WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Rick and Morty Season 5, Episode 8, “Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Mort,” which aired Sunday on Adult Swim.
In Season 5 of Rick and Morty, the mad scientist doesn’t really care to mend bridges with the Smiths as much as Morty, Summer, Beth and Jerry have trouble dealing with his shenanigans. Rick knows they’ll come around like they always do. As such, he saves his most heartfelt moment to resurrect an old friend in “Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Mort,” Birdperson. Luckily, as Rick helps the show’s most tragic character finally get a happy ending, Birdperson also gets a new life-changing mission in a second shot at family.
Rick tries unlocking Birdperson’s memories in his garage after Tammy brainwashed Birdperson and turned into Phoenixperson on behalf of the Federation. Thankfully, that job was thwarted, and while all the enemies died, Rick was left with a broken shell of a friend.
Now, Rick goes into Birdperson’s unconscious mind and uses a series of memory-altering tricks, akin to the dream worlds in Inception, to bring Birdperson back. Birdperson realizes Tammy betrayed him as she was secretly working for the Federation, pretending to be his wife. However, seeing as the last memory he has of her is one of love, he crafts a perfect goodbye in his mind.
Deep down, he knows this isn’t the real Tammy and that she might not have loved him as he loved her. But to Birdperson, this is more than enough. He finally gains closure and leaves this mental construct, accepting it’s time to move on from this emotional prison he’s been torturing and fooling himself with.
To aid this process, Rick spills the beans that Birdperson has a daughter with Tammy, who’s being held prisoner by the Federation as a fugitive’s child. Thus, when Birdperson gains sentience in the real world, he tells Rick he doesn’t have time for more adventures, not just because he doesn’t trust his friend, but his kid is his new priority. More interested in being a good dad than someone’s bestie or soulmate, he flies off, informing the upcoming war.
Rick and Morty‘s post-credits show the girl beating up other inmates in prison, with even the guards scared of her. It means Birdperson won’t just have to physically rescue her but also free her mind from all the rage. It must not have been easy growing up without parents and being incarcerated, so it’ll be intriguing to see how she reacts to a peaceful dad. This may even pave the way for Rick to redeem himself and help his comrade finally find happiness.
The hour-long Season 5 finale of Rick and Morty airs on Adult Swim September 5 at 11 PM ET.
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