Rick and Morty season 7, episode 3, “Air Force Wong,” did some things for me, and I apologize up front if this gets a little too therapeutic. It’s a very therapeutic episode.

I’m keeping the recap quick, because I have a lot to talk about.

The President summons Rick and asks him to infiltrate Virginia, under suspicion that the entire population’s joined a cult. He also mandates that Rick work with a special team, and that team includes Rick’s therapist, Dr. Wong, which leads Rick to suspect the President wants to date her. When the President and Rick enter Virginia, they discover the entire state’s been taken over by Unity. Rick tries to expel Unity for violating her promise to stay away from Earth, but Unity explains that she heard Rick is searching for Rick Prime again and she’s worried about him.

The President then activates a barrier dome that closes off Virginia and cuts its population off from Unity. Rick, the President and Unity get into an argument before Unity agrees to leave, but she warns them that until they’re cured, Virginia is still susceptible to falling under the control of another hive mind. Rick takes his leave, and Dr. Wong breaks up with the President, citing that he needs to overcome his obsession with everybody’s approval.

The President finally cracks under the pressure and hijacks the Virginia hive mind for himself, disabling the barrier and spreading the infection across the world to fulfill his desire for 100% approval ratings. With no other choice, Rick enlists Dr. Wong’s aid to convince Unity to stop the President. Unity agrees to help, removes all of the infected humans from the hive mind, and life on Earth returns to normal. Rick and the President later have beers together, and the President considers getting therapy.

A Recovering Narcissist

I’ve always jokingly said that I’m a recovering narcissist. The truth is, that’s exactly what I am.

I think it’s one of the reasons these episodes of late, last season and whatnot, and seeing Rick’s journey, have resonated with me in such a hardcore way. I feel him. I feel him in a way I don’t think I’ll ever properly be able to put into words.

You get to a place where you begin to realize, through the different shocks and the different traumas that you have, through the wreckage that you leave behind you, that you have to get healthy. You can’t keep up like this. You can’t keep being the wrecking ball in people’s lives. So ultimately what happens is you begin to dedicate yourself to getting better.

And on that journey, in this case, Rick finds himself becoming healthy again. We’ve been able to tell that. It’s funny, it sort of fits in with the idea of Justin Roiland no longer voicing the main character now that Ian Cardoni’s on the job. By the way, Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden both being in the credits, I thought that was awesome. Maybe they were last week and I just missed it.

Running Into the Ex

You cross paths with people from the past. It kind of started in the first episode, with Birdperson and all those guys sort of coming back to a status quo of some kind, and then realizing that it was sort of just a bender.

Then you come to this episode, and you get that moment where you encounter exes.

“I can explain. Just let me get things under control.”

“You controlling things is the explanation, and we agreed you wouldn’t do it where I work.”

They don’t recognize you, or they take issue with the journey you’re on. You end up having to pick up the pieces because of certain stuff.

It was a much deeper episode than I was expecting from a 22-minute adult cartoon on prime time. It’s one of those times you just kind of go, I feel attacked, man.

Thank you, by the way, for my little therapy session. It feels very on point for this episode.

Don’t Date My Shrink

I love the way Rick handles it when the President gets to meet Dr. Wong. Rick’s literally like, you can’t date my shrink. What? Bro, you’re nuts.

“Don’t date my shrink.”

“I’m not dating your shrink.”

Also, don’t tell me there’s not commentary going on right now about the culture, and this desire every single politician has to be loved and wanted. You want to sit here and go, stop being such a jerk, then.

“This president has been in office for how many alien invasions? Then he sees Virginia with its perfect economy and synchronized lawn mowing, so he shoots them and puts them in a dome. Classic.”

“Someone mute the news.”

Regardless of whatever side you live on, whether it’s right or left, at the end of the day you want to sit here and say, bro, just do your job. Just do the thing that we elected you to do. How about that.

And I think it’s so funny, the team the President put together. Rick’s just going “mhm” as the President talks him through everything, and then at one point he gets to it.

“Yeah, but there’s something missing. A psychology expert, perhaps?”

“You pretended to need a crack team so you could get Wong’s number.”

It’s great. Susan Sarandon, of course, returns as the voice of Dr. Wong.

Where the Show Can Find Legs

I love this entire episode. I’m really liking where the show’s going, and I feel like they’re going to find legs here.

They’re going to find legs because you have the opportunity to do relapse episodes, if you treat Rick Sanchez’s setup as what it is, which is essentially an unhealthy narcissistic journey through all the different stuff to getting him back to being the way he is. Right now they’re focusing on Rick. They’re not focusing on anybody else. You literally see Morty for like a split second. You see Summer briefly, for a moment.

“Okay, yes, the news said Virginia was a hive mind.”

“Was it?”

“Yes.”

“Oh my god, dude, whatever. When’s the last time you saw your therapist?”

“Today.”

“Well, stop yelling at me. I need boundaries.”

“Well, here’s a big one.”

It’s that whole thing where someone’s checking in on you, like, hey, how you doing? And I was like, oh God. Again, I have feels about the whole episode.

The Verdict

Rick and Morty season 7, episode 3, “Air Force Wong,” is a solid 8 out of 10 on the Know-It-All Index.

I liked it. I liked it a lot. It was an 8 for me. It resonated. It spoke to me.

Whether you deal with substance abuse or you’re a survivor of someone who deals with substance abuse, I think you’re going to enjoy this episode. It takes a very comedic approach at several things, and it lampoons those things, sure, but it also actually takes the opportunity to walk you through them and explain some things. I really liked the episode.

So there you go. Now you know. And if knowing’s half the battle, you’re halfway to being a know-it-all yourself.

I’d love to know your thoughts on the episode. Do you share my history of therapy of some sort, and do you see the comedic points of it? If you don’t, you’ll still see the comedic points of it no matter what. We have to be able to laugh at ourselves. The conversation lives in the comments on the video above. Never forget: everyone loves a know-it-all.