#a rickconvenient mort

[hazelnut-u-out]

Something that’s always bothered me is the presentation of the infamous ‘Mr. Jellybean’ scene in Meeseeks and Destroy versus the Planetina plotline in A Rickconvenient Mort.

(TW for grooming)

On first watch, we know Mr. Jellybean is terrible. In my opinion, I always thought they handled that whole plotline rather well. It wasn’t played for laughs or made light of, we see the emotional effect on Morty, they don’t attempt to make the predator sympathetic, and we see Rick step up as ‘Grandpa’ for one of the first times ever— to kill a pedophile, no less. Pretty strong morality alignment on that one.

Suddenly, though, when the predator is no longer an older man, but an older woman, it’s… shitty, sure, but not explicitly wrong.

On my first watch, I thought A Rickconvenient Mort was pretty blatantly a statement piece on grooming. Planetina follows textbook grooming tactics, including lovebombing, isolation, manipulation, and gaslighting. She plays into the classic ‘very mature young man.' We even have Beth as a voice of reason, finally stepping up to the plate to protect her son after what seems to be years of emotional neglect. We watch that very neglect backfire on her concern and push Morty further into this relationship. I initially thought it was a play on grooming the viewer, as well, because of the way it’s told essentially from Morty’s ‘puppy love’/‘first love’ point of view and leaves you feeling just the right amount of unsettled after the ending.

So, you could imagine my surprise when I realized that not everyone (in fact, less people than I had expected) initially clocked Planetina as a sketchy/predatory character.

So, I did what any great journalist would do— rewatched. And rewatched. And rewatched.

I wanted to form a nuanced opinion, but I came out on the other side wondering why we never got a moment with Planetina that clearly shows us she’s a condemnable character in the relationship with Morty and not just because of her methods of activism.

I think we’re actually supposed to agree with Morty in this scene, which was not my first reaction.

The age difference is obviously something they intended to be a main plot point for this storyline, as well. The explicit references to it (Morty's age, in particular) were put there for a reason, from the beginning of the episode all the way to the climax.

In a lot of ways, it makes sense to assume that maybe they didn't want to explicitly state it was wrong (though, they do through Beth, in my opinion).

That would explain why so much of A Rickconvenient Mort is set up using textbook grooming tactics; why we never see Planetina outright condemned, but see Morty emotionally destroyed and confused; why we’re (arguably) supposed to agree with Morty over Beth; why we follow Planetina all the way up to when her facetious face of peace and ambivalence crumbles.

Of course, I’m not trying to assume anything, but it does make me wonder what leads someone to write a character in this way— and even promote her as a character at times (like this post, which is captioned 'Tag your Planetina').

Then again, maybe my initial interpretation was correct and all of this was the result of a conscious choice to write and direct an episode from the point of view of Morty as a victim. I mean, it wouldn’t be too far off to assume something like that as we’ve seen them do it time and time again, just with Rick as the abuser. Think of Mortynight Run, The Vat of Acid Episode, and the new infamous episodes: A Rick in King Mortur’s Mort & Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation, just to name a few.

Maybe A Rickconvenient Mort is another one of the episodes intended to show Morty’s perspective and frame his loss of innocence as he views it, not as adults/outsiders view it.

It could be a cool contrast between how Rick protects Morty from these sorts of situations versus how Beth does.

(Disclaimer: I’m NOT saying that there aren’t different types of abuse and different appearances to abusers/predators! I just feel like both of these types of abuse/assault can be explicitly depicted as wrong.)

[0rb0t]

The focus here I think is also meant to be Morty really processing what he did to Eddie and the Tinateers. The veil is lifted and Morty is realizing what he felt vindicated to do, and now can see how horrific it was.

Even if he thought it was the right thing, it was too far. Even if she thinks this is the right thing, it's too far.

[rickandmortyscreenshots]

[succubussally]

I’m Morty.

[summersmithlatinxgyatt]

"I choose Summer"

But why?

This'll be a very brief post for a scene we get very little context for

Beth does admit that Summer is, in some way, a burden that BY PROXY stagnated her potential. It didn't help that her explanation was delivered with little care and with bad wording

This goes over headcanon territory. I think Beth understands Summer in the same way that Rick understands Summer. They see Diane in her. It seems more obvious that a mother would gravitate towards a daughter, especially one that carries over traits from their own mother. It's even crazier when you think of it THIS way

If Diane was an anchor for Rick and Beth seemed to forget that Rick was the anchor for Beth's sociopathy, then she would also be the one keeping the family together. THE ONE THING I KEEP SAYING SUMMER DOES!!

Beth is not an idiot. With a mindset like Rick's, she'd understand the importance of Summer

...now, she should also understand that Morty matters too?? I may be a big fan of Summer and this blog is about her, but the entire shocking part is she went for Summer instantly

I think there's a few reasons to this that further show this

She manages fine with Summer and not having Morty in the picture, discarding them and seeking the support from Jerry and Summer instead. These are people she can also fall back on

There's also scenes of Beth trying to reach an understanding with Summer more as a mother to a daughter rather than any specific given situation (A Rickconvenient Mort shows that she DOES do this with Morty tho). This ties back to the Diane connection and mothers with daughters

Beth chose Summer because she was aware of her importance. It's also likely because she knows this is HER Summer and she's living with another Morty, which is a theory I saw that's a LITTLE plausible. Beth went with a daughter she can understand, not to mention it's a daughter she projects onto (unhealthily at times). The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy shows she doesn't know how to address Summer's issues but still wants to try and eventually DOES, which means even at her shitty moments, she admits there's just no way to get around it. But when she can, she'll love her daughter to an INDEFINITE amount or just not care, treating it as a rough situation or thinking Summer will let it pass over at times because of her being an anchor to the family that reminds her of her own mother.

Yeah I didn't say this was an exactly healthy or cute outlook, it's still the scene where Beth instantly chooses Summer over Morty 💀 but this is a pretty decent breakdown of it with some relevant examples

[miami-lolz]

In hindsight, this quote hits a lot harder considering “Mortyest Morty” isn’t even his Morty. And he’s not the “Rickest Rick”.

Does not include any spoilers for Season 7.

I feel like this quote is slept on a lot because it makes you wonder if he was even aware of the implications of what he said or if he said it knowing Morty wouldn’t understand. I don’t even think he would want to admit it, but he’s not “The Rickest Rick” mainly because he cares. Specifically, he gives a shit about a Morty that isn’t even his.

It’s shown subtlety throughout the show, like in the Season 1 Finale, Ricksy Business, when Rick got teary-eyed over a slide show showing Morty throughout his life. In A Rickle in Time, where Rick is willing to let himself die to save Morty, his last wish is for Morty to grow up better than him. As jaded and backward as he may show it, Rick definitely cares. Rick has had to switch to multiple universes and watch various versions of his family including his original Diana and Beth die throughout the show. Morty was his only constant, though, and he’s grabbed onto that. But for as much as he cares, Rick has a habit of pushing away, which comes into effect in the later seasons. Morty tries to help and relate to Rick to an extend. He constatly extends a branch to Rick, who almost always puts him down.

However, the more Rick pushes away, the more frustrated Morty gets. He starts calling out Rick on his BS and has even cussed him out several times. He’s threatened to stop going with Rick in the early season, but those were practically mute. Rick could easily force him or make him forget he started refusing. Rick only started taking Morty seriously when he began acting out. The more that Rick pushes back, the more the Prime part of Morty comes out, usually at the expense of anyone around him. I think that is the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back and pushed him to leave in Forgetting Sarick Mortshall with the two crows thing. Something that still upsets Morty if someone mentions it in season 7.

It also makes you think that the reason Morty has gotten progressively more aggressive and violent over these past couple of seasons is that the Prime part of him is getting more prominent. For example, in Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat, Morty got so obsessive over a future that he didn't brutally die; he quickly brushed off Ricks's death. It's somewhat out of character for him, though. He also attacked other soldiers and the general populace, just for him to find out it wasn't really worth much. Rick is getting more combative because he sees that part of Prime in Morty, which scares him. The episode Looks Who’s Purging Now was the starting point for his volatile behavior; Rick seems genuinely shocked and somewhat horrified as Morty's anger problems get the better of him, and he lashes out, killing many people even when they are hiding. Rick lied to Morty because he didn’t want him to know what he could do. Near the end of The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy, Morty threatens Ethan with the machine Summer used after he ghosted her and messed with her body issues. In the after credit scene, we see a deformed Ethan stumbling in pain, implying Morty used the machine on him.

In Promortyus, Morty also showed little remorse for killing off all the aliens and went out of his way to cause damage, though he regretted it once he had to come back. A Rickconvenient Mort, Jerry was genuinely disturbed to hear Morty admit he murdered the Tina-Teers. And during the scene, Morty was extremely brutal. Its not the first time Morty has committed some diabolical crimes for someone he's interested in or generally cares about. In the episode Mort Dinner Rick Andre, his violent streak hits its crescendo. Once he got fed up with the Narnia people, he committed mass genocide out of frustration, and by the end, he didn't show much remorse.

I think the most damning evidence is the episode Rickshank Redemption, where during a stand-off, Morty is so fed up with Rick yelling at him during a standoff that he shoots Rick in the head. Not an arm or leg but in the forehead. He absolutely shot to kill. And yeah, you could say it was a spur-of-the-moment action based on frustration and impulse, but I think that was put in the episode not just a funny bit but a glimpse of what Morty is capable of. It was Morty basically saying "If were all going to die, Ive earned the right to be the one to take you out." There’s something symbolical about Morty killing both his best friend and the person that’s hurt him for years.

Its an interesting dichotomy as Rick seems to be mellowing out; Morty is slowly getting more comfortable with violence and generally more confident with himself. Rick is someone who gives off the bravado of a uncaring, cold hearted galactic criminal. However, the truth is Rick is someone who cares deeply for the people he's close to, and gets no enjoyment out of violence. Morty, on the other hand, is someone who tries to be caring, mercy full and forgiving. That being said, deep down he wants to stop having to constantly take the high road and give back all the pain and abuse he gets from others. These personality traits between the two constantly clash and the longer the live together, the more you see their original persona's corrode.

The season six finale, Ricktional Mortpoon's Rickmas Mortcation, adds to this as Rick compares Morty to a “suicide bomber” because he was reckless and says he gets that from Prime. But C-137 is the only constant in Morty's life. He’s been through multiple universes and timelines but has had the same Rick for most of his life. Most of Morty's issues stem from things he had done or witnessed with Rick C-137. For example, the Vat of Acid Episode is what I would consider Rick at his absolute lowest. It's almost the kinda behavoir you would expect Prime to pull. Messing with Morty's head and killing a bunch of other Mortys just to say, "I told you so." Even going as far as gaslighting him by saying he COULD have listened to Rick tell him how it worked, even though Rick probably wouldn't have told him either way. It caused communication between these two to break down. At that point, you can tell Morty doesn't have much trust or faith in him, and when Rick replaces himself with a robot that treats him just a little bit better, Morty immediately notices. He even thought Rick was messing with him and brought up the vat of acid episode. This is another example of how the Ricks action leaves permeate consequences and effects on Morty. Don't get me wrong, Morty is far from perfect and flawed, but so is Rick. They have real emotions and conflict, and it's these factors that separate them from Prime (at least from the glimpses of him that we have seen)

However, Morty does exhibit certain traits unlike what we've been lead to believe is normal "Morty" behavior. In Rickmurai Jack, Morty tries to lie to Rick and even goes as far as to age himself nearly 40 years to get him to come back. Another example is in The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy, Where Morty coaxes Rick into going on an adventure with Jerry to keep him from committing seppuku, though there's a good chance it was just to get a break from adventures. Rick can’t really blame most of Morty's behavior on Prime because any behavior he picks up past season one is from him and him alone. But even then I don’t doubt that there are behavioral similarities between him and Rick Prime. The Prime universe was everyone’s personality amplified.

Rick almost likes to pretend his the top dog, the Rickest Rick but as few others, including Bird Person and the toxic version of himself, has pointed out, he’s not. He’s highly capable but he’s also vulnerable. Season 6 ended with Rick getting Morty more involved in the search for Prime, forcing him to face the truth of Mortys origin. But regardless one thing is for certain, Morty is really the Mortyest Morty in the finite central curve, and that scares C-137.

[alienhumanologist]

My masterpiece while watching A Rickconvenient Mort

[conanssummerchild]

my own ranking of every rick and morty episode, inspired by the lovely @fandomwe1rd0 :3

sorry this is a bit scattered, the random quotes are just lines that i liked/found funny. i had to shorten all my reasonings by a fuck ton bcs i was just going on forever lmao, so if some things feel kinda cut off, that's why.

i binged all of rick and morty in like a week to make this, just to make sure the ranking was fully accurate to me and it took me way to long but i'm finally done !!

btw this isnt a ranking of which episodes are objectively the best, its very biased and just my personal opinions, im aware some epsiodes definitely shouldnt be as high as they are but a lot of them are just my comfort episodes 🤷

f tier: episodes i actively dislike, have little to no redeeming qualities.

71. rickdependance spray: audibly said "oh, fuck no." when i realised this was next. the rest of weird-ish episodes have some redeeming points but this one just has no plot relevance and isnt very funny.

70. raising gazorpazorp: main reason i dislike this episode is the end credit, it reminds me of when i was listening to family line and my dad insinuated conan was making it up and that if i got famous i'd do the same, like, no, if i talk abt what a shitty dad you are its bcs you were a shitty dad, do better. anyway i just thought it was an unfunny joke. due to daddy issues. also its just a boring episode.

69. a rickconvenient mort: summer and rick's storyline was ok but not enough to make up for how much i hate planetina. i liked beth in this episode. rick and summer's dynamic was nice too, but unhealthy.

e tier: episodes i don't dislike, just find boring/have bad elements but more redeeming qualities.

68. m. night shaym-aliens!: the little crystal wrestle was adorable. other than that not a super memorable episode.

67. rise of the numbericons: the movie: i didn't hate it but compared to the rest of s7 it was pretty weak. i think mr goldenfold is funny, but not enough to get his own episode. it would've been more entertaining if rick was in it lets be real, i missed him.

66. interdimensional cable 2: tempting fate: i care very little about jerry's penis. the interdimensional cable was good as usual though.

65. how poopy got his poop back: fine episode, not my fav. i liked seeing bp and squanchy again.

64. edge of tomorty: rick die rickpeat: "Damn, Morty, you're bad at maths, but I'm giving you an a-plus in confidence!" an okay episode.

63. rick: a mort well lived: pretty weak episode to follow solaricks. summer's die hard was good. some cool emotional components.

62. rattlestar ricklactia: "Hey, Morty, listen. I can tell you're pretty upset about the whole snake encounter thing, so I'll tell you what. I'm just gonna go ahead and avoid you for the rest of the day." rnm were kind of cute at the end. yk, until rick punched morty in the face :/.

61. the jerrick trap: sorry ik a lot of ppl love this episode but tho burger & fries were cute characters its not all that for me. memory rick's return, however, was all that. i love him.

60. childrick of mort: "Oh my god, grandpa, you fuck boy." rick being a space nerd <3. loved to see more of beth and rick together but other than that this episode was kinda mid.

59. amortycan grickfitti: honestly made me feel bad for jerry which isnt easy, i sort of liked rick here, he seemed reluctant to let the hell demons make fun of jerry, he still did, but even apologised with only a little prompting. can't say the same for beth. summer and morty were sweet in this episode, i wish we would get more of them.

58. rickmancing the stone: "I don't know why I'm crying." "Well... try crying 15% less?" not bad, i liked the emotional components.

57. mortynight run: again, not super memorable to me. the roy montage was good. You kind of wasted your 30's, though, with that whole birdwatching phase." the animation for the song was great.

d tier: mostly okay to good episodes with minor faults that i can look past in the general scheme of the episode.

56. one crew over the crewcoo's morty: fucked up what rick did to morty. and to mr pb, his life went to shit after this, bcs of rick.

55. night family: had some great moments, but wasnt my fav.

54. anatomy park: loved dr bloom, john oliver voiced him perfectly.

53. lawnmower dog: sweet scenes between rnm. liked the dream inceptor, loved scary terry, snuffles was good too but not as much.

52. claw and hoarder: special ricktims morty: "Are you gonna slay it?" "First off, i always slay it, queen. Secondly, yes." summer being on morty's side was nice. while the soul orgy was a bit weird, the rest of this episode was pretty entertaining which is why its higher up, sorry.

51. bethic twinstinct: jerry saying he would khs, not cool jerry fuck you. "You ladies discuss responsibility while i get stoned and play video games with your kids." the end 💀 i felt bad but it was funny lol.

50. final desmitation: maybe my fav ep of jerry and rick's relationship. i liked seeing rick disapprove of them making fun of jerry, had some funny moments and i even liked jerry here.

49. a rick in king mortur's mort: not the best but i enjoyed rickbot being nice to morty. also this episode sets up for rmrm which i love.

48. promortyus: morty's little yee-haw 😭. and their conversation, so sweet. taking the adderall line as an adhd rick confirmation. "It is my thing. Just like yours is dying alone," get his ass. i feel like the romance couldve been a compelling story if the hosts werent rnm.

47. the whirly dirly conspiracy: rick's take on jerry was accurate. "But no, like father like goddamn daughter! You wanna be like Rick? Congratulations, you're just as arrogant and just as irresponsible!" morty ate. i prefered summer and beths storyline to rick and jerry's.

c tier: solid, episodes, some have a few faults but theyre small

46. mort: ragnarick: it's so high up because i found rick to be likeable and liked his dynamic with morty. ricks clone was cute too.

45. look who's purging now: "Screw you, Rick! I'll purge you too, you old rickety piece of crap!" rnm's storyline was great, i liked arthrisha.

44. the ricks must be crazy: "I dropped out of school. It's not a place for smart people." "Ohhhh, snap!" lmao literally my reaction. "Ooh. Wow. Gaaay!" "That is pretty gay." not much more to say, good ep.

43. never ricking morty: rnm were sweet in this ep. the gay ass song with rick and bp. "Rick are you– do you need to go to the hospital?" the forehead kiss was sweet. (we're ignoring "Lips if you want.")

42. mort dinner rick andre: mr nimbus is a great character. the wine storyline was a bit boring. "I havent been to a full week of school in years! I don't know shit!" love the peek at rick's backstory too.

41. rick potion #9: important lore episode. some funny bits. morty was a little creepy in this one. i love jerry primes character development. first look on down from the bridge moment !!

40. forgetting sarick mortshall: "What are you, eight? Is this macaroni art? You expect me to believe you built this because you don't care?" liked ricks storyline and he actually does seem to be showing minor development. the end song was good. liked garbage goober's lore.

39. morty's mindblowers: rick removing whatever memories he wanted was fucked up. rick saying granite instead of granted will always be funny. also him losing in chackers and skiing into a tree.

38. mortyplicity: entertaining enough if a little convoluted, i liked it though. sweet moment between the decoy family, shame they died.

b tier: good to great episodes.

37. big trouble in little sanchez: actually liked jerry and beths storyline in this one. tiny riiick !! "old rick! ruining everything!" good episode.

36. pilot: good intro, sets the tone. rick is such a dick (affectionate). rnm's dynamic !! the animation is great. overall great episode.

35. pickle rick: ik its a overrated but i think its good. hes pickle riiiick. dr wong's speech to rick was actually really good and accurate.

34. meeseeks and destroy: rick was such a whiny bitch this episode (affectionate), up until the mr jellybean stuff, which i liked bcs it was handled well by the writers and rick was actually very sweet.

33. rick and morty's thanksploitation spectacular: president curtis' alcoholic sci-fi boyfriend is probably my favourite way rick has been refered to in the show LOL. overall i enjoyed this episode.

32. something ricked this way comes: idc now but, the first time watching rick's r slur speech it was obnoxious and offputting. summer and rick were great, i adore their dynamic, love summer and rick episodes, but idrc for jerry's storyline, he bores me so bad.

31. full meta jackrick: "Rick can't change, Morty. Change is what you might call his Kryptonite." there were a lot of things i liked abt this ep.

30. vindicators 3: the return of worldender: very good episode. forever a believer that the ride was for morty and rick just chickened out.

29. a rickle in time: the va for the testicle monster was great. beth and jerry's storyline also wasn't bad. rick jumping into the hole and sacrificing his life for morty, im sobbing. great episode.

28. the vat of acid episode: morty trying to make rick feel better about not being able to make the thing was very sweet. morty's relationship with that girl was adorable, so sad it was erased by jerry's dumb ass /lh. fuck rick in this episode. the end was funny.

27. rixty minutes: while i do love interdimensional cable this episode would've been lower if it wasn't for all the character moments. "You can't leave, you're 17." "Yeah, and I'm not pregnant. I'm gonna have better judgement than you guys had at my age." loved summer getting screentime. beth and jerry's moment was quite sweet.

26. ricksy business: bp and squanchy !!! >:) bp coming through with the deep speech. the montage of rick morty and summer at the end is so adorable i love them sm <3. "I love my grandkids." "Aw :)." "Psych, just kidding, my new catchphrase is i dont give a fuuuck!"

25. get schwifty: first president curtis episode !! i love him. love morty and bp interactions haha. "In bird culture, this is considered a dick move." "It is random debris. I found it in my carpet. I don't know what humans eat." crying i love him sm. one of my personal favs lol :).

24. juricksick mort: tbh i mostly like this ep bcs of "You pompous autistic cadaver!" but there was other good moments and it was entertaining. rick was funny and likeable and very much a disaster of a human being, as i was promised when i started watching rnm.

23. star mort rickturn of the jerri: space beth !! "You cosplay as your shitty father in his 30's." "Its funny. I always wondered who would win if we ever fought." "Then you were always a bad friend." :(. "Holy shit, I'm a terrible father." i forgot how good this episode was, very angsty.

22. total rickall: genuinely love this episode. KEITH DAVID >:D. rick's "weird made-up sounding catchphrases" compilation is one of my fav moments in the show lol, everyone looks so concerned 💀.

21. rest and ricklaxation: "Grandpa's here." SOBBING. "Because you kept drunk-dialing me and crying about it!" "I wasn't crying!" loved jessica and ricks dynamic lol. great episode.

20. rickfending your mort: great follow up to unmortricken, i like that rick doesnt just go back to normal and we see it takes a while and even then its only bcs morty steps in. morty making up titles for all their adventures is adorable. great sweet scenes between rnm.

19. the rickchurian mortydate: autistic rick !! also minecraft. the president is such a pathetic loser lol <3. i loved rick and morty being on the same wavelength in this episode. the ending was good.

18. wet kuat amortycan summer: summer-centric episode !! rick was likeable, liked seeing him clumsy getting his grove back. him saying summer reminds him of diane again, he's getting so much more open, im so proud, can you imagine s3 rick being sincere like that?

17. close rickcounters of the rick kind: best s1 episode, love citadel episodes. evil morty !!!!! some funny moments. "You're crying? Over a Morty?" sobbing. "Yeah, but wheres the transmitter?" and the evil morty song oh god, best scene ever fr. i love my evil guy :3.

s tier: outstanding episodes, the 16 best imo.

16. that's amorte: FANTASTIC episode, the end montage is the only part of any rnm episode thats made me cry a little, it would be higher up but i have some personal favs which i put higher. i feel like this episode was very classic rnm after having them separated half of s7.

15. the old man and the seat: jerry and morty's dynamic is pretty funny. tony and rick's storyline was fantastic. some pretty angsty stuff. "The saaaddest piece of garbage in the entire cosmos."

14. the abc's of beth: rick and beth episode !! rick saying that an adventure clearly needs morty in it, aw. i did not care about jerry's storyline at all. beth had no right being so relatable in this ep.

13. ricktional mortpoon's rickmas mortcation: rick relapsing into finding prime !! "I'm not touching that thing. I'll get neurotypical cooties." ok, so ik a lot of ppl don't like the speech rick said to morty, but i do, he was going through a LOT, this clearly took him quite a few steps back in development and healing, i think it was less bad than a lot of other things he's done and way more justified.

12. fear no mort: loved morty getting his time to shine, LOVED diane and rick. morty realising rick wasn't in the hole has to be one of the best moments in the show. rick not going in the hole at the end bcs morty told him not to, hope some day he'll get to the point of doing things for morty in front of him so he can realise how much he cares.

11. analyze piss: look at rick asking dr wong for advice. him relating to piss master :(. also i read a phenomenal fic abt this ep (tw sh) (link).

10. air force wong: UNITY RETURNS! Rick was kinda childish in this episode but i feel like it was justified, he wasn't being a dick just bcs, he was hurting, and he even kinda apologised to summer, hes trying. rick going to drink with the president instead of being alone.

9. the rickshank rickdemption: RICK PRIME. "That, diane, is the last great idea that will ever be had in this garage." :((((. ricks backstory. "he's not a villan, summer, but he shouldn't be ur hero." fantastic ep.

8. rickmurai jack: love two crows rick. rick's full "crybaby" backstory !! "Now you're evil morty, too. sooner or later we all are. on this side of the curve." THE END OH GOD. THE MUSIC. EVIL MORTY LETTING OUT A SIGH OF RELIEF. INSANE finale.

7. gotron jerrysis rickvangelion: rick is so spectacularly autistic in this one. i like how he doesnt silly hyperfixtate, he full on unhealthy hyperfixtates. i practically know this ep off by heart. comfort ep fr.

6. rickternal friendshine of the spotless mort: im not sorry for putting this up so high, i love this ep so fucking much. memory rick is so silly i love him sm. "You were a good friend, Rick. Goodbye." the blood ridge confession makes me FERAL. i can quote it word for word.

5. the wedding squanchers: THIS EPISODE. rick watching bp die in front of him. rick turning himself in :(. "everyone i know goes away in the end." the music was so good. "he's not coming back, is he?"

4. the ricklantis mixup: best citadel ep, fight me. j-22 trying to save simple rick only to suffer the same fate :(. slick jumping into the wishing portal. the ending was phenomenal, every single storyline was amazing and important. and evil morty returns.

3. auto erotic assimilation: love unity and ricks dynamic. blim blam humbling beth and jerry. jerry using the weed whacker right in front of the garage where rick just attempted. and no one notices. bc that's how it is. "do you feel it?" is a great song. maybe this ep is higher than it should be but it's my comfort ep, it means so much to me.

2. solaricks: first time we get to see dimension c-137 out of a flashback !! "I hope Summer knows what happens to the people you love!" "Oh, am I cool enough for you now? Well, that was easy. It only cost me fucking everything." "I don't know him. You're my grandpa, rick." rip jerry prime, my fav jerry. THIS EPISODE IS PHENOMENAL.

1. unmortricken: ok anyone who knows me knows this is my fav ep bcs i never stfu abt it. i mean, evil morty backstory, rick beating prime to death, GOD. ian cardoni was COOKING with the delivery of those lines, and the lines were fantastic. some good rnm moments. the angst is so good. "How's it feel? Better? No? Exactly the same? Yeah, it always does." best look on down from the bridge moment.

i keep going over this a million times just to make sure everything is perfect but idk, some episodes are maybe interchangeable, im just going to post it bcs its been rotting in my drafts for quite a while now, everyone promise you dont hate me for putting an episode 1 slot too high or low /j

and sorry for all the jerry hate in this post, i dont hate him i just find him boring, so eps where he's the centre tend to be lower on the list.

[ask-rick-c137-and-morty-prime]

hi rick, and morty...i feel like you two could really relate on certain things, and learn to be there for each other in a more supportive way...like did you two know about each other's heartbreak with love?

to morty: did you know in season 3 episode "Auto Erotic Assimilation" rick almost killed himself, and erased himself from existence over his break up with unity?

to rick: did you know in season 4 episode "A Rickconvenient Mort" morty fell in love with planetina, and broke up with her due to him not being okay with her murdering a bunch of minors for "gutting the earth"?

beth was there for morty...no one was there for you rick...because you keep pushing people who love you like your daughter beth, and your grandkids summer, and morty away.

you're my favorite character, and i don't want to see you become a hated character who is hated by his own family because you're too afraid to let your guard down, and just STOP BEING SO AFRAID OF LOVE...or your fear of losing those you love, and being alone just might come true :(

....

....R-Rick...is this true...?

.....

It is isn't it....? ...

You were just going to l-leave Mom....Summer.....me...?

...Why don't we talk about your breakup with Planetina?

I was sad but I didn't try to ki-

Morty stop acting like it's big deal!

It IS! You were just going to leave me!

Well I didn't!

*Morty sighs* It's just...it didn't happen because you decided not to....right...?

....Yeah. Sure buddy.

...I feel like that's a lie.

Just take it.

[fanbun]

On the topic of sexism and Rick's treatment of Summer in Rick and Morty...

I wish Rick Sanchez’s sexism was treated as a part of his character worth exploring instead of being half-retconned and praised as character development despite the change never being properly explained or addressed.

We all know he stopped being as overtly sexist to Summer and started to appreciate her skill and dependability, but when exactly did this happen and why? By the end of season 1's "Raising Gazorpazorp" he outright said he didn’t learn anything and that was the only episode specifically about his sexism in the entire show.

And say you want to interpret this scene as Rick being denial and just not wanting to admit that he was wrong. Okay, so do we see him actually changing from this point on?

No, he continues to belittle her in "Something Ricked This Way Comes." Summer's whole arc in that episode is about her appreciating her boss because he respects her, unlike Rick. And in the end Rick once again does the whole "learning a lesson is dumb" bit. Though I suppose they do bond a bit by beating up Mr. Needful together. (Funnily enough, it's the most stereotypically masculine ending with them bodybuilding together and Summer going "yeah bro yeah" ...This trend of dismissing emotional growth and showing violence as a form of bonding could be analyzed more from a feminist perspective but I'm not here to do that now.)

Season 2 provides us with more scenes of Summer and Rick getting along better than in season 1 but the problems with his sexism persist and he still doesn't bring her on adventures. In "The Ricks Must Be Crazy" he even went on to demean her by mentioning her boobs out of nowhere at the end of the episode. So bonding with Summer didn't decrease his casually sexist language towards her at all.

Season 3 is where it gets a little interesting because it was the first season with female writers and here we begin to see a subtle shift in how Rick values her. He actually cheers her on and gives her fond nicknames in "Rickmancing the Stone" which he never did before. This change is notable but it's not consistent with Rick's previous characterization and the reason for it is up to interpretation.

In fact, we still see Rick's sexism turn up here and there in season 3. For example in “Morty’s Mind Blowers” both Rick and Morty gang up on Summer by calling her a dumb bitch even though she fixed everything for them. I find that scene particularly notable since their ungratefulness is the joke. And it shows how Rick uses Summer without respecting her.

Now with current season 6-7 lore we've been told that Rick respects Summer because she reminds him of Diane.

I'm sorry, what? How did we get here? This show's writing is so wildly inconsistent. Did something happen in season 4 or 5 to bridge this gap and make it make sense? Let me check... In season 4's "Promortyus" Rick and Morty spend time destroying a planet together and forget Summer was even with them. Got it, so that's more ignoring and dismissing Summer. In season 5's "A Rickconvenient Mort" Rick only chooses to hang out with her after Morty ditches him and then he eventually ends up ditching her...

But wait. In season 5's "Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion" Rick chooses to bring her with them to Boob World because they need to bring a female with them in order to get in for free. Once again there are heavy sexist vibes at the beginning of this episode. Later on though Summer agrees to Rick's change of plans to collect the Gotron Ferrets and she becomes his assistant in hopes of gaining his admiration and approval. Then he fires her when he finds someone more suited to the job, once again showing how he was just using her and still doesn't respect her. This decision ends up biting him in the ass, but it doesn't really matter because Summer arrives with her giant incest baby to save him anyway.

I think the implication might be that he respects her more for coming to save him with the incest baby but that isn't actually confirmed anywhere. We just get Morty and Summer repeating the word "family" a bunch to drive in the point that the episode is supposed to be about the family coming together I guess? It doesn't feel like a moment of character development for Rick in the slightest. As you can tell I'm really not a fan of the super sloppy way this episode was written and I feel like this sort of bad character writing is one of the reasons why season 5 got such a bad rap, on top of certain jokes falling flat with audiences.

Still, even if you consider this weak episode the turning point for Rick's attitude toward Summer, what does it say that this teenage girl he treated so badly for the better part of 5 seasons apparently reminds him of his wife? Is it just that he's finally seeing her in a different light now that she's proven she's faithful and dependable and does what he tells her to do? And doesn't that still echo a similar kind of sexism?

I don't buy the claim that he treats her as an equal when he essentially uses her to do his chores and Summer herself expressed that she felt taken advantage of. Doesn't that imply that's how he treated Diane too? And doesn't the fact that he gave a robot meant to do his bidding his wife's voice further support this interpretation?

I really hope the show doesn't keep suggesting that Rick was a loving, ideal husband to Diane because it just doesn't line up with what we've seen of his character. Everything here implies he would have been a sexist asshole and choosing to ignore that within the narrative in favor of making him more sympathetic would be cowardly.

[hazelnut-u-out]

Never thought of this before (and this is possibly too good-faith of a theory), but I wonder if we'll get a follow up on Morty and Planetina.

I tend to forget that the newer seasons are leaning away from that 'one-and-done' vibe and that they now often follow up on in-universe canon that's being established on screen. They almost always have a follow up episode to events if you give them a couple of seasons. I assumed that they were never going to outright condemn Planetina (despite coding her as predatory and making references to Morty's age throughout the entire episode) because of Morty's past interactions with older women. Now, I'm wondering if that was intentional so it could be explicitly addressed in a later episode where Morty has to confront what happened to him.

Especially with that scene where Morty watches therapy-themed porn eerily apathetically, I think it's a real possibility that they might revisit how those sorts of incidents have permanently effected him. It didn't read as a joke to me. He wasn't even into it. It just felt deeply sad.

It's true that a lot of victims don't realize just how fucked up the dynamic was with the person who groomed them until quite a while later. I guess I totally overlooked the possibility that they were playing the long game on that one because I wanted the plotline wrapped up neatly in one episode. If they're keeping with the theme of recontextualizing early-series 'gags', Planetina tees them up perfectly for that, considering episodes like 'Rest and Ricklaxation.' It also gives them the opportunity to give Morty's character justice. I have hope that Season 8 will be more Morty-focused, anyway, considering that the last few seasons have been neglecting him and we've gotten a lot of smaller details that he's literally crying for help at this point.

I know some people criticize ‘A Rickconvenient Mort’ for being a tad too dark (which I personally don’t mind, but it’s out there). Maybe confronting that head-on would’ve officially tipped it over that threshold.

If the day they address it ever comes, I'll give the show a genuine round of applause. Gotta have a little bit of faith, even if it seems unlikely.

[ocean-stuck]

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[rickandmortyscreenshots]

[justablanketreally]

i’m not a big fan of a rickconvenient mort (i think it’s theme is muddled and confused) but morty’s breakdown/rant to beth about how he feels his presence is met with only tolerance or even contempt by everyone in the house is so impactful. beth did make a turnaround after the s3 finale. she stared prioritizing morty’s comfort, safety, and happiness in regards to his adventures with rick. she’s grown and changed and developed and that’s really clear throughout season 4 and beyond. but the damage was already done and morty is easily swept away by someone who gave him more than a modicum of positive attention, more than he ever received at home. and all beth can do is catch him when he inevitably falls, finally giving him that safety net that he didn’t have for so long. even if i don’t think the writers knew exactly what they wanted to do or were actually implying with planetina, i do love that it was placed on beth to confront her actions as arguably the most powerful person in the house. she didn’t do enough before, but she knows that and is trying now.

[summersmithlatinxgyatt]

My theory on Summer being like Diane:

Summer is NOT like Diane actually. When it comes to a decent amount of traits, at least

The idea that Summer is like Diane is because Summer is someone Rick can rely on NOW. It's that she allows him to stay in a personal space

Shout-out to @rez-urrection for an amazing post about Morty that motivated me to make this post on Summer

GoTron as an episode shows how Summer pushes Rick to continue his habits and Morty doesn't. Their conflicts usually include Summer telling Morty he's being lame for not encouraging Rick. Episodes like "A Rickconvenient Mort" show that Rick makes Summer tag along so he doesn't stop his high

I also will mention this scene. Summer asked for a beer and Rick obliged.

So...gonna use these two episodes and moments to prove a point. Rick sees 'a' Diane, not Diane. He wants someone who can save him and help him return to his roots. Him getting Summer a beer isn't just him not thinking. It could be that he doesn't want to say no to her. He's ignoring that she's 17 and got her a beer. It sort of reminds me of how Diane drinks so much...

What we know about Diane comes from Morty's view in the fear hole. But it still matters! Morty is pushed aside in favor of Summer most of the time

This is literally an earlier episode where Rick lets Summer drink beer as he parties along. It's one where we see the pain that Rick harbors too. Bird Person has known him for so long so it's always mattered

I think Rick is glad that Summer sees him as a cool grandpa. However, it means he wants to stay in a comfortable state that emulates the happiness he had with Diane. What we SEE about Diane came from Morty's view, who's been affected by the Rick and Summer antics consequences. That's how she's like Diane - someone close to Rick who kept him anchored