Rick and Morty has unearthed new tragic backstory for details for Rick, revealing that his original Beth died when she was young. Bits and pieces of Rick’s history have been revealed gradually over the course of the show’s run, but there’s still a lot about his younger days that remains a mystery to fans. Thanks to Rick and Morty season 5, however, the scientist’s hard demeanor now makes a lot more sense.
In Rick and Morty season 5, episode 8, “Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Mort,” Rick travels through Birdperson’s memories to try to save his friend’s mind. Those memories prominently feature a younger version of Rick, who joins up with the real Rick on his journey. Most of the episode centers around the relationship between Rick and Birdperson, showing their various struggles against the Galactic Federation and the argument that caused them to split up at the Battle of Blood Ridge. However, the episode also includes a new clue about Rick’s own tragic family past.
When the real Rick mentions Morty to the younger memory version of himself, the response is curious to say the least. “You’re one of those creeps who moves in with abandoned adult Beths,” the younger Rick says, “you live with a version of our dead daughter.” The revelation that Rick’s original Beth died when she was young is a big new piece of the character’s backstory, and it explains a lot about his cold persona and the way he treats his family.
Without knowing more details about how exactly Beth died, it’s hard to say too much about how it affected Rick. However, the new twist still reveals a lot. It means that Dimension C-137, where the show’s main Rick comes from, isn’t the home of any of the other characters, including Morty. It was previously believed that C-137 referred to the Earth that became infested with Cronenberg monsters in season 1, which Rick and Morty promptly abandoned for an identical reality where they died. However, it now seems that the main Morty was never from C-137, making it unclear exactly how many times Rick has changed dimensions and families.
The fact that Rick continues to cling to Beth and her family makes a lot more sense knowing that his own Beth was killed. It suggests that Rick is constantly trying to create a familial connection that he never actually had, which partially explains why doing so is so difficult for him. Birdperson’s memory Rick using the phrase “abandoned adult Beths” is also quite telling, as it suggests that the only Beths who survived to adulthood were abandoned by their Ricks. That probably means that Rick was, at least in part, responsible for his own daughter’s death, adding more context to his own self-loathing. It should be interesting to see how this new development is expounded on later in Rick and Morty season 5 and in future seasons after.