Rick And Morty co-creator Dan Harmon rarely filters his opinions and hasn't been shy when it comes to revealing the two episodes he's particularly unhappy with. In of freshness, Rick And Morty has never quite recaptured the inventiveness of its first few series. That's not to say there haven't been some great outings in later years - such as season 4's peerless “The Vat of Acid Episode” - but on the whole, Rick And Morty's early years feel like the show at its peak.
The first two years had wall-to-wall greats like the easter egg-filled "Total Rickall," and - of course - "Pickle Rick." When asked to pick some of his favorites by EW back in 2017, Harmon claimed the episodes he liked best were also the ones that viewers responded to. Those included "Pickle Rick" and season 1 outing "Rick Potion #9.” Not only did he feel the latter was a really good episode by itself, but the fact it jumped "every shark imaginable" represented "... the pulse of Rick and Morty in its best moments.” He has a couple of episodes from Rick And Morty's early years that he's not fond of.
"Raising Gazorpazorp" (Season 1, Episode 7)
Rick And Morty's "Raising Gazorpazorp" is season 1's weakest and sees Morty father a human/alien hybrid with a robot, whom he names Morty Jr. Naturally, Morty is far from ready to become a parent, and chaos ensues. There's a lot to enjoy about "Raising Gazorpazorp," but Harmon dubbed it his least favorite episode because "I was so proud while I was writing it and then I read people’s comments on it how it felt stale and ‘80s in its observations about gender. And now I hate it and want it to die by fire." Gag aside, it seems audience response to "Raising Gazorpazorp's" gender politics soured the co-creator on it.
"Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender" (Season 3, Episode 4)
If ever proof was needed that Rick And Morty don't like superheroes, "Vindicators 3: The Return Of Worldender" would be it. This season 3 adventure finds the titular duo teaming with some very Guardians Of The Galaxy-inspired intergalactic heroes as they face off with an old nemesis. Of course, the story is nowhere near as straightforward as that description makes it sound, and plays more like a gruesome Saw sequel. There are a lot of creative sequences and gags in "Vindicators 3," and the superhero team comprises some great guest voice actors, including Christian Slater, Gillian Jacobs and the late, great Lance Reddick; the Vindicators themselves even got a spinoff.
None of this prevented Harmon from calling it the "worst" episode of Rick And Morty during an episode of podcast the fan-hated "Rickdependence Spray," maybe Harmon's ranking has changed.
Source: EW, Harmontown