WM TV Top 20 Saddest Rick and Morty Moments
#20: Wubba Lubba Dub-Dub Origins
“Ricksy Business” Rick tries out several catchphrases during the show. But the one that’s most prevalent is the seemingly nonsensical “Wubba Lubba dub-dub.” He often delivers it after a joke or to punctuate a moment. When Morty, Summer, and Rick throw a party, Rick says the phrase while doing drugs. After the party Rick’s buddy Birdperson explains to Morty that “Wubba Lubba dub-dub” in his people’s language means that Rick is saying he’s in terrible pain and asking for help. Although Rick does some bonding with his grandkids that makes him less prone to using the phrase, it’s still sad that he feels the need to numb himself to escape his own anguish.
#19: Snowball Trying to Save Morty
“Lawnmower Dog” While Rick and Morty have an adventure in the latter’s math teacher’s dreams, the rest of the family must contend with their dog, Snuffles, who becomes hyper intelligent. Renaming himself Snowball, the dog creates a society of intelligent dogs, as well as mechanized suits. Rick and Morty return and while Morty is well treated, the rest of the world isn’t so lucky. In order to gain Snowball’s sympathy, Rick gives Morty a pill that shuts down his kidneys. This deeply affects Snowball, who can’t stand to see the human he loves in such a state. Most pet owners experience something similar at some point, so it’s tragic to see the shoe on the other paw, so to speak, even if it is just a dream.
#18: Morty Kills Fart
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“Mortynight Run” When Rick sells a gun to an assassin, Morty takes it upon himself to rescue the killer’s target, a gaseous creature. Given the derogatory nickname Fart by Rick, the being proves fanciful and fond of musical interludes. However, just as Fart is about to return to his own kind through a portal, he reveals to Morty that he intends to return and exterminate all carbon-based life in Morty’s universe. Morty asks for one last song, and then uses the distraction to shoot Fart with the special gun. Although the death of a mass murderer isn’t particularly sad, our hearts go out to Morty, as this is the first time he takes a life. In a way, Morty has killed his innocence.
#17: Rick’s Car Conjures Up the Dead
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“The Ricks Must Be Crazy” Car trouble is exponentially upsetting in the “Rick and Morty” multiverse. While Rick and Morty investigate a problem inside the battery, Rick charges his car’s A.I. to “keep Summer safe.” Rick’s car does this through ruthless and incredibly violent methods. When the police arrive, Summer demands it stop hurting people. Instead, it arguably does something worse. After scanning the histories of each of the cops, the car synthesizes one cop’s deceased son, forcing the creation to ask his father to leave the car alone before dissolving into a puddle of goo in the traumatized man’s arms. To have a dead loved one come back to life and die in your arms again…there aren’t words to describe that kind of trauma. That poor, poor man…
#16: Jerry & Doofus Rick
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“Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind” Jerry is the family sad sack and even Ricks of other universes mock him. However, one of them doesn’t. A Rick with a bowl cut and buck teeth, nicknamed Doofus Rick by the others, befriends Jerry when a group of Ricks stays at the house. Doofus Rick is kind and appreciates Jerry’s interests, even making him brownies. Their friendship is a welcome bit of wholesomeness in what can often be a profoundly cynical show. Unfortunately, it eventually comes time to say goodbye. Seeing them stare at each other through a window gets us a little choked up. We’re not crying – it’s just raining.
#15: Jerry & Beth View Their Alternate Lives
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“Rixty Minutes” The whole family watching Interdimensional Cable is an opportunity for some whacky, random shows, movies, and commercials from other realities. However, Rick gives them a device that lets Beth and Jerry gain insight into alternate versions of their lives. In the universe they both view, Jerry became a successful actor, while Beth became a surgeon for humans instead of horses. However, they never got together. Seeing themselves supposedly happier without each other depresses them both, making them contemplate a separation. While their alternate selves reunite and they decide to stay together, it’s clear neither is truly happy as things stand. Many of us wonder what our lives would look like if we made different choices, but being confronted with the reality of that would certainly mess with our heads.
#14: Mr. Poopybutthole’s Post-Season 5 Speech
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“Rickmurai Jack” Mr. Poopybutthole is a silly, short friend of Rick and the rest of the family. The wacky guy often bookends the seasons of the show by commenting on the events and talking about what he’s been up to. In the last episode of season 5, Mr. Poopybutthole reveals that after he lost his teaching job, he began distancing himself from his wife, Amy. His attempts to be who he thought she wanted him to be only made them both unhappier and led to their separation. Mr. Poopybutthole encourages us to be honest with the people who love us, because life is short. It’s a heartbreakingly real moment for a comedy show. “Oowee” indeed…
#13: Rick’s Real Backstory
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“Rickmurai Jack” Rick avoids sharing details of his past, since he’s not that big on “canon.” However, while details have leaked through to the audience, it isn’t until the season 5 finale that it’s fully explained. The backstory Rick once claimed was fake, that another Rick offered him interdimensional travel and killed Rick’s original wife and daughter when he refused, was actually real. Rick spent decades pursuing his family’s killer across universes, making enemies of other Ricks who banded together, first against him and then for him, creating the Citadel of Ricks. Now an old man, Rick decided to move in with an abandoned version of his daughter, hoping to have a version of the family he lost. Rick really is his own worst enemy.
#12: Rick’s a Terrible Father
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“Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri” Rick isn’t the best father… or grandfather… or father-in-law. Focusing on his relationship with Beth, though, Rick often tiptoes around his parental shortcomings. When the family gains another Beth, Rick is the only one interested in determining which one is a clone. Watching a wiped memory, Rick finds that Beth asked him to decide if he wanted her to be in his life. Rick ultimately decided to clone Beth, randomizing the two so that not even he would be sure. The season ends with a moment of self-reflection as lonely Rick admits what everyone else knows, albeit to himself. While Rick has failed as a father, he sees an opportunity to do right by Phoenixperson, but the good friend ship has also possibly set sail.
#11: Roy: A Life Well Lived
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“Mortynight Run” Every once in and a while, “Rick and Morty” will introduce a character who comes and goes. In that short amount of time, however, we develop a surprisingly deep connection. Take Roy Parsons, for example. Strapping on a virtual reality helmet, Morty steps into Roy’s seemingly all-too-real shoes. His life literally flashes by, from his promising youth, to his disappointing adulthood, to his life-affirming battle with cancer, to his sudden death. Morty is thrust back into the real world, finding out that his wife, child, and the past 55 years were all fake. We know Roy technically isn’t real and he’ll live another day under Rick’s control. Regardless, Morty’s turn as the character is a strangely relatable portrait of how fleeting life is.
#10: Rick & Morty Break Up
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“Forgetting Sarick Mortshall” A mishap with portal fluid leads to Morty getting a portal on his hand and to he and Rick having a big blow-up fight. Morty tries to call Rick’s bluff on replacing him, and Rick does – with two crows. While the two have separate adventures, they reunite and Rick fixes Morty’s hand after he removes it to get rid of the portal. Morty is eager to reconcile and go back to how things were, but Rick is changed by his experience with the crows and realizes how abusive their partnership is. He decides to leave with the crows for new adventures. As bad as they are together, it’s still sad watching them say goodbye to the best friend each one has ever had.
#9: Hoovy’s Death
“Mort Dinner Rick Andre” Like Roy, Hoovy’s presence is short yet effective. Unlike Roy, though, Hoovy’s death has far-reaching coincidences. When Morty opens a portal, the kindly being offers to help carry some wine back to his dimension. Leaving behind his pregnant wife, Hoovy assumes he’ll only be gone a couple of seconds. Time flows differently between dimensions, however. Upon returning, Hoovy is horrified to find his home in ruins, his beloved turned to bones, and his grown-up son overcome with vengeance. Japheth stabs his father, believing he abandoned them. With his dying breath, Hoovy tries to explain it wasn’t his fault, shifting Japheth’s rage towards Morty. In a flash, a simple mistake not only ruins Hoovy’s life, but also the lives of several future generations bent on revenge.
#8: Rick Mourns Tony
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“The Old Man and the Seat” Although Rick initially intends to execute Tony for using his private toilet, the two make an unusual connection that could blossom into friendship. This only causes Rick to push back more as he tries to keep Tony out of his life and off his toilet. Rick learns a lesson in getting what he wants upon learning that Tony died in a ski accident, having been inspired by his heaven simulation. Returning to his lavatory, Rick plays a holographic message that was meant for Tony. Sitting on the toilet, Rick finds that all the mean things he intended for Tony to hear actually mirror his own loneliness and self-loathing. Rick reflects on the friendship that could have been, as well as the countless relationships he’s self-sabotaged.
#7: Robot Morty Becomes Conscious & Dies
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“Rickmancing the Stone” Morty and Summer decide to deal with their parents’ divorce in questionable ways while in another dimension. With the two determined to stay while they work out their issues, Rick decides to create robot duplicates so Beth doesn’t get suspicious. While their robotic behavior is funny at first, when the real articles return, Rick calls them into the garage to be decommissioned. However, robot Morty has become self-aware and doesn’t want to go. After expressing what he loves about life, his feelings are overridden, and he’s forced to walk to his own death. Robot Morty’s life is short, but it’s so utterly tragic.
#6: Rick’s Sacrifice
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“A Rickle in Time” Usually, when Rick does something noble or loving, there’s an ulterior motive. As Morty falls into an endless void of cats, though, Rick jumps in after him and gives his grandson his time-stabilizing collar. Rick doesn’t have an exit strategy to save himself. He makes the conscious decision to give up his life in exchange for Morty’s. Rick even accepts his fate, hoping that Morty will be better than he was. It’s a side of Rick that we rarely get to see, showing that he’s not 100% heartless. It’s more like 99.9%, but that .1% is huge for Rick. Thankfully, Rick finds another collar in the void, escaping at the last second. However, this doesn’t take away from the emotional impact of Rick’s actions.
#5: Birdperson Shot Through the Heart
“The Wedding Squanchers” The Season 2 finale finds Rick at one of his lowest points. Just as Rick starts to let down his defenses and open up, Tammy reminds him how deceiving and coldblooded others can be. Tammy reveals that her entire relationship with Birdperson was part of a sting operation to capture enemies of the Galactic Federation. Birdperson is barely able to react to his beloved’s betrayal before she shoots him and Rick cries out over the loss of his best friend. Rick ultimately gives himself up to the Federation with a defeated look on his face. Although it turns out that Rick has a few tricks up his sleeve, this was still a dire note to end the season on.
#4: Morty & Planetina Break Up
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“A Rickconvenient Mort” A female parody of Captain Planet, Planetina comes to love Morty almost as much as she loves the environment. Morty reciprocates these feelings, even resorting to murdering Planetina’s “kids” when they try to sell her off. That’s not even the darkest turn that their relationship takes, as Morty comes to see just how far Planetina will go to prevent pollution. While Morty has blood on his hands too, Planetina crosses a line that not even he can justify. As weird and disturbing as their relationship is, it’s genuinely tear-jerking when Morty tells Planetina that they can’t be together. Alison Brie’s voice acting is especially powerful as she seamlessly transitions from declaring her love for Morty, to holding back her heartbreak, to telling Morty off.
#3: Morty’s Nihilistic Speech To Summer
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“Rixty Minutes” In what may be the show’s most infamous moment, Rick and Morty flee their Cronenberged world and slip into another reality where they recently died. Watching Rick and Morty bury their own bodies will leave you haunted and downhearted, but it doesn’t end there. A couple of episodes later, Morty tells Summer about the graves in the backyard and where he really comes from. It’s a callback that catches us off guard, as the series had been mostly episodic up until this point. What’s even more shocking and depressing is Morty’s words to Summer about the meaninglessness of existence. Whether you find Morty’s outlook bleak or identifiable, it’s a brutal moment that adds new layers to the characters and the show’s continuity.
#2: Morty’s Relationship Reset
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“The Vat of Acid Episode” You know the opening montage from “Up?” This sequence isn’t quite as devastating as that, but it comes close enough. Playing with his reset button is no longer a priority after Morty meets his dream girl. As cynical as this show can be, Morty’s relationship with his girlfriend is a sincere one portrayed through visuals and music. Their romance overcomes disagreements, plane crashes, cannibalism, and freezing weather… only for Jerry to Jerry it up. Morty isn’t able to rewrite the relationship, although it’s implied that his girlfriend might remember him later. By this point, though, Morty has already faked his death. While a part of us can’t help but laugh at the tragic absurdity, it’s legitimately upsetting seeing this beautiful relationship deteriorate into acid.
#1: Rick’s Depression
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“Auto Erotic Assimilation” Rick gets back together with Unity, a hive mind that controls a whole planet. However, Rick proves to be an unhealthy influence on it and even it has a hard time keeping up with his self-destructive behavior. Ultimately, Unity decides to break up with him. This leaves Rick despondent and depressed. So much so that he goes into the garage and, in a heartbreaking sequence, he tries to end his life. It’s only because he passes out at the last second that Rick is saved. “Rick and Morty” has serious and sad moments both before and after this, but this one makes our hearts ache every time we watch it.
