Best Episodes of Rick And Morty (#14)

#14
'Meeseeks And Destroy'
Season 1, Episode 5

Rick lets Jerry, Beth, and Summer use a Meeseeks box (which generates a temporary alien helper named Mr. Meeseeks to perform simple tasks before disintegrating) to get them off of his back so he can take Morty along for another adventure. Morty tires of only ever doing what Rick wants to do, so they make a deal, giving Morty an opportunity to choose their next mission, which doesn't necessarily go as planned. Meanwhile, Jerry has issues with his Meeseeks.

Existentialism is a major theme in this show, and this episode is a great example of how they can make the crushing weight of existence take a visible toll on its characters. Mr. Meeseeks is a seemingly one-note character whose entire purpose for existing is to complete a task, but when he can't, things start to get...weird. Roiland's near-psychotic voice acting here is totally perfect, adding a lot to the desperation and aggression of this character while also being absolutely hilarious. This really is the highlight of the episode, but that doesn't take away from how fun it is to watch Rick criticize Morty's adventure every step of the way. Seeing Morty try to have a fun medieval-style quest that winds up getting derailed with no help from Rick would be a good enough episode on its own, but it's strange and cool that the more interesting story in this episode doesn't come from the Rick side of things, as he's usually the best thing in every show. It wasn't the funniest or most intelligent episode, but it's always a fun watch.

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