I think I know what my greatest fear is. Like, not a hundred percent sure or anything, but I think, if you gave me a few minutes (and let me put my thoughts in writing), I’d be able to get there. It wouldn’t be a particularly interesting journey for anyone but myself, so I won’t bore you all with the details. It’s more the sort of thing you talk about in therapy, anyway, or something you deal with when you decide to jump into a hole in a Denny’s.
Is it me, or is Rick And Morty on a bit of a run? Four episodes into the season, and we’ve yet to see a dud; I’ve had my criticisms, but on the whole, everything has been gratifyingly solid, without any of the weird out-of-character swings the show has stumbled over in seasons past. Getting rid of the portal gun and forcing the writers to focus on the relationships of the core cast was a godsend, it turns out—without infinite possibilities, there’s time to hone in on what makes the series great.
It’s a fool’s game to try and pick out a distinctive creator’s voice in a collaborative work, especially given my relative unfamiliarity with Justin Roiland’s solo writing. But if you put a gun to my head and asked me to give up the codes, I’d have to admit that at least part of “Rick: A Mort Well Lived” (the Die Hard part) is about as Dan Harmon as you can get.
This review should’ve been up on Monday morning. Hell, if I was still writing for The A.V. Club, it would’ve been up by one a.m. For most of its run, Rick and Morty didn’t offer screeners for critics, which meant watching them late and staying up later to try and get my thoughts in order. When Myles asked if I wanted to do a drop in review of the season six premiere to gauge reader interest, he was kind enough to offer me the benefit of a night’s sleep before trying to put words together.
You ever think about our culture’s weird feelings on revenge? I do, because I’m like that. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been reading and watching stories about how bad revenge is for you: how it will never take away your grief; how it only leads to more chaos and destruction; how, at best, even if you succeed, you’ll be more or less back where you started. But also ever since I was a kid, I’ve been reading and watching various heroes lose various loved ones and swear vengeance, and I gotta tell you, I’ve always been into it.
Rick and Morty’s seventh season has been surprisingly solid, given the show’s history and the behind-the-scenes turmoil. If I hadn’t know anything about Justin Roiland’s departure, I don’t think I would’ve noticed any substantial change—sure, there was a second or two to adjust to the voices, but they’re so well cast (and are doing such a good job) that it isn’t really a concern at all. The writing has been clever, and if some of the stories have felt a little familiar, that familiarity has been easily wrapped into the comfort of watching a long-running series.
Welcome to Episodic Medium’s weekly coverage of the second season of Schmigadoon!, which debuts its first two episodes today on Apple TV+. As always, the first review is available to all, but subsequent reviews will only be available to paid subscribers. You can find out more on our About Page.
The first season of Schmigadoon! had such an ironclad premise combined with such a seasoned cast of performers that it was always going to be at least reasonably entertaining.
Welcome to my reviews of Apple TV+’s sci-fi labor dystopia Severance, which debuted last week. Ultimately, critics review shows either because everyone’s talking about them or everyone should be, and based on the early episodes this falls into the latter category for me, so I’m excited to discuss it here at Episodic Medium. All future reviews will be exclusively for paid subscribers, but I encourage everyone to give the show a shot regardless.
I knew going into “A Dream of a Dream” that there would be no climactic battle; I knew this not because of any insight on my part, but because a fellow critic posted about their confusion after watching the finale. As such, I can’t tell you what my reaction would’ve been if I’d watched “Dream” with my previous expectations intact. At this point, I’m not even sure what those expectations were.