“Rick and Morty” is a vulgar but well-conceived animated series that was first released back in 2013 by creators Justin Roland and Dan Harmon. The series centers around character Rick and his sci-fi adventures with his grandson Morty. What was supposed to be more of a carefree creation of a show soon turned into an in-depth production with twists and turns that continued to pull fans in.
With its raunchy humor and bright animation, this show became a hit almost immediately. Five seasons later and it is still one of the most watched animated shows currently on air.
Its much anticipated season finale aired this past Sunday and sparked a lot of talk amongst devoted fans as the episode seems to have answered many questions surrounding the “Rick and Morty” timeline.
I will be talking spoilers in this article so if you haven’t already watched the episode, go watch it and come back!
In the season finale, we finally get answers to questions that some of us have had since season one.
For example, what happened to Evil Rick?
Evil Rick was introduced to us back in season one.
This show likes to play with a multiverse concept and we see multiple versions of Rick, Morty and their family throughout the episodes.
One of them is Evil Rick. However, fans learn that Evil Rick was not himself in the first place. He was a cyborg being controlled by Evil Morty who is considered to be the show’s most critical villain. He plays a huge role in this season finale as well.
After his plans are foiled, we see Evil Morty and other Mortys make their way to the Citadel.
We also get more insight into Rick’s backstory which has been mentioned and hinted at throughout the seasons. In this season finale “Rickmurai Jack,” Evil Morty scans Rick’s brain allowing us to see what really happened to his wife.
We see an alternative Rick offer Rick C-137 some high tech, but the real Rick actually declines. This upsets the alternative Rick who then uses a bomb on Rick’s family.
After this, Rick uses the technology to travel through the multiverse killing many Ricks and trying to find the killer. Once he becomes tired of killing and with no luck of finding the killer Rick, Rick finds refuge in a reality where Beth, his daughter, is still alive, and he goes on to live with her and her family. This is the universe that we are familiar with and love.
This is ultimately how Rick met Morty.
Speaking of the multiverse, we also come to understand an important effect called the Central Finite Curve. This is what has kept the show and the universes in check and in control for Rick.
To keep things short, this “curve” basically isolates the universes in which Rick is the smartest person or creature of all. This is something we’ve seen throughout the show and something that most people have just blindly accepted. However, Evil Morty gives us more insight into the fact that the curve is keeping away universes in which Rick is not the smartest creature in that reality.
Evil Morty describes it as “an infinite crib built around an infinite f****** baby.”
Towards the end of the finale, we experience Evil Morty leaving the curve in order to find a universe in which Rick is not the smartest guy around. We see the Citadel get destroyed in order for him to do this.
We get left with some questions by the end of this episode. Did this destroy the barrier within the curve? If so, does this leave Rick exposed to the possibility of not being the smartest guy in a universe? Then there is a possibility that Evil Morty may be gone forever leaving Rick and Morty to live at peace in their reality.
Will the creators of the show take this as an opportunity to simplify their plot and focus more on linear storytelling, or will they use it to make things even more complex than before? Will we see more characters and villains that may actually give Rick a run for his money?
There are many possibilities for season six which we’re just going to have to wait and see.