THE MONUMENTAL Rick and Morty Season 5 finale dropped more than a few bombshells, including a full explanation of how and why Rick C-137 wound up in the main reality of the show. One year later, the Season 6 premiere leans heavily into the canonical implications of all this while adding a new wrinkle to one popular fan theory.
Rick and Morty Season 6 Episode 1 — “Solaricks” — purposefully pokes fun at Avengers: Endgame in its opening. Just like how Iron Man found himself low on food, fuel, and water as he drifted through space with Nebula, Rick similarly laments his fate aboard a powerless piece of the Citadel. Evil Morty’s actions in the Season 5 finale did indeed destroy Rick’s portal technology. However, it looks like Rick can supposedly fix it, but the process blasts Rick, Morty, and Jerry back to their original realities.
Therein lies the main gist of this episode’s A-plot. Let’s take a closer look at everything that happens in Rick and Morty Season 6 Episode 1, and what it all means for the rest of the season and beyond. Spoilers ahead!
SPACE BETH IN RICK AND MORTY SEASON 6
Rick and Morty takes the Avengers: Endgame spoof even further when Space Beth shows up to save Morty and Rick just like Captain Marvel did for Iron Man and Nebula. We haven’t seen Space Beth since May 2020’s Season 4 finale: “Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri.” In that episode, it was confirmed that Rick did indeed clone Beth after the events depicted in “The ABC’s of Beth.” One Beth stayed at home while the other went off to become a spacefaring badass like her father. Not even Rick knows which is which.
After the guys get transported back to their original realities, Summer and her two moms have to activate and protect the beacon that’ll allow their family to return. Summer has an obvious preference for Space Beth, her being the “cool” mom. Despite some low emotional stakes, the conflict is resolved quickly enough. Regular Beth even agrees that it might be nice to have Space Beth around, so it sure seems like she’ll be back at least once more this season.
“JERRYBOREE” SOLVES A MAJOR RICK AND MORTY MYSTERY
Rick’s first task once he’s rescued is rebooting the “Portal Index” in the garage, but instead of resetting portal travel, he reset portal travelers. This causes Jerry, Morty, and Rick to one-way blind hop back to their original realities:
Rick goes to Dimension C-137, where his evil variant murdered his wife and daughter.
Morty goes back to the Cronenberg reality that was mutated back in Season 1’s “Rick Potion #9.”
But what about Jerry? Surprise: The popular Ticket Theory from Season 2’s “Mortynight Run” was totally correct.
During “Mortynight Run,” Rick ditched Jerry at an interdimensional daycare for Jerries called Jerryboree. Except he lost his ticket and it seemed like he may have taken the wrong Jerry at the end of the episode. “Solaricks” confirms this was the case and Jerry’s original reality was one where he remained unemployed, married, and absolutely hated by his entire family.
It’s also worth noting that Morty encounters his original father from the version of Earth that became overrun by mutated Cronenberg monsters, but anybody sharing DNA with Morty did not mutate. His Beth and Summer perished, and this callous Jerry abandons Morty.
RICK PRIME IS RICK AND MORTY’S NEW BIG BAD
The Season 5 finale confirmed that the origin story memory Rick showed the Gromflomites in the Season 3 premiere “The Rickshank Rickdemption” was indeed accurate. He was a middling scientist trying to figure out teleportation technology when another Rick variant showed up and offered tech for interdimensional travel. When our Rick turned him down, that Rick murdered Diane and Beth.
We learn all this in a montage inspired by Blade Runner, and the Season 6 finale picks up on this plot thread pretty much immediately. Dubbed “Rick Prime,” he’s the original Rick from the Cronenberg reality. In other words, he’s the biological grandfather of the actual Morty that the show follows. After trying and failing to catch Rick Prime, our Rick decided to settle down with Rick Prime’s family in the hopes that his enemy would eventually show up.
Near the end of the episode, our Rick and Morty uncover an invisible fortress built by Rick Prime, who’s rigged it with traps and set the entire thing to explode. Rick Prime is nowhere to be seen (we think), but we can assume he’ll play a major role in Season 6 and beyond.
In the Season 6 premiere’s post-credits scene, Cronenberg Jerry and Rick Prime encounter one another in the wilderness. Rather than teaming up, like Jerry hints for a moment, they wind up trying to kill each other. Spoiler alert: Rick Prime wins. “Why are you here?” Jerry asks.
“Buddy,” Rick Prime says, “I have been asking myself that exact same question.”
This more or less confirms that every interdimensional traveler in the multiverse who was not in their original reality was sent back to where they came from, Rick Prime included. Does that mean that Rick Prime is trapped in his home reality? Or will he similarly be able to reboot his own portal tech and begin traveling the multiverse once again?
RICK AND MORTY SEASON 6 AIRS SUNDAYS AT 11 P.M. ON ADULT SWIM.
2023 has kicked off with a couple of big cancelations, which signals a potentially rough year coming up, which many other players throughout Hollywood will share. Here’s a look at the 2023 cancelations!
1899
The big-budget series from the creators of DARK had big expectations and big shoes to fill.
The mystery sci-fi show was one of Netflix’s most ambitious shows in years, using state-of-the-art technology and featuring an impressive ensemble cast.
Why was 1899 canceled?
Data provided to What’s on Netflix from European SVOD analytics company Digital i suggests that the completion rate was ultimately too low and likely wasn’t growing substantially. Their data suggests only around a third of people who started the show went onto finish the title.
Inside Job
The animated series Inside Job had been initially given a season 2 renewal order back in June 2022. Still, in January 2023, the creator confirmed rumors that Netflix had reversed the decision to renew.
In a statement on Twitter, the show’s creator Shion Takeuchi said:
I’m heartbroken to confirm that Netflix has decided to cancel season 2 of Inside Job. Over the years, these characters have become real people to me, and I am devastated not to be able to watch them grow up. Reagan and Brett deserved to get their ending and finally find happiness. And I would have loved to been able to share what was in store with you all.
He added, “To everyone who watched, thank you for coming along on the ride. Even though I’m sad, it helps to know that there’s people out there who cared just as much about these characters as me.”
This weekend is going to be quite the eventful one for Netflix subscribers! Following the success of last year’s inaugural event, Tudum officially returns this Saturday with a day that promises to bring with it a lot of exciting new reveals about Netflix’s biggest shows and movies!
The 24-hour event will bring fans the scoop on over 120 fan-favorite shows and movies including Bridgerton, Emily in Paris, Shadow and Bone, Wednesday, Manifest, You, Outer Banks, The Witcher, Heartstopper and more!
From first looks at upcoming titles, casting news, renewals and release date confirmations, there’s no telling what could be coming our way this weekend. The only thing that is certain? Fans won’t want to miss the event, but how exactly can you follow along from home?
Where to watch Tudum 2022
If you’re hoping to be able to watch this year’s Tudum event online, you’re in luck! While some events such as San Diego Comic-Con and D23 take place in-person with only select presentations from the event available to stream online, Tudum takes place exclusively online as a virtual event.
This Saturday, fans across the globe will be able to head to Netflix’s official YouTube account to watch the event online with the event set to be made available in 29 languages worldwide!
Do you have to pay for Tudum?
If you’re hoping to watch Tudum this weekend, don’t worry about having to break out your wallet or credit cards to pay for the event. The virtual event is free to Netflix fans worldwide as there is no cost to stream the event which can be viewed free of cost on the Netflix YouTube channel!
Allison Janney and Jurnee Smollett are the main attraction of the Netflix movie Lou as the two leading ladies. Janney plays a John Wick-esque character (complete with a beloved dog, but don’t worry, Jax makes it out alive!) while Smollett plays her neighbor, Hannah.
Lou is a hardened recluse living on the fringes of their secluded island, while Hannah is a single mother struggling to make ends meet to take care of her daughter, Vee.
A horrible storm hits the island, and someone kidnaps Hannah’s daughter in the midst of it, forcing her to turn to Lou for help. While searching for Vee, the two women are forced to confront some of the dark secrets from their past.
Even though Smollett and Janney are the stars, Lou has a great cast of actors that also includes Logan Marshall-Green and Greyston Holt (remember him as one of the hot werewolves from Bitten?).
Netflix movie Lou cast list
For those unfamiliar with Allison Janney, the powerhouse actress is a Hollywood staple. Throughout her many decades in the business, Janney has won countless accolades, including seven Primetime Emmy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. She has also secured two Tony nominations.
Janney first rose to prominence playing C.J. Cregg on The West Wing. More recently, she starred as Bonnie Plunkett for nine seasons in the CBS sitcom Mom. Janney won her Oscar for I, Tonya, and has also appeared in projects like Masters of Sex, The Help, Juno, and many others. Next, she’ll star in the comedy miniseries Mrs. American Pie, the comedy film The People We Hate at the Wedding, and the sci-fi drama True Love.
Jurnee Smollett has been acting since she was a kid, with recurring roles in shows like Full House and On Our Own. But most people probably know her as Jess Merriweather in Friday Night Lights. The last few years have really helped cement Smollet’s status as a superstar. She played Dinah Lance/Black Canary in Birds of Prey and is reportedly going to reprise her role in a spinoff standalone movie at HBO Max.
Smollett also delivered an incredible performance in the short-lived but acclaimed HBO series Lovecraft Country and she recently starred opposite Miles Teller and Chris Hemsworth in the Netflix thriller Spiderhead. Next, she’ll star in the courtroom drama film The Burial with Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones.
Completing the cast trifecta is Logan Marshall-Green, who plays the film’s primary antagonist, Philip. You might recall Marshall-Green playing Trey Atwood in The O.C. He also recently completed a stint on the ABC series Big Sky.
Here’s the complete cast list for the Netflix movie:
Allison Janney as Lou
Jurnee Smollett as Hannah
Logan Marshall-Green as Philip
Ridley Asha Bateman as Vee
Matt Craven as Sheriff Rankin
Greyston Holt as Chris
Daniel Bernhardt as Tony
RJ Fetherstonhaugh as Gerry
Andres Collantes as Deputy Torres
Marci T. House as Agent Lee
Toby Levins as Agent Hampton
Netflix movie Lou starts streaming on Friday, September 23.