4. Rick and Morty (Season 4) – Adult Swim
First of all, putting season four of Rick and Morty in the number four spot isn’t meant to be some kind of ironic joke or pun and yes, I am kind of cheating to put it here. While the first half of this season premiered at the tail end of 2019, its second half did end in 2020, making it a 2020 series. After all, you can’t really judge something until it really reaches its end.
Season four continues the impressive streak of excellence that Rick and Morty has set before and offers new kinds of sci-fi hilarity and parody. To say that there’s no place this series won’t go is an understatement as this season really just goes for it every chance it gets. Highlights include a Terminator parody featuring time-traveling snakes, the group getting tangled in a fantasy adventure with very sexual dragons, and a delightfully hilarious riff on Akira that puts Morty (voiced by Justin Roiland) in a hilarious courtroom scene. Hell, this season even pulls off amazing riffs on heist movies and anthologies and sees Rick fight against a literal god. Best of all, it delivers one of the best episodes to date with “The Vat of Acid Episode,” which is just one darkly hilarious moment after another and keys viewers into what this season is really about – challenging Rick (also voiced by Roiland).
Although Rick is one-half of the series’ protagonist duo, he’s far from a hero. In the past, he’s been seen to make selfish decisions and have emotionless reactions to those around him, but this season really turns the tables on him. Not only do we get to see Rick trying to humiliate someone that’s been using his secret escape off on a far away planet, we also see his lie to Beth about whether or not she’s a clone finally come back to bite him.
The season finale perfectly showcases how Rick is deeply flawed as both a father and a person due to how he can’t find the decency to tell them who the original Beth is. It’s proof that this series isn’t afraid to challenge its characters and show them fully – even their horrific and pathetic sides. It sets up what’ll hopefully be another great season where we see Morty, Beth, and maybe even Jerry step up against Rick and possibly see Rick backed on his heels for the first time.
Is season four just another great Rick and Morty season? Yes, but it’s also a testament to why this series is so great. Season four not only brings the kind of sci-fi hilarity and wild adventures that only Roiland and Dan Harmon can deliver, but it continues to strengthen the future of the series and make the wait for the series to come out of hibernation again that much more unbearable.
