Warning: Contains spoilers for Rick and Morty season 6, episode 6.While Rick and Morty has never made Rick out to be a good guy, it is still surprising to see the show imply that he may have been manipulating his friends, family, and enemies alike all along. Rick has never been an outright heroic figure in Rick and Morty, but the season 6 C-137 Rick sees some especial moral highs and lows. These moral lows are further solidified by the implication that he might be creating robots to manipulate everyone around him.
In Rick and Morty’s “JuRicksic Mort” (season 6, episode 6), it is revealed that Rick created Beau, the owner of the rib house where he and the president meet (or possibly that he simply created a robotic copy of Beau, since the episode suggests most people have stopped working due to the benevolent dinosaurs rendering work unnecessary). It is also suggested this may not even be the first time the president has seen Rick do something like this, as he asks Rick “how often are you Westworlding me?”. Notably, Beau seems to have been made by Rick to give the president advice that he wouldn’t take from Rick himself - a detail that strongly suggests he might be using this technique on others who won't heed his word either.
How Rick May Have Been Manipulating The Smith Family This Whole Time
As well as manipulating the president, Rick and Morty season 6 suggests Rick could well be doing the same thing to anyone at any time. Based on the president’s annoyed but unsurprised reaction and dialogue, it seems to be a strategy that Rick has used when talking to the president for some time. As such, it stands to reason that the Smith family is likely to also have experienced this, as there are plenty of things they won't listen to Rick on. They could potentially be more receptive to the same advice from another person, since characters like Beth and Jerry are relatively impressionable, but have longstanding grudges with Rick that stop them from wanting to do his bidding.
Why Rick May Not Be Able To Manipulate The Smiths (As Easily)
Fortunately for the Smiths, there is also reason to believe that Rick might not be able to fool them as easily as the President. From Rick’s adventures with Jerry to his occasional team-ups with Summer, he relies on his family on a weekly basis and lives with them from day to day. In contrast, Rick sees the president rarely (according to this episode, only when the president is in deep trouble or needs Molly). As such, it would be easier for Rick to create lifelike robots that can help him manipulate the president and plant them wherever he needs them to be, whereas living with his family would make this far harder to pull off. Evidence of this can be found in the plot of Rick and Morty’s “Night Family” (season 6, episode 4). After all, if Rick and Morty’s amoral antihero could convince Summer to do his bidding in that outing via robotic intervention, he definitely would have done so before their power struggle turned into an all-out battle - though this doesn't mean he hasn't tried it previously.
New episodes of Rick and Morty will return on Sunday, November 20.