Insane Fan Theory Claims 'Rick and Morty' Season 3 Isn't Over
What's really insane is all the evidence suggesting it's possible.
The craziest Rick and Morty theory ever emerged in the wake of the Season 3 finale, leading some fans to believe that “The Rickchurian Mortydate” isn’t the season finale at all. Could we get more episodes in Season 3?
A redditor going by TheMistling posted on the Rick and Morty subreddit Monday with this new theory that there might be more episodes in Season 3 coming. What’s really crazy is that their theory isn’t that far-fetched.
Remember that co-creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland once surprise-aired the Season 3 premiere on April 1 with no advance notice. The rest of the season didn’t continue until July 30.
Episode 7, “The Ricklantis Mixup,” also promised an adventure to Atlantis — which Rick and Morty did go on — but what viewers actually saw was “Tales From the Citadel,” which detailed Evil Morty’s rise to power on the Citadel.
All in all, the Season 3 airing schedule has been about as unconventional as you can get. Who’s to say this season is over when they say it’s over?
Here’s all the additional evidence that Season 3 isn’t over:
Justin Roiland (left) and Dan Harmon (right) are the co-creators of 'Rick and Morty'.
Season 3 Was Originally 14 Episodes
Way back in January 2016, Dan Harmon announced 14 episodes for Season 3 at Magic City Comic Con. But at the live stream event held on June 29, 2017 — the one during which they dropped the Season 3 trailer — the co-creators sheepishly announced that Season 3 would be only 10 episodes.
In an interview published September 26 with Entertainment Weekly, Harmon elaborated almost too much about the shift from 14 to 10 episodes, saying “you shouldn’t trust me, because I mostly blame myself for doing 10 instead of 14.”
Harmon did say that they “finale-ified” the episode so that it would function as a season finale, which is why the “The Rickchurian Mortydate” felt mostly like a soft reboot for Rick and Morty. But what if that’s totally just a fakeout?
So what happens to the remaining four episodes that were planned for this season? Could they still be scheduled for release?
Season 3 has been totally great, but it doesn't reflect the "perfect" aspirations of its creators ... yet.
Season 3 Doesn’t Reflect the “Perfectionism” Dan Harmon Blamed for Delays
In that same EW interview, Harmon talked about his own perfectionist attitude towards producing the show, citing that as the main reason for Season 3’s delays — which echoes previous comments.
Redditor TheMistling reasons, “I personally believe Justin and Dan know their fanbase pretty well, and wouldn’t take such a major risk as to not show Evil Morty or Phoenix Person in the finale.” These present some of the biggest questions going into Season 4.
Many Season 3 episodes have been all-time greats for the show, but as a whole, the season feels far from perfect. You know what would be perfect? If “The Rickchurian Mortydate” was a fakeout and there were still more stories coming.
Harman Implied Evil Morty Would Return in the Season 3 Finale, Which Didn’t Happen
A lot of fans were hopeful that Evil Morty, who returned in Episode 8 this season, would come back yet again for the Season 3 finale — but he didn’t. Instead, the finale had very little … finality to it.
But in the above interview Film Theory published September 29, Harmon heavily implies that Evil Morty would be back for the October 1 finale. Interviewer Matthew Patrick asks at 14:26, “By the way, can we talk Evil Morty?” Harmon’s response: “Just wait until the end of the season: Sunday at 11:30 p.m. on Adult Swim.”
The visuals do point towards the October 1 episode as the finale. Most fans assume this relatively weak evidence means that Harmon’s promising the return of Evil Morty in the finale. It’s a peculiar way to misdirect a theory-based question, but it’s fueling fan hopes nonetheless.
Fans may have wanted more Evil Morty, but considering the 17 episodes that happened between his first and second appearance, they might not want to hold their breath.
Mr. Poopybutthole’s Outro Might Tease a Christmas Episode
When Mr. Poopybutthole showed up for the Season 2 outro, he teased that Season 3 would come out exactly when it did. He said, “tune into Rick and Morty Season 3 — in like — a year and a half … or longer!” A year and a half would have put the premiere on April 6, 2017 … or longer. What we got was an April 1 premiere and the “longer” wait until late July for the rest of the season.
In the Season 3 outro, we check back in with Mr. Poopybutthole and find that he’s got his own wife and kid now. He rambles a bit about his new life updates. “See ya for Season 4 in like … a really long time! I might even have a big, white Santa Claus beard!”
This could be a direct hint that some sort of Rick and Morty Christmas special is coming in a few short months and the “really long time” is a total troll. It helps that in the current season finale, Rick screamed, “You don’t know what I am! And you don’t know what I can do! I’m Doctor Who in this motherfucker!”
Could Rick and Morty follow the Doctor Who model and put out a Christmas special that introduces incredibly important plot points that change the universe permanently?
It seems ridiculous to think that Season 3 might not be over, but ask yourself this: When the most meta show on television trolls fans all season long and subverts our expectations in surprising ways, would it really be that crazy for Rick and Morty Season 3 to keep going?
If you liked this article, check out this video about an Evil Morty fan theory on Rick and Morty.
