Upon its airdate, "Raising Gazorpazorp" was watched by 1.76 million American viewers.[1]
The first season has an approval rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 28 reviews, with an average rating of 8.19 out of 10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Rick and Morty zaps onto screens and makes an instant impression with its vivid splashes of color, improvisational voice acting, and densely-plotted science fiction escapades—bringing a surprising amount of heart to a cosmically heartless premise."[2] The episode was greatly criticized by Corey Plante of Inverse, who said "It's hard to digest or interpret in 'Raising Gazorpazorp' because like it often does, Rick and Morty quickly brushes aside an otherwise compelling entry point for poignant social commentary to move on to the next joke" and "This could've been a really cool turning point where the show demonstrates how Rick's dumb, chauvinistic expectations get undermined by a mature, sophisticated society. Instead, they're all dim-witted and basic."[3]
Positive reviews include Zack Handlen's The A.V. Club review, which claimed "As entertainingly over-the-top as the storyline is, it's a surprisingly level-headed look at the challenges that face anyone trying to raise a child. Beth and Jerry offer Morty advice on what he should do, but it's contradictory, and the minute anything goes wrong, the blame falls on Morty's shoulders. Regardless of how good his intentions are, the poor kid ends up lying to Morty Jr."[4] Joe Matar of Den of Geek praised the episode's uniqueness, saying "One fun thing 'Raising Gazorpazorp' does is swap Morty and his sister Summer's roles. Changing up the usual formula, Morty's the one who has to stay home and do the, uh, 'normal' sitcom story, while Summer goes planet-hopping with Rick."[5]