After three seasons on the air, Rick and Morty has become a rarity in the sense that there are arguably no truly bad episodes of the sci-fi comedy series. That said, when looking at the show's run, one episode needs to bring up the rear. As it turns out, series co-creator Dan Harmon does, in fact, have a least favorite episode of the series: the Season 1 gender-skewering romp "Raising Gazorpazorp." Harmon explained:
I can give you the least favorite. It's the one with the Amazonian women. I was so proud while I was writing it and then I read people's comments on it how it felt stale and '80s in its observations about gender. And now I hate it and want it to die by fire. But that's because of people's reactions or I would love it.
So, it looks like Dan Harmon definitely doesn't process Rick and Morty in an isolation chamber. The opinions of fans mean quite a bit to him, and the fact that many viewers didn't respond well to his gender observations in "Raising Gazorpazorp" has soured his opinion of the episode since its initial airdate in 2014. Becuase of the lackluster response, Harmon has (by his own admission) grown to hate it.
For those of you who need a refresher in the episode's story (or just want to take a trip down memory lane), "Raising Gazorpazorp" opens on Rick buying Morty a sex robot at a space pawn shop. The doll gives birth to a brutish, warlike son, and the episode eventually sees Rick and Summer travel to the alien's home planet to investigate its origins. Once on the planet, they discover (in a delightful spoof of Zardoz) that the planet is run by a group of brilliant (albeit incredibly petty) women who keep the neanderthal-esque men secluded on the planet below.
Despite his lack of enthusiasm for "Raising Gazorpazorp," Dan Harmon does have some favorite Rick and Morty episodes that he's willing to highlight. He continued his discussion with EW and admitted that the Breaking Bad-inspired Season 3 episode "Pickle Rick" as well as "The Ricklantis Mixup" both rank near the top for him. Harmon explained:
I watched those two with a crowd of 200 fans so I know they're good episodes. If they booed or was silent I'd know they were a piece of garbage. I do not care how hard I worked on an episode, if fans hate it, it's bad, and I hate it too.
Again, it all seems to come down the how the fans react to the episodes. We expect nothing less from a guy like Dan Harmon. After all, the guy isn't even willing to shoot down our fan theories unless he absolutely has to for the sake of an episode's story. If we love them, he will love them too. Also among Harmon's favorites are "Big Trouble in Little Sanchez," "Auto Erotic Assimilation," and the reality-destroying "Rick Potion #9."
Rick and Morty airs every Sunday night at 11:30 p.m. ET on Adult Swim. Although the fan-favorite science fiction comedy's long-awaited third season is coming to an end, we can rest easy knowing that Season 4 will feature an extended run of 14 episodes in total. If you need more information on fall TV to fill the void until Rick and Morty returns, take a look at our fall premiere guide and fill out your TV-viewing schedules accordingly!
