Why Rick Lost, my thoughts on Season 3.
Season three of Rick and Morty is over, and Rick ends the series at the bottom once more, only this time rather than being hauled off to Intergalactic Prison for the crime of everything, heâs knocked from his high horse on the geopolitical stage and in his own home.
This season has been focused on the themes of recovery and reconciliation, but at the core of it, the season examines nihilism, with Rick being that worldviewâs in-story avatar. And we see each member of the family, take a nihilistic turn, from Mortyâs competent-but-jaded new outlook, Summerâs âlet it all burnâ attitude towards her parentâs breakup, Jerryâs attempted murder of Rick and Bethâs⌠well, the whole bit at the back there.
Before I go further, tiâs important to note that (at least to me) nihilism isnât a position one adopts. It is a realization that cannot be un-realized. You may not be there yet, you may not get there, but for those that have the stark realization that nothing means anything inherently alters oneâs entire reality.Â
It doesnât have to be (more on that in a bit) but being a nihilist can be dark, witness Rick in general. Nihilism, as represented by Rick, is defeated by two things. The more blunt force of which is the President:
The President is able to defeat Rick, or, more accurately, fight him to a perpetual draw, because he is oblivious to meaninglessness. He is just as stubborn and unyielding and petty as Rick, he doesnât care about the costs of the battle because he has a philosophical principle (that the US cannot tolerate a rival power that wonât bend knee to itâs authority) that he adheres to for irrational reasons. The President can ignore the impact of Rickâs power and worldview because heâs a true believer. He is, unwittingly, the same as the thing that brings down Rickâs patriarchal hold over the family.Â
Nihilism is half a philosophical outlook. It gives an observation, that there is no meaning inherent to anything, but it doesnât address the question of âwhat do we do about it?â terribly well.
Choice is another solid theme in the season. As Morty beats a road-warrior proxy for his father to death, he screams for him to man up and make a decision. Dr. Wong monologues about choice. Rick ultimately gives Beth a choice to go on a consequence free adventure of self discovery or the option to âluxuriate in a life you can finally know youâve chosen.â
Ultimately this leads to Rickâs defeat because Beth, or Clone Beth, it doesnât matter, and the rest of the family all choose what they value. You can see this when Beth reflects on her first kiss with Jerry and realizes that while she hated it at the moment she loves it now. Beth, and the rest of the family, have become existentialists. They recognize that Rick is factually right, that they are insignificant in the face of infinity, that nothing has meaning, there is no god (and even if there is how tough can he be when the devil can be so thoroughly thrashed?) , and so forth, but they choose to give things meaning because they want to. To quote another show:Â
Rickâs power is rooted in his ability to undermine the woldviews of those around him. He can tear apart the Vindicators because of the flaws in their version of heroism. He can defeat the devil because he isnât impressed by the devilâs power. He can destroy the Galactic Federation because they need the concepts of money and governmental authority.Â
But he canât control a suburban household if everyone in it says âYes, and whatâs your point?â when he says âyour life is a lie and nothing you care about is real.â The Smith family may not be as intelligent as Rick, but theyâve evolved beyond his philosophical position, or perhaps have simply chosen a better answer than ârage and despairâ when responding to the void.
It is important to point out that in previous seasons, and a few times in this season, Rick is less a representative of nihilism and is more in line with the absurd hero of absurdist philosophy, and is a different response to nihilism than standard Existentialism. His âtake the universe for a rideâ speech is very much in keeping with the principles of absurdism, at least to my amateur perspective.