Rick and Morty

I figured that they were gonna split the three entrees between them.

yeah, that and I'm torn between "rick is a depressed string bean of a man and needs the calories" and "Morty is 13 and masturbates a lot ends up in life or death situations constantly, he probably needs the calories more."

They might have also just skipped lunch that day or something and felt hungrier as a result. I've been there.

The human brain expends more calories than any other body part, and Rick's brain works overtime.

Edited by Anomalocaris20 on Dec 19th 2023 at 3:16:40 PM

So, if Rick's brain/body operates on the same rules as L's, is he constantly half-a-step away from starvation?

Man though, I think this is the first Morty episode I can think of that didn't have civilization-ending consequences. Hell no one technically even died.

It's one of the few episodes where neither Rick nor Morty fucked something up.

Mr. Poopybutthole otoh...

If Rick does have higher caloric requirements than most humans (and wasn't just feeling extra hungry due to skipping a meal or something), it's probably due to his various cybernetic implants. If those things run on Rick's own energy, then he has to fuel them somehow.

Edited by M84 on Dec 20th 2023 at 3:25:26 AM

The reason Rick didn't have these fancy cybernetics until Season 3 or so is because he couldn't decide what means of powering them was more convenient/pleasant

I also just figured they made a big order out of spite for Hole Guy's apparent joke.

Thinking about it, Morty's fear about being replaceable is really horrifying considering the existential state he's in.

Absolutely nothing about his life is the original. His family has been replaced a couple times, he's moved to different realities, and Rick isn't his own grandpa. He is the only constant in his own life and this probably ties into why he fears being expendable.

The fear in the possibility that no matter how little, Rick will ultimately replace him like everything else in life and this fuels his desire to stay with Rick and placate him despite his awareness of how disastrous he is.

Edited by slimcoder on Dec 22nd 2023 at 5:02:11 AM

I was worried because as horrible as it is I feared something would be lost without Justin Roiland. I guess the writers were the ones responsible for the quality and appeal of the show. This sort of writing is AMAZING to see.

Note that Rick outright says to the Diane simulacrum that she is the ONLY thing he could never replace. Which would just reinforce Morty’s concerns over being expendable.

And since that Rick was also an illusion, this was exactly what the Hole intended.

This fear was also foreshadowed in earlier episodes. Remember him asking Rick if he was just bait to lure in Rick Prime.

Edited by M84 on Dec 22nd 2023 at 9:03:44 PM

simulacrum-magical clone in case anyone was scratching their head

I wish Summer had more screentime this season.

They consistently don't give Summer much in the way of screentime, as in she's generally lucky to have one episode per season.

I like how this seasons sums up that both Summer and Morty crave Rick's attention, but Morty at least has some self-awareness of how toxic it is.

Meanwhile Summer has been shown time and time again that she unironically looks up to Rick and aspires to be exactly like him.

A big difference is that ultimately Morty's dependence on Rick was constructed by Rick, while Summer wants to be his lackey of her own voluntary decision.

Edited by slimcoder on Dec 24th 2023 at 3:03:04 AM

Honestly I like that the fear hole isn’t malevolent. It does exactly what it says it would do, and when Morty finally confronted his deepest fear it thanked him for the meal and tossed him out.

Edited by OmegaRadiance on Dec 24th 2023 at 3:21:59 AM

so basically the fear hole is a demon,kind of?

Which likely plays into it. Morty knows he's primarily a lackey, that Rick might love him but ultimately he's allied with him because it's easy. He knows he's not really "empowered" around Rick and only really gets equal say when he fights for it.

Summer on the other hand lacks that deliberation, meaning Rick is going out of his way to associate with her most of the time he does, be it genuine love or just manipulation. Combined with Summer being relatively less of a Butt-Monkey than Morty because of Rick, she gets more thrill off of being around him. That she gets little tasters without as much of the horrific involvement Morty's longer term companionship undergoes.

Edited by Psi001 on Dec 24th 2023 at 12:38:11 PM

It ties in that since Morty knows Rick best, that means he's experienced Rick at his best but also at his absolute worst.

Morty has seen the levels of total cruelty that the rest of the family probably has not experienced.

It's why I go to the vat of acid episode. Those are the moments the family don't see, whether it's going with Summer on a drug fueled party-fest on 3 worlds about to die, or roping the family in the whole Gotron thing.

The vat of acid plan is Rick fucking up, not even in an impressive way but in a "Wow that's just stupid" reaction. And when Morty calls him out on it, Rick responds in the most horrifingly spiteful and petty way possible.

Like Rick can be mean, but chances are no one has had Rick trick them into such a traumatizing situation just to get some payback for criticizing a bad idea. Only Morty is subjected to it, because he is the only one in the family who can truly be considered Rick's equal.

Edited by slimcoder on Dec 24th 2023 at 6:31:51 AM

Morty's just a really forgiving person when it comes to Rick.

Well, most Mortys are. <looks at Evil Morty>

Edit:

It's not surprising that the last couple of seasons in particular have addressed Morty's concerns of being expendable to Rick. This really kicked off after he found out the reason C-137 Rick even ended up in his garage in the first place was because he was hunting down Morty's original grandfather, Rick Prime. He even asked Rick if he was just bait, with Rick's answer not being all that reassuring. Rick denied it on the grounds that Rick Prime wouldn't give a shit about Morty (or anyone else) and thus Morty can't be bait.

Edited by M84 on Dec 24th 2023 at 10:31:48 PM

I think it's interesting how they play off Morty's "empathy", there's this constant delving in several episodes whether Morty is genuinely good natured or only so because he lacks the spine to just shrug it all off. Whether he's just Rick but without the charisma and pure ruthlessness to go the extra mile.

"Healthy" Morty shows he considers his empathy toxic (and even then "Toxic" Morty I wouldn't say is shown to be exceptionally nice or selfless despite being pitiful).

I also think it was what made Evil Morty's backstory intriguing. There wasn't some exceptionally nasty moment of abuse from his Rick that pushed him too far, Rick just made some innocuous ramble that made Evil Morty realise he didn't need to put up with him. Evil Morty essentially pulled a You Have Outlived Your Usefulness.

I think that might be what makes showcasing Morty's attachment to Rick and fear of leaving him so meaningful, it suggests there is something that subverts this about him, that he does want to be around Rick.

Edited by Psi001 on Dec 24th 2023 at 2:43:40 PM

Something interesting to note about Summer's comment that Morty "gets everything handed to him" is that its fairly untrue.

Morty's position is less a partner and more of a guinea pig. Rick generally has no problem subjecting Morty to whatever new discovery no matter how horrific or any whim he has for amusement. The fact he sometimes rewards Morty for subjecting him to life-ending scenarios really doesn't make up for it.

The Observer episode is a good showing of this. While one flashback shows Rick giving Morty a bunch of guns for no reason, another has Rick tricking him into licking Ape-borg's nose just to fulfil a bet. So keep in mind that while Rick does nice stuff for Morty from time to time, its probably after Morty nearly died or got humiliated after some painful trek cause Rick wanted to discover ice-cream flavored spit or see if this bacteria can turn you into an elephant.

Meaning really Summer has it easy, according to the Kuato episode all she does is some odd chores for him and he gives her a gadget she wants. While the chores are fairly dangerous (exorcising evil spirits or feeding the planet monster that attacks Rick), they are comparatively far easier to handle than the Russian Roulette of bullshit Morty has to deal with. Especially since Rick probably gives Summer some instructions on how to do these chores, while Rick will lie, manipulate, and withhold information to get Morty to do what he wants.

Edited by slimcoder on Dec 24th 2023 at 7:12:13 AM

I think the difference is that everything Morty does and endures is part of the adventures he goes on with Rick. By contrast, everything Summer does and endures...are chores.

With Morty it's all really weird and messed up family bonding with Rick. With Summer it's a strictly transactional arrangement where she does odd jobs.

While what Summer has to do is less dangerous and degrading, it's also a lot more like work compared to what Morty does with Rick.

Edited by M84 on Dec 24th 2023 at 11:16:41 PM

Also Hole-Rick told Morty right from the start that Diane is there because Morty is afraid that Rick won't need him anymore. So the hole actually tried to help him confront that fear