Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for Rick and Morty Season 6, Episode 10.
It’s Christmastime in the Rick and Morty universe, with Season 6’s finale bringing a gift for fans. In Episode 10, we find out the truth about the gentler Rick (voiced by Justin Roiland) introduced in last week’s episode. The revelation comes as the season backtracks to Episode 1 and makes the menace of Prime Rick real again. While that would already make the stakes high for the season finale, “Ricktional Mortpoon's Rickmas Mortcation” also crossovers with Star Wars to talk about the dangers of fandom. Considering how Rick and Morty has a legion of fans that are constantly criticizing the show and claiming to know what’s best for its story, it’s a genius move to use Star Wars, another franchise with a highly divisive fanbase.
The Season 6 finale starts at Christmas when Rick gives all the Smiths something special from the multiverse. With the exception of Episode 1, this is the first time in the entire season Rick uses his portal gun to go into a different dimension. Curiously enough, this move leads to tragedy, reinforcing the theme of Season 6, that characters should remain grounded in a single universe to have some emotional growth. However, Rick’s multiversal adventure happens out of frame, with the episode still taking place on the same Earth we’ve been exploring for the entire season. What’s most important is that Rick brings a lightsaber back from the multiverse to Morty (voiced by Roiland), a gift that ultimately leads to the reveal Rick has been a robot the entire time he has been kind to the Smith family.
RELATED: 'Rick and Morty' Season 6 Review: Get Ready for Another Ricktastic Adventure
Do Android Rick Dream of Electric Morty?
On Christmas, Rick brings gifts to the entire Smith family. To Jerry (voiced by Chris Parnell), he gives a copy of Miracle on 34th Street that’s two hours longer than the original 1947 film. Both Beths (voiced by Sarah Chalke) get a framed photo of themselves with Rick in a universe where she didn’t die and the scientist never left her alone. Summer (voiced by Spencer Grammer) gets cash because she’s a teenager. As for Morty, Rick fulfills his nerdy dreams of owning a lightsaber.
Rick takes Morty to the garage to play with his lightsaber, cutting fruits in half. Unfortunately, Morty drops the lightsaber while it’s perfectly vertical to the floor. As a result, the energy blades make a hole in the garage and start to go down toward Earth’s core. Rick and Morty descend to the sublevels of the garage’s shaft, trying to retrieve the lightsaber as fast as they can.
While using an elevator to figure out where the weapon would appear next, Morty takes them to the tenth level of the shaft, despite Rick’s protests. There, he finds out that Rick, smelly and bearded, is compulsively working to track down Prime Rick, the man who killed his family and destroyed his life. The more supportive Rick is actually a robot built by Rick to distract the Smiths while he lets his obsession drain his life. And Morty is somewhat to blame for it since Rick only got back to hunting Prime Rick after his grandson called him boring in Episode 9.
Morty is disappointed in Rick for tricking the family with a robot. Robot Rick, however, is relieved with the opportunity to stop lying. Since he was built to love the Smiths, keeping his identity a secret is actually painful and depressing. Nevertheless, Morty tells Robot Rick he has a duty to keep the family entertained during Christmas, as it would be cruel to reveal the truth on such a special occasion. That’s the right decision from Morty, who soon receives a visit from the President (voiced by Keith David), who belittles the kid for liking Star Wars and putting the world in danger. However, when Morty begins to cry, the President tries to find some Christmas spirit and vows to retrieve the boy’s new toy.
Morty takes the President and his army of scientists down to Rick’s shaft. Rick is angered about Morty letting strangers inside his secret lab and offers to destroy the falling lightsaber. The President scolds Rick, saying that they’ll actually build a drilling robot to get the present back instead of breaking it. However, when the time frame becomes too tight for the President’s plan, Morty accepts Rick's offer to destroy his Christmas gift.
Rick sends a second lightsaber after the first one. The difference is that Rick’s lightsaber is red, has an AI, and counts propulsors that allow it to move in the direction Rick orders it. Rick sends the second lightsaber after the first one, but after asking for too many feedback reports, the AI rebels, shuts down its remote control, and goes to Venice, Italy, to mass murder people. The President decides to blame the event on the Saudis while Rick fixes the drilling robot so Morty can retrieve the lightsaber.
Morty and the President use the drilling ship to get the lightsaber before it can reach Earth’s core. The President betrays Morty, though, claiming the Jedi weapon for himself. The President drops the weapon in the White House on the same day, restarting the world-threatening event. He then launches the White House into space to be safe from the consequences of his actions and goes on live television to blame Morty for the accident. Morty is enraged and decides to enlist Robot Rick to get his revenge.
Revenge of the Sith-zens
While Morty is having his underground adventure with the President, Robot Rick tries to be a good member of the Smith family. First, he watches the boring version of Miracle on 34th Street with the Smiths, then he proposes to play a party game called “Are you a robot?” Robot Rick plans to force the Smiths to unmask him, knowing they’ll destroy his metal carcass. The game backfires, with the Smiths feeling closer and more connected to Robot Rick than before. Things are so good with the Smith family that Jerry even asks Robot Rick to carve the meat, an act of final acceptance that proves electronic grandpa is finally a family member. At this point, Morty, pissed with the President for stealing his lightsaber, reveals the truth. The Smith family, as predicted, use whatever weapon they can find to dismantle Robot Rick, granting him the sweet gift of death.
Robot Rick can’t enjoy his death too long because after the President blames Morty for his accident, the Smiths reassemble the android so that he can help the boy. Robot Rick builds another drilling ship, they retrieve the lightsaber, and then the duo goes to the White House in space to force the President to confess his crimes. To their surprise, the President is ready and sends Star Wars robots to kill them inside a Star Wars cantina that’s always been part of the White House.
While the President complains about Star Wars, says it’s childish, and blames George Lucas and Disney for ruining the franchise, he still worships the universe, collects toys, and imagines his own version of Star Wars characters. Basically, the President is the average Star Wars fan. And like most Star Wars fans, the President’s ideas are beyond optimal. Because a robot with lightsaber lasers and a lightsaber Gatling gun is dumb, to say the least.
Morty uses the lightsaber Gatling gun to attack the President, but Robot Rick throws his body in front of the lightsaber projectiles, saving the President’s life. Robot Rick only wanted to kill himself, but his sacrifice helps Morty to realize the metallic creature is the one he truly wants to be his grandfather. The Gatling gun lightsaber projectiles fall to the ground, ripping a hole in the White House and sucking everyone into the vacuum of space. At the last minute, Rick, the real one, uses his portal gun to save everybody, teleporting them to the garage. The President goes away on foot, while Robot Rick uses his final words to let Morty know the real Rick built a metallic substitute to express love for the family. So, deep down, real Rick cares about Morty’s well-being, even if he sucks at showing it. After everything is said and done, Rick admits he was wrong for shutting Morty down, and now his grandson is invited to help him hunt Rick Prime.
During the entire episode, the real Rick is using every tool he can to track down the location of Rick Prime. Once Morty gets to the lab Rick’s been using for the task, the scientist explains how Rick Prime is apparently in multiple timelines simultaneously. So, Morty is now dragged into a wild goose search that might take a lifetime and destroy his humanity. Just like it destroyed Rick’s. Morty's insistence on being part of Rick’s lie will come back to bite him in the ankle because now he’s obliged to put everything at risk to help his grandpa find Rick Prime.
As Rick says, the hunt for Rick Prime will be the central theme of Season 7, and they might spend all the next season's episodes on the task. That would be an exciting change of pace. Season 6 forced the characters to live their lives in a single timeline. Season 7 promises to take Rick and Morty into the multiverse, tracking down their most powerful enemy yet.
Interdimensional Lost & Found
- When Morty is playing with his lightsaber in the garage, Robot Rick forces him to hit him, leaving only clothes behind. That’s a nod to Obi-Wan and how Jedi leave only their clothes behind when becoming Force Ghosts.
- When the AI lightsaber goes rogue and kills people in Venice, the President says “that’s not amore.” The reference here is to Dean Martin’s classic song “That’s Amore.”
- Rick gets angry at Morty for calling him boring like he’s a David Arquette character. We demand justice for Scream’s Sheriff Dewey Riley!
- After stealing Morty’s lightsaber, the President says “America, transform and roll out!” So, it seems like the President is willing to steal anything from big franchises, including the war cry of Transformers.
It just feels good when a Rick and Morty season ends with Mr. Poopybutthole (voiced by Roiland). This time, we learn Mr. Poopybutthole is dealing with Amy leaving him by becoming a bodybuilder. Unfortunately, he breaks both legs while lifting some weights.
