It is hard to find a weak spot in the inter-galactic rollercoaster’s newest season. With refreshing writing and a stimulating emphasis on accountability, Season 5 smashes expectations by sneaking around the back and surprising you when you least expect it.

Rick & Morty has always been good. Whether it was early on in their careers as intergalactic travellers, or further down the line as the parasitic relationship between megalomaniacal grandfather and subservient grandson becomes more apparent, there is always an air of unique individuality hidden amongst the quick wit. Across the first four seasons, co-creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon have steered the show through numerous parodies and tropes with the ever-present family drama keeping the show grounded (a term which I can only use lightly), but the comedic pair have always closed their eyes to consequential narratives; with a small squint here and there as the show keeps to its one-off format. Once one of its strong points, Season 5 changes the dynamic completely, and it’s perfect.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the article: the evolution of Rick. Although Roiland and Harmon never stray away from building the present world and diving into the Smith’s intrafamily relationships, they have rarely delved into the past. From the first episode, the titular duo have lived in the present and looked forward, ignoring their previous lives and any contextual back story that might shine some well needed light on the anti-heroic scientist. That was part of the charm; there was never a need to see what makes a man like Rick, only a burning curiosity. With great patience comes great reward, as not only does Season 5 break the mould but smashes it with elegance.

Rick is no longer a god separated from humanity by his astronomically and inter-dimensionally high intellect (and ego); he is desperate, defeated, and filled with a bitter loneliness that can no longer be masked with his veil of superiority. There have always been hints at Rick’s instability, surviving a suicide attempt as he passes out, but there has never been a why. Now, I know what you are thinking: if it ain’t broke, right? Wrong. Instead of the tiny nuggets of information that have sustained me till now, the final three episodes open a door that can never be closed again, and it is truly exciting.

This shift not only affects the world but slowly shapes the season. In Rickdependence Spray, Morty’s weird space child isn’t just another consequence to be thrown away (similar to Season 1’s Raising Gazorpazorp), instead it returns several episodes later in the Voltron inspired GoTron Jerrysis Rickvangelion. The story isn’t just being shoehorned in to appease fans, there is a subtlety to the transition as there is now a level of accountability. The honeymoon phase is over and a quick sorry isn’t going to cut it; I care about this world and its characters so seeing them grow is something I never thought I wanted but never knew how much I needed.

I wonder why the police would ever ask a caller if they were white. Photo: Adult Swim.

Not only are the themes refreshing and remoralising for future seasons, but the writing has taken a turn to an equally humorous path. With many new writers coming aboard for the fifth season, many of the jokes find themselves stripped down to their roots creating an innovative look on the sci-fi canon. While the normal dose of goofy and convoluted characters make their return, especially in the season opener Mort Dinner Rick Andre, many side remarks are simple statements that cover ground quickly. Whether a clichéd American soldier rambles on about his hotdog loving pick-up driving son or Rick openly announcing the overt ‘artsy’ factor, the comedy is a renovation to a system that seems flawed in hindsight.

Season 5 is Rick & Morty’s greatest season so far. As the sit-com sequencing is married to the slow building tensions that have been on the rise since 2013, I find myself wondering, for the first time, how can it go on? How will the show ever return to the odd but now classic duo going on zany adventures after school? I don’t even know if I want it to return after the explosive and juicy revelations, what would be the point? All I do know is to have faith; if this season is meant to hail in a new era for the show, then there is no reason to panic because they clearly know what they are doing.