Rick Sanchez may be the smartest man in the universe – a status that, until recently, was protected by the Central Finite Curve – but he doesn’t tend to specialize in emotional depth. After the massive revelations of the season 5 finale, however, it’s now clear that he’s been grappling with massive grief since before we even laid eyes on him.
Thanks to 'Rickmurai Jack', we now know that Rick’s spent decades trying to come to terms with the death of his wife and (original) daughter, who were killed by a murderous version of himself from another dimension. The question is, how will this new intel change TV’s favorite misanthropic scientist as Rick and Morty enters its hotly anticipated sixth season?
"Ultimately for a character like this, it isn’t going to change him," Rick and Morty co-creator and voice of Rick Justin Roiland tells us. "I just think it’s letting the audience in on a little bit of maybe why he is the way he is."
"Rick’s been carrying this [grief] all the way since the beginning," he continues. "He’s just buried it deep and he’s built up walls. Maybe some of those walls are crumbling a little bit, but I think there’s this idea that you don’t want to be in a position where anyone who’s in your life could hurt you, so you build the walls up and you don’t let anyone get too close emotionally.
"Because when you have to deal with loss – which we all will [do] or have [done] – it’s a very profound and awful experience. It’s just a fucking awful elephant in the room that we all pretend, I think, culturally isn’t a thing. But it is, and I think it’s unhealthy as a culture that we pretend it’s not real. I think that can cause people to put up walls [to try] and protect themselves, but ultimately, does it work? It’s like if Rick loses the Morty and Summer he’s been hanging out with for quite a while now, is he affected when he knows he can just go and pluck a Summer who’s almost identical from another reality? When you’re living in that kind of situation, is it easier to just not give a fuck?”
Perhaps more important is how this tragic backstory will affect Rick’s relationship with his grandchildren/fellow explorers of the multiverse Morty and Summer. Roiland’s fellow Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon points out that Rick, by nature, "is very avoidant. I mean, he split his daughter in two [by creating a clone] rather than have a relationship with her." It seems, however, that sidestepping his familial responsibilities won’t be quite so, er, simple when it comes to Morty.
"Rick has confided in Morty," says Harmon. "More importantly, it changes their relationship. Like, as we move forward, Morty becomes less and less of a punching bag or a foil, and becomes more and more of a partner to Rick. Which may destroy the show," he laughs, "and then we’d move on!"
"Summer’s always called Rick out on his shit, more so than Morty," adds Roiland. "We’ve seen Morty kind of get to a place of just being completely over Rick’s bullshit, but then Rick tends to psychologically manipulate Morty and fuck with him and control him. We’ve thought a lot about this, but ultimately there’s a dynamic that we want to try to maintain as long as it feels true to the show and the progress of these characters.
"As we’ve gotten deeper into the show I’ve always seen Summer as a character that just doesn’t put up with Rick’s shit, who calls him out and isn’t really afraid of him. Morty is more afraid. He’s a little more timid around this guy because he could snap at any minute."
Rick and Morty returns on September 4 on Adult Swim in the US. You can catch the new season simultaneously in the UK, where it debuts on E4 on September 5. For more, check out the most exciting new TV shows heading your way soon.
