You’ve heard about this if you’re a real Rick and Morty fan. Just as it tends to happen with most successful Sci-fi TV shows and movies, fans engage with the content and hunt for hidden clues that may signal which way the characters or stories will go in future seasons. This is a breeding ground for fan theories. Some simple, and others so complex you can’t help but think that the person writing them could cure cancer if they put in half the time and effort they invested in obsessively watching cartoons.
With its deeply philosophic storylines, complex characters, and brilliantly fucked up jokes that make it impossible not to laugh, it was only a matter of time for scholarly geeks everywhere to come up with hypotheses about Rick and Morty. So here’s our selection of three great hypotheses you need to know before the third season arrives later this month. One simple, one moderately complex, and one that is just batshit cray cray. You’ve probably seen more already, especially those proposed in a Dorkly article that went viral about a year ago, which has fueled many long, intricate conversations between me and my RaM bros.
So prepare your plumbuses, people, things get whacky from here on out.
*Spoilers ahead*
1. Rick knows he’s on a TV show
Ever wondered why a genius with superpowers (traveling through the multiverse, creating universes of his own, beating the crap out of none other than the Devil himself, and so on and so forth) and infinite freedom would battle with depression? He drinks, his catch phrase “Wubba lubba dub dub” translates into “I am in great pain”, and he almost killed himself after Unity broke up with him. This contrasts with the nihilistic character that we know and love, who seems at ease with the meaninglessness of life. So why would he care enough to want to kill himself?
Perhaps the reason is that this goes beyond a simple existential crisis. Maybe he knows he’s in a TV show. It makes sense: he breaks the fourth wall, has a TV catchphrase, is obsessed with interdimensional cable, and and has a picture of Dan Harmon (the series creator) hanging from the wall of his lab. It’s one thing to find out that there is no God, but it’s completely different to know your entire existence is dictated by a couple of bearded chubby dudes that wrote you as a parody of Back to the Future. Actually, I take that back. That sounds awesome.
2. We don’t follow the same Rick and Morty every episode
Weird stuff happens in the RaM universe. Things that happen one episode seem to be forgotten by the next. New characters appear, like Mr. Poopybutthole, but the main characters act as though they’ve been there all along. At first it might seem like a matter of storytelling structure, as though each episode stands on its own. But what if it’s not the case? What if there’s more? Please let there be more. There seems to be more.
In “Mortynight Run,” Rick and Morty can’t go on their weekly adventure because Jerry tagged along unnoticed by Rick. This forces the alcoholic scientist to take him to the hilariously cool Jerry day-care, Jerryboree. This place is designed so Ricks can leave their Jerrys in a friendly environment where they can adjust TVs and hang out with other simple-minded Jerrys. The Ricks get a receipt for their Jerry so they can reclaim them later on. The thing is that at the end of the episode, our Rick (from universe C-137) actually gets the wrong Jerry back. The theory states that some green crystals that appear on this episode then reappear further along in the season in the episode that features the infamous Mr. Poopybutthole and the mind-controlling alien parasites, proving that it takes place in a universe that’s not C-137. Talk about attention to detail. This just reinforces my newfound belief that having Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon as gods wouldn’t be bad at all. At least everything would be neat and structured.
3. Rick and Morty is all about ice cream
Ah, Tumblr, where would the internet be without your whacky little self? One of the craziest theories about the show circling around the internet was put together by Tumblr user, A Whole Croissant, and he really put the freak on. According to him, divinity takes the form of a creamy dessert in Rick and Morty, and there’s evidence to support his claims. You see, there are several moments in the show where ice cream makes an appearance and seems to be much more significant than one would thought. In “Anatomy Park” after the characters survive a poop-valanche and sit in a theater awaiting their impending doom, Morty and Annie spend their theoretical final moments alive making out. Meanwhile Dr. Xenon Bloom chooses to devour ice cream, as though he knew this was a greater experience than any other.
Furthermore, in “The Ricks Must Be Crazy”, Rick, Morty, and Summer travel to a universe best known for its telepathic spiders and amazing ice cream. After nearly getting killed, Rick still takes the time to enjoy a few scoops of divine sugary cream and says: “See, Morty, this is what it’s aaaaall about.” A Whole Croissant puts forth the theory that maybe Earth is the only planet with quality ice cream, which has elevated the simple commodity into a divine object, respected throughout the universe. It’s insane, I know, but there’s just about enough evidence to kind of see it as maybe being true.
That settles it. If I wasn’t convinced before, I definitely am now. There’s no argument against living in a universe created and controlled by a Harmon/Roiland if ice cream is considered a holy meal. If only I had a portal gun to make that dream a reality.
If you enjoyed that, check out some drug references in your childhood cartoons and some Japanese animated films you can analyze yourself.
Sources:
Dorkly
Inverse
A Whole Croissant
