Rick's Crybaby Backstory | Rick and Morty | adult swim 

the saddest thing about this is our rick had to pretend to be a bad father to convince beth he was the same rick who abandoned her. he was literally about to give up science for his real wife n daughter before they were killed

This puts a whole new perspective on that scene where Rick was crying at the images of baby morty. Because he never got to see morty grow up and only knew him at the age he is now.

It's so heartwarming that Rick begins to be able to laugh and have fun when Morty comes into the picture

It's interesting that throughout that whole memory sequence, the only time we see Rick smiling and laughing and enjoying his life again are when he's with Morty.

All of Beth’s nagging about Rick abandoning them is even more painful now, because he’s the only Rick that actually didn’t abandon his family.

This whole finale showed me that Rick is the _Rickest Rick_ because he actually _cares_ about Morty and his family, and _NOT_ because he doesn't.

Birdperson, S1E11: “Your grandfather, is indeed, in very deep pain; that is why he must numb himself.” That line hits a lot harder after watching this scene.

Love the transition from him being a decent person and slowly turning into an emotionless ghost

The saddest thing about this scene is the revelation that Rick never wanted any of this. Portal technology, sci-fi adventures, intergalactic quests and conflict; he wasn’t interested. He was forced into it for revenge, and he was unable to have even that. He isn’t a drunk shitty person by nature. He became this person from a lifetime of loss and failure.

The fact Rick never had a Morty of his own is heartbreaking.

When you realize that the Rick we've followed since the beginning is actually Simple Rick, except his family was taken from him.

I saw a fan theory that I think is so amazing. That only prime Rick and c 137 Rick are the only 2 ricks to actually create portal travel, every other Rick was given the technology. It explains why the portals still aren’t working or why c137 is the most dangerous, he was the only one beside Rick prime to reach his full potential. It also explains why we are so many ricks do 9-5 jobs at the citadel since they never developed the tech for themselves

You know it’s interesting. This also explains why rick got called into the citadel in the first season when there was someone murdering other ricks!

“Because Ricks hate themselves the most” means so much more now.

What I like about this backstory is that it proves Rick isn't a nihilist. Every time he spouted nihilistic rhetoric to Morty, or whomever else he was talking to, it was a lie he was telling himself. He wanted to believe that his family meant nothing, but it meant everything to him. His entire life is dedicated to the love he had for the family that was taken from him.

I finally understand the true tragedy of Rick: a man who is dangerous not because he doesn’t care, but because he could be said to have cared too much. He is not a good man nor a terrible one, but he is an example of what happens when you lose too much.

This also explains why Rick always wants to go on adventures with Morty the most. He never got to see Beth grow up, Summer is already into her teenage years, but Morty is closest to the age his Beth was when she was murdered, so with Morty around he at least has a chance to try and be a parent to a child again.

So when Rick looked visibly upset revisiting his "fake backstory" he wasn't just acting, the shit was actually painful to revisit and watch again.

It’s the music that makes this entire scene one of the most memorable unique scenes, they could have used voice and sound instead they used an eerie but sad theme showing the time lapse of everything, and that’s truly brilliant this entire finale was amazing.

That fact that Rick literally spent his life killing himself but could never find the version of Himself who killed his Wife and daughter is sad

My man’s literally been fighting himself his entire life

This makes last season's "Holy shit, I'm a terrible father." hit harder knowing Rick lost his chance to be a father

This explains the “plot hole” I always had a gripe with in the episode where a Rick attempted and failed to make portal juice, and the fact that the portal gun was set to the chainsaw dimension. All the Citadel Ricks never learned how to make the portal juice, it was kept as a secret to the high elites, given to them. But C-137 perfected it himself, no help, and he made that portal gun with his own hands instead of buying it or having it given to him.

That synthwave track with the cyberpunk-ish vibe is just another level. Love how the caricature grasps the actual essence of the genre.

He had everything he could ever want and that other Rick despised him for it.

I just realised the saddest part is this Rick was alone for a large part of his life. Beth, Summer and Morty are the family that he never had.

The part where it shows Rick and Morty start their adventures with laughter really hits hard for me. After the tragedy that happened to him, Rick was finally able to find some semblance of happiness with his family again when he started to go on adventures with the grandson he was never able to have in his original dimension.

I love what they did with his backstory. The ironic twist is him deciding to go and pretend to be “this universe” Rick, being a father to Beth, grandfather to Morty and Summer… all the while they are Evil Rick’s family. That is why at the shows start he cares nothing about them because they aren’t his family, they are the family of the man who killed his. Then over the course of the show you see him legit start to care about them, the family evil Rick abandoned.

It just hit me: Birdperson denying Rick made him go back to revenge. He found a friend, whom he confided in. When BP denied dimension hopping to go on adventures, Rick refocused on his revenge.

I get the feeling after seeing this that Rick's general nihilism is less of a epiphany he had from interdimensional travel, and more of a coping mechanism.

After this backstory it makes sense why Rick was so carefree of jumping dimensions back in s1. He didn’t care so much about the family, now he does (especially Morty) that’s great character development

I want to add, as hilarious as Rick and morty is, the show shines when it gets serious. Absolutely brilliant.

the story: rick, probably in his mid to late 20's, was on the verge of discovering interdimensional travel, but after being shown a version of him that succeeds, decides he doesn't want to become that kind of person. the rick that greeted him is offended by one of his own rejecting the portal gun and so retaliates by killing ricks wife and daughter. the trauma of this incident sends rick into a spiral of depression and self imposed isolation. after anywhere from several months to a few years he resolves to complete his portal gun project and hunt down the rick that murdered his family. after some time exploring the multiverse and learning about many different universes, he meets a guy who tells him about a criminal arms syndicate that sells memory crystals. he offers to trade an expensive rifle for one, but knowing the criminals aren't just going to give a memory crystal away that easily, plants a trap that kills the dealers before they can shoot him. he uses the memory crystal to print off a photo of the rick who murdered his family. he then spends several years searching for this rick, to no success. by now he is in his mid thirties. he eventually gets wrapped up in wars involving the galactic federation, during which time he meets bird person along with many of his other closest friends. once the federation is defeated, he asks bird person to come with him on his adventures, but he declines. rick then travels to a future version of his own life where he picks up a trail that puts him back on his original quest. He spends the next several decades travelling from universe to universe murdering any rick that stands in his way in search of the one who killed his family, continually meeting dead ends. this is where he begins to build up a reputation among the rest of the ricks. he picks up another clue centring around a special symbol with a large number of ricks tied to it. he spends several years systematically assasinating each one. finally he reaches the end of the trail, meeting a rick that looks suspiciously like the one who he's looking for, but unfortunately isn't. just before this rick dies he destroys all evidence that could keep the search going. at this point rick, now an old man, looses all hope. he returns to his own dimension to live the rest of his short life in pain, but is constantly bothered by other ricks trying to assassinate him, as a full political movement against him has built up among the ricks. rick emotionlessly slaughters the entire group, and the rest of the rick population chooses to swear fealty to him. he and four others team up to create a citidel for all the ricks to live in harmony, but rick is unconvinced by the idea. once construction is complete, he chooses a new family in a new dimension where their rick is long gone, and reintegrates back into the life he never got to have, introducing morty to the portal gun, and finally achieving happiness for the first time in his life, permanently scarred by the decades that preceded it.

When you realize that Rick’s “totally fabricated origin story” had him moving on from his wife and daughter’s death immediately and going straight to revenge when in reality he had to endure who knows how many weeks or months of mourning.

Amazing background music. It has the mystery, the sorrow and the solitude. It has the emotions that Rick felt. I have goosebumps every time I hear this masterpiece.

So the fake backstory in season 3 wasn’t completely made up, he just changed what he did after Beth and Diane were killed

What I see nobody notes is that... He never erased those memories. He erased dozens less painful, but not those. Everybody, even Rick himself, see him as a cold bastard, but deep down he does care.

It’s wild when you think how the current Beth isn’t even the Beth WE THE AUDIENCE started with. The Beth in the flashback is still trapped in the Cronenberg Universe.

The sad part that gets me is when he flies into beth and Jerry’s house. Beths in tears; and even though ricks been drinking he sobers up really quick. She’s not his daughter and yet she is. That a whole emotional mind blow.

I love how Morty isn't even phased that he isn't Rick's original Morty, because rick doesn't have one, he's his first Morty so in a sense, he still is his "original" Morty...

When you put it all into perspective Rick really is his own worst enemy

This explains a lot about Rick. His hatred of Jerry: Jerry spent more than double the time with Beth than Rick did. Why Rick only has a handful do-over dimensions: the dimensions where he has vanished but Beth is still alive and possible dimensions where the rogue Rick came from. Why he sometimes views his family as expendable: he technically doesn’t have a family due to the death of his Beth and Diane in his dimension.

0:33 I love that shot of Rick being treated by paramedics after the explosion. Just makes the thing seem real when you throw in something grounded like that.

A story of a broken man who wanted simple decent life but still lost everything. After seeing this u can almost forgive and understand Rick better

This is probably why Rick isn't bothered to admit that he's a bad father to "his Beth". Because she isn't his Beth, his real Beth was killed, and he technically never avandoned her, nor had any intentions of doing so

So ironically, the "Rickest Rick" has just as much reason to hate the other Ricks as Evil Morty does.

So let me see if I got this: Rick Prime went around recruiting Ricks with the promise of them being the best in the multiverse and giving them portal technology. So he's the one who manufactured the idea of the Central Finite Curve and every Rick within it is essentially stuck in there since they don't have the ability to create their own portal fluid or any knowledge of how it works. My assumption is that Rick Prime wanted to make his version of a citadel or government and take over the multiverse until only Rick's were left. A non-stop party where the only person invited is the only person they like. Then there's Rick-C137. The only one that passed on Rick Prime's invitation. Rick Prime then kills the reason behind Rick-C137's refusal: his family. With nothing left to lose, Rick-C137 creates his own portal gun and tries tracks down Rick Prime, only to fail. The Ricks within the Curve find out about C-137's killings and decide to join forces to eliminate him, but C-137 obliterates them with a bored expression. The Ricks then reach a truce with C-137 and develop Rick Prime's original idea of a citadel/government, to which C-137 eventually leaves the project. He then drunkenly crashes into Rick Prime's Smith family house and encounters Rick Prime's Beth. Be it guilt or whatever, Rick C-137 stays and becomes a part of the family. And from there, the Rick and Morty story begins. I assumed a lot and borrowed some aspects (like the "other Ricks can't create their own fluid" theory) from other commenters but I think this makes the most sense.

The music carries this scene to just an entirely new level.

The way Rick just has to say his backstory is "stupid, crybaby" while he's supposedly trying to dissuade Morty from being curious about it, that in itself seems like a subtle cry for help and a cry to be understood.

Things we learned in just 3 minutes: -Morty C-137 never existed. -Rick never saw his daughter grow, he just showed up in a universe where she´s alive -In that unverse, Beth believes she has been abandoned by her father. She wasn´t. Rick C-137 killed the Rick from that unierse. Probably. -Who knows how many Beths have been "abandoned" by Rick. -"The Rickest Rick" is the most kind, loving, and broken Rick. -Rick C-137 hates all Ricks as much as Evil Morty does. Feel free to add more

Searched his whole life to find his wife and daughter’s killer. Got old and tired of a never ending cycle of hunting rick prime down. Then moved into Rick primes universe where he abandoned Beth and had to live with Rick primes wrongs. All while still finding happiness hanging with the grandson and daughter that he never had. Rick c-137 is GOAT

This only proves how human Rick really is I mean he literally travelled to different dimensions looking for the Rick that killed his family

I like how at first he was doing things a "regular" scientist would do. Just scanning everything and recording all the data he could.

After all those years, rick didn't even repair his own house

I think the sad part is Rick c137 has lived a very loooong life with nothing in his heart but hatred for Rick prime and he spent all his years unable to avenge his daughter and wife

This just makes Stupid Rick saying “I’ve never got to have a morty of my own.” Even sadder. He was probably the one Rick who also got screwed over by Evil Rick but chose to not seek revenge. Which the other Ricks take his compassion and pacifist nature as stupid.

Damn, Imagine how hurt Rick must be every time Beth mentions him "abandoning" her when she was little...

The most accurate background music for my man Rick. The person behind the background music deserves all the love because it's a job well done. I'm listening to it on repeat.

Here after Rick primes defeat. Crazy to see how far we have come

This shows how rare and special our Rick is. Just like Simple Rick was treated like a delicacy, our Rick also chose Family over Science. He just didn’t get the chance to live it out. The music with this story tells it beautifully. Amazing finale

You know something? You only start seeing the drool in the backstory when he's just given up on life. No hope of getting payback, no family to go back to, no nothing. Then when he's showing Morty the Portal Gun, it's gone. It really does sell the fact that Morty's one of the few things he has left to live for.

This explains why he sees loving Morty as something toxic or bad, because he's not his Morty, he never had one to begin with.

"You could be a God along infinite universes..." "...Sounds lonely..." C137

This really cleared up a lot of things. Like in the episode where ricks were getting killed, and they said it fit c-137's profile. It also made sense when rick said that he cant universe jump multiple times, because only some ricks had this happen to them

So all this time Beth talking about how Rick walked out when that's just the more common outcome across infinite timelines and he's just filling the space of a rick that left his wife and daughter when he comes from a reality in which they died years and years ago. This is well thought out and actually opens up the lense for more plot progression. Excited to see what they do with this now that they can lay his backstory and the evil morty plot to rest.

The timeline where Rick abandons Beth and his wife is when RICK GOES IN THE PORTAL that the other rick offered at the start. When he says no we see Beth come out and she looks to be small child, around the same age it was hinted at that he abandoned them. So all the Ricks at the Citadel probably chose going through the portal that was offered rather than staying behind with his family, which is why C-137 is different than the rest, he achieved the technology on his own and wasn't given it. This also explains why there's so many versions of Rickless families where Rick abandoned Beth at a young age. He goes in the portal not knowing he won't come back. He never says goodbye before leaving so Beth thinks he just walked out

Our rick is the only rick who would pick his family over science.

The fact that they did fanservice of this level and didn't retcon it is just mind blowing

Would be interesting to see the Rick that killed his family again, as a new ultimate villain for the series

I think this is why Rick is the "Rickest Rick." He hates himself the most.

So if the implication is that Rick “came back” to Beth at around the beginning of season 1, what’s the explanation for Rick having a memory of a toddler Morty in the first episode involving evil Morty?

Can we just acknowledge how fucking cool the music is in the backstory montage?

1:55 I've always found this part so depressing. Just imagine the pain hitting him after his final & only link to his family's killer was destroyed there, realizing all the effort he made to find him went to waste, being the smartest Rick & then the absolute despair & misery consuming him at that moment; He'd just lost a huge piece of himself he can't retrieve, & then would not even be able to avenge them anymore either.

This is such a sad backstory. Also all the times when Beth pointed out that Rick left them in order to make him feel guilty... but all this time he was the ONLY Rick in the multiverse that actually chose his family. Rick's backstory is really tragic. I love how this show in the first season made us think that Rick is overall just a selfish person who cares mostly about science and adventures but throughout the seasons that were aired so far they humanized Rick and showed why he is the way he is. Best animated show ever.

Hold on, I just realised now that Rick comes back to Rick Primes's family after he abandoned them and replaced him. Replacing his family with Prime's family is actually quite sad.

Kinda cool that ricks ship wasn’t always made out of dumpster parts and actually had ion thrusters and a paint scheme that looked pretty rad. Kind of shows the deterioration of him both mentally and physically.

Keep in mind that Rick was probably mid-twenties to early thirties at the start, and he's been confirmed to now be in his seventies which implies this revenge quest took 40+ years and could've gone on forever, he never got the right one

Something I found interesting is that C-137 Rick didn’t hurt that one Rick who was hanging around with Morty and Summer. It might show that while Rick hated himself and other Ricks, he did draw a line with Ricks that didn’t abandon their families.

The image of Rick absolutely massacring alternate versions of himself is a chilling allegory for self-hatred.

I love this backstory, it isn't needed at this point but it shows that Rick is a broken man that has gone through so much for revenge and the pursuit of answers, but finally in the end he really did just want his family again. Sadly the damage is done and he doesn't know how to stop even though he is doing what he really wants now, spending time with his grandson and daughter again.

“Yes, now everybody can shut up about it.”😂

The heavy part comes from the fact that Morty has to live with knowing his family isn't his real family, but that his grandpa isn't even his real grandpa from his previous universe. He now knows that "his Rick" hopped at least 2 universes while he hopped 1. He now knows he is but a few authentic Morty and that his existence is disposable and expandable at the same time. He has to live with also knowing that his mom may even be a clone and that a 2nd version is out there. It's alot for a 14 year old to handle

The music in this scene is so powerful. The mixture of finally knowing canonical information about Rick with the synths really does wonders for me.

A few things: 1. This really makes me think there'll be a deeper reason to why rick doesn't respect time travel. Maybe something about it can't truly bring back his family 2. Simple rick basically got the life c-137 never had 3. If C-137 was a builder of the citadel, he may have been an originator of the central finite curve. If that's the case, maybe he built it as a sort of containment cell for his selves. Seeing firsthand what Rick's do with interdimensional travel, he maybe cut off any universe where he was smart enough to discover it from the multiverse at large. Being for the benefit of the Rick's may be a cover.

Can we just appreciate that the only happy memory is him being with Morty?

It's a pretty heartbreaking backstory until you realize the Beth that was teary eyed to see him come back into her life at 2:31 is now a feral cannibal (S3E1) left behind in a world that Rick Cronenburged, leaving Beth, Summer, and Jerry as the only humans left on earth.

0:01 of course it opened with a morty moaning.

Poor Rick. He lost his wife and daughter, went on a multiversal murder spree to find their killer (an alternate version of himself), and eventually just gave up after years of failing to find the Rick responsible. After being put through all of that, it's no wonder he is the way he is now.

The ending where you hear diferente Ricks and Mortys laughing, just having a good time. Him wanting to have adventures with his grandson throughout infinite timelines, just proves that there is something so special about There relationship.

This backstory actualy make sense!

1:05 Wow, even Rick had a "Eating ramen at night in a cyberpunk dystopia while wearing a trench coat" phase

It seems what really distinguished Rick from his counterparts, is that he truly cared for his family.

“Inside every cynical person is a disappointed idealist” - George Carin

This just makes all those times Beth blames him for leaving her mom so much more heart breaking.

I want to bring attention to the fact that while Rick spent years killing other versions, all of those were assassinations. The multiverse of Ricks banded together specifically to bring down C-137. And they still couldnt touch him. The citadel was literally made as a peace offering to the one Rick that nobody could beat. When they say hes "The Rickest Rick", its not just a mere title.

They waited so long to reveal this and it made perfect sense and makes everything from season one more important. That’s a testament to good writing

Rick loves his wife, his daughter and his grandson. In a multiverse of infinite possibilities he chooses to spend time with Morty and his family nearly ALL the time. Love means everything to Rick and that is exactly the reason he’s so cynical and nihilistic about it.

Rick actually being depressed and using his anger as a way of not caring is really sad

What a scene. Shouldve won an Emmy on this scene alone. The music and the story was very heart-breaking

The music they created for this backstory montage is phenomenal