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Rick and Morty star responds to 'entirely possible' fan theory about multiple dimensions

Theory could change the way fans watch the show

Roisin O'Connor
Sunday 24 May 2020 10:46 BST
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Rick and Morty star Chris Parnell has responded to a popular fan theory about the show’s use of multiple dimensions.

The theory is based around season two episode “Mortynight Run”, in which Parnell’s character Jerry Smith is dropped at the Jerry Daycare Centre. Rick gets a collection ticket for later, which has the number 5126.

When Jerry is picked up at the end of the episode, Rick fails to present a ticket, but another Rick appears to ask if their Jerry is number 5126, and they swap Jerrys.

Fans believe this means the Rick and Morty depicted at the end of the episode is not the same as the beginning, which in turn suggests that are not always following one version of the characters.

“I'm never completely clear, personally, on which particular family we're with,” Parnell told Digital Spy, saying he believes the theory is “entirely possible”.

“I'm not sure it's the same family we started with. I mean, I don't know if these are clones of clones, or... I really can't keep up with all of that,” he said. “And whether or not it's the right Jerry? Who knows? Maybe one day we'll find out.”

A separate theory emerged this week, as fans thought they’d spotted a hidden meaning in the latest outing, “The Vat of Acid Episode”.

In the instalment, Rick devises a “do-over” machine that allows his grandson Morty to “save his progress” in life, and time travel backwards if something goes awry.

Every time Morty used it, another alternate version of himself would be killed in a particularly gruesome way.

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Fans have suggested that this episode could in fact be part of an origin story for the character “Evil Morty”, a jaded and Machiavelian version of the character that has previously appeared in the series thrice (including as a cameo earlier this season).

Reddit threads and theories have emerged speculating that the trauma of ”The Vat of Acid Episode” may have left a permanent mark on the character, and that Rick and Morty is building up to the reveal that the evil Morty was in fact one the series leads (sometimes known as Morty C-137), who travelled back in time.

Rick and Morty airs in the UK on E4. Previous episodes can be watched on All 4.

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