As Rick and Morty’s End Nears, Rick Pulls Off a Dramatic Escape

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Rick and Morty is a show that truly pays off for dedicated viewers. Many characters undergo significant development, and understanding their past experiences is key to appreciating who they are and what motivates them in each episode.

These aren’t just random references to past events; the show uses history to help us understand the characters better. Just as knowing someone’s background helps you understand them in real life, the writers of Rick and Morty: The End – particularly Daniel Kibblesmith – are using the show’s long-running history to explore the characters’ relationships on a deeper level.

Issue #4 of Rick and Morty: The End – written by Daniel Kibblesmith, illustrated by Jarrett Williams, colored by Allessandro Santoro, and lettered by Crank! – continues the story of the multiverse uniting against Rick Sanchez. This follows Rick’s destruction of a universe in the previous storyline, Rick and Morty Versus the Universe. After easily defeating the new Vindicators initially, they finally caught up with him last issue, leading to a confrontation with Rick.

Why does Rick trust Morty so much?

The episode starts with Morty visiting the interdimensional prison where Rick is locked up. He’s surprised to see Rick seemingly restrained with the same type of equipment used on Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. However, Morty soon discovers it’s just a trick Rick is playing for his own entertainment.

Morty asks Rick why they can’t just run away, but Rick explains that he’s being pursued across the entire universe, leaving him no safe place to go. His only option, he believes, is to fight the charges against him, and he needs Morty to be his lawyer to do it. This sets off a surprisingly thoughtful discussion between the two of them.

Rick acknowledges that Morty has always been loyal, even during incredibly difficult times, like when Morty’s entire existence – and all other Mortys – was at risk because he had to hunt down Rick. Despite this, as soon as the Vindicators located Rick, Morty immediately rejoined forces with him.

Rick is aware that despite his emotional distance, Morty is incredibly loyal to him. Because of this, Rick asks Morty to be his lawyer in a trial that spans across multiple universes. Morty agrees, but he’s understandably suspicious, and it quickly becomes clear that Rick’s request is likely another one of his schemes.

The OTHER kind of callbacks are still fun, too!

Rick and Morty is a show that develops its characters thoughtfully, so moments that simply reference past events are rare. However, they do occur, and writer Rob Kibblesmith clearly enjoyed bringing back twelve familiar characters to serve as Rick’s jury in a multiversal trial.

The large number of Rick’s friends on the jury is strange, and it reveals that the Universe is starting to lose its grip on things. It’s illogical that the Universe would allow so many of Rick’s acquaintances to decide his fate, and frankly, it’s also odd that Rick is even getting a trial in the first place.

In this work, Kibblesmith presents an intriguing idea: the characters within the comic begin to understand a force is subtly reshaping reality to make Rick the focus of every narrative. This is particularly fitting, the author notes, for someone with Rick’s narcissistic tendencies.

In this issue, Jarrett Williams and Allessandro Santoro were tasked with illustrating some very strange characters. The most difficult part was a complex courtroom scene where the first witness testifies while wearing special goggles. These goggles allow everyone in the courtroom – the jury and the defendants – to experience the witness’s memories, specifically what he believes he saw as Rick destroying the universe.

Rick had a detailed plan: he wanted everyone to wear memory goggles simultaneously, linking their minds together. Now, he’s managed to enter the thoughts of someone involved in the trial – possibly a juror, a lawyer, or even the judge – and escaped that way.

Okay, as a huge fan, I have to say this escape plan is brilliant! It’s such a smart move by the writer, Kibblesmith. Honestly, with Rick diving into the Multiverse so much, I was worried the show would run out of steam. This detour is exactly what it needed – a fun side story to keep things fresh before we get to the big finale. It feels like a perfect way to avoid a predictable ending and keep the series interesting!

It’s curious how much planning went into this six-issue story, especially considering the Universe could have easily defeated Rick right away. The story does hint that something else is happening, possibly involving a brand new clone of Rick. We’ve seen many different versions of Rick in Rick and Morty before, so it will be interesting to see what unique take writer Tini Howard brings to the concept. I expect she’ll find a way to make this new version feel original and exciting – she’s good at that.

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2026-03-09 18:44