The 7 Wildest ‘Rick and Morty’ Season 5 Fan Theories

According to Screenrant, this theory allegedly comes from a TV Tropes user. Basically for the past four seasons we’ve seen Rick and the Smith family complete an entire dramatic arc. Rick went from beloved grandpa who can do no wrong to everyone, including his own daughter, literally laughing at him. After “Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri” there’s a very real chance that Rick may be the lowest ranking member of his own family.

This theory posits that Rick is about to jump ship. In Season 5 Rick will jump to another dimension and start his family adventures all over again having learned what not to do from his current family.

While Rick is certainly capable of jumping to a new family and petty enough to try, we’re iffy about this theory. It’s not Rick’s insecurities that give us pause but the ambitions of Rick and Morty’s creators. Time after time Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland have written themselves in increasingly complicated narrative corners only to find a new and unexpected solution. Harmon and Roiland like to play with the relationships in this world too much to take the easy way out. At least so far.

This is less of a theory and more of a logic puzzle that many fans have discovered. At the end of “Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri” Rick revealed that he mind blew himself so that even he wouldn’t  know which Beth was his daughter and which one was the clone. Set to “Don’t Look Back” by Kotomi and Ryan Elder, the final moments of the episode show Rick rewatching the erased footage from when he decided to clone Beth. That’s when we learned that Beth didn’t ask to be cloned; she asked for her father to decide if he wanted her to stay with him or leave. That’s also when we learned that Rick is such a coward he took the easiest out possible, cloning his daughter and switching up the vials when his back was turned so that he would never know who was real and who was a clone.

Thanks to “Morty’s Mind Blowers” we know that the Mind Blowers are shot from a third person point of view and aren’t always limited to the perspectives of who they are about. That’s a little throwaway joke about narrative posterity. If that’s true, the Rick rewatching this footage could have figured out which Beth was a clone. Since he didn’t seem to close his eyes or look away during this scene, it’s very likely that Rick does in fact know. All he would have to do is keep track of the right revolving clone like a bad Vegas game.

But it also doesn’t matter. The entire point of the Clone Beth saga wasn’t who was “real” or not. Both have the same memories, bodies, and emotions, theoretically making them both equally real. It’s that Beth asked her father for help, and he failed her on the most basic level possible.

It’s one of the biggest questions in this ever questionable show: Why can the cat talk? We may never know the answer to that one, but there’s a fun theory about the next best thing. At the end of “Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktim’s Morty”, Rick trapped The Cat and scanned its mind to see why it can talk. Whatever he discovered was so horrific that it caused Jerry to immediately vomit and scared Rick enough to make him release The Cat.

So what did they see? According to one Reddit user, The Cat is actually one of Dan Harmon’s cats. Rick and Jerry learned that they were actually cartoons created by real life humans just for our entertainment. That disconnect from reality is what led to Rick and Jerry’s extreme reactions.

As fun as this idea is, it seems unlikely. There’s been proof throughout the series that at least Rick knows he may be a cartoon. Whatever The Cat showed him is worse than whatever’s in Dan Harmon’s house.

If you’re a diehard Rick and Morty fan that insane sentence may already sound sensible. As crafted by one Reddit user, this one goes all the way back to Season 1. “Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind” revolved various members of the Citadel of Ricks targeting Rick C-137. Why? Because Rick C-137 was being framed for murdering multiple Ricks. While C-137’s Rick and Morty were looking into this string of crimes, Rick explained that every Rick needs a Morty. Rick’s smart brainwaves are cancelled out by Morty’s… Morty waves, making Mortys the perfect camouflage for Ricks.

Who’s another duo composed of a brilliant mastermind and a kinda dumb doormat? Beth and Jerry, of course. This theory posits that Rick actually orchestrated his daughter to get together with the son-in-law he hates to create Morty, his ideal disguise. But why let Beth stay with Jerry after the sexy times were done? It’s not about love or respecting his daughter’s agency. Instead, it’s entirely possible that Jerry’s brainwaves serve as a counter to Beth’s, acting as her shield. This may explain why Rick sort of sometimes tolerates Jerry.

This is another fascinating take that makes complete sense when you break it down. Ever since Season 1’s “M. Night Shaym-Aliens!” Jerry has been constantly unemployed. Deep down we all know why that is. Jerry is endlessly incompetent and is shown to be actively bad at his job. But there’s another good explanation for why Jerry has been jobless for nearly four seasons now: He betrayed his world.

The only time Jerry has been successful at work happens in Season 3’s “The Rickshank Rickdemption.” While the rest of the world collapsed under the Galactic Federation’s takeover of Earth, Jerry thrived. Throughout most of the episode he’s shown with multiple medals of honor, and he often bragged about his promotions. There’s a very good chance that when Earth returned to normal and the Galactic Federation released its hold, people weren’t thrilled by how pro-invaders Jerry was. So yeah. Leave it to Jerry to bet on the wrong horse at every possible moment.

It’s not uncommon for Rick and Morty to break the fourth wall. Repeatedly Rick has stared directly into the camera to deliver a punchline. Even Beth has done it, in Season 3 explaining “things will be like Season 1, but more streamlined.”

According to this theory the reason the Smith family is so comfortable breaking dimensions is because of their love of Interdimensional Cable. We already know that Beth and Jerry saw an alternate version of themselves in “Rixty Minutes.” If not the whole family than at least Rick and Beth would conclude that their reality may be shown on another version of Interdimensional Cable. Sure, this theory destroys the crux of the talking cat theory. But isn’t that the fun of making wild assumptions about TV shows?

All right, it’s time to get deep into Rick and Morty lore and in-show politics. For this one we’re once again going back to Season 1’s “Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind.” Buckle in.

The only way Rick C-137 was able to defeat the “murderer” Rick was with his Morty’s help. Morty recruited the other captured Mortys, hostages who followed him because they believed he was the One True Morty. What’s the One True Morty, you ask? Distributed through a series of pamphlets called “The Good Morty”, the One True Morty is a religion that teaches Mortys that their Ricks don’t care about them. Instead of blindly following, they should reject their Ricks’ adventures and live their own lives. Of course, “murderer” Rick was never really a murderer. He was being controlled by a Morty, who has been dubbed Eye Patch Morty and Evil Morty by fans.

We also know that Eye Patch/Evil Morty is now officially President Morty. One of the many Citadel of Ricks adventures in Season 3’s “The Ricklantis Mixup” chronicles this Morty’s rise to power against all odds. Toward the end of the episode President Morty is shown winning his election by a slim margin.

So how does this all come together? According to this theory, President Morty actually used his eye patch-wearing scheme to manipulate his own election. He overpowered a Rick and controlled his mind to only target other Ricks. That allowed him to take out multiple constituents who would presumably vote against a Morty for president. But that’s not all. He also, through the actions of his corrupt Rick, captured and tortured hundreds of Mortys. After being attacked by their own grandpas, these Mortys were poised to turn on the current Citadel order. And when they read “The Good Morty” pamphlets future President Morty secretly produced, that was the push they needed to turn completely against the Citadel.

When it was time for formerly Eye Patch Morty, now President Morty’s election, the cards were stacked in his favor. Multiple Ricks were already dead, and the Citadel was overrun by hundreds of refugee Mortys who had been indoctrinated to distrust Rick. That’s why President Morty was so confident. He always knew he was going to win.

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