Rick and Morty Season 6 Episode 1 Recap, Recap & Analysis: 'Solaricks' (2023)

Warning: This Rick and Morty Season 6 Episode 1 review is full of spoilers. If you haven't seen the episode yet, stop reading now. You don't want to make Mr. Poopybutthole sad, do you?

"I think that's how it ends..." Rick says at the beginning of "Solaricks". "I thought it was better than that. Dramatic voiceovers while you're stranded in space? I think when you die the first thing that goes is your creativity..."

The smartest man in the universe might curse himself for succumbing to the cliché and apologize for itAvengers Endgame— but a short address on the state of the union is a good way to start an episode that (sort of) picks up where the season five finale "Rickmurai Jack" left off. Granted it's not a full synopsis of Previous on Rick and Morty..., let's be honest that would double the episode's running time, but it helps to know that Rick's Citadel is still destroyed, the remaining Morties are gone wild. , and the titular scientist's team and grandchildren are trapped in a spaceship that has run out of power.

They're not in danger for long, however, and when Space Beth arrives on a conveniently contrived rescue mission, it feels like the episode hits a big button called "Reset." Thankfully, that's not the case here, as the gang's return to Earth ushers in a fun and inventive deep dive into mythology that Rick and Morty relentlessly expands on.

As with the X-Files, the jury is very divided on whether Rick and Morty is better when it comes to canonical or standalone stories. I'm firmly in the latter camp, but let's hang out after the universe-shattering revelations of Rickmurai Jack. it would have felt like a dereliction of duty. This is an episode unabashedly designed to keep loyal Rick and Morty fans happy, but also remember that high-concept sci-fi references, unashamed silliness, and the occasional unexpected moment of heart are also essential are part of the show.

At home, Rick's efforts to restore normalcy by resetting the portal index, which Evil Morty instantly destroyed when he accidentally resets the portal, fail.Travelersinstead of this. That means Rick, Morty, and Jerry are returning to their original universes, but only after a hilarious, drawn-out process of disappearance. "It took so much time to explain!" a typically confused Jerry grumbles afterwards.

While Jerry's home universe seems eerily normal, Morty finds himself back on the dystopian Earth he left when the monstrous Cronenbergs took over. Here he encounters a post-apocalyptic Jerry who survives by reading Barnes & Noble and eating Cronenberg's brain. Unfortunately for Morty, however, the icy deaths of Jerry's Beth and Summer mean he wants nothing to do with the son who left him behind.

Meanwhile, Rick finds himself back where the evil Rick he's pursued for decades, the one with the nondescript haircut and cool sci-fi jacket widely known as "Weird Rick," killed his original wife and daughter. Fueled by the Diane ghost he created to torment himself: "You'll find it. Rick manages to launch an early version of his space cruiser. . Then it's time to plan a course to save Morty and, if they succeed, Jerry.

The true hero of the episode, however, is Summer, who progresses at a rapid pace from the annoying older sister of the early days to a real-life counterpart of Rick. She's the one who sets up the beacon that will guide Rick and Morty home, and now armed with Wolverine's claws, she leads the fight against the multidimensional monsters that stand in her way. She also does an excellent job of keeping her two fighting mothers in order, and makes it clear why she's the only person Rick truly trusts and respects. Her admission to Ghost Diane that Summer reminds her of her is a really sweet gesture.

While "Solaricks" doesn't quite measure up to the likes of all-time Rick and Morty greats like "Pickle Rick" and "Total Rickall," it shows a similar appetite for throwing clever concepts onto screen as one-off gags. In fact, Mr. Frundles, the unforgivably cute monster who sucks up the whole world in a matter of seconds, is the kind of idea that could have powered entire episodes (or even seasons) of smaller shows. In "Solaricks," however, they dismiss it with almost indecent haste as the family sets off to find their home in another dimension, on an Earth that has trouble pronouncing "Parmesan."

As for the entire Rick and Morty arc, the revelations here are arguably as big as the "Rickmurai Jack" bombshell about Rick's unsuccessful quest to hunt down his wife and son's killer. Now that we know that the absent grandfather from Morty's original home was actually Weird Rick, C-137 Rick, who moved in with the Smiths, is seen in a whole different light. Did he really want to spend time with Beth, or was his main motivation to give his nemesis (who isn't Mr. Nimbus) a chance if he ever came home?

From what we've seen of Weird Rick, his ruthlessness (and complete lack of shyness when it comes to nudity) suggests he'll still be a formidable opponent, a fact Cronenberg's Jerry got his due learns when he tries to join forces with that toxic brand of Rick. "Why are you here?" asks Jerry as he lies dying on the floor after being stabbed in the stomach with a laser beam.

"Dude, I was asking myself the exact same question," Weird Rick replies, and we can't wait to find the answers, although we wouldn't mind a couple of Rick and Morty being alone in the meantime.

A little information from Mort...

• The title "Solaricks" is a pun on Andrei Tarkovsky's classic 1972 sci-fi film "Solaris." George Clooney starred in the 2002 remake, directed by Steven Soderbergh.
• Rick's apology for not having a "helmet like the Avengers" is a reference to Tony Stark recording a message for Pepper Potts at the beginning of Avengers: Endgame.
• The mention of the "Jerryboree" is a "deep" reference (the show admits) to a kindergarten for Jerrys, which debuted in the Season 2 episode "Mortynight Run." That explains why "our" Jerry is in the wrong universe.
• The Cronenbergs took on Morty's reality in the Season 1 episode "Rick Potion #9," prompting Rick and Morty to enter a new dimension.
• The downbeat board game under Morty's bed clearly exists in multiple universes, having previously appeared in the Season 4 episode "Rattlestar Ricklactica".
• Odd Rick compares his naked self (perhaps a clone) to Keyser Söze, the criminal mastermind from The Usual Suspects.
• Rick describes the family feud from Jerry's home universe as having "some real Season 2 vibes." In Season 2, Jerry and Beth broke up before reconciling in Season 3.

New episodes of Rick and Morty debut Sunday nights and Monday mornings on Adult Swim in the US and E4 in the UK. Here is the completeRick and Morty season 6 release schedulefor more informations.

Show comments