Rick Sanchez vs The Doctor Review

 

hello people of the internet, it is i andrex, a random dude you’ve never heard of. i want to welcome you all to my blog, where i’ll be posting all sorts of stuff within my range of interests with my very notable apathetic and non-serious attitude towards everything, probably putting it off that way by the fact i refuse to write with caps. i’m not a nemesis bloodryche or a biff weed to have the capability or time to make a youtube video about it (and ESPECIALLY not a mic) but i do have the power of writing with me. and blogspot, blogspot’s gotten pretty popular in the death battle and VS community really. feel free to stay and read, i’m doing anything but taking this seriously but i appreciate if you’re interested in my autistic ramblings enough

outside of this small introduction, let’s get into the actual thing in the title of the blog. Rick Sanchez vs The Doctor, funny timey-wimey men with companions going across time and space and having to deal with whatever stupid ahh shenanigans the writers come up with for this sci-fi series (i miss when they had good writing). i’ll be honest, i didn’t care much for this matchup and actually didn’t like the idea of “The Doctor” in general for a VS match, given their nature with the different incarnations. but as the waiting period went on, i became excited for this episode and i’m willing to say it was the one i was the most hyped at. yeah, pretty surprising turn of events! i’m a huge doctor who fan, i love this stupid series so much and i like rick and morty too, so eventually it came to me the many possibilities this matchup could have on what they would do. that, and the simple idea of seeing both series’ covered on the show. with that off the way…

Analyses

we start with the funny wubba-lubba-dub-dub man, the man who made a whole mess at your local McDonalds. ngl at first glance i didn’t really like rick’s analysis, i felt it ignored his character and just focused on the wacky and funny stuff he's done. but after a rewatch it got pretty good. heck, the complete opposite. one thing worth noting for the analysis in general is the editing. max did a very good job with the editing, most especially the lighting in the episode. i like how a bunch of the comic panels look, especially on rick’s side given the more cartoony artstyle of R&M. the preview contains like, half if not all of rick’s arsenal talked about in the episode, but i feel that what is given is fine enough. a good part of rick’s analysis actually tackles on his horrible mental state, and on a way that’s respectful and fletched out, going over his true story and what made him so fcked up, to how by the end of the day he has a soft side that cares for his family after he lost it all. the jokes actually do feel funny, and rick’s analysis isn’t filled with the stupid R&M bazillion memes that are around the internet, that’s good. in fact, the little stuff they do add flows in well with the analysis (little as in, only pickle rick), and the humor they add up is actually pretty great. the line boomstick ends rick’s analysis, especially.

going onto the allons-y funky alien man analysis, i was really curious on how they were going to handle a character with more than half a decade worth of media and with so much to talk about. the preview had left it well, actually being pretty clear in what a time lord is, an extremely important concept to understand the doctor. in fact, i think the doctor’s whole analysis is better than rick’s. it may be my preference towards the doctor but, who knows. i feel his arsenal is explained better and in a more broad way without mentioning all the BS the doctor has had throughout the years, only going through the important stuff and… actually making a good point regarding the doctor’s fighting style! the doctor usually wins fights by using his wits and not his strengths, so mentioning he “doesn’t often carry weapons” is, kinda fitting ngl. i really like how they tackle the Last Great Time War, and how heavy and relevant it is to the doctor. of course there’s a lot more behind what they said, but with the general idea they gave you can say “okay yeah what the fuck happened with him”. and from it, they actually transition it well as to why the doctor is so feared in the series, because when this man’s angry it’s better not to fuck with him. like good ol' Christopher Eccleston once said:

"BUT YOU HAVE NO WEAPONS. NO DEFENCES. NO PLAN."
"Yeah... and doesn't that scare you to death?!"

also, love me the doctor who references, god damn they had a lot of them.

for some more general thoughts, we actually had DUMMI appear back after a long ass time ago. aaaaaand we kinda had him erased from existence too. but anyways, the cutaways were funny. deals with key arsenal for the two of them clearly and, again, in a comedic way. honestly it’s just nice to have DUMMI back. however, something i didn’t like from the analyses is how they tackle their greatest feats. i’ll later go into depth with it but like, the two biggest strength feats used in the episode (for their ships) are very overlooked on the analyses, and can go by pretty unnoticed. overall though pretty solid set of analyses, it follows-up a formula that makes both understandable in their own ways and leaves up a bunch of the key stuff for the result well-explained. 

also we had boomstick say “nuh-uh” and “bri’ish” best episode ever /j

Fight

okay this is the big meat of the episode. first up, the fight is beautifully animated. admittedly animated doctor looks kinda weird, but rick (and morty) looks almost straight out of the cartoon. there are some janky scenes like when tenth pulls out the sonic screwdriver. i feel like it doesn’t have enough detail on it, but this is legitimately something stupidly small and irrelevant. the hand-drawn animation just looks great overall, the fight flows extremely well with the 3D backgrounds. i actually think the fight benefits from having a 3D background! which on that note good lord i am in LOVE with how many references we got. more on that shortly after, but i’m mainly referring to the past death battle references here. they did it in a very clever way with the arcade area and there’s still a lot to discover from it. another small, irrelevant pet peeve, but i would’ve liked the weeping angels to be 3D, would’ve given them a bit more impact. but eh that’s just me

with the fight itself, it’s damn good food. it’s funny, exciting, and even has some emotional moments if you pay attention. first off, i’m very glad that The Doctor used was Tenth/Fourteenth, the David Tennant Doctor. he’s not my favorite (Matt Smith my beloved), nor do i think he’s the one that flows the best with rick, but he’s still a ton of fun and the most iconic modern doctor either way, so it’s fair game. although i would’ve liked it if other doctors appeared in the fight, sort of like a “Day of the Doctor” kind of situation, or just outright from regeneration. but, something’s something, and i can take this. both characters feel like themselves, rick being an unpredictable mf with a sailor's mouth who’s the one usually taking the offensive options and the doctor being goofy with all his resources, trying to avoid conflict at all costs while maintaining an up-beat attitude. in fact, the doctor doesn’t take the fight seriously until like, he gets in the TARDIS. or so i feel like it, and rick usually getting an upper hand through his tech and overall hax goes along with what they later establish in the verdict.

continuing on how they deal with the characters, the dialogue for both seems straight out of their shows, which i really appreciate. there’s parts in the fight that feel like a Rick and Morty episode, and there’s parts that feel like a Doctor Who episode. and it’s very fun seeing the two clash personalities, in spite of what i just said. but the one thing i like the most about the fight is the little details that show so much character in them. in the terms of rick, many of his lines show his care over morty.

“Holy- Ship, keep Morty safe!”

“Now hurry up, I got a grandson waiting on me. He won’t die an idiot like you.”

you can see rick’s true love over morty, how he actually cares and respects him and is partially doing this because of him. i feel like the doctor catches onto this (especially with the 2nd line i put), which is why he decides to go check on morty at the end of the fight.

but rick isn’t the only highlight, the doctor has some hard as fuck lines and moments too. i love how expressive he is, represents tenth so well in that aspect, from how he talks to the TARDIS to the faces he makes when he gets the upper hand. seriously, if you didn’t pay attention, go rewatch the fight and you’ll see how expressive the doctor is the whole fight. my favorite moment though has to be when he’s about to grab the anti-rick THE D-MAT GUN. while i do have my set of issues with it, i still really like the doctor showing hesitation in his face before he decides to grab it… that is until rick appears behind his back, literally. but it shows the doctor’s humanity, his pacifism and how he would rather not do harm to anyone, no matter how evil.

the climax itself inside the TARDIS feels straight out of Doctor Who. like, legit, the doctor's speech goes hard and i’m SO FUCKING GLAD we actually got a small monologue from him.

“I know your type… the nihilist know-it-all. But for all this wibbity-wobbity, timey-wimey rubbish, there’s one thing you never quite understood. I’m The Doctor, and I don’t wanna go.”

god this line is SO GOOOOOOOOOOOD. i swear to God the entire climax feels like a love letter to Doctor Who, the 10th doctor saying “I don’t wanna go” just like he did on his own regeneration, weaponizing the regeneration by hesitating on the process and destroying the TARDIS like with Twelve, while doing the same pose as Thirteenth… yeah it’s fucking great. while rick shooting that… let’s call it “rick gun” on the doctor definitely caught me off-guard and was a weird yet funny addition, the killing blow is actually clever. the doctor kills rick because he’s left with no other choice, because it’s either that or being erased from existence. and i like that he uses the portal on his back, that’s a thing he would do. also a small thing that i liked, both of them say their catchphrases on that last part, but like, it was needed fr. i don't want it to sound as if the episode is The Doctor ft. Rick Sanchez, because it definitely isn't. this is a peak moment for the doctor but, again, rick has his own stuff too that makes his portrayal feel genuine and look good.

anyways, the choreography is godly, probably one of the best choreographed fights of the season. every hit flows well with the other, and they use a fair share of their arsenal, all of which fits well into the fight. i also like all the different places the fight goes to, from the arcade (which i already said how much i love the references in it), to the weeping angels, to the TARDIS itself, to fucking FORTNITE. with a screaming sun. amazing. it keeps you excited to see what will happen next while also laughing at the batshit insanity of it, good example being the army of ricks absolutely fucking with the TARDIS lmao

although i do have a complaint. remember that i said that the doctor is someone who would rather not do any harm, and would rather take out his opponents in clever ways rather than simply kill them? yeah i know i just praised the episode for getting this right… but it also gets it wrong. sorta. outside of rick trying to kill the doctor, he doesn’t seem bothered enough to purposefully make rick die to the weeping angels, and realistically i don’t think he’d get rid of rick like that. but like, it’s a death battle so i guess i can ignore that, the rules of the show make it kinda hard to avoid character assasination. what does bother me more is that the D-MAT gun. i said i had my issues with it, it’s this. sure, rick has been a big threat the whole fight, but for the doctor to consider using one of his most lethal weapons against a dude who’s far from the most dangerous foe he’s faced feels weird. sure, he does show hesitation, and in the end he’s left with no other choice, but i feel that the doctor has so much else he can do to stop rick than outright erasing him from all of existence.

for some other stuff, the voice acting is good. for the most part. the doctor’s feels on point, Elliott Crossley managed to capture that charm David Tennant had as The Doctor. however, i’m not too sold on Brent Williams as Rick. sometimes he sounds on point, sometimes he sounds too young for rick. also liam as morty is funny but it’s the same, sometimes he’s on point sometimes not. but it’s better than rick. oof. the track legit fucks, for it being the first instrumental track after a whooping streak of 5 vocal tracks in a row, it holds up pretty well. although, at some times it is kind of ambiental. fits well for the fight, but on its own doesn’t have much going for it. also the addition of morty is funny, that last part with rick’s ghost is honestly hilarious.

the verdict is well explained and i like how it manages to give rick some advantages. i like that their biggest feats are from their ships and not directly from them, although again these feats come out of nowhere if you weren't paying attention in the analyses, given they mention them extremely casually there. it's also interesting that they’re stated to be physically equal, so it came to weaponry and arsenal, fitting for both characters. and it’s funny, with how they put it it makes it seem as if rick has more number in weapons when it’s, not really like that but then again he uses them more, and they clear it up by saying “oh yeah the doctor just negs everything rick has lmao” and more. so it’s pretty clear nonetheless, so i’d say. also yes doctor stomps in experience everyone should know that by default.

Verdict

season 10 has legit been banger after banger, so it’s no surprise ricktor isn’t exactly among the best episodes. it does has its flaws here and there, but overall it’s a very solid episode that does its fair share of respect to both series. you can tell there’s dedication and love put into the episode and i’m glad, for what i wanted it’s fair enough. the analyses were solid and went deep with the downsides of the characters, the fight animation while having issues was extremely fun and seemed taken out of both shows, and a result that was fairly understandable. overall i’d give the episode like a 9/10, but this is just my opinion. i’m just a random dude on the internet lol, i’m not meant to dictate anything. this IS my first review tho so sorry if it’s a bit rocky, but if you stayed this long then thank you thank you i’m glad you enjoyed it (if you did).

next time is Something I Am Not Happy With™ but apparently it’s not a sequel rather a remake so i guess it’s better that way? i’m looking forward to a great episode and i do not want my anger on the matchup to ruin it so i’d rather not think about it until the episode actually comes out okay byeeeeeee