“Final DeSmithation” brought together the unlikely pairing of Rick, voiced by the show’s co-creator Justin Roiland (Solar Opposites), and Jerry, voiced by Chris Parnell (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, 21 Jump Street), to take down an evil corporation controlling fate through fortune cookies. The action-packed, gadget-loaded episode brought plenty of laughs and entertainment throughout.

The whole Smith family finishes up their meal at Panda Express. Beth, voiced by Sarah Chalke (Scrubs), Morty, also voiced by Roiland, and Summer, voiced by Spencer Grammer (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), all have impersonal and disappointing fortunes. Summer informs everyone that the only way for fortune cookies to come true is if one eats the cookie before reading the fortune. Jerry then reveals that his cookie has predicted that he will have sex with his mother.

Jerry takes the fortune extremely seriously while the rest of the family members, aside from Rick, poke fun at him and bully his belief in the cookie. They use social media to publicize his fears while he ignores unexpected calls and texts from his mother. Despite his lack of respect for Jerry, Rick appreciates that Jerry has the right to take things seriously that others may not and offers to help him. The rest of the family heads to the zoo. Rick performs a series of tests with Jerry to disprove his belief that he will somehow end up sleeping with his mother. Rick is surprised that Jerry is disproportionately more likely to fulfill his fortune cookie’s prediction than expected. 

Rick and Jerry change into disguises and venture around the surface level of proceedings. They track the origins of the fortune cookie and the evil corporation trying to control people’s fate. They are then discovered and attacked by security who take fortune cookies that enable them to fight them supremely. Eventually, they find the source of the power of the cookies, a captured alien that transforms unknown to known in its digestive system. 

Rick uses a range of gadgets to win a fight against a host of soldiers who have abilities that seem like they would help but often lead to them suffering more painful deaths. He just about manages to stop Jerry from accidentally having sex with his mother. The curious part about the powered fortune cookies is that one is immortal until their fortune is fulfilled. The company’s CEO has been using the alien to remain immortal until she is the most successful businesswoman on earth. Rick completes the CEO’s destiny before taking it away from her. She transforms into a monster and is killed by the alien she entrapped.  

Unfortunately, Jerry calls him his friend once they return, breaking Rick’s immortality. “Final DeSmithation” was visually appealing, exciting, unpredictable, and thoroughly compelling. 

 Rating 8.0/10