Rick and Morty was dark, but was the third season the duo’s darkest adventures yet? Short answer: yes. While there was nothing on par with turning an entire world turning into Cronenberg monsters, Rick managed to kill an entire mysterious European base as a pickle, break up The Vindicators, destroy the Citadel of Ricks (only for Evil Morty to take over) all while Morty pummelled people in a post-apocalyptic world and went full American Psycho after a detox.
Rather than go darker with the season finale, though, creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland decided to slam the reset button. By the end of the episode, almost everyone was much happier, all thanks to (clone?) Beth and Jerry being back together. “Things will be more like season one,” says Beth during the final moments, “just more streamlined.”
A surprising choice, perhaps, but a logical one. Harmon has a writing mechanism called the ‘Story Circle’ in which a character starts in a familiar setting, goes through some s**t, eventually returning to that familiar setting. As a result of the journey, though, the characters are changed. Harmon normally applies the method to episodes — hence why Rick and Morty nearly always starts with the duo at home — but here to an entire season.
Where the premiere started with Beth and Jerry together, the writers tore the family apart — plus the Citadel of Ricks — only for the finale to bring everyone back together having grown.