Rick & Morty season 5 may have reshaped the formula of the series, but the finale threatens to upend the show's entire eponymous premise—and the anarchic animated sitcom has proven it could pull off this transformative maneuver. Since its debut in 2013, Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland’s Rick & Morty has gone from being a bawdy sci-fi spoof to a genuine pop culture phenomenon. The Adult Swim hit, which follows the goofy and often gory misadventures of the titular duo, struck a chord with both sci-fi fans and mainstream audiences alike and has built up a huge, loyal fanbase since it began.
Now wrapping up season 5, Rick & Morty has become a critical success thanks to the show’s playful deconstruction of both sci-fi television conventions and family sitcom tropes. However, season 5 of Rick & Morty has seen the series turn its shrewd satirical point in on itself, with the series spoofing its own storytelling conventions and upending the typical formula established in earlier seasons. This season has seen the usually unlucky in love Morty begin and end a romantic relationship, the previously invincible Rick humbled, and even human punchline Jerry win a few heroic, redemptive moments.
According to its latest promo, though, Rick and Morty’s season 5 finale will break with series tradition even more dramatically. The teaser threatens to break up the titular pair, with Rick finding a new partner for his intergalactic adventures as Morty spreads his wings alone. The power imbalance between Rick and Morty has been referenced through season five, but this would still be the first time that the series actually split the titular duo for more than an episode. So, has season five laid the necessary groundwork for such a storytelling experiment, and could Rick & Morty work as a television show without Rick and Morty working together?
Rick & Morty Season 5 Experimented With Splitting The Duo
With Jerry, Rick, and Beth being sent on an adventure together and Summer replacing Morty as Rick’s assistant not once, but twice, Rick & Morty season 5 has already experimented with splitting the eponymous duo repeatedly. One of these experiments is particularly telling in its success, as the season premiere saw the pair star in separate but interconnected storylines and was stronger for it. “Mort Dinner Rick Andrew” both expanded on Rick’s past and gave Morty a fully-realized romantic subplot without the two relying on each other for comic/dramatic support, and won over critics upon release as a result. Thus, if Rick & Morty does attempt to follow the two’s separate adventures in season 6, the groundwork will have been laid down already and the experiment is more likely to succeed.
Rick & Morty Season 5 Broke The Show’s Formula
Even outside of subverting existing character dynamics, Rick & Morty season 5 broke with the show’s formula more broadly. With more focus on lore, increased independence for the characters, and a renewed effort to spotlight Summer, Beth, and Jerry, Rick & Morty season 5 broke the mold enough for the series to now pivot away from Rick and Morty working together for a while without the change meaning a major, unprecedented story shift. To this end, it is interesting to note that Rick & Morty's “Rickdependence Spray” (season 5, episode 4) became the most-hated of the season despite (or perhaps because of) following the show's classic formula to a tee. In contrast, riskier episodes that paired Rick with Summer or Jerry received critical acclaim and fan approval.
“Rickdependence Spray” may have featured a lot of off-color humor and general off-the-wall silliness, but one element of the episode that is rarely cited as the cause of its lukewarm reception is its return to Rick & Morty’s usual formula. After seeing growth for Summer, Jerry, and Beth in episodes that highlighted the characters, some viewers were not interested in the series returning to the misadventures of Rick and Morty. Some found the episode sidelined the now well-rounded supporting Smith family members, proving viewers are interested in a Rick & Morty that focuses on more than Rick and Morty.
Why Rick & Morty Should Star In Solo Adventures
Even before season 5 began airing, Rick & Morty’s season 4 solo outing “The Old Man and the Seat” (season 4, episode 2) proved that Rick could anchor a compelling story himself alone and that this format shift could allow the show to tell more poignant, self-contained stories. Meanwhile, Morty’s surprisingly sweet story in the season 5 premiere, which culminated with his poignant acceptance that Jessica and he would never work out despite his best attempts, ended up working better because of the choice to split the character from his granddad and give the story room to breathe. Even earlier than that, Morty’s silent love story in the season 4 standout "The Vat of Acid Episode" (season 4, episode 8) was compelling because it was a solo endeavor, proving that the pair’s characters could be best served by a parting of ways. A look back on season five of Rick & Morty shows a trend toward more episodes that either split Rick and Morty up or incorporate more of the Smith family, both approaches that would be promising for season 6. “Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Mort” (season 5, episode 8) earned stellar reviews by focusing on Rick alone while "A Rickconvenient Mort" (season 5, episode 5) found similar success by divorcing Rick’s B-plot from Morty’s moving love story.
In contrast, "Rickdependence Spray' and the underrated action parody "Rick & Morty's Thanksploitation Spectacular" (season 5 episode 6) earned less impressive write-ups thanks to their return to the show’s classic dynamic, where the antics of the title characters take center stage and the rest of the family play supporting roles. Fortunately, the prospect of the series splitting Rick and Morty up for more solo adventures does not preclude the option of the Smith family joining them in their respective plots. “Amortycan Grickfitti” (season 5, episode 5) saw Rick, Beth, and Jerry star in one compelling story while Summer and Morty starred in another, while both "Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion" (season 5, episode 7) and "Mortyplicity" (season 5, episode 2) saw the entire family work together rather than splitting them into Rick and Morty versus the rest of the Smiths. All of these expectation-subverting outings earned fan adulation, proving that Rick & Morty can pull off more ambitious storytelling that breaks up its central duo. Thus, as the series enters season 6, the season 5 finale’s teasing of Rick & Morty going their separate ways is as much a promise as a threat.