Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Rick & Morty season 8, episode 10, “Hot Rick” and mentions of suicide.
Rick and Mortyseason 8 saved the best for last, as “Hot Rick” delivered an emotional climax that focused largely on Rick and Beth, who were at the forefront of the action. AlthoughRick and Mortyseason 8’s reviews have been goodcritically, fans have been much more split on the recent installment, with some adventures failing to impress.
Still, even the most critical viewer would have a hard time knocking episode 10, as"Hot Rick" expertly dived into some of Rick’s biggest flaws while putting the spotlight on his relationship with Beth.The return of Memory Rick only further complicated their dynamic, as he attempted to fix Beth’s childhood while searching for a memory of Diane.
This created all sorts of chaos when the memories inside Beth’s head became sentient, influencing her real-life decisions, including almost killing Space Beth. As a result, her internal stress reached a boiling point, setting up an explosive ending that cemented “Hot Rick” as one ofRick and Morty’s best episodesin years.
Rick Saved Beth From Being Consumed By Her Sentient Memories
Rick Opened Up To His Daughter Before Resetting Beth’s Mind
While Memory Rick didn’t have ill intentions, his influence on Beth’s mind spiraled out of control, prompting Rick to save his daughter, but not in his stereotypical fashion. After making his way from the ant farm brain built by Rick into Beth’s head, Memory Rick started impacting her memories, attempting to fix her childhood and be present in her life.
However, this all seemed to be part of a plan to reconcile with Diane, as he manipulated Beth’s memories into helping him find the memory of Diane that Rick removed from himself. Once he succeeded with his mission,Memory Diane told one of Beth’s memories that she wasn’t real, leading to internal chaos inside Beth’s head.
While Beth’s memories became sentient and started hunting down Memory Rick and Memory Diane, Beth began breaking down, becoming obsessed with saving her family. This resulted in her driving recklessly off a cliff, with Rick and Space Beth narrowly saving her.
Unfortunately, this didn’t snap Beth out of her situation as she attempted to take her own life, but luckily, Rick was able to talk her down and make himself more available for his daughter, before resetting her mind. Although Beth is still aware and impacted by what happened, it seems her memories of the event were removed.
The conclusion showedRick overcoming some of his flaws in season 8by opening himself up to his daughter, which was also a key theme in “The Curicksous Case of Bethjamin Button”, but"Hot Rick’s" ending really hammered home the emotional depthRick and Mortycan produce at its peak, creating a truly memorable finale.
Is Beth Back To Normal After Having Her Mind Reset?
Despite No Longer Being Influenced By Memory Rick, Beth Still Seems Impacted By What Happened
Resetting Jerry’s mind seemed to fix his issues at the start of the episode, but Beth may take a little longer to get back to normal. She no longer carries the sentient memories that caused her to lose control, but she seems to have an idea of what went down, hence being so downbeat during the closing moments.
During her breakdown, Beth appeared to briefly kill Space Beth, which will undoubtedly have a huge impact on them both, especially afterRick and Mortyseason 8 explored Beth’s violent childhood. The two have gone through a lot together and seem closer than ever, making it all the more disturbing that Beth nearly caused her potential clone’s death.
It seems likely that she’ll ultimately be back to her usual self in season 9, but the events of “Hot Rick” may linger and influence Beth going forward, despite having her real memories back.
Even if Beth doesn’t remember doing it, she’ll be aware that it happened alongside nearly taking her own life, the sort of trauma that won’t go away easily. It seems likely that she’ll ultimately be back to her usual self in season 9, but the events of “Hot Rick” may linger and influence Beth going forward, despite having her real memories back.
What Happened To Memory Rick & Memory Diane In “Hot Rick”?
Rick Decided To Spare Them & Gave The Duo A Place To Be Young Forever
Despite being the main cause of the drama that ensued inRick and Mortyseason 8’s finale, Memory Rick was given a happy ending. After resetting Beth’s mind, Rick told the Smith family that Memory Rick was gone, insinuating that the reset killed him. However, he was actually protecting Memory Rick, who he kept alive alongside Memory Diane.
Rick and Morty Season
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Rick and Morty Season 2
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Rick and Morty Season 3
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Rick opted to put the couple back inside the ant farm brain from earlier in the episode, giving them a chance to stay young foreverdespite resenting the idea. He warned Memory Rick to stay away from his family; otherwise, he’d destroy the space he’d created, a condition that the duo happily agreed to.
Memory Rick and Diane may have very little inside the ant farm brain, but being together is a much happier fate than many would’ve expected for them. Seeing the pair get a peaceful ending while Rick grew as a character definitely puts “Hot Rick” amongRick and Morty’s best season finalesand gives a strong conclusion to one of the best Rick variants.
What Rick’s Final Text To BugAnne Really Represents
Messaging BugAnne Suggests Rick Is Ready To Let Someone Else Into His Life
Understandably, Rick’s text to BugAnne during “Hot Rick’s” closing stages may seem insignificant to some, considering he simply messaged “hey”, but it says a lot about his progression throughout the episode and the entire series. He previously told BugAnne, “You don’t want to get any closer than this”, believing their casual arrangement worked perfectly.
BugAnne seemed to understand Rick’s inability to commit to a relationship, appearing happy to keep their dynamic as it is, but still wanted him to come to a family event. Sadly, despite trying his best and removing the memory of Diane to be more emotionally available, Rick screwed things up, seemingly vindicating his earlier statement.
However, opting to message BugAnne even after things went wrong shows he really is becoming more mature. He was left on “seen,” suggesting whatever relationship he had with the Defiance member may be over for good, but every decision he made throughout “Hot Rick” proved he was trying to be better.
There was genuine worry when he thought Space Beth had died, and he said all the right things to Beth, confirming that he is more capable of showing love and being vulnerable than ever.
There was genuine worry when he thought Space Beth had died, and he said all the right things to Beth, confirming that he is more capable of showing love and being vulnerable than ever. Likewise, givenRick and Morty’s adventures often cause deathand destruction, seeing Rick actually evolve and learn from his mistakes has been a breath of fresh air.
Rick & Morty Season 8’s True Ending Explained
The Finale Exposed Rick’s Commitment Issues But Proved He Has Made Progress
Despite centering around Beth and her memories, “Hot Rick” is really about Rick’s attachment and commitment issues. He wasn’t really there for his daughters during their childhood, something Memory Rick exploited, and he failed to let anyone into his life after losing Diane, instead building up a perfect image of her in his head despite not fully remembering her.
The episode explored Rick’s complexities alongside how he was trying to move forward, a process he found some success with, even though he struggled. He made the right decisions involving his daughters, showed compassion to Memory Rick, and messaged BugAnne after their tiff, all of which proved Rick was finally working through some of his biggest issues.
All 10 episodes ofRick and Mortyseason 8 are available to stream on HBO Max.
Although he still possesses some extremely toxic traits, Rick has slowly become a better man in season 8 and has constantly looked out for his family, a theme “Hot Rick” emphasized. Therefore, the true meaning ofRick and Mortyseason 8’s finale was Rick recognizing his baggage and attempting to move on, even though he may never get his happy ending.
