My diagnosis: Rick and Morty has gone too meta. I want to laugh because the show is funny, not because the writers are clever.
About star ratings
My ratings are subjective. I’m not aiming for a perfect ranking of comparative artistic merit, just trying to represent how I feel about stuff. Here’s what they mean:
★★★★★
Personal favorite. I simply love it, warts and all.
★★★★☆
Something special. Highly recommended.
★★★☆☆
Good, but unremarkable. I’ll probably forget about it.