Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon created the adult animated science fiction sitcom Rick and Morty for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim evening programming block. The series depicts the antics of Rick Sanchez, a sarcastic mad scientist, and his good-hearted but worried grandson Morty Smith, who divide their time between family life and interdimensional adventures.
Adult Swim created the fifth season of the animated television sitcom Rick and Morty. It’s made up of ten episodes, part of the 70 ordered by Adult Swim once the show was renewed in 2018. Justin Roiland plays both of the titular characters in the series. The season began on June 20, 2021, and will conclude on September 5, 2021.
This season has had its ups and down however, many shocking revelations have been made along with having fun crossovers with other well known pop culture giants such as the Hellraiser franchise have also graced the episodes.
In this article we will dive deep into some of the crazy reveals and fan theories along with predicting what the season finale special has in store for us. The finale has been delayed but we expect it to really bring the heat and tie up the lose ends of the season.
The many crossovers of season 5
Season 5 had its fair share of crossovers and references as usual however, the one that stands out are the crossover with the infamous Cenobites of hellraiser in episode 5. Everyone took notice when the Cenobites suddenly appeared in Rick and Morty and were also successfully defeated by Beth and Rick while they attempted to rescue Jerry from their clutches in hell. We see different types of Cenobites along with their typical blurred lines when it comes to pain and pleasure and we also see Beth and Rick dress up as the infamous horror villains as they make their way through hell.
Rick is also seen interacting with a variety of anime characters from this universe’s version of Voltron, obviously indicating that the mad scientist granddad has overstepped his bounds and created a slew of foes in the process in season 5 episode 7. In addition to these anime references, the season also contains Easter Eggs that include warped versions of Marvel’s Submariner, and Transformers, to name a few.
Is Beth dead or Alive?
‘Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Mort’ packs in more backstory than the rest of season 5 combined after eight episodes. There’s one sequence in particular that, without hyperbole, completely transforms our perceptions of Rick and Morty.
The action begins when Rick enters Birdperson’s consciousness to assist in his reanimation. Sure, Sanchez could hang out with any of the unlimited number of Birdmen in any of the infinite realities. Rick, on the other hand, chooses to keep the original form of someone he cares about. And it quickly becomes clear that this is significantly more crucial than you might assume.
Rick sees a younger version of himself in Birdperson’s head among all the “Charlie Kaufman nonsense.” Hippie Rick, as he will be known from now on, is made up of memories shared by our Rick and Birdperson. It doesn’t take long for them to run upon two Ricks with “sci-fi haircuts” who exclaim, “Killing us won’t bring her back!”
Without more information, it appears that these Ricks, who are most likely from the now-defunct Council of Ricks, are referring to Rick’s ex-wife, Diane Sanchez. Five seasons later, her absence from the programme remains a mystery, and all we have to go on is a possibly false memory from season three that suggests the Council killed Diane by sending a bomb through a portal.
The episode moves on fast from this, but Rick hasn’t. So, Rick’s original Beth, his biological daughter, isn’t the Beth we met at the start of the episode, before her world was Cronenbergized. That also means that the two Beths we’ve met since then, including Space Beth, aren’t his original Beths.
Rick’s real daughter has been dead for a long time. In a desperate attempt to hold on to what he’d lost, our Rick moved in with other versions of Beth from around the multiverse at some time. Hippie Rick claims that he isn’t the only one who has done this.
This could also explain why Rick thought it was okay to clone Beth in the first place, as well as why he couldn’t tell which one was the actual one. Because neither Beth is, in his eyes, his Beth. Beth is no longer with him, and he will never be able to bring her back.
Were Summer and Morty ever born?
Considering the fact that we probably just found out that the real Beth died when she was just a little child, the real Summer and Morty never existed. Rick has been going on adventures with his hypothetical grandson and living with a ‘fake’ family all these years which is further confirmed when he himself calls Morty his ‘hypothetical grandson’.
This further plays into the narrative that Rick is at the end of the day a rather sad and lonely man regardless of his raging God Complex as is seen in the show. He goes on adventures with a grandson that he deep down knows isn’t real because his experiment killed his wife and young daughter who never got to grow up and have a family of her own.
Why do the other Ricks hate Rick?
When Rick’s younger self insults his show self with the line “you’re one of those creeps who moves in with abandoned adult Beths,” Rick validates a popular fan belief. This casual remark implies that Rick is not definitely Beth’s biological father, but rather another Rick from another realm who has moved in with Beth. Meanwhile, the younger Rick’s dismissive attitude demonstrates that such behaviour is both common and prohibited among Ricks.
This helps to explain some of Rick’s self-hatred over the last five seasons, as the ostensible genius has been plagued by insecurity and self-doubt, which could have been caused by his decision to seek out a compliant Beth to redeem himself. Long-time fans of Rick & Morty may be surprised to learn that Rick was never Beth’s biological father, him having switched dimensions before. Rick & Morty’s lighthearted approach to canon and continuity has constantly muddled the series’ timeline, with the show abandoning multiple entire universes over the first four seasons. As a result, Rick’s most shocking escapade is not abandoning one family and finding another.
Hearing one Rick tell another that his decision to move in with Beth and impose himself on her family is seen as parasitic and pathetic by other versions of the same character throws his actions in a new perspective, and turns the comedic antihero into a darker figure. Throughout the show, Rick Sanchez remains charmingly amoral, but “Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Morts” reveals a grief behind his crazy antics. The line reveals a callousness toward his own family that hasn’t been shown since Rick & Morty’s season 4 conclusion, explaining why even other Ricks are so dismissive of him.
Birdperson comes back to life and has a child?!
Rick enters Birdperson’s thoughts to figure out why he isn’t acting normally and how he can resurrect Birdperson’s original mind. Birdperson distanced himself from Rick after Rick expressed affection for him and told him that existence was pointless because he could transport them to endless realms with the portal pistol, according to memories. Rick learns that Birdperson and Tammy have a daughter, who the Federation has blocked from Birdperson’s memory. They track down Birdperson’s central body, where he is blissfully unaware of Tammy’s betrayal, savouring his love with her.
They are pursued by alternate versions of Tammy and Birdperson, and they only manage to flee after Tammy confesses that she loves him more than the Federation. Birdperson awakens in the real world and sets out to locate his daughter. This also complicates the relationship between Rick and Birdperson because Birdperson realises that Rick knew about his child but never told him up until it would benefit himself. Birdperson calls Rick out on his selfish behaviour.
We know that this does in fact hurt Rick because Birdperson is most possibly the only other being that he truly respects and considers his friend.
What can we expect from the finale special?
The advertising revealing the show would go on hiatus for several weeks leading up to the season finale was the rather shocking moment for all Rick and Morty fans. The super-sized Season 5 finale will run on Adult Swim on September 5 at 11 p.m., according to a promo that played after Season 5 Episode 5.
Morty returns from a solo journey through a green portal without Rick’s knowledge. We see him carrying one of Rick’s weapons on his back. Morty replaces the Portal Gun’s fuel canister with lime soda after Rick has marked it. After Rick confronts him, they fight, and the eventual result is that Rick will ostensibly “replace” Morty with someone chosen by a very demeaning prize wheel.
Among the possibilities are: Will it be Sentient Shit with half a Paul Giamatti and a bag of meat, or will it be half a Paul Giamatti and a bag of meat? The voice-over questions ominously, “Who is Rick without Morty?” “Watch the one-hour season finale to find out.” Isn’t that a little foreboding?
Although the promo calls it a “one-hour season finale,” a video released on Twitter in May 2021 showcasing all of Season 5’s episode names displays separate titles for Episodes 9 and 10. Unless something strange is happening and Episode 10 is an epilogue, Episode 9 is titled “Forgetting Sarick Mortshall” and Episode 10 is titled “Rickmurai Jack.”
Adult Swim may be airing the episodes back-to-back as a two-parter and labelling it an hourlong season finale when, in truth, they’re individual episodes with an overarching plot. This would be a first for Rick and Morty.
The episode titles are clear references to the films Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Samurai Jack.
Jason Segel’s inept but loving guitarist is abandoned by famed actress Sarah Marshall in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a brilliantly irreverent romantic comedy (played by Kristen Bell). Then, while on a recuperation trip to Hawaii, he runs across Sarah and her new beau. There are a lot of shenanigans that happen. Could this be Morty finally getting over Jessica in this episode? Or perhaps Rick is getting over one of his several interdimensional ex-girlfriends?
Samurai Jack is a popular animated series created by Genndy Tartakovsky that follows the titular hero, a time-traveling warrior. He fights his way through a dark future in order to return to the past and undo the wicked wizard Aku’s destruction. Rick and Morty were previously featured in an animated short set in a samurai setting, which was released by Adult Swim. Is it possible that the Season 5 finale will make that video canon?
All we can do is speculate and wait till the season finale actually does come out. This season has given us a lot to look at and think about however, I would recommend you to go back and watch the 8 released episodes once again because as it is with Rick and Morty, you’ll always catch a little tidbit that you missed on your first watch that will make the experience even better. And what better way to prepare for a finale special!