Sorry it's been a whole year since my last post on my '1998 Theory'. But I will try to give you something worthwhile.
I want to talk about Evil Morty (yes, I know there are already a million post about him!), as there is something really, really wrong about him. I'm not talking about the fact that he is a superintellgent, immoral, unstoppable killing machine. But instead on why the whole of this season has been about him - and why this may indicate what the second half of season 3/ season 4 will be about.
Background:
To generalize, season 3 was not based around what we were told to believe (McDonald's Szechuan sauce), but instead on different types of government. From the Galactic Federation, to wasteland anarchy; to the vindicators 'heroics'; to the council of ricks illuminati; to the cult of Tommy; and even the narcissistic self-importance of the US presidency.
What I find odd, is that in the 'Age of Trump' we were never given a straight up expy of Trump to mock. Heck we weren't even given a Hillary/ Bernie/ Rubio/ Cruz or even a Kim Jong-un figure to mock. We could have had anything from a truly egotistical Rick, to an incompetent Morty, or hell even a god damn Jerry as President. But instead we were given Evil Morty - Why? I believe that what the show did was to not mock common politicians; but instead decided to mock the very notion of government itself - (bear with me on this one, it really does relate to "Evil Morty").
The Government, the Ricks and the Evil Morty:
I postulate that what we were meant to see was a similar perspective to what Rick see's, regarding governments and leadership. We get an insight into the hollow apathy and cynicism that Rick experiences when viewing how people are ruled and governed. We catch a glimpse of this in "Look Who's Purging Now" where he quickly surmises the whole 'purge' thing being just rich vs poor, and quickly dispatches both groups without choosing a side. I believe that what we are meant to see this season is that there is no better way; just one fucked up solution vs another fucked up solution. The most egregious episode about this was around 'Froopy land', where all of life is surmised as 'eat, fuck, kill', ad infinitum.
This may go to explain why Rick (the smartest being in the universe) is not in fact running the universe. Why is Rick living a life of non-existence compared to let say 'God-emperor' of all creation? Heck, even the council of Ricks are more interested in governing themselves and controlling the supply of things as stupid as "Freedom Wafers" (a reference to any potential resource). The secret council is composed of Ricks representing all varying nationalities; playing on the idea illuminati and freemasons. Even Ricks living inconsequential, meaningless office jobs suffer the same problem, as why the hell are they wasting their time doing such shit? The answer is that all Ricks no longer see the point - in infinite universes, where anything is possible, yet nothing matters, the only thing of consequence is themselves. This nihilistic narcissism is what prevents Ricks from seeing beyond themselves and acting to change things or become better people. In fact, this same mentality is passed onto their respective Morty's as well. However, this appears to be changing with the presence of "Evil Morty".
In the "The Ricklantis Mixup", the presidential race has two sub-plots; 1) the Stand by me gang, and 2) the Training day cops. What all 3 plots have in common, is the idea of change disrupting the status quo. The corrupt Morty cop is replaced by an honest Rick cop, the Morty's finally get a chance to be more than pawns for Ricks, and finally the shadowy council of Ricks are killed off and replaced by a Morty who has an external goal beyond just controlling Ricks. He used the desperation, insecurity and idiocies of the Morty's, combined with an understanding of the narcissism, self-loathing and nihilism of the Ricks to achieve power. Evil Morty is different from all of the other types of leaders and groups because unlike them he both: A) has a goal he wants to achieve, and B) he knows how to achieve it.
What an Evil Morty wants
It is therefore an issue of identifying the goal of Evil Morty. I believe that if we compare the goals of the other governments then it narrows down what the objective is: Galactic Government = total control; Wasteland Anarchists = Revenge; Vindicators = defeat evil; council of ricks = maintain power; cult of Tommy = self-preservation; US presidency = maintain self-importance. All are analysed and outright mocked in their respective episodes, so I doubt that any are the desired outcome of Evil Morty.
Previous theories suggest that he is C137 Ricks original Morty out for Revenge. However, rather than revenge, I believe what Morty wants requires all the brain power of all Ricks at the Citadel (hence his take-over). Not only of Ricks, but also of Morty's (hence the 'freeing' of the Morty's). It also involves what he was doing in "Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind"; creating a large imbalance in the number of Mortys on the Citadel, by killing large numbers of Ricks. He also set-up C137 as the culprit; when caught he didn't kill him outright, but instead appeared to be stalling for time until defeated. I believe this was to create a rift between C137 and the citadel - hence why C137 had no issue with destroying the citadel and killing the council of Ricks. In this light, Evil Morty's aim was always to become elected President; meaning his aim was always to gain control over both Ricks and Mortys in all dimensions.
To identify what he intends to do with this power requires identifying two important things in the episode; 1) Ricks mention of bad things happening if a Morty becomes too cocky, and 2) Doofus Rick.
A Game of Mortys
I believe that reason for Ricks hating morty's is because of a deep-rooted fear and envy of them. I believe that without the repeated insecurities, suppression and humiliation, Morty's have the potential to outwit, out-smart, and even surpass Ricks (as seen in "Morty's Mind Blowers", where Mortys increasing confidence is at times overcoming Ricks intellect - requiring Rick to remove his memories).
In addition to this is the presence of Doofus Rick; an idiot Rick who was with Jerry most of the episode and was also present at Evil Mortys hideout at the very end. I suppose that 'Doofus Rick' is actually just a persona used to disguise his true intentions. Just as Doofus Rick never had a Morty, I suppose that Evil Morty never had a Rick. Both are at other ends of the spectrum; Doofus Rick lacks hatred of Mortys, and Evil Morty lacks the insecurities that hold him back. Both are working together to achieve a certain goal that requires the Ricks and Morty's of all dimensions.
And that goal is… Szechuan sauce
Okay, well I just saw S1E10 and this theory seems to hold its position, especially the part where Doofus Rick and Evil Morty are connected (although we don't see Doofus in S3E7) but, as it was explained in this theory, they are working together for a purpose which we don't know yet But their connection is reinforced by C137's line in the restaurant about Ricks and Mortys waves to make them invisible from the government. Evil Morty and Doofus are the perfect example of opposite characters as explained in this post, one is intelligent and have no regrets to use/kill a Rick, and the other one is dumb and pacifist. Although we don't see them in the same place, it is not impossible that they're working together in secret, plus, maybe Doofus' relation with Jerry was a way for Evil to be close to Rick C137, who is, by a popular theory, Evil Morty's original Rick.
Edit : Couple of things during Close Encounters, I think Doofus was chosen by Evil Morty not only because he is dumb, but also because Doofus is always rejected by the other Ricks, meaning that he could easily be friend with Jerry, letting him be closer to the Smiths family Then, we have the moment when Evil Morty brings Morty in the "Morty room", revealing our Morty as the One True Morty. What if Evil Morty knew about this prophecy and knew that C137's Morty was this "prophet"? He would know that things would escalate quickly resulting of a revolt against Evil Rick (don't know how to call him). But, with that, I think Evil Morty knew that it would bring the Citadel Of Ricks to rescue all those Mortys, including Evil Morty, letting him a chance to infiltrate the Citadel and later, run for President
Regarding the One True Morty prophecy - it was probably created by "Evil" Morty as a way of preying on vulnerable Morty's desire for a Saviour; something that he likely played into during his Presidential Race
I'm just tired of people saying he's "Evil" as if Rick isn't. He's the way his Rick made him, for which "our Rick" (aka Rick Prime) is seeking to atone by reconnecting with his family.
I'm sorry if I gave the wrong impression in regards to what I consider this version of Morty to be. I used the term "Evil" because that it what the fandom and the wiki refer to him as. In regards to story wise, I do not really see him as evil (given how fucked up all the other characters are). The same is true for Rick; C137 is just the name people use - its just easier for people to understand what I'm talking about, especially in long-winded essays like this.
This is my first time positing a theory, so I’ll try and keep it concise.
Ever since watching "The Rickshank Redemption" I had been puzzled as to why Rick would make such an obscure reference to McDonalds ‘Szechuan’ sauce, which came out in 1998 for the promotion of Disney’s Mulan. I couldn’t understand why at the end of the episode Rick was ranting about some stupid sauce, when it finally clicked. It’s not the sauce that Rick desires, but what it represents – it’s the year 1998. Let me explain:
Background:
I knew something was wrong with the made-up origin story when I saw child Beth, who looked about 10. However, if 1998 was 19 years ago, Beth wouldn’t have been a child; she would have been 16 – 17. (Rick and Morty Wiki says she is 35 years old). This is about the age she conceived Summer with Jerry.
We also see a very happy relationship between Rick and his wife. This is in contrast to Beth’s belief that it was her mother that drove Rick away because he valued Science over his family (“Auto Erotic Assimilation”).
Thus, what we see in his made-up Origin story is his idealized past. The one he wishes he had: he is content with his life, his wife loves him, and Beth is still a child. Therefore I posit that Rick left his family in 1998. This subsequent break-up is what led to Beth seeking a romantic fling with Jerry, and her long-standing Daddy issues. This also partially explains why he hates Jerry so much, and wants a Divorce. He is a living reminder of the consequences of his failures.
The Actual Origin story:
We do catch a glimpse of his actual past in the Diner in "The Rickshank Redemption". When he looks out the window we see 3 things: 1) Rick reacting to some news, 2) A portal with Ricks Wife and young Beth in front, and 3) A baseball player trying to catch a ball and failing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlJMO8MlDKs
I believe that these symbolize what actually happened. 1) Rick was reacting to some important event (possibly Government related), 2) and therefore left Earth, leaving his wife and Beth. However 3) we can say he metaphorically dropped the ball. He made the wrong decision and has to deal with the consequences (i.e break-up of family, Beth getting knocked-up, etc).
What Rick really wants:
In a Sci-fi show about teleportation, inter-dimensional travel and micro universes – why don’t we see Rick travel through time? It’s because Rick is unable to – which is why he stole that time crystal from those 4th dimensional beings in “A Rickle in Time”. (This is also why the creators have said they would avoid time travel plots). Story-wise, Rick has defeated the Government and the ‘Council of Ricks’ – what is the driving force behind Rick and his never-ending adventures with Morty. Well, as he says at the end of the episode, it’s ‘Szechuan’ Sauce – i.e 1998.
Rick hates the other Ricks because in almost all dimensions he sees that he has continually repeated the same mistakes, over and over again. The Rick in the fake ‘origin’ is the idealized past that he wants.
Rick is the smartest person in the universe, but he can’t change the past. This may explain his constant misery (Wubba Lubba Dub Dub), apathy, bitterness and his sad attempt to recreate his old family life (removing Jerry and making himself ‘patriarch’ of Morty’s family).
So why does Rick keep going on adventures with Morty – because Morty produces ‘Morty waves’. More than a funny gag, it’s actually a reference to Futurama’s Fry, whose lack of brain waves are a direct consequence of becoming his own grandfather via 'time-travel'. Therefore I posit that Rick wants to get back to 1998 and undo his mistake; and Morty is his way of getting back there.
Summary:
Rick is a tragic figure who above all else, wants to undo a single decision he made back in 1998, and for all his genius he is unable to do so. He is the Rogue Rick because out of all other Ricks, he is the only one who regrets leaving his family.
His life is worse than his ‘butter robot’ creation. He too also has a singular purpose. However no matter what he does, he knows he is unlikely to ever achieve it. Every dimension he travels to is a reminder of him making the same mistake over and over for infinity.
He will go to any lengths to achieve his goal. This is why he says Season 3 will be much ‘darker’ than before. Rick is a madman, who will destroy countless realities, trillions of lives and cross all moral horizons to achieve just one dream. To taste that discontinued ‘Szechuan’ sauce (1998).
Trophy Case (1)
