14/08/2026

FRIDAY | AUG 14, 2026

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TV SHOW REVIEW

LYFE

█ BY AMEEN HAZIZI

Rick and Morty enters its ninth season more than 12 years after its television debut.

A DULT Swim’s Rick and Morty has spent years threatening to collapse under the weight of its own history. Between endless universes, discarded versions of characters and lore that the series regularly mocks, following the show can occasionally feel like revising for an examination written by a drunk scientist. Season nine proves all that baggage can still be useful. Its 10 episodes form the strongest run the animated comedy has produced in years, pairing ridiculous science-fiction ideas with a harsher examination of Rick Sanchez and the family he repeatedly drags into danger. Rick remains the problem Rick can build almost anything, escape almost anywhere and outthink beings across multiple dimensions. The one problem he cannot solve is himself. His drinking dominates much of the season. One story reveals that his flask is connected to an entire world supplying him with alcohol, while another splits his head from his body and turns the two halves of his personality against each other. These inventions are funny, grotesque and entirely suited to a man who would rather rebuild reality than admit he needs help. Ricks Days, Seven Nights is the season’s finest episode. Rick temporarily removes his memories and intelligence to enjoy a holiday as Ted, an ordinary man unaware that his body belongs to a miserable interdimensional genius. Once Ted discovers the truth, the story becomes an identity crisis in which Rick effectively serves as his own greatest enemy. It ends with the crushing suggestion that intelligence is not responsible for Rick’s misery. Even without his memories, he eventually becomes just as dissatisfied. Morty grows sharper Morty is no longer merely the frightened grandson stumbling behind Rick. He makes decisions, leads revolutions and survives situations that would have paralysed him in earlier seasons. Unfortunately, greater independence has also made him more selfish and ruthless. Rickuiem Mort a Dream turns this development into one of the season’s sharpest character studies. An alien parasite removes Morty’s empathy while making Rick unbearably sensitive. Watching their personalities effectively trade places is

0 Showrunner: Scott Marder 0 Cast: Chris Parnell, Spencer Grammer, Sarah Chalke, Ian Cardoni, Harry Belden

E-VALUE

8 VOICE ACTING 7 PLOT 7

Jumping back into portals o Rick and Morty season nine delivers show’s strongest run in years

Brilliantly uneven Not every episode reaches those heights. The Kill Bill -inspired Rick Fu Hustle piles kung fu, death punches and a jealous pool-cleaning robot into a story that feels busy without saying much. Beth and Space Beth are also underused, while Summer receives fewer opportunities than her increasingly capable character deserves. However, even weaker episodes contain wonderfully deranged ideas. A summer camp becomes a drug-fuelled death trap, Snowball returns as the leader of a civilisation of mechanised dogs, and Rick and Morty

repeatedly evolve from single-cell organisms while trapped inside a murderous ecosystem. Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden now fully inhabit Rick and Morty, while Chris Parnell continues to turn Jerry’s humiliation into comic gold. The animation is especially impressive during the season’s elaborate fights and evolutionary sequences. Season nine understands what keeps Rick and Morty alive: Enormous concepts, filthy jokes and a family whose members may destroy several worlds before admitting they care. The series has found its spark again, although its characters remain gloriously beyond repair.

hilarious, but the episode also exposes how much resentment has built between them. The finale Field of Dreams pushes Morty’s need for affection somewhere far bleaker. His visits to the funerals of alternate Mortys lead him towards a seemingly loving version of the Smith family. As usual, the desire for a better life produces manipulation, addiction and an alarming body count. Yet the show remembers that Rick and Morty do care about each other. Their relationship remains abusive and deeply unhealthy, but there is genuine loyalty beneath the insults.

Morty (right) is no longer merely the frightened

Season nine is the show’s least lore-intensive outing so far, apart from Evil Morty’s (left) brief storyline in the opening episode.

grandson stumbling behind Rick.

The finale introduces our Morty (right) to a sober Rick who pursued an academic career at MIT. – ALL PICS FROM IMDB

Rick (far right) constantly drags his family into danger.