yup, we've reached the penultimate episode of the seventh season of Adult Swim's Rick and Morty. Maybe we're still caught up in all of the canon that's been served up to us this season, but we can't shake this feeling that the brain-punches aren't quite over yet - especially when you have a season finale with a title like "Fear No Mort." But before we get to that, we shine a spotlight on Rick as he further thumbs his nose at anything & everything having to do with gods in S07E09: "Mort: Ragnarick" (pretty ironic for a dude who's routinely referred to himself as a god). Of course, Rick's no stranger when it comes to wanting to go toe-to-toe with the omnipotent - remember S04E09: "Childrick of Mort" (directed by Kyounghee Lim and written by James Siciliano)? Though Rick and Summer deserve series props for making the serious save on that one. But for this go-around, it looks like Rick's more interested in getting his hands on what the afterlife has to offer - and it appears that Valahlla is his doorway to making it happen. What we ended up with was an episode that did a fine job of crucifying organized religion while also making the case for having faith - just not "blind faith - and reminding us of a key difference between faith and religion.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!

Ray FlookAbout Ray Flook

Serving as Television Editor since 2018, Ray began five years earlier as a contributing writer/photographer before being brought onto the core BC team in 2017.
twitterinstagram
Comments will load 20 seconds after page. Click here to load them now.