7 Problems Rick & Morty Has Already Fixed Before Season 8

While Rick and Morty season 7 wasn’t perfect, the outing did see the series address numerous major issues that plagued the show for years. Rick and Morty season 7 was mired in controversy before the outing even began airing in October 2023. The show’s star and co-creator, Justin Roiland, was charged with domestic battery in January 2023, prompting Adult Swim to sever ties with him. The search for Morty and Rick’s voice replacements soon commenced, but the new actors voicing the title roles weren’t revealed until the season 7 premiere, “How Poopy Got His Poop Back,’ was released.

From that first episode onward, the biggest challenge for season 7 was to overshadow the show’s behind-the-scenes scandal. By the time Rick and Morty season 7’s ending arrived a few months later, it was clear that the cult hit had achieved this unenviable task. Against the odds, season 7 managed to not only replace both of its lead voice actors but also found time to flesh out an underrated supporting star. While the season had its flaws, season 7 still succeeded in providing a satisfying conclusion to the show’s longest arc as well as bringing back a welcome early-season staple.

7 Rick & Morty Season 7 Gave Summer More Spotlight

Season 7, episode 7’s goofy adventure proved Morty’s sister deserves more story focus

While Summer is a great supporting character, Rick and Morty rarely offers her a moment in the spotlight. That changed with season 7, episode 7, “Wet Kuat Amortycan Summer,” which gave Morty’s sister her most central role since season 4, episode 7’s similarly great “Promortyus,” Rick and Morty season 7 parodied movies like Total Recall and Taken in this wild story of Morty becoming a psychic appendage attached to Summer’s stomach. One of the lighter, zanier season 7 episodes, this outing reaffirmed the idea that Summer can join the titular duo on their adventures without altering Rick and Morty‘s tone.

6 Rick & Morty Successfully Replaced Justin Roiland

Roiland’s highly hyped replacements drew little attention to their presence

While there was a lot of online speculation about who would replace Morty and Rick’s original voice actor in season 7, the show ended up casting two relatively unknown actors in the roles. This proved to be a canny choice, as Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden blended seamlessly into Rick and Morty without drawing any attention to themselves. Rather than turning their changing voices into a meta-joke like Solar Opposites season 4’s Roiland replacement, season 7 instead successfully avoided addressing the change.

5 Rick & Morty Season 7 Solved The Rick Prime Story Early

Rick Prime’s death brought the show’s longest-running arc to a perfect end

The Rick Prime storyline seemed set to define the action of season 7. While the character’s existence was confirmed in the season 5 finale, it was the season 6 premiere that made Rick Prime the show’s primary villain. This meant that many of season 6’s standalone adventure episodes inevitably felt like the show treading water before the finale addressed this overarching story again. As such, it was an ingenious move for Rick and Morty season 7, episode 5, “Unmortricken,” to bring back and kill off Rick Prime.

Since Rick and Morty season 7’s Rick Prime death meant the show could go anywhere, this twist upended expectations about how the season would end. By killing Rick Prime off halfway through season 7, Rick and Morty gave viewers a big dramatic lore-heavy episode and a half-season of lighter, sillier adventures after it. This was much better than leaving Rick Prime’s death until the season finale, by which point viewers could understandably have grown bored with lighthearted episodic stories as they awaited the character’s comeback.

4 Rick & Morty Brought Back “Clip Show” Episodes

Season 7 episode 6 showed that one old Rick and Morty trick still worked

Season 7, episode 6, “Rickfending Your Life,” was the first episode after Rick Prime’s death. That moment was shockingly dark, meaning the show needed to explain its impact on Rick and the aftermath of the series-shaking event. However, “Rickfending Your Life” did this in the most surprising way possible. Season 7 revived Rick and Morty‘s horror parody staple with an episode whose “Clip show” format mirrored the “Morty’s Mind Blowers” and the “Inter-dimensional Cable” episodes of earlier seasons. The loose improvisational tone of these low-stakes, plot-light outings was a perfect antidote to the preceding episode’s gloomy story.

3 Season 7 Proved Rick and Morty Can Pull Off Solo Adventures

Rick and Morty both had episodes of their own in season 7

Until season 7, Morty and Rick never had entire episodes to themselves. Season 7 immediately set about changing this when “How Poopy Got His Poop Back” barely featured Morty and episode 3, “Air Force Wong,” was entirely Rick-centric. However, it was episode 8, “Rise of the Numbericons: The Movie” that proved most striking in this regard. This outing proved that Morty could sustain an entire episode on his own without a single line or onscreen appearance from Rick, meaning the show can now send the duo on solo adventures in future seasons.

2 Rick & Morty Season 7 Made Diane A Character

Rick’s late wife finally became more than a memory

Ever since her existence was first addressed in season 1, Rick’s late wife Diane had never been more than part of his tortured backstory. That changed with the season 7 finale, “Fear No Mort,” wherein she spent a good chunk of the episode interacting with Rick, Morty, and the rest of the Smith family. Admittedly, she was only a part of Morty’s fantasy/nightmare, but it was still great to see Rick and Morty season 7 turn Diane into a walking, talking person with opinions and emotions rather than just a source of Rick’s angst.

1 Rick & Morty Proved Season 8 Can Center Morty

Morty’s descent into the Hole proved that he can carry bigger, darker stories alone

While Diane’s role in “Fear No Mort” was a positive development, it was nowhere near as promising as the outing’s treatment of Morty. The plot of “Fear No Mort” saw Rick and Morty jump into The Hole, a psychic space that allowed them to confront their darkest fears and conquer them. This led to Diane’s return, eventually leading Morty to realize that he relied on Rick’s approval too much. However, it was the episode’s twist ending that changed Morty’s role in the show, showing that he could be central to season 8’s overarching story.

It turned out that “Fear No Mort” took place entirely from Morty’s perspective since Rick never actually jumped into The Hole with him. Morty imagined Rick’s assistance throughout his nightmarish misadventure precisely because he had come to see himself as Rick’s sidekick and not a main character in his own right. This twist hinted that Rick and Morty season 8 could center on Morty, something the show hasn’t done in years. Now that the Rick Prime plot line is over, Rick and Morty season 8 could build on season 7’s ending by making Morty the lead character.