Season three of Rick and Morty is over, and Rick ends the series at the bottom once more, only this time rather than being hauled off to Intergalactic Prison for the crime of everything, he’s knocked from his high horse on the geopolitical stage and in his own home.
This season has been focused on the themes of recovery and reconciliation, but at the core of it, the season examines nihilism, with Rick being that worldview’s in-story avatar. And we see each member of the family, take a nihilistic turn, from Morty’s competent-but-jaded new outlook, Summer’s ‘let it all burn’ attitude towards her parent’s breakup, Jerry’s attempted murder of Rick and Beth’s… well, the whole bit at the back there.
Before I go further, ti’s important to note that (at least to me) nihilism isn’t a position one adopts. It is a realization that cannot be un-realized. You may not be there yet, you may not get there, but for those that have the stark realization that nothing means anything inherently alters one’s entire reality.
It doesn’t have to be (more on that in a bit) but being a nihilist can be dark, witness Rick in general. Nihilism, as represented by Rick, is defeated by two things. The more blunt force of which is the President:
The President is able to defeat Rick, or, more accurately, fight him to a perpetual draw, because he is oblivious to meaninglessness. He is just as stubborn and unyielding and petty as Rick, he doesn’t care about the costs of the battle because he has a philosophical principle (that the US cannot tolerate a rival power that won’t bend knee to it’s authority) that he adheres to for irrational reasons. The President can ignore the impact of Rick’s power and worldview because he’s a true believer. He is, unwittingly, the same as the thing that brings down Rick’s patriarchal hold over the family.
Nihilism is half a philosophical outlook. It gives an observation, that there is no meaning inherent to anything, but it doesn’t address the question of “what do we do about it?” terribly well.
Choice is another solid theme in the season. As Morty beats a road-warrior proxy for his father to death, he screams for him to man up and make a decision. Dr. Wong monologues about choice. Rick ultimately gives Beth a choice to go on a consequence free adventure of self discovery or the option to “luxuriate in a life you can finally know you’ve chosen.”
Ultimately this leads to Rick’s defeat because Beth, or Clone Beth, it doesn’t matter, and the rest of the family all choose what they value. You can see this when Beth reflects on her first kiss with Jerry and realizes that while she hated it at the moment she loves it now. Beth, and the rest of the family, have become existentialists. They recognize that Rick is factually right, that they are insignificant in the face of infinity, that nothing has meaning, there is no god (and even if there is how tough can he be when the devil can be so thoroughly thrashed?) , and so forth, but they choose to give things meaning because they want to. To quote another show:
Rick’s power is rooted in his ability to undermine the woldviews of those around him. He can tear apart the Vindicators because of the flaws in their version of heroism. He can defeat the devil because he isn’t impressed by the devil’s power. He can destroy the Galactic Federation because they need the concepts of money and governmental authority.
But he can’t control a suburban household if everyone in it says “Yes, and what’s your point?” when he says “your life is a lie and nothing you care about is real.” The Smith family may not be as intelligent as Rick, but they’ve evolved beyond his philosophical position, or perhaps have simply chosen a better answer than “rage and despair” when responding to the void.
It is important to point out that in previous seasons, and a few times in this season, Rick is less a representative of nihilism and is more in line with the absurd hero of absurdist philosophy, and is a different response to nihilism than standard Existentialism. His “take the universe for a ride” speech is very much in keeping with the principles of absurdism, at least to my amateur perspective.
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