Rick and Morty Season 5 has been one of the weirdest seasons yet for the animated sci-fi comedy, and for many different reasons. Obviously, the general madcap content and humor nothing too new, but the way things are playing out certainly makes it seem like the Adult Swim series is hiding some big secret that'll be revealed later this season.
For those who haven't been following the online speculation, there's something a little off about Rick Sanchez. I mean, beyond the plethora of things that are very clearly out of whack. Fans have picked up on a few specific details that have raised suspicions about the character's Season 5 arc progression, and it's inspired some theories about Rick and Morty holding some big secret up its sleeve that's being saved for the finale. Let's dive into the discussion below to make the situation a bit clearer.
Enemies Keep Getting The Upper Hand On Rick
Season 5 has been one where Rick Sanchez hasn't been the all-powerful scientist he's been in the past, which is pretty surprising after all these years. And in fact, we've seen quite the opposite, since Rick almost died before being rescued by Morty, he cowered in fear of an old nemesis at one point, he didn't see through one of Morty's lies, and he was outsmarted by the President of the United States. It's not just the fact that any one of these things has happened in isolation, it's that they're all happening in the same season, and that's certainly not normal for Rick and Morty's titular narcissist.
Rick's Rarely Using The Portal Gun
Rick and Morty fans first tuned into Rick's seemingly altered nature upon noticing he isn't really using his trademark portal gun with much regularity. Since that observation started making the rounds, viewers have seen Rick use his gun on occasion, though still not nearly as much as he has utilized it in past seasons. This has been taken to be a sign that it's not the same Rick that we're used to seeing, which is basically the endgame for a lot of Season 5 theories. Personally, I think this could've just been the writers deciding to make Rick less reliant on using the gun as an easy way out of complicated situations, though I could also see some sort of plot-related reason for him going about things the long way.
Rick Keeps Making Weird References About Avoiding Show Canon
One really weird thing about Season 5 of Rick and Morty is that the show's characters keep teasing parts of the show's canon, only for them to be interrupted by Rick or some cataclysmic event. Fourth-wall breaks aren't exactly a new thing in the Adult Swim series, but the fact that each one of those moments this season has been directly related to the show's canon could be relevant to an upcoming plot...somehow. Or it could just be the writers thumbing their noses at fans who want the series to return to a more serialized format, though I'm not sure they want to poke that bear, at least not with those same thumbs.
Is There Any Other Explanation For Rick's Weirdness?
While I know Rick and Morty is a show that can surprise its audience from time to time with canon-shaking reveals, one simpler reason for Rick's changes is that the creative team wanted/needed to shake things up. After all, constantly seeing Rick win in every battle with little to zero effort would likely get tiresome after another five seasons of it. Plus, we've known since the giant episode renewal that Rick and Morty planned to be less serialized with its adventures, so this season could just be more jokes directed at that, since most of them were probably written longer ago than some might think. I guess we can just wait to see what happens in the rest of Season 5 and if all this strangeness results in anything interesting.
Rick and Morty airs on Adult Swim on Sundays at 11:00 p.m. ET. While we may not know if Rick's weirdness is building to anything in particular, there is evidence that the series hasn't completely abandoned serialization. For more on that, check out which Season 5 character is set to make a return in an upcoming episode right here.
