Rick and Morty Staff Talks Revisiting Cronenberg Dimension Jerry in Season 6

Rick and Morty surprised fans with its Season 6 premiere returning to the Cronenberg Dimension seen back in the first season of the series, and the staff behind the series have opened up about evolving Jerry to further emphasize what Morty really did to his former family by leaving them behind. The fifth season ended by opening the floodgates and giving fans much of the backstory and lore that we have been waiting to see for quite a long time, and the sixth season’s premiere picked that up by calling back to some of the series’ biggest moments so far.

Rick and Morty’s Season 6 premiere, “Solaricks,” brought the Cronenberg Dimension back to the franchise after briefly revisiting in past seasons, but this time it was far different than seen before. As writer Nick Mudry and series co-creator Dan Harmon explain about it in the special Inside the Episode segment released by Adult Swim, evolving the dimension and its version of Jerry to this bleak new level seen in the premiere was ultimately a way to have Morty fully confront his past of leaving his original family behind to have five seasons of light adventures. 

“The reset of portal travel ultimately results in everyone having to confront their past,” writer Nick Mudry began before explaining that it would help to raise all sorts of new questions about Morty’s character as a result of that confrontation. “It’s really cool to see Morty come back to Cronenberg world with an eye towards the actual somber reality of that. What does the apocalypse look like that much time into the future? What became of that world? What was the family that Morty so callously left behind?” As for the new Jerry, it was to serve as a bleak mirror for Jerry’s growth too. 

“The last time we saw Season One Jerry he was almost like a non-verbal ogre,” series co-creator Dan Harmon noted. “He’s now self-actualized. Morty’s actually finally being punished for his abandonment of his family because Jerry’s perfect now.” It’s an emotional moment for Morty as he realizes just how much pain he cause his original family, and although he’s been told that nothing he does matters over the years, it’s very clear that it really does. 

Season 6 seems to be poised as a season of consequences for the titular duo, and thus it’s raised all sorts of questions over what could be coming in the remaining episodes. But what did you think of seeing this new version of Jerry? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!