Rick and Morty fans once again got an existential and drama final episode to wrap up the show's fifth season. From the anticipated return of Evil Morty to the destruction of the Citadel of Ricks, there was a lot of action from start to finish, accompanied by some long-awaited interactions between Evil Morty and the show's C-137 duo.
The show covered a lot of plot and characters and had some amazing dialogue to boot. This episode in particular had funny quotes, and some that were even philosophical - but all were equally powerful and great.
"First Of All, The 'Will They, Kill They' Is Everything To My Guys. And Second, F*** You For Trying To Undermine My Happiness."
"You've had 1,000 adventures with these crows. When are you gonna kill their big bad?"
"First of all, the 'will they, kill they' is everything to my guys. And second, f*** you for trying to undermine my happiness."
The Rick and Morty season finale started a little differently, with an anime-style antihero title sequence with Crow Rick, as he was exploring a life with his two crow sidekicks. Morty repeatedly tries to get Rick to come back home but is unsuccessful. The final time he tries before the crows go back to their previous partner, Crow Scare. Morty makes a meta-commentary about endless battles with no "big bad" final villain and Rick shoots back, defending the crows with a play on the "will they, won't they" cliché.
"SUBMIT TO CROW HORSE."
"I'm giving you free will. Ya!" *smacks Crow Horse to gallop away*
"SUBMIT TO CROW HORSE!" *people screaming*
"Whoops."
In the fallout of Two Crows, after Rick returns home, he still has his noble robotic steed, Crow Horse, with him. When he takes off his Crow Rick getup and sets it ablaze, he reprograms Crow Horse to have free will and sends it off into the neighborhood. After some very distinct horrified screaming and Crow Horse shouting "Submit to Crow Horse!" in the distance, Rick grimaces and mutters a "Whoops," before knocking on the door to make amends with Morty.
"Don't Worry, Honey. That's Just Morty's Middle Age Talking. He'll Be Less Codependent Once We Get More Of His Life In Front Of Him Again."
"Tell your grandpa that you're worthy of his respect and you want to be treated differently from now on."
"I-I refuse to do that. I'm desperate to get back together."
"Don't worry, honey. That's just Morty's middle age talking. He'll be less codependent once we get more of his life in front of him again."
Shortly after Morty emotionally blackmails Rick with an aging serum that makes him forty, Rick ends up returning to try to make it work with Morty as his sidekick again. Beth tells Morty to not take him back so easily and demand more mutual respect, which Morty refuses to do.
It feels like Morty taking back Rick as a toxic ex, and Rick has done some terrible things to Morty. It even mirrors Jerry and Beth's reunion, especially when Jerry chimes in, saying "Just like his old man."
"Hot Damn! Hittin' The Ground Running With A Citadel Episode!"
It's always great when Rick breaks the fourth wall on the show and addresses the fact that he's on a TV show, and this is no exception. When Morty tells Rick he got the aging serum from a Rick at the Citadel, Rick is ecstatic, mimicking the enthusiasm that Rick and Morty fans have for the Citadel and Evil Morty episodes and lore.
This is done on purpose, as viewers know that Rick hates "serialized drama" as he later tells Evil Morty at dinner. This is also a reference to the battle Rick and Morty writers have had with different fans that demanded "classic-style episodic" adventures instead of overarching plotlines that developed in later seasons of the show.
"Well, If You Look At It Like A Bone, What We Can Do Is Break His Age In Two Places, Remove The Middle, And Graft Its Ends Back Together."
"Well, if you look at it like a bone, what we can do is break his age in two places, remove the middle, and graft its ends back together."
"Th-that sounds really violent."
"It's not a literal bone, Morty."
"Ah, brace yourself. The process does also break every bone in your body."
A very grumpy forty-year-old Morty and Rick make their way to the Citadel, where Morty tells Rick that there's a Morty president and that the Citadel's become "Glendale."
They go to get his aging reversed and the attending Morty makes what Rick thinks is a metaphor about breaking and grafting a bone, only to find that the procedure literally cuts Morty in half, breaks all his bones, and separates him into his fourteen-year-old self and a twenty-year-old who's "almost ready to sell out."
"Fine. I Could Eat. But The Second He Reveals He's Evil, We're Gone."
"Morty, the idea was to get back to simple adventures. The Citadel runs on canon."
"Okay. I guess things really are just going right back to how they were."
"Fine. I could eat. But the second he reveals he's evil, we're gone."
The meta-commentary continues when Evil Morty is finally asking Rick and Morty to join him for a meal. Rick pokes fun at the call for "simple adventures" from viewers, and the "canon" nature of episodes having to deal with the Citadel. He also jokes about already knowing that the new Morty president is evil, and expresses disinterest in dealing with the implications of an overarching villain Morty. This also foreshadows Rick's underestimation of Mortys, by his "above it all" attitude, and the belief that they could just walk away from whatever Evil Morty is planning.
"'Evil Rick.' I Love It. Smartest Man In The Universe With An Ego So Big You Can Just Grab It Like A Joystick."
When Evil Morty finally gets Rick and Morty C-137 to dinner, he completes the brain scan he started in the season 1 episode "Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind." Rick and Morty are still falsely under the impression that the Rick that Evil Morty was controlling was the mastermind of the plan, and that they "kicked his a**." Evil Morty chuckles at the two of them and delivers this pretty accurate line. Rick's ego and self-importance kept him from seeing the real situation and resulted in Evil Morty being able to outsmart Rick more than once.
"Okay, Remember When I Said All I Need Was Your Apology And A Screwdriver In My Hand? Well, I Forgot I Literally Have A Screwdriver In My Hand. I Mean, Duh-Doy, I'm Basically Inspector Gadget."
The reference's been made before, a la a "Go go Sanchez ski shoes!" line from an earlier episode on the show, but it's still another coy reference to the many body modifications that Rick's made to himself over the years.
This includes everything from a metal shield that forms around his heart, various gadgets that fall out when Phoenixperson disembowels him, and apparently a finger that can become a screwdriver. This isn't C-137's original body, but he's obviously made some modifications since inhabiting it, and that's always cool to see.
"I Was Expressing Disapproval Of Your Dialogue!"
"Did you think my force field would be down the second time?"
"I was expressing disapproval of your dialogue!"
Evil Morty never misses an opportunity for a smug laugh at the show's resident Rick. He seems to be one of the few people to be able to get a rise out of the usually nonchalant and disinterested super genius. Also, the idea of Rick using a gunshot that he knows is going to hit a force field as a reply to someone saying something that makes him angry is pretty funny and definitely in character.
"Oh, It's So Hard To Be A Genius, Couldn't You Just Die?"
"It's part of their system. None of them have to be responsible; they're all victims of themselves. Oh, it's so hard to be a genius, couldn't you just die?"
In the climax of the finale, during the showdown with Evil Morty, he explains a lot about the nature of Ricks. he tells Morty that every infinite version of them is stuck inside "one infinite crib built around an infinite f***ing baby" inside the realities where Rick is the smartest. He shares that the reason he's considered "evil" is that he's sick of Rick and wants to leave, and posits that if C-137's ever been sick of him, then he's evil, too.