Rick & Morty Goes ‘Star Wars’ in S4 Finale

Rick and Morty Season 4, Episode 10 Review

*Slow clapping from being thoroughly impressed* Those magnificent people who work on Rick and Morty. They did it. After an (admittedly) lackluster second half to Season 4, Rick and Morty manages to stick the landing with the best episode since “The Rickshank Redemption.” Not to mention, it’s the best finale since “Wedding Squanchers.” Why though? Three reasons:

• It sees the actual return of Tammy, the Federation, and Bird Person.
• It brings back one of the biggest questions from the end of Season 3
• The finale parodies Star Wars, from the title right down to the plot and sci-fi references!

I’m going to avoid spoiling as much as possible, but here’s the rundown. Remember “the ABC’s of Beth,” where Rick offered to clone Beth so she could go explore the universe? That Beth has been living as a Princess Leia freedom fighter against a rebuilt Federation, thinking she’s the real one. However, when she finds a potential bomb in her neck, she’s convinced that Rick lied to her about that. As a result, she heads back to Earth to confront her dad. In doing so, though, she brings the Federation, Tammy included, in pursuit of her.

One would expect this to be the point where Rick has to come in and “save” the day. Instead, the opposite happens: it’s the Smith Family that saves Rick. To be more specific, we see both Beth’s bonding over their issues with Rick, teaming up to kick Federation ass. Meanwhile, Morty and Summer manage to shut down the bug-alien’s Death Star knock-off and save the Earth.

Does the Smith Family No Longer Need Rick?

I think that there’s a big takeaway from the fact that Rick had to be saved by his family. One that I’ve been noticing throughout Season Four: the Smith family’s not as dependent on Rick anymore. We’ve already seen examples of the Smith’s being badasses, but here we see it in full display:

For one, seeing the lengths that Morty and Summer go to fighting over an invisibility belt and then stopping the ship shows off how clever they are.

The Beth’s become a pair of badass sisters with sassy attitudes.

Even Jerry gets some one-liners in. Rick doesn’t really do anything, in the end, and it shows. By the end of the episode, any respect the family may have still had for Rick is gone, and both of his daughters make it clear that they no longer need his approval. He’s all alone.

So, it looks like Rick has hit rock-bottom. He no longer looks like a god to his family; he’s realizing he’s a horrible father; and it turns out not even the Federation cares about him anymore. Rick may be the smartest in the universe, but it doesn’t mean squat when he’s a lonely old jerk.

Overall, the season finale to Rick and Morty was filled with a lot of laughs and epic moments for the entire family while throwing fans a bone by touching upon past episodes. At the same time, it also leaves us with a Rick that’s more alone than ever. Which begs the question: where will Season five go?

The way I see it, Rick’s got two options. He can accept his new place in the family and they all go on adventures as a badass family. Or, he can go to a new universe and start fresh. I hope he chooses the former because that would be awesome. Either way, though, we’re gonna get plenty of more fun from Rick and Morty.

I Give “Star Mort, Rickturn of the Jerri” a 5/5. Best of the Season

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