Rick and Morty is almost back and Dan Harmon’s show has a lot of questions to answer after last season’s cliffhanger. The series has mixed episodic adventures and establishing continuity throughout its first five seasons, but the breaking of the central finite curve fundamentally changes how the Smiths can inhabit their world. Fans want to see certain storylines picked up again, and a new trailer revealed some of those may be coming, although there were no obvious storylines, just some images here and there.
Still, a two-minute trailer cannot answer every question about an upcoming season of television. Here are just a few questions left unanswered before Season 6 of Rick and Morty.
What Is Wormageddon/the Egg About?
Adult Swim dropped a short ad showing an egg in a tube with green fluid as the background explodes around it. The tube cracks as “For Damaged Coda” by Blonde Redhead — a song associated with evil Morty (Justin Roiland) — plays in the background. Oh, and the video is called “A Citadel Secret | Rick and Morty Wormageddon.”
So, there are clearly more problems to solve from the destruction of The Citadel. This could be something Rick (also Roiland) is not aware of, but he did help create the Citadel, which was not revealed until the Season 5 finale. There is a possibility he is aware of this egg, and it’s dangerous, or Rick knows it exists but does not think it is serious or that the egg could be a misdirect. This is a giant mystery box in the shape of a green egg.
How Are Rick and Morty’s Adventures Going to Be Affected by the Breaking of the Finite Curve?
Rick’s portal fluid is gone — for now. Evil Morty used up all the Citadel’s remaining fluid to escape and destroyed most of the Ricks and most of the Mortys in the process. Rick should be able to make more portal fluid and travel around galaxies but he and the Smiths have some limitations now. He will not have the same safety nets provided existing in the central finite curve. There’s also the question of how will these infinite realities that lost their Ricks and Mortys go on and if the main Rick and Morty will help them as Morty did by fixing up Rick’s mistakes.
More importantly, the question about Rick and Morty’s partnership is up in the air. They ended the last season trying to have more of a partnership rather than living in a “Ricktatorship.” That applies to the rest of the family as well, as Rick started to acknowledge what he had with Morty and his family was a toxic way of addressing his guilt and shame for not getting closure from the Rick who killed Diane. That’s partially why he joined with the crows in the first place. Rick started to move towards a healthier partnership by asking for Morty’s help to escape the imploding Citadel last season. Given the series’ episodic tendencies, it will be interesting to see how they blend the need for character growth with having some form of adventure.
How Will Rick Handle Not Being the “Smartest Man in the Universe?”
In terms of Rick personally, he’s had a, for lack of a better word, “crib” to ride in for the last five seasons. He could exist in every universe and keep destroying other worlds and face little to no consequences. Now, he has more potential foils. Rick may not still be the “smartest man in the universe” anymore and that makes things more exciting.
Not only will Rick have more consequences for trying to be accountable and kinder to his family, he also has to contend with a universe where he cannot just keep fucking up, finding out, and fucking up again. It also opens the possibilities for more powerful enemies and friends to appear. What surprises are in store for the Smiths?
What Lingering Off-Screen “Smith” Family Characters Will Come Into the Picture?
I include Naruto here because the character does make multiple appearances in the last season. He is just floating in space right now and could always come back into play if the Smiths run into trouble and need a giant…baby, or toddler (sidebar: how fast do giant humans grow in this universe?).
The main point of concern in this category is Space Beth (Sarah Chalke). Harmon and company have not given much airtime for her since her reveal in the Season 4 finale aside from a brief cameo in the last season. Now, the new trailer does provide two shots with Space Beth interacting with the rest of the Smiths – including one flying in a ship with the family. How will she fit in with a potentially evolving family dynamic?
Oh, and a quick shoutout to Morty Jr. because he exists. Remember Morty Jr.?
Will We See Evil Morty Again?
There is a good chance that Evil Morty will not be in the picture next season, or ever. He went two seasons between his first two appearances and did not come back into the picture in a major way until two seasons later (he had a brief cameo in the story train episode which served more as trailer fodder).
Still, Evil Morty shaped the current dynamic of the show. Not only did he destroy the finite curve, but he also forced Rick and Morty to reestablish their relationship. He finally got Rick to reveal his full backstory and how he got involved with the Citadel in the first place and how it became a Morty-making factory to shield Ricks. Not to mention he put Rick in the situation to admit he only wanted to reunite with Morty after the crows dumped him. He literally forced Rick to either die or acknowledge his toxicity. Evil Morty’s impact will linger on the series whether he appears in an episode or two or not.
And from a traveling perspective, where did Evil Morty go? What did his yellow portal lead to? How many universes have been left untouched by Rick? Maybe his portal fluid is the key to interdimensional travel with the curve out of the picture.