Commentary: ‘Rick And Morty’ Uses Retcon As A Tool

Retcons are usually viewed as bad things for stories. It means that a mistake was made and something needs to be changed to correct the story as a whole. There are numerous instances of retcons happening for any number of reasons, too many to name them all. However, it’s also possible to bake a retcon into the story itself. This means that the story was always meant to be changed by the end so the events of the plot are an isolated incident. This happens all the time in stories that want to take wild and crazy leaps with their characters. No show does it better than Rick and Morty.

This latest season’s premiere had Rick (Ian Cardoni) place Morty (Harry Belden) and Summer (Spencer Grammer) inside a computer simulation he created in order to teach them not to steal his phone charger. Unfortunately, Rick falls asleep, causing Summer and Morty to spend nearly two decades trapped in the simulation. They grow into adults and lead very traumatic lives tying to escape the simulation. When it finally happens, they revert back to their kid bodies in the real world. Realizing it’s not wise to have adult versions of Morty and Summer living in their kid bodies, Rick eventually wipes their minds, making it so they forgot the entire thing.

A retcon is typically used to change a story or character element that doesn’t want to be used going forward, which is technically what happened in this episode of Rick and Morty. The only difference: this retcon was built into the story and utilized as a tool to tell this crazy character shift. The changes to Morty and Summer’s characters were too great to keep. It would alter the entire dynamic of the show, as them being adults in kids bodies had already drastically affected the episode. Rick had no choice but to wipe their brains, retconning the change and returning the status quo. But the situation was still worth exploring as it made for an entertaining story.

Rick and Morty is now streaming on HBO Max.