Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Rick & Morty season 5, episode 8.
The events of Rick & Morty season 5, episode 8 confirm a major fan theory concerning Rick's relationship to the Smith family. The anarchic animated comedy Rick & Morty has always played fast and loose with continuity and canon, as befits such a chaotic and surreal series. Since the Adult Swim hit premiered, Rick & Morty fans have had plentiful theories about the lead characters, some of which the show has confirmed and some of which it has laughingly dismissed.
Early in Rick & Morty season 5, the show teased answers to Rick’s mysterious past, but the season has since gone on a string of unrelated adventures in recent weeks without elaborating further. That is, until season 5, episode 8, “Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Morts”, which confirmed a major fan theory during its knotty plot. As implied by the title, this inventive outing saw Rick enter his former friend Birdperson’s mind to see what was wrong with him, and finding out more than he wanted to while in there.
“Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Morts” goes on to introduce a younger Rick Sanchez to his older self (well, one of many, many versions of his older self), who insults him with the line, “you’re one of those creeps who moves in with abandoned adult Beths.” This bombshell reveal confirms a major fan theory that viewers of Rick & Morty have had for some time: that the version of Rick who lives with the Smiths is not Beth’s original father. The episode does not dwell on the revelation for as long as some viewers may hope, but the reveal nonetheless reshapes the dynamic between the titular antihero and his distant but admiring daughter. Rick & Morty season 5 has seen the series prioritize the theme of family more than ever before, so discovering that Rick is not Beth’s original Rick is a major blow to their improving relationship.
Now, to be fair to this “creep” Rick, the confusing continuity of Rick & Morty does mean that the version of Rick living with Beth was never necessarily going to be her “real” original father. For one thing, in the show’s four earlier seasons alone, Rick & Morty have abandoned at least four realities, meaning they have replaced versions of themselves before and likely will again. Nonetheless, the revelation that the Rick viewers have seen in Rick & Morty is not Beth’s original Rick does prove that there could be some truth to the character’s “fake” memory of his backstory from season 3, episode 1, "The Rickshank Redemption."
That outing saw viewers finally glimpse Rick’s wife, Diane, only for Rick to then laughingly dismiss this glimpse as a mere fake memory designed to (successfully) trick the Federation’s agents. However, now that viewers know Rick sought out an amenable version of Beth to make reparations rather than staying with his original family, the question of how real Rick’s wife Diane was in that memory is entirely open to debate once again. Rick & Morty season 5 has featured plenty of fuel for fan speculation, but this recent reveal proves that the Rick who viewers have grown to love may have an even darker past than previously thought.