#evil morty meta

[glitteringcrab]

I've seen this technology before (part 2)

think of the implications think of the implications THINK OF THE FREAKING IMPLICATIONS (trigger warning for sexual abuse)

Sigh... Here we go.

First of all, let's get the easy parts out of the way.

Despite people who are being puppeteered sometimes appear to be in a fugue state (that thousand yard stare lol)--

--or, you know, puppeteered. VIOLENTLY sometimes--

--it's clear that they are also both alive and aware:

Would you say this is pretty much the definition of a mind rape?

I mean, we've seen Unity do pretty much the same thing, but the subjects never seem to be aware that they got possessed, are not traumatized nor upset (and hilariously the quality of their lives was greatly improved when Unity had taken over). I don't know if they forget because Unity is actually kind of nice and makes them forget on purpose to avoid trauma, or if it's just how assimilation by hiveminds works. In any case, it is apparent that this is simply how hiveminds live. Ugly, of course, but in the sense of "a predator has to eat" fashion. Not exactly a choice on the hivemind's part. So... technically also a mind rape, but... also not as evil as what Evil Morty has been doing.

Secondly.

Do we all agree that it seems that the receiver is above Evil Rick's eye? We can see its light going on and off, which would likely not be visible if the receiver was at the height of the bottom eyelid (I'm referring to where Evil Morty's cables are sticking out).

Indeed, the Citadel Rick does not have to stick his whole hand inside Evil Rick's face, just the fingers.

In fact, would you say the receiver is... right... about... here:

(and yes, I combined the two frames to achieve the ultimate creepy frame)

So... in the hypothetical scenario that "the reason Evil Morty has cables sticking out of his eye is that he was once puppeteered himself and some remains of the implant are still in his head"...

...would you say that the place where his own receiver must have been would be... somewhere around here:

Which, accounting for the curvature of the giant cartoon eyes (lol) might be the correct distance from the bottom eyelid if one combines the length of the cables Evil Morty already has sticking out of his eyes and the the length of the cables in the eyepatch.

At the same time, it'd be kinda weird for someone to remove the receiver but not the rest of the implant cables and stuff. I mean, if Rick C-137 was trying to remove such an implant from Morty Prime, wouldn't he be thorough about it? Wouldn't he make sure Morty Prime was completely clean?

Unless, of course, you're hastily trying to gouge your own eye out in desperation:

Oops. You too, eh?

Also, it is interesting to note that it appears Evil Rick was trying to stick the shard in his eye (the left eye, btw, where his receiver was) which is... not how one would typically try to commit suicide when you also have a throat available.

So either the mind control kept Evil Rick's hand far away from his throat on purpose, or there are built-in contingencies that ensure unauthorized removal of the receiver is akin to a death sentence...

...which (in the hypothetical case that Evil Morty was at some point in the past also frantically gouging his own eye out) may be negated if you somehow also managed to gain access to some kind of healing equipment (of which we know Ricks have plenty) and set it to turn on automatically (because you're a very smart, careful boy). I'm not gonna add the screenshots because they're too many, but I'm going to list a few:

the one Rick used to jumpstart Pissmaster's brain

the thing Rick injected Morty with after Morty bully-gunned himself

the one Rick used to restore Morty's arm

Rick's freaking garage

(It's possible by the way that the original receiver Evil Morty had did not have a "contain suicide attempt" function. It's possible that the threat of death was deterrent enough that Evil Morty wouldn't try to remove the receiver on his own. It's possible Evil Morty added the "contain suicide attempt" function to Evil Rick's receiver because he knew from experience that this is a price he might be willing to pay. Which would, you know... also explain why he didn't bother downloading the schematics of Rick Prime's auto-healing ability for himself)

IN ANY CASE, you mutilated yourself successfully, pulled the receiver out of your eye's remains, died, your brain healed (physically), the eye reformed, but happened to reform while the cables were sticking out from when you were pulling the receiver. Uh-oh. It's okay, tuck them back in, no one has to know. Better not inform the Citadel nor update your Morty Agency record on your newest implant, either. You wouldn't want other Ricks to know they only need to attach a receiver in your head to exert complete control over you, huh? (like grabbing a... joystick?) Maybe kill your Rick, if you haven't done it already. Run away.

Sigh. Let's go to the hard parts now.

Fans smarter than me have already pointed out that the Rick-Morty dynamic is deliberately built around the idea of grooming, predation of minors and sexual abuse. A lot of the things in the show are either outright instances of grooming, are meant to refer to sexual abuse or are meant to be allegories to sexual abuse, even though canonically Rick is not grooming Morty for sexual reasons. (I strongly suggest you check out all the above links, by the way. I was disturbed.)

Take also into account that Citadel with its Morty Market also has disturbing similarities to a messed up, horrible foster care system, as well as child trafficking.

Although I can't find all the links (message me if you have them), I had also found posts from fans comparing Evil Morty's actions to sexual abuse, against Ricks and Mortys this time.

The "literal" mind rape he has committed is the most blatant example, in my opinion, but far from the only one. The violence of Evil Rick's puppeteering when he was forced to kill Guard Rick was disturbing. Another fan alluded that Evil Morty making Evil Rick drunk before assaulting him was akin to drugging someone before taking sexual advantage of them. Extra disturbing by Evil Rick's exclamation "Get off me!"

Personally, Evil Morty closing the garage door before attacking reminded me of... other scenes in movies etc, where the assaulter turns up the volume on the radio before commencing his attack. I mean... we've seen all sorts of insane stuff happening in that garage (people exploding, redheads flying in, a flying saucer parking) and none of the neighbors even care. Gene actually had the courage to STEAL a rake from this house of madness. It is all treated as comically absurd. Only when Evil Morty attacks are the happenings treated as an actual violent crime that the perpetrator would want to stay hidden.

And sure, Evil Morty needed a large crowd of alive Mortys to hide amongst, and he needed an excuse to keep them alive so he strapped them on the Morty Dome and tortured them, but did they really have to be naked?

Now, I'm in no way an expert of any sort in any of the above, but I've read that when children (and Morty is 14) do physically violent or sexually aggressive acts against others, it's typically because they've been assaulted themselves in a similar fashion. I guess they're either trying to process what happened, are mimicking it, are venting their frustration on someone weaker, or are simply desensitized to it. SOMEONE PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M HORRIBLY WRONG.

I'm sure that canonically, no actual rape has taken place, but given the show's general... vibe... I doubt the above mentioned similarities are a coincidence. I'd say that a 14-year-old boy literally losing all body autonomy by becoming an old man's literal puppet for an unspecified amount of time is as close to the concept as possible without actually being the concept.

Of course, this is just a theory. We don't know if anything like this has happened. However, the truth is that while we've seen plenty of miserable Mortys in the Citadel, none of them seem to be as angry, traumatized, nor desperate as Evil Morty. They all managed to smile, or find companionship among each other, or even among Ricks (Cop Rick, I'm looking at you). Evil Morty is the only one who did completely messed up things to an extreme scale without batting an eyelid, just so he could get as far away as possible. He didn't exactly seem to enjoy his journey to freedom, either.

His face here as he finishes the transmitter reads to me as a particularly sad and defeated "...I'm really doing this, then" thought.

And (like actual sexual abuse victims) it's not likely he could have safely unburdened himself by sharing the secret of what happened to him with someone in the Citadel. Another Rick might have taken advantage of him in the same way, once he realized the opportunity was available.

Not to mention that by telling someone he would risk hearing some variation of "you asked for it by being cocky and not doing what you were told" or "being completely controlled by a Rick was the best thing that ever happened to you, you finally stopped doing dumb mistakes". The Rick who puppeteered him could have also framed it as "I'm doing this for your sake, because you keep getting yourself injured in adventures".

And he mustn't let himself react overly emotionally or go into hysterics about it, because then he'll get mind-blown and forget everything that happened (roofied, much?) and be vulnerable to it again. Or, even worse, he may be discarded as "defective" and end up in that Morty slaughterhouse... So he must really tone down his emoting.

He could have theoretically confessed to another Morty, but we've already seen Mortys throwing each other under the bus in their bid to survive. I wouldn't like my chances, personally.

So it seems to me that he be stuck in the Citadel, simming in his own fear, grief and anger with no one to confide to (although gaining a level-up in confidence (cockyness, if you want) given that he successfully orchestrated his own escape attempt). Either living in the lousy conditions of Morty Town, surrounded by clueless Mortys who, if ever discovered that he could get mind-controlled might tip off a Rick in exchange of a better quality of life. Or partnering with a Rick, living every day in fear that his secret might get revealed accidentally and that he'd end up dissected and studied, or simply controlled once again. (It would be even more dangerous if his Rick was wanted by the Citadel, and Evil Morty was in danger of getting executed for assisting him.) And, of course, we know that Citadel Ricks do not form lasting bonds with their Mortys. Even if his secret was never discovered, Evil Morty would find neither peace, nor family in the company of the Rick of the Day who adopted him.

I also think there is a lot of internalized victim blaming among the Mortys in the citadel. At some point he might have been convinced that he really did ask for it by not behaving. And this puts the eyepatch in a... different perspective. It made sense that he used the eyepatch initially, that's pretty much the only place where he could put his transmitter. But after he gained access to aaaaall the Citadel's tech as president, he built a lot of cool things. Couldn't he have built a better interface, one that doesn't require an eyepatch?

I mean... he definitely improved the eyepatch itself. In the beginning he had to connect it with his implanted cables manually:

But after he became president, it appears that it connects automatically. No longer necessary to stick your fingers in your own eye socket (yayyy).

It's unclear if the cables themselves are still there (they might be!) but some part of the original implant definitely remains. However, why still use an eyepatch at all? However he may have started off originally, we can't really say that he incapable of performing surgery to himself by the time season 7 rolls in because we saw him have a plethora of body augmentations, and yet he still wears an eyepatch. Couldn't he have also altered the implant in his brain so that he keeps any potential perks but no longer needs an external eyepatch?

Sure, maybe he enjoys triggering Rick's fear of pirates (even though he wears it when he is alone outside the CFC). Or maybe he thinks he looks cool wearing it. Or maybe he's just an angsty teenager.

Or... Well... if the whole experience is a source of shame and self-blame for him, he may be metaphorically hiding the place of intrusion... or, conversely, a physical reminder that he managed to literally cut himself free might make him feel better. I tend to think it's the latter.

This is all just a theory. Maybe he simply is evil.

Or maybe he's heartbroken by being constantly discarded in the "adoption" program of the Morty Market to the point where he felt he would explode. Ricks scouring the universe for Mortys meant that blowing the CFC was the only way he could be left alone in peace.

...But I'm leaning towards him having one more reason to run away as far as he can without looking back.

(and as of now, I get the feeling that he hasn't run away far enough)

#evil morty #rick and morty #evil morty meta #I've seen this technology before

[whovianbuffalo]

Evil Morty: Melody Of Certain Damaged Lemons

To expound upon this post

It's no secret that Evil Morty's theme is tied up with the album Melody Of Certain Damaged Lemons by Blonde Redhead: It's the album where For The Damaged Coda comes from, but the lyrics of the rest of the album fit into his characterisation, too.

“In Particular”:

Some place safe I would imagine Someone new would be so cruel Incurable paranoiac Hysterical depression

- Even when Evil Morty has escaped the central finite curve, he still can't imagine himself forming any new friendships or relationships because of his lasting trauma

Everyone else is really boring

Anyone else won't be good enough

Despite this, the only people that Evil Morty is drawn to are Rick C-137 and Prime Morty. Again and again he keeps returning to Rick because anyone else won't be good enough.

Sometimes I spin around for days Skip and chase and say Forget about tomorrow Until I realize This valid and logic motion Is what keeps me from moving

EMorty tried doing what all other Mortys do: he pushed it down and tried to ignore it, until one day he finally snapped.

“Melody Of A Certain Three”

Crawl, crawl as a child and move like a man Pushing like a father, pulling like a friend Whatever it takes, forever it seems But despite of all that, all is well, all is well

As @trucknoisettes said in a post, Rick Prime is the only adult/only Rick we have seen who actually acknowledges that Evil Morty is still a child...

In S5E10, Rick also says the only "man" who ever hacked his portal gun was EMorty, which reiterates this fact.

However, every Rick has underestimated Evil Morty at some point (and paid the price for it), so "move like a man” really nails home the fact that EMorty is able to get the upper hand because he 'crawls like a child's and then strikes when they least expect it.

Pushing like a father, pulling like a friend

The Ricks and their neediness and their fucked up relationship with Mortys: “an infinite crib around one infinite fucking baby”

Rick is the patriarch of the family, in S3E1, C-137 even declares himself the new head of household in Jerry's absence.

We also saw in the Rick And Two Crows arc that Prime Morty and C-137 Rick played out the same dynamic we see in EMorty's flashback: the arguing. Rick says "it's abusive" but he really does seem to consider teenagers to be his peers more than people his own age are (a point I believe @thesoftboiledegg has made before). He is often more like a friend or sibling to Morty than a grandfather, and certainly not a figure of authority.

“Hated Because Of Great Qualities”

I was worried I might be rude to you So worried that I was It's a lie to serve the truth And I'm still guilty

“A lie to serve the truth” certainly sounds like EMorty's entire election campaign.

“Loved Despite Of Great Faults”

The only secrets We talked about Were all the fears In all these years We spent together That you refuse to fade away I hide to stay the same

EMorty had to leave to protect himself, and similarly, Ricks refuse to hide or fix their 'great faults', but EMorty can't help but love them despite it.

“This Is Not”

So she left everything and traveled to the other world

Evil Morty left the CFC.

But life was like a dream

A series of meaningless movement

Yet Morty still feels the same sense of detached nihilism and hopelessness that Rick feels.

“A Cure”

Oh I see how his life resembles yours

And you somehow are like him

I see I know I've been too good for you You know he's just like me Pleasing you and now all You do is wish I was more and more like him If so, would you consider keeping me closer?

If the Freaky Mortys theory turns out to be true this lyric adds so much... But even if Evil Morty and Prime Morty did not switch places, it's clear that Evil Morty longs for it on some level.

So now I call myself a pleaser This time sitting on a secret One secret everybody knows

Evil Morty gets the plans for the Omega Device so he can deter future threats against him

“For The Damaged”

And here we have the most important track on the album:

Maybe again He will be alone Guess we're both equally damaged Find your name Do it all the same, equally Signal when you can't breathe no more

Ultimately, every Morty has suffered similarly at the hands of a Rick, and EMorty tortured and murdered several Mortys in order to achieve his goal of escaping the CFC, therefore perpetuating the cycle of abuse.

Then you could see the view You'll know we are equally damaged Don't be a fool, make it easier You'll learn to say when Signal if you can't say, "no more"

Morty already knew all-too-well that getting revenge didn't make him feel whole again, but Rick C-137 was ultimately incapable of letting go of his vendetta and that's what got him killed. Now resurrected, not only is he in EMorty's debt, but he's now all the more aware of the similarities between the two of them.

#Evil Morty #Rick And Morty meta #Evil Morty meta #Melody Of Certain Damaged Lemons #Blonde Redhead #Freaky Mortys

[sorrelpaws]

more requests!!!!!

#rick and morty #rick sanchez #morty smith #summer smith #evil morty #miami morty #morticia smith #diane sanchez #alright so theres summer with a silly outfit. RICK AND DIANE. older morty on an adventure #fc era rick. morticia. miami. emorty and pmorty hanging out. morty dino hands #lots of mortys this time around teehee #not much to say about these. gave emorty brown eyes #its a hc ive had for a bit. im sure you could write some meta post about blue/brown and how it reflects the characters' development #“i used to wear blue pants” and all that #well anyway. you can still send reqs if youd like i'll browse through them

[thatfinewine]

Here's the full set of the Federation's bios on both Rick and Morty from the Rick and Morty Character Guide (2020)

EDIT: fml, the first page of Morty's didn't upload the first time, fixed it

#official character guide #rick and morty #morty smith #rick sanchez #rick and morty character guide #doofus rick #simple rick #evil rick #evil morty #hammer morty #abuse mention #meta

[zeep-xanflorp]

ok i'm just gonna ramble ab unmortricken bc i have exactly ZERO COHERENT THOUGHTS AB IT

evil morty backstory - i rlly like that they just made him some random morty who rose above everything after getting sick of rick's abuse. it makes what he did feel even more earned and weighty. i think his motivation is a bit extreme still but i can't rlly blame him.

it's cool seeing infinity beyond the central finite curve. the jetsons inspired bit was v amusing bc i forgot about them lmao. but otherwise it seems absolutely wild west beyond the curve and i LIVE for that.

i also didnt imagine that we'd be seeing him again. i thought the way he left the show was perfect and if they brought him back it would just feel cheap but it DOESNT in this episode i love his appearance.

i rlly like seeing our morty be supportive of rick. he's literally trying everything to cheer him up and it's very important to me.

the prime decoys confuse me. like do they all share a consciousness? is prime just very very good at fucking with ppl that he's made all the decoys communicate w each other?

evil morty outsmarting rick is a great recurring theme in the episode. "filter for probability stasis" YEAH U TELL HIM LITTLE DUDE. we've never seen a morty like that EXCEPT for him and i think it's wonderful.

the exchange between rick and evil morty. "you're such a narcissist" / "literal glass house" / "you think you're better than me?" / "jesus i HOPE SO" SHITTING

i didnt initially like the decoy trap thing being full of loads of other ricks. it made me feel like our rick wasn't very important to this dude and rick just made an enemy of a guy who didn't know he existed. BUT i don't stand by that anymore. the rest of the episode made me change my mind very quickly with.

the omega device. holy fuck this is the worst reveal to come out of this episode. she wasn't just killed, she was ERASED by prime in every reality. like she is GONE gone. that's why we've never seen her, save in flashbacks and memories. she's gone.

and i'm pretty sure it's our rick's fault that he did that. we see his beth and his diane be killed by a bomb, not wiped from reality like slo mobius is later in the episode. so his family was killed BEFORE all the shit with the omega device. ik correlation ≠ causation, but it rlly explains why our rick in particular is so hungry for revenge. if he was the one that made prime kill diane everywhere then he had to be the one to make prime pay for it.

i like how the multiple monitors seems to be prime's signature move. it happens here and in the s6 premiere.

and oh fuck the parallels. "when i invent something it works, it's called being talented" in story train vs "when i make a weapon in works."

oh man the diane head weapon thing. it's interesting that it was programmed to mock rick sexually, but even on our rick who knows it's a trap, it still affects him seeing her face again. "god i missed that face." and then the blank stare when she asks for a kiss. pretty sweet and fucked up.

rick and evil morty having to work together to get their portals working. the contrast between our morty freaking out and evil morty blank staring.

the bit with the portal closing too soon. i know it happened earlier this season and i think it's so funny lmao.

I CANNOT STRESS TO YOU ENOUGH THAT I WAS SO MADE WHEN I WORKED OUT THAT INSTEAD OF YELLING WHILE GOING THROUGH THE CURVE THING IN THE MIDFLE OF THE EP HE WAS SCREAMING "PRIME" THOSE DIABOLICAL LITTLE BASTARDS AT ADULT SWIM.

prime calling rick the Wife Guy. hilarious. raises questions. makes me gnaw on my cell bars.

AND THEN the second incredible reveal of the episode: "Honestly, Wife Guy, I do miss when it was just us. The only two Ricks who actually invented portal travel." WHAT bestie prime bby girl u need to say that again. you guys were the ONLY ones who invented interdimensional travel, every rick's claim to fame. but no they just got the technology from prime who started a boys club of ricks who wanted to leave their lives behind that our rick refused.

but the reference to a time when they were closer, when it was only them - HELLO?? maybe i'm grasping at straws bc i want them to bang but holy shit.

the confirmation of the fan theory that rick based his AI voice on his wife. 10/10.

and then the fight scene. oh gods the fight scene. rick just screaming that he'll kill prime. prime regenerating constantly, looking unscathed as our rick becomes more and more dishevelled. it's too perfect i CANT. but otherwise they both seem pretty evenly matched w all the implants and stuff so without the regeneration i think rick would've had him. oh well.

rick like literally died during the fight.

the cool grandson/shitty grandpa exchange gives me breath. i LOVE how it's a morty that outsmarts prime. it's what he deserves.

prime still trying to be a smartass to evil morty, growing more and more panicked as it goes on bc he doesn't know what to do with the situation and control for once is not in his hands.

"what are u gonna 'aw geez' me to death?"

evil morty not even explaining his plan, just silently dragging in our rick and reviving him. saying "knock yourself out" with the intended double meaning. prime's almost scared expression as rick gets dragged in.

and then our rick has a choice. he can stop evil morty from keeping the weapon plans or he can kill prime. but that's a choice he made already. it's not even a decision. so his other enemy gets away.

the brutal brutal scene at the end when rick is just hitting prime. no tech, no implants, no gadgets. just fists. and rick beats him literally to a pulp as prime screams and laughs at him and taunts him further. it's meant to be sickening. it's meant to be personal. and it accomplishes that perfectly.

they don't even show prime's body in great detail. it's RIGHT in the background but we heard the sounds of the punches, we saw his nose break and his bloody teeth and haemorrhaging eyes and his brains coming out the side of it head and all we can make out is his fucked up swollen and broken face in the background as he sits still attached to the chair, a river of his blood pouring from the room.

but its not triumphant. they made rick's revenge hollow and bittersweet. its over but it destroyed rick in the process. who is he now that he isn't hunting prime? fucking no one.

then "look on down from the bridge" starts playing. we heard this in season 1 in rick potion #9 after morty had to bury a version of himself. he was struggling with the purpose of his life after switching universes. but he deals with it and overcomes it.

i think that scene is rick, for the first time in the entire show, struggling with his nihilistic philosophy. bc yes, he's shown to be an existentialist in the show (the difference being existentialists are "nothing matters but this matters to me" instead of "nothing matters so i don't have to do anything"). he had a drive. he had ppl he cared about. but now he's reached his goal he just feels empty and hollow. everything's meaningless and he's NOT okay with that. he never has been, but he has to grapple with that finally now he doesn't have a distraction. i don't think he can just bounce back and move past what happened.

ppl are saying this episode felt overstuffed and maybe it was but i'm very pleased with it and want to know where it's going.

i feel we still don't know the full story with prime. i'm predicting a flash back episode in the future explaining what the nature of their relationship was like before the bomb incident.

we also know that evil morty has this weapon that could destroy all ricks. so that is just a ticking bomb.

anyway i can't wait for angsty rick.

i actually watched unforgiven for this episode bc i'm a big fan of westerns anyway. the only real parallels i can see is they both have a group of three (two are already partners and the other one is the call to adventure) and an unsatisfying ending. bc that's the nature of westerns. they should NEVER end happily, and if u think so then ur wrong (/nsrs enjoy media how u want).

some things i haven't mentioned but enjoyed nonetheless

the schematics for the omega device is titled <SCHEMATICS BOOGER-AIDS-V2>

the arm/leg swap best in the fight

the comparison between the song at the end playing here and in season one shows with just visuals how the dynamic of beth and jerry's (and beth's) marriage has evolved since then.

everyone freaking out when indiana jones rick shoots and it ricochets off the wall and evil morty just stands expressionless until it hits his forcefield.

morty going to hug rick covered in blood, realising, hesitating, and then doing it later anyway to try and make rick feel better.

evil morty making a point to say that he doesn't want vengeful summers coming after him for omega devicing rick. not vengeful mortys, vengeful SUMMERS.

just evil morty in this whole episode was an absolute delight i need to see him more.

THE TEAR MARKS AFTER RICK EMERGES FROM BEATING PRIME TO DEATH

slo mobius' wife almost going down the same path our rick did only to find someone she loves and focus on that, saving her. makes me wonder if they're gonna try putting rick in a relationship.

this ended up being way longer than it should have. anyway. very pleased. this season is hitting all the marks for me overall.

also don't be too hard on me i didnt edit this 😭

#rick and morty #rick sanchez #rick n morty #r&m #rnm #rick c 137 #rick c137 #rick #rick and morty spoilers #unmortricken #rick and morty season 7 #rick and morty season 7 spoilers #rick prime #evil morty #prickcest #rick and morty meta

[fanbun]

Hi! I read your blogs about Rick & Grooming, and I'm SHOCKED. I have a question considering Evil Morty: taking into consideration that he was basically mind raping Evil Rick, that he already had the parts of SOME kind of mind-control implant inside his own head when he decided to attack Evil Rick, and that he thought strapping naked Mortys on a dome was Not That Big A Deal... is the implication here that in his case the (allegorical) abuse went one step further, or am I reading this wrong?

First of all, sorry for the super delayed response. To answer your question, it's possible!

We haven't gotten explicit confirmation that Evil Morty's life was any different from Morty Prime's, which I think is supposed to make the audience suspect that Morty Prime has the ability to become like Evil Morty in the future.

But the impression I get from the flashback scene at the beginning of Unmortricken is that Evil Morty was highly familiar with the Citadel's practices of raising Mortys to be slaves of Ricks. He might have even been a Morty clone himself who was raised on the Citadel rather than one who was born naturally like Morty Prime.

Your point about how Evil Morty seems to have already had a mind control chip in his head also suggests a former life on the Citadel, as the game Pocket Mortys is based around the concept of the Citadel mind controlling Mortys with a "manipulator chip."

It would make sense if Morty figured out how to use this technology against his assigned Rick and then used his knowledge of the Citadel's inner workings to carry out his plan to destroy the Central Finite Curve.

As for the detail of Evil Morty controlling his Rick to torture a bunch of naked Mortys, I genuinely believe this was meant to be suggestive of both sexual abuse and physical abuse within the greater Rick and Morty dynamic, even if it was done for comedic effect.

In Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind, Rick even says "looks like payday at Neverland Ranch in here," referencing the allegations of Michael Jackson's sexual abuse of children at his amusement park. I mean it's pretty blatant.

The episode also does a brief callback to the scene from the simulation episode where Rick tells Morty to undress with him in the shower, once again recalling a similar joke with the new context that it may be one of Rick's most cherished memories of Morty.

So no, I don't think you're entirely off-base to think Evil Morty's desensitization to seeing himself stripped down and tortured points to a more extreme level of abuse than Morty Prime experienced with C-137. Especially since C-137 is increasingly being portrayed as a more emotional kind of Rick who has the capacity to change.

#Rick and Morty #Evil Morty #rnm meta #Rick Sanchez & The Stages of Grooming #rickorty #csa mention cw #child abuse cw

[vhvrs]

in the topic of hit rick ships i think its interesting seeing hiw rick ships have changed over time like rn its primarly prime/rick or bp/rick vs i still have distinctive memories of like 2014-2016 when it was a mix of stanchez, evil rick/c137. honorary mentions to miamicop or. idk if there were set surgeon ships everyone was nuts for him tho. bp/rick being reserved for flesh curtains era rick which was also the primary fanart (sooo much young stanchez). idk i like getting to witness different fandom eras. i remember all the soecific fan theories that were such accepted fanon it was almost canon that are now fully disproven. ppl were convinced evil morty was that morty from the opening n c137 abandoned him. it was fun

#i also more actively dug thru fandom tumblr vs im way more antsy now but the meta still looks super solid #again i usually just sit on the outskirts rnm has bever fully triggered a fixation b4 but i also was distinctively #annoyed at how hard everyone was to draw so i just drew mortys #which is why i draw rick a lot now even tho morty is my number one (or like. in order prime morty < evil morty < morticia)

[0rb0t]

ACTUALLY I HAVE MORE TO SAY on that Planetina episode. (Warnings for Rick Sympathizers, I go hard against him in this, even if I love him)

I noticed people were saying that they felt like the writers were more lenient on Planetina because she was a woman, but I don't actually believe that was the case.

The episode is extremely creepy but the thing is, we are seeing it from Morty's perspective. We have spent most of the series seeing stuff from Rick's perspective. This episode was uniquely NOT from Rick's perspective in either plot. It was Morty's or it was Summer's.

Planetina's creepy relationship with Morty was absolutely meant to parallel Rick and Morty's creepy relationship. The episode literally starts with Morty rejecting Rick to be with Planetina-- and not only rejecting Rick, but casting off "immaturity" in order to be with someone he idolizes but also wants to be mature for.

Yes it was mentioned that in the Toxic episode, Morty was with two older women, but you need to think about what that says about Morty at this point. His ideal Healthy was someone who was seen as mature, who wanted to be looked up to, who had confidence. Morty thinks that being a scared kid is toxic and that his ideal healthiness will be a man who has confidence and is mature and will have a mature woman with him. He's literally a middle school boy, this is not abnormal for middle schoolers, and it definitely gets worse when their needs aren't met.

Morty spends the entirety of the Planetina episode falling for this woman he admires, idolizes and thinks it's love, and Planetina takes advantage of that, both by having aspects of the "born sexy yesterday" trope but also because she's really kind to Morty and always says yes to him-- but let's examine that trope for a second here. In this case, Planetina is an adult woman who behaves in a childish manner that is appealing to Morty and makes her seem cute and he wants to do anything for her.

Hm. Rick is literally an adult who behaves in a childish manner that allows him to get on well with teenagers and kids but not so much fellow adults. Rick can also make Morty do almost anything for him, except he's not kind. His kindness is conditional.

TO MY BAD FAITH READERS: STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM

I'm not saying here that anyone who is an adult that behaves childishly is automatically a predator. Rick and Planetina both are predatory towards Morty because they engage with him in highly inappropriate ways because he is a minor and they are adults. Boundaries are broken and reassured it's okay, there's a lot of "don't tell your parents about this" sometimes in actions and not words but Rick has LITERALLY said that out loud-- It's how you treat others that can make you predatory, and Planetina literally keeps encouraging this out of Morty, too.

In reality this episode is kind of an extension of the Toxic episode, because it shows that side of Morty that craves maturity because he can't connect to ANYONE around him, but also he wants so badly to be wanted, to be accepted, to be told he's good and perfect just the way he is. He wants to be loved so badly. So of course he latches onto the first woman who seems to be saying all those things to him because he HASN'T been taught how to avoid these creeps. And then when Beth finally starts stepping up as a mother for Morty, of course he sees this as betrayal-- because in his experience, his family has NEVER had his back. And the entire time, Jerry is playing a childish game where a little guy throws up everywhere LMAO Like, the writing and direction of this episode is so on point, it's Morty going "everyone around me is immature and they do not understand me and they don't want me to be happy" and Planetina takes advantage of that.

It really does not matter if she was genuine or not-- Morty is 14 and she is an adult who is going for the affections of a little boy HJSDFK LIKE. IF YOU FELT CREEPED OUT BY IT, IT'S BECAUSE IT'S CREEPY and it NEVER SHIED AWAY FROM IT. It just feels extra bad because we're getting it from Morty's perspective.

Morty finally puts his foot down when Planetina turns to outright murder--and she even tries to turn it around "You murdered my kids" EVEN THOUGH SHE BASICALLY TOLD HIM TO? She didn't use the words directly but she did tell Morty, KNOWING he was desperate for validation and love, that she was going to be taken away... Morty goes all out, arming himself to prevent that. As badass as this scene was, this entire episode really shows how middle schoolers (esp boys) are able to be groomed and radicalized by dangerous people they admire.

The original post said that the writers are lenient on women groomers but wouldn't act this way if it were men-- Morty likes girls, idk what to tell you. But also the EPISODE was from Morty's perspective. the Mr Jelly Bean episode was not-- it was horrifying but we were still generally from Rick's perspective. And as great as it was to see Rick kill that guy for trying to sexually assault Morty, Rick has not stepped up in a single way SINCE to help teach Morty how to protect himself, to safeguard himself from predators, etc. In fact, all he really aimed to do was make Morty more dependent on him.

I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS BUT I HAVE NO ISSUE SAYIN THIS SHIT CAUSE IT'S TRUE I'm glad Rick is trying NOW but the boundaries between them have long since eroded. Morty is used to being treated like this, and Rick is used to being able to get away with it.

That's why Evil Morty's finale was so poignant-- "I'm not evil, I'm just sick of him" Literally every single time Morty has pushed away from Rick, we get this perspective that Morty is bad and is being mean to Rick. HECK NO-- Morty is showing agency and trying to protect himself.

This episode is no different, he literally DOES break up with Planetina, and she (despite causing all of these situations and having the power in the relationship) blames Morty and acts like he did this to hurt her and leaves. And Morty wails openly into his mom's embrace, because Beth is there to comfort her son who is BROKEN over it.

And then these parallels are LITERALLY MET in the pre-finale episode where Rick is like I DONT NEED YOU MORTY I CAN REPLACE YOU WITH TWO CROWS--

The Planetina episode is MEANT to be watched with the finale episodes.

I don't think it's fair to blame the writers for something that they were really REALLY smart about writing in these episodes. To say that the writers didn't make it blatant is... frankly untrue... This show does not work as well when they have to look at the camera and go "THING BAD" because the entire show has had Rick grooming Morty into becoming exactly like him and that ends up being more acceptable to a lot of people because a lot of people are biased towards Rick.

And I understand the pull! I love Rick Sanchez! He's very relatable! But he's also quite literally a "do not be me" type of warning character LMAO He's a cautionary tale, at all times.

This show is entertainment first, it's not meant to be watched as education, its primary focus is to tell stories. If you learn something from it, GREAT! But the most bad faith interpretations because you're uncomfortable about how something is shown isn't actually conducive to anyone's learning.

Next time you feel uncomfortable while watching Rick and Morty, ask yourself why, and be prepared that those feelings of discomfort MAY BE MIRRORED IN ASPECTS OF RICK AND HIS GRANDSON'S PORTRAYAL. This is how I learned to stop believing anything Rick had to say about Jerry, because it's usually projection.

#r&m thoughts #long post #grooming cw #planetina #morty meta #rick meta #planetina meta #this episode was also such a good ep for beth because it parallels how she handles or DOESN'T handle the grooming her dad puts morty throug #u do this episode such a disservice when you take it as fact #this story was essentially allegory for rick and morty's relationship #THE ABSOLUTE EVILNESS OF THE WRITERS CAME FROM USING CAPTAIN PLANET IMAGERY #SUCH AN ICON FROM MY CHILDHOOD #the most trustworthy face :)

[psyceliums]

morty’s true greatest fear ended up being the thing rick says to him constantly, or more specifically, the fear of not knowing whether rick was being honest when he said it or not :(

#rick and morty #rick and morty meta #that just bummed me out but now he’s not so afraid of it #so maybe he’ll become more like ‘evil’ morty because he isn’t desparate for rick’s approval anymore #or more like summer or just more confident in himself and not defined by his relationship to rick #but also that fear seemed unfounded because rick obviously is attached to him #not jumping in the hole was just morty’s perception of it #we already know that rick IS irrationally attached to morty but views it as unhealthy / illogical #and the picture in the wallet 🥹 #so cute

[fukia]

Rick Prime [Crack]Headcanons

• Either he doesn’t drink or he has incredible self-discipline over his drinking.

• In his everyday casual state he is extremely cheerful and perky, the kind that gets on your nerves - he revels in it. This came from years of just being an absolute nightmare to everyone and abandoning any sort of begrudging diplomacy he may’ve had when he met our Rick.

• What I’m getting at with my previous bullet point, is that Prime and President in an idealized lighthearted setting would have a genki & grump dynamic

• - what if it was something that borders on wholesome family friendly besides the whole language and motivations thing

• like a really stupid crack-type foil to Rick & Morty’s relationship in the show

• bro I’m fuckin thinking Charlotte-Vendetta dynamic from Making Fiends

• like Prime just smothers President Morty with cheerful optimism and is just so goddamn touchy

• President Morty tries to maim Prime but what the fuck is that gonna do amirite?? Plus prime loves the attention and adores (in whatever interpretation you’d like) the little evil boy

• I thought of Maya & Miguel for a second but they’re a bit more like our Rick & Morty

• Ok, slightly like Pinky & The Brain but with that theory that Pinky is the genius

• prolly unpopular thought that prime in this case would be power bottom

#Rick and morty #rick sanchez #morty smith #president morty #evil morty #eviler rick #Evil rick #rick prime #weird rick #killer Rick #someone put killer Rick as an alias & a part of me is convinced they read one of my stupid character analysis either here or on YouTube;;;; #Bro that one scene in full meta jackrick #Not even a scene it was a transition between two scenes #Congratulations to the temporarily married couple #Jerry and his bees #Bee movie starring Jerry smithfield #According to all known laws of jerryation #rick x morty #rickmorty

[hpmort]

Was looking at some Rick and Morty fanart, and there was an idea of an “Evil Miami Morty” (created in the context of him hanging around with canon Evil Morty and an Evil Morticia) and he was just a recolor with wires hanging out of his left eye?

And I am of multiple minds of how an Evil Miami Morty would go-

Indistinguishable from a normal Morty other than longer hair

Actively covering up more in response to being over sexualized

Looking like one of those redesigns that “fix” him

Or him being so messed up from his years as a child prostitute that he can’t think of dressing in a manner that isn’t weirdly scanty so he wears even less. Like he’s a brainwashed female comic book superheroine in a very skimpy black outfit

(Or, like, him just liking showing a lot of skin as a result of doing it for years, or maybe even for its own sake with the shame being burnt off, but still definitely not in an 80s fashion)

or like the idea of him getting the information out of Ricks not by luring them with a dome, but by seducing them and perhaps not even killing them if he can get their memories while they’re unconscious

He probably wouldn’t run for President himself, but perhaps angle to become First Morty? Probably still manipulating the election, even if he could count on literally every Rick being a hebephile, there’s no telling if that Rick would choose him as his Morty as opposed to just sleep with him, or maybe keep him locked up somewhere, or even if that Rick did choose him as his Morty, that said Rick would leave him with the opportunity to get the information he needs, or to work on his plan…

#Rick and Morty #rick and Morty meta #rick and Morty fandom #Miami Morty #Evil Morty #rick and Morty AU #Rickorty #Evil Miami AU #Rickorty AU #rickmort #the show about the worst man

[hazelnut-u-out]

Just coincidentally, I was talking to @dirty-bear-rick-sanchez, and he mentioned the fact that Evil Morty had a ‘Chekov’s Gun’. As soon as I saw the words, my brain immediately made some connections based on the events of ‘Rickmurai Jack’, ‘Full Meta Jackrick’, and ‘Unmortricken.’ 

First of all, I remembered making this post about the metaverse goggles in ‘Full Meta Jackrick.’ In the post, I was talking more about the device labeled ‘Foreshadowing’, which I thought could potentially show up in the future and make the glimpse we get of it in that episode a fun easter egg. Now, my focus is on how the devices and their labels coincide with the events of ‘Unmortricken.’ 

Let’s look at the Devices pictured: 

We have Checkov’s Guns, Foreshadowing, Ticking Clock, and Action Enhancer. (There are other devices that can be seen in the scene that are difficult to read. The one in the corner is labeled ‘Gratuitous Violence’.) Thinking about the events that took place in the Prime fight, these things may have come into play. While we didn’t see the exact Foreshadowing device pictured used in the fight, it did pique my interest that the device seems to be pointed at the Chekov’s Guns display. The Ticking Clock being placed above the Foreshadowing device also made me realize just how much that parallels the use of the Omega Device as it’s shown in ‘Unmortricken’.  Think about it… The reveal of the Omega Device is already being used as a method of Foreshadowing, Slow Mobius was lowered into the Omega Device from above while using his powers to slow the moment down (hence, Ticking Clock being a device used to create suspense), and at the end– when handed over to Evil Morty– the schematics become a Chekov’s Gun with a promise to return. Their placements parallel the events of the fight scene, even down to the blatant Gratuitous Violence! (I’ll admit, I don’t have an obvious placement for Action Enhancer yet, unless you count the Kill Bot drones/giant Diane Bots… I guess Evil Morty does ride one like a motorcycle!)

You don't show an Omega Device without erasing someone important to the audience from infinity, if you know what I mean.

I was having a lot of thoughts, and some of these branched off into different connections about Evil Morty and his exit, especially with the previous assumption/symbolism in mind. He looks at Rick and says the following: 

2 things I thought of:

1.) This feels like a threat, not just an exit.  It makes a lot of sense to interpret this as a future promise of betrayal. The fact that Evil Morty has to remind Morty Prime that they’re not friends makes me think he could come back to specifically stab Morty Prime (or Mortys) in the back, especially since he tends to dislike ‘sellout’ Mortys. Saying he could ‘use’ Rick for being ‘different’ makes me wonder if ‘ending the Rick Experiment’ could be synonymous with putting himself or another Morty in the Omega Device and eliminating the toxic relationship between Ricks and Mortys for good. Does acknowledging Rick is ‘different’ and useful imply that Evil Morty could use another life for leverage using the Omega Device in the future to get C-137 to do what he wants? (Not sure he’d erase himself since he references the vengeful Summers thing, but who knows?)

The events of ‘Full Meta Jackrick’ support this sub-theory, as well. Another post I made after the airing of ‘Full Meta Jackrick’ (here) talked about how I suspected Mr. Twist’s interaction with Morty (where he acknowledges Morty is the plot twist) might have actual weight to it.

If you remember, one of the BIG moments of ‘Full Meta Jackrick’ was this one right here: 

I think Rick emphasizing the importance of Morty’s existence is major foreshadowing. Not to mention, Rick tries to ban Morty from accompanying him to the Prime fight. More acknowledgment that Morty is very important to Rick. Being able to tie all of these elements back to a single episode AND Evil Morty’s arc would work quite well in terms of storytelling. 

2.) What is the ‘Rick Experiment’? I think that the Rick Experiment might just be Morty’s existence. Especially since we know our Rick was a founding father of the Citadel/Curve, it seems plausible that Mortys would be the central ‘Rick Experiment’ (created to be the perfect sidekick; obey them; keep them company; hide their brain waves; prove they could create life across infinity when the Omega Device can destroy it; and– for C-137 and others– there’s the added benefit in the search for Prime). I’ve even wondered who Ricks are trying to hide their brainwaves from while on the CFC, and I think that who might’ve been Prime. This theory would explain why Rick is holding Morty so triumphantly in that photo in Birdperson’s house in ‘Get Schwifty’ AND how Rick knew a Morty baby in general. 

We have to keep in mind that Evil Morty not only told our Morty about the Morty Trade in the first place, but also that he's probably the most knowledgeable (outside of C-137 or what's left of the Council) about the Morty Trade/ Rick Experiment in general, whatever that turns out to be.

This was essentially me throwing theories at a wall to see what sticks, so all of this could be nothing! Just some big food for thought, lol.

#rick and morty #rick sanchez #morty smith #full meta jackrick #unmortricken #rickmurai jack #sorry if this is all over the place- i'm literally writing this while on lunch break for my chronic illness course lmao

[zeep-xanflorp]

the headcanon thingie for evil morty?

headcanon A: realistic

i think that his eyepatch had actually started to impede his natural vision, and he has a lazy eye or smth now. this is fixed ofc by use of the eyepatch which is why he doesn't rlly take it off unless he has to. i also like to think he has rlly poor depth perception.

headcanon B: unrealistic but hilarious

i think he has a crush on morty prime. i think he was offering morty a spot on his ship to get out of the central finite curve but when morty refused, EM was like "yeah well well GOOD didn't want you coming anyway and that's a toilet yeah i'm evil." like he let morty prime join him so quickly in unmortricken. literally came back bc he didn't know if he was coming and wanted to check. or he chose an eyepatch specifically bc of rick's pirate fear. take your pick.

headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful

his rick was not his first rick and EM was not that rick's first morty. they've both been through the system on the citadel plenty of times. which means that EM has lost rick after rick and probably family after family. i think he genuinely had a healthy home life growing up which was why when it was taken away from him, he tried so hard to get back any semblance of it by running away and being in a world void of who he considers to be the issue - rick. a world without rick to him is ideal. and think about how numb he's become because of all the universe shifting - he's probably seen countless versions of his sister, his mother, his father, even his school. and i think he was never able to accept the replacements for his original reality that he was pulled away from. i think that his original rick was incredibly abusive as well. maybe EM even snapped and killed him too, not knowing that he'd end up being recycled into the system that abuses mortys. so yeah. within the central finite curve, he truly felt like he had no escape, but i think now he's away from it all, he has no interest in going back to his original reality or restoring the life he once had. if it still exists. i don't even think he's happy now but for him, the life outside the curve without rick is infinitely better than the alternative.

headcanon D: unrealistic

the sunset is a motif in evil mortys story and though i haven't worked out exactly what it means yet i think it could be a symbol of his determination. not sure if this even classifies as unrealistic but i can't think of anything else to say. even though i do think EM envies morty prime bc of his ability to stand up to his rick. because he's allowed the freedoms EM never was given.

everyone send me more characters pls this is fun

#rick and morty #rick n morty #r&m #rnm #ram #rick sanchez #morty smith #evil morty #rick and morty meta #rick and morty headcanons #ask meme #unmortricken

[freakywizard]

hiii r&m anon here again!!! i noticed you mentioned liking season 7, so i was wondering if you had any favorite or least favourite episodes, plotlines, all that jazz. season 7 debrief, if you will. would love to hear your thoughts!

ram anon gracing my inbox once again (always a pleasure)

huge rant below the cut (talking about rick and morty triggers the longwinded newspaper art critic in me sorry)

s7e2 and e4 were the best episodes in my opinion. absurd, darkly funny, overall just so perfect. i was especially excited about s7e2 since the rick/jerry dynamic has intrigued me since episode s3e5. i love that that episode basically just confirmed Rick and Jerry may be foils but are also perfect complements? they can only understand / appreciate each other when they are literally existing in each other's flesh? i try not to wax poetic about ram but this episode was tempting meeeee

and re: e4, i think this show's writing is at its best when the writers come up with a stupid concept and treat it seriously. i love that this episode saw the concept of 'what if corpse spaghetti' through to the end. classic dark comedy, absurd, wacky goodness. lovee it

one thing i do hate about this season (as well as seasons 5 and 6) is the number of callbacks to 'old' rick and morty. s7e3 and s7e8 were some of the worst episodes this season, mostly because they just reused old plotlines and developed them in the least interesting ways possible, imo. did the mid gag from s3e5 really need its own episode? it really did not. i think that this is one of the worst consequences of the show becoming less episodic and more serialized - the writers just endlessly milk the early seasons to recycle into plotlines, one-off gags, whatever. the self-referentiality and meta humor of newer seasons will always, always grind my gears severely.

also, s7e7 was almost unwatchable. it reminded me of s6e2 in all the worst ways - just dedicating an entire episode to a SINGLE movie reference, doubling down on the singular reference as the episode drags on. god that episode sucked. so boring, annoying, unfunny.

i have extremely mixed feelings on s7e5. On the one hand, I'm still annoyed that the backstory from s3e1 is even canon, and Rick is yet another entry in the long tradition of flawed male protagonists turned into a nihilistic depressed shitshow by the death of a wife. it's such a pat trope, imo.

HOWEVER, i really like how this episode developed Rick. I'll always be a fan of ruthlessness and revenge plotlines, so im biased. but i've come to appreciate Rick Prime as a villain, as a testament to how much Rick hates himself -- there's a version of himself out there that would torture himself across the universe by killing off his own loved ones, just to try to prove his own superiority? it's all very mindfucky but im super into it. Rick C137 killing Prime with his fists, all while Prime goads him? it was such a cool scene. i love when the show does selfcest

i also still have mixed feelings on the evil morty and his growing prominence in the series. it was nice when he was just a little treat, but it became clear in s4 the writers were aware of fan expectations for the character. i can't help but wonder if that's shaped the way they're writing him, especially giving him the centralized role in the story of possible-future-final-antagonist? that being said i've always liked evil morty, he's a fun character to watch on screen. although i'm extremely cautious of my enjoyment. he's already starting to feel like a fanfic rip-off of himself a little bit (that one line where he said 'well, they don't call me good morty' was so bizarre. evil morty was the fandom name for him, and the writers adopted it and made it a diegetic epithet for the character???????)

s7e10 was refreshing after a long season of Morty getting sidelined. I love how this one starts with a classic rick and morty set-up (what if *weird thing* in *random place*) but turns it into existential horror? really cool. i don't think it was the most subtle way to do morty character development, but it was interesting enough that i was invested. also, rick pinning morty's picture to the pinboard. so good

overall my reaction to this season is 'we're so back.' it was LEAGUES better than s5-6, which i think are like the ram dark ages. i don't think s7 was the best season yet (as some are suggesting) but I think that this season marks a positive turn for the quality of writing in the show.!!

here's my episode ranking in ( i mostly did this for fun)

E2

E5

E4

E10

E6

E1

E3

E9

E7

E8

Basically, e7 and e8 were irredeemably terrible. e9, e3, and e1 were mid/fine. e6, e10, e4, e5, and e2 were all varying degrees of peak rick and morty.

other mics. thoughts:

i felt like there was a lot of long, no dialogue, sad music montages that felt like references to the famous scene from s4e8? the one from s7e4 comes to mind immediately. but there were another few sprinkled in

s7e3 rick telling a scientologist "worship how you want" ??? he would not say that. who let that slide in the writing room?

the fight scenes and gore were all really well animated!! since s3 the animation has only gotten better and i love the gore

i actually love the new VAs. they're different from roiland, obviously, but i honestly think they're both doing a better job. the performances are more naturalistic, and less grating? i thought the change would weird me out, but it's subtle, and i like it

Rick canonically bad at eating pussy in his youth

#thank you for sending this ask ram anon i love feeling my brain melt #sometimes rick and morty eletrochemically neutralizes something in my brain and it sends me into a frothy mouthed coma where i cant stop- #-thinking or talking about it. so #i also happen to be a big fan of yapping #^_^ #im having thoughts of restarting my ram sideblog #lex answers

[archer3-13]

been passively watching the latest rick and morty season just to see what they do after s6 being a big cloud of nothing. overall s7 feels a lot more tightly paced and written overall, the meta commentary on story writing and production issues are majorly toned down so far, and the new voice actors are doing an admirable job.

but, like the past few seasons i cant really say im digging much of anything they're doing. and i think the latest evil morty prime rick episode highlighted why. i dont mind the evil morty backstory stuff or the prime rick stuff at the end but...

why a machine that kills all versions of a person across all realities? i can see its theoretical value as a means of adding "le stakes" to whatever comes next but at the same time i feel like it actually does more to devalue whats happened and will happen. ricks search for diane despite its self admitted cliched nature did have some poignant value because it was a man who had access to a theoretical infinite thread of replacement dianes to chose from refusing to do so because he valued his diane, irrationally, more.

throwing in a machine that killed all variations of diane across all the multiverses takes the wind out of that and somehow makes it more cliched, because then its not a case of ricks irrational attachment to a specific version of a specific person instead becoming a case of literally being incapable of accessing any variation of that person because they're all dead.

and in that same vein it ironically, considering how the episode ends, it adds more importance to his search for prime rick because the dude erased someone from all realities. it no longer remains a personal vendetta with disastrous collateral damage, prime rick is just another super villain thanos asshole in terms of the scale of his ambitions.

and its a bad habit of the show where it keeps wanting to have dramatic stakes and in order to get those stakes it keeps kneecapping its characters to get those stakes. meaning i find myself caring less and less for those stakes because its completely hobbled its characters!!

#rick and morty #s7 spoilers #kinda