Rick and Morty fans fear future after “masterpiece” Season 7 episode

❘ Published: 2023-11-13T12:17:31

Still from Rick and Morty Season 7 Episode 5

Adult Swim

Rick and Morty Season 7 Episode 5, ‘Unmortricken’, has been labelled a “masterpiece” – but it’s also left a few fans uncertain about the future for its leading duo.

Last week’s episode of Rick and Morty, ‘That’s Amorte’, was a high note for the seventh chapter of the beloved sci-fi animation. It was a surprisingly heartbreaking narrative, which is not easily done when the plot is centered around “suicide spaghetti”.

But it feels like a distant memory with the arrival of Season 7 Episode 5, which was predicted to be a canon event following its mysterious promotion. Rather than sharing the cold open, Adult Swim posted a clip showing Rick flying through space as a voiceover says: “The next all-new Rick and Morty is so full of huge spoilers that we aren’t going to show you a single one… for now.”

Now ‘Unmortricken’ has finally arrived, and it’s been hailed one of the best Rick and Morty episodes in the series so far – but it’s also left some apprehension about what’s next. Warning: Spoilers ahead!

What is Rick and Morty Season 7 Episode 5 about?

Rick and Morty Season 7 Episode 5 opens with an incredibly packed scene, showing a flashback of how Evil Morty gained control of The Citadel before leaving Rick’s multiverse and entering a dangerous new one.

Although he’s created a utopia of sorts for himself, his beautiful new home starts to crumble as our Rick, aka Rick C-137 is busy “fracking” the Central Finite Curve alongside regular Morty in a bid to hunt down Rick Prime once and for all.

Evil Morty, who is rather detached from the situation, helps Rick to come up with a solution to find the real Rick Prime as opposed to his decoys. While arguing, Morty kills one of the decoys, which explodes and turns into a black goo that engulfs all three of them.

They enter the trap to find a whole host of different Ricks – including Indiana Jones and Bond versions – who have been trying to hunt down Rick Prime. A pre-recorded message of the supervillain plays on screen, explaining that he’s managed to kill all versions of Rick’s wife Diane across all dimensions thanks to a terrifying weapon known as the Omega Device, which is capable of killing all versions of any person it targets.

Rick and Evil Morty are able to escape the trap by combining their portal guns and using the goo from the decoy. Both Mortys and Rick head to Rick Prime’s base, who uses the Omega Device on Slow Mobius – and sure enough, every Slow Mobius across the multiverse disappears.

Rick and Rick Prime then start to fight in what’s been described as one of the best action sequences in the series so far. Eventually, after overpowering Rick, Rick Prime comes face-to-face with our Morty – aka, Rick Prime’s grandson from his planet.

But just as Rick Prime looks set to defeat the trio, we find out that it’s actually Evil Morty, who put his eyepatch on the regular Morty. He overpowers Rick Prime, tying him to a device and allowing Rick to finally enact his revenge. He punches Rick Prime to death in brutal, savage fashion.

When he emerges covered in blood, Evil Morty reveals that while he has shut down the Omega Device, he has its technology and can “end the Rick experiment anytime I want.” Morty asks why he doesn’t, to which he replies: “Because using a weapon like this doesn’t get you left alone. Think I want a bunch of vengeful Summers coming after me?”

The final sequence is a call-back to Season 1 Episode 6, which ends in Rick and Morty burying their dead bodies to take their place as the melancholic ‘Look on Down From the Bridge’ by Mazzy Star plays.

In Season 7 Episode 5, this same song plays as Rick tries to assimilate back to normal life, having finally tracked down and killed his nemesis. As is the case with any revenge narrative, the resolution hasn’t brought him the satisfaction he thought it would.

The post-credits scene shows how Rick’s life could have turned out if he’d chosen to drop the vengeance plan, as Slow Mobius’ wife embarks on her own payback quest. However, during her trip, she meets someone new and they stay together, raising the Slow Morbius kids.

Rick and Morty fans fear future after “masterpiece” Season 7 episode

Considering Rick has been chasing down Rick Prime since day dot, the fact that this story has reached a resolution has left a few fans worried about what this could mean for Rick’s arc in the future.

Taking to Reddit, one wrote: “Rick’s finally killed the man who took his life from him. And it means nothing. All it’s done is taken away any meaning from his life.” Another asked: “Why is an episode this good in the middle of the season? What’s the finale gonna be?”

“This episode felt very meta to me and I can’t help but think it was done on purpose: just like Rick, we finally got what we badly wanted (a serialized episode – with both Prime Rick and Evil Morty to top it off – that not only advanced a storyline but actually brought it to its conclusion), and just like Rick I was left feeling empty,” added a third.

“Guess I wasn’t the only one. Loved it, but revenge really is hollow. Now what?” commented a fourth.

But mostly fans praised the episode, with many saying it’s one of the, if not the best Rick and Morty episode ever made. “Roll up and rewatch that Rick & Morty episode. That sh*t was a masterpiece,” said one on X/Twitter.

“See, THIS is why I watch the show,” said another on Reddit, with a third adding: “Best. Episode. Ever.”

Plenty of people have shared their excitement about where the story could go next, especially since the creators could make Evil Morty the prime focus down the line – given he now possesses the power to wipe out all Ricks and Mortys across the dimensions.

“Great episode to take on Evil Morty and Rick Prime in one go,” said one. “Setting up a fun rest of the season. Really leaning into what has always made this show great. Endless possibilities, endless imagination, the heart at war with itself. RIP UNCLE SLOW.”

Another said: “Anyway I loved the episode. I loved the team up. I loved the resolution. I can’t wait to see what happens next with the long-term story. So many questions were answered and I’m so happy about that.”

Rick and Morty Season 7 Episodes 1-5 are available on Adult Swim now, with Episode 6 arriving on November 19. You can check out more of our coverage below: