Liam Hoofe ranks each episode of Rick and Morty season 3 from worst to best…
Rick and Morty season 3 is over, and what a ride it was. While a lot of shows tend to hit a stumbling block in their third season, Rick and Morty defied all expectations, giving us its most consistent season to date. The first two seasons of the show were centred, fairly exclusively, on the adventures of the titular duo as they jumped between dimensions tackling all sorts of wacky adventures.
Season 3 threw the rest of the Smith family into the mix and the results speak for themselves. Season 3 has been the show’s most thematically rich to date and the ending set up plenty of potential new twists and turns in the fourth season.
If the post-credits scene from the final episode was anything to go by, it looks as though we may have to wait a while for the show’s return. So while we wait, let’s take a look back at every episode from season 3, and rank them from worst, to best.
10: The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy – Episode 5
There were no bad episodes in season 3 of Rick and Morty. The Whirly Dirly conspiracy, the Jerry-centric episode from the middle of the season is still a fine episode of the show with some great gags and some good character development. Up until this point in the season, Jerry had not been featured as much as we would have liked so it was nice to see him get an episode just to himself with Rick.
The sub-plot, where Summer accidentally turns herself into a giant was also pretty amusing.
9: Rickmancing the Stone – Episode 2
Rickmancing the Stone was the first episode of the show to air this summer following episode 1’s surprise arrival back in April. The episode, a Mad Max themed exploration of the aftermath of Beth and Jerry’s break-up was a gentle easing back into the world of Rick and Morty, one filled with some nice character moments and amusing pop culture references.
Rickmancing the Stone established a lot of the themes that we would see over season 3, focusing on the growing distance between the family and everyone’s different attempts to deal with what had happened.
8: The ABCs of Beth – Episode 9
Beth has always been an integral part of Rick and Morty, and after 3 seasons, we finally saw her get her own episode. The ABCs of Beth was an innovative look at Beth’s childhood, one that explored not only her relationship with her father but also the way she chooses to ignore the similarities between them.
The ABCs of Beth was a really fun episode of the show, and a nice change of pace after the two unique, stand-alone episodes that come before it.
7: Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender – Episode 4
It was only a matter of time before Rick and Morty turned their attention to the superhero genre. The show has taken aim at a lot of the sci-fi genre, and season 3 was the show’s most pop cultured filled yet.
The Vindicators, while certainly sharing similarities with The Avengers, took a pop at the genre in general, as opposed to just one particular hero or group and it was a great episode of the show. Rick’s darker tendencies have always been one of the driving forces behind the show, so having him play the antagonist was a really nice touch here. The episode also introduced us to one of the season’s best characters- Noop Noop.
6: Rickchurian Mortydate – Episode 10
The season finale of Rick and Morty season 3 may not have been as impactful as the previous two season finales, but it was a nice conclusion to what has been the show’s finest season to date. Instead of opting for a big grand storyline, like Season 2, the show closed out the third season with an episode that wrapped up everything thematically – changing the whole dynamic of the Smith family and leaving Rick facing a very different future.
The central plot about Rick and Morty evading the President of the United States was also hilarious, and the exchanges between Morty and the President boasted some of the season’s funniest dialogue.
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Originally published October 3, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
