#strike ramble

I really liked this finale... Probably one of my favorite episodes of the show, ever... I have a lot to say about this episode but I'll keep it Morty-centric!!

I enjoyed how, for a moment there, Morty got to experience what his family would be like without the inter-dimensional travel and general dysfunction (at a glance!!! (eyes emoji)). He could experience, just for a while, an emotionally open family that could say they loved him so mundanely... a family who genuinely wants to spend time with him... A family who shows concern upon hearing he was once hurt and in pain.

It makes me so sad to see him recall that story of him dying like it's just a funny little anecdote. Things like that are just Normal to him now, so he doesn't think much of it anymore. A reoccurring bit I see throughout this season is Morty directly or indirectly seeking affection from his family... Specifically, I think about the scene in the Sympathid episode where he gives a speech about how all he wants is for someone to hug him, just because. So of course, it's no wonder he gets attached to the affection of the Moral Family really quickly.

This version of his family seems perfect, providing all that he could ever want. But under the surface..? We don't know too much about how their daily lives operated outside of Jerry's perspective, but we see some less-than-stellar implications upon seeing Mort's journal. Mort was so pressured by his father to complete all of these crazy and difficult achievements that he wanted to run away. And he died before he could escape. So it's pretty safe to say that the Morty who lived in that dimension wasn't living the ideal life that Morty Prime would expect. There was still some degree of existing dysfunction in the family even before Mort's untimely death.

Another thing that interests me is the funeral hopping bit. It's not uncommon for victims of emotional neglect to imagine drastic scenarios happening to them so they can feel the external affection and validation they long for. After all, isn't it a common trope that your loved ones will voice all of their secret hidden love, and maybe their regrets at how they may have mistreated you, at your funeral? Morty could directly live that fantasy through the multiversal funeral hopping. I'm actually miserable. If he wasn't caught by that dog, I wonder how long he would have kept doing it for... Would he have ever felt satisfied, hearing those loving words for a version of himself that really isn't him, from versions of his family that aren't really his?

Abouutt the topic of Rick calling himself Morty's father as well as Morty accepting himself as his son. It shocked me at first, but thinking about it a little more, I think it's a Very Interesting Direction to take. And I don't dislike it. It mirrors what happens earlier in the episode, where Morty jumps at the chance to call himself Moral Jerry's son. Generally, I don't think it'd be crazy to say that Morty has become very disillusioned with his relationship with his own parents. It's not that he doesn't love them- but even in the episode previous, he mentions that doesn't consider either of them much to look up to, and they usually seem to disappoint him when it comes to meeting his needs. Jerry is usually too absorbed in himself to notice him, and Beth is a little too emotionally distant to connect with him. (There are exceptions but I'm speaking in a general sense). This finale's conflict with Moral Jerry and the Moral Family is one of those nails in the coffin. 

Even if he's hurt, or degraded, or put through hell by him, Rick is the family member who consistently seeks out Morty's company. In the Moral universe, Rick is the one Morty seeks when he's in trouble. And that Rick, even though he ruins his own life and dies in the process, does graciously open his home to him and gives a great effort to get him back to his universe. 

When Morty's hurt or in danger, he calls for Rick. When Morty seeks advice, he goes to Rick. When Morty wants to go to the store to pick up Pokémon cards, who does he go to? He goes to his blue haired loser drunkard grandfather. ((At the very beginning of the episode, in his dying chili breath, an alternative Morty calls out for Rick.)) In a weird kinda screwed up way, I guess Rick does fill the role that a parent can take.

It's a complicated feeling because Rick's presence in Morty's life is indeed very toxic, and he's a great cause of Morty's screwed up way of thinking. We the audience are used to it by now, but it's really sticks out in an uncomfortable way when we see how he acts around people who are a little more used to a "Normal" life. For example, the comment he makes about Moral Rick's wife being a F*** robot, The story of his death that he tells the Moral Family at dinner, the encouragement he gives Moral Rick on the side of the curb about Diane and portal travel, and the little interaction he has with Moral Rick's Wife when she asks how a 14 year old boy is so adept at "mind poisoning". It's not that Morty's trying to be cruel, or evil. But the things he says and the actions he takes are a result of the mindset he's grown to adopt after all of his experiences. ((I think back to season 3, where he tried so hard to keep Summer away from Rick so that she could live a "normal" life that he felt that he no longer could. That "Normal" or "Moral" life, i guess, is inaccessible to him, now. This is part of why he could never truly be compatible with this kind of universe.))

I have a lot more thoughts on. Moral Rick, Portal Travel, and also Ted somewhat, but I'm geetting tired so Im going to wrap this up. One final thing I want to say regarding Rick and Morty in this episode: I really like how the finale ends with that motorcycle ride... It's another point towards Rick consistently seeking out Morty just to spend time with him. The motorcycle journey so normie of them, especially Rick... But I think it's also meant to parallel the normie stuff that Morty liked doing with the Moral family.