Rick and Morty Season 7 Episode 3 Review

Join Swimpedia as we review a screener of the third episode of Rick and Morty Season 7 with minimal spoilers.

[MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD]

Rick and Morty season 7 episode 3 has arrived, and it continues this season’s renewed focus on Rick’s relationships as the Smith family takes a back seat once again.

Air Force Wong, the third installment in the seventh season of the Adult Swim smash hit, continues a trend that all the episodes of this season have followed so far. While seasons 5 and 6 had an increased focus on the Smith family as a unit with installments like Mortyplicity, Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion, Solaricks and Night Family, season 7 has instead decided to refocus itself squarely on Rick. The season 7 premiere showcased Rick’s relationship with his lifelong friends like Mr. Poopybutthole and Birdperson, while the second episode focused on Rick’s complicated relationship with his son-in-law Jerry. Air Force Wong focuses itself on Rick’s relationship with the President, his therapist, and a special surprise character fans won’t see coming.

Dr. Wong is a figure that has long since been a narrative foil to Rick, and much of her appearances have featured Rick not wanting anything to do with the concept of therapy. However, last season we saw Rick begin to warm up to the idea of therapy. This episode continues Rick’s journey to improve himself with Dr. Wong, this time intersecting with some of the other major figures in his life. Rick’s rivalry with the President has been a recurring theme in the series, with typically at least one episode per season, if not more, dedicated to their ongoing rivalry. By this point in the series, the President might be the most used recurring side character, and Keith David’s fantastic performance adds a lot to his appearances. The President once again takes on a villainous role as he figures out a new way to grab for absolute power, and just as always it’s up to Rick to stop him. All of this is pretty standard Rick vs. President episode fodder, but it’s the emotional stakes grounded with Rick’s sessions with Dr. Wong that really makes this a standout episode. Dr. Wong has always been a bit divisive with fans, but here we get more insight into who she is as a person beyond her just helping the Smiths sort out their issues.

Some fans have been noting the lack of Morty this season, and this trend definitely continues here, as Morty has about as much to do here as in the season premiere. However, this feels like a set up for a very Morty-heavy back half of the season. Rick’s grandchildren aren’t totally absent here, though. Rick and Summer have a great scene in this episode where Summer confronts him over his progress (or lack of) in therapy, and Spencer Grammer, fresh off a supporting role on sister show Solar Opposites this summer, gets to show off how much of a true asset she is to this show. Beth and Jerry are essentially absent this episode, although Chris Parnell plays one half of a news duo that confirms various things that happened in this dimension before the switch to the Parmesan dimension, as they go over the President’s various escapades with Rick, including becoming a Turkey in season 5’s Thanksgiving episode.

In terms of the new voice actors, this is the best episode so far. Harry Belden’s Morty is still a little rough, but Ian Cardoni has slipped so comfortably into Rick’s voice that you forget the actors even changed at all. Cardoni is on fire this episode, delivering a great performance that feels and sounds the most like Rick that we’ve heard so far. Rick is in safe hands with Cardoni, and that performance will hopefully only get better once he is allowed to record his lines without having to dub over existing animation.

Overall, this is a fantastic installment that lives up to the best of the show’s output, full of deep callbacks and surprising returns that are sure to surprise and delight longtime fans. Anyone worried about a potential dip in quality for the show following Roiland’s departure can rest easy, as we are well on the right track with Rick and Morty season 7.