I mean they literally compared their fans to fascists in previous episodes (in the fascist dimensions where fascist Morty demands "classic Rick and Morty adventures" and the only thing he knows he likes about these adventures is Mr.Meeseeks). For 4 straight seasons they tried to establish the overarching nihilist message of "Nobody exists on purpose. Nobody belongs anywhere. Everybody's gonna die. Come watch TV". IMO the only thing that changed in season 4&5 is that they applied this philosophy on the overall storystructures and writing a lot more. They started to deconstruct and self-reference their own work, they don't do fan services, they aim for stupid jokes and bad taste simply for the fun of it... What's more nihilistic than a super successful internationally acclaimed series writing a episode about a giant space incest baby? That's something Rick would write, if people won't get the overall point, even after he already turned himself into a pickle.

I still think a lot of the criticism is absolutely valid. I hope the show won't turn into a Family Guy style sketch-comedy, because s5e7 basically was a goodfellas/anime special, which really kinda sucked. But to say they take the cheap shot by changing up their style is just wrong. They still write complex creative stories with great ideas, new twists and new approaches within the rules they set for themselves. It's still the Rick and Morty I like and why I watch the show. Some episodes are brilliant, some are not, who cares it's a TV show.