Rick and Morty Showrunners Explain the Reason for Season 9’s Brutal Finale

Over the course of nine wild seasons, Morty Smith has endured unimaginable chaos alongside his eccentric grandfather, Rick Sanchez, in Rick and Morty. From having his consciousness fractured into non-player characters to abandoning his original reality, burying his own corpse, and confronting a terrifying evil variant of himself, Morty’s journey has been relentless. Following a Season 8 conclusion that forced him to confront his deepest phobias, the Season 9 finale delivered another emotionally devastating blow, dragging several harsh realities into the light.

“If we stop putting him through these trials, there’s a genuine risk the series becomes unrecognizable,” co-creator and showrunner Dan Harmon explained in a virtual interview with Polygon. “Morty has remained a 14-year-old boy for over a decade, and that decade has subjected him to hourly psychological trauma alongside one of the most toxic figures in the cosmos.”

The episode “Field of Dreams” kicks off as various iterations of Rick (voiced by Ian Cardoni) and Morty (Harry Belden) attend an estate sale held at the home of a Smith family who tragically perished from eating chili so explosive it ruptured their intestines. Fascinated by a parallel Morty who routinely crashes funerals just to overhear loved ones praise him, our Morty decides to test the method. This detour eventually leads him to an alternate version of his relatives who have never interacted with another Morty before.

Initially, this domestic setup appears idyllic. They lavish Morty with affection and invite him back anytime, visibly horrified as he recounts the hazardous escapades he usually endures. However, a darker edge soon surfaces when Jerry (Chris Parnell) purposefully shatters the portal gun to trap Morty and prevent his return.

The root cause behind this peaceful family dynamic is stark: they completely severed ties with their Rick due to his unaddressed alcoholism. Upon tracking down his grandfather in this reality, Morty encounters one of the healthiest versions of Rick imaginable. This variant has maintained 17 years of sobriety, enjoys a fulfilling marriage, and works as an MIT professor. Though this Rick admits that creating the portal gun nearly ruined his existence, Morty pressures him to build one anyway. Predictably, this obsession fractures the professor’s marriage, dragging him right back into heavy drinking and nihilism, effectively morphing him into the cynical mentor Morty recognizes.

By the curtain falls, Morty has returned to his usual routine of hopping through dimensions alongside a belligerent, intoxicated grandfather. Co-showrunner Scott Marder noted to Polygon that this inherently toxic codependency remains the narrative heartbeat of the animated series.

“The finale explores this in a fascinating way,” Marder stated. “Morty has undoubtedly been warped by this partnership, yet he ultimately forces Rick to regress just to get what he wanted. It creates a brilliant full-circle arc for him by the conclusion of Season 9.”

Even though Morty hasn’t aged a single year across nine seasons, the sheer gravity of his cosmic adventures has permanently altered him.

“I believe we’ve allowed Morty to grow organically while fiercely preserving his foundational identity,” Harmon concluded. “He remains an idealist at heart. He trusts in objective truth and believes there’s a morally correct way to handle things. Fundamentally, Rick has evolved as well, though he refuses to embrace that worldview. Both characters experience authentic growth while staying entirely true to who they are.”

Source: Polygon