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Morty himself became a slightly more assertive character, showing that he is growing and evolving thanks to his misadventures with Grandpa Rick. One area this season improved was in allowing all the members of the Smith family to shine. Rick had some real emotional low points over the course of these episodes, including showing a bout of suicidal behavior in "Auto-Erotic Assimilation" and retreating into a teenager's body in "Big Trouble in Little Sanchez." But our drunken hero also showed signs of positive growth this year, showing genuine love and affection for his family from time to time and even sacrificing his freedom to save them in the finale. This season built pretty significantly on the previous season's revelations about Rick being a profoundly unhappy man. Whether it was Rick hanging out with his ex-girlfriend (a collective consciousness occupying an entire planet's worth of people) in "Auto-Erotic Assimilation" or the incredibly bizarre locked room mystery that was "Total Rickall," there was rarely a dull moment the entire season. Many episodes hinged on high-concept storytelling mixed with plenty of hilarity and a dash of poignant character moments. And that pretty much set the tone for the entire season. It was a clever concept that was executed with plenty of intelligence and humor. This emphasis on continuity was especially evident in the premiere episode, "Total Rickall," which served as a direct continuation of the Season 1 finale "Ricksy Business." Rick's decision to abuse of time travel to clean up the mess from his house party wound up splitting the timestream into four pieces, each of which unfolded simultaneously on screen. Rather, creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon seemed to know just how hard to lean on it as a storytelling device so that some developments (particularly in the finale) carried more weight. The show never got too hung up on continuity. The show even built up a supporting cast of sorts, particularly when it came to the recurring appearances of Birdperson and Tammy. While each new installment is still largely standalone, the characters have become more prone to referencing past adventures.
![rick and morty season 2 total rickall rick and morty season 2 total rickall](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rO_4jf6SkLA/maxresdefault.jpg)
![rick and morty season 2 total rickall rick and morty season 2 total rickall](https://cdn.animationexplore.com/thumbs/Rick-and-Morty-Season-2-Episode-4-Total-Rickall.jpg)
One of the more interesting wrinkles with this season was the increased focus on continuity between episodes. And while a few episodes were guilty of rehashing old concepts, as a total package this season did manage to outdo the first. The show quickly honed its voice in its first season, setting a pretty high bar for the second season to meet this year. When a show is as clever and inventive as Rick and Morty, its only real competition is itself.