WhileRick and Morty’s season 6 Christmas special wasn’t a perfect festive outing, the episode did set up one of the show’s most surprising twists.Rick and Morty’s season 7 endingwas one of the show’s most acclaimed episodes ever, earning its bestIMDbrating in years. However, season 6’s finale didn’t earn as much praise, perhaps thanks to its messier, less self-contained storyline. Where season 7’s “Fear No Mort” was an ingeniously plotted standalone adventure, season 6, episode 10, “Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation,” relied on elements from earlier episodes for its serialized storyline to make sense.
Rick and Morty Season 8’s Teases The Return Of An Iconic Sci-Fi Franchise Parody That Led To A Hugely Underrated Episode 4 Years Ago
Rick and Morty’s first season 8 teaser animatic hints at a perfectly timed parody of one iconic sci-fi series, but this could be a misdirection.
It is not yet clear ifRick and Mortyseason 8will bring back the show’s experiments with serialization, but this quality made “Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation” feel like more of a stopgap than a fully realized story. AfterRick and Morty’s season 5 finale revealed the truth about Rick’s backstory, season 6 was mostly spent hyping up his nemesis, Rick Prime. At first, “Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation” seemed like a silly Christmas episode to distract from this darker plot, but the outing secretly set upRick and Morty’s Rick Prime deathfive episodes early in its plot.
Rick and Morty Season 6 Episode 10 Focused On Rick’s Pursuit Of Rick Prime
Rick’s Nemesis Indirectly Ruined Rick and Morty’s Christmas
AlthoughRick and Morty’s season 6 Christmas special made it seem like the search for Rick Prime would define the rest of the series, this plot only lasted a few more episodes. In “Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation,” the show paid off a gag set up in the opening scene of the preceding episode, “A Rick in King Mortur’s Mort.” This goofy outing saw Rick in an unusually collaborative mood, helping Morty become the king of the Knights of the Sun and eventually helping him escape them when proceedings inevitably took a turn for the worse. The next episode explained why.
The Rick seen in both “A Rick in King Mortur’s Mort” and the opening scenes of “Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation” was really a robotic clone.
After Rick gifted Morty a functioning lightsaber for Christmas, Morty immediately dropped it vertically into the ground and endangered the earth’s core as a result. This led to the revelation that the Rick seen in both “A Rick in King Mortur’s Mort” and the opening scenes of “Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation” was really a robotic clone that Rick used to replace himself. Rick did this so he could devote all of his time to tracking down Rick Prime, a twist that implied the character would define the show’s ensuing seasons.Rick and Morty’s dark Mr. Poopybutthole jokereaffirmed this.
Rick & Morty’s Christmas Special Ending Promised The Rick Prime Story Would Last Years
Rick’s Pursuit Of Rick Prime Seemed Destined To Be A Lengthy One
After a disquieting closing scene where a manic Rick warned Morty that they may spend untold years searching for Rick Prime across the universe, the post-credits stinger of “Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation” doubled down on the episode’s bleak mood. The troubled Mr. Poopybutthole was seen for the first time since season 5’s sad stinger, and he revealed that he had started obsessively exercising to get over his wife Amy leaving him.Mr. Poopybutthole’s obsessive working out mirrored Rick’s search for Rick Prime, so the sight of him gruesomely snapping his legs in a failed squat was discouraging for viewers.
Rick didn’t think anything of secretly replacing himself with a robot clone so he could spend less time with his loved ones and more time hunting down Rick Prime.
The implication appeared to be that Rick’s obsession with finally finding Rick Prime would inevitably end up costing him his sanity, his life, or his relationship with the Smith family. AfterRick and Morty’s Thanksgiving episodestarted the show’s slow slide toward a darker tone, “Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation” revealed the debilitating depths of Rick’s obsession with his enemy. Rick didn’t think anything of secretly replacing himself with a robot clone so he could spend less time with his loved ones and more time hunting down Rick Prime, which bode badly for his future. Or at least, so it seemed.
Rick and Morty Killed Off Rick Prime Only 5 Episodes Later
Rick Didn’t Even Hunt Down His Nemesis In The End
Much to the audience’s surprise,Rick and Mortykilled off Rick Prime for good only five episodes after “Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation.”Considering Rick promised that he would sacrifice anything in his attempts to kill the villain, episodes 1-4 of season 7 were surprisingly standardRick and Mortyoutings. Focusing on Morty struggling with the ethics of eating spaghetti made out of humanoid aliens and Mr. Popybutthole getting over his divorce with a wild night out, these episodes proved that Rick’s supposed single-minded dedication to hunting down his enemy was a major exaggeration in the ending of “Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation.”
In a twist that evenRick and Morty’s best episode in yearscouldn’t outdo, Rick Prime’s death didn’t actually come about via Rick’s attempts to hunt him down. Instead, it was Rick who inadvertently walked into one of Rick Prime’s traps after Evil Morty sought out Rick and Morty to warn them about the villain’s plans. Evil Morty helped Rick get the upper hand on Rick Prime and, in a shocking twist, Rick managed to turn his enemy’s trap on him and defeat the villain. Season 7, episode 5, “Unmortricken,” ended with a furious Rick beating Rick Prime to death.
Rick and Morty Killing Off Rick Prime Saved The Series
The ending of “Unmortricken” was the best Rick Prime death thatRick and Mortycould have offered, primarily because the moment came as a complete surprise. “Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation” made it clear that the show was willing to spend years focusing on Rick’s attempts to defeat his enemy, only for the following four episodes to never even mention Rick Prime. When he did reappear, he put up a solid fight and was defeated only because the show’s two smartest characters, Evil Morty and Rick, were willing to work together for the first time. This made the character’s death itself ideal.
As such, it was a welcome shock when “Unmortricken” suddenly killed off the villain, leaving Rick and Morty season 8 free to follow another storyline.
Rick Prime’s death means thatRick and Mortyseason 8’s storycan focus on anything now that the series has successfully ended its longest-running plotline. Rick’s backstory was a mystery for five full seasons and, when it was finally revealed by season 5’s finale, it took another full season before Rick openly committed to seeking out Rick Prime and trying to kill him above all else. As such, it was a welcome shock when “Unmortricken” suddenly killed off the villain, leavingRick and Mortyseason 8 free to follow another storyline despite what the show’s last Christmas episode implied.
