Rick and Morty – ‘Auto Erotic Assimilation’

Rick and Morty returns with an instalment concerned with relationships and the way that they sour. ‘Auto Erotic Assimilation’ is far from the funniest outing, but it nails its characters perfectly and produces something highly poignant as a result.

Rick, Morty and Summer respond to a distress call on an alien spaceship and discover that a hive mind is assimilating life. It’s a surprise for Rick when he realises that the parasite is Unity (Christina Hendricks), one of his exes, and he sees an opportunity to start catching up for lost time, partying and having fun. But his reappearance means their toxic relationship intensifies. Meanwhile, Beth and Jerry explore Rick’s garage and discover an imprisoned alien in a secret underground lair. Discussions over what to do soon devolve into arguments over the state of their marriage.

In my review last week, I hoped that Morty’s characterisation would continue forward, and it fortunately has – not, though, in the way I expected. Summer and Morty are looked after by Unity, and Summer is unable to countenance the assimilation of an entire species, so she urges the people to fight back and reclaim their soul. Morty gets to be the jaded one, watching as his sister learns the lesson that he did with Fart – it’s hard to do what is right, particularly when the moral lines are very sketchy.

Although it may not be the funniest episode, I think that ‘Auto Erotic Assimilation’ is one of the most thematically rich

Consequences are heavy in this episode. Summer and Morty learn a lesson, but the final five minutes are perfectly-judged drama that show Rick and Morty at its best. Unity and Summer both realise that Rick is a destructive influence on people’s lives, and so his lover realised that she has to leave him. This leads to a dramatic sequence that sees Rick sink into depression, and attempt to take his own life. Really, ‘Auto Erotic Assimilation’ is a build-up to his ending, a sad reflection that Rick is ultimately a lonely figure who needs the stimulus of others.

With this highpoint acknowledged, it’s worth reflecting on some of the lows. There was potential for the Beth-Jerry B-plot to be a strong addition, but it really just plays on the dysfunctional couple dynamic. The alien who breaks free at the end slates them for being intolerable, and it really echoed my own thoughts at that point – there’s a point when it does just become a couple arguing. For fans of humour, there also aren’t too many laughs in this own – I’ve put a few best lines below as always, but most of them come in the first few minutes.

Although it may not be the funniest episode, I think that ‘Auto Erotic Assimilation’ is one of the most thematically rich, and it’s no worse for it. Rick and Morty isn’t always a comedy – at times, it’s a dark, brutally honest character drama. That’s the best description of this episode, and that’s what makes it a compelling watch.

Best lines:

‘The first rule of space travel, kids, is always check out distress beacons. Nine out of ten times, it’s a ship full of dead aliens and free shit! One out of ten times it’s a deadly trap, but I’m ready to roll those dice!’ – Rick expounds on and subverts some more sci-fi tropes

‘Stop affecting that stupid hip hop dialect!’ – Beth – ‘Stop shifting the crosshairs to my ironic urban patois!’ – it’s the kind of line that works so well with Chris Parnell’s delivery

One-off character:

How do you award a one-off character when most people in an episode are the same person? I’m going to give it to Beta 7, another hive mind. Voice by Patton Oswalt, he’s in a practical alliance with Unity and wants it to be much more – seeing the familiar relationship dynamic played out in this way is strangely funny.

Post-credits scene:

Rick goes to see Beta 7’s hive mind, ranting furiously and demanding that Unity come out and see him. After the ending was saw, seeing Rick as a furious jilted ex makes perfect sense, as does Morty’s exasperation with him.