Giant, violent sperm monsters? Incest babies? Cannibal horse people? This week's episode of Rick and Morty was the grossest, most unrewarding one yet. Rick and Morty has a habit of developing storylines that are out-of-the-box, keeping it distinct from the standard animation domination line-up. Its home on Adult Swim has always felt fitting, given the show's raunchy nature and overt sexual themes. Each episode of Rick and Morty usually offers commentary on existentialism and mental health, while also throwing a few hits at the selfishness of human behavior.
However, "Rickdependence Spray" was a few steps too far, while also not going far enough. The episode revolved around Rick accidentally creating giant sperm monsters, originating from his grandson Morty. While the episode throws in a few twists and turns, in the end, there is no relief given to the viewers. There is not an overlying philosophical message, there is no long-lasting, quirky space schtick. The only thing that audience is left with is a giant incest baby.
Overview of "Rickdependence Spray"
From the very top of this episode, it was made clear that it would be an episode filled with endless sex jokes. "Rickdependence Spray" opens up with Morty killing time at his mom's work, the local animal hospital. He observes a suction-based device used to collect horse specimens and curiously examines it. It is at this moment that the viewer knows what's coming next.
Morty's abuse of this device came to end once he found out that Rick was devising a plan to attack a group of highly-educated, human-hating horses called the Chuds. To put his plan into action, Rick needed to test his formulas on the supposed horse sperm collected from the hospital.
It's almost as if Morty hasn't learned a single thing from his excessive time spent traveling space with the family genius. The teenage boy convinces his grandpa that he doesn't need to test the sperm to make sure it came from a horse (because it says 100% horse on the container, duh), and instead, he should just go forth with executing his plan.
Unbeknownst to all, this unleashes a group of deadly giant sperm to wreak havoc on the country and seek their revenge against Morty for not bringing them to fruition.
Lessons Learned
By lessons learned, it's more accurate to say that there was no lesson learned. Every conflict created in the episode was resolved using a cop-out, which was a major disappointment. Throughout the sperm hunt, Morty wastes everybody's time by not informing them that the sperm monsters were created at his disposal. So, instead, he digs himself into a hole of lies and puts himself at the forefront of the hunt. Eventually, the more predictable conclusion is reached: Morty forms a tight kinship with one of the giant sperms who recognizes him as its donor.
While Rick and Morty are in the field, Beth and Summer are back with the government intelligence team. The episode lightly explores themes of misogyny as the government officials constantly insulted their ability to help, shutting them up as they tried to insert their insight on reproductive health. Although it added some spice to the episode, none of the comments were very memorable.
"Rickdependence Spray" reached a simple conclusion with the background war between the humans and the Chuds resolved by Rick's love arc with a Chud. Sticking with the theme of the episode, the horse revealed that she was pregnant with Rick's child and called for there to be unity between the two species. This plot was easily thrown away as the horse birthed the baby that was instantly independent and the two called it quits.
Eventually, Morty had to admit to everybody that it was his sperm after discovering that the plan was to attract the giant sperm to a giant egg and then launch it into space. Things got messy when Morty found out that the egg is from Summer. He quickly admits fault, trying to halt the creation of a giant incest baby. Sadly, he doesn't react in time.
For a brief moment, viewers are tricked to believe that the giant incest baby could be avoided as Morty's befriended sperm appears to be helping mitigate the situation. But, after it defeats the other sperms, it flies itself into Summer's giant egg, creating a giant incest baby that is then launched into space.
It's worrisome to think that the Rick and Morty writer's room may be losing steam, as they put out such a cringe-worthy episode before the halfway point of Season 5. It's a shame to say "Rickdependence Spray" never goes anywhere and lacks creativity. However, the show's signature goofy nature and its fearlessness to tackle unique storylines are still prevalent. It was just a swing and miss this episode. Rather than controversial, they just went for gross.