Parents' Guide to Rick and Morty: Season 9

Chaotic, gripping, and uncharacteristically emotional, the ninth season of Adult Swim's blockbuster sci-fi toon is off to a promising start, firing up the series' flagging fandom. It's rare for any series to stretch to nine seasons, and many fans felt that Rick and Morty was treading water in seasons 7 and 8, with storylines that were confusing and didn't jibe with the show's (admittedly absurd internal logic). But Rick and Morty Season 9 drops an intriguing idea in its first episode: What if the one thing fans have counted on since the very first episode, the strong bond between cynical mad scientist Rick and his loving but anxious grandson Morty, can't be counted on anymore? And what if Rick himself has simply lost his zest for adventures that take him through space and time?

This thread of emotional anxiety adds a nice tension to the dimension-hopping hijinks we've grown to expect, with Rick and Morty encountering alternate selves in and out of the Central Finite Curve, and new threats to themselves, the entire Smith family, and the universe itself. The animation looks terrific, Rick and Morty's new(ish) voices sound great, and showrunners are setting the table for, as Rick says in episode 1, an "infinite number" of episodes to come. On the other hand, season 9 increasingly exhibits what TV fans call "plot armor": main characters Rick and Morty come out of even the most violent of clashes safe and well, which lowers the stakes of battles. When you know our main characters will go on, it's simply not as gripping to watch them opposing a villain. But putting such quibbles aside, Rick and Morty Season 9 is a return to form for this remarkably venerable show, as funny and absurd and colorful and imaginative as fans could wish.