While animated sitcoms aimed at adults are not a new phenomenon by any stretch of the imagination, Rick and Morty has proven to be one of the best in recent memory. It quickly moved from cult favorite to mainstream success, with references to it popping up everywhere.
Rick and Morty has managed to maintain a huge fan base despite the long gaps between seasons, thanks its unforgivingly dark comedy. That being said, the series also has more than a few nagging flaws that it may never address. Many of them exist at the very core of the series, and changing them could be detrimental.
The Council Of Ricks
For a long time, the Council of Ricks was the bane of Rick's adventures. This interdimensional cabal of Ricks banded together to manage the affairs of the infinite Ricks from endless realities. Unsurprisingly, the Rick the series focuses on wasn't a fan of them.
But the Council of Ricks never made any sense because it was made up of Ricks. If the main Rick the series focused on had no use for the Council of Ricks, it doesn't add up that others didn't feel the same way. They were, after all, Ricks.
Rick Needs A New Space Car
In the first episode of the series, Rick showed off the spaceship he built from scratch using random trash he found lying around the house. He also drove it while extremely drunk and trying to blow up humanity with a neutrino bomb.
While it was an impressive, and sad, display of Rick's abilities, the fact that he hasn't built a new ship is kind of odd. His current ship is fine, but a guy like Rick is more than capable of building something both bigger and better.
The Evil Morty
To date, Rick and Morty has produced four seasons consisting of a total of 41 episodes of some of the best animated TV out there. While there isn't an extremely high episode count, there are still some long con storylines playing out.
One of those stories involves the mystery of the Evil Morty. What his goals are and how he fits into everything has barely been discussed, leaving fans with a long list of questions that may never get answered. If Evil Morty is a red herring, he's a good one.
Summer's Involvement
Beth and Jerry have two kids. Morty is their youngest child, and is generally the focus of the series alongside his grandfather, Rick. But Beth and Jerry have an older daughter named Summer who also plays a prominent role in many episodes.
For a variety of reasons, Rick's focus is usually on Morty, and Summer is only occasionally allowed to join in their fun. How she fits into Rick and Morty's adventures is confusing. Sometimes she's welcome, other times she isn't.
The Mystery Of Krombopulos Michael
Rick apparently makes a good living building and selling weapons to a variety of individuals from across multiple realities. One of his best customers was Krombopulos Michael, a prolific assassin and fellow opponent to the former Galactic Federation.
Morty accidentally killed Michael while driving the spaceship. Michael was on his way to assassinate Fart, a gaseous alien who wanted to kill all non-gaseous lifeforms. But who hired Michael in the first place has never been discussed.
Backyard Graves
When Morty wanted Jessica to date him, he went to Rick for a love potion. Rick made the potion despite feeling that the whole thing was beneath him. As it turned out, Rick should have left well enough alone, as he turned almost everyone on Earth into Cronenbergs.
Rick and Morty abandoned their dimension for a different one where their counterparts had died. Also, no one was a Cronenberg. But they buried their counterparts' bodies in the backyard in extremely obvious graves. Somehow, no one else in the family asked any questions about that.
The Galactic Federation
Rick has a lot of enemies. It's an extensive list of beings from across several realities. The Council of Ricks, a group of alternate reality versions of himself, were actually some of his worst enemies, which was kind of crazy.
His greatest opponents was the Galactic Federation, which he, Birdperson and even Krombopulos Michael stood against. The overbearing and controlling Galactic Federation was finally defeated, but given Rick's abilities it seems like he could have defeated them any time he wanted.
Non-Stop Substance Abuse
The core of Rick and Morty is Rick dragging Morty on an impressive array of adventures. And by "adventures," Rick usually means trips to buy drugs, sell drugs or to pick up the ingredients to make drugs. He usually does all of this while being blackout drunk.
There is a standing theory that Rick's substance abuse problems are a reaction to the weight of his intelligence and the many morally ambiguous acts he has committed. That being said, one would think Rick of all people would be able to see the negatives would outweigh the positives.
The Weight Of Rick's Depression
To anyone who has watched Rick and Morty extensively, the statement that Rick is depressed will not come as the remotest surprise. His mental health issues are a driving factor in everything he does.
But Rick seems to be largely unaware that he's depressed. His lack of acceptance of his own flaws is heart wrenching, and leads to many of his greatest failures. For some reason, Rick seems unable or unwilling to recognize his own issues with depression.
Mrs. Sanchez
Even when he's not around, Rick is a key force in his family. His 20 year disappearance had a huge impact on Beth. But the fate of her mother might have had even bigger impact, one that has never been fully discussed or explained.
Rick and his wife divorced some time before he disappeared. Who she is or what happened to her after that has remained a huge mystery. The series has reached a point where not talking about her at all is making little or no sense. A time is coming where the truth will need to be revealed.