Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Rick and Morty: The Anime Episode #1The newRick and Mortyanime series just made an already disturbing element from the main show even more twisted. While the first episode ofRick and Morty: The Animehas been met with mixed reception from fans, it has still made notable efforts to expand upon the massive Rick and Morty multiverse. Many nods to the main series were made in the premiere episode, but a key story detail completely twisted one of the show’s darker jokes.
While Rick is hiding from the Galactic Federation throughout the story, Morty takes center stage as he becomes entranced by a new VR game made that his grandfather made for him. It essentially works the same as “Roy,” a video game in theRick and Mortyuniverse where players take on the role of a standard guy named Roy and rack up points by living his life. However,this take on the iconic joke takes a much darker turn when things begin jumping through time.
It turns out Morty’s VR game is tied toevery reality in theRick and Mortyuniverseat once, as explained by another Rick in the virtual space. The worst part of it all is that everything Morty experiences is actually happening in real life.
Rick’s VR Game for Morty Intersects with Various Alternate Realities
Everything Morty Sees Throughout The Sequence is Actually Happening
While “Roy” is based entirely in fiction, only made to feel real by the player to immerse them in Roy’s life, this virtual reality created by Rick takes a far more twisted approach to the concept.The story is constantly shifting from one alternate possibility to the nextas Morty finds himself close to a man named Frank and a woman named Elle. From there, his life plays out in these timelines as he even experiences his own death countless times in a tribute toOrson Welles’Citizen Kane.
It’s an incredibly trippy sequence that takes the story down a darker path asMorty comes face-to-face with the lives and deaths of countless other Mortys in the multiverse, as indicated by the changing costume colors whenever an outcome is shifted. It’s unclear whether they actually do battle a monster in their reality, but the game eventually becomes far more realistic as these alternate Mortys take different paths following their interaction with the beast, usually ending up with either Frank or Elle, even in the Cronenberg reality, as shown during the episode’s post-credits scene.
Rick and Morty’s Warped Version of “Roy” Serves Another Purpose
It’s Secretly a Prologue for the Main Series
What’s fascinating about the VR sequence fromRick and Morty: The Animeis how it plays into what’s to come for the series at large.Trailers for the animehave shown that Elle is going to serve a much bigger role in the first season, sothis entire first episode essentially serves as a prologue for the series to come.Morty experiencing these alternate paths shows that he will know the right and wrong direction he and Rick should take when things begin to feel similar to the game.
It will be interesting to see how each passing episode ties back to Morty’s experience in the game. There’s no denying that it’s an odd way for this anime take on the series to begin. However, with hints to the future hiding in plain sight, this darker take on one ofRick and Morty’s most twisted jokes is a perfect way to kick off the anime.
Watch new episodes ofRick & Morty: The Animeevery Thursday at midnight on Adult Swim, next day on Max
Rick and Morty: The Anime
Cast
Rick and Morty: The Anime is a 2024 animated series that brings the beloved series into an anime format. The story follows the Smith family through their familiar dynamics, with Rick encountering a pseudo-world, Summer assisting Space Beth, and Morty experiencing love—all within an anime-inspired style.
