Is the President of the United States Rick the biggest rival? I know he's been in our face this whole time, but for some strange reason, it just dawned on me. "Rick and Morty's Spectacular Exploitation of Thanks" is another chapter in the escalating feud between Rick and the President. So far we've seen the two go head-to-head on "The Rickchurian Mortydate," and while this episode focuses on another one of their little fights, it does enough to set itself apart from past encounters, showing us the true meaning of their ill-timed Episode of Thanksgiving. As the creators say, this meaning is "to sit, eat and be silent during a meal." This episode opens with Morty once again faking another one of Rick's schemes, which of course puts him on the President's radar. It is here that Rick reveals his brilliant plan to (once again) turn himself into a turkey, so the president can unknowingly pardon him for Thanksgiving. Yeah, that's something we do in America. This isn't the first time Rick has done this, though, so we get to enjoy intricate machinations on both sides on a par with the absurd heist episode from Rick and Morty season four, "One Crew over the Crewcoo's Morty." ".
President vs. Rick
I never tire of Keith David's excellent portrayal of this ridiculous character. What's even funnier is the fact that the show has now positioned the President as the only character who can really take on Rick.
Apparently capitalism, taking advantage of his country and being a global front man is enough to rival Rick's genius. Rick has a big gun? Well, then the president asked 50 scientists to make a super weapon out of it. If Rick is going to turn into a turkey to get pardoned, then the president is... well, you get the idea. These escalating feuds between Rick and the President are reminiscent of Family Guy's chicken fights (the irony), but with a little more substance.
The premise of Rick turning into something weird is already enough to make this episode laugh. Watching the president go head-to-head with Rick at every turn with clunky plans like his is even more fun, especially when it seems to come at the expense of the very country he's trying to protect.
RIP in my hometown of New York: You didn't deserve to be cannon fodder for the French and their robotic statue of liberty in this episode.
After some intricately animated turkey fight scenes, you think you know what you're getting with this episode. Instead, the writers throw some welcome curveballs in "The Rick & Morty Thanksgiving Exploitation Spectacular."
Rick and the President's fight ends up hanging up when we learn that the turkeys were the real enemies all along. Seeing one of the creatures turn into a human isn't something I saw coming in this episode, but the Rick and Morty writers always work best when they pull off something unexpected.
The writers are clearly having fun because they are using this new development to poke fun at the American political process. They also find a really strong way to mend the barriers between Rick and the president, while it lasts. It's towards the end that this episode starts to feel like a true Thanksgiving episode, which is a strange thing to say considering it's mid-July. The show offers its own version of the vacation that is honestly as bad as reality.
Well, I guess Thanksgiving came early in the sense that this is another nice episode of Rick and Morty. The other characters take a bit of a back seat this time around, even Morty. The Sanchez family doesn't have much to do here other than help advance the plot and make obvious comments about the nature of Rick and the President's relationship.
It shows how strong Rick's character is still after all this time - he can carry the story of an entire episode on his shoulders and still show Rick and Morty in their prime.
Rick and Morty airs every Sunday on Adult Swim in the US. UU. And every Monday on Channel 4 in the UK.