im not saying i want non-rickortys + anti-rickortys to be uncomfortable with s9e1, but i do honestly wonder what kind of copium theyre huffing after the reveal that EM has a crush on r1ck 🤔
like did they just chalk it up to being a joke? cause i even thought about that too, but the way EM runs away and crashes out on R&M after hes accused of crushing kinda makes me feel like the writers did intend for it to come across that way. even with my shipping goggles taken off, i still feel like the episode was intentionally written to be interpreted like that. i mean, it would make total sense that as a trauma response or something EM would develop an unhealthy obsession with r1ck. whether or not they wanna explicitly lean into that being a crush is up to them, but i feel like ship or not, thats a valid interpretation.
honestly i kinda hope they do lean into that and explore it more. rickorty aside, i feel like exploring how EMs r1ck-trauma manifests into an unhealthy crush on him is genuinely a really interesting way to take his character, especially as a way to explore the negative affects of abuse and grooming. you dont see that talked about enough with abuse stories (yes, ik r&m isnt an abuse story, but their relationship is canonically in the very least extremely toxic and the writers seem to like to explore that in certain eps, so you know what i mean)
They absolutely have to think its a joke but it's so noticeably not a joke that it's ridiculous to think that in this case.
I mean okay, I understand Rick and Morty is the "show with too many incest jokes", but that episode wasn't making a joke out of it, it was taking it 100% seriously and people just laughed because haha! it was clearly JUST another Crow Rick episode where their relationship is being compared to a romantic arc, it's nothing serious at all!
But it is. The incestuous feelings Evil Morty has for Rick is just outright one of the most important revelations this episode gave. The Omega Device being destroyed barely got any discussion in comparison to that.
For the sake of EM, I'm going to put Rickorty in a corner and tell them to sit still.
So the majority of this episode has EM trying to upset Morty by making non-platonic implications about Mortys feelings towards Rick. To do this, he's making sexual innuendos over and over. It wasn't just the comment about "a milkshake for the Morty who wants to suck my grandpas dick --- nah, I'll take both" that was stare-worthy, despite how easy it is to use that as an example.
No, you can hear it in his voice when he says that "Rick even showed me some...time travel stuff" that he's intending it to come off sexual. His usually monotone voice is breathy, like he's a little aroused just thinking about it. He's doing this on purpose to freak Morty out.
Morty ends up calling him a homewrecker, confirming his ragebait is working. He's doing it to really dig at Mortys insecurities and it's such a fascinating choice because while Rick and Morty have constantly been assumed to be in a relationship...the problem is that the people saying this are are all outsiders to their relationship. Even the Smith family don't know what they're actually feeling because they aren't Rick and Morty.
But, this is a Morty saying it. Not just any Morty, but the Morty who is so intelligent and charismatic that he successfully is voted in as a President for the Citadel. He knows how all these Mortys work and feel because he was working with them and changing the sociopolitical landscape of the Citadel.
Yet, still, Evil Morty is the one who thinks this would work as an attempt to make Morty jealous. It really does imply that Evil Morty genuinely thinks there's a chance Morty could have feelings for Rick, saying much about what he's been seeing on the Citadel, right?
The problem is it has nothing to do with what he witnessed on the Citadel.
Seriously, look at Mortys bafflement at how Evil Morty was behaving. "What even are you?" He asks, after innuendo after innuendo coming out of his mouth.
It's basically asking him what the hell happened to you, man? Why are you acting like this? Why do you THINK that?
He's absolutely possessive and needy towards Rick, but seriously, Evil Morty could've just targeted JUST his insecurities about his intelligence in comparison to EM. Instead, he's openly flirting with Rick and implying he wants him sexually.
Then Morty figures it out and is so fucking sadistically gleeful about it too. He calls EMs entire bluff about hating them. He's about to say worse --- Evil Morty sees it in his smug face and runs.
"You leaned in hard, because you thought it was real" - Morty says, about the mere idea Rick could genuinely like EM
"I saw what I saw, Rick. He's got a big ol' crush on you." Morty says, about an alternate version of himself that Morty WOULD be able to recognize any signs of a crush in.
And Rick plays along with it, calling himself irresistible, but then the ending happens. He look Evil Morty and goes...huh. Morty was right, you do have a crush.
And, in a stunning show of empathy that Rick rarely expresses to a Morty, Rick apologizes to this Evil Morty for his Morty making it weird. After ruining his Omega Device, he apologizes on behalf of Morty.
"We were never a thing." Evil Morty denies it.
"Uh-huh."
And it's like, you kinda wanna assume it's supposed to imply that maybe theres a chance that Rick genuinely did enjoy EMs company more than Morty and is awkward about how it went down. But no, Rick had never been prouder in Morty than when he was being a possessive fucking nerd this episode and helped him break any ties to EM without even knowing it.
I really do think Rick was apologizing to Evil Morty because even though this kid is a truly annoying asshole, Rick actually felt bad that Morty essentially outed Evil Morty as having a crush on Rick. That it wasn't a joke and that this Evil Morty genuinely was enjoying his company enough that his Morty thinks he has a crush.
Ultimately, the "incest joke" is seriously not a joke this episode. This episode was absolutely an episode trying to discuss that Evil Morty couldn't break free from what he tried so hard to do.
He failed to be the Morty that broke free of Ricks and he ended up with a crush on Rick who doesn't return those feelings. Kinda pitiful, really
