- [Greg] This video is brought to you by Surfshark VPN.
(relaxing music)
Hey, Wisecrack, Greg here
to talk about our favorite sociopath, Rick Sanchez.
If you've spent five minutes reading weird Reddit threads
or watching "Rick and Morty", you know our dude
is the smartest jerk in the whole wide universe,
and yet there's one thing he's uniquely incompetent at,
forming close relationships.
- He sacrificed himself to save all of us, Rick. He died.
- Well, at least he didn't die in vain.
He got these crystals.
(table clacking)
(Rick sniffing)
And these babies just saved this lame-ass party!
Wubba lubba dub dub!
- [Greg] He can't tell his daughter
apart from the clone he made of her,
and his former best friend Birdperson now exists
only as a mangled, screaming corpse in Rick's garage.
- All right, we'll give you a little more time.
- In a universe in which he sometimes seems
all powerful, Rick is almost completely alone,
so what can Rick's loneliness teach us about friendship?
Is he simply too brilliant and special, a genius alpha loner
that pathetic normies could never possibly understand?
- Whatever. (water sloshes)
- Yeah, whatever.
A dad makes a toilet look like R2-D2 and it breaks
the front page of Reddit, but I'm Charles Manson
because I gave you your own world instead of an iPad.
- [Greg] Could his loneliness possibly be good for him,
or is he just a sad old cosmic sex pervert?
And what does this all have to do with Rick's desire
to make sweet, sweet love to a hole-ass planet?
- I don't understand.
- Isn't it obviously, Morty? I (beep) a planet.
- Let's find out with the help of one of the dudes
who basically invented philosophy in this Wisecrack edition
on "Rick and Morty", Why Does Rick (beep) a Planet?
Spoilers ahead for "Rick and Morty"!
And before we continue, I wanna give a shout out
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Now back to the show.
At first glance, it might seem as if Rick does possess
at least some meaningful connections.
Obviously his relationship with Morty
is central to the show.
- And I'm so proud of you.
I only wish you could've bought more.
I love buying things so much, Morty.
- Rick, are you...
Do you need to go to the hospital?
- I love you, Morty.
- [Greg] Rick insists on taking him
on almost all of his adventures,
and despite his sometimes sadistic way of showing it,
he seems to genuinely care about him
and gets a little bitter
when others occupy Morty's attention.
- Everybody (beep) off.
- [Greg] But the relationship that exists
between Rick and Morty isn't really friendship.
To see why, we can turn to one of the founding fathers
of just about any subject you studied in school, Aristotle.
The concept of friendship is super important
to Aristotle's discussion of ethics.
(bell dings)
As he sees it, friendship is a necessary aspect
of living well and becoming a moral person.
That's because our friends help us know,
and do, what is right, helping us to become,
as Aristotle would put it, virtuous and wise.
Also, friends are just a nice and good thing to have.
"Without friends," Aristotle tells us,
"no one would choose to live,
even if he possessed all other goods."
The philosopher distinguishes
between three sorts of friendships.
Friendships based on utility,
where the friend is loved because they are useful,
friendships based on pleasure, where the friend is loved
because they are witty or attractive or fun,
and finally complete friendships, where the friend is loved
simply for being who they are,
without offering any specific use or benefit.
And we can see all three versions of friendships at play
across the wider "Rick and Morty" universe.
Rick's relationship with Morty is a classic example
of a friendship based on utility.
He likes Morty to go on adventures with him,
because Morty's "idiot brain waves"
cancel out his genius ones,
making it harder for his enemies to detect him.
- When a Rick is with a Morty,
the genius waves get canceled out by the, uh...
(Rick clears throat)
Morty waves.
- [Greg] Meanwhile, the relationship Rick develops
with Tony, the Shy Pooper, might be a friendship
based on pleasure.
- If you touch my toilet again, you die.
- You need a friend.
- I have a million cooler friends than you.
- I'll be seeing you. - You'll be dying.
- We're gonna be friends. - You're gonna be dead.
- [Greg] Even though he won't admit it,
Rick is sad after Tony dies
because it means he can't have fun trying to humiliate him
for using his secret toilet any more.
- Congrats, Tony, have fun with your stupid toilet
that you get to use all by yourself now.
- [Greg] And who can blame him, man?
Most of my healthiest adult friendships were birthed
from striking up a conversation with a stranger
making a number two combo meal
in a Chick-Fil-A bathroom, mm.
But according to Aristotle, there is a problem
with these first two types of friendships,
they're not gonna last,
because the friend is only valued
for what they are able to do for us.
Our relationship with them is easily dissolved
once they stop being useful or enjoyable.
There is no real evidence
that Rick especially values his Morty,
as opposed to any other possible Morty
whose brain waves could be used for the same purpose.
- How many Ricks have you had?
- Five. - I see.
- In contrast, the third type of friendship,
a complete friendship, is able to last
because the friend is loved for who they are themselves.
In a complete friendship, both people want the other
to have and achieve good things.
It's less a transaction between two parties,
and more a mutual two-person fan-club.
And in case you're interested, I'm currently accepting
applications for my own fan club,
so hop on in the comments if you're a good candidate.
Aristotle specifies that complete friendship is rare
since it can only truly arise
between those who are good and alike in virtue.
But certainly, the other members of the Smith-Sanchez family
seem to possess something much closer to it.
Jerry and Beth aren't particularly useful to one another,
and Beth appears to get very little pleasure
out of being with her husband.
- We will have as much fun as possible
on our Titanic-themed getaway.
- Let's lose the 'tude, please.
It's supposed to be romantic.
- [Greg] But despite this,
they remain drawn together out of love.
- I was impressed, Dad. He saved my life, no thanks to you.
- [Greg] Likewise, Morty and Summer, for all they get
on each other's nerves, share a close sibling bond.
Rick, on the other hand, has become more and more isolated
from others as the series progresses.
- Hi, I've placed an auto-response chip in my brain
so I can spend time with my family.
- But you are spending time with your family.
- Thank you for talking to Rick. (gasps)
All right, I'm finished
with my breakfast and my Amazon wishlist.
- There is, admittedly, at least one example
of a complete friendship involving Rick
which has been depicted on the show.
In the season 2 episode, Total Rickall,
he is seen sharing a deep bond
with a talking pencil named Pencilvester.
- Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick!
- Rick, Rick.
- [Greg] Of course, Pencilvester was actually a member
of the species of parasitic space-worms
who took the Smith-Sanchez family over
by inserting themselves into their memories.
Not exactly the kind of stunt
you should pull on your buddy, right?
So why is Rick so isolated?
Again, Aristotle can help us out.
He thinks friendships need to involve equality.
If great differences arise between two friends,
in terms of how good they are as people,
or how much money or power they have,
not only will they struggle to remain close,
but one will feel inferior, the other superior.
As he put it, "For those who are much inferior to kings,
do not deem themselves worthy to be friends with them."
This is why LeBron James goes on vacation
with Dwayne Wade and Chris Paul,
and not a 23 year old car salesman in training,
who just learned you actually have to do your taxes.
Rick is clearly not the best person in the universe,
far from it. He makes Kenny Powers look like a decent guy.
- If anybody wants to pick on anybody in class,
aim for him, because I ain't watching.
(students laugh)
- [Greg] But he is the most intelligent.
And this has given him powers
that far transcend those of the average human.
This is most obvious
in the case of his relationship with Jerry,
who Rick has nothing but contempt for
because of his average intelligence.
One possible Rick has opened an interdimensional daycare
for Ricks to leave their Jerrys in,
if they ever accidentally tag along on their adventures.
(soft music)
- I don't know how this works, help me!
- What the hell?
- Aristotle thinks that friendship
is especially impossible between human beings and gods,
since gods are better than humans to the greatest degree,
and, you know, are immortal and have the power
to give and take life and whatnot.
So if it seems impossible for LeBron and Bryce,
the young car salesman, to be best friends,
imagine how hard it would be for an average dude
to be friends with Zeus
or any other resident of Mount Olympus?
True friendship is between equals
who desire the absolute best for one another,
and Zeus is never gonna be able to wish
that some dude named Brandon was his equal.
Mount Olympus is full, Brandon. Go home.
No one wants you here. Go make a human friend.
So for Aristotle, a real friendship
grounded in equal goodness
needs to be between two human beings.
He probably didn't intend
to get to the heart of Rick's problems
with forming relationships,
he was reportedly more of a "Bob's Burgers" guy, but he did.
Rick's powers have detached him from his humanity
to the extent that he sometimes forgets the word for humans.
- Summer's just a hyper-emotional, needy little...
What's the word I'm looking for here? Uh, human.
- [Greg] Over the course of the series, Rick has become
increasingly more and more powerful,
and increasingly more given to describing himself
as a sort of god.
- If God exists, it's (beep) me!
- [Greg] The only entity he seems to feel
anything like the same affinity with is Bugs Bunny.
- To me this was all just a bit,
like when Bugs Bunny (beep) with the opera singer
for 20 minutes.
- [Greg] And this makes sense.
Rick has godlike powers over his environment.
He's able to manipulate the fabric
of not only his own universe
but of an infinity of possible realities.
His tiniest whims can alter intergalactic history.
Also, Rick might be unable to die.
And all this explains Rick's peculiar desire
to do body-on-body stuff with planets, or collective minds.
Because in banging a god-like entity,
he might feel equal to one.
For instance, Unity, Rick's on-again, off-again
hive-mind girlfriend, explicitly states that her goal
is, one day, to absorb every conscious mind
in the universe and become-
- What the single-minded once called a god.
- (burps) I like that. That's pretty sexy.
- [Greg] He relates to Unity, because this is something
he can also aspire to in a way
that both his human family and the vast majority
of his alien acquaintances simply cannot.
But no matter how many lives he creates
or how many hive minds he goes all the way with,
Rick is not actually a god.
He might have certain godlike powers,
but his appetites and interests,
remain all too flawed and all too human.
This is good, in a way.
Rick probably could rule the universe if he wanted to,
but he's more liable to get distracted
by playing Roy at Blips n Chitzs.
- Holy (beep), this guy's taking Roy off the grid!
(crowd exclaims) This guy doesn't have
a social security number for Roy!
- But it also makes it harder for him to relate productively
to the other entities that might otherwise be his peers.
Case in point, his relationship with Unity,
who upon hooking up with Rick, is quickly derailed
in her divine ambitions, as she strives, instead,
to satisfy his every horny whim.
Their relationship has the potential
to be a complete friendship, but thanks to Rick,
it never becomes anything
more than a friendship of pleasure.
Or, as the kids call it, (beep) buddies.
- Unity, could you get Rick out here, please?
- He's unavailable, he's-
- Having sex with you. We get it, gross.
- [Greg] Aristotle also tells us that human beings
are between beasts and gods,
with elements of the animal and the divine.
We're able to speak and exercise reason,
but we also lie, cheat, burp, and fall asleep
during our Mom's birthday zoom.
In this, Rick is no exception.
He's just edged slightly closer than most of us
to the god side because of his science-fueled powers.
Some Ricks have attempted to overcome their loneliness
by banding together, along with their Mortys,
as the Citadel of Ricks.
But even leaving aside the Citadel
of Ricks' well-documented political problems,
the Rick that the show focuses on, Rick-C137,
refuses to join the Citadel because he hates other Ricks.
And why does Rick-C137 hate other Ricks?
- Maybe I hate myself, maybe I think I deserve to die,
I don't know!
- [Greg] In fact, Unity aside, Rick hates
pretty much every single other entity he encounters
who is at all like him, to the point of physical violence.
From Zeus, The literal god
and the actual father of his planet lover's children,
to Zeep Xanflorp, the smartest man in the mini-universe
Rick created to power his car.
And for Aristotle, this would also be significant,
since, as he insists,
you can only be a good friend to others
if you are able to love yourself as well.
Aristotle calls the friend another self.
We recognize ourselves, and what is good in our own lives,
in our friends.
This is why, Aristotle thinks, even if you had
everything else you wanted, you would still need to have
your friends around you to be happy.
Interestingly, perhaps the most obvious example
of such a friendship being depicted on the show
is in fact between Jerry and Doofus Rick,
i.e. the dumbest iteration of Rick,
from an alternate timeline in which everyone
apparently eats their own (beep).
- I'm not Doofus Rick, I'm Rick J19 Zeta Seven.
- Oh, is that the timeline where everybody eats poop?
Jerry, you know this guy eats poop, right?
- Hey, I don't eat poop! You guys are always so mean to me!
- [Greg] He and Jerry are kindred spirits,
and Doofus Rick is genuinely impressed by his son-in-law.
- Wow, you really are wise, Jerry.
I guess that's why you work in advertising.
- [Greg] What's more, Doofus Rick helps Jerry come to terms
with the objective worthlessness
of his prized Star Wars, novelty coin collection,
telling him that the joy the coins bring him
matters more than their market value.
- You bought 'em because you like 'em.
They have value to you, that's what matters.
- [Greg] Although their friendship is brief,
it is clear that Jerry believes
Doofus Rick somehow completes him,
that he is the father in law he always wanted,
and that the feeling is more than mutual.
Doofus Rick, not self-aware enough for self-loathing,
is a better friend to Jerry than smart Rick could ever be.
But Rick-C137 is perpetually alienated from his family
because unlike them,
he can plausibly aspire to become a god.
- He may have manifested some sort of butt.
- He can do that?
- He is the smartest man in the universe.
- However, there are plenty of other entities
he has encountered who are in a similar situation,
who might make a decent friend.
But ultimately, he remains alone
because he is unable to exist happily with himself.
This is why he pursues seedy affairs with hive minds
and makes unprotected love with planets.
He is trying, desperately,
to compensate for the void he feels within.
But his own emotional limitations
prevent these relationships from being complete friendships.
And for all his smarts,
he's almost certainly never gonna be wise enough
to obtain a community.
At the same time,
he's almost definitely never gonna become a god.
But what do you think Wisecrack?
Should Rick tone down his erratic genius
for the sake of having some buddies
to watch Interdimensional Cable with?
Or is the loneliness worth it
when you can do almost whatever you want
with no consequences?
Let us know what you think in the comments.
Thanks, as always, to our patrons for your support.
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to become best friends with,
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And as always, thanks for watching. Peace.
(upbeat music)