Rick and Morty was the show for me in the beginning even when the dumbasses showed up, but it lost its appeal after the scandal. Just doesnât feel the same.
Probably this one where a bunch of fans attacked a McDonald's to get Szechuan sauce. Rick and Morty got some mainstream attention. People would say something like "You like R&M? You must be toxic."
I feel like they're more likely talking about Jeff Roiland's (edit: creator, one of the main writers, and voice actor for most male characters (including both Rick and Morty)) abuse allegations, after which they canned him as writer/ voice actor and the show kind of lost it's flair.
they canned him as writer/ voice actor and the show kind of lost it's flair.
You're joking, right?
Roiland is a great voice actor, but the rambling "comedy" bits got old and repetitive real fast. I don't miss them. That, and the new VOs hit it out of the park.
I saw a clear separation between me and the idiot part of the demographic who enjoys the show at the Pickle Rick episode.
It wasn't funny. It wasn't even a good story or episode. It was just the writers deciding to come up with the most blatantly random thing for the sole sake of randomness.
I hate that I'm writing this because I'm gonna sound like the *"to be fair * copy pasta but, the fact that it's so lame and stupid is kind of the whole point of the bit.
He gives his big "I'm pickle Riiiiick!" presentation like it's supposed to be some big huge awesome thing, and it's presented like a punchline that you're supposed to laugh at and find funny... Then it's a hard cut to Morty's disappointed, slightly concerned face for a solid 10 seconds. Morty is you, the viewer, painfully unimpressed by what is presented as, well, "the funniest shit ever".
Remember in an earlier episode when Rick makes a reference to the non-existent Redgren Grumblholdt, and the kids laugh because they think it's supposed to be funny and just want to fit in? Those are the people that the "funniest shit ever" meme is about. People that are fed an intentionally bad joke, don't understand the irony behind the bad joke, but sees that everyone else is laughing at the bad joke, so they pretend the joke is funny. Two people laughing at the same thing for entirely different reasons.
The whole Pickle Rick plotline is just background events anyways. The meat and potatoes of the episode is with Dr Wong.
The whole show is about how Rick is a selfish prick. That episode was also about Rick being a selfish prick and trying to weasel out family therapy by turning himself into a pickle.
That's it. That was the entire reason for Pickle Rick. But the idiots who idolize Rick for some reason cranked it up to full retard.
See, that's the thing. Pickle Rick was funny because he went through all that bullshit just to avoid going to therapy. The show was making an excellent point about how stigmatized therapy is, and how bettering yourself is hard work, work many people just don't want to do. (Basically, "men would rather turn themselves into pickles than go to therapy.")
Of course, any actual nuance is lost on the "high IQ" R&M fans. I've always seen Rick as similar to Eric Cartman or the Joker: if you idolize him, you missed the point.
I remember being hyped about it since I was a huge fan of Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland, even told some friends to keep an eye on it. I recall watching the premiere of the first episode and even telling more friends about it.
Then the entire thing became super popular before Season 1 was over and then... well you know what happened. I continued watching after Roiland was gone and the show popularity declined, but I am absolutely staying as far away as possible from that fandom