Adult Swim's hit animated series Rick and Morty is chock full of sophisticated ideas,
vulgar weirdness, and, well….
"High concept, sci-fi rigamarole!"
...which makes it one of the twistiest and time-bendiest shows on television, fostering
hundreds of ideas about the show's alleged secrets... some far stranger than others.
Hold on to your brain buckets and try to keep up with these seriously bizarre Rick and Morty
fan theories.
Not the real Morty
Let's start off by flipping your whole world upside down and saying that the Morty Smith
we've been watching lately isn't the Morty we started off with.
This notion is part of a larger Rick and Morty "Master Theory", which postulates that Rick's
original Morty got trapped inside one universe: a tragedy seen during the opening credits
of each episode, when Morty falls over and is almost eaten by giant frog creatures.
Left to fend for himself in a world of monsters, this Morty grows to resent Rick and orchestrates
the events seen in "Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind" in order to take down all Ricks
in all universes.
We see something like that happen in the season three episode "The Ricklantis Mixup," in which
Politician Morty becomes President of the Citadel of Ricks.
Sick with power, President Morty assassinates a number of members of the Shadow Council
of Ricks, and in a slow-motion sequence of legal documents and floating corpses, it's
revealed that he's none other than Evil Morty.
With how often Rick calls Morty disposable, we may have called dozens of Morties our own
by now.
"Most timelines have a Rick and most Ricks have a Morty.
This place is a real who's-who of who's you and me."
And honestly, is there that much difference between one Morty and another?
"We both know that if there's any truth in the universe, it's that Ricks don't care about
Mortys."
Not the real Rick
Beyond our Morty not being true-blue, our Rick might be an alternate version as well.
One theory is that Rick ended his life when Beth was a child, explaining why he was "missing"
from her life for 20 years.
The Rick that viewers know now would have been alive in a different dimension, separated
from Beth and his ex-wife.
Unfortunately, this Rick royally flubbed up his timeline and needed a quick remedy.
Discovering a universe in which a version of himself was dead, our Rick jumped into
that timeline, and the rest is history.
We've even seen something like that happen in the series, so any Rick is possible.
And if this Rick's been gone for 20 years, how can there be a picture of him holding
Baby Morty, who's only a teenager now?
And how can he actually remember holding Morty?
Plot hole, or secret hint that things are even more messed up than we know?
The universe switch
It's time to unpack the Rick and Morty theory known as "The Ticket Theory," which connects
the episodes "Mortynight Run" and "Total Rickall" to suggest that the latter episode is happening
in a universe that isn't the one our usual Rick and Morty operate in.
According to the theory, the universe swap happened when Rick and Morty picked Jerry
up from the Jerryboree.
"Uhh, that's a Blipz & Chitz ticket."
"What?!"
"Way to go, Morty."
"Eh, whatever."
The shocker here is that the ticket Rick and Morty are given at the beginning of "Mortynight
Run" is numbered 5126, but they took home a different Jerry.
"Hang onto this.
The number's your dad.
If you lose it, we're not going to be able to get him back."
The audience actually follows the original Jerry into his new universe and leaves the
original Rick and Morty behind.
How else would you explain the arrival of Mr. Poopybutthole a few episodes later, who's
treated as though he's been there all along… at least as far as this universe is concerned?
"Ooohweee!
Amen to that!"
One and the same
Rick and Morty share a number of similar qualities, and even the same voice actor, but they can't
actually be the same person, can they?
According to one theory, they 100 percent totally are.
As Rick and Morty are walking through the Citadel, you can spot what appears to be a
combination of the pair in the same physical body.
While he could be an odd alternate dimension Rick-Morty, the theory suggests that he's
actually an older Morty and younger Rick.
As far as the blue pants go, it's pretty simple.
"Is that…"
"Me…
I used to wear blue pants."
Lastly, there might be a surprising link between Diane Sanchez, Rick's ex-wife, and the staff
member of Anatomy Park, Annie.
Both ladies look surprisingly similar.
Annie grew close to Morty during their adventure together, but Rick ended up shrinking her
and trapping her in a container.
"What the hell, Rick?
What the hell, man…
I liked her!"
The theory hints that Morty, now as Rick, freed Annie later in life so they could be
together.
Baby Cronenmorty
The creepy, oozy Cronenberg creature from "Auto Assimilation" was a standout, even compared
to the giant praying mantises and deformed beasts that ravaged the Earth in "Rick Potion
Number 9".
But the pint-sized monster could hold a harrowing significance if you consider this next theory.
The only time Rick and Morty viewers have ever seen Rick genuinely connected to anyone
has been with baby Morty.
"You're crying?
Over a Morty?"
"No, I'm just allergic to dips---!"
"Ugh, pathetic."
This makes it all the more heartbreaking to speculate that the Cronenberg creature from
the episode is actually a baby Morty from a different dimension.
Though the moment is passed off as Rick trying to test his invention, this theory suggests
that he obliterated the baby Cronenberg, who he actually shows affection for, as part of
a "contingency plan."
In another universe that got Cronenberged, baby Morty became a victim of the Cronenberg
plague, so Rick put him in stasis until he could find a cure.
Rick's final act of mercy was to euthanize the Cronenberg Morty, as the only "cure" was
to kill it.
After all, the problem got so bad that Rick had to abandon an entire planet because he
couldn't, or wouldn't, fix it.
Beth's real mother
Mum's the word for this theory, which argues that Beth's mother is actually the hive-mind
entity Unity, seen in the season two episode, "Auto Assimilation."
What if Rick's previous fling with Unity led to one of the entity's hosts, "an Earth-like
humanoid," getting pregnant?
Unity eventually left Rick—but not before separating from the pregnant host that would
become Beth's mother.
Which makes for a really, really weird situation to raise a child in, seeing as how Beth's
mother wasn't in control of her body when she met Rick or conceived a kid with him.
The theory supposes that Beth's real mother, now in control of her own body, would force
Rick to leave so she could bring up Beth by herself.
"I don't know if you can appreciate what it means to grow up without a father…"
Unity being Beth's real mother would also explain why it was so protective of Morty
and Summer when they visited its planet.
Treating them to endless hamburgers and sending in a special force team to rescue them wasn't
just because they're Rick's grandchildren; it was out of a deeper maternal instinct to
keep them out of harm's way.
Thanks, grandma.
Rick's self-awareness
The idea that Rick knows he's a part of a television show is one that has long circulated
throughout the Rick and Morty fan community, but does Rick's self-awareness go deeper than
simply acknowledging his two-dimensional existence?
Think about it: Rick understands that the only reason he's "alive" is because of a creator:
Dan Harmon, to be exact.
This notion grounds itself in the photo seen hanging on Rick's wall, which is a drawing
of Harmon.
Or maybe it's just a picture of Abradolph Linkler.
But only the smartest man in the universe would have a legit pic of God, right?
That is, if he's not in total denial.
"There is no god, Summer.
Gotta rip that band-aid off now, you'll thank me later."
The theory also explains why Rick drinks almost constantly and easily breaks the fourth wall.
"See you next week everybody!"
"I don't get it."
As a man of science, Rick turns to alcohol because he's unable to reconcile with there
being an actual God.
He knows he's being watched and understands that once people stop tuning in to Rick and
Morty, his world is destroyed forever.
Keeping the series alive is the only way to keep himself alive.
"Me and Rick and Morty running around!
Rick and Morty time!
All day long, forever, a hundred days, Rick and Morty forever, a hundred times."
There's something about Tricia
To Summer Smith, her classmate Tricia Lange is little more than her shiny brunette locks
and nice body, but she may be far more mysterious than she lets on.
What if Tricia is actually a Galactic Federation agent, just like Summer's old pal Tammy, sent
to dimension C-137 to spy on Rick to gain new intel after the falling-out and betrayal
that took place at the end of season two?
"In a lot of ways, what I really am… is a deep cover agent for the Galactic Federation
and you guys are a group of wanted criminals."
Knowing that they can no longer spy on the Sanchez-Smith family by befriending those
close to Rick, the Galactic Federation instructed Tricia to spend time with Summer's boyfriend
Ethan and become best friends with Morty's crush Jessica, allowing her to gather information
without seeming suspicious.
The theory notes that Tricia's vulgar language is exactly how Tammy spoke when she was working
undercover.
And though the theory doesn't mention this, it might be worth noting that Tammy and Tricia
are voiced by the same person.
Rick's real plan
Another popular Rick and Morty theory postulates that in the season three finale, Rick intended
to kill Morty, not Jerry.
The theory points to a particular moment in the episode that happens just after Morty
steals Rick's portal gun and takes Beth, Summer, and Jerry to a secluded cabin to hide from
Rick while he trashes the White House.
Though Morty believed his hiding spot to be unguessable by Rick, he ends up at the cabin's
doorstep, gun in hand, to greet everyone.
Beth, worried that she's actually a clone of herself, guesses that Rick brought the
gun to end her life.
Rick quickly clarifies.
"Beth you crazy bitch, you're my daughter.
I brought this here to kill Jerry."
"Jesus Christ."
That was just a cover-up for his true intentions.
The real threat isn't Jerry, but rather a Morty with his own portal gun.
Or even worse, an evil Morty with a portal gun, especially since Morty's been getting
smarter and smarter as the seasons progress.
When Rick sees the family is fine, he just shifts his anger towards Jerry.
Because really, he's Jerry.
"So take your attitude to the Men's section of K-Mart, cuz you need to cut me some slack...sss."
Too weird for words
And then there are the fan theories that are just too bizarre, or too unlikely to ever
be considered canonical.
For example, there's the insane idea that Rick's real ex-wife might be, get this, Miss
Frizzle from the Magic Schoolbus series, based on the idea that both fictional characters
explore the weirdest areas of space and the human body.
Okay.
"F--- em.
F--- those people.
F--- this whole thing, Ethan."
And what about the idea that Rick purposely abandoned his daughter to cause her to act
recklessly, get pregnant at a young age, ruin her life, and pop out a couple of brainwave-jamming
kids?
Sure, except Rick could probably just clone or kidnap whatever kind of Morty he wanted…
because he's Rick.
Fidget spinners?
In one half-baked theory, they're just this reality's version of the Gooble Box.
And ice cream?
It's basically the Rick & Morty version of the answer to every question in the universe,
because, well, they talk about it a lot.
"Well, why don't I get Beth and we'll go out for ice cream?"
"Jerry, this was the most romantic weekend I've ever had."
"Thanks to Coldstone Creamery."
"Uh…
I was gonna hop over to the Gloppy Drop system and get some ice cream."
"Fun facts about this one!
It's got giant telepathic spiders, 11 9/11s, aaaaand the best ice cream in the multiverse!"
And Galactic Federation Agent Tammy?
In one bonkers theory, she's actually Rick's long-lost, dimension-hopping granddaughter…
based almost exclusively on the fact that Tammy has a similar hair color to Jerry.
Whoever came up with this one, well…
"In reality, you're as dumb as they come."
Pretty dumb.
"You know what?
Too bad!"
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