Posted in: Adult Swim, Review, Rick and Morty, TV | Tagged: Adult Swim, Episode 4, Review, rick and morty, season 7

Rick and Morty Season 7 Ep. 4 "That's Amorte" Review: Lost Appetites

Adult Swim's Rick and Morty S07E04: "That's Amorte" served up a deliciously twisted satire that gave new meaning to "you are what you eat."

Here's the thing about Adult Swim's Rick and Morty – there's a lot to truly appreciate creatively about the Emmy Award-winning animated series. It has the ability to take a theme, concept, or trope and twist it in a unique way that viewers never see coming. In addition, it knows how to take its satire to just enough of an extreme level that it grabs our attention without distracting from the message. And then there are the targets that it goes after – ranging from heist films to (as was the case with S07E04: "That's Amorte") capitalism feeding into the worst appetites of consumer consumption. While the series doesn't shy away from making its leaning known, it still manages to play "Devil's Advocate" effectively enough that it leaves it to the viewers to take a position – with the animated series refusing to beat a viewer into submission on a position metaphorically.

And let's take a moment to appreciate just this season has offered us four very distinctly different chapters in the lives of Rick, Morty, Beth, Jerry & Summer. While the season-opener could be seen as a buddy comedy blast offering a lesson on the responsibilities of friendship, the following two episodes offered us insight into "Therapy Rick" – first, by looking at his friendship dynamic with Jerry and then by examining his need for boundaries & to have the ability to trust in an adventure involving The President, Dr. Wong & Unity. So what did "That's Amorte" have to offer? A twistedly dark take on how folks are willing to make a buck feeding the consumer "beast" no matter what they're hungry for – and we mean "no matter what." With that in mind, we're throwing on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign and throwing down an image spoiler buffer before taking a deeper dive…

Bet you're not finding "parmezian" as quicky-yet-adorable as when you first heard it, huh? If you're like us, then you walked away from the cold open with the sense that a "Soylent Green" deal might be going on when it comes to how ravenous the Smiths are when it comes to Rick's spaghetti nights. And it turns out that all of us were right – but here's where that twist comes in. After Morty learns that there's a planet where the internal organs of suicide victims are repurposed into irresistible pasta, the yellow-shirted half of our dimension-hopping duo looks to go "Chuck Heston" by exposing the truth of the operations. Do we need to tell you how well that decision went? Remember that time when Morty tried to help out that planet of snakes? Yeah, Morty's more of a "no good deed goes unpunished" person – though it usually ends up being everyone else who gets punished.

What follows is a darkly twisted spiral of bloodthirsty capitalism, unsatiable consumer hunger – and the depths that the former will go to feed the latter. Soon, there's a thriving interplanetary pasta business based on individuals receiving financial incentives to kill themselves. And that's about as in-your-face symbolism as you're going find – a society so consumed with being fed that it would be willing to feed off itself to feel satisfied (which it never can), and those willing to make a buck while turning a blind eye.

As I mentioned before, the episode continues its tradition of addressing more than one perspective – as we see Rick and Morty try (and fail) to find alternatives. In addition, I thought it was interesting that Rick would be the one to go the emotional route to convince all parties involved that life is more precious than a meal. But again, the episode steps away from taking a hard position at the end – in many ways, we're left with a Rick who takes issue with how it was put into practice here but still worships at the alter of Capitalism (like back in S04E06: "Never Ricking Morty"). But if there's one particular toxic thing about the Rick/Morty dynamic that hasn't improved, it's Rick's glee in proving to Morty that Morty's best intentions can do a lot of damage.

Rick and Morty Season 7 Episode 4 "That's Amorte"

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Review by Ray Flook

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8.5/10

Here's the thing about Adult Swim's Rick and Morty - there's a lot to truly appreciate creatively about the Emmy Award-winning animated series. It has the ability to take a theme, concept, or trope and twist it in a unique way that viewers never see coming. In addition, it knows how to take its satire to just enough of an extreme level that it grabs our attention without distracting from the message. And then there are the targets that it goes after - ranging from heist films to (as was the case with S07E04: "That's Amorte") capitalism feeding into the worst appetites of consumer consumption. While the series doesn't shy away from making its leaning known, it still manages to play "Devil's Advocate" effectively enough that it leaves it to the viewers to take a position - with the animated series refusing to beat a viewer into submission on a position metaphorically. And let's take a moment to appreciate just this season has offered us four very distinctly different chapters in the lives of Rick, Morty, Beth, Jerry & Summer. While the season-opener could be seen as a buddy comedy blast offering a lesson on the responsibilities of friendship, the following two episodes offered us insight into "Therapy Rick" - first, by looking at his friendship dynamic with Jerry and then by examining his need for boundaries & to have the ability to trust in an adventure involving The President, Dr. Wong & Unity. So what did "That's Amorte" have to offer? A twistedly dark take on how folks are willing to make a buck feeding the consumer "beast" no matter what they're hungry for - and we mean "no matter what."

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