Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Rick and Morty Season 7.
This week’s episode ofRick and MortySeason 7 advanced the main narrative of the show by a mile, with Rick (Ian Cardoni) finally confronting Rick Prime, the variant of himself who took the life of his wife and daughter. A big revelation that came during the explosive battle was that, by using a dangerous weapon called the Omega Device, Rick Prime deleted every version of Diane (Kari Wahlgren) from the multiverse. This would explain why the character hasn’t been seen in all the dimensions the dynamic duo has visited over the years, and why Rick has been so obsessed with tracking down his enemy and defeating him once and for all.
Rick and Morty
The fractured domestic lives of a nihilistic mad scientist and his anxious grandson are further complicated by their inter-dimensional misadventures.
How Did Rick Prime Eliminate Diane in ‘Rick and Morty’?
Ever sinceAdult Swimreleased the first episode of the third season as an April Fool’s prank in 2017,Rick and Mortyhas played around with the idea of Rick C-137’s original family being killed by a variant of himself. It would take a while for the animated comedy to confirm this was the case, but once it did, everything changed for the scientist based on Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd).It would later be revealed that, after failing to find the one Rick who ruined his life, C-137 spiraled into the alcoholism and depression the character has been known for since he was introduced in 2013.
After the sixth season ended with Morty (Harry Belden) finding out that Rick was surprisingly determined to find Rick Prime, he knew it was time to help his grandfather from another dimension fix the mistakes of his past. Their quest would make them cross paths with Evil Morty, a variant of Morty smarter than most Ricks, but with the boy’s young age and personality. With the three of them looking for the person who could be tagged as the biggest antagonist of the show, it was time to cross a portal and set up a date with destiny.
During the climactic battle, which included enclosed rooms full of traps that could’ve come straight out of anIndiana Jonesmovie, Rick Prime revealed that he used a machine called the Omega Device to eliminate Diana from every timeline in the multiverse.He proceeded to exemplify what he did by using the device once more on an uncle of Rick’s who had barely appeared in the series, with Uncle Slow Mobius disappearing from every dimension possible. This process would explain so much ofwhat has been seen onRick and Mortyup until this point.
Diane Only Lives in Rick’s Memories in ‘Rick and Morty’
Throughout seven seasons of traveling the multiverse with a man who can rebuild his life in a different dimension at any point,Rick and Mortynever directly addressed why Diane was never present with the other versions of the Smith family. It was a common occurrence to see Beth (Sarah Chalke) hanging out with Morty, Summer (Spencer Grammer), and Jerry (Chris Parnell) in every dimension Rick jumped into, but the inventor’s wife was nowhere to be found. This was also highlighted by the fact that Rick could never get over her passing, turning him into the lonely man he had continued to be for so long.
Audiences have gotten to see glimpses of Beth’s mother through fabricated flashbacks, not to mention the fact that the voice heard on Rick’s ship’s console is supposed to be a digital recreation of Diane’s.But other than that, the love of Rick’s life remains a complete mystery, and perhaps one that’s not meant to be explored in the animated series co-created byDan HarmonandJustin Roiland. Even if Rick is able to change his behavior, allowing himself to love his family again, Diane will always be a memory that haunts his mind, trapping him in a feeling of loneliness he can’t get away from.
Viewers didn’t know it at first, but Rick has always been driven by his vengeful mission of killing the man who denied him the possibility of living a long and happy life with his family. Sure, he has been able to find a new path for himself byforming a strong bond with Mortyand the Smith families they keep running into, but deep down, he was never going to feel truly happy again until Rick Prime stopped breathing. Or that’s what he thought, at least, andthe latest episode ofRick and Mortyhints at what the future has in store for the brilliant scientist.
What’s Next for Rick After Defeating Rick Prime?
Right after he defeated Rick Prime after looking for himall over the multiverse, Rick looked like he didn’t know what to do with his life next. He could go back to drinking the entire day, looking for trouble on planets far away from his own only to feel something, but perhaps for the first time in decades, that’s merely an option. Rick still has a family that loves him and is willing to be around for his recovery process.Rick Prime was the focus on Rick’s mind for such a long amount of time that, now that he’s gone, the character doesn’t know how to process it.
Another interesting aspect of the show’s latest episode titled “Unmortricken,” is the fact that it’s merely thefifth installment of the season, and there are still five other episodes to go. It would be easy to assume that having the final confrontation with the story’s villain would need to take place during a season finale, butRick and Mortynever plays by the rules.Now they have half a season’s worth of infinite possibilities, giving Rick the chance to decide what corners of the universe he wants to visit with a new perspective on life.
While it would be lovely to see Rick moving on from the tragedy that changed the course of his life, nothing is ever easy in the Adult Swim comedy.The depressed inventor could sink into a deeper depression, losing the only thing that motivated him to get out of bed and fight another day. After many attempts to take his own life over the years, could his new family be the only reason that kept him from pulling the trigger? Or was Rick’s desire to kill Rick Prime the only thought that has prevented him from making a very sad decision about his future?
Rick and Mortyis available for streaming on Max, with new episodes from Season 7 premiering every Sunday on Adult Swim.
