Rick and Morty’s sixth season is over, and while the finale takes a couple of steps backward this Star Wars-themed Christmas episode still guarantees the series will go where no Rick has gone before in the near future, well, maybe.
"Ricktional Mortpoon's Rickmas Mortcation" is the tenth entry in season 6, and even if this is far from Rick and Morty’s first attempt to spark the holiday joy in fans, its big revelation does continue paying off Rick’s emotional arc this year. That, coupled with a huge number of Star Wars references splattered all over the script by Scott Marder, ensures this last episode is entertaining from beginning to end.
The finale naturally borrows its title from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, however, make no mistake, this is a Star Wars episode through and through from the moment Grandpa Rick starts handing out everyone’s Christmas presents. In Morty’s case, Rick makes the dream of every Star Wars fan come true gifting him a lightsaber, a real working lightsaber that can cut through anything, sounds included.
Continuing the story from Rick and Morty episode 9, Rick does truly come off as a new man, nevertheless, the show does honor the saying that if something seems too good to be true, it’s probably not. Once Morty accidentally drops his lightsaber in perfect vertical angle, the duo ventures down to Rick’s basement where, besides a typical sci-fi sushi joint, they come to find the real Rick who informs his grandson that he made a robot version of himself to substitute him since the start of "A Rick in King Mortur's Mort", one 22% kinder than his real grandpa.
The move is typical Rick in so many ways, but behind it lies the genuine feeling of him feeling overlooked by Morty’s decision to ignore his advice in last week’s episode, meaning those extra niceties might be fake, yet every sign of progress shown in Rick and Morty’s season 6 was very real. Morty acts like the bigger man and doesn’t spoil Christmas for the rest of the family, though President Curtis turns the episode into a Journey to the Center of the Earth type of adventure as they look to stop Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber from hitting the planet’s core.
Perhaps one of the favorite elements from this episode, at least from the angle of Star Wars lovers, will be how Rick and Morty uses the President and Morty as archetypical examples of modern fans, with the former acting like the more cynical part of the fandom that’s still obsessed with the franchise. Rick and Morty doesn’t really take sides when it comes to Star Wars, instead, what it does is put Disney’s problems handling the future of George Lucas’ brainchild into context.
Most Star Wars jokes land, and the subplot involving Robot Rick and the family’s Christmas Day watching Miracle on 34th Street does make one wonder if this empathetic android is actually Rick’s greatest creation. As President Curtis proves to be the most toxic of Star Wars fans, the series continues drawing parallels to Skywalker Saga with the White House serving as a Death Star of sorts.
Robot Rick’s existential crisis is hilarious to watch, and so is seeing him turned into a golden C-3PO type of android as he and Morty enter the Presidential Death Star in style and make their way past a genuine Star Wars easter eggs room. Whether it’s Morty striking down Rick, the President recreating the “Star Wars Kid” meme with a bowl on his head, or the obvious digs at General Grevious’ design, the humor is on point.
The ending is rather touching too, because before Robot Rick’s death wish gets realized, he drops a few pearls of wisdom when he tells Morty that if his grandfather went through all this trouble to create a version of him that could bond better with his family, it must mean he really cares and that therapy with Dr. Wong is actually working.
Some fans online expressed disappointment about this finale, but even in spite of that, the episode continues the quest to humanize Rick even more, showing Rick and Morty is evolving, although still pulling tricks on viewers along the way. Many would have liked for season 6 to end with another Rick vs. Rick Prime duel, but the series does state this is where season 7 will be heading.
Rick and Morty’s season ends on a high note, something that was of the utmost importance after season 5 was such a letdown for so many die-hard fans of the show. The way things are going, season 7 is bound to continue making a fool out of the audience, doing classic Rick and Morty stuff, and, above all things, it will have Rick allowing Morty to join him on the most important adventure of them all, hunting down Rick Prime. Or maybe not, who knows, no one knows except Marder, Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon.