Recently when rewatching older episodes, I thought about how tragic it is that Jessica always liked Morty, but Morty was always too insecure and in his head to realize that. He always thought he had to drastically change himself and get her to like him. Jessica wanted to go on a date with regular Morty, not healthy Morty. Jessica invited Morty to skinny dip with her and Morty was so obsessed with the death crystal, with the thought of having to do or be anything other than what he is, that he could not see what was right in front of him. The only thing getting in the way of a relationship between them was his own insecurity, until it was too late.
And I like Jessica‘s development, but the new episode made me realize that Morty has never, not once, been loved by anyone in a healthy way. And that makes it tragic to me. The thought of what could have been if Morty had just had a tiny bit more self-confidence.
He would still be traumatized and his family would still be abusive, but he would have at least one person his age to confide in, someone who genuinely liked him for who he was. But because he can‘t like himself for who he is, he lost a connection that was right there, and that would have potentially been so healing for him
