Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for the Rick and Morty Season 7 finale.

Given the controversies preceding its release, Rick and Morty’s Season 7 was bound to get scrutinized by its audience. But in the wake of the series casting new voice actors — Ian Cardoni takes on the role of eccentric scientist Rick Sanchez, while Harry Belden is now behind the anxiety-ridden teenager Morty Smith _ the show's latest season gave us some really strong episodes, such as the oddly touching episode about spaghetti and the satisfying conclusion to Rick’s revenge arc. Most impressively, the season chose to end on a simple but refreshingly sweet note with a self-contained adventure that might still signal a change of direction for future installments of the show. Here’s what happens in Rick and Morty's Season 7 finale, "Fear No Mort."

Rick and Morty

TV-14

Animation

Comedy

Sci-Fi

The fractured domestic lives of a nihilistic mad scientist and his anxious grandson are further complicated by their inter-dimensional misadventures.

Release Date

December 2, 2013

Cast

Chris Parnell , Spencer Grammer , Sarah Chalke , Justin Roiland , Dan Harmon

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

6

Studio

Cartoon Network

What Happens in "Fear No Mort"?

The Season 7 finale wastes no time with a cold open and jumps right into the title sequence. The episode begins with Rick (Ian Cardoni) and Morty (Harry Belden) passing through a horror house while seemingly unimpressed. They’ve been desensitized by their outrageous space adventures and just wish they could get a good scare. Their conversation is overheard by an enigmatic figure, voiced by Liev Schreiber, who promises them the scariest experience in a Denny’s restroom stall. Inside, they encounter the "Fear Hole," which acts as a simulation, allowing the occupant to face and conquer their greatest fears. Right beside the hole, there is a Hall of Fame board exhibiting Polaroid pictures of everyone who has survived the experience. Rick deems the whole affair stupid and initially refuses to jump. Morty, on the other hand, likes the idea of being able to live without fear, so he hops inside the hole without much thought, only for Rick to follow him shortly thereafter.

Inside, the duo faces scary maggots that they eventually defeat before climbing out of the Hole. But once they get home, they see a version of Rick’s late wife Diane (Kari Wahlgren) come through a portal, and it becomes obvious to both of them that they’re still inside the Hole. Rick understands that the Diane before him is just a simulation, but he doesn’t care as long as he gets to spend time with her — even if it means killing himself as the Fear Hole drains him of energy. But soon, he realizes that it'll also mean killing Morty, so the two launch into a series of embarrassing situations, trying to conquer their biggest fears in order to get out of the Fear Hole… except, they don’t. They keep guessing their deepest fears, only to get tricked into thinking they’ve gotten out of the Hole, much like the first season’s “M. Night Shaym-Aliens!” where the two are trapped inside a simulation.

After a series of more fakeouts, Morty finally realizes that his biggest fear is that if he jumped inside a hole like this one, Rick would never follow — and don’t you know it, Morty has been inside the Fear Hole all alone the entire time. Rick has just been watching him squirm and writhe from the top. Morty finally crawls out of the Hole for real this time, but he isn’t angry at Rick for not having his back. He’s let go of the fear that he is replaceable in Rick's mind. Morty tells Rick that he saw Diane inside, and for a moment it feels like Rick may be tempted to jump inside the Hole himself. But then, he produces a photo of Morty out of his wallet and hangs it up on the Hall of Fame board before leaving the restroom, indicating that he's also let go of his losses and fears.

"Fear No Mort" Lets 'Rick and Morty's Writers Face Their Fears, Too

Up until this season, the show had set a clear boundary between its serialized drama — like the Evil Morty plot, or the Rick Prime revenge plot — and its self-contained episodic adventures. The show has an obvious preference towards standalone stories because it allows the writers to etch out absurdly imaginative scenarios without ever writing themselves into a corner. It’s what makes the show so full of possibilities, and able to run for so many seasons. But this wackiness and longevity come at the cost of meaning and quality. By the end of every episode, things go back to what they were, and all character growth is thrown out of the portal. At the same time, many long-running shows with episodic adventures have shown a tendency to overstay their welcome. Rick and Morty, however, has been experimenting with a balance between its serialized story and self-contained adventures, allowing it to dance along the rims of a nihilistic black hole without being sucked in. However, it should be said that the show sometimes disrupts this delicate balance for the worse.

The show had always been aware of this problem, but it always seemed too reluctant to accept it. Rick and Morty deeply enjoys its standalone stories; much of their fourth wall breaks and promos talk about going back to “simple adventures,” so much so that when it finally gets around to moving forward with its serialized drama, it does so in a very annoyed, embarrassed tone. The show gives Rick his decisive backstory only in the Season 5 finale, but before that, Rick says, “You wanna jump the shark? You wanna know my stupid crybaby backstory? Knock yourself out.” It's almost as if the show was embarrassed for taking anything, even its protagonist's backstory, too seriously. This season, however, feels like the Rick and Morty writer's room is finally facing the acceptance of its own fears; the show has matured while figuring out a way to have fun, episodic adventures without losing perspective of the bigger picture.

Unlike the previous seasons, this one doesn’t end with an episode of the serialized drama. In fact, this season resolves the long-running Rick Prime storyline in an unassuming fifth episode. The rest of the season is used to show the emotional and psychological aftermath of Rick fulfilling his revenge quest. Rick is depressed at first, but eventually, he starts going for familiar space adventures with his grandson, indicating that perhaps this is where Rick finds meaning. It’s best exemplified at the end of “Fear No Mort” when Rick, instead of jumping inside the Hole to see a version of his wife again, turns and leaves the bathroom instead. Rick is letting go of the emotional baggage belonging to Diane, and also seems to be content to let Morty explore adventures on his own — evidenced by the fact that he doesn't follow his grandson in. You could easily imagine a past version of Rick picking on Morty for jumping into the Hole, or even insisting on staying and dying inside the Hole with a make-believe version of his wife. But Rick doesn’t seem to be that person anymore.

There’s a point in the final episode when Rick and Diane are discussing the ending of the show Lost, and Rick says, “You can be great or you can be around forever.” The old man has a point, but if Rick and Morty can continue reinventing itself in such engaging ways, then perhaps it has a shot at being great forever.

Rick and Morty Season 7 will be available to stream Max starting January 22, 2024.

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