Rick and Morty Co-Creator Reveals Deeper Meaning Behind Season 6’s Morty War

Rick and Morty Season 6 really dove into Morty’s psyche with a return to the Roy: A Life Well Lived game from the earlier seasons in the newest episode, and one of the creators behind the series opened up about the religious and simulation theory inspirations that ultimately led to a full on war between the various Mortys! The second episode of the sixth season seemed like a much lighter return to the episodic format seen in seasons’ past, but it actually snuck in quite an exploration of how Morty really feels about Rick after spending so many seasons adventuring together.

Rick and Morty Season 6 Episode 2, “Rick: A Mort Well Lived” sees Morty’s mind split between billions of NPC characters on a simulated Earth, and series co-creator Dan Harmon and producer Steve Levy opened up about how this actually all ties into organized religion and simulation theory with the special Inside the Episode segment released by Adult Swim breaking down the new episode’s concepts. You can check it out below: 

“I got really excited about that idea because it’s simultaneously an almost possible to grasp simulation theory, while simultaneously being a really perfect model for almost any organized religion,” Harmon began. Producer Steve Levy explained that this is one of the bigger episodes of the series overall, and Harmon then further emphasizes this by revealing the higher concept behind splitting Morty into so many people. The trying to reform himself back under a single idea has a lot of real world implications. 

“They all come back around to this idea that we don’t have to worry about whatever we think our little tiny scripted jam is,” Harmon continued. “Because we’re all part of some larger thing with a bigger destiny. And the way that intersects with simulation theory, of course, is that bigger destiny might be that you’re a 14 year old kid whose toast is burning. You may be rushing to atone with an impersonal cosmos for no reason. You may have a better gig as unenlightened tripe in someone else’s fractured amusement.”

It’s a pretty bleak look at the struggle Morty’s virtual selves went through, and further demonstrates that while this was a more episodic and self-contained episode, there’s still a lot of depth to be found. But what did you think of this deeper dive into Morty’s mind and feelings? What do you think it means for Morty’s future? 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!