The AV Club‘s recap of the most recent episode of Rick and Morty asked if it was the show’s “stupidest” episode yet, while a top comment from the episode discussion thread on the Rick and Morty subreddit reads, “This was the most repulsive and unenjoyable sh*t ever. Like if in two years Dan Harmon reveals they were doing a prank and trying to write the worst episode of Rick and Morty without telling anyone I would not be surprised at all. Jesus christ.” What could cause fans of the show to dislike an episode so much?
Folks, we got giant sperm. And an incest baby.
To be honest, I kind of liked “Rickdependence Spray.” It was ridiculous, sure, and not everything worked, but I laughed a bunch (“Morty, you dirty little doggy”) and I can’t hate any episode with President Keith David. Plus, it’s fun to imagine the creative team, including creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland, writer Nick Rutherford, and director Erica Hayes, daring themselves to see what they could get away with. It turns out, a lot!
Even they were surprised with “Rickdependence Spray” making it to air.
“I don’t know how this is an episode,” Rutherford admitted in an “Inside the Episode” video uploaded to Adult Swim’s YouTube channel. “I still don’t know how this is allowed to be on TV, to be honest.” He thinks the episode, which features Beth and Summer riding sperm down the Las Vegas strip, CHUDs (Cannibalistic Horse Underground Dwellers), and, to quote Hayes, a “massive incest fetus” being launched into space, turned out “disgusting and tasteless.” But sometimes all you want is something disgusting, like a Baconator from Wendy’s. I might get one tonight (I guess those ads worked after all).
You can watch the behind-the-scenes video above. It has Dan Harmon saying “giant sperm” and “Jumanji sequence where people had to ride sperm,” if that’s your thing. Rick and Morty season five continues with “Amortycan Grickfitti” this Sunday.