#rather than just being a weird self insert vehicle for JR (and to an extent dan harmon) if that makes any sense

[pondhue]

honestly having a hard time trying to justify watching s8. we beat rick prime. imitation voice actors just feel Wrong to my autistic ass (tho i support them firing JR obviously). what do we hope for? more Diane backstory that will make her being dead/gone across the multiverse all the more painful? the birdperson child? am i a poser that "classic adventures" aren't enough for me?

edit: sorry in advance that this response is kind of long. i'm gonna be tagging it as #long text and #longtext for easy muting aaahhhh

anon your concerns are super valid. like, if you find yourself having a hard time, there's no harm in taking a step back and waiting to see what happens before giving it a chance. and if you still can't justify it for whatever reason, that's fine too. considering what Rick and Morty is and what it has become, it's completely understandable. i don't think you're a poser for feeling the way you do. i personally prefer that they steer from that too, and/or if they chose to still explore that route even now, i hope it's in a way where they deconstruct the formula rather than uphold it. Rick and Morty is the type of show where it challenges the viewer, but it also has the potential, i'd like to think, to challenge the people working on the show themselves (even more-so than it already has from what i've read/watched/heard). there's no harm in having expectations and going "i've had enough of this thing, i want something new". personally, i just see it as you being critical of media you consume and enjoy, which i don't think should ever be seen as a bad thing. if anything i think it should be practiced more (within reason of course). and i've also been asking the same questions to myself. i also have no clue what to hope for either, and after ruminating on it, i'm simply trying to embrace that maybe there's nothing to justify in terms of choosing to watch it or not. again, you could either wait until it comes out and give it a chance, or not! i'm choosing view s8 as all of us literally "sitting in the back seat of the ship" and being along for the ride, embracing the chaos. that's how it felt for me in the second half of season 7. it felt as if they were considering viewers who genuinely LOVE the show and just want it to get better (which could be cope on my part!! idk!!!) i think with how s6 went and especially with how s7 ended, i'd be more surprised if they went back to the classic formula (pre, like, season 5) after EVERYTHING that's happened thus far. not to mention that they're locked in with adult swim for like, many more seasons so i'm sure the concerns you're expressing here are definitely something they've considered and are likely now even more-so with the traction the show has been getting again. i truly want to believe that the minds behind R&M do not want to let themselves or the show itself grow complacent (again, could be cope and me just being really mentally ill about this show). sorry if this is incoherent/rambly/not what you were expecting when sending this ask. you really made me think more about all this though and i hope this answer suffices!