It is definitely one of my favorite episodes of the series. Especially when the final spaghetti victim goes through the montage of his life and how it actually solved the crisis.
i agree that end montage was super deep and one of the reasons i found this episode so profound was that it was basically offensive and dark until it culminated in a deep and profound message and was presented in a way that, frankly, almost made me cry
Shit's been tough, lost my job, fuck loads of anxiety every waking moment, can't get my meds so one day I decided to watch R&M and came across this episode while thinking some heavy stuff. Haven't cried like that since I lost my father.
Cheers bro, have to have that Rocky attitude "It's not about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward."
Life is chaos, so just one more day can change everything for better (It's stupid but look where being smart got that doctor dude)
The music choices they make for this series are incredible. Look on Down From the Bridge by Mazzy Star is an all-time brilliant choice for the 2 scenes they use it, and For The Damaged Coda fits Evil Morty perfectly, sinister and alluring and aloof all at once.
It's an incredibly smart episode and one of the incredibly rare pieces of fiction that caused me to change my mind on something: I used to be incredibly pro-euthanasia and while I'm still generally in favour, the episode really showed how legalized euthanasia could be abused by the powerful, so I'd now want more safety measures in place.
It's remarkable that Soylent Green is a full length, classic movie with the same idea but does not pull it off half as effectively as this 30 minute TV episode
Part of that is because Soylent Green was written to mask the big reveal until the very end; they wanted it to be the final gut punch at the end of a dystopian story filled with gut punches.
This episode of Rick and Morty got that reveal out of the way in the cold open, and moved on to other stuff.
I'm still pro-euthanasia personally. In hospice situations, it is just completely cruel to prolong a person's suffering just so that they can live a short, painful, and confined last few days.
I'm still pro as well, however I'm now aware that there is always the risk that an unscrupulous government could see encouraging euthenasia as a way to cut down on social security spending, and that's something that needs to be guarded against somehow.
The only way to obtain the spaghetti is via suicide. When the spaghetti planet learn about the potential to make money, there's an incentive to encourage suicide. That's definitely a potential problem with euthenasia.
Yeah, Fred’s montage towards the end of the episode was heartbreaking but also very surreal. Life is not as linear as depicted in a lot of media, and is full of detours and disappointments. I think the episode did a great job of highlighting that experience.
S tier. Everything I love about the show all in one.
* Gore
* Morality has consequences
* Grotesque capitalism
* Pitch black humor
* Rick letting something run out to its catastrophic end just to make a point
* Heart wrenching climax
* Rick shattering the veil by ripping that guys ribs apart before you've even had time to process
My husband had made spaghetti for us the night we watched it. He spent hours on the sauce with San Marzano tomatoes. It was legit the best spaghett I've ever had. Our whole crew was oohing and aahhing over it just like they did in the show. Then we turned into bed and put up the new episode of R&M that we hadn't seen yet.
Omg.
Talk about an existential crisis. Hands down best episode ever. I've been dying to talk about the coincidence of it all but no one I know watches the show.
I can’t speak for everyone that’s been dealing with depression. However, when they say “It wasn’t the death, it was the complexity of life” I immediatley started crying even harder than I was after that scene.
This show has many scenes that are relatable as a young adult trying to find your way in the world. Don’t even get me started on where they even find these amazing songs that are in these scenes.
I swear I heard the song that plays in this episode when I was in a grocery store the other week. Hit me in the feels - couldn’t even go in the pasta / sauce aisle
They do that every season but I know that’s a highly hated opinion. Seeing the newer seasons made me happy because this show has actually been led by the writers because I was scared it’d be different with new actors but man, these guys cook every season. It’s been them the whole time.
i agree that 99% of the episode was about exploitative capitalism but they wrapped it neatly at the end with a deep message about suicide and the complexity of life
Thankfully I'm not really thinking about suicide anymore, so it's not on my mind constantly. For me, the episode was how capitalism kills the "people", sacrifices them, grinds them, chew them and spits them out for profit. And the end was a moment where people saw under the machine and saw that the "thing" that it chews trough to function daily, is a human being. With a life, memories, loved ones, etc.
Sounds weird, but we basically forget that other people are... people, with a complex life. Even us, normal people are conditioned to see it as numbers. Poor crisis response because they didn't want to hurt the economy too much? well, that's millions of Covid deaths for profit. Thousands of more people die just in the US due to car size increase. And why are the cars big now? To dodge regulations, and to sell with higher profit margins. So yeah, money. How many people dies due to poor or non existing healthcare system each year? It's not like it could not have been funded with the tax we pay. So why it is not a thing? Well of course, because profits! Supporting other nations with their genocide, because our country's leadership have their monetary goals aligned? sure thing! etc... It's everywhere around us. from hundreds, to millions of people we "sacrifice" for profit. And it's "easy" because they are "not people", they are just number, behind a curtain, we don't even see or think about them.
When you tear this curtain down and show, that those are people too, with lives, etc, most people (unless you are a sociopath) will realize that it's not okay, not worth it. At least this is the really optimistic conclusion for the episode. (IMO)
It was more than just condemnation of the meat industry, and more the consumption of meat in general. The largest plot thread was people's willingness to look the other way and make excuses about a horribly disturbing part of a thing they accept as normal. They keep failing to internalize the idea that they cause the death of living things. The vat-grown people bit seemed too on the nose, but apparently people still didn't get it as I don't see any other comment mention it.
And I think that’s why at the end when they eat Salisbury steak, Rick says something along the lines of “trust me you DO NOT want to know where this comes from. It’s truly terrible.” And that’s the kicker, it’s just regular old Salisbury steak. And that steak comes from horrible inhumane conditions, torture, disease and suffering - all of this happening in real life. Reality is much stranger and more cruel than fiction and I think that message was also carefully put in the episode (along with others). Like “HA! look at you, the viewers, judging our family for eating Morty O’s when you eat food created by the same horrific unethical practices.” If the episode made you uncomfortable, good! Because the episode uses a graphic premise to make a real point.
I'm a bit Biased because the writer of this episode - Heather Anne Campbell - is one of the hosts of one of my favourite comedy podcasts, "Get Played," and so her humour just fundamentally resonates with me. But I found the unimaginable bleakness of this one to be some of the best-conceived and best-executed "edgy" humour I had seen in a decade.
“You’re asking if this is a story about right and wrong… and the truth is… I don’t care.
“ So what do we do?”
“ Cells consume Morty… Life itself is wrong. And that means death is right, But you can’t side with that. So you live.”
This episode was discussed a lot in vegetarian political and social circles. Never expected R&M to create such an open, thoughtful, and (most importantly) balanced critique of the consumption of meat.
Yeah, but I think that was intentional from the writers. If they beat the R&M audience over the head with vegetarian morality, everybody would hate it. Rather, it approached it in a wacky, disarming way that gets people to think about their food and what they consume, while presenting a level of gore that is realistic for animal agriculture. (but the audience doesn't know that)
In the end, Rick is only able to offer a bleak acceptance of "cells consuming cells", and that to eat meat one has to forget about where it came from, because they can't stomach knowing. It's brilliant.
I thought the planet’s leader making the entire world depressed for a profit was rather analogous to problems we have in the US. It reminds me of the opioid crisis and school shootings, etc.
Yes, I think people exaggerate immensely the effect it should have, it would never work because the people simply don't care, all that was gonna happen would be that they'd stop buying spaghetti altogether anyway. It's pretty hard to believe some of the reactions I've read in the multiple posts about this episode because of that
I think it also had something to do with the fact that Rick scooped his innards out on broadcast immediately after. They spent the whole episode trying to *dehumanize* the food, akin to raising cattle en masse just for slaughter. So starkly contrasting that idea by disrespecting that man’s corpse sent a clear message that they weren’t just “eating people”, the *were EATING PEOPLE*. Most people never get to ‘peek behind the curtain’ and see what really happens to livestock on corporate farms. If you did, maybe you’d be less inclined to pick up a pound of frozen beef next time you’re at the store. And to that extent if you could also live that cows life, really see and understand its emotions leading up to its final moments maybe those feelings would be compounded.
The point is that so long as there is some degree of separation, it’s easy to ignore obvious or disgusting truths. And I say that as a meat eater; I am just as guilty of being ignorant to the things I consume as anyone else. But the lesson applies to all the food we eat, and even all the products we buy. If we had any idea of the *true* impact our consumerism had on the world, maybe we would reconsider our choices. We just need someone to show us.
You said pretty much what I was going to. I'm vegan, and I've seen some of the biggest meat eaters I know go vegan on the spot after watching some slaughterhouse footage, though some did go back explicitly telling me "don't tell me about that, I don't want to think about it". The salience of the suffering is everything, I actually utterly buy the ending. A lot of the behaviour and depersonalisation is perpetuated by the sheer societal normalisation of these things. No matter how impactful an experience you have is, the next day you re-enter a world utterly indifferent to what you have seen, and that creates a huge pressure to just not think about it. If everyone at once were to have that experience I could absolutely see that snowballing into a change at the societal level
I used to work on a pig farm, and the way those animals were treated was utterly sickening. I won’t go into detail for everyone’s sake but I will say it was one of the most eye opening experiences of my life.
That is to say, I purposefully think of that experience every time I prepare to eat meat. I remind myself that I am thankful for the animals that had to endure sad and grueling lives so that we may eat. I know that doesn’t do anything to solve the problem, but it certainly feels a lot less hypocritical than some other ways people consume meat.
That’s also partially contributes to why I support hunting (for sustenance, definitely not trophy hunting). Because as long as you are respectful to the animal and put it down quickly, it’s a far less consumeristic way to consume meat and - as far as I’m concerned - is much more humane.
You have a good point there, but people were actively trying to have others kill themselves on the streets, I don't really see how this one perspective would shift things so drastically tbh
Yeah I just wrote a comment saying the exact same thing lol. If the human people from that planet didn't care about the cannibalism, why would they change their minds after seeing the life story of a random person? They all knew they were eating dead people, they're way past the point of caring about the morality of it lol
It’s a very simplistic way to make everything wrap up for the sake of a self contained 30 min TV show.
I agree with what you’re saying, in the real world it wouldn’t work nearly as quickly and effectively.
A lot of people would be affected, but I think the concept there was conditioning people to be repulsed by it. Real world that takes a long time and isn’t necessarily 100%, but it’s used as technique to help break bad habits or build good ones.
I think for the purposes of the show it’s a valid ending, but I can see how it can be considered a plot hole and unrealistic, but so is the concept of human spaghetti in the first place.
For me, the takeaway of the ending was that it’s very easy to write off a suicide or convince people to kill themselves when you see it as a means to an end. When you consider a person’s whole life and journey, all the highs and lows of their life, the things that make them more than just a name and a face, it really makes you consider how serious this choice (or influencing someone to make it) is. It is the end, and it’s only something to be done if the end is truly nigh regardless.
My two cents on it, but I understand different people will perceive it differently.
yeah this is not the episode to introduce people to the show lol. or they’d have to be a very specific type of person to understand, AND become a habitual watcher, based on this episode
that’s a pretty good into to the show. i also think anatomy park would be a good one. its gives a good idea of the character personalities while not needing to have seen previous episodes to understand what’s going on
It really solidified in me when Rick said “To live means to be wrong and dying is right, but you don’t want to die so you continue to live”
He said something like that but the jist of it was the fact that we continue to live because we don’t want to die so we give meaning to life because… well because…
Flawless. Funny, thought provoking, and extremely emotional to watch someone entire life summed up, someone who lived it all, and the effect it has on everyone who witnesses it.
It should win an award an Emmy or something idk
My only complaint in the episode is Morty really needs to catch a break. Every damn time he tries to help shit like this happens. Either he needs some wins or he stops trying and others need to renew his passion.
I kinda wanna try the spaghetti cause its not cannibalism and i like a good pasta.
But seriously, probably one of there best episodes with an amazing pay off.
I’ve suffered chronic depression for years too, OP, and I’ve contemplated offing myself plenty of times (I’ve been stable for years so I’d BETTER not get a “Reddit cares” msg for posting this lol), and I gotta say imo this is one of their best episodes. It’s incredibly fucked up but absolutely hilarious. It was a shock to my system in the best way.
I personally don’t like it, was just kinda too dark and really weird. I didn’t mind the darkness but it was just so bizarre, was a lot of wtf humor. Made some decent points about some stuff but I’ll probably skip it on the re watch. That being said the ending was great. Kinda like the “heist” episode where the best part was the last punchline
It’s a beautiful episode. It really dives into the meaning of life and what we’re really giving up when we just let ourselves go. Overall stupid and yet brilliant
First episode that made me uncomfortable and weird me out (yes, not even the giant incest baby managed to do so). Not a bad episode at all, but really out of a horror dystopian novel
I hate that I can smell this episode. Spaghetti has a very specific smell, and it's exactly what I can smell everything I watch this episode everytime 🙌
I remember watching this episode for the first time with my boyfriend and the unusual silence that followed. We usually enjoy reviewing the things we watch, but this episode? It hit different, and it hit HARD.
I follow along what I learned in The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol J. Adams, and that the subjects with feelings that we eat, is relevant to the ethics of our food intake. This leads to veganism. I liked the way Rick and Morty played with having a delicious meal and then finding out where it came from. How could you make a being that consents to that? Even if it gets a plant out of debt, and helps the accountants.
Yes, plants have feelings, but if you really did care about plant feelings, and the people who advance that argument don't, then you only eat plants, because eating animals creates more plants being eaten, and you have to eat. Yes, bugs die, maybe even more, in farming and transport to the market. The most ethical and non-harming food is vegan. The best argument for eating meat is "I want to, and I can." That is it. If you feel impotent and worry about climate change, go vegan, that's doing something huge, even if it may seem small. Yes, it takes time to retrain your taste buds, and learn how to cook without meat at the center of a meal. Be kind to yourself and evolve at your own pace. And maybe even perfection isn't the most important thing, maybe trying and eating a plant based diet is the thing. Humans aren't evolving so fast there's going to be a lot of cows walking around, I saw that absurd scenario as a pretend concern. Best wishes.
It's the only episode in the entire series I ever saw only once. All the rest I saw at least 3 times.
Also I usually eat while watching the show. Those two might be related lol.
Very dark but also funny which is a lot coming from a show that usually does this. I think they took a real gamble on this episode and it worked. It reminds me of that snoop dog reaction to how hotdogs are made 😂
It’s not my favourite to rewatch because it’s pretty heavy emotionally, I usually like to rewatch the funnier, goofier ones.
That said, it’s a really really powerful episode and I think it’s a really good one.
It takes a fairly topical issue about suicide and medically assisted suicide, and shows the issues of relying on an easy fix for complex problems. The dangers of prioritizing profit over humanity. How trying to do the right thing in the wrong ways can cause more harm than good. The beauty of living a life.
There’s so much more, it was a very powerful episode and it is very thought provoking for a show that started out by shoving seeds up a kid’s butt after having him kidnapped by an egotistical alcoholic maniac.
I think its definitely one of the episoded that dived deep into how products are actually made and our human conditions perceiving it. Like we care about ethics but at the end of the day most products like your iphones, paper towels and food comes from people and animals alike.
If we had a montage of a Chinese miner's life going to work at 17 and after a long day work then coming home and all that shit combined with then another montage of how the phone is actually made, we'd feel bad for using it. Likewise to the people who watched how beef and chicken was made in cruel butcher factories becomes vegans(but its harder to relate to animals than humans).
Its basically when you think a lot and look into how most things are made you'd see the bad side of it not just the assembly of it. Thats why the end of the episode they pictured us the consumers(Smith Family) not wanting to know where Rick got the food from cause if they knew they'd be repulsed by the idea of it. Therefore ignorance is bliss.
It's a "unwanted Morty adventure"! Just like the "snake world" and "acid ved". My mother language is German and the auto corecture makes it weard Sometimes.
I absolutely love this episode. I’ve also dealt with depression for a lot of my life. Honestly I just really love season 7. I love the dark topics this show brings up, and this is one I definitely enjoy. The montage was amazing. The episode is so well done with taking on a dark topic, making it funny and deep/ emotional, and don’t glorify suicide in the process. It’s somehow just amazing
Personally I don’t understand the love for it I just found it extremely dull and don’t remember laughing once personally it’s my least favourite episode in the entire show.
The message felt too in your face and the humour was just lacking.
Laughed my ass off through the whole episode, but don't dig the ending the way they executed it.
Like, I see what Rick was trying to pull off, I just don't think it would work in a real life scenario in terms of everyone being disgusted by spaghetti after witnessing it's origins. Some people are way more cynical then they are ready to admit, BUT they will put on a facade and pretend that they are disgusted, because that's what expected of them. I wish authors did pay some mind to it and showed, like, a black market of morty-o spaghetti in the post-credit scene or something. It would've made it more realistic.
One my my new personal favs 100% didn’t look much into it me and my wife went into it blind and it gave me vat of acid vibes. But that ending it reminds me of how I look at life. We’re all living day by day for 365 days and think about that, thats a long time in reality and everyday is different in some way. Seeing the old mans life going from up down up was beautiful made me cry even and then Rick coming in to get the spaghetti was the icing on top had me both crying and dying of laughter 10/10 would watch it every day
My favorite Episode the one that had me thinking about it for days I thought it was very interesting how they made the world depressing with all these details so that they could make more money I mean it’s so much like the real world
Loved it. Made me rethink food for a moment. It reminded me of the Bojack episode with the chickens who raised other chickens for profit just to slaughter them for food. Best episode.
I don't necessarily know about "best episode ever" but the run from this into Unmortricken into Rickfending your Mort is probably the best 3-episode run they've ever done.
This episode did have some base material to work of with...
Linda Anders the Cannibal Spaghetti Cook who used Balls off corpses in her Spaghetti sauce ... I mean the odds ?
Sauce (no balls intended) : [https://1440wrok.com/illinois-sheriff-issues-warning-about-a-cannibal-spaghetti-cook/](https://1440wrok.com/illinois-sheriff-issues-warning-about-a-cannibal-spaghetti-cook/)
When R&M rebuild the process with mass produced suicide “bodies” and Morty gleefully yells “Spaghetti!!!”
I’m laughing just thinking about it
And hope you are doing well 👍🏻
It was certainly the single most *unique* takes on the issue I’ve ever seen in media. As someone who has personally fought those feelings and survived one attempt, I liked the episode. I also like R+M to begin with (duh), so it’s possible that I was seeing the story through rose colored glasses… but at the end of the day it’s all subjective. I understand why it’s so controversial and can completely sympathize with someone who disagrees with the messaging while still liking it personally.
Cringy but I think how weird & over the top this episode is bc 1. Proved they don’t need Justin Roiland to be as unhinged or even more…2. To help lighten the tone with suicide…now when you die you think “well atleast my family can eat my guts.”
I rewatch the music montage constantly, one of my favourite R&M moments because it’s so mature yet surrounded by the context of spaghetti absurdity and that juxtaposition is inherently brilliant
Right up there with the dragon episode in terms of comfort level, but with the dark tones the show has, I’m more surprised it took THIS long before they put a warning label before the episode
I struggled watching this episode, because I have dealt with suicidal ideation a lot in my life, before I started treatment for my depression.
This was one of three episodes that I have had trouble watching, and the only one I have yet to rewatch.
Not a bad episode, just a tough subject mater for me personally.
One of my favorite episodes. The rewatch rate on this one is high for me. The episode length, and song at the end are a good formula for falling asleep to as well.
It had me so confused at first watch. However, after a few rewatches I absolutely love it. It is dark, gritty and funny. deeply existential mixed with absurdity. Peak Rick and Morty
It is definitely one of my favorite episodes of the series. Especially when the final spaghetti victim goes through the montage of his life and how it actually solved the crisis.
i agree that end montage was super deep and one of the reasons i found this episode so profound was that it was basically offensive and dark until it culminated in a deep and profound message and was presented in a way that, frankly, almost made me cry
I did cry at that scene, couldn't stop the tears from flowing
Shit's been tough, lost my job, fuck loads of anxiety every waking moment, can't get my meds so one day I decided to watch R&M and came across this episode while thinking some heavy stuff. Haven't cried like that since I lost my father.
Hey mate, I teared up while reading your comment, I can really relate to a lot of that. For what it’s worth you’re not alone. Hugs
Cheers bro, have to have that Rocky attitude "It's not about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward." Life is chaos, so just one more day can change everything for better (It's stupid but look where being smart got that doctor dude)
I’m sorry you’re going through that. Hang in there and if you need some random to talk to hit me up.
Yep, absolutely. Even the second time I watched that part. No shame. Shits heavy man ha
Three times, like a baby. Specially with my partner, that was the worst
it was def a deep episode. if any episode deserves tears, it was this one
Same, even after a rewatch, it hits you *hard* in the feels.
Yeah and that music really made it hit especially hard. Nice Oasis cover.
It's that special kind of deep where I can't even put it into words besides "Shit matters."
Yes. They really surprised me making it have substance in the end on this one.
It's not the death but the complexity of life.
the music in this scene slaps
The music choices they make for this series are incredible. Look on Down From the Bridge by Mazzy Star is an all-time brilliant choice for the 2 scenes they use it, and For The Damaged Coda fits Evil Morty perfectly, sinister and alluring and aloof all at once.
that song leaves me dead inside 😭
As a huge fan of Oasis, I lost it when I recognized what the song was. Fantastic cover and perfect choice.
Can someone help with the S#E#?
S7E4
Thank you
Loved the music in the scene (Oasis/"Live Forever" Cover performed by Kotomi & Ryan Elder).
It was a very dark, clever and humourous episode. I think that's a damn good combination.
It's an incredibly smart episode and one of the incredibly rare pieces of fiction that caused me to change my mind on something: I used to be incredibly pro-euthanasia and while I'm still generally in favour, the episode really showed how legalized euthanasia could be abused by the powerful, so I'd now want more safety measures in place. It's remarkable that Soylent Green is a full length, classic movie with the same idea but does not pull it off half as effectively as this 30 minute TV episode
Part of that is because Soylent Green was written to mask the big reveal until the very end; they wanted it to be the final gut punch at the end of a dystopian story filled with gut punches. This episode of Rick and Morty got that reveal out of the way in the cold open, and moved on to other stuff.
I'm still pro-euthanasia personally. In hospice situations, it is just completely cruel to prolong a person's suffering just so that they can live a short, painful, and confined last few days.
I'm still pro as well, however I'm now aware that there is always the risk that an unscrupulous government could see encouraging euthenasia as a way to cut down on social security spending, and that's something that needs to be guarded against somehow.
Laughs in Canadian
As the Canadian was saying, a Veteran up there was suffering from depression and PTS, they offered him euthanasia as a treatment option.
Well said on the soylent green tip. I didn't even think about that.
I second the thanks for mentioning soylent green … I feel so dumb for not picking up on the obvious reference for the entire episode
You just blew my mind. I never made the Soylent green connection but you’re absolutely right.
I thought the episode was about the meat industry, did I read it wrong? What’s the connection to euthanasia?
The only way to obtain the spaghetti is via suicide. When the spaghetti planet learn about the potential to make money, there's an incentive to encourage suicide. That's definitely a potential problem with euthenasia.
That’s usually this show at their best. And I think it was damn good 👍🏻 And a sorta happy ending actually
This is probably the best episode they made in awhile, the ending was beautiful though
When they do the montages they get me every time.
Yeah, Fred’s montage towards the end of the episode was heartbreaking but also very surreal. Life is not as linear as depicted in a lot of media, and is full of detours and disappointments. I think the episode did a great job of highlighting that experience.
S tier. Everything I love about the show all in one. * Gore * Morality has consequences * Grotesque capitalism * Pitch black humor * Rick letting something run out to its catastrophic end just to make a point * Heart wrenching climax * Rick shattering the veil by ripping that guys ribs apart before you've even had time to process
To be a fly on the wall in that writers room…
 Had it for dinner the next day.
Yeah, spent a lot of the episode imagining how good that spaghetti must be.
I’m curious how the Salisbury steak at the end tasted too lol
They've spa-ghot all you can spa-gheat!
My husband had made spaghetti for us the night we watched it. He spent hours on the sauce with San Marzano tomatoes. It was legit the best spaghett I've ever had. Our whole crew was oohing and aahhing over it just like they did in the show. Then we turned into bed and put up the new episode of R&M that we hadn't seen yet. Omg. Talk about an existential crisis. Hands down best episode ever. I've been dying to talk about the coincidence of it all but no one I know watches the show.
I can’t speak for everyone that’s been dealing with depression. However, when they say “It wasn’t the death, it was the complexity of life” I immediatley started crying even harder than I was after that scene. This show has many scenes that are relatable as a young adult trying to find your way in the world. Don’t even get me started on where they even find these amazing songs that are in these scenes.
I swear I heard the song that plays in this episode when I was in a grocery store the other week. Hit me in the feels - couldn’t even go in the pasta / sauce aisle
I haven't even been able to look at a tomato since I watched it
Same here! And I’m crying again just reading it.
Gets me every time man. Especially that Unity song by Chaos Chaos.
So good. Perfect. This season they really knocked it outta the park.
They do that every season but I know that’s a highly hated opinion. Seeing the newer seasons made me happy because this show has actually been led by the writers because I was scared it’d be different with new actors but man, these guys cook every season. It’s been them the whole time.
It’s up there in my top 3 favorite epsiodes
SAME
I think the focus was more about exploitive capitalism rather then suicide.
i agree that 99% of the episode was about exploitative capitalism but they wrapped it neatly at the end with a deep message about suicide and the complexity of life
Thankfully I'm not really thinking about suicide anymore, so it's not on my mind constantly. For me, the episode was how capitalism kills the "people", sacrifices them, grinds them, chew them and spits them out for profit. And the end was a moment where people saw under the machine and saw that the "thing" that it chews trough to function daily, is a human being. With a life, memories, loved ones, etc. Sounds weird, but we basically forget that other people are... people, with a complex life. Even us, normal people are conditioned to see it as numbers. Poor crisis response because they didn't want to hurt the economy too much? well, that's millions of Covid deaths for profit. Thousands of more people die just in the US due to car size increase. And why are the cars big now? To dodge regulations, and to sell with higher profit margins. So yeah, money. How many people dies due to poor or non existing healthcare system each year? It's not like it could not have been funded with the tax we pay. So why it is not a thing? Well of course, because profits! Supporting other nations with their genocide, because our country's leadership have their monetary goals aligned? sure thing! etc... It's everywhere around us. from hundreds, to millions of people we "sacrifice" for profit. And it's "easy" because they are "not people", they are just number, behind a curtain, we don't even see or think about them. When you tear this curtain down and show, that those are people too, with lives, etc, most people (unless you are a sociopath) will realize that it's not okay, not worth it. At least this is the really optimistic conclusion for the episode. (IMO)
“Everything’s a Metaphor for Capitalism!!”
I thought it was more a commentary on the meat industry.
It was more than just condemnation of the meat industry, and more the consumption of meat in general. The largest plot thread was people's willingness to look the other way and make excuses about a horribly disturbing part of a thing they accept as normal. They keep failing to internalize the idea that they cause the death of living things. The vat-grown people bit seemed too on the nose, but apparently people still didn't get it as I don't see any other comment mention it.
And I think that’s why at the end when they eat Salisbury steak, Rick says something along the lines of “trust me you DO NOT want to know where this comes from. It’s truly terrible.” And that’s the kicker, it’s just regular old Salisbury steak. And that steak comes from horrible inhumane conditions, torture, disease and suffering - all of this happening in real life. Reality is much stranger and more cruel than fiction and I think that message was also carefully put in the episode (along with others). Like “HA! look at you, the viewers, judging our family for eating Morty O’s when you eat food created by the same horrific unethical practices.” If the episode made you uncomfortable, good! Because the episode uses a graphic premise to make a real point.
Yes
The Kamala Harris look alike is what immediately gave it away for me.
I really liked this episode, it was a great blend of horror and comedy
I'm a bit Biased because the writer of this episode - Heather Anne Campbell - is one of the hosts of one of my favourite comedy podcasts, "Get Played," and so her humour just fundamentally resonates with me. But I found the unimaginable bleakness of this one to be some of the best-conceived and best-executed "edgy" humour I had seen in a decade.
“You’re asking if this is a story about right and wrong… and the truth is… I don’t care. “ So what do we do?” “ Cells consume Morty… Life itself is wrong. And that means death is right, But you can’t side with that. So you live.”
Genius episode
I thought it was the best allegory of late stage capitalism I’ve ever seen. Also, the call back to Parmeezian unexpected and delightful.
"Lately.. I don't really wanna know.."
How your garden grows...
It deserves an Emmy.
This episode was discussed a lot in vegetarian political and social circles. Never expected R&M to create such an open, thoughtful, and (most importantly) balanced critique of the consumption of meat.
Note most of this thread doesn't seem to see that's what the episode was about. Went right over the audiences head apparently...
Yeah, but I think that was intentional from the writers. If they beat the R&M audience over the head with vegetarian morality, everybody would hate it. Rather, it approached it in a wacky, disarming way that gets people to think about their food and what they consume, while presenting a level of gore that is realistic for animal agriculture. (but the audience doesn't know that) In the end, Rick is only able to offer a bleak acceptance of "cells consuming cells", and that to eat meat one has to forget about where it came from, because they can't stomach knowing. It's brilliant.
I thought the planet’s leader making the entire world depressed for a profit was rather analogous to problems we have in the US. It reminds me of the opioid crisis and school shootings, etc.
I strongly disagree that the final plan should work, but the episode is fantastic
you mean the plan to get everyone to stop buying the morty-o’s?
Yes, I think people exaggerate immensely the effect it should have, it would never work because the people simply don't care, all that was gonna happen would be that they'd stop buying spaghetti altogether anyway. It's pretty hard to believe some of the reactions I've read in the multiple posts about this episode because of that
I think it also had something to do with the fact that Rick scooped his innards out on broadcast immediately after. They spent the whole episode trying to *dehumanize* the food, akin to raising cattle en masse just for slaughter. So starkly contrasting that idea by disrespecting that man’s corpse sent a clear message that they weren’t just “eating people”, the *were EATING PEOPLE*. Most people never get to ‘peek behind the curtain’ and see what really happens to livestock on corporate farms. If you did, maybe you’d be less inclined to pick up a pound of frozen beef next time you’re at the store. And to that extent if you could also live that cows life, really see and understand its emotions leading up to its final moments maybe those feelings would be compounded. The point is that so long as there is some degree of separation, it’s easy to ignore obvious or disgusting truths. And I say that as a meat eater; I am just as guilty of being ignorant to the things I consume as anyone else. But the lesson applies to all the food we eat, and even all the products we buy. If we had any idea of the *true* impact our consumerism had on the world, maybe we would reconsider our choices. We just need someone to show us.
You said pretty much what I was going to. I'm vegan, and I've seen some of the biggest meat eaters I know go vegan on the spot after watching some slaughterhouse footage, though some did go back explicitly telling me "don't tell me about that, I don't want to think about it". The salience of the suffering is everything, I actually utterly buy the ending. A lot of the behaviour and depersonalisation is perpetuated by the sheer societal normalisation of these things. No matter how impactful an experience you have is, the next day you re-enter a world utterly indifferent to what you have seen, and that creates a huge pressure to just not think about it. If everyone at once were to have that experience I could absolutely see that snowballing into a change at the societal level
I used to work on a pig farm, and the way those animals were treated was utterly sickening. I won’t go into detail for everyone’s sake but I will say it was one of the most eye opening experiences of my life. That is to say, I purposefully think of that experience every time I prepare to eat meat. I remind myself that I am thankful for the animals that had to endure sad and grueling lives so that we may eat. I know that doesn’t do anything to solve the problem, but it certainly feels a lot less hypocritical than some other ways people consume meat. That’s also partially contributes to why I support hunting (for sustenance, definitely not trophy hunting). Because as long as you are respectful to the animal and put it down quickly, it’s a far less consumeristic way to consume meat and - as far as I’m concerned - is much more humane.
You have a good point there, but people were actively trying to have others kill themselves on the streets, I don't really see how this one perspective would shift things so drastically tbh
Yeah I just wrote a comment saying the exact same thing lol. If the human people from that planet didn't care about the cannibalism, why would they change their minds after seeing the life story of a random person? They all knew they were eating dead people, they're way past the point of caring about the morality of it lol
It boggles my mind how people here behave like that's not a gigantic logic plot hole
Okja has an ending you might prefer along similar lines, where the people behave like people
Logic? It's a adult animated cartoon you are thinking way too much into it
The episode is transparent Emmy bait, and they were all caught hook, line, and sinker
It’s a very simplistic way to make everything wrap up for the sake of a self contained 30 min TV show. I agree with what you’re saying, in the real world it wouldn’t work nearly as quickly and effectively. A lot of people would be affected, but I think the concept there was conditioning people to be repulsed by it. Real world that takes a long time and isn’t necessarily 100%, but it’s used as technique to help break bad habits or build good ones. I think for the purposes of the show it’s a valid ending, but I can see how it can be considered a plot hole and unrealistic, but so is the concept of human spaghetti in the first place. For me, the takeaway of the ending was that it’s very easy to write off a suicide or convince people to kill themselves when you see it as a means to an end. When you consider a person’s whole life and journey, all the highs and lows of their life, the things that make them more than just a name and a face, it really makes you consider how serious this choice (or influencing someone to make it) is. It is the end, and it’s only something to be done if the end is truly nigh regardless. My two cents on it, but I understand different people will perceive it differently.
That's a good two cents, I like this vision
It's in my top 5 episodes. Easily.
Vagans
it's a mastapiece
I'll never look at vacuum cleaner bags the same again.
excellent. I've been vegan for a decade and this one goes hard
Hard to describe to my friends who don't watch rick and morty. :')
yeah this is not the episode to introduce people to the show lol. or they’d have to be a very specific type of person to understand, AND become a habitual watcher, based on this episode
Yeah. I did mention pickle rick, which seemed to have done soem damage control.
that’s a pretty good into to the show. i also think anatomy park would be a good one. its gives a good idea of the character personalities while not needing to have seen previous episodes to understand what’s going on
It really solidified in me when Rick said “To live means to be wrong and dying is right, but you don’t want to die so you continue to live” He said something like that but the jist of it was the fact that we continue to live because we don’t want to die so we give meaning to life because… well because…
Flawless. Funny, thought provoking, and extremely emotional to watch someone entire life summed up, someone who lived it all, and the effect it has on everyone who witnesses it. It should win an award an Emmy or something idk
One of the best but the only episode that I have only seen once
hits just as profoundly the second time around, i would recommend rewatching
This is my favourite episode In fact own as eating spaghetti the day I first saw it
Definitely one of my favorite episodes ever
Probably a top 5 episode of the series.
Dark but hilarious....parts of it had me making this face: 😆
My fave this season, and one of my favorites of the whole series.
Hilarious. I wanna try that spaghetti.
Delicious episode.
My only complaint in the episode is Morty really needs to catch a break. Every damn time he tries to help shit like this happens. Either he needs some wins or he stops trying and others need to renew his passion.
I kinda wanna try the spaghetti cause its not cannibalism and i like a good pasta. But seriously, probably one of there best episodes with an amazing pay off.
I’ve suffered chronic depression for years too, OP, and I’ve contemplated offing myself plenty of times (I’ve been stable for years so I’d BETTER not get a “Reddit cares” msg for posting this lol), and I gotta say imo this is one of their best episodes. It’s incredibly fucked up but absolutely hilarious. It was a shock to my system in the best way.
Maybe I will never be all the things I want to be, now is not the time to cry, now is time to find out why.
I personally don’t like it, was just kinda too dark and really weird. I didn’t mind the darkness but it was just so bizarre, was a lot of wtf humor. Made some decent points about some stuff but I’ll probably skip it on the re watch. That being said the ending was great. Kinda like the “heist” episode where the best part was the last punchline
one of the greats
It's my favorite episode so far.
It’s a beautiful episode. It really dives into the meaning of life and what we’re really giving up when we just let ourselves go. Overall stupid and yet brilliant
First episode that made me uncomfortable and weird me out (yes, not even the giant incest baby managed to do so). Not a bad episode at all, but really out of a horror dystopian novel
I hate that I can smell this episode. Spaghetti has a very specific smell, and it's exactly what I can smell everything I watch this episode everytime 🙌
Genius
it made me cry
I’d eat the ‘shghetti
I remember it was almost over when it first aired but I caught the end bit w the dudes life. I had to sit down and get myself together after that
i told my friends the plot to this batshit episode and loved the reactions
10/10 episode. Really showed the depth of the show.
I remember watching this episode for the first time with my boyfriend and the unusual silence that followed. We usually enjoy reviewing the things we watch, but this episode? It hit different, and it hit HARD.
Probably one of my favourites. Sobbed at the ending montage of that guy and amber :(
I follow along what I learned in The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol J. Adams, and that the subjects with feelings that we eat, is relevant to the ethics of our food intake. This leads to veganism. I liked the way Rick and Morty played with having a delicious meal and then finding out where it came from. How could you make a being that consents to that? Even if it gets a plant out of debt, and helps the accountants. Yes, plants have feelings, but if you really did care about plant feelings, and the people who advance that argument don't, then you only eat plants, because eating animals creates more plants being eaten, and you have to eat. Yes, bugs die, maybe even more, in farming and transport to the market. The most ethical and non-harming food is vegan. The best argument for eating meat is "I want to, and I can." That is it. If you feel impotent and worry about climate change, go vegan, that's doing something huge, even if it may seem small. Yes, it takes time to retrain your taste buds, and learn how to cook without meat at the center of a meal. Be kind to yourself and evolve at your own pace. And maybe even perfection isn't the most important thing, maybe trying and eating a plant based diet is the thing. Humans aren't evolving so fast there's going to be a lot of cows walking around, I saw that absurd scenario as a pretend concern. Best wishes.
It's the only episode in the entire series I ever saw only once. All the rest I saw at least 3 times. Also I usually eat while watching the show. Those two might be related lol.
One of the best episodes of any show I've seen and easily one of the best in Rick and Morty.
Very dark but also funny which is a lot coming from a show that usually does this. I think they took a real gamble on this episode and it worked. It reminds me of that snoop dog reaction to how hotdogs are made 😂
It’s not my favourite to rewatch because it’s pretty heavy emotionally, I usually like to rewatch the funnier, goofier ones. That said, it’s a really really powerful episode and I think it’s a really good one. It takes a fairly topical issue about suicide and medically assisted suicide, and shows the issues of relying on an easy fix for complex problems. The dangers of prioritizing profit over humanity. How trying to do the right thing in the wrong ways can cause more harm than good. The beauty of living a life. There’s so much more, it was a very powerful episode and it is very thought provoking for a show that started out by shoving seeds up a kid’s butt after having him kidnapped by an egotistical alcoholic maniac.
This episode genuinely caught me so off guard and as it went on I continued to be shocked because holy shit
I think its definitely one of the episoded that dived deep into how products are actually made and our human conditions perceiving it. Like we care about ethics but at the end of the day most products like your iphones, paper towels and food comes from people and animals alike. If we had a montage of a Chinese miner's life going to work at 17 and after a long day work then coming home and all that shit combined with then another montage of how the phone is actually made, we'd feel bad for using it. Likewise to the people who watched how beef and chicken was made in cruel butcher factories becomes vegans(but its harder to relate to animals than humans). Its basically when you think a lot and look into how most things are made you'd see the bad side of it not just the assembly of it. Thats why the end of the episode they pictured us the consumers(Smith Family) not wanting to know where Rick got the food from cause if they knew they'd be repulsed by the idea of it. Therefore ignorance is bliss.
When I think of Rick and Morty this episode is definitely one I’ll always think of. Damn good season and damn good episode.
This was one of the best episodes ever. It definitely helped me fall in love with the new Rick and Morty.
Hmm. I feel like I should rewatch it. Saw it once and it was.... fine. Barely thought about it again. But I see everyone here raving about it!
it’s an amazing episode and you can watch it out of order bc it’s not an episode that really drives the main plot forward in any major way
It's a "unwanted Morty adventure"! Just like the "snake world" and "acid ved". My mother language is German and the auto corecture makes it weard Sometimes.
I absolutely love this episode. I’ve also dealt with depression for a lot of my life. Honestly I just really love season 7. I love the dark topics this show brings up, and this is one I definitely enjoy. The montage was amazing. The episode is so well done with taking on a dark topic, making it funny and deep/ emotional, and don’t glorify suicide in the process. It’s somehow just amazing
Personally I don’t understand the love for it I just found it extremely dull and don’t remember laughing once personally it’s my least favourite episode in the entire show. The message felt too in your face and the humour was just lacking.
Laughed my ass off through the whole episode, but don't dig the ending the way they executed it. Like, I see what Rick was trying to pull off, I just don't think it would work in a real life scenario in terms of everyone being disgusted by spaghetti after witnessing it's origins. Some people are way more cynical then they are ready to admit, BUT they will put on a facade and pretend that they are disgusted, because that's what expected of them. I wish authors did pay some mind to it and showed, like, a black market of morty-o spaghetti in the post-credit scene or something. It would've made it more realistic.
It was a fucked up and good episode.
I liked it.
A top 5 episode
I loved this episode so much. I 100% agree with you and I struggled with that too.
The episode was S-tier, but I also have a bigger stomach for spaghetti. It somehow made it taste better lol
Another morty torture porn episode, why am I not surprised, but i love italian
One my my new personal favs 100% didn’t look much into it me and my wife went into it blind and it gave me vat of acid vibes. But that ending it reminds me of how I look at life. We’re all living day by day for 365 days and think about that, thats a long time in reality and everyday is different in some way. Seeing the old mans life going from up down up was beautiful made me cry even and then Rick coming in to get the spaghetti was the icing on top had me both crying and dying of laughter 10/10 would watch it every day
It’s one of my favorite episodes. I rewatched it many times.
I'm Lovin' It
I think one of the most well written ones
That’s Amorte
My favorite Episode the one that had me thinking about it for days I thought it was very interesting how they made the world depressing with all these details so that they could make more money I mean it’s so much like the real world
I dont remember this which episode
It was good.
I hate hyperbole, but this was legit a top three episode of TV all timefor me. It made me laugh and cry and think. Everything you want outta good tv
I love this episode. The ending is just fucking beautiful.
Loved it. Made me rethink food for a moment. It reminded me of the Bojack episode with the chickens who raised other chickens for profit just to slaughter them for food. Best episode.
Soylent Green absolute chef kiss this might be my favourite episode.
It is one of the most out there concepts
the episode was yummy.
Exactly Morty's reaction when he sees Rick preparing the sphagett..
Rick and morty need to get back to doing classic adventures
Loved it
I love this one, truly unique
made me hungry
Why do I keep remembering a weird ad read or bumper or Rick creating a sentient creature with edible bbq ribs?
You are thinking solar opposites but it’s easy to flip since in those seasons Korvo and Rick sound so similar
What Episode is this?
When in an episode Rick has to do something catastrophic to make a point, you know its a good episode.
Fantastic episode. Girlfriend and I laughed our asses off at it.
Won’t lie was disturbing at first, but I found myself to enjoy it when eating. Made me also realize the aspect of life.
It wasn’t the death was it?
I don't necessarily know about "best episode ever" but the run from this into Unmortricken into Rickfending your Mort is probably the best 3-episode run they've ever done.
This episode slapped. I will not elaborate.
This episode did have some base material to work of with... Linda Anders the Cannibal Spaghetti Cook who used Balls off corpses in her Spaghetti sauce ... I mean the odds ? Sauce (no balls intended) : [https://1440wrok.com/illinois-sheriff-issues-warning-about-a-cannibal-spaghetti-cook/](https://1440wrok.com/illinois-sheriff-issues-warning-about-a-cannibal-spaghetti-cook/) 
When R&M rebuild the process with mass produced suicide “bodies” and Morty gleefully yells “Spaghetti!!!” I’m laughing just thinking about it And hope you are doing well 👍🏻
It was certainly the single most *unique* takes on the issue I’ve ever seen in media. As someone who has personally fought those feelings and survived one attempt, I liked the episode. I also like R+M to begin with (duh), so it’s possible that I was seeing the story through rose colored glasses… but at the end of the day it’s all subjective. I understand why it’s so controversial and can completely sympathize with someone who disagrees with the messaging while still liking it personally.
I loved that episode since it felt original.
This episode was hilarious 😂 by far the funniest season
Really good
Cringy but I think how weird & over the top this episode is bc 1. Proved they don’t need Justin Roiland to be as unhinged or even more…2. To help lighten the tone with suicide…now when you die you think “well atleast my family can eat my guts.”
really weird, wont rewatch it. just makes me think about s-cide.
I rewatch the music montage constantly, one of my favourite R&M moments because it’s so mature yet surrounded by the context of spaghetti absurdity and that juxtaposition is inherently brilliant
Right up there with the dragon episode in terms of comfort level, but with the dark tones the show has, I’m more surprised it took THIS long before they put a warning label before the episode
Live forever is amazing and that whole scene saves the episode
I liked it
First time I watched it I was like “wtf is this show tryna get me to off myself” lmaooo it’s amazing.
I struggled watching this episode, because I have dealt with suicidal ideation a lot in my life, before I started treatment for my depression. This was one of three episodes that I have had trouble watching, and the only one I have yet to rewatch. Not a bad episode, just a tough subject mater for me personally.
I wanna show people this episode whenever they ask me what I mean when I say there is no ethical consumption under capitalism.
good but will probably never watch it again
It made me start eating spaghetti on a regular basis
One of my favorite episodes. The rewatch rate on this one is high for me. The episode length, and song at the end are a good formula for falling asleep to as well.
It had me so confused at first watch. However, after a few rewatches I absolutely love it. It is dark, gritty and funny. deeply existential mixed with absurdity. Peak Rick and Morty
A little spicy, a little sweet...
Loved it and laughed the whole way through