The world may be dark and confusing, but at least Rick and Morty is finally back. Season eight comes nearly a year and a half after season seven wrapped up in late 2023, marking the end of the first outing for new stars Ian Cardoni (Rick) and Harry Belden (Morty). Fans couldn’t help but spend much of season seven listening very closely, searching for clues that the voices behind the show’s main characters had changed. But the transition was surprisingly seamless, and season eight continues that feeling—with the additional joy of hearing all the ways Cardoni and Belden are now stretching out in their roles.
io9 was able to view episodes one (“Summer of All Fears”), three (“The Rick, the Mort & the Ugly”), four (“The Last Temptation of Jerry”), and five (“Cryo Mort a Rickver”)—no, we have no idea why Adult Swim skipped over episode two (“Valkyrick”), but either way, we won’t be spoiling anything in this review.
Most of the episodes we watched hew to the trademark Rick and Morty formula of “petty or ordinary thing spirals into ridiculously messy ordeal with life-or-death consequences.” That includes the season premiere, which sees Morty and Summer enduring existential agony for the crime of not returning Rick’s phone charger; episode four, in which Jerry’s enthusiasm for celebrating Easter first irritates his family, then ends up causing an intergalactic crisis; and episode five, where Rick’s determination to commit deep-space theft brings forth a calamity that (naturally) doesn’t deter him in the slightest.
These stories may follow the classic Rick and Morty escalation plot structure, but they’re also stuffed full of what makes the show so reliably enjoyable: vivid animation, clever writing (never have so many phone charger-related puns been gathered in one place than the season premiere), bizarre tangents, and outrageous body horror. There’s also the consistent sense that the scripts are committed to character development even as they poke fun at the characters themselves—and an interest in exploring how the show’s relationships help drive the decisions and plot twists that happen along the way.
This latter element is particularly apparent in Beth and Summer’s scenes in episode one; Beth, always torn between being the “cool mom” and commanding authority, unwittingly gets an entirely new perspective on her teenage daughter. “Summer of All Fears” also digs into the ongoing sibling rivalry between Summer and Morty—a conflict that always seems to mend based on the fact that nobody else will ever understand how wild it is being a part of Grandpa Rick’s schemes and adventures.
But the show is called Rick and Morty for a reason, and as much as the pattern between the two can feel familiar after all this time, season eight finds new ways to challenge them. It also acknowledges the unlikely but undeniable character growth Rick went through in season seven. “You’re really changing!” Morty enthuses at one point when Rick declares he has no problem admitting that Morty was actually right about something—proof there’s some continuity to his evolution.
Though they’re no longer a novelty this time around, the changes behind the scenes are also worth pointing out, especially when it comes to the standout episode among the four provided: “The Rick, the Mort & the Ugly.” Fans who thought we’d seen the last of the show’s Citadel arc—especially after season seven sealed the fate of Rick Prime—are in for a treat, and Cardoni and Belden seem to be having an absolute blast trying on different Rick and Morty variants in their performances.
Rick and Morty stars Ian Cardoni (Rick), Harry Belden (Morty), Sarah Chalke (Beth), Chris Parnell (Jerry), and Spencer Grammer (Summer). The executive producers are Dan Harmon and Scott Marder, who also serves as showrunner.
Rick and Morty season eight runs for 10 weekly episodes; it kicks off May 25 on Adult Swim. In the U.S., you can purchase new episodes from digital retailers the day after they premiere; the season will hit streaming in the U.S. September 1.
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