Abhiroop Das
Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, Adult Swim’s ‘Rick and Morty ‘ has always been an exercise in figuring out Rick’s mind, both through its darkest and lightest corners. While seasons 7 and 8 of this sci-fi comedy series bring his arc to a catharsis, turning him into a better, more loving family figure, the goal of season 9 seems to be confronting that image by pitting Morty against situations that essentially reflect his worst characteristics. In the previous episode, Rick ends up tricking an alternate version of himself into having a whole different life, with friends and a partner, only to snatch that away. In this episode 3 of this season, titled ‘Rick Fu Hustle,’ he ends up getting a taste of his own medicine, with a touch of martial arts. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Rick Cheats Death by Walking Backward
‘Rick and Morty’ season 9 episode 3 begins with summertime at the Smith residence, and while they have a large pool up and waiting, it has gotten too dirty to swim in. But Gerry has invested way too much money in an automatic pool-cleaning bot to get hired help, and yet no matter what he tries, the pool bot still refuses to work. Instead, it simply drifts across the pool edges as Summer heads for work, while Rick and Morty head out for the Boob World theme park. However, trouble follows them soon enough, as they end up in a fender-bender on their way out of a store. The car on the other end turns out to belong to a kung-fu master, and instead of being angry, he wants to use this mishap as an opportunity to be friends with Rick.
In characteristic fashion, however, Rick rejects the kung-fu master, calling him an NPC in the face of science. In retaliation, the man strikes Rick’s chest with blinding speed, creating five indentations straight over his heart. While Rick is still up and alive, the man warns that this is nonetheless a fatal punch, one that will kill him the moment he walks five steps forward. Some parts scared, and most parts too egotistical to budge, Rick laughs that claim off and walks backward to his car, heading straight home instead. Generating a few clones and marching them to their death confirms that the kung-fu move is actually very real, and the only way to counter it so far is to walk backward. While Morty suggests that Rick can simply apologize to the master, even he knows that something like that will never happen.
Rick and Morty Master Kung-fu to Beat Their New Arch Nemesis
Having spent too much time trying to get the pool bot to work, Jerry desperately heads to the internet, where he luckily finds a video exactly detailing his problem. The catch, however, is that the video is a full three hours long, charting useless history and easter eggs and cleverly hiding the actual solution somewhere in the middle. Rushing through it all, Jerry figures that the key is to download the solution linked at the end of the video and load it into the pool bot, and miraculously enough, it works. Meanwhile, Morty, frustrated with Rick’s shenanigans, heads back to the store, only to run into the kung-fu master again, who introduces himself as Lu Sin. Morty wants to learn the death punch technique, and while Sin readily takes him in as an apprentice, the condition is that his methods mustn’t be questioned.
Though Morty doesn’t give the condition much thought at first, he gets a harsh reality check when Sin, who so far has been preaching peace and nonviolence, violently kills an electrician for charging extra. When Morty questions Sin’s convictions, it breaks the rules of their agreements, and Sin punishes him by drilling the same five-punch hole into Morty’s heart. As he runs back home backward, Rick decides that he’s had enough. By now, he’s already prepared a device specifically to see backward, and with that, the duo heads to Tiger’s Monastery, where Sin’s master resides. The meeting with the old man turns out to be just as anticlimactic, however, as he seems to be struggling to reconcile with his daughter having multiple partners.
When the old master hesitates from revealing the death punch technique, Rick and Morty strike a deal, promising to resolve his fight with his daughter. As it turns out, they have to do surprisingly little other than get everyone in the same space, as the old master is himself the one to apologize and understand his daughter’s position. However, as part of the deal, he has no choice but to show off the technique, and as he does so, he warns that abusing it, or any other form of kung-fu, might summon the demon whose job is to keep the spiritual balance in check.
Jerry Has an Affair With Something Inanimate
Back at the Smith residence, the pool bot gets done with cleaning the pool till it’s spotless, but still wants to do more. Jerry, disappointed that there’s no one at home to see his accomplishments, goes into the pool all by himself and soon starts to get cleaned by the bot. Things get oddly erotic when Jerry feels stimulated, and before long, he throws off his boxers and begins to have sex with the pool bot, which in turn seems to have become sentient. When reality sets in for Jerry, however, he feels disgusted with himself beyond belief and rejects the bot’s suggestion of having more sex. Instead, he calls for the human pool cleaner, angering the bot in the process. After trying to drown the pool cleaner, the bot puts the entire house into lockdown, opening all the taps to create a bigger, scarier pool where it can do whatever it wants.
In the end, Jerry has to bait the pool bot into almost having sex again, if only to get a chance at yanking its power source away. Elsewhere, Rick and Morty, having reverse-engineered the death punch, fixed their hearts and mastered martial arts in that short span of time, launch an all-out war against Sin. The fight gets intense enough for the literal kung-fu devil to intervene, and he punishes Sin by unleashing a giant robot with too many pressure points for any one person to defeat. Luckily, though, Sin is not alone, and with Rick and Morty’s help, he eventually beats the beast and satisfies the demon. In the aftermath, Sin confesses that he is lonely and only knows conflict as his means of interacting with others. Feeling seen, Rick invites him to the pool party back home, as all’s well that ends well.
Read More: Is Evil Morty Gone For Good? Where is the Omega Device?
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