‘Rick and Morty’ Season 3 Episode 6: Why Didn’t Morty Hang Up the Phone?

Rick and Morty Season 3 Episode 6 was phenomenal. This may be one of the best episodes in the series yet. But fans are trying to figure out one question: did healthy detoxed Morty purposefully make that decision at the end of the episode? Don’t read on unless you’ve seen the episode, because this article will have spoilers below. 

Near the end of Rick and Morty, healthy detoxed Morty had a successful life, a girlfriend, and lots of money. It seems he viewed his insecurities and lack of confidence as the unhealthy, toxic parts of his personality that needed to be removed. And once they were gone, his success skyrocketed. (Although he also apparently had some of his ethics and conscience detoxed away too.)

But then something strange happened. He got a call from Jessica, and he knew immediately that Rick was using the call to track him. And somehow despite being so smart, he “forgot” to turn off his phone, but left it on long enough for Rick to track his location. And when Rick was ready to inject him with the toxin to turn him back into “regular Morty,” healthy Morty didn’t resist. He seemed perfectly fine with the whole thing.

Does that mean he wanted Rick to come and turn him back into his old self?

On one hand, it doesn’t make much sense. He really fought against reintegrating with the toxic side of his personality. And he certainly proved that without his self doubt, he could outsmart Rick whenever he wanted.

There are basically three ways to view this.

The first is that he left the phone on because he wanted Jessica to overhear his conversation with his new girlfriend and get jealous. And then once he realized Rick had tracked him, he knew that he couldn’t get away, so he just accepted his fate. The healthy version of himself accepts what he can’t change rather than needlessly fighting and being upset.

A second interpretation is basically the same, except he really did accidentally leave the phone on (he was talking to Jessica after all.) But once he realized what he did and Rick was there, he accepted his fate and didn’t freak out about what was going to happen, because that’s something regular Morty would do.

The third interpretation is that he missed Rick. Whereas Rick thought his attachment for Morty was unhealthy and “toxic,” Morty felt that his love for Rick was perfectly healthy. It wasn’t a part of him that he thought needed to go away. So despite all his success, he still wanted his adventures with Rick. Ultimately, he let Rick find him and accepted the reintegration without a fight because his healthy self missed his grandpa.

Which interpretation do you think is right? Let us know in the comments below.

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