Tales from the Citadel (S03E07)

After a few solid but not outstanding episodes, this episode of Rick and Morty is a return to form (thanks, among other things, to the shocking final revelation referencing the Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind episode from the first season) that finally fulfils the promise of the darkest season (in the context of the preceding events, the most depressing part is the paradoxically laid-back post-credits). It is brilliant social and anti-capitalist satire (about class conflict and the struggle with one’s own potential) with a mix of hard-boiled detective story, political thriller and King’s Stand by Me, taking the locution and a world composed of two kinds of people to a tragicomic extreme. With the masterful alternation of narrators, the episode is reminiscent of Robert Altman’s multi-perspective dramas, of which it is also reminiscent in its depth of thought. And yes, I realise I’m comparing the work of a five-time Oscar-nominated legend of American cinema to a twenty-two-minute episode of an Adult Swim animated series dubbed by a single actor. But if I make a year-end list of the best TV-series episodes, this one will definitely be in the top five. (13.09.2017)