Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Rick and Morty season 7, episode 10, “Fear No Mort.”
Rick and Morty producer Steve Levy addresses how that season 7 ending will affect the show’s canon. Heading into its seventh installment, the popular Adult Swim animated series experienced a big change. Harry Belden and Ian Cardoni took over the lead roles of Morty Smith and Rick Sanchez, respectively, following the firing of Justin Roiland. The shift was well-received. And, as it turned out, the most meaningful change for the titular duo would happen during the closing episode of season 7.
In an interview with Screen Rant, Levy talked about how the Rick and Morty season 7 finale would impact the show’s canon. The episode, titled “Fear No Mort” and directed by Eugene Huang and written by Heather Anne Campbell, set up solo adventures for the main pairing. But in the quote below, Levy stresses that Smith and Sanchez’s bond remains central to the sci-fi comedy. Levy also sheds light on where Rick and Morty could go for seasons to come:
We’re definitely going to be building off of where we leave Rick and Morty after the finale of season 7. That relationship is still top priority, they’re the lead characters of the show. But yeah, this season, I think, was mostly focused on Rick’s growth and coming to a head with something that’s been haunting him for so long. And then now turning to, “Well, now what?” So, we wanted to give Morty a little more heading into the end of the season, and I think we’ll be seeing a lot, seeing how that character growth turns out, continuing into the future seasons.
Rick & Morty Season 7’s Ending Explained
The finale is helped in its narrative by the strange space known as The Hole. It brings to life a subject’s greatest fear once they step inside, giving them the chance to conquer it. But the episode twist reveals that Morty was in the hole all along and that Rick isn’t present with him. It’s revealed that Morty’s greatest fear is Rick viewing him, essentially, as replaceable. It’s a wrenching realization, but it’s accompanied by a more hopeful turn. Morty understands that he’s also afraid of relying on Rick, which allows him to escape the Fear Hole.
This represented growth for Morty and some necessary nuance. Rick does not view Morty as replaceable. He loves Morty. But, at the same time, he doesn’t center his whole life around his frequent companion. This helps Morty to understand that he could also be more independent, and maybe even go out on his own occasionally.
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But even if The Hole specifically focuses on Morty, the separation is significant for Rick. Perhaps, in not following Morty into the hole, Rick was being introspective and humble about knowing his limits. This would have been unfathomable to the character mere seasons ago. But even though the characters are changed in important ways, it sounds like the defining relationship of Rick and Morty won’t stray too far as it’s already renewed through season 10.
Rick and Morty
- Release Date
- December 2, 2013
- Cast
- Spencer Grammer , Kari Wahlgren , Chris Parnell , Sarah Chalke , Justin Roiland , Ian Cardoni , Harry Belden
- Genres
- Animation , Adventure , Comedy
- Rating
- TV-MA
- Seasons
- 7
- Season List
- Rick and Morty – Season 1 , Rick and Morty – Season 2 , Rick and Morty – Season 3 , Rick and Morty – Season 4 , Rick and Morty – Season 5 , Rick and Morty – Season 6 , Rick and Morty – Season 7
- Creator(s)
- Justin Roiland , Dan Harmon
- Writers
- Dan Harmon , Justin Roiland , Tom Kauffman , Eric Acosta
- Network
- Cartoon Network
- Streaming Service(s)
- Hulu
- Franchise(s)
- Rick and Morty
- Directors
- Dan Harmon , Ryan Ridley , Lee Hardcastle
- Showrunner
- Dan Harmon
