President Curtis S01E02 "Triangle" Thoughts: Monsters Inc. Gone Wrong

Posted in: Adult Swim, Rick and Morty, TV | Tagged: president curtis

President Curtis S01E02 "Triangle" Thoughts: Monsters Inc. Gone Wrong

President Curtis S01E02: "Triangle" did a fine job of expanding the spinoff's universe and fleshing out our major players' motivations.

Published Sun, 02 Aug 2026 23:11:08 -0500
by Ray Flook
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Article Summary

• President Curtis S01E02 "Triangle" expands the Rick and Morty spinoff with Loch Ness, the Bermuda Triangle, and Men in Black.
• President Curtis, Banks, and O'Doyle investigate a secret monster prison, revealing sharp jurisdiction fights and deeper motives.
• O'Doyle steals "Triangle" with a brutal, hilarious prison rampage, while Amelia Earhart emerges as a standout new ally.
• President Curtis uses a twisted Monsters, Inc.-style conspiracy to deepen the universe and sharpen its emotional stakes.

When it's only your second episode in, and you're already rolling out the Loch Ness Monster, the Bermuda Triangle, shady conspiracy theories, and governmental pissing contests, you're looking to make a statement. That's what we're looking at heading into tonight's episode of EPs Dan Harmon and James Siciliano's "Rick and Morty" spinoff, President Curtis. President Andre Curtis (Keith David) and his team – Stephanie Beatriz's (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) Chief of Staff Banks and Jim Rash's (Community) Special Agent O'Doyle – are off to investigate a secret prison for monsters. Do you want three guesses as to where it's located? With that in mind, here's a look at our real-time thoughts on S01E02: "Triangle":

President Curtis Season 1 Episode 2: "Triangle" Real-Time Thoughts

In case you were wondering who gets jurisdiction when it comes to dead sea creatures washing ashore, tonight's opener does a nice job of laying down the chain of command. Two big takeaways: that MiB (Men in Black) exists in the "Rick and Morty" universe, and that President Curtis and his team rank above them… so, they'll "take it from here":

I'm loving this opening more and more every time I hear it.

It really would make sense to have a "paranormal Guantanamo" to deal with all of the "X-Files" crap.

Cheap but effective way to get O'Doyle properly undercover – and Slenderman getting arrested for tax evasion and not talking girls into killing one another was a nice touch.

Okay, I'm all about Amelia Earhart being part of President Curtis's team.

So, it's safe to say that the award in the warden's office will come into play at some point.

Dracula is not doing well in prison, but O'Doyle is much more of a badass than we realized.

Oh yeah, President Curtis is blinded by his Marines' bond with the warden – this isn't going to go well.

"I FIGHT MYSELF EVERY DAY!!!!" LOLOLOL Holy shit! I laughed my ass off at O'Doyle losing his shit and running a bloody gauntlet through the prisoners that the corrupt guards threw at him. Also, excellent point about how having the same fighting style as him may sound cool, but it really isn't an advantage if you think about it.

President Curtis needs a friend badly; it's heartbreaking – especially with Rick not as available as before.

The fact that this is all built around a crazed attempt to turn the Triangle into a form of Monsters Inc. is about as "Rick and Morty" as you're going to get.

Dracula gets his revenge (and a great plug in for The Monster Squad) during a prison riot similar to The Cabin in the Woods.

I'm all about Amelia Earhart being part of the team – and now, she runs the Triangle (and O'Doyle making a friend with his swamp monster fellow inmate was kinda sweet).

After a shower-song message from President Curtis, we see, via Dracula, just how fickle the prison pecking order can be.

S01E02: "Triangle" was a fun adventure that did a fine job of expanding the spinoff's universe and further fleshing out the motivations and backstories of President Curtis, Banks, and O'Doyle. Bonus points for the O'Doyle freakout scene: our first literal laugh-out-loud moments of the season so far (and this was only the second episode).

Dan Harmon on Spinoff's Presidential Influences

Though it's pretty clear that President Andre Curtis is his own man, the version we see in the "Rick and Morty" spinoff is inspired by a number of previous U.S. Presidents – including Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and possibly the greatest fictional (unfortunately) figurehead ever. "The conversations about Obama and Trump were inevitable," Harmon shared during a recent interview. "Curtis has a naïveté that you could overlap with Trump, who is like, 'I'm an outsider, and I consider this job simple, and I don't care about the bureaucracy of it.' On the Obama side, it's the charmer and the guy who gets organic joy in being liked – that whole rock star aspect of Obama. But mostly just more legendary aspects of presidents from the past, all Serpentor'd into a test tube baby that then becomes our version of maybe Martin Sheen in 'West Wing,' where it's our fantasy president, warts and all."

President Curtis Season 1 Episode 2: "Triangle"

Review by Ray Flook

0/10

Adult Swim's President Curtis S01E02: "Triangle" was a fun adventure that did a fine job of expanding the spinoff's universe and further fleshing out the motivations and backstories of President Curtis, Banks, and O'Doyle. Bonus points for the O'Doyle freakout scene: our first literal laugh-out-loud moments of the season so far (and this was only the second episode).

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