Abhiroop Das
Co-created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, Adult Swim’s sci-fi comedy series ‘Rick and Morty‘ steps into its ninth season with bigger stakes than ever, as it is now time to rip the band-aid off and tackle some old wounds. With Rick definitively beating his prime variant and then swearing to be a better parent and grandparent, there isn’t much left to disturb the Smith family’s idyllic life. However, as Rick begins spending more time in the lab by himself, Morty naturally gets curious. What he doesn’t know, however, is that his grandpa has been working with arguably the last person he should even wish to see. Episode 1 of the season, titled ‘There’s Something About Morty,’ begins with a blast from the past, only to create waves across the entire multiverse, now and beyond. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Rick Has Been Hiding Something From Morty
‘Rick and Morty’ season 9 episode 1 begins with almost too much peace in the air, as the eponymous duo seems to have settled into a much healthier lifestyle ever since the fall of Prime Rick and the exit of Memory Rick. All of this, however, turns out to be a farce that is barely being held together by Rick when Morty catches him texting someone with much enthusiasm. As the duo fights over the phone, it buzzes out of their grip and flashes the latest text message from none other than Evil Morty, the deviant of the Central Finite Curve, who promised to wreak havoc if chased after again. As it turns out, that vow was short-lived, and of late, he has been meeting up with our Rick for covert multiversal operations.
Morty is particularly distraught when he hears of this secret collaboration, less so because it’s with the evil variant of himself, but because he believes that Rick didn’t find him worthy of being clued in on some level. Though Rick tries to damage control by framing all of this as an emotionally detached, pragmatic exercise, Evil Morty cannot help but add fuel to the fire, revealing that the duo often chats about high-level stuff. Just as Morty struggles to deal with this newfound isolation, his Evil variant reveals the monster of the week: an all-consuming entity known as the Collective. As a multiversal threat, it has the ability to not just devour anything it touches, but also turn it into an extension of itself, and Evil Morty fears what that would mean if the entity bites into the portal gun.
Rick, Morty, and Evil Morty Take Down a Universe-Eating Giant
Though the Collective doesn’t have any known weaknesses, Rick and Evil Morty plan to swoop by it and get a sample that they can then analyze. However, things get slightly more troublesome when Morty forces his way in as well, requiring a special damage-proof suit to even sit in the same aircraft as his other two, who are far more competent. The trio lands next to the Collective right as it devours an entire planet, converting everything alive into one of its hive-minded minions. Nonetheless, Rick doesn’t have a hard time dodging its tentacles and leaves just enough room for Evil Morty to sample the Collective and figure out an antidote that can be applied to the aircraft and themselves.
What follows is an all-out action sequence that, unfortunately, ends with Rick getting ingested, but not absorbed. Though Morty and Evil Morty try to dress up as one of the Collective’s underlings, Morty is the first to get caught, along with the explosives that he was setting up. However, that turns out to be Evil Morty’s plan all along, as the explosives themselves are just carriers for a virus that is set to self-consume. By consuming it and its properties, as such, the Collective also begins a never-ending pattern of consuming itself, till all that remains is a crystallized USB drive that Evil Morty pockets in. Though this is technically a win, Morty can’t help but feel like dead weight, or worse, a third wheel.
Morty Figures Out Evil Morty’s Real Intentions
After the big fight, the trio heads to an interstellar diner to treat themselves, but it is here that Evil Morty’s real intentions begin to emerge in flashes. Morty believes that a part of Evil Morty craves Rick’s attention and is willing to practically steal him from Morty if need be. Though Rick seems oblivious to all of this, the implications horrify Morty to no end, prompting him to double down and challenge Evil Morty openly, starting by getting Rick out of there as quickly as possible. Evil Morty, still assured of his eventual victory, leisurely sips on his milkshakes, not knowing that back in his home verse, Rick has already destroyed the Omega Device, the one bargaining chip that had been keeping the fight going.
As a refresher, the Omega Device grants Evil Morty the ability to wipe out any entity across all of its variations in the universe, but now, without it, he has no means of blackmailing Rick into servitude. Turns out, this had been Rick’s plan from the start, and the sole reason that he had been alienating Morty and pretending to be friendly with his evil variant. Back home, Rick immediately goes into war mode, shifting the entire Smith residence to a specialized bunker verse, which is armed to the teeth in just about every cranny. Even better, Rick tells the entire family about Morty’s stun gun having a cooldown period, which is the only time they can jump him.
Evil Morty is Tricked by Rick and Sent Straight to Time Jail
Though the plan seems ironclad at first, Evil Morty still manages to find a way past the space defenses. With the fight now officially transported to the bunker verse, bullets, rockets, and explosives fill up the entire city as everything goes up in flames except for Rick and Evil Morty. The latter’s space shield seems to be powerful enough to even the scales, which ultimately turns this into a one-on-one fight between the arch nemesis. As Rick burns through several robot bodies while barely even nicking Evil Morty, it is surprisingly Morty himself who lands a clutch blow, simultaneously confronting Evil Morty about his emotional issues. However, just when the Smith family joins the fight and rains down punches and kicks, Evil Morty pulls out his ultimate move: a time-stopping device.
As it turns out, it’s Rick who showed Evil Morty the blueprint for this time-stopper, and it didn’t take Evil Morty long to bring it from paper to reality. Even this, however, turns out to be a part of Rick’s plan, as the moment the button is pressed, every time cop in the vicinity storms the bunkerverse at once, forcing Evil Morty to submit. As he gets arrested, Morty gets his final words in, heralding himself as the definitive Morty of this universe. Of course, all of this is to gain his grandpa’s affirmation, despite Rick confirming one too many times that he never had any real interest in Evil Morty, and the grandson he lives with is the one he cares for the most.
Read More: Is Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed Based on a True Story?
You must be logged in to post a comment.