Season 9 doesn’t waste any time diving back into the remnants of the Citadel arc and the chaos surrounding Evil Morty (Harry Belden), as the season premiere throws fans right back into the messy, multiversal nightmare that is Rick’s complicated legacy with his eye-patch-wearing nemesis. Warning: Spoilers ahead for Season 9 Episode 1, “There’s Something About Morty.”
Between the nifty lethal gadgets, existential dread, and the usual helping of dimension-hopping insanity, the premiere immediately reminds viewers why Evil Morty remains one of the most dangerous wild cards in the Rick and Morty universe.
The episode kicks off when Morty (Harry Belden) discovers that Rick (Ian Cardoni) has been texting the ruthless, hyper-intelligent alternate version of Morty. Unlike typical Mortys, he rivals his grandfather’s intellect, despises the systemic abuse of Mortys, and dedicates his life to escaping Rick’s control over the multiverse. Several seasons ago, he punched a hole through the Central Finite Curve to escape a multidimensional barrier created by the smartest Ricks to seal off the infinite universes where they are the smartest beings from the rest of infinity. He also killed Rick Prime, Rick C-137’s greatest enemy.
During the scuffle involving the killing of Rick Prime, Evil Morty got hold of the Omega Device, a machine that permanently annihilates every single variant of an individual across infinite dimensions. Now he uses it to make Rick his errand boy by holding the entire Smith family hostage and threatening to erase their existence.
So they go on adventures, like Rick and Morty.
And for those of you who need to keep track: Morty is Rick Prime’s real grandson, Rick C-137 has no family, and Evil Morty is a standard, unnamed Morty.
ANYWHO, Evil Morty needs Rick’s help destroying the Collective (Tilda Swinton), a being that seems to enjoy snacking on universes and absorbing them. The high-stakes, near-lethal adventure is almost fumbled by Morty, but Evil Morty and Rick trick the entity into absorbing itself, much to the dismay of Morty, who doesn’t really care for his greatest foe hanging out with his grandpa.
Afterward, the trio hits a diner, where Evil Morty wastes no time throwing his burgeoning relationship with Rick right in Morty’s face. Rick immediately denies there’s anything buddy-buddy going on, insisting he’s only playing along because he’s being blackmailed. Naturally, the whole thing devolves into an argument, and Rick and Morty storm off in a huff while Evil Morty returns to his lair… only to discover it’s been destroyed.
Turns out, Rick hid the plans for the Omega Device inside the Omega Device itself, meaning when the device was wiped out, the plans vanished from existence along with it. It’s the kind of galaxy-brain move only Rick could come up with, and now Evil Morty is very, very pissed.
Adult Swim
Realizing they’ve just backed the most dangerous Morty in the multiverse into a corner, Rick and Morty flee with the rest of the Smith family — house and all — to a bunker dimension. Unfortunately, that doesn’t do much good, because an enraged Evil Morty is already hot on their trail, and he’s not exactly in a forgiving mood.
After melting all the flesh from Rick’s body, covering him in hot magma, and slicing and dicing him, Evil Morty removes Rick’s brain. But none of it is enough to kill Rick. The two mortal enemies are relentless and frustrated with their inability to kill each other.
Morty jumps in and calls out Evil Morty: Making Morty jealous isn’t an act. He thinks Evil Morty is lonely. And sad. “I saw what I saw, Rick. He has a big ol’ crush on you.”
Evil Morty runs into the Smith house, where Beth, Summer, and Jerry slap him around. Then the whole Smith family takes turns kicking him until he freezes time.
“It always struck me as odd that Ricks don’t do time travel,” says Evil Morty, as he prepares to kill the family. But then, Evil Morty finds out exactly why Ricks don’t do time travel when dozens and dozens of fourth-dimensional Time Cops (GaTa and Keegan-Michael Key) show up to arrest him before he can disintegrate anyone. They arrest Evil Morty and take him away.
But not before Morty gets in one final slap, just for good measure.
“Season 9, baby,” says Rick as he takes a swig of an adult beverage. “Only… an indefinite number more.”
What does this mean for the future?
Well, for the first time in a long time, Evil Morty is no longer the guy with all the leverage.
Ever since Rick and Morty introduced him, Evil Morty has basically operated three steps ahead of everyone else. He escaped the Central Finite Curve, outsmarted entire civilizations of Ricks, killed Rick Prime, and managed to blackmail Rick C-137 using the Omega Device. He was untouchable.
But the Season 9 premiere changes that dynamic in a huge way. Rick effectively neutralizes the Omega Device by erasing the plans from existence, which means Evil Morty suddenly loses the one thing keeping Rick fully under his thumb. At the same time, the episode also reveals something arguably even more dangerous: Evil Morty is getting emotionally compromised. Morty calling out his attachment to Rick clearly rattles him, and that’s not something we’ve really seen before from the character.
Up until now, Evil Morty’s story has largely been about rejecting Rick entirely. But this episode hints that the line between hatred, obsession, and genuine attachment may be getting blurrier than either Morty wants to admit. That’s a dangerous direction for a character who already has scary-high intelligence and no moral restraint.
Rick and Morty, Season 9, Sundays, 11/10c, Adult Swim
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