Rick and Morty Season 7 Episode 5 Review

Join Swimpedia as we review the fifth episode of Rick and Morty Season 7 with major spoilers.

[MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD]

Rick and Morty has made its stance on continuity and lore clear over the years, but at the same time, the show has a deep respect for its characters and their rich histories, so the lore aspects of the show have never truly gone away. This week, we are treated to one of the most fan-servicey episodes yet, as Rick finally faces off against Rick Prime, and Evil Morty rejoins the show.

The episode begins with Evil Morty’s origin and a quick recap of the character’s journey throughout the first 5 seasons. We learn here that Evil Morty’s backstory wasn’t quite as epic as one may think, he was simply a smarter Morty who got sick of the abuse hurled at him from his Rick, and the motivation to escape all that is what drove him to take down the Citadel. Now that he’s escaped, Evil Morty is just trying to live his life, in a remote space station nestled within the Central Finite Curve. We briefly see him venture outside of the CFC at the beginning, where we learn that thousands of alien races are constantly learning portal travel, and constantly getting killed due to their underestimation of what portal travel can do. We even see a Jetsons-inspired family, showing us that characters can exist in the Rick and Morty multiverse with a different art style when outside the Central Finite Curve. Our Rick and Morty quickly disturb his relative peace however, and he is brought into conflict with them once again. While we HAVE previously seen Evil Morty briefly interact with our Rick and Morty before, this is the first time the three are truly able to interact for a substantial amount of time, and it adds another layer of dimension to Evil Morty. Rick and Evil Morty’s dynamic takes center stage here, as Evil Morty provides a perfect foil to Rick. He’s a Morty who’s arguably as smart, if not smarter than him. He’s a Morty who Rick can’t push around, and that really gets to him. Still, Rick recognizes his potential as far greater than his own Morty’s, a great subtle moment later in the episode features Rick angrily asking Evil Morty “You brought Morty?” Rick cares about his grandson, but he recognizes this “evil” grandson is something special, someone just as capable as himself.

When we catch up with them, our Rick and Morty are currently in the middle of a scheme to draw out Rick Prime, the man who killed Rick’s original Diane and Beth. The season 6 premiere established Rick Prime both as Morty’s biological grandfather, and as Rick’s true nemesis. Season 6 teased a seasons-long arc with this character, and this was the first time since that episode where it truly began to pay off. Rick gets too close, which lands him and the Mortys inside a “roach motel” for Ricks, where we learn that at some point, Rick Prime used an invention called the Omega Device to simultaneously kill every single Diane everywhere, across at least every dimension in the Central Finite Curve. Rick and Evil Morty team up and use their combat skills and cybernetic body mods to eliminate the other Ricks, before combining their intellects (and portal guns!) to escape. Rick leaves behind the Mortys to go confront Rick Prime, but Evil Morty follows anyway, bringing along Morty with him. Evil Morty quickly recognizes the potential of the Omega Device, not as a method of killing Ricks, but as a method of being left alone. Evil Morty’s goals are entirely to escape the cycle of Rick and Morty, and as he puts it, killing all Ricks everywhere would lead to him dealing with “a bunch of vengeful Summers”.

Rick Prime was previously introduced to us as someone who “truly doesn’t give a shit”, but this episode proves that even within the most evil of Ricks, there is an inherent desire for love and connection with his family. After a brutal fight, Rick Prime seems poised to win, until he is caught off guard by Evil Morty pretending to be Morty. Rick Prime is taken aback at the notion of meeting his real grandson for the first time without any intermediating parties. He awkwardly offers to quickly put his grandson down, but this moment of hesitation allows Evil Morty to disable Rick Prime’s body mods. He revives Rick, and gives him what he’s always wanted: an opportunity for revenge. Rick Prime’s body mods are disabled, his clones and backups eliminated. Rick finally exacts the revenge he’s been searching decades for, as he savagely beats Rick Prime to death. However, Rick’s single-minded desire for revenge allows Evil Morty to escape with the Omega Device. Rick Prime’s final bargain for his life before giving in to taunts is to tell Rick that Evil Morty is getting away with the Omega Device and could kill anyone Rick cares about across infinity the next time he’s “mad at Grandpa,” but at this moment, nothing else matters for Rick. It’s one of the most brutal scenes of the entire series, and it represents a true turning point for both Rick and the show.

Years ago, Rick and Morty was announced to have been renewed for 70 more episodes. This is episode 35 of those 70, the exact halfway point, and Rick accomplished a series finale level goal, but walks away from it totally unscathed. Most stories that reach this point would end with the hero dying as he takes revenge on the man who ruined his life, but not here. Rick and Morty return to Summer, Jerry and the Beths, and things go back to normal as Rick realizes with horror that he’s got the rest of his life ahead of him, with no purpose. On any other show, this episode would have been the series finale, but Rick and Morty prides itself on subverting expectations, and this is the perfect way to subvert the “man driven by revenge” trope, to have him get his revenge halfway through the story, and be left with the rest of his life to live. Who is Rick without this revenge motivating him? The show still has at least three and a half seasons to answer that question.