Summary
- Season 8 of Rick and Morty should refocus on standalone comedic episodes without complex lore.
- The show's early success stemmed from self-contained, humorous stories without needing context from past episodes.
- Writers of Season 8 should pitch wild and fun ideas without heavy lore to maintain the show's anarchic joy.
With Rick and Morty Season 8 officially on the horizon, it presents a golden opportunity for Dan Harmon and friends to do something that past seasons should have done: remove the fluff and refocus on the genius of standalone episodes to reclaim the raw comedic spark that made the inaugural season such an instant classic.
From the moment in Rick and Morty where the drunk science-savvy uncle, Rick Sanchez, drags his unsuspecting grandson, Morty, through a glowing portal into a world of interdimensional creatures, viewers are introduced to head-spinning sci-fi concepts and emotional wild cards. But somewhere between the intergalactic body swaps and multiverse lore dumps, the show’s heart has become buried under its complex layers of lore., When the narrative becomes an intricate puzzle, punchlines get buried under layers of setup, which can be tiring for the audience.
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Rick and Morty Has Gotten Too Complicated
At Its Core, Rick and Morty Is a Twisted Sitcom With Family Dysfunction
Remember when you could enjoy any season or episode of Rick and Morty without needing context? It started as a sitcom that could take a wild idea—like a theme park inside a homeless man's body—and turn it into a fun, fast-paced story in just twenty minutes. Fast-forward through to Season 7, and those one‑off thrills are too often traded for multi‑episode arcs that strain the memory, with the show already giving the vibe of a sprawling epic that requires a flowchart to keep track of the ever‑deepening Smith family backstory.
The Council of Ricks' politics, Citadel intrigues, fractured timelines, and Dark Rick uprisings all read like a cosmic spreadsheet. Episodes like “The Rickshank Redemption” and “The Ricklantis Mixup” expose the brilliance of the writers, yes, but they’re also packed with blink-and-you’ll miss-it references that can alienate casual viewers. In the Season 5 finale arc, “Rickmurai Jack,” the show dove so deeply into Rick’s backstory that it felt less like a twenty-minute comedy and more like a condensed mythology dump spanning seven seasons. Similarly, “Mortyplicity,” also from Season 5, took a clever, meta approach with its decoy clone crisis spiraling into existential chaos. While intellectually intriguing, it lacked the laugh-out-loud simplicity of earlier episodes and failed to deliver the same comedic punch as something as absurd and iconic as Mr. Meeseeks.
All this is to say, complexities can be thrilling, but when every punchline requires a translator, the pure, anarchic joy starts to disappear.
Why Rick and Morty Season 1 Worked So Well
It Had Self-Contained Episodes Rather Than Complex Lore
Rick and Morty Season 1 is a masterclass in balanced absurdity, emotional beats, and fresh concept—one epic ride per week, no pre‑reading required. From Mr. Meeseeks helping Jerry with his golf swing to Squanchy to “Rick Portion 9”, which begins with a classic teenage crush gone wrong and spirals into Rick unleashing a world of Cronenberg horrors, every episode delivered a self‑contained premise that escalated brilliantly. Fans didn’t need to remember what happened in Episode 3 to laugh at Episode 5, as writers “painted” with uncomplicated strokes on a blank canvas for each episode.
Beneath the interdimensional escapades, Season 1 kept its emotional through‑line simple: Rick’s reckless genius versus Morty’s wide‑eyed innocence. Morty’s crush on Jessica in "Rick Potion #9" and the focus on Beth and Rick’s relationship in "Pickle Rick" felt genuine because they weren’t buried under cliffhangers or dragged out across multiple episodes. The balance was just right.
Writers of Rick and Morty Season 8 Need To Revisit The Show's Humble Beginnings
There might have been a recent changing of the guard with the departure of Justin Roiland, but the first glimpses of Rick and Morty Season 8 promise a fresh start for the Smith family. Writers are at liberty to sprinkle in the inventive concepts that made Season 1 feel fresh every week. No multi-season obligations, just a clear and memorable ride. Where continuity and plot development matter, it should be used sparingly or as easter eggs and callbacks for devoted fans. In other words, dooming the casual viewer, who just wants laughter per episode, to unlocking another lore chest is one of the surest ways to lose them. The show’s identity has always been in its ability to shock audiences with a bizarre premise and leave them itching for whatever absurdity comes next.
The upcoming season also needs to reset the emotional clock, which can be achieved by anchoring each wild concept in a family moment, like a tender exchange over breakfast that suddenly segues into a portal jump. Let Rick be Rick again—nihilistic, selfish, but oddly patriotic about Morty’s safety. If every reveal hinges on old trauma, the audience loses the butterfly-effect joy of Season 1’s discovery. When Morty calls out Rick in the garage for being selfish, it hits hard because it happens during something as ordinary as fixing a hover car.
Writers of Season 8 of Rick and Morty should shy not away from pitching even wilder, self-contained concepts and embrace the kind of absurdity that made episodes like “Anatomy Park” instant classics. These ideas don’t need deep lore; they just need to be ridiculously fun.
- Created by
- Justin Roiland, Dan Harmon
- Where to watch
- Adult Swim
Rick And Morty Season 8 Is Getting A Fresh Start, And The Smiths Are Finally Hitting Home Again
The first season of Rick and Morty established its premise as the misadventures of a broken family in a rippled universe. Season 8 returns to form.