It’s pretty safe to say that, when it comes to animated television series, there’s never anything quite like Rick And Morty. While it’s easy to associate an animated show with light-hearted and hilarious plotlines, this particular series has always done an amazing job when it comes to depicting the inner workings of deeply messed up individuals. Throw this into a cocktail of insane space adventures, and you got something incredibly unique.
At its core, Rick And Morty stays away from your typical sci-fi show. Instead, it chooses to smartly showcase the choices, misadventures, and often heartbreaking moments in the lives of a truly dysfunctional family. And it does so with such grace, it’s absolutely impossible to remain indifferent. With all of this being said, let us dive a little deeper into some of the saddest moments in the history of Rick And Morty.
When Morty Was Roy
How often do we find ourselves completely disenchanted with the life we live? And how often do we wonder whether there’s nothing more to our existence than doing the same, routine things, over and over again? These are the kind of questions that have the potential to send a lot of people into some a serious depressive spiral.
And the show made a terrifyingly good job at depicting these haunting questions when Morty played the virtual reality game “Roy: A Life Well Lived”. The most mundane and boring of lives, lived in real-time. Needless to say, when Morty came back, he did so in the possession of years of memories and a newfound fear for life most of us dread to even think about.
When Rick Sacrificed Himself
One of the most well-known characteristics of Rick’s personality relies upon the fact that he is as self-centered and selfish as they come. More often than not, Rick has absolutely no problem putting himself and his needs before anyone else, which is more likely a symptom of his complex inner turmoil.
However, in the premiere of the second season, Rick sacrifices himself to save Morty when they find themselves stuck in between several timelines. He offers Rick his own collar to his grandson and fully prepares himself to die, showing audiences that there is something inside Rick that isn’t completely destroyed.
When Morty Buried His Corpse
Leave to this show to completely scar you for life. There have been several instances during Rick And Morty that seriously made us reconsider our life choices and the way the universe works. But one of the scenes that best managed to send everyone into deep thought and maybe a glass of wine to calm the nerves was when Morty buried his own corpse.
It all happened after Rick and Morty are forced to leave their reality behind and find a new one where they can live after their respective counterparts died. It was truly shocking, particularly because there was nothing following the fact that would indicate somewhat of a better ending.
When Sleepy Gary Died
The mere notion of an alien parasite that has the power to infiltrate our brains and create people and loved ones that never truly existed is quite horrifying. And more than that, it’s incredibly scary. When this happened to the Smith family, one of the characters that made their way into Jerry’s life was Sleepy Gary.
Sleepy Gary became Jerry’s best friend and lover. And the most heartbreaking part of this episode wasn’t even the moment when Jerry cries over the remains of Sleeping Gary, but rather the fact that he simply wasn’t real. How many times have we almost let ourselves create someone else and invite them into our lives to offer us a notion of love?
When The Meaning Behind A Catchphrase Was Revealed
Throughout the course of the show, we’ve had more than one glimpse into the incredibly complex and messed up psyche of Rick. He’s clearly a broken man, struggling with a lot of anger and pain, which tends to come out in very ugly ways. But never was it more shocking or heartfelt than during this instance.
Back in the first season of the show, Birdperson reveals that, in his language, Rick’s catchphrase “Wubba Lubba dub-dub” actually means “I am in great pain, please help me”. This moment hit home for a lot of people and dug even deeper into the mind of a man who is struggling immensely.
When Beth Shot Mr. Poopybutthole
Sleepy Gary wasn’t the only instance during that particular episode that scared viewers for life. When everyone is busy shooting the creatures they think are the product of the alien parasite, Beth shoots Mr. Poopybutthole.
Well, as it turns out, this sweet and cheerful creature was indeed real. No one knew it, not even the viewers, which made the whole thing even more horrible. While he bleeds to death, Beth runs away and chugs wine in an attempt to cope with what just happened - a good hint that sometimes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
When Rick’s Car Made A Clone Of A Cop’s Dead Child
Rick’s sister Summer surely regretted ever having asked Rick to be a part of his outer space adventures as much as Rick was. And this fact became very much apparent once Rick leaves her inside his vehicle with the only words being “keep Summer safe”.
In an attempt to keep more deaths from happening, Summer pleas that the machine harms no one. However, the vehicle is as smart as Rick and takes on a different approach. This time around, it creates a clone of one of the cop’s sons who recently died. The image of this clone dissolving in the arms of the parent who lost a child is bone-chilling.
When Rick Attempted Suicide
It’s very easy to forget that Rick should be dead by now. Back in the second season of the show, Rick reconnects with a former fling of his. The two of them seemingly have a great time, but Unity ends up seeing how bad of an influence Rick is, and dumps him. And no matter what you think of Rick, something like this broke his heart.
Cut to him being drunker than ever and pointing a death ray at his head. The only reason Rick’s still alive? Because he passed out before the ray finished charging. This was a truly heart-wrenching moment, that probably depicted the last straw for Rick.
When Morty Tried To Kill Rick
The relationship between Rick and Morty is hardly an easy one to define. But at the same time, the entire show is incredibly dependent on it. And while there were instances when Rick was willing to sacrifice himself for his grandson, there were others that were borderline abusive.
So it probably came as no surprise when Morty’s inner accumulated rage against Rick came out. And in the ugliest way possible. You see, when Morty pulls the trigger in order to save Summer’s life, he didn’t see the note left by Rick. The one that said, “Fake gun, shoot me in standoff”. Morty had all the intention to actually kill his grandfather, which makes this moment both incredibly upsetting and heartbreaking.
When Rick Turned Himself In
For a moment there, we all believed Rick had truly done the ultimate selfless thing. When, at the end of season two, he finally turned himself into the Federation, after realizing just how much his current status was damaging his family. He did so in exchange for them to be able to return safely to their own planet.
And beyond that, he didn’t tell them what he did, leading everyone to believe he left his family again. It was a bittersweet moment, one of redemption and empathy for Rick. That is, up until we found out it was all part of his plan to destroy the Federation. Is it possible that maybe even a little bit of that heartbreaking moment was true?
