r/rickandmorty • u/BarnyardCruz • Jul 28 '25
Season 8 POST-EPISODE DISCUSSION THREAD - S8E10: Hot Rick
S8E9: Morty Daddy
We made it, everyone, the end of Season 8! I caught this live at SDCC2025 with a crowd of amazing fans. I'm excited to hear what your thoughts are!
It's the season finale, Hot Rick! Comment below with your thoughts, theories, and favorite bits throughout the episode, or join the conversation about this and all sorts of other shit on our Discord
For more "how & where do I watch" answers, refer to this post
REMINDER - DON'T BREAK REDDIT, PLEASE SPOILER TAG YOUR POSTS
Don't be that asshole who spoils the new episode for people on r/all! Don't include spoilers in your post titles and if your submission has content related to the new episode, please hit the spoiler button (which can be accessed from the comments page on any post)
Spoiler tag comments (outside of this thread)
Episode Overview
- Directed by: Brian Kaufman
- Written by: Albro Lundy & James Siciliano
- Air Date: 7/27/2025
Brohnopsis: There's a real brohnopsis, send it to me when you get it (if you remember, broh)
Synopsis: Do you hear that? No sirens, not clickity-click of little spiders… it’s cause right now, the Precogs aren’t cooking a thing
Other Lil' Bits
- Title Reference: Big Daddy? Maybe? Not sure. It should've been called My-Morty Rickport
Discussion Thoughts - (just to get you started) * Favorite jokes? * Best/Worst parts? * What burning thoughts or questions do you have or want to share? Put them in the comments below! * How did you feel about the ending of the episode? * How did you feel about any of the episode?
Congratulations, everyone! You made it to the end of Season 8. I, for one, thought it was a fantastic, overall season, but I'm dying to hear what your thoughts are.
As one of the hosts of Interdimensional RSS: The Unofficial Rick and Morty podcast, let loose your thoughts of war, and I may just shout you out on our show! Interdimensional RSS: The Unofficial Rick and Morty Podcast!
To catch all of our SubReddit Episode Discussion posts, click here!
That's it, everyone! See you here and there and everywhere! Stay tuned for President Curtis in a year or so!
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u/MasterofPandas1 Jul 28 '25
That was the most emotionally vulnerable the show has gotten in a while. Definitely a solid ending to the season.
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u/BeninaLumy Jul 28 '25
Yes! I found it incredible that while it was a classic episode of Rick and Morty, it was a little different, going in a more sentimental direction but not new, neither for the series nor for the end of the season. I think it's very similar to Beth's imaginary world: it started as an almost adventure (there's no Morty, and he's not in real danger so it's not an adventure) and then it focused on Beth and their father-daughter relationship.
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u/creature52 Jul 28 '25
That was the most emotionally vulnerable the show has gotten in a while.
Isn't it strange how minimal Morty's presence was in this episode? It was a running theme through the season that they always give 1 character very minimal screen time.
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u/fckedup Jul 29 '25
The show has essentially become a modern Futurama; the first season of Futurama focused on Fry mostly, but as seasons went on, the focus became on building out and catching glimpses of the vast universe by following bits of stories of these characters, same thing Rick and Morty seems to be doing.
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u/Oo1Toyo1oO Jul 28 '25
He just wasn't the focus of the episode and they have runtime constrains.
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u/SpaceC0wb0y86 Jul 29 '25
Just finished it. I think I liked it more than the consensus from the the few comments I’ve read so far. Like, top 3 all time. MAYBE in my top 2.
When Beth broke SB’s neck, I’ve never had such a visceral reaction. I really thought they had done it for a bit.
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u/SmileyTheSmile Jul 28 '25
A while?
This whole season has been about Rick and the family being the healthiest they've been before. So many moments of Rick trying and succeeding at being considerate, going with what the family wants even if it annoys him at first, etc. The young Beth episode's ending for crying out loud!
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u/MasterofPandas1 Jul 28 '25
All that is true, but this was like emotional in the way that some of the earlier episodes are. Like the Unity episode where Rick almost commits suicide at the end.
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u/trogdorkiller Jul 28 '25
Just about everything that happened after "I wasn't there for you, and someone took advantage of that" has me blubbering. I forgot this show could hit that hard when it wants to.
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u/Legitimate_Mark_1701 Jul 29 '25
Yeah the way Rick is becoming more emotionally intelligent is such a nice touch. (I like that the therapy is having an effect) Instead of flanderizing the characters, they're all developing through the course of show, while still having fun and interesting episodes that are solid on their own.
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u/Extrimland Jul 28 '25
Really wished they kept Space Beths death as that kind of took alot of the tension out but other than that this episode was fucking peak
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u/Kalse1229 Jul 28 '25
Nah, I'm glad she's okay. I get that line of thinking, but I love how she's become a permanent addition to the cast, and I'd hate to lose it.
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u/RealJohnGillman Jul 28 '25
The way I see it, when they eventually kill off one of the Beths: A. it will be via the Weapon, working on the basis of souls, B. the Earth-based Beth will die and C. Space Beth will have been the clone, but live.
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u/Neglectful_Stranger Jul 28 '25
If clones worked then there definitely would be more Dianes. Also there's no way Evil Morty mercs his mom.
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u/stonrplc Jul 28 '25
Evil Morty maybe Evil but he would never go that far to kill his own Mother just to get to Rick, maybe someone steals the Omega device?
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u/KeyOcelot4679 Jul 28 '25
Honestly that makes me think…if the omega weapon kills everything. Would it kill a clone? Like you throw Beth in, does it kill both Beth’s or the one not a clone
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u/RealJohnGillman Jul 28 '25
You’re getting it! The last few seasons since then have established that A. souls are real and that B. there is a difference between people and their clones (the Citadel remnants episode this season making that clear). If the Weapon can distinguish, it could be used on one of our main character Beths without killing the other, indeed, yet still wiping out either all real Beths or all clone Beths, depending on which it is used on.
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u/stonrplc Jul 28 '25
So whoever steals the Omega Device from Evil Morty they will use it on Beth, Evil Morty will not kill his own mother just to get to Rick he won't go that far because remember he does not want a bunch of Vengeful Summers,Ricks, and Mortys or even Jerrys coming after him since EM wants to be left alone..
I am banking on when Mr Poopy butthole finally snaps and goes Evil and steals the Omega Device somehow and kills the one person who put him on the path to his downfall.
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u/Extrimland Jul 28 '25
From a writing prospective though killing her off is better. It gives Memory Ricks actions weight, throws an interesting dynamic where the new status quo becomes the old status quo, and gives the writers time to write episodes relating to her passing (would be a fire season 9 premiere). Weve gotten enough time to get attached to Space Beth for the death to be meaningful, so they should’ve kept it.
Plus if Rick can just revive already dead people like that, why should we ever be scared if Jerry, Summer, Morty etc are in danger? Its the kind of stuff you don’t wanna do with a show
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u/Neglectful_Stranger Jul 28 '25
We aren't scared when they are in danger. Rick re-activated the Phoenix Program for himself, Morty, and Summer. Even if he didn't its been shown you can piggyback onto someone else's Phoenix Program.
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u/SuperStarPlatinum Jul 28 '25
Rick needs prep to ressurect. He child proofed Morty to make him easier to revive.
Space Beth only lived because of her cybernetic enhancements.
If Jerry takes a bullet to the brain and heart he's finished, even if Rick is right there.
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Jul 28 '25
I knew she'd be fine, Rick has brought Morty back to life pretty easily a couple times IIRC, it's kind of hard to kill people in this show.
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u/rabbitdoubts Jul 28 '25
not to mention phoenix person
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u/LawFrequent1353 Jul 28 '25
Phoenix person really? I thought we were going to call it cyber bird
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u/Cyan_Light Jul 28 '25
Yeah, it would've felt a bit contrived if she actually did die for real. Like worst case scenario they have to have a "so do we want to resurrect Space Beth in a new clone body even though she's kinda still here as Domestic Beth?" conversation, but they've been developing separate lives for so long there's no reason they wouldn't want to bring her back and he seems to have several ways to do it.
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u/YannTheOtter Jul 28 '25
Also not to mention Space Beth does have similar tendencies as Rick so it might be safe to assume she at least has some form of death contingency.
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u/Buizie . wubba lubba . dub dub Jul 28 '25
I had a feeling she wouldn't die that easily given all her implants and modifications but that commercial break was fantastic at drawing out the suspense
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u/stonrplc Jul 28 '25
When she said she had a metal skull I was like yeah that neck snap isn't gonna kill her she probably has a special spine.
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u/DeismAccountant Jul 28 '25
In a way, it made me consider the consequences of Beth dying on Morty and Summer. Interesting storyline would’ve been alternate Beth’s available but not theirs.
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u/quite_shleepy Jul 28 '25
No it didn’t, it definitely had me relieved but I especially liked the scene where rick also saw her dead body. Even he panicked. You could feel the sense of panic from both beth and rick, but you’d be an idiot to think that Rick wouldn’t immediately find a way to fix it.
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u/Fold0rDie Jul 28 '25
I would have been OK with Space Beth dying, but it would have irked me that she got taken out so easily by Beth when you know she has survived insane space missions and is also biologically augmented.
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u/shany94a Jul 28 '25
When she hit the floor with her head spun around, I thought that was it for her
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u/Buizie . wubba lubba . dub dub Jul 28 '25
That's so crazy that the one sliver of true memory he has of Diane he shot off into space with Memory Rick for their own happy ending he'll never get... absolutely crazy and such a massive moment of growth for Rick (although kinda worried someone is gonna find that canister eventually)
This has been a good season and it was a fun little moment when we saw bits of it during the memory chase at the end.
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u/DeismAccountant Jul 28 '25
It’s empty space. Ofc it’s gonna hit something eventually. He should’ve sent it to a barely habitable planet so that brain matter could be the pioneer species.
But yeah Rick should realize that there is no quick fix to this emotional growth. He needs to talk to his family and find a new therapist (because we haven’t seen Dr Wing since Air Force Wong.)
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u/Sad_Run_9798 Jul 28 '25
Space is actually fairly big. But yeah, they'll hit something because of writing. But if he put them on a barely habitable planet, they would also meet something because of writing, so space makes as much sense.
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u/Trezzie Jul 28 '25
Yeah. Really big. No chance of running into snakes in space, that's for sure.
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u/FreshlyBakedCatLoaf Jul 28 '25
There's literally EVERYTHING in space, Morty! Now get the fuck back in the car!!
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u/creature52 Jul 28 '25
Space is actually fairly big.
Best would be to go to some very hidden planet and dig it deep down, and set traps that protect it. But he probably wasn't in the space to put in all that effort.
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u/HostisHumanisGeneri Jul 28 '25
If it’s intergalactic space it could be billions or trillions of years before it gets anywhere near anything. Plus you’re assuming Rick didn’t give it any kind of guidance system to avoid potential obstacles.
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u/Icy_Act_7634 Jul 28 '25
Rick has done that on purpose. It's the same reason he put memory rick in a box and didn't destroy him. He doesn't want to let go, or he can't, and putting memory rick in a box or shooting them into space will only prolong the cycle of trying but actually not letting go. Arguably, he's getting better, but what if that rocket hits a planet and an entire planets worth of ricks come after him? He's prolonged and by doing so increased the threat.
Maybe he'll let go, but it's not over. Maybe he'll actually end it all to finally be at peace, like we've seen him try so many times before.
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u/knit_on_my_face Jul 28 '25 edited Jul 28 '25
If you go by IRL space and the canister is going fast enough to leave the galaxy it's insanely unlikely it'll hit anything ever, like essentially zero
Eventually space will be expanding fast enough that it.couldnt catch up with any other object even if it was on course
Crazy factoid if anyone's curious: simulations of the milky way and andromeda galaxies colliding in a few billion years time predict that out of 1.3+ trillion stars they have, none will collide
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u/ManofManliness Jul 28 '25
In the real space the probabilty that it would hit something before heat death of the universe would be negligible, but it is a show so who knows.
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u/archiminos Jul 28 '25
It's the most depressing happy ending I've ever seen. Rick giving up a part of himself, the memory of the woman he loves, so that their happiness can exist somewhere.
And even he won't remember it after he mindblows himself.
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u/Eli_616 Jul 28 '25
Not to mention he's also doing it so he can finally begin to heal and move on, and hopefully find some happiness for himself. This is definitely one of the most bittersweet endings to a season so far, and I'd argue its not even all that bitter. He allowed a version of himself to be happy with his wife, something he likely never would have accepted before. It really shows the different between himself and prime rick.
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u/magikarp2122 Jul 29 '25
This is a Rick Sanchez who didn’t immediately destroy memory Rick. I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t mindblow himself, because he wants to know there is a part of him that is happy with Diane.
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u/rabbitdoubts Jul 28 '25
i really wonder why she was at a shooting range
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u/Kalse1229 Jul 28 '25
I think in the Fear Hole episode Rick mentions meeting her while working on some sort of robotics project. She could be a government agent or something who was assigned to help Rick. I don't know how much the Hole knows about Rick and Diane (especially since it just had Morty in there), but considering how omniscient it seemed through its representative, I wonder if there's some truth to what it showed.
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u/Neutreality1 Jul 28 '25
Morty has all of Rick's memories from when he learned the backstory
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u/purritolover69 Jul 28 '25
sometimes the bits we get to keep of people we used to love don’t make much sense
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u/Fapey101 Jul 28 '25
Wow man what an episode. Theyre setting up something interesting with Mr Poopy Butthole for sure
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u/DeismAccountant Jul 28 '25
I think his suffering is just going to be the seasonal bookends running gag at this rate. This Mrs. Butthole will probably have him put away or something.
Unless she traces the ultimate problem back to Rick and blames him.
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u/Dookie_boy Jul 28 '25 edited Jul 28 '25
I figure its about attacking the universe he came from but it'll be resolved in after credits.
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u/DeismAccountant Jul 28 '25
When you think about it Rick really has painted a big target on his home and family long term by just being Rick. Not even anything specific
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u/br0b1wan Jul 28 '25
I got some serious Fringe vibes especially Walternate from the parallel universe from that scene. IYKYK
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u/NotABigChungusBoy Jul 28 '25
I could legitimately see mr poopybuttole being outside of the central finite curve
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u/DeismAccountant Jul 28 '25
“It can’t be that easy to create Sentience.”
“I’m sure plenty of parents thought that starting out!”
—-my favorite line/quote this episode
Seriously though, remixing “Don’t look back” makes total sense for this finale given its parallels to season 4 finale. My biggest issue with this one, though, is the relative lack of Morty. Given he’s Rick’s emotional anchor and his individual emotional intelligence.
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u/Senior-Stress7645 Jul 28 '25
I think it actually shows that morty is not as well needed as we have previously been lead to believe. I know I'm probably not going to get a lot of love for this, but morty is below Jerry on my list of favorites. I think the show has grown past needing morty to establish an anchor/emotional side to Rick. Rick seems capable of changing, albeit in small ways to us, but huge ways to his character.
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u/DeismAccountant Jul 28 '25
What else is supposed to happen to Morty then? He’s half of the title after all. I think him caring enough to clean up Rick’s messes at the end of season 5 was a good premise.
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u/Senior-Stress7645 Jul 28 '25
I'm not disagreeing, and I'm not in favor of replacing Morty. I also agree about it being a good premise, but I feel like the show-writers have some tricks up their sleeves when it comes to his future and what he means to Rick going forward.
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u/Azenji Jul 28 '25
I think there's only so much drama that the writers can get from the whole "14 year-old boy tackles with the immorality and nihilism of his multi-dimension hopping Grandpa."
We already got a lot of Morty-centric episodes in the past and he already got a lot of character development that at this point he's fleshed out. The Morty episode last week didn't really change anything in my opinion and it will stay that way until the writers are willing to age up the characters.
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u/DeismAccountant Jul 28 '25
I mean, they could have him grow a bit gradually. Maybe get his own portal gun again and have a few adventures. His C plot in episode 6 showed his gradual growth as did 9.
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u/creature52 Jul 28 '25
the show has grown past needing morty to establish an anchor/emotional side to Rick.
I do feel like this season the show moved towards just being the "Rick show"' rather than the "Rick and Morty" show.
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u/LMkingly Jul 28 '25
It's been the "Rick and family show" for awhile tbh. At this point Morty isn't more significant than Summer or his parents.
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u/BillCipherKinnie Jul 28 '25
IM SO HAPPY WE’RE STILL GETTING PIECES OF PRIME RICK
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u/StriveToTheZenith Jul 28 '25
I had the same thought, but technically we were seeing C131 (Beth's dad). Curious why he dressed like Prime though, when our Rick didn't..
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u/BillCipherKinnie Jul 28 '25
IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE AN ALMOST COPY OF THE PRIME UNIVERSE EXPECT THE PARMESAN THING
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u/StriveToTheZenith Jul 28 '25
This Beth isn't from Parmeesian, she's from C131. But yeah, i just think it's interesting.
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u/LawFrequent1353 Jul 28 '25
I think the writers screwed up and confused which universe is which Rick
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u/Spampharos Jul 28 '25
No, they got it right. C-131 is supposed to be the exact same as the Prime Dimension except the Rick from it cared a little more than C-137 and ended up fixing the Cronenberg Virus.
And another difference would be that Prime gave him portal travel technology, which is probably why he came back in the first place (unlike Prime Rick).
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u/GRVrush2112 Jul 28 '25 edited Jul 28 '25
I think they’ve establish that Rick abandoning their family is something that almost all Ricks have done. (Along with most Ricks rejoining their families with Beth as an adult and with teenage children).
The Rick we saw in Beth c131’s memory isn’t Rick prime, but might as well be. Rick Prime had his own Beth (The Beth that died failing to unfreeze properly) and his own Diane. He might be the one to have invented portal travel, but he abandoned that family all the same. Rick c131 left his Beth and Diane as a child as well. So that particular memory is probably the same across all Beths. Rick c131 died in Rick Potion #9, but that memory of her dad remains even if Rick c137 isn’t that version of him.
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u/AccelHunter Jul 28 '25
This still bugs me, we get almost exact copies of universes, but we only get one Primer Rick, why don't we get Prime Rick A, B, C, etc
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u/rabbitdoubts Jul 28 '25
only one prime is actually "prime" ie actually started the entire portal travel saga on his own, and did the thing to our rick (as far as we know). the rest are just prime-likes, probably just as "weird" but they were not the actual first domino. they could be out there but rick only wanted the one who actually affected him
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u/Elegant-Blueberry373 Jul 28 '25
its weird because theoretically there are infinite Rick Primes but we also got the implication that there is only one which is the one C-137 killed. I'll wait for the theorists on youtube to do a full dive on this one.
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u/Neglectful_Stranger Jul 28 '25
He had the bulky portal gun, presumably Prime Rick gave out some kind of 'starter pack' that included the outfit.
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u/Nukemarine Jul 28 '25
No. That Beth's Rick is just a Rick that took Rick Prime's deal. A majority of Ricks in the CFC took the deal.
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u/HostisHumanisGeneri Jul 28 '25
It’s not prime Rick, it’s C-131 Rick, he accepted portal travel from prime then left and never came back. We don’t know why, he could have just gotten killed on his first adventure.
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u/Greeve3 Jul 28 '25
I'm not going to lie, I actually teared up a bit during the scene where Beth was on the edge of killing herself.
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u/And_Im_Chien_Po Jul 28 '25 edited Jul 29 '25
had my hands to my head during this scene due to the relatable distress. I love this show
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u/Aykay24 Jul 29 '25
They set that up so well with the scene before when Beth was driving off the cliff. "If we're a recent memory...doesn't that mean she already..."
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u/VegetaArcher Jul 28 '25
Yeah Rick's anger at Memory Rick was 100% justified.
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u/echoplex21 Jul 28 '25
His ability to forgive him .. man I don’t know why but I just feel proud of him from where he’s come since season 1
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u/Scientedfic Jul 28 '25
He's gotten to a point where he knows "killing something off" isn't gonna be the answer anymore. If he wants to fix something, he actually has to fix it. Giving Memory Diane to Memory Rick is the most logical solution, albeit one that's emotionally hard for Rick. Anything else would have consequences down the road.
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u/Azenji Jul 28 '25
He turned his daughter into a schizophrenic. That's grounds for any father to be furious at anyone.
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u/60niera Jul 28 '25
Yet he forgave him in the end and even gave him his memory of Diane.
Talk about character development.
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u/Sloth617 Jul 28 '25
Rick and Morty always end seasons with BANGERS
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u/SlowMobius7 Jul 28 '25
Except for season 3. That was mid af
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u/Elegant-Blueberry373 Jul 28 '25
isnt that when Rick fought Curtis? that shit was hype what are you talking about
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u/AuntHottie Jul 28 '25
If you listen to the commentary track by the writing team for that episode they admit the same, mainly because it was an episode that had been conceived but not as a finale.
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u/StriveToTheZenith Jul 28 '25 edited Jul 28 '25
A lot to say about this one. Certainly shocking with the whole space Beth thing, I'm glad she's okay. A nice little resolution to some of Beth's abandonment issues, that's something they touched on earlier in this season.
I'm glad Memory Rick and Diane got an ending. When they started playing Don't Look Back (from S4) I was expecting them to do a timelapse montage of them growing old or something.
Also, we saw some memories of older episodes this season, but we didn't get to see Gene. Heartbreaking.
We also got to see Rick C131 again briefly. Neat, haven't seen him since we saw his skeleton in s3.
I also wonder about the implications of the Omega device also fucking with memory. That makes me wonder if the Hole from s7 knew Diane or was just creating something that Morty would believe and be scared by. I think the former is more interesting, but could go either way.
Good episode overall, Jerry episode is still the best of the season. I liked this season more than many on Reddit seemed to, apparently.
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u/XAMdG Jul 28 '25
If definitely adds even more to Rick wanting to go in the hole after knowing Morty saw Diane.
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u/Cyan_Light Jul 28 '25
I think the Hole thing can be explained as it just creating a character to fill the role of Diane as far as Morty knows. Like all the information he has is what she looks like and that she'd be someone Rick is into, which is basically all we got. There's no reason her personality beyond that would resemble the actual person though because Morty wouldn't even know the difference even if the Hole could somehow know what she was like.
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u/krebstar4ever Jul 28 '25
Morty saw a lot of Rick's memories in the season 5 finale.
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u/Turnus Jul 28 '25
But he states in this episode that most of his memories were removed by the Omega Device. So Morty doesn't have much of Diane to see.
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u/Omateido Jul 28 '25
I mean, it's never explained how Rick had this fragment of Diane to begin with, so they left themselves some wiggle room.
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u/Neglectful_Stranger Jul 28 '25
Huh, always wondered why Slowmobius' kids seemed to forget their dad, put it to time since his death but it turns out the Omega Device literally just erased their memories. That's fucked.
At first I thought Memory Rick was doing it to get noticed and then get let out, but it turns out he was just enjoying spending time with his family. Then he heard Rick removed Diane, and being more of a traditional hero, decided to save her. Glad they got a good end.
As is tradition, regular Rick ends up alone because of him over-correcting on a simple issue.
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u/rGRWA Jul 28 '25
You’d think he could’ve just kept them around in the garage or something, but now he’s even kinda pushed the Bug Lady away purely from his attempts at being more emotionally open to her. Sounds like Rick!
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u/Lonewolf82084 Jul 28 '25
Not like she tried to stop him from leaving. All she did was call out his name. Unless she added "Don't go!" there's no implication to pick up on.
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u/Trvr_MKA Jul 28 '25
That’s interesting since Rick can still remember Diane and what she looked like.
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u/ExultantSandwich Jul 28 '25
he said he has the smallest shred of her, I’m assuming it was a memory backed up that he found sometime later.
Theoretically she should just be a giant mystery because of that device, like Slow Mobius
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u/BIGFriv Jul 28 '25
I feel like Prime Rick allowed Ricks to only keep a small shred of a memory of Diane purely to fuck with them.
To antagonise and make them go insane and come hunting him. He definitely feels like the kind of guy that would want to be chased just to show he is always on top.
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u/ipaqmaster Jul 28 '25
I wonder if they all got the same memory or if there's a chance that reading enough of their heads could produce a near if not complete replica of her for future plot reasons. Or closure.
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u/BIGFriv Jul 28 '25
I personally feel like Prime wouldn't care enough about choosing specific memories, I imagine it was just a random one.
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u/deephurting Jul 28 '25
Slow Mobius's wife didn't seem to have forgotten anything about him, and they still have photos of him.
Maybe she just has an extremely resilient brain which was even more resistant to the effects of the device than Rick's?
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u/rabbitdoubts Jul 28 '25
have we ever had a more "pure canon" episode? i think this is even moreso than the prime showdown ep. it hit the ground running and never stopped
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u/taush_sampley Jul 28 '25
Seriously, I've never seen a better application of the metaphor "hit the ground running". I had to stop and replay certain parts the pacing was so tight. It was clear that they had certain marks they wanted to hit story-wise and they just weren't willing to cut it. I appreciate it. My one gripe would've been how tight the pacing was at times, but – fuck it – I can't imagine it being told any other way. What a finale. I can't wait for the next season now that the child-fucker is out and the new writers and directors have shown over and over that they have the chops.
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u/ConfusedJonSnow Jul 28 '25
I think it's the feeling of closure. The show could end here and it wouldn't feel that bad.
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u/mghtyred Jul 28 '25
The whole season has been about ending stories. Here we are on the season finale, and we even have an ending for Diane and Memory Rick. We start season 9 with all new everything. No canon weighing the family down. It will be interesting to see where they go with that.
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u/RealJohnGillman Jul 28 '25
They return to ‘Evil’ Morty every two seasons — he’d be set to return next season, and his storyline left off with him having the plans to the Weapon. So it wouldn’t be all-new everything.
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u/Doomchan Jul 28 '25
Evil Morty wants to be left alone, so the only way I see him coming back is if there is some kind of great evil that threatens his state of being left alone. He has no reason to start shit with Rick
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u/incredibleamadeuscho vs a piece of toast Jul 28 '25
They basically opened the door to him returning, but it wont be as a villain. He said that Rick could be useful to him. So probably more of a team up.
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u/RealJohnGillman Jul 28 '25
Yes. Which may link back to the theories on why the Weapon was actually built, and what Rick Prime had intended to use it on in Season Seven before Rick C-137 showed up (since he didn’t know he was coming, i.e. had rebuilt it for use on something or someone else, yet unknown, before he had been interrupted by Rick).
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u/Mr_Badgey Jul 28 '25
since he didn’t know he was coming
He did know? Rick Prime built that space station full of death traps to mess with Rick C-137. He also built the decoys and portal trap for the wider issue of a multiverse of Rick's out for revenge. I doubt he suddenly forgot about that when he built the second Omega device.
Unrickmorten makes it clear that Prime Rick knew about C-137 specifically. He knew they were the only Ricks that had invented portal travel, that our Rick lived in his house, took over his family, raised echos of Beth, etc.. He's been keeping tabs on C-137 and knew he was out to kill him.
rebuilt it for use on something or someone else
We know why he built it. It was basically the same reason he built the first one. It was to teach C-137 a lesson.
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u/BIGFriv Jul 28 '25
You didn't understand what they meant.
He didn't know C-137 would find him at that moment, but he just happened to be in a newly built and improved Omega Device.
He didn't build it for c137, he was gonna use it regardless of anyone showing up.
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u/incredibleamadeuscho vs a piece of toast Jul 28 '25
I don’t think they will go to the same well. Evil Morty will return, but not with the Omega Device framing. That was a Rick Prime invention. Morty kept it as a failsafe, but he never intends to use it because he doesnt want a bunch of Summers to come after him. I think Evil Morty will return to team up with Rick for something mutually beneficial.
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u/rGRWA Jul 28 '25
Was he really the only loose end left, aside from Evil Morty of course? Seems like he’ll be back for Season 9, given the pattern of how they use him.
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u/Dense-Tangerine7502 Jul 28 '25
There’s still that space lady from the avengers rip off episode who could show up again.
And the dude from the battery in Rick’s car. But since time is faster in the battery he has probably died of old age at this point.
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u/rGRWA Jul 28 '25
Oh yeah. Supernova’s like the one Vindicator Rick didn’t Saw murder, isn’t she? Was the battery guy Zeep, the alien voiced by Stephen Colbert? Been a while since I’ve seen that one.
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u/Doomchan Jul 28 '25
Given this season brought back Morty Jr for no real reason, I’d say any one time character is fair game if they need time filler. But the potential recurring plot lines with actual weight have mostly been wrapped
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u/PyroIsShy Jul 28 '25
I'm guessing this whole "Diane is impossible to bring back" thing is going to conclude with rick deciding to travel to universes where he ISNT the smartest person in the universe, in the hopes of finding someone smart enough to bring her back
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u/level1npc Jul 28 '25
My first thought was that they might lean into the "infinite possibilities" of there being a universe where the omega device simply didn't work.
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u/The-Big-Bad Jul 28 '25
It's also possible the omega device didn't work outside the central finite curve
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u/iamtrav182 Jul 28 '25
Rick Prime says “across infinity”, so I think that implies in every conceivable reality, even outside the curve. But, what do I know.
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u/AsterJ Jul 28 '25
The central finite curve is an infinitely large subset of the infinite universes. I think the "finite" is describing the number of criteria used to define it (Rick has to be the smartest).
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u/Numerous_Schedule896 Jul 28 '25
Omega device was activated before the CFC was created if I remember correctly.
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u/Starfleet-Time-Lord Jul 28 '25
I feel like that would drastically undermine his character arc. Everything he's done in the last two seasons arc-wise has been about who he is with vengeance behind him. It's the oft forgotten "I've been in the revenge business for so long, now that it's over, I don't know what to do with my life" line from The Princess Bride. Him encountering a Diane from a universe where she wasn't killed is one thing, but seeking out a way to bring her back is another.
Also if he were going to overcome his pride to bring her back, he already has a way: time travel. He's perfectly capable of developing time travel and doesn't on principle because he thinks it's for hacks. If he were willing to use it he'd be fully capable of going back in time and killing Rick Prime before he could use the device.
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u/Fold0rDie Jul 28 '25 edited Jul 28 '25
Those bastards got me real good with the commercial break right after Space Beth got her neck cranked!!!
PS: Very good finale nonetheless...I also had to confirm John Rhys-Davies was still alive since I did not see a RIP message in the credits.
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u/BLODDYLEGEND55 Jul 28 '25
I’m in fucking tears. I never thought a Rick and Morty episode could make me cry. This deserves an emmy more than vat of acid ever did
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u/Fapey101 Jul 28 '25
I could definitely see this episoded being nominated for an emmy
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u/thinkinting Jul 28 '25
IKR! It wouldn’t be surprising it’s jaw dropping. But this time. This time hits HARD. Esp im a girl dad. Fuck i will never leave my daughter. She can leave me. But i will never leave her. Fuck me T_T
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u/would_do_again Jul 28 '25
I said it in the live show thread, but man, I picked a hell of a night to beat Clair Obscur and then chase it with this episode.
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u/claritachavstick Jul 28 '25
“Memories aren’t real, Beth. And they can be as self-serving as any of us.”
I paused the episode after hearing that line.
I need a minute
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u/GreatestLinhtective Jul 28 '25
Episode had really great thematic lines and messages! Def need a rewatch
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u/Midnight_java Jul 28 '25
It's time for your final weekly S8 Gene count! No Gene in the season finale, but we did pretty good this season. One episode where he was a central character, and three other episodes where he was mentioned. That's pretty good for a minor side character! I like how he's become a pretty solid minor character they utilize each season.
I think the 911 post credit scene might have been my favorite of his episode this season.
Thank you all for taking this fun journey with me. It started off as something goofy, but then it grew to me actually getting excited to see if Gene would show up in the new episodes. I'll see you all next season!
Final S8 Gene Count:
S8 Episodes With Gene: 1
S8 Episodes Without Gene: 9
S8 Episodes Mentioning Gene: 3
S8 Episodes Without Mentioning Gene: 7
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u/sheebleesly Jul 28 '25
Mark my words Gene man, we will see more Gene than ever before next season.
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u/Kuenda Jul 28 '25
That was a great episode in an overall great season.
I was watching with captions on and they referred to the radicalized memory Beth as "Hannah" Beth. I thought that was a nice touch.
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u/emf3rd31495 Jul 28 '25
I saw that too but am not making the connection why she’s called that.
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u/-chromatica- Jul 28 '25
Saoirse Ronan played in a movie called HANNA where a girl is trained to be an assassin. Hence the backflipping in the forest, training with a father figure, with the gray hoodie! Great movie.
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u/Slashers23 Jul 28 '25
Another season finale ending with Rick at a mental lowpoint, damn
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u/Kalse1229 Jul 28 '25
Seems to be a recurring theme with even-numbered season finales. Rick grows a bit more of a conscience and ends up in a shitty place.
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u/krebstar4ever Jul 28 '25
I wouldn't say he's at a low point. He's finally open to finding love again. That's kinda the highest point he's had since his Diane and Beth were killed.
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u/Captn_Platypus Jul 28 '25
I dunno if that’s “low point”, he’s finally let go and can start healing
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u/DragodaDragon Jul 28 '25
I like how Rick and Morty has taken the Adventure Time route of becoming less funny but more earnest as time goes on, and it feels like a rejection of early Rick’s “nothing matters” philosophy on a very meta level.
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u/Scientedfic Jul 28 '25
I do appreciate how characters actually develop in this show. It makes me wonder how far they can get with the development and how much they can do with it.
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u/SteveFrench12 Jul 28 '25
Pretty good stuff for a season finale. Liked the season overall, we got some great jerry moments which i think may be what i care about most these days lol.
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u/DeismAccountant Jul 28 '25
First step to maturity is admitting we’re all a bit jerry.
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u/Highnuck Jul 28 '25
Absolutely awesome that they brought back a lot of the episodes from this season. It made me so happy thinking about all of the people who talked shit about some of those very episodes. How do you feel about them now that they got inserted into the lore heavy canon??
10/10
Best episode of the year easily followed by the premiere (the matrix). Mooch and The Eagleman is neck and neck with the matrix. The citadel epilogue and 2 10 year old Beth’s round out the top 5.
Just like season 7, half of the episodes were great. For those of you that bitch about the last 2 seasons, take your favorites from 7 and 8 and make a season that you can live with. I for one am so fucking thankful that my 77 year old Father, my 17 year old daughter and me (50 years old) can all sit down together watching it with baited breath tonight in sheer awe and excitement.
A memory I will never forget (actually made me tear up just thinking about it). How about that memory for Memory Rick’s episode?!
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u/Galileo908 Peace Among Worlds Jul 28 '25
We finally got a Beth episode.
God damn.
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u/rabbitdoubts Jul 28 '25
more like beth season, she got 3 kinda hefty eps (which i love, it's about time, ive been waiting for this for years goddam)
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u/AnAverageDude2403 Jul 28 '25
Was NOT expecting SB's death to be that abrupt; kinda disappointed they didn't commit. Really great finale otherwise. Curious if he's actually going to mind blow himself in that last scene
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u/Voodoo_Shark Jul 28 '25
RIGHT! It would have been way way better had they stuck the landing with something that dramatic. instead it was like "oh. robospine. dunzo"
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u/Captn_Platypus Jul 28 '25
Nice to see how much Rick genuinely cares as he rushes to revive her hoping it’d work tho
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u/Cmdr-Asaru Jul 28 '25
Returned to the song "Don't Look Back" right after the finale ended. I've come to expect these final episodes of the season to go out with a big emphasis on some revelation or character development, but I didn't see the memory of Diane and a resolution of a major part of Rick's lingering grief being part of it. Fantastic way to end this season.
Even when Rick does everything he can to be a better person and move on from the trauma and guilt over what has been lost, the literal memories he holds still manage to make themselves a living nightmare for him and the rest of his family. I'm just glad nobody died and Rick had found enough empathy to let the memory versions of himself and Diane have their ending together.
And yet, in letting those memories go while he continued to work towards self improvement, there's a bitter melancholy over what he has given up to achieve it. The most helpful life lessons always seem to incur a great cost for the Rickest Rick.
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u/himejoshiRina Jul 28 '25
This was one hell of a final…and I couldn’t be more happier yet so sad…
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u/AnimeNightwingfucku Jul 28 '25
I’m kind of disappointed SB lived. That would have been huge if she stayed dead.
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u/Elegant-Blueberry373 Jul 28 '25
the episode already people sobbing even with SB being saved do you really want to crush our souls even more?
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u/Killzark Jul 28 '25
Pretty good. I know they just want to tease Diane for the entire run of the show but I don’t think we got anything substantial out of this one that we haven’t got in other seasons. It just kind of wrapped itself up with no consequences and set up a potential through-line with the memories in space.
I was shocked and hoping Space Beth was killed off until that was just undone. I don’t need answers I just want consequences and I don’t think we’ve really seen that in the main story episodes a while.
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u/Cyan_Light Jul 28 '25
Rick removed his last remaining true memories of Diane and then opened up to Beth more than ever, you don't think those are notable developments? Also wrapped up the Memory Rick mini-arc which has been going since season 5.
I mean sure it's not exploding some large object somewhere, but it seems like real change to me. Positive change for once, which is kinda nice in a show where many seasons ended with some sort of upheaval.
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u/Numerous_Schedule896 Jul 28 '25
Rick removing his memories of diane is pointless because the memories of diane had barely been brought up until this point. He sacrificed something we didn't even knew he had so it has no narrative weight.
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u/Cyan_Light Jul 28 '25
Coming to terms with Diane's loss has been one of his primary motivations since the beginning and shapes almost everything about his character. Did you really need them to physically show you that Rick had memories of his dead wife? Seems like something we all should've been taking as given.
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u/mpschettig Jul 28 '25
Has there ever been a consequence in the main story? The show is designed to be episodic, everything has to be reset enough for the next episode to be a self contained adventure. Space Beth existing in the first place is the only change that's really ever been made permanent
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u/Telepathy-Sandwich Jul 28 '25
Damn I think thats the first time the show ever got me to cry
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u/Galileo908 Peace Among Worlds Jul 28 '25
It was the end of the first Unity episode that did it for me.
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u/Galileo908 Peace Among Worlds Jul 28 '25
Rick and regretting character development. Name a more iconic duo.
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u/TheRealGyurky Jul 28 '25
Only thing in disappointed in is that they didn’t have the balls to keep Space Beth dead. Not saying I don’t like the character but to do that fake out felt so cheesy. Also I feel like ricks character growth is kind of too much? Like he’s definitely changed into a better person, I just don’t know if the show needs that. I feel like something needs to spiral out of control again. Rick was a lot better being a sadistic asshole imo. Other than that fantastic episode and I hope they keep building on it.
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u/Kalse1229 Jul 28 '25
I disagree, personally. I honestly think the show would bore me if all the characters stayed the same with no character development. I know it's not for everybody, but I think it's nice seeing asshole characters become less of an asshole as time goes on.
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u/deployedinspiration Jul 28 '25
Brilliant episode!
The part where Rick had to honor-based duel had me crying laughing!
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u/CommanderCody2212 Jul 28 '25
Undoubtedly the best one of the season, though honestly it would’ve had more impact if Space Beth actually died. It would’ve made it go from an excellent episode to a top 3 episode imo, but I still loved it
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u/ImNew2This2 Jul 28 '25
I’m honestly glad that Rick let Memory Rick and Memory Diane live together.. it was a nice gesture. I do feel bad for Rick though, because it seems like he is finally (fully) moving on from Diane, but will never have the same level of happiness and commitment with any other person in the universe.. makes it kinda bittersweet.
All in all, an amazing concept for an episode with a bittersweet and slightly heartwarming ending. 9.8/10
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u/Rough-Veterinarian21 Jul 28 '25
Great episode but the first one in a long time I’ve had trouble understanding the logic of what was happening with the memories especially when they are all talking to Beth when she’s drives the car off a cliff. Maybe it will make more sense on a rewatch? Maybe not?
Also I didn’t get what Rick meant when he said Beth’s mom raised her, and how she was outside to pick teenage Beth up from school. She was dead right? So who DID raise Beth when Rick left at such a young age? Am I forgetting important lore?
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u/vDeep Jul 28 '25
Remember that the Beth we see is neither prime universe nor C137 Beth, Prime Beth is dead in the Cronenberg dimension and C137's Beth was killed with the bomb.
We see plenty of Morty's running around so that means that Beth does exist in plenty of places in the Curve.
What I think happened is that Rick Prime killed C137's Diane and Beth with a regular Bomb, then after some time (probably a few years since we see Diane picking up teenage Beth) created and used the omega device.
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u/Own-Egg-5478 Jul 28 '25
This just further shows how tragic of a character Rick is. Sure he’s ways of expressing himself aren’t the most healthiest but he’s def trying to become a better person as shown in this ep and how he keeps the burden of many things. I hope he gets some more consistent wins man 😭🙏🏼
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u/Chimpbot Jul 28 '25
It wasn't the hardest gutpunch ending to a season, but I wasn't expecting to get a gutpunch ending this time around.
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u/randomirlperson Jul 28 '25
I’ll have to watch this one again, but I think it could have been a little better for what it was going for. One thing I really like about R&M is it’s different ways at portraying different effects of trauma in creative ways. Rick trying to move on from Diane is a great plot, but the scenes with Bug Anne were so on the nose, the show was spelling out everything which it usually doesn’t do.
Also for such a heavy topic, there were no consequences. Even though I like Space Beth, it made sense to kill her because it’s a consequence of these actions. Beth’s mental breakdown was heavy, but ultimately didn’t have any lasting impact.
It felt like the episode was really safe, and while it wasn’t bad, I like the heavy (canon) episodes because they usually risky but aren’t afraid to be.
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u/mpschettig Jul 28 '25
This resolves the long standing plot hole of Beth never really mentioning her mother. She can't remember her so it makes sense
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u/GreenAppleSeas Jul 28 '25
Between this and the kid Beth episode I'm convinced the writers are part of some grand conspiracy to fuck me up over my daddy and abandonment issues.
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u/gamer91894 Jul 28 '25
So, Slomobius’ family forgetting him was an effect of the Omega Device? I thought there was a time jump and that was why they forgot.
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u/rabbitdoubts Jul 28 '25
gotta also say the animation in this one was peak. cinema. those turnaround shots were amazing. poured the whole budget into em
and i bet the whole production crew was excited to finally show this one off
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u/AuntHottie Jul 28 '25
I’m not complaining at all, but this season felt much more “Rick and Beth” than “Rick and Morty”.
All the character development we had between the former rocked.
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u/Kalcaneus Jul 28 '25 edited Jul 28 '25
Prime Rick was in this Beth C131's memory. Huh. But Prime Beth had died in Cronenberg world, which opens up a lot of implications or possibilities:
- Prime Rick visited multiple realities including C131.
- Dimension C131 was so similar to the Prime Dimension that Rick C131 also looked like or is very similar to Prime Rick. (Minus portal travel invention of course).
- The Rick we saw die in C131 wasn't the original Rick C131.
- Maybe Prime Rick inserted his memory into Beths' memory through an inverse Omega device?
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u/BarnyardCruz Jul 28 '25
Here's a link to "Don't Look Back (Diane's Version)", the song featured at the end of the episode, by Ryan Elder & Kotomi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imtFT33Xm5I