Rick & Morty has snuck a lot of details past viewers in its 40 episode run, but what's the secret meaning behind the Federation and how do they represent Rick's real enemy? Created by Community's Dan Harmon, Adult Swim's adult animated sci-fi series Rick & Morty has more than earned its huge (and somewhat obsessive) fandom. Despite its broad humor and madcap pace, Rick & Morty has never shied away from thoughtful philosophical commentary in its four seasons (even if you don't have to have a very high IQ to appreciate its humor).
But some of the more subtle symbols have been lost on fans. The first episode of the show's third season changed Rick & Morty for good, as Rick's pitiless destruction of the Federation proved that the show's hero was perhaps even worse than many of the one-off villains featured in the series. But it's important to note that the episode saw Rick kill off the entire Federation for good reason and that his plan was motivated by more than revenge. It's not a grudge alone that drives Rick's hatred of the Federation, and viewers need to know what the Federation represents to make sense of Rick's hatred for them.
Whilst many viewers were busy laughing at the episode's breakneck pace (or trying to discover how to make Szechuan sauce), Rick & Morty's third season debut was slyly illustrating the central motivating animus behind the titular inventor's many vendettas. Rick hates bureaucracy, the worst embodiment of overpowered systems that exert pointless control over people. At his heart, the show's anti-hero is, like so many sitcom stars, an anarchic figure who believes that chaos is the natural order of the world.
He's arguably right, too, as the Federation isn't portrayed as a force for good in the series. Their authority is unquestionable but, like the Council of Ricks in the Citadel, they exist in the series mostly as an impediment to Rick's schemes. And while Rick is portrayed as a deeply flawed figure, the bureaucratic authorities surrounding aren't necessarily any more just or morally upright. Some viewers have endeavored to work out whether Rick is still an alcoholic, and it's clear that the character has developed into a more nuanced if no less unstable, figure as the show progressed.
In comparison, the Federation, like the Council of Ricks and the Vindicators, are a law unto themselves and a force who command power without ever justifying their authority. Here, it's important to note that the Council of Ricks is quite literally no better than Rick. As such, his gleeful destruction of the Citadel alongside the Federation is a pointed image that illustrates that the show's protagonist wouldn't even trust himself in a position of power, let alone anyone else. It's an outlook that even makes its way into the writing of the show. Although Rick & Morty loves to mock its fans for expecting conventional, predictable plot lines, this isn't a mean-spirited or pointless sort of trolling. The creators are re-affirming a major theme of the series, one which is embodied in Rick's hatred of the Federation. It's about rejecting conventions and expectations and avoiding following rules for their own sake.