Rick and Morty season 5 premiere completely changes one of the show’s side characters

Rick and Morty season 5
(Image credit: Adult Swim)

Rick and Morty is no stranger to shaking up the status quo. In recent years, Birdperson has become Phoenixperson, and we’re still not sure which Beth is Space Beth.

The season 5 premiere has seen fit to once again meddle with established canon. What starts as an episode where it looks like relationships will change in one way – with Morty finally sealing the deal with his high school crush, Jessica – ends up changing in a totally different, possibly show-affecting way.

In retaliation for Morty’s inadvertent meddling across decades in the world beyond the portal in Rick’s garage, its people kidnap Jessica and crystalize her in a prison where she can’t age. Jessica then goes mad from her experience of living hundreds of years in stasis – but also finds what she calls "enlightenment."

During her brief exposition dump at the end of the episode, Jessica reveals she’s seen the "life of time" and has transcended to a new plane of thinking. Short-term that means she and Morty should just remain friends. Long-term, it all culminates in a reveal that, as a man hits on her in the street, that she’s beyond such trivial matters and is now a "time god."

It remains to be seen whether this will carry over to next week, though Rick and Morty typically keeps major changes (including Beth and Jerry’s marital troubles) canonical up to a point.

If that’s the case, expect Morty to no longer be pining for Jessica. Instead, Jessica could have leveled up to become one of the most powerful beings in the universe – and adventures across time and space could await. It certainly adds a new element to when (and where) the show can go next. It just seems unlikely that Morty will be along for the ride. There’s the friend zone – and then there’s whatever the Rick and Morty season 5 premiere just pulled on Morty. Ouch.

No need to switch over to Interdimensional Cable – here are the best Rick and Morty episodes from the show’s history. And get ready for next week with the Rick and Morty season 5 release schedule.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

Read more
Invincible Season 3 key art of Powerplex electrocuting Mark in episode 6
Invincible season 3's latest heartbreaking episode was just the beginning as I'm convinced a major comics arc is coming
Yellowjackets season 3
Yellowjackets season 3 episode 4's shock character death is a loss for the show, but proves the series is learning from season 2's mistakes
Creature Commandos
James Gunn's DC show Creature Commandos featured plenty of fantastic characters, but that finale proved The Bride is the best of them
Severance
The Severance season 2 finale just made me rethink the entire show – and it’s so much darker than I expected
Adam Scott as Mark S and Britt Lower as Helly R in Severance season 2
There might have been another reason for Mark's decision in the Severance season 2 finale
The Invincible War in Invincible season 3
If you think that the Invincible War is over too quickly in Invincible season 3 episode 7, you are missing the point
Latest in Animation Shows
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Captain Planet #1
Captain Planet is back after 33 years with a "sexy" makeover and a message that's as important as ever: "Reality has gotten a lot less subtle"
Solar Opposites
Popular animated series Solar Opposites will end with season 6 marking an "unforgettable farewell"
Demona confronting Goliath, Brooklyn, Lexington, and Angela
Gargoyles creator Greg Weisman digs into why Demona is the "single most dangerous character" in the entire franchise ahead of her new solo comic
Bugs Bunny
Warner Bros. removes nearly 40 years of Looney Tunes shorts from streaming service Max, a year after the studio canned Coyote vs. Acme
Invincible season 3 ending
Invincible season 3 post-credits scene is a tease for a hellish comic storyline adaptation that Robert Kirkman "never got around to doing"
Latest in News
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"