Rick and Morty fans: here's everything you need to know about THAT Evil Morty reveal

How closely were you watching the last episode of Rick and Morty on UK Netflix?

Probably close enough to join the dots on that reveal at the end, but not nearly as closely as one viewer, who has gone back through all three seasons of the show to join even more dots that you didn’t even know were there.

Now, it goes without saying that spoilers for the episode ‘The Ricklantis Mixup’/’Tales from the Citadel’ will follow.

Also, we’re aware that the following episode, ‘Morty’s Mind Blowers’, has already aired in the US. We’re yet to get it here, though (at least via legal means), so we won’t give away anything about that one.

Right, so here we go.

Towards the end of the episode, we see Campaign Manager Morty blown out into space, just as he’s about to show his captors some incriminating evidence against Candidate Morty, who has just been elected as president of the Citadel.

We don’t see the contents of the files right away, but later – as he is floating through space along with countless other Ricks and Mortys - they’re very visible indeed.

If you were still paying attention, you’ll have seen a familiar face: Evil Morty from back in Season One.

We first see Evil Morty in ‘Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind’, when he arrives through a portal from Earth Dimension C-137 with Evil Rick.

The pair promptly shoot the regular Rick and Morty, the latter with a tranquiliser dart, and drag Morty back through the portal from which they arrived.

Later it emerges that he was controlling ‘Evil Rick’ through a transmitter hidden under his eyepatch, making him the evil genius of the operation.

And that song you hear when Evil Morty’s role is revealed? You heard it again at the end of the last episode.

This is where we get on to the fan theory, which first appeared here and was recently shared on reddit.

In the aforementioned Season One episode, we see Rick’s memories being downloaded, including one in which he is holding baby Morty.

If Rick has been gone for 20 years, as mentioned by his daughter (and Morty’s mother) Beth, only returning when Morty was a teenager, how was he able to hold young Morty?

Oh, and if you thought that might be an oversight, there are two major pieces of evidence against: first, Rick and Morty seems like the least likely show to mess up its timelines. And second, there’s this picture, which Vulture notes appears on Bird Person’s wall in the season two episode ‘Get Schwifty’. Still with us? Good.

Okay, here’s where it gets a little more complicated, and a little more speculative.

According to ‘Liragon’, originator of this theory, the dimension we see in the show Rick and Morty – the one we are encouraged to see as the ‘real’ world – is not the one from which Original Rick and Original Morty first existed.

We’ve tried to break it down into its simplest form, but for a more in-depth explanation you can go to the reddit link above.

In broad terms, however, the theory goes as follows:

- Before Morty was born, Rick C-137 (Original Rick), who describes himself in ‘Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind’ as “the Rickest Rick of all”, travelled into future dimensions to see how his future selves interacted with his family

- He learned that he would have two grandchildren, Summer and Morty

- He also learned that the future Ricks neglected future Mortys, leaving them anxious and – for want of a better word – stupid

- Original Rick made sure not to do the same with Original Morty, teaching him from a young age and turning him into a teenage genius

- Original Morty stole Original Rick’s ideas, and almost killed him, prompting Original Rick to travel to a different dimension

- He chose a dimension where Rick had died, and replaced his dead self. This explains the 20-year absence from Beth’s life

- In order to get his revenge, Original Morty created a robotic Rick, with the control hidden beneath an eyepatch

- So the Rick we see from the start of season one is Original Rick, but we don’t see Original Morty (or Original Beth, Original Summer, Original Jerry etc)

- Original Morty does show up later, though…as Evil Morty

Ever wondered where Evil Morty’s real Rick was if he arrived with a robotic Rick? Well, this is as good an explanation as any.

Of course, it’s just a theory, but co-creator Justin Roiland is alleged to have all-but confirmed an unidentified fan theory about Rick C-137 and Morty C-137.

Could this be the one?

(Images: Adult Swim)