Rick and Mortyrarely have a hard time finding good excuses for adventure, and this week’s episode sees the pair star in a medieval space opera that greatly strengthens their family bonds while also showing Rick’s changing personality is here to stay.
That’s because in its penultimate season 6 episode, “A Rick in King Mortur’s Mort”,Rick and Mortydoubles down on last week’s therapy session to drive home the idea that Rick is changed man, one that can take the high road from time to time and put his pettiness aside. To further cement that notion, it’s Morty who must carry the burden of responsibility after he accidentally assumes control of the Sun and ends up unleashing an all-out war in our solar system.
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Episode 9 starts off fairly innocently as Rick and Morty are in line at a trendy pop-up restaurant located in an asteroid when a random act of kindness is spotted by the honorable Knights of the Sun. Morty is instantly offered knighthood and, despite Rick warning him it couldn’t possibly lead to anything good, he ends up accepting after some bystanders induce FOMO in him.
Things quickly take a turn for the worse as Sir Helios sacrifices himself upon passing his sword and Morty is taken away into the Sun to accept his oath as Sir Mortaniel, with one of this episode’s running gags beign revealed: as a Knight of the Sun Morty has to cut off his own penis. As he backs down, Morty is challenged by the Sun’s King, which he easily defeats thanks to Rick lending a sword with all ofBlade’stechnique, but none of his production delays.
Overall, it’s pretty impressive how fast “A Rick in King Mortur’s Mort” gets going, so this entry really doesn’t pack a single dull moment thanks to the constant change in scenery orRick and Morty dealing with these unwanted new characters. The Knights the Sun are as loyal as they come, much the entire Smith family’s dismay, though at least Space Beth is back in the fold without much fuzz.
The real twist for anyone who’s committed their time toRick and Morty’ssixth seasonis Rick’s newfound sense of meaning as he now wants to be truly supportive of Morty, so even if it’s just 22% more, it makes a huge difference.
Unfortunately, the Knights of the Sun time on Earth doesn’t go too well, as Morty hits them with some basic elementary school space knowledge causing them to completely lose their sense of purpose and spiral down path of heroin addiction. Humor is pretty consistent in this entire episode, but that doesn’t prevent writer Anne Lane from commenting on America’s very real opioid crisis.
However, the Knights of the Sun weren’t just some weird religious space eunuchs, their entire system of beliefs is somehow one of the facts about the universe that escaped Rick’s wisdom and the Sun going out of control unravels the first Solar War in the universe to the tune of Pink Floyd’s “Goodbye Blue Sky”. The guardians of each planet in our solar system are all hilarious and Jack Black cameos as the chief Viscount of Venus is particularly solid, as well as a nice reminder of how lucky Nintendo fans are tohave him in theSuper Mario Bros. Movievoice cast.
Black is not the only cameo though, asDaniel Radcliffe also starsas one of the Knights of the Sun, who are now too busy stuck in their own opium den on Earth. Meanwhile, war breaks out among all the planetary factions and not even Santa Earl of Earth can do anything about it as their tech breakthrough see the conflict escalate very similarly to human’s own history with war.
King Mortaniel eventually does have torise to the occasion as King Arthur did, rounding up the Knights of the Sun, albeit only convincing them to return to their old ways by promising to cut off his own penis. Luckily, by then grandpa Rick steps in to give a hand, or rather high-tech prosthetic that gives Morty a fair shot at renewing the faith in the Solar System’s most important religion and without having to resort to self-mutilation.
The jokes up until the very end surely fit the tone of the episode, and even ifRick and Morty barely manage to escape this oneintact at the very end of it, it continues the trend of season 6 helping Rick evolve into an emotionally functional adult. That said, this more mindful Rick is bound to be setting up a bigger moment in series story arc, which makes next week’s season finale even more exciting.
“Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation” is framed asRick and Morty’sholiday episode, and a proper family Christmas seems like perfect timing for Rick Prime to spoil the party. In any case, the series’ medieval adventure definitely passes the mark to turn the Knights of the Sun into fantastic
